There goes our airfare..

[HeatherBelle614]

So on Friday, DH tinkered around with my car because my turn signal is out. He said that it wasn't the bulb and something must be wrong with a fuse somewhere. Well, I hadn't touched my car until this afternoon; when I tried to even open it with the power locks, it was completely dead.

I ended up having to have my car towed. And, it turns out that the light bulb really was just burnt out AND DH left my lights on. (I had left it here when I went to work and didn't get back until 10pm that night; he'd worked on it in the morning and left the lights on all day.) The guy that fixed it said he'd never seen a battery that dead, and he's been doing this for 20+ years.

So, a lightbulb, tow, new battery, and labor later...there goes the airfare money I had worked so hard to save for a hopeful trip. All of this for what should have cost $20.00 to fix in the first place if it had been done correctly. I'm just trying not to lose my cool.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

What the. How much did they charge!?!?!

I'm sorry I know how that feels. Stupid cars.

 

[HeatherBelle614]

All of it together was enough for DH's airfare and half of mine. (I'm the DIS'er trying to save to take my parents, too.)

We're newlyweds (4 months this Tuesday), so I'm just doing my best not to freak out at him when he gets home later. I know things happen; I'm just so disappointed because this was completely avoidable if he'd been more careful.

And, I've had my car since I turned 16 - so nearly 8 years - and I've never had to pay to repair anything on it because of a mistake like this or accident. I've taken amazing care of it and have always had great pride in how awesome my car still is even this many years later. Just sucks.

 

[bumbershoot]

Oh gracious.

Time to lay some ground rules. YOUR car is yours. Since you know how to take care of it (or pay others to do it) he keeps his hands off of it.


And maybe it's time to get AAA, so that your tows don't have to be paid out of pocket. AAA has saved me thousands of dollars without even factoring in the discounts on fun stuff.

 

[Krissy Marissy]

Oh gracious.

Time to lay some ground rules. YOUR car is yours. Since you know how to take care of it (or pay others to do it) he keeps his hands off of it.


And maybe it's time to get AAA, so that your tows don't have to be paid out of pocket. AAA has saved me thousands of dollars without even factoring in the discounts on fun stuff.

I completely agree here...with both. AAA is the way to go, much cheaper than that tow was I bet! And just politely tell him that although you appreciate him wanting to help you fix your car you would like to take care of it yourself because it makes you feel stong and independent...or something. Maybe that wont hurt his feelings??

If it was a bulb it probably would have only cost less than 10 bucks to replace so that sucks, sorry dear! You will get to DL some day...have faith!

 

[DizMe]

Yes, I agree with Molly--get AAA towing! It's a good investment.

Now, about your dh...I really wouldn't get mad. Think how you would want him to deal with it if the situation were reversed and you had pulled a Homer Simpson. He was only trying to help and though it was a costly blunder, it's just one of those things that happens sometimes. I guarantee you will do something comparable at some point in your marriage, so decide what you think is most important in this situation (i.e. your car? the airfare? your relationship?) and let the rest go.

Then, if it happens again, you can knock him off, collect the insurance and fly to Disneyland. Just kidding!

 

[HeatherBelle614]

I was really good and kept my cool last night; I don't know if any of you follow any type of DFW news, but we've been having a hard time for teachers. Many of them in local districts have been laid off because of no funding, and a good 700+ more are going to be let go this week in the Dallas ISD alone because of over spending. So, DH (a recent English lit w/ a teaching certification graduate) has not had any luck with the job search since last spring. He's down on himself anyway, so I think that's what helped me not to blow up at him.

But, if he does it again, I do work in the legal industry and know some people. Haha.

I know things like this happen, so it's just back to the drawing board and trying to start saving again (which has been hard with just one income - mine - so that's why I was so upset..still am...about it.) Things happen for a reason; just keep telling myself that!

 

[austinosphere]

Better to lose the airfare than to lose DH - make sure you don't subconciously take it out on him. Men make mistakes too!

Sorry about the unexpected expense - here's hoping you get an unexpected windfall of some sort.

/edited later- somehow I missed your above post. Looks like you're already way ahead of me.!

 

[robinb]

So, a lightbulb, tow, new battery, and labor later...there goes the airfare money I had worked so hard to save for a hopeful trip. All of this for what should have cost $20.00 to fix in the first place if it had been done correctly. I'm just trying not to lose my cool.

If it makes you feel any better you would have had to replace the battery sooner rather than later. Leaving the lights on does not ruin a battery ... it was already bad to begin with.

 

[HeatherBelle614]

Yeah, I don't know what happened exactly. The tow guy and the guys at the shop said they'd never seen one drained that bad. But, then again, my car literally sat there for nearly 3 days like that. I ride a train to work everyday, so I don't really use my car that often or even go near it much now, for that matter. It faces a completely different side of our apartment from our front door, and I was out of town on Saturday. I had to replace it about 2 years ago for the first time since I'd bought me car 8 years ago; who knows.

Just time to start figuring out ways to save again.

Thanks everyone for the support!!!