About 3 weeks ago, Allie caused an accident. No one was hurt, but the cute little Hyundai the kids drive was pretty banged up. I was hoping it wouldn't be totaled. All damage appeared to be on the driver's door. That's it! Well, about 5 days after accident, I got a call from collision repair shop telling me to come get everything from the car because it wouldn't be fixed. It was a total loss. What?!
I began car shopping, which I hate. I have become quite good and determining which ads on KSL are bogus, though. I found a cute little Saturn wagon. It smelled liked pets and needed a good cleaning, but the price was right at $1800. My kids are going through cars like they are fruit snacks, or something. Before going to finalize a sale, I called my insurance to make sure everything was squared away.
There was NO RECORD that the car had been totaled. They quickly sent a local adjuster to the collision place to double-check the estimate. I get a call that the car WAS NOT totaled. It would be fixed. I had mixed feelings. We would have made money had the car been totaled and we bought the saturn wagon. We would have gotten about $4500 for the car and paid $2000 to buy and clean the car. Ugh! However, My car hunt was over. I'm amazed at the number of seemingly-fraudulent ads and was really stressed.
So, we settled into a 2-week wait for the car to be repaired. All along I really wanted that wagon. I also was concerned that the repairs wouldn't be good. There was quite a bit of damage. I didn't want to deal with leaks, etc. Well, yesterday, I got a call that the car WAS TOTALED after all. What?!!!!! They found, upon dismantling the car that there was more extensive damage. The first thing I did was call the owners of the Saturn wagon. It had been sold on Saturday. Dang, I should have bought it, anyway.
So, now we are back to getting about $4800 for the car and time to look for a car. Allie found a really cute Dodge Neon that she and I went to test drive last night. We even stopped at the bank to get cash just in case. Well, upon closer inspection and with help from the guys at Jiffy Lube, we found that it needs a windshield, new clutch and motor mount. The guys at Jiffy Lube told me to offer $1000, but no more. Ciara, the car owner, didn't accept our offer. She had other people coming to look at it. As we left, I told Allie, "We won't get that car. Someone will pay her what she's asking." The story does not end here.
All along we have been praying for help and calling our mechanics Heather and Cary for help. Ugh!
We drove a Saturn that seemed to occasionally steer by itself. A bit scary. I got home last night and looked at the classified ads until after midnight. I wrote notes and narrowed down my search and made a plan for today. I got up and made arrangements to go check out a Kia this afternoon in Taylorsville. I also called on a Taurus wagon in Provo for back up. My search is just beginning.
Well, I get a call this afternoon from Ciara. She said the other person interested offered her $1000 also and she wanted us to get first chance to get it for that price! It needs about $1000 in repairs (clutch, windshield, motor mount, etc). I called Heather, our mechanic, and Keenan and we all decided to go for it. I cancelled my appointment for this afternoon and told Ciara we want to come buy the car. We can get it in a couple of days when she has finalized her purchase on a new car. Whew! It is even a better car than the Saturn wagon, which doesn't surprise me because the Lord always takes care of us. I know He does and I'm grateful that He does.
So, hopefully, in about 2 days, we will have a kid car again! Wow, that was a long story.
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