An Update On The Car

Good evening, dear readers.

I have some updates for you regarding our car situation. A few weeks ago, I posted about how a home in the neighborhood had a 1966 Mercury Comet for sale for $1500. Unfortunately, when we went back that weekend to see if we could try starting the car, the owner had changed her mind about selling it. The car belonged to her late husband, and she wasn't ready to part with it yet. Since that deal fell through, my husband has been diligently scrolling through Craigslist in his mission to find a suitable pre-1967 family car. The mission took on a renewed sense of urgency after the steering in our wrecked Oldsmobile gave out, again, this past weekend while we were driving home from church and really served to reinforce how unsafe this car had become. The steering had always been touchy because the front end was in dire need of repairs, but now combined with the doors not being able to open or close properly and the axle, it was all just too much. My hubby literally threw up his hands and said "I'm done with this car" when we got home.

Goodbye, Bessie. You served us well.

In the meantime, there were two tempting offers that appeared on our radar: one 1962 Ford Falcon for $1200 located up in Phoenix, and the other was a 1966 Dodge Dart for $1500 located out in Pearce, which is a small town way out in the boonies of Cochise County. The owner of the Ford Falcon had been in contact with my husband and he described the car as shaky because the floorboards were rusted through. He said it was drive-able, but would likely need to be trailer towed since we were not local and would be taking the car back south. The owner of the Dodge Dart also had been in contact with my hubby and described her car as being drive-able, but in need of a battery. It too would likely need a trailer tow to get here.

Though it was not ideal, we figured we'd be making a drive up to Phoenix to get the Falcon. My heart was set on it because it was manual transmission, something I've always wanted to learn how to drive. I could learn to deal with seeing the street under my feet for a little bit. I didn't regard it as being any worse than the Oldsmobile we were now driving. As we researched car rental rates as well as the rate for a U-haul auto trailer, another offer on Craigslist caught my husband's attention. This new car was a 1966 Chrysler Newport, and the owner was local. He was asking $1500 for it and the pictures showed it appeared to be in good condition. My husband contacted the seller for some more information and today we went to see the car.

Vintage Chryslers make great lowriders! Pic found here

As we pulled up on the owner's home, there sat the car as though God was shining a spotlight down on it while a chorus of angels sang. The owner came out to greet us and we looked over the car. It was not restore-grade, but it was in remarkably good condition. It even had the copper license plates that the State of Arizona reserves for antique vehicles! The body was straight with no rust, the interior had been reupholstered within the last decade, and best of all, it was all original parts. The engine was a block V8 with a dual carburetor and not a single computer part to be found anywhere. The only problem was that there was a water leak somewhere and that prior to going anywhere, one had to fill the water tank up. My husband took the car around the block for a test drive while I stayed behind with the baby. The owner told me the Chrysler had been his father's car and he'd helped to take care of it, but it was time for him to let it go because his job needs had changed and the car no longer suited them. We made a deal on the car for $1400 and for the extra hundred, the owner would give us the original tires on the car. He preferred the old balloon tires, but for some reason was talked into buying 20" spoke tires. Tomorrow, we get the car, but we come back for the tires on Friday since we will hopefully have our check from the insurance company by then.

This is close to what we'll be getting, except ours is green with a white hard top and the back is more raised. Pic found here

Unfortunately, we left the owner's home at a bad time. The setting sun was shining directly into my husband's face and made it hard for him to drive. Fortunately, there was a renowned truck stop in the area with a world-famous restaurant that we could stop in and chill for a bit until the sun set and we could all drive home safely. This truck stop held some significance for my husband because in 1988, he hitchhiked to Arizona and was dropped off there by a truck driver. From the truck stop, he caught a ride from a random junkie who took him to the base of Mt. Lemmon and it was there that my husband stayed his first night here. We relaxed in the truck stop restaurant, where my husband had some cheesecake and coffee while I had a brownie sundae that was way bigger than I expected. Too bad this truck stop is so out of our way. Their restaurant is quite good and not expensive either. It was a nice treat to celebrate getting our new car.

To say I'm excited about getting our new car is an understatement. We will finally be getting a car that is safe, spacious, durable, and easy to maintain. Since it's an old car, I hope the insurance rates will be cheaper. It may yet be possible to insure me for driving. Since the wrecker is coming tomorrow to tow the Oldsmobile away, my hubby and I spent the remainder of the evening cleaning it out so that it will be a swift and painless departure. Thanks to a miscommunication between insurance agents, we will be getting a substantial payout for our Oldsmobile in exchange for us handing it over. We sent the title to the company yesterday and as soon as both the car and the title are received, the check will be in the mail.

I will definitely be posting pictures of our new car. Right now, I'm trying to get my printer drivers updated so that we can print out a temporary registration until the formal ones come in.

Thank you for reading this post and please don't forget to share, comment, and subscribe!

The Car

Greetings, dear readers!

I have an update regarding our car situation. As you might recall, we were rear-ended by a careless driver a few weeks ago. The impact bent the frame and cracked the rear axle, but in a testament to true old-school engineering and the laws of physics (we were slowing down for the light and were still in motion at the time of collision), the car was still driveable after the impact.

An unintentional lowrider

Well, last week, the other driver's insurance company sent out an assessor to have a look at our car and the assessor declared the car totaled. We would get several hundred dollars for the car and we could keep it. Since we can't afford a new car, we agreed to the deal. After all, in spite of the inconvenience, I can get used to prying open the back door with a crowbar when I need to get the stroller out.

Case in point: how to open a car door when the frame is bent.

Well, in what may have been a sign from God, a home in the neighborhood has a restored 1960s Mercury Comet that the owner is willing to sell to us for $1500. My husband, upon hearing the offer, nearly shit himself with joy because he's been wanting to get rid of our 1988 Oldsmobile and get an old car from before 1972 when cars started getting too "modern" for his taste. My husband made it known to me for a long time that it was his dream to own an older vehicle because they were not full of computer parts and were far easier to maintain than modern vehicles.

As for how and why we were driving a car from the hated 1980s, it was because we bought it off of a neighbor who was selling it for cheap (she wanted $1K for it) and we needed a car because of my work schedule. In other words, we got it because we needed it and it was there. My husband only grudgingly accepted the Oldsmobile because it was built using a highly successful and well-documented X-frame and a tight 2.5L motor. The car never gave us any trouble (the only time it didn't start was because my hubby left the dome light inside running one night and it drained the battery), required minimal maintenance, and in spite of a leaky gas tank and front-end wear, got us from point A to point B without a problem.

The car we're looking to buy looks something like this. This pic is of a 1964 Mercury Comet. Pic found here

I was not with my husband when the offer was made, but he'll be taking me to see the car tomorrow. The money we get for our totaled Oldsmobile can go towards the purchase of this other car. As for the difference, well, we'll see. I hope my family would be able to help out with the purchase of the car because it would be a much safer vehicle for our family. In addition to a rebuilt motor and steel body, the Comet has a manual transmission, something I've been wanting to learn how to drive for a while.

This is a developing story, but I'll keep you updated as things progress. I do hope this deal works out. It would be nice to have a car that's not bent, leaky, and has manual transmission.

Thank you for reading this post and please don't forget to share, comment, and subscribe!

The Accident

Hello dear readers, and happy Saturday! Tomorrow is the Super Bowl, which my family and I will be sure to watch, even though none of us care much for the sport of football.

I'm sorry for not writing much these past few days. The baby has been keeping me busy, and yesterday we were involved in a fender bender.

We were driving home from running errands when a woman in an SUV slammed into us from behind. It was sudden and I was completely unprepared for the impact. Thank God and the laws of physics that we had been in motion and slowing down to stop at the light when the collision happened. The damage and resulting injuries would have been alot worse if we had been totally stopped. As we lurched forward, hubby's reflexes were fortunately still quick and he was able to hit the brakes to stop us from colliding with the car in front of us, averting a domino effect accident. My husband figured the woman who hit us had been speeding, based on how hard she hit us.

It was kinda like this, only with an SUV in place of the blue car and both cars were still whole. Pic found here

In addition to knocking the seat back a few inches, the whiplash caused by the impact sent my head snapping back into the headrest and my glasses flying off of my face. I felt dazed, but I was aware that we had been rear-ended. While my hubby called the cops to file a report, he saw the other car trying to drive off and he sent me out to stop her. I remember fumbling for the seat belt, but I don't remember pulling it off as I threw open the passenger side door and stumbled out of the car. I had to walk towards the SUV behind us holding onto the car because my balance had been thrown off and my legs were shaking. The other driver came out and apologized, claiming she hadn't see us and that she wanted to move off the road and into a dirt lot next to us to get out of traffic. Despite my dazed and blinded condition thanks to my glasses being somewhere in the car, I talked her into staying put. I vaguely recalled learning in Drivers Ed in high school that when you're in an accident, you have to stay where you are, even if its in traffic, until the cops come and deal with the situation. I wanted to believe her when she said she was just gonna pull off to the lot, but I didn't want to take a chance on letting her run off on us; especially since my husband caught her moving away from our car already. So we stayed put until the cops and an ambulance came to check us out.

Despite the adrenaline and daze, there were no injuries. My left arm was slightly numb from my elbow hitting the back of the seat and my neck was starting to hurt. The baby was in the backseat and was crying, but her carseat saved her from being hurled through the back window and she did not appear to be injured. The loud bang caused by the impact seemed to have scared her more than anything else. The EMTs checked us all out and pronounced us good to go. The police made their report, gave us a copy, and on Monday we will be dealing with the insurance companies. The car is driveable, but it's totaled. The frame is significantly bent and the doors can't open or close without significant force being levied on them. There is also a broken rear axle near the passenger side tire and the trunk is pretty much sitting on the ground, low-rider style. The force of the collision made the rear fold down like an accordion.

Depending on how I feel, I may be wearing one of these soon. Pic found here

As for today, the day after the accident, my neck hurts and I have some back pain. The back pain is not nearly as bad as the neck pain, and even then the neck pain isn't severe. I can turn my head, uncomfortable as it may be, but the real pain is when I look up or down. I spent most of the day resting and binge watching "Ghost Adventures" on my computer. My side of the car seemed to have gotten most of the impact because neither my husband nor the baby are hurting like I am. If I am still in pain by Monday, I will see a chiropractor.

I did manage to recover my glasses. They survived intact as they had landed on the hood of the stroller in the backseat. I am grateful for that bit of luck because my vision is poor and I can't afford to get new glasses if my up-to-date-script glasses are broken.

I will continue with the 21 day blog challenge tomorrow. I'm too sore to think of a subject to go with the prompt right now. I will finish this damn thing once and for all, even though it has been longer than 21 days since I started the challenge.

Thank you for reading this post and please don't forget to share, comment, and subscribe!