Political & Elections

romanigypsyeyes · Guru

RE: Totaled my car. Capstone to a perfect week (/sarcasm)

BigG · Guru

You want front wheel drive for snow. The weight of the engine over the driving wheels gives better traction and pulling from the front rather than pushing from the back minimizes the tendency to "fishtail".

Hyundai has been offering some great new car deals. My DD has a three year old Sonata we bought new and she loves it. The Elantra is a great car if you are relatively petite. With the new car financing deals available now, the monthly cost for new can be lower than used. A big down payment can, sometimes, offset credit woes.

With your annual milage, leaseing is probably not an option.

Check out;

www.carsdirect.com

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/index.jsp

http://www.enterprisecarsales.com/carsales/deeplinkmap.do?bid=005&cur=Google_brand

I do not know what the tax laws are in your state. In Georgia, private party sales are not subject to sales tax. This saves 6% or better on the transaction. But if you buy from a private party and not from a dealer, you have NO recourse in case of problems. In many states, you don't have a lot of recourse if you buy from a dealer.

I have bought several cars from "private parties" which worked out well for family members. I am an engineer. I know how cars work. I can listen to the engine and transmission, check the fluids, examine the tailpipe(s), drive the car, etc and make a reasoned decision about how good the car is.

If you are not technically inclined, do not try to do this without help.

Write down your options and costs! Its a big important decision and women are frequently served poorly by "the system".

A dealer/salesman is entitled to a reasonable margin on the sale. But you do not want to be THEIR best margin deal all week/month/ (gasp!) year. Talk to friends and aquaintances about dealers. Contact the Better Business Bureau.

Off rental cars can be a good deal, Jeff Foxworthy to the contrary. They get regular maintenance and are driven,mostly, by sedate business people. I don't think the prices offered by Enterprise and some others are as good relative to other dealers as they were in previous decades. That may just be my old codger circuit kicking into play. "Things aren't as good as they used to be and they never were!"

Good Luck!

Caveat Emptor

-- Edited by BigG on Wednesday 23rd of February 2011 02:02:42 PM

-- Edited by BigG on Wednesday 23rd of February 2011 02:04:24 PM

-- Edited by BigG on Wednesday 23rd of February 2011 02:08:43 PM

-- Edited by BigG on Wednesday 23rd of February 2011 02:15:49 PM

-- Edited by BigG on Wednesday 23rd of February 2011 02:29:02 PM

-- Edited by BigG on Wednesday 23rd of February 2011 02:32:36 PM

romanigypsyeyes · Guru

Ok, so it's officially totaled. Insurance is giving us at least $5k, but my dad is appealing it to get a little more since we just got a bunch of new stuff for it.

Anyway, I am using that as a down payment on a new (used) car and my parents said they could give me $100/month until I graduate to go towards it (so that would be another 2 years, and then I could easily take over from there). What is the price range I should be looking at if this is the case? Around $8k? I want a decent car, good on gas (since I've put nearly 50k miles on my car in about 2.5 years), but decent in snow. Any ideas? lol

romanigypsyeyes · Guru

^ Thanks.

@BigG- Yeah, that phrase is pretty much dead on (camel's back). I honestly have no idea what type of insurance I have. It was an 04 Vue. I can't afford any kind of rental or anything right now and I haven't the faintest clue of what insurance is going to cover. We'll find out tomorrow.

I just can't afford this on top of everything else. Ugh.

hayden · Senior Member

romani, I am so sorry. I really hope you find a way through this.

Please keep us updated. We're pulling for you.

BigG · Guru

The news about your friend and your Mom's friend was way worse than the car.

But the phrase "the straw that broke the camels back" comes to mind.

"Totaled" from a repair person's or insurance company's perspective means the cost of repair is more than the book value of the car. Replacement in kind is cheaper than repair.

Not to pry but to offer some suggestions and thoughts;

My family generally does not carry "collision" insurance on older vehicles. If you do have collision insurance, does your insurance pay for "loss of use"? Can you get a rental on their dime for a few days?This can be tough for a young person as car rental companies like 25 and above.

Check Rent a Wreck or equivalent if you have to "foot the bill" yourself.

Is a partial repair to make the car driveable, even if visually unappealing, possible? This can be a serious safety issue so beware!

Time to call in favors from friends and relatives. Time to incur moral obligations for future favors to be done for folks who help you out now. No man or woman is an island, yadda yadda yadda....

Good luck enduring and surviving your current difficulties.

romanigypsyeyes · Guru

Well, I'm definitely done with winter. I totaled my car today on the freeway on the way back to school. I managed to slide sideways into a ditch and my car is just completly ****ed. My parents are pissed- but for once I didn't do anything wrong. I was only going about 40 and I wasn't distracted. I have never gotten into an accident before, and never even gotten a ticket.

The sheriff said he had no idea how I managed to walk away without a scratch. My car fell perfectly too. If it had shifted a little either way, I would have fallen into a giant hole or the frozen creek. Furthermore, I would have smashed the front end and I would have been in major trouble rather than just hitting from the side.

It also took about 35 minutes for anyone to bother to stop and see if I was ok. It was a little, older, immigrant Muslim woman that finally did stop to make sure I was alive. Later on, the sheriff and then a doctor came by too. The doctor couldn't believe that I was ok either.

AAA came and towed my car, but they said it's totaled. Who knows if it is or not, but either way I can't get to work. My tuition is due on the 1st and I was already going to max out my loans and credit cards to pay for that. No other option is really available.

I am grateful that I am unhurt. Truly I am. I texted my ex and he told me that Grace was watching out for me (my grandmother who died when I was 3). It's what we've always said when I escape things that should have really hurt me. It made me feel better, but I'm really about to have a breakdown. And I am not one that lets stress get to me easily.

I seriously just can't seem to win. This all comes on the heels of a week where we found out that my mom's best friend's cancer is back and untreatable, a woman I've known my whole life died of a freak infection, and my best friend since diapers has liver failure- he is only 19 (they don't know what is causing it yet). He won't get on a transplant list either because he's battled dugs since he was about 13.

Again, I know it could be much, much worse. But that really isn't comforting. UGH!

/rant