Hey Gurus.

I hope everyone is doing well. Been away again. I was real sick for three weeks, better for two, then sick again for a couple more weeks. Felt like a Flu and a stomach virus. It knocked me dead on my ass, I can tell you that.


If you're bored, read on, and I'll catch you up on my life. If not, just scroll down to a couple pix, and you'll get the basic idea of how things are going for me...

Alright... Ya'll know I was laid off in December from the company I'd worked for the last twelve years. I was a little worried, but not freaking out. I have managed to do a few video productions since leaving. Thanks goodness for my severance though.

The severance runs out the middle of next month, so hopefully things will pick up, as they have slowly been doing.

My business was kind-of put on hold during the month of February, because our daycare provider had a new baby (as opposed to an old one) at the end of January. So I was doing daycare for my kids at home for a month. Not horrible, but lots of interruptions for a guy trying to get his business off the ground.

We got back on track on in March, and things picked up for me a little.

My wife decided to step-up and ask to re-join management at Wal-Mart, to bring in some extra cash. She was accepted into the training program, and there is an assistant manager position waiting for her once she completes that training. The pay increase will not replace my old income, by any means, but we should be able to keep the house, even if I get no work at all.

The bummer is that the training store is two hours away, and the training is for two months. So my wife is living in Denver during the week, and the three kids and I only see her on weekends. And with cooking, cleaning, getting kids to Taekwondo lessons and such, I have been pretty busy.

So my business stuff is taking a little bit of a hit once again. But this is the slow time of the year for production anyway, so if it was gonna happen, now is the time.

OK, so, sickness, business woes, single parenting... Ah! I also wrecked the Vette. Well, fender bender is a better term. The sound of SMC cracking is just sickening...

(note: I've tried to get this image to rotate three different ways. Photobucket will not display it in portrait mode.)



I was backing out of the garage, and I kinda forgot my wife's car was behind me, to the left. I was watching directly behind me, and also making sure not to hit my POS Acura on my right.

I was not even going 3mph, and I just barely scraped the rear panel on a plastic piece of trim on her car. I think I can fix her car myself...



But I simply cannot believe the extent of the damage on the Vette. Spiderwebs in the paint extend nearly a foot from the crack. And there is even spider webbing in the paint on the opposite side of the rear of the car!

This is the first time I was at fault in contacting another vehicle, so my confidence is for shit right now. I am fearful of backing up at the moment. It will pass, but I had about a perfect record for 39 years. SHIT.

Anyway, the insurance guy came and looked at it today. I am taking it to a shop on Wednesday for an estimate. And here's MORE good news. It looks like I may have to sell the Vette once it is fixed.

My mom bought a brand new 2007 Saab 9.3 convertible. Anniversary edition in Ice Blue a couple years ago. She put 3,000 miles on it, and then was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Her doctor told her she is not supposed to drive anymore.

She only owes about 10k on the car, and needs to be rid of it. She doesn't want to deal with trying to sell it, so I am probably going to see if I can get close to 10k for my Vette, and pay off her car, then take the Saab as my DD.

It is a very nice car. Far nicer than I deserve to drive, or could ever hope to afford. About $40k new, and it will be a great car to drive, but not anything I EVER would have purchased for myself.

Front wheel drive, auto tranny. And I'm not really a convertible guy. But I am a car guy, so if it all works out, it will be an interesting experience. Although I may sell it straight away, and take the profit to buy something more "me". I dunno. I've seen them listed for $25,000 with much higher mileage.

My wife is very keen on the whole transaction. I was kinda hoping she would try to get a loan for the 10k, and give our daughter her recently blemished 07 Suzuki, and take the Saab for herself, but she is not interested. The Saab is probably not masculine enough for her...


Even with the top down, I think I can get all my production gear into it. And it will make a nice impression with my clients, to drive up in a car like that. Not that I really care much about that. I mean, I've been driving a gold chain, hairy chest Corvette, and a "Kiss me, I'm gay" Isuzu Amigo around for the past two years....

I just wish the Saab was a little more butch. It does kind of remind me of the newer Pontiac GTO in the too-small wheel arches department. Maybe that will get me over the hump...

I believe it to be identical to the car in the video on this site. Ice blue with a very light grey (I am trying not to say white) interior.

Saab

So, there it is. I suppose I am excited and sad at the same time. If everything works out, I eventually plan to finally get an older C4 in my favorite Silver/Grey tutone, if I can get my business off the ground. I don't want to be without a Vette for long. Although I am really disappointed with the SMC aspect of the body for durability right now.

I'll hopefully get back on here again soon, but on top of my wife being away, my mother is visiting right now, and the kids are on spring break.

So I am simply hoping to survive the next several days.

Take care, my friends!

Yowzahh - you've had a boatload going on! Sorry to hear about your mom and the Vette - hope everything works out, man!

You said a page full. Good luck in your endevours.

Wow. Well, it's not all bad. Sounds like you'll be ok no matter what. That's what counts.

Good luck.

Sure am sorry to hear about your Mom. I can relate to the backup up fiasco, trust me, it'll pass! Years ago, I hit my wifes car. She had a Maxima at the time, and I had an old jacked-up jeep. It didn't hurt the jeep, but it did considerable damage to the Max...
To make it worse, the neighbors across the street were all out on their front porch, and witnessed the whole thing. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves...

Sure hope things get better for ya, and soon. :angel7:

I was pretty fortunate that nobody was around to witness my brain fart...


Thanks for the thoughts, guys.

Yup, I'll be alright no matter what. And that IS what counts!

Sorry to hear about your mom

Just trying to keep mine from driving at night is a real chore.

Diabetes is getting to her legs.

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In the current market?

Well, it is a "rare" Ruby 6 speed. So it should be no problem, right?

Yea, I would agree you have been busy! Taking care of small children is a very hard job. Sorry about your Mom, hope she does well.
Cars can be fixed so don't let that get to ya.

Joel

Hey, Chris, all that is going on IS hectic and crazy, but at least it's not terminal or really bad.

It will settle down!!

Glad you're back, Chris. Sounds like things have been hectic around there. The two months will go by quickly, you'll see, and then things will look better from there.

Sorry to hear about your mom. That's a tough thing to deal with. I hope it goes well for her.

As far as the cars...that sucks. I'd be upset if I did that to the vette, too. What a bummer. But the new saab looks pretty darn nice if you go that route. Just think, put a unicorn horn on the front and you'll feel right at home!

Call me if you need anything.

Matthew

Thanks all.

I'm trying to find the 600hp upgrade kit for the 2.0 turbo in the Saab. No luck so far... I think I can source the unicorn horn pretty easily. Can't swing a dead cat without hitting a live unicorn around here.



Who knows, it may not happen anyway. I mean, if the Vette won't sell there isn't much I can do.

Don't buy the Saab. The long term care and maintenance will kill you.

Help your mom sell it... don't take on that money pit. You think the Vette is expensive? Try working on a near orphan Swedish car...

She's in North Dakota, has a short temper and no friends. I'm in Colorado, have a short temper and no friends.

I've spent some time trying to think of a good way to sell the car for her, but I don't trust a third party, and if anyone is gonna screw my mom out of that car, it might as well be me. At least if I flip it I can give her some of the profit.

My mom is in no condition to deal with folks trying to buy a car from her. I'd feel better getting the car here, under my name and trying to sell it as opposed to paying to have it shipped here, and explain to a potential buyer that the title is in another state.

But I'm open to ideas, if there are smart ones to consider.

And I may try to sell the Vette either way. My wife wants me to decrease my stable of vehicles, and I really should have a somewhat practical business vehicle with less than 150,000 miles on it that was made in the current decade.

My choices for hauling kids or video gear are an '88 Acura or an '89 Isuzu Amigo. Neither are worth much in trade or otherwise. The Acura is for sale. She can have my Amigo when she pries it from my cold, dead fingers. Not sure why I love that little truck so much. Kinda like an old Toyota FJ in my eyes. Always loved them, and the one I have is really nice. Just the way I would have ordered it new from the factory in '89.

I'm still trying to weigh my options. My mom is really down on me for a couple mistakes I made (in her eyes) and helping her out of this situation might help things a bit.


The whole thing kinda stinks. I wish I was still employed with a company vehicle. That made the Vette easy to keep. And I wish my mom was healthy enough to just drive and enjoy the car she paid so much for.

I dunno exactly what to do. I've probably got a bit of time to think about it though.

I do agree that the Saab will not be the most reliable or inexensive vehicle I could choose. But for ten grand, if I dig the car, and it is paid for, maybe I can afford to maintain it.

Like I said, exciting and sad all at the same time.

Good luck Chris.

If you ship the Saab of run up there and bring it back, I would think it would be easier to sell where you're at rather than ND. I'd talk to the guys that are carrying the loan about the title.

If you put it in you're name, won't you have to pay state tax on it when you bring it in to Co?
I think a potential buyer would understand that's it's your moms, compared to "it's a friend of mines".

Yeah, if the car gets put in my name, then I have to pay for registration. Probably about $400 in Colorado. Plus sales tax on the $10,000 I assume. But I'm at 3.9%, so that could be worse.

I don't think I can drive it unless I put it under my insurance. I mean, my mom must have SOME kind of insurance on it because the bank owns it, but it may be limited due to her not driving it. I have some phone calls to make, I suppose.

If I were looking at a car, and was prepared to buy, then the seller gave me a line about it being his mom's car, and she lives in another state, I might walk on the sale. Dunno... It would have the ND plates and registration.

I guess I need to see about what options I have to get it to Colorado. I promised my mom that I would go up to her place sometime, just to do stuff like change lightbulbs, and move heavy stuff if she needed anything like that done. She's alone most of the time. Doesn't have anyone younger around to help with crap like that. So flying up there to grab the car is not an issue. Insurance might be. So I guess that is the first step.

I'll call her company and see what's what.

I agree, the saab is the last thing you need. Broke and driving a 40k car doesn't make sense. The vette isn't that great either, but at least its a cheap thrill. Sell the saab at whatever price you can get for it, springtime is here. I made the mistake of trying to sell my truck at just slightly less than everyone else, and it took 18 months to sell while depreciating. I could have firesaled it at that price to begin with and sold it in a week. Was about $6k less than anything listed when I initially tried to sell.

So, even if the four year warranty is transferrable, I should still avoid the car?I could conceivably be covered until 2011.

I have the latest Consumer Reports auto issue here. The car actually has mostly highest and next to highest ratings in the 07 model. Go figure...

Prior to that, the ratings are rather scary. Like almost all black. The '03 looks like it must have been one of the worst cars ever made.

The 07 still scores low for power Equipment, body hardware and audio. I know those power tops can be crazy expensive to fix. I almost wish it was a wagon. Those look kinda cool.

I know y'all are giving me good advice. The question remains if I am smart enough to use it.

If I have to have a more practical car, I'd rather drive the Saab than anything I could buy for what I can sell the Vette for. And that could be the trap I end up falling into.

Hopefully I don't end up screwed. Time will tell. I've been saved by a big video job coming in just when I needed it before. It could happen again. But I never count on stuff like that.

Thanks for all your insight, guys!

Ok... you have the Amigo... why not keep driving it? Selling the Vette right now is a bad idea. It won't sell worth shit.

Get rid of the old Acura... and do not deal with that Saab... the newer car will cost you more in insurance and that's not worth dealing with... and it will depreciate like a rock.

I feel for you regarding the cranky mom issues... I really can... I have my own to deal with... and it gets really old dealing with someone who thinks your wrong all the time.

Taking on that car is not the right thing to do right now. I would consider getting a POA from her and selling it in CO. The title isn't in ND; it's in a bank somewhere. Whoever is holding the note, that is.

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I have to say I agree 110 percent....

:me2:

Although the saab looks nice, what do you need it for? Sell it and even if your mom takes a small loss upfront, it's better than depreciating and trying to sell it at the end of the summer being a convertible.

I wouldn't have a problem buying a car that a son was selling for his mom as long as all the paperwork was legit.

Matthew

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Me Three....Very Sound avice....
I'd keep the Amigo and the Vette, sell the Acura, and stay away from the Saab (and the payments that come along with it). It's about to be convertible season, so it should sell fairly easily....
Definitely don't need the headache of additional car payments....
Things will turn around for ya, and you'll be A-Ok..
Hang in there Bro!

Talked with my mom a bit about this last night. I don't think she will hate me too much more than she does now, if I don't buy the Saab. So that is good news.

The problem with the Amigo is that ithas 300,000 miles on the chassis. But only about 10,000 on the motor. I don't have a great deal of fear that it will leave me stranded anywhere, but there are a lot of very old parts floating around. I can fix what my knowledge allows, and have others take care of the rest. It's not a very complex vehicle.

I really do not want to sell the Vette. I'm just now going to be able to put some real miles on it. After a year and a half, the car is just beginning to feel like an extension of myself as I drive it.

And as things wear out, I can replace them with better-than-stock compnents, when it makes sense to do so. So far, my Ruby has been as reliable as any Honda or Toyota I've owned. I know not everyone is that fortunate. I believe I got a good one, and I hate the thought of giving it away for a silly price.

The final decision is yet to be made, but at least you guys have talked me down off the ledge.

Thanks.