I took the car in to get an oil change, a new air filter, and the tires rotated and balanced. You know the usual stuff. THey told me it was probably gonna be a two hour wait, no problem, I can study no big thing. Well went next door to the drug store after they got it on the rack and when I came back, the car was down and I thought "Wow, that was the quickest two hours in my life". Cool. Well I walk in and the guy says "There's some real problems going on with your tires and we can't fix it with a rotation, so your dad is on his way up here". Oh crap. This is gonna be a fun day for me. So the guy takes me into the garage and tells me that two of the tires are riding unevenly and another one is really worn down. THere was nothing wrong I did, its just something that happens with the standard equipment put on the car. Okay so how many tires to I need? "Well you're gonna need at least three because the one in the back is fine". Cool. Well then parents walk up. Both of them.
Mom immediately startschewing the guy out telling him that the car doesn't need new tires and he's just trying to take advantage of a girl that doesn't know (and I quote) "jackshit about cars". THe guy tries to explain to her what was going on with the tires and this and that and this and that. Well then mom asks about the mileage and then she blows up. okay, I have 35000miles on my car because I drive over 60 miles each way to school and work and home. Generally it is a straight line between the three but it still eats up alot of mileage. THat's the price you pay to go to the school you want and get the degree you want. They knew about this when I started going to school. So mom's not talking to me. Dad gets a quote on tires and says we have to shop around. He then looks at me and says "Pay for the oil change and get your ass home. Now." Okay I'm 28 and he's talking to me like this. Not cool. Well the guy felt bad for getting my ass chewed out that he gave me a discount on the oil change and the air filter and wished me luck when I left. Yeah thatnks alot buddy.
I get home, mom takes off, I walk in the door and dad starts screaming. I try to explain to him its because of school and work that the mileage is so high and he starts screaming "bleep bleep bleepity bleep bleep. how can you blame it on school. you've only been going to st. pete for 6 months. you're just bleep bleep bleep around with your friends and now your car ain't worth shit. Go you can be so stupid sometimes." Okay so let's rewind for a second. If I started st. pete in may of 2003 and we are now in june of 2004...how is that 6 months. I'm just curious really. So then I get on the phone and the computer looking for quotes on tires and he comes busting in "where are your GD keys. I want to see how the damn thing drives". I politely tell him where the keys are (in my sweetest most angelistic voice since daddy's can do no wrong...hopefully you're not buying any part of that) and he leaves. He comes back 20 minutes later (after I did a bunch of laundry and cleaned the kitchen and sat on hold with one place the entire time he was gone) and he looked at me and said that there was nothing wrong with my tires but I might want to think about getting some new ones pretty soon. Mom comes in after him and starts screaming at him telling him that the car isn't worth anything and I'm irresponsible and I'm upside down in payments and la dee da dee da.
This is about the time I got on KElley blue book and got the worth of my car. $9623 was the price they gave me. I only owe $7000. Once agian I'm kinda stupid in math but doesn't that mean I owe less than it is worth therefore I'm NOT upside down. I'm just wondering since I am a girl who doesn't know jackshit about cars and all I do is bleepity bleep bleep with my friends.
Well the whole point to this thing is that if its not one thing its something else and I'm tired of it. I'm tired of them always thinking that they are right and all I do is screw up. This is not how I wanted Father's day to go. ALthough now we're okay because they got to yell and scream at my brother in law since he's doing stupid crap too. But jesus people. Are oyu not happy unless you're yelling at people? Dammit I made ya'll strawberry shortcake. Don't yell at me!
damn girl......sounds like you had a wild day....im sure your 'rents will calm down once they realise that there are more important things in life than how much you have depreciated the car....and besides....we still love ya!!
Sorry your day went that way. I can't understand screaming and yelling. Doesn't accomplish anything.
Besides, if I yelled at my daughter she'd probably just yell back and we'd both be wasting time.
Are those the original tires? 35K is pretty good for those.
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A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams...John Barrymore
I can't believe your PARENTS acted like that. I'd frankly expect more from teenagers. They are wrong, can't admit they are wrong, getting foolishly upset over nothing, and acting like childish jerks. Honestly, I'd cut them out of my life till they can behave themselves. Unless you are financially dependent on them for anything like your car or schooling, then they have no business even commenting on these things in the first place. Cut 'em off!
Wow Bama, hun - you're a saint for keeping your cool!
I would have gone up one side and down the other on them even if I had been 20 years old (I'm 33). If my father or mother had of tried that crap on me @ 28 I would hvae owned their asses in that situation.
Thankfully, my father knows I know a bit about cars and my mother knows nothing about them.
I'm sure you're in a unique situation, but my personal thought on it would be to sit with my parents and have a heart to heart about it. They obviously don't feel you're repsonsibe. With you being 28 and them, I'm sure are in their 50's at least - I'd say they need some serious reality in the aspect that you are not a child anymore.
I'll sit next to Kona on this one.
I'm so sorry you had to deal with something like this. I really think you must sit and talk with them ALONE and set some things straight with them.
____________________ Get in, Sit down, Shut up and HANG ON!
Boy, oh boy I can really empathize with you. You just described every holiday I ever spent with my dad. My dad was still trying to treat me like that, when I was in my 40's. I don't know your situation, but what I did is leave asap.
Have you ever tried any meditation or visualization? Quiet place, deep breathing, relax, close your eyes, give yourself affirmations...maybe something like this:
I'm an intelligent, competent, beautiful woman. I'm at peace with the world around me. Everything good is now coming to me easily and effortlessly. I make careful decisions for the good of all concerned.
____________________ If you can't read this, you're illiterate.
Now I know I am a stranger and your parents don't know me but as for being turned over on payments, it is normal for a car unless you put down like 5K when you buy it. My 2000 Sony Ed Sedan was bought Jan 2003 and I still owe about $7200+/- and it has 78K on it. Now this car is worth about 2G less than I owe on it. As for tires. Well in Jan 03 it was bought with new tires on it and I had to replace them in Oct/Nov (can't remember). Now it is July and I need to get tires again. Ok I bough the car with 48K and now has 78K. 30K and two sets of tires gone. Oh and on my other car I owe about what its worth, i think.
Also if you have a job and pay rent at your own place than why are they treating you like your driving there car? Ya my parents yelled at me for getting into a few accidents but that was when I was in HS and driving their cars. In college I had their cars on occasion but fixed any problems before they found out, but thats another story for another time.
You have an 02? 03?... either way there are ppl racking up mileage fairly quickly today. My mom bought the new Audi in November and has over 20K on it now
And also. How did the oil guy know your parents number. Didn't he ask you for your number when you dropped off the car. And didn't you tell him you would be waiting for the car?
And as for fathers day. The next one I celebrate will be if I have kids. I checked on my mom to make sure she was ok.
Sorry to hear this Bamaramarific. Since everyone else has already said good stuff to deal with the Parent stuff, I'll talk about the car stuff...
Did the place tell you why an alignment wouldn't fix the problem? Were you in spec? Did they tell you why the tires were wearing as they were in such a bad manner? What year car do you have? There are known problems with the rear suspension on the Focus, things that could cause premature wear, not to mention that there is a TSB out there for certain Firestone tires as well, what size tires do you have? 15" or 16"? Where you are in FL, you don't need to have anything that deals with snow, so you should be able to get some tires for fairly cheap. As for mileage on a car, I understand that, I bought mine just a bit more than a year ago with 11K on it, I just rolled 41K. Thank god I didn't get a lease.
fx3 wrote: You have an 02? 03?... either way there are ppl racking up mileage fairly quickly today. My mom bought the new Audi in November and has over 20K on it now
And also. How did the oil guy know your parents number. Didn't he ask you for your number when you dropped off the car. And didn't you tell him you would be waiting for the car?
#1 - Amen to racking up the miles! Mind you, I've had my car for 3 years, and it's been off the road for 2 winters, so basically 8 or 9 months out of the 3 years I've owner her and I'm at over 37k miles. It's going to really rack up now that I'm out of my 3/36.
#2 - Ya! wtf?!!! - why on earth would someone call your parents????!!! Do they think you're a 12 year old??
____________________ Get in, Sit down, Shut up and HANG ON!
that totally sucks. How very rude and disrespectuflly of your parents. Is this your car or there's? I mean geez...cars are for driving. What difference does it make how many miles you put on it. Your a grown woman...you should never be talked down to like that by anyone. Why did the guy call your parents??
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Yeah, I punched a baby once, in anger. But in my defense the baby was being kind of a dick.
not that its any of their bussiness but show your parents the TSB about replacing the rear control arms because the camber is off and causing uneven premature tire wear. set their rage on ford instead.
I feel ya about the miles. I drive 46 miles one way to my job. so almost 100 miles a day. I have 104000 miles on the Focus as of today. And
Ive been upside down on it forever. Upside down only matters if you are planning on trading in or selling. If you are like me and gonna drive it into the ground, then it makes no difference. Sorry to hear about what happened. why the fuck did the oil guy call your parents? its your car, he should be talking to you.
Thanks guys. Sorry the rant was so long and detailed. I have a bad habit of my writing going on and on and on and on and...well you get the point.
My parents- quick explaination on them. They have this need to have control of everything and everyone. Since I'm not married and have no children, they feel they have more ocntrol over me than any of the kids. They try with my sister and she just ignores them. So that just leaves me. Dad feels that I a inferior to him therefore he can talk to me anyway he wants. Heart to heart talk? Oh yeah right. That ain't gonna happen. Dad is so stubborn that he doesn't feel he needs to talk to me any other way than the way he does. So I have had to learn to work with him. I've tried heart to hear with mom and she says she tries but then she reacts to everything and the talk goes out the window. I give up.
The tires, I understand where the guy was coming from and the tires do need to be replaced. The parental units aren't upset about the tires. THey are upset about the mileage. I'm just confusd about the math. How do they get 6 months out of 13 months. I just don't get it.
Wow Bama, hun - you're a saint for keeping your cool!
set their rage on ford instead.