taking responsibilty to get me where I want to be

efes_shareholder

Well there isn't much activity around me at the moment , sometimes I am sure that must be a good thing as there is nothing wrong with a quiet life , but doesn't it get a little mundane and boring ?
Not that I am in any rush to bring any drama in to my life but some excitement would be nice

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In my life though it would seem there is a fine line between the two.

Last night I was in bed and asleep by 9.30 ...........unheard off but I was awake at 2.30 so I couldn't kid the body clock to stay resting any longer

I have made a 74p payment to Very , again to round the account down - they appear to have bought the statement date slightly forward , not sure if this is because August is technically a 5 week month but hey ho , it would have worked out two payments to them from one months pay , another which I hadn't anticipated but its out of my hands

efes_shareholder

Today I awake humming the old travis song " why does it always rain on me ? "
I arranged to meet a friend last night for nme to introduce them to the recliner seat cinemas on a meerkat tuesday - Enroute , the steering of my car suddenly comes over exceptionally heavy , almost impossible to steer.
I pulled over in to a now closed large store car park and did a few manouvres just to prove to myself that I wasn't going crazy , For once I wasn't and then I called my friend to say I had car issues and that we may need to abandon the plans
He drove to meet me , got in the car which he has driven before and was surprised how heavy it was , we stood and deliberated on the best course of action and decided that I should take the car to my garage ( I use the same one that mantains our fleet at work) and he would cautiously follow behind me at a distance and activate his hazard lights if it looked as though there was a problem with me manouvering the car
I get back in , start the engine and lo and behold the car is steering as normal , as if it never had the problem

It has taken me to work this morning with no problems , as you do , I have consulted the internet and also owners forums on social media and all diagnostics indicate that my power steering pump is starting to fail.
It is a common fault on my car and the makers are aware of it but have never recalled on it , some people have had it fixed for the cost of part only it would seem
So this morning I call the maker of the car , they advise me that I have to take the car to one of their centres for diagnostics and then if they feel it is a fault with their build etc they will look at goodwill
but I have to firstly pay their diagnostics - Considering my car is 13 years old and has 150k on the clock , I think its highly likely they will claim wear and tear
I did tell the advisor that I didn't want to pay for the repair and told them that in the USA the warranty of power steering pumps on my car had been extended to 13 years or 150k and that they knew of the fault but it seems I won't get anywhere until I get the car to one of their centres

Hands tied ! Its a safety issue to me on a car which I love and has served me well but is possibly becoming a tired old lady - I love my car , in my personal circumstances its the only thing that really gives me pleasure , its surprising how much you are lifted when you drive something you enjoy driving but I am not comfortable that this could happen at any time

My local garage only remarked on saturday when doing the bulbs what a good car it had been for me and then we both looked at each other and said " sshhhh don't tempt fate"

I think I could be in for a battle to try and get it fixed by the car company via goodwill and I don't really have "time" to fight them if it is going to happen again etc

I am thinking let my man take a look and maybe change the power steering fluid and hope that the cheapest fix it could be solves the problem

I believe a repair job will cost me about 400 - 700 and as much as I love her I can't justify that on a car of her age and mileage - As much as it was in my plans to replace her when I had got rid of the c/card I really don't want to do this NOW , its not in the script

ARRRGGGHHH , is it Friday yet , I need a glass of chardonnay

What would you guys do ?

efes_shareholder

So I spoke to my garage and he said it sounds like the pump is on its way out but we need to look at the steering fluid ( Please keep your fingers and toes crossed for me )


I am going to try and pop the car there after work - I hope it doesn't play up
I don't have much confidence in her right now and if it stops its like turning a barge.

Time to consider my options should the diagnosis not be good - I really don't want to have to deal with this right now !!
I could just buy a run around and hope it serves me well until I can clear other outgoings and can upgrade or I can get something that makes me happy ( even if the payments won't ! )

ftbwannabe

Oh no, sorry to hear that about your car! Glad it didn't play up in traffic and put you in danger, good that your friend was on hand.
Have no advice because I don't drive, but I hope it all gets sorted easily. If you do end up having to spend on it, or on a replacement, at least you are in a better position Then you would have been if you hadn't been careful with your money recently.

efes_shareholder

True - yes best to look for a positive in every situation

A repair if its what we suspect is going to set me back around £500 - there are a few minor things that I have decided aren't worth spending out to put right ( ie the heated rear windscreen) , the MOT back in feb cost me £350

I guess a car gets to an age/mileage where things start to wear out but I have am starting to think I maybe throwing good money after bad

Its made me very wary about driving it any great distance to be honest - Right now I feel like I am driving a time bomb

efes_shareholder

Took the car to the garage , Not good news ,the power steering fluid is full , and confirmed as thought the pump is failing and the part alone has been quoted £380.00

Labour around £80

I am thinking to just get it done

I am currently repaying the c/card on 0% at £250 - this will be clear late next year

It was my intention to replace the car when the credit card was clear thus transferring the already budgeted debt payments to car payments

If I change now , depending on what I buy , I need a reliable car and you never know what you are buying - If I even allowed myself to purchase 4-k I am looking at another £250 payment alongside my payements now and that is going to restrict my lifestyle . when I am already trying to budget ( I do have this money stashed but I know I will not be disaplined if I am paying myself back)
I feel I would be stretching myself too far and I don't want to commit myself to an additional payment.

Also it is not going to buy me a happy substitution and it will mean that I still have car running costs 3 months down the line I could still have a similar bill for something on a replacement as that is what happens with cars

It also means that I have to repay the new car purchase before I can buy something more to my liking ( I was thinking a low mileage 2 / 3 year old something that I can just keep as I love it !! )

The plan was to get something nice in the bag and paid for before I end up with a mortgage again

If I buy a get by for now it puts me 2-3 years behind what I want

I don't want any further debt so I am going to put my trust in my old faithful girl and hope she repays me by hanging in there - she has a good engine in her and I shall keep her going and focus on again getting where I want

Could really do without it but a year ago this would have been an absolute financial disaster - Today although I would rather not have the expense its manageable

NelliePie

Life will always throw up the unexpected - it's how you deal with them that counts. As your last line says, you've made significant progress and although it's not an ideal situation you can assess whats the best way forward. Try to see this as a win even though its a pain!

efes_shareholder

thanks Nellie - A year ago I would have been devastated and taken to my bed and cried with a bottle of wine !!

I have had some good news with this , I have a friend who works for a car parts shop and they have been generous enough to pass their staff discount on to me , trimming £40 off of the bill . The said part also has a credit of £160 on return of the faulty unit in its place as long as certain parts of the unit are in tact

This brings the unit cost down to £180

Just shows if you don't ask the answer is always NO

A great win in an unfortunate situation - The work is carried out tomorrow

ftbwannabe

Definitely sounds like repairing Old Faithful is the best option for you, & that's so good aboout the reduced cost!

efes_shareholder

I misunderstood the credit for return of the old one ( seems this is standard in the car parts industry) and the 348 I was quoted included this credit so part wasn't 188 as I deducted it when it was already deducted - That said , my garage was given a cost of another £40 so I still saved some money by utilising my friends discount and its still a win!

Car dropped off and courtesy car collected( its an independant garage so no swanky demonstrators loaned out ) its like driving a roller skate - reinstated that I love my car and cant wait to pick it up regardless of cost - this thing is light and flimsy on the steering , the seating position is too high , it almost feels like i am driving a van - the gearbox is clunky and finally the visability is horrendous !!!
Still its nice to be loaned a car , I am grateful that it gets me too and from the office and that I don't have to pay for a tax ( £27.00 each way)

Took my mum to the shop it in so she could buy her fags and much easier for her to get in and out - she still hasn't quite digressed that I WILL NOT BUY CIGGERETTES REGARDLESS OF WHO THEY ARE FOR and asked me again yesterday to bring some in from work , I reminded her that I wasn't buying them but she asked me to make an EXCEPTION - AGAIN NO as I have given clear warning that I won't do it and if i do you will expect me to make an exception every time you can't make it round to the shop
My compromise was to offer to take her to the shop so that she could go in and buy her own - At least this way I also know she has at least had some fresh air and had to make some effort !!!!!!

This morning I was in the aisles of tesco by 6.15am , off to celebrate a friends b'day this weekend so got mum some stocks in to keep her going in my absence and also two big magnum bottles of prosecco for the birthday girls ( its a double celebration)
I always feel a bit paranoid walking around supermarkets so early laiden with alcohol
There was a method though as if i combined the gifts and mums bits in to one shop then the till would spit me another 10p off a litre voucher


I have decided to put the car cost on my empty credit card - the next payment date is the 6th so it gives me 2 paydays to finance the repair from wages rather then savings