A funny story about a car

Most guys love cars. I know that this is not a news flash. Men love cars the same way birds love the sky, little children love puddles and my cats love to rub against my freshly washed black pants. It's a given. And, my hubby is no exception.


During our marriage, he had mentioned many times that he would like to have a Ford Mustang (along with a Ford Coupe, a boat, a garage . . .). So, you can imagine my surprise when he mentioned one day that he wanted one of the new Chevy Camaros that were coming out this year. Did I hear him right? A camaro? One thing about him, when he gets his mind set on something, it becomes an obsession. He put the picture of the car on our desktop on our computer, the wallpaper on his phone, and he even joined a computer forum with other men and women who were as excited about the car as he was. We even placed an order for one for him. It was so nice to see him so happy about something.


In the meantime, hubby found a really cool looking Mustang at Lance Cunningham Ford. On Monday the 5th, I got an email alert that Ford's sales fell 32% in December. As a joke, I emailed hubby and said, "Now might be a good time to go look at that Mustang." Which was even funnier because he had received an email from a Ford Salesperson asking him if he was still interested in buying a car. So, he went by Lance Cunningham on the way home on Monday. He got a good deal on the Mustang (a much better deal than we were getting on the Camaro). So, he bought it. We were able to get out of the Camaro order (but we lost our deposit). But, hubby had his Mustang and all was right with the world...at least for the next 3 1/2 days.


Fast forward to Friday - hubby loses his job, our income is cut in half. I thought, "Well, maybe we can take the car back". So, I called and left a message for the Finance Department at LCF. I mean, we had owned the car for 3 1/2 days. Believe me, if we had had ANY incliniation that this shut down was going to occur, there is no way we would have bought this car! What MORON would have bought a car if they knew they were losing their job? They still had our trade in, the loan was still in the very early phases of being processed. My thinking was we could return the car, get our trade (which was still in good shape), and be ok. However, my thinking and the thinking of Lance Cunningham Ford were, how you say, drastically different.


I was told that "if we let cars come back, we'll lose OUR jobs!". The Finance person I spoke with was unable and unwilling to help. He said he had talked to the General Manager, but was told by him (I believe his name is Matt) "absolutely not". I called and left a "not so nice" message for the General Manager, asking him to call me back. Needless to say, I've not heard from him and don't really expect to.


OK, here is where the story becomes like a really bad sitcom - the car wouldn't start on Friday morning! The temperature on Friday morning was 5 degrees. My 5 year old Buick with a 5 year old battery was able to start, but the brand new Ford with a new battery wouldn't turn over. Neither would it start on Saturday morning (the 17th). So, hubby boosted off the car and I took it back to LCF. I was ready for battle! They took the car and checked it out. While I waited, I thought I would walk over to the showroom and check on a payment we are due for an overestimate of our payoff for our trade-in. When I walked in, the salesmen were so nice and courteous - that is, until they heard that I had a problem. Then they scattered faster than stray cats at the sight of the Animal Control truck. I will say that the gentleman in Finance I spoke to on Saturday was very nice and apologized for what had happened. In addition, I met a really nice man who worked there named Ray. Those two men helped soften my harsh feelings toward that dealership.

And, it turns out, all they had to do was just charge the battery. It's been working fine since Saturday.

We still don't know if we will be able to keep the car or not. We are going to try. But, we are at least having fun driving it until that day comes. Driving it helps put a smile on our faces. Plus, our son loves riding in it too.