Sometimes, you kid will do something atypical that makes you happy...

[Okla-homey]

To wit,

My Blonde Daughter was all fired-up for a new ride. She's been driving the same VW Jetta we bought her new in '03 and now that she's a college grajite and working, she figured to buy something newer and snazzier.

She shopped.

She moped about prices.

She shopped.

She moped some more.

Last night, and here's the good part, she resigned herself to the fact her car is perfectly functional, is generally free of dings and dents, and has at least another 100K miles left in it. Therefore, she's springing for a new timing belt, a set of shocks and wheel bearings (because its pretty much time for all that now) and said, "Daddy, I've decided to drive it 'til the wheels fall off."

Yay her.

[Tulsa_Fireman]

It's little moments like this that remind a fella that something you taught your kids stuck.

[olevetonahill]

Must take after Momma in the smarts department

[delhalew]

I would be mighty proud myself.

[C&CDean]

Dude, she's dumping money into a ****ing Volkswagen. That is NOT smart. Just sayin'. I mean I'm glad she's being frugal and ****, but her daddy needs to let her know he bought her a POS, and when it's time for her to dump money into wheels, she needs to steer clear of those krautmobiles.

[Chuck Bao]

Kudos to the kiddo, Homey.

With all of the talk about economic problems and unemployment, I was surprised to see so many people driving around new cars or pickup trucks when I was in the US last month.

Don't get me wrong: that isn't a bad thing if they can afford it. But, I'm left wondering how they can afford auto prices nearly the quarter of the price of a house. It just doesn't make sense to me, except that "look good" and "feel good" smell.

Your daughter has got gray matter underneath all of that blond.

[C&CDean]

With all of the talk about economic problems and unemployment, I was surprised to see so many people driving around new cars or pickup trucks when I was in the US last month.

Don't get me wrong: that isn't a bad thing if they can afford it. But, I'm left wondering how they can afford auto prices nearly the quarter of the price of a house. It just doesn't make sense to me, except that "look good" and "feel good" smell.

See, this is the rub with me. Everybody I know still works and pays their bills. I know where folks can get a ton of jobs. If you go by any casino, or better yet, amusement park like 6-Flags or Disney you'll see it's packed wall-to-wall. Go by a movie theater. The parking lots are filled to capacity - and there's nothing but ****ty movies playing. Restaurants? Bars? All the same.

So, I pretty much think the media - once again - is spouting horse****. The people without work are the lazy ****ers who are always without work. If someone wants to work, there's tons of work out there. Look at any job finding website. Economy schmonomy.

[Chuck Bao]

Ignore Dean because he is being a dick.

Those original VW bugs should rank up there with the best value for money manufactured products, ever. I do not know anything about the Jetta. For the sake of your daughter, I hope that its as durable and lasts as long.

Second on the list of value for money should be those old Datsun pickup trucks. I loved those trucks when I was a kid.

[Okla-homey]

Dude, she's dumping money into a ****ing Volkswagen. That is NOT smart. Just sayin'. I mean I'm glad she's being frugal and ****, but her daddy needs to let her know he bought her a POS, and when it's time for her to dump money into wheels, she needs to steer clear of those krautmobiles.

That so-called POS has nearly 100K on it and hasn't cost us a penny except for routine service and a new muffler last year (which I'm convinced she ruined by hitting high center somewhere).

We did have a rather wierd unintended passenger side side curtain airbag deployment after the warranty period, but VW fixed that as good will gesture.

[C&CDean]

Dude, I'm always a dick. But I'm right.

[C&CDean]

Brother Homeslice mi amigo, I listen to you on matters Air Force and law. You should listen to me on matters Army and vehicles. I'm glad her car has sorta held together for almost 100K. If she's needing all those repairs at < 100K, it's a POS. Actually, it's German, so it's a known fact it's a POS.

[yermom]

what car doesn't schedule a timing belt change before 100k?

shocks and wheel bearings don't sound like anything that out of the ordinary

my gf at the time bought a Jetta in 2000 and that thing is still going, but it's had lots of little things like power windows, locks the A/C going out. also a main seal, but that was covered under warranty a while back

driving it til the wheels fall off is still going to save some cash for a while though. especially since the upgrade from a Jetta is a steep one

[NormanPride]

Yeah from what I remember all the German cars my friends drove had electrical problems, but the engines were amazing.

[SicEmBaylor]

I love VW's. They're great cars. The only problem I had with mine (aside from crashing it) was the motor mechanism in the driver's side window went out...fixed by VW in a few hours.

[Harry Beanbag]

Window motors break on every vehicle. I've replaced four of them on my F150.

[Okla-homey]

what car doesn't schedule a timing belt change before 100k?

shocks and wheel bearings don't sound like anything that out of the ordinary

my gf at the time bought a Jetta in 2000 and that thing is still going, but it's had lots of little things like power windows, locks the A/C going out. also a main seal, but that was covered under warranty a while back

driving it til the wheels fall off is still going to save some cash for a while though. especially since the upgrade from a Jetta is a steep one

I encouraged her to do the timing belt thing, since I'm advised if it starts to slip you can roach the engine before you even realize it. And if it breaks, you're going nowhere until it's replaced. Shocks? Yeah, it feels like it. Push down on the front fender and she kinda rocks a bit. I'm going to trust my (non-dealer affiliated) mechanic on the wheeel bearings.

BTW, for eggsellent VW, Audi, Porsche repair in T-town, without taking out a second mortgage, I recommend the d00ds at "Der German." They even caught and un-farkled something a VW dealer service dept. screwed-up.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tulsa-...s/155941484437

[colleyvillesooner]

I love VW's. They're great cars. The only problem I had with mine (aside from crashing it) was the motor mechanism in the driver's side window went out...fixed by VW in a few hours.

Dean wins.

[SicEmBaylor]

Dean wins.

Dean also thinks Taco Bueno sucks, so take that as you will.

[SunnySooner]

My window motor in my Cutlass Supreme died, too. It is so not cool to have to open the door for your cheeseburger and diet Coke.

Our Mazda mommymobile was pretty indestructible, sold it with about 80k and had only replaced tires and changed the oil, etc. I think it was made by Ford at that point, though.

I love my Escalade. It's an '02, I will drive it til the wheels fall off, just got new tires, rides like a mattress on wheels. I love that truck so much sometimes when I'm pissed off, I can get in to go somewhere, blast my Bose stereo, and by the time I'm there, I'm all happy again, it's like Prozac with chrome trim.

Our most reliable car, however, was "Red Death", a POS Subaru hatchback that Mr. SS bought in Hawaii for the 45 minute commute from the North Shore to Pearl Harbor. It had been owned by 5 or 6 navy dudes by then, he bought it from one of the chiefs, it was about 10 years old and had over 200k on the odometer. He paid $500 for it, drove it everyday for almost 2 years, just did the oil changes as it had decent tires when we bought it. It was so rusted, you could see the road pass by under your feet, but it would get you from point a to point b. He sold it for $500 when we moved to one of the n00b lieutenants, that was 12 years ago, it's prolly still running!!

[tommieharris91]

I love my Escalade. It's an '02, I will drive it til the wheels fall off, just got new tires, rides like a mattress on wheels. I love that truck so much sometimes when I'm pissed off, I can get in to go somewhere, blast my Bose stereo, and by the time I'm there, I'm all happy again, it's like Prozac with chrome trim.

You're the first person I've heard say they like their Esclade. Most people I know say they have electronic problems.