Hello, friends. I have something that I just need to rant about for a minute, if you don’t mind. As some of you may recall, back in September, our Ford Mustang suddenly stopped running, leaving us without a vehicle. At the time, I was still not working, and Kyle was only working one job, and we had no funds to get it fixed, let alone enough for a new car. After going to multiple banks and lenders, and coming away without a single loan for a cheap vehicle, we were forced to ask Kyle’s mother for rides. We reached out to friends and family, to anyone who would help us out, and maybe work with us on payments for a vehicle, as Kyle was about to start working at his second job, a distribution center, and we would soon have enough to make payments on a car.
In late September, Kyle’s aunt informed us that she and her wife had been trying to sell their 2009 Dodge Journey for a while, and had been unsuccessful. Kyle had just started working at the DC, and his paychecks were phenomenal, so when they told us that they only had $5500 left to pay on the vehicle, and we could pay $275 a month for it, we decided that it was within our price range. We even decided to pay $300 a month, since that would help pay it off faster. We realized that we had lost the key for the Mustang, and had to sell it for $800 less than the price we were hoping to get for it. We later found the key, of course.
Some drama went down between Kyle’s aunt and her wife, and we almost didn’t get the vehicle, because they were fighting, and just to spite us, her wife said that we couldn’t have the vehicle. We were so upset. You can read all about that drama in this post. Well, it ended up all kind of working out in the end, and we got the vehicle. The Journey was massive compared to our Mustang. There was so much room in the back seat, and in the back. It was such an upgrade.
Of course, just like everything else in our life, days later, it started falling apart. We’ve had to take it to several garages, one of which was over an hour away, because his aunt wanted us to use her guys, to fix issues that we were unaware of when we got the vehicle, and have had to pay more in repairs than we’ve paid for the vehicle itself so far. Kyle, who is unable to contain his urges to vent on social media, mentioned car troubles in a status, which caused a shit storm of drama from his mom, grandmother, sister, and aunt, who always seem to find a reason to gang up and attack him. They began putting words in his mouth, and calling us ungrateful, etc. What was his status that caused all of this?
“I just want a vehicle that runs.”
THAT. That was it. Luckily, it blew over pretty quickly.
We were on track to finish paying off the car later this month, once Kyle gets his tax return, but then more shit happened. Of course!Ā Just a few days ago, Kyle asked his aunt to check how much exactly was left to pay on the vehicle, so we would know how much we would have left after paying it off. Her response? $5700. We somehow oweĀ $5700 on a vehicle that we were originally told was going to cost us $5500, that we’ve been making $300 payments on since September. I’m no mathematician, but WHAT?
Now, I know there’s a chorus of voices out there saying something about interest, blah blah blah. Well, we were NEVER told any of this. We were told (and have written proof), that she owed $5500, and that is how much we had to pay. Had we known that it would be over $1000 more than that, we never would have gotten it. Apparently, we also owe more because we are not paying in cash, which would be impossible for us since her bank is over an hour away from us. All of this information was held from us, until we asked about it on that day, and she made us feel like idiots for not knowing all of this. We areĀ furious. Because now, not only will we not be able to pay this piece of garbage vehicle off with our tax returns, but we will still owe more on it, and definitely won’t be able to get the washer and dryer that we were planning on getting, which we DESPERATELY need. So, yea, we’re pissed off.
After Kyle had a word with his aunt, she texted his mom to whine about us (without giving her all the facts, mind you), who then stuck her nose into it, and started bitching about how grateful we should be that we even got a vehicle. A vehicle that we can’t afford, mind you, because we were lied to about the total amount owed, and because we’ve had to put nearly a grand into it in repairs, in just a few months. And we should be grateful? Grateful that she lied to us, and took advantage of us, because she knew how desperate we were? Um, hell no.
We could have kept getting rides until Kyle had saved up a few paychecks to get a vehicle. We would have been fine. But they insisted, and we were excited, because it seemed like a nice vehicle, within our price range. Boy, were we wrong.
So, we’ve been looking into getting a new vehicle. Kyle has been trying to get a small loan, since he now has a decent credit score, but has had no luck, once again. Luckily, we found a guy who is willing to hold a 2005 Lincoln LS for us until Kyle gets his money. It really is a nice car, with only 100k miles (half the amount that the Journey has), and automatic everything. After a bit of negotiating, they agreed on a price of $3200 for it, which includes the cost of title and plates. The dealer apparently knows Kyle from his automotive class back in the high school, and has his own dealership. We had to put down a $100 deposit to hold it, which Kyle wasĀ more than happy to do. Our plan is to fully pay off that car with Kyle’s tax return, and then sell the Journey for the remaining amount that we owe, or as close as we can get to it, and be rid of that piece of crap for good. The only problem is that we don’t have the title, his aunt does, of course. So whoever we sell it to will have to wait a bit for them to send us the title, once it is paid off, if she doesn’t signĀ it over to us beforehand. There’s nothing else we can really do, right?
This has all been so frustrating. Kyle really likes the LS, but I am a bitĀ disappointed about giving up the roominess of the Journey. But, I suppose it is for the best. I am so tired of this drama, and so tired of being called ungrateful, and being judged for no reason. I just want a freaking vehicle that we can all fit into comfortably, that runs well, and that we can fit our damn stroller in. Seriously!
Ugh. I guess that’s it. I’ll update you guys if anything changes or progresses with this situation. This little beauty should hopefully be ours within a month or so, unless something else goes horribly wrong.
Thanks for reading, friends. Sorry about the rant.
Jan
That the reason why I’ve always told my wife, to stay away from my family. They are all trouble. I’m glad that it is finally working out for you.
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Oh, man, sounds all too familiar..
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Has the title been switched to your name? And you’re clearly not being ungrateful, so I wouldn’t worry about them. That is too bad they did this to you guys, especially considering you’re family.
Car troubles are also the worst, and I’ve had my fair share this past year. Very frustrating because a car feels like life sometimes. lol, okay, it’s not, but when it’s your means of transportation to a job or just out of the house for a drive- yeah. Good luck, I hope things start shaping up better soon!
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They won’t sign the title over to us until we finish paying off their loan they took out for the car. š¦ So selling it is going to be such a hassle. But you’re definitely right, car is practically life! We live in an area where there are no taxi services or buses, so without a car, you can NOT get anywhere!
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Then you’re not legally responsible for it, are you? I might just be tempted to drop it back off at their house. Not that I would, but it’d definitely be something I’d consider… I would definitely learn from this experience: do not take over someone else’s payments. They should have had the loan transferred to your name, or something. I’m not sure how all that works, but typically that stuff gets transferred to the new buyer. Be too worried the person would take the car back once I finished paying it.
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I don’t know much about the legality of it all myself, but holy crap, I never even thought of doing that, haha! We just might have to if they won’t sign the title over to us so we can sell it! I just hate how much we have paid into it, when we could have had a much cheaper car this whole time.
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Yeah, if there is no record of you taking over the loan, they can just as easily take it back once you pay it off, and you’d end up in court either fighting for the car, or the money you spent paying off the loan. And yeah, the loss is a huge bummer, and not something to take lightly (which is why you’d want the car to sell it). I don’t know…hopefully you get it figured out.
Oh, and I live in a town with no taxis or buses as well. Cars are a *must* for small town dwellers!
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I just told my fiance about what you said and he agreed 100%, he said if she gives us any trouble, we’re going to just have it towed, and make her pick it up at her own expense! š
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Haha, good š I hope it doesn’t need to come down to that though.
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Ungrateful? It’s not like they GAVE you the car for nothing. You were paying for it! And you paid for repairs that should have been their responsibility! That is so frustrating. I’m upset for you!
Well I hope everything works out with this other car and you can just wash your hands of the Journey.
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THANK YOU! I kept running through it all over and over, trying to figure out HOW we could be seen as ungrateful! I’m glad someone agrees with me! His family is always doing this crap, but this is just the worst thing ever. Might be skipping Christmas next year! Ugh.
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