skibum
Well-Known Member
I just wanted to thank everyone for contributing to my first ever piece of government cheese.
Last Friday I took my old hauling truck to the dealer and got a cool $4650 for it. Just 3 days prior to the announcement of the cash for clunkers program, I had contacted a local recycler about hauling it off to the scrap yard. It was going to cost me $50. We couldn't coordinate a time for them to come by while I was home to sign over the title, so I told them that I would call back in a week after I knew what my work schedule would be. I got pretty busy and didn't have time to call them back to make the arrangements. Then our "wonderful" government brought out the cheese platter. I played around on the CARS web site, and found several models of new cars that would qualify my truck for the $4500 rebate. There are nice used trucks all over the place around here, so I decided that all I needed was something that was reliable, got decent mileage, and had ample space for me, the admiral, 2 kids, and the usual amount of stuff that we drive around with. I ended up with a black 2009 Nissan Sentra. Its a pretty nice little car.
Doing the math, I paid $15,900 for my truck back in 1994. It had 386,340 miles on it when I pulled it onto the lot to trade it in. I got the $4500 CARS rebate and the dealer gave me another $150 for "scrap value". So, that old truck ended up costing me $11,250 when all was said and done. That worked out to a total cost of 2.9 cents per mile to own the truck. I was the only person to ever touch it with a wrench, not counting the body work that had to be done after I got rear ended about 7 years ago. I put 3 water pumps, 6 distributor caps and rotor sets, 6 sets of spark plugs, 3 sets of wires, 1 exhaust system (Y pipe back), and 8 batteries in it. I didn't keep track of the number of times that I replaced the front brake pads and rear shoes, or the actual number of oil changes that I did, but I am fairly certain that I changed the oil at least 35 times over the life of the truck. I can't seem to find all of the receipts for tires, but I am sure that I put at least 4 sets of new tires on it over the years.
I had to laugh because on the way to drop it off at the dealer, I had to stop by the bank to pick up the check for the new car. I pulled out of my street onto the main road, and the passenger side door flew open as I made the turn. I reached over, grabbed it, and tried to shut it while driving up the road. After 4 slams, it still wouldn't latch closed. I drove the rest of the way to the bank holding the passenger door shut with my right hand, and driving with the left. When I got to the bank, I saw that the latch mechanism had lost the spring that allows the catch to grab the post on the door jamb. I had an old, dry rotted piece of bungee in the bed, so I opened the extended cab and passenger windows and tied the door shut. After I picked up the check, I started the engine, and the temperature gauge nearly pegged itself. I reached up, patted the top of the dash, and said "Come on buddy, you've been a great truck. Give me 12 more good miles, and you get to have a nice, long rest. Shoot, you might even come back as a nice new E Class in a year or two.". Well, the temp gauge immediately dropped back to normal, and the dang thing drove as good as new all the way to the dealer. When I pulled in and put it in park, the RPMs went up to a little over 2000 and I could hear lots of hissing under the hood. I am 90% sure that it blew a head or intake gasket on the way there. :smt043
I felt kinda slimy for taking a government handout, but after thinking about all of the money that the government has stolen from my paychecks and investments over the years, I got over it. So, thanks to all of you for working so hard and helping me pay for a new car. I didn't really need the help, and I am 110% certain that I am NOT the guy that Obama or the dems were trying to help with this program. The truck was already dead, so they didn't gain any pollution "savings" by getting it off of the road. AND... As promised, I did NOT buy a union made vehicle. Union made products and services are BANNED from my household until the unions stop sleeping with the liberals, stop slandering my views as a conservative, and start backing candidates whose philosophies are not detrimental to the country. I haven't been able to beat the politicians, so I have declared war on their constituents. From now on, I will be doing everything possible to hurt the folks who support liberal candidates by giving them money or belonging to a group that does so. Screw those guys. :smt021 :smt013 :smt021 :smt013 :smt021 :smt013
Michael
Last Friday I took my old hauling truck to the dealer and got a cool $4650 for it. Just 3 days prior to the announcement of the cash for clunkers program, I had contacted a local recycler about hauling it off to the scrap yard. It was going to cost me $50. We couldn't coordinate a time for them to come by while I was home to sign over the title, so I told them that I would call back in a week after I knew what my work schedule would be. I got pretty busy and didn't have time to call them back to make the arrangements. Then our "wonderful" government brought out the cheese platter. I played around on the CARS web site, and found several models of new cars that would qualify my truck for the $4500 rebate. There are nice used trucks all over the place around here, so I decided that all I needed was something that was reliable, got decent mileage, and had ample space for me, the admiral, 2 kids, and the usual amount of stuff that we drive around with. I ended up with a black 2009 Nissan Sentra. Its a pretty nice little car.
Doing the math, I paid $15,900 for my truck back in 1994. It had 386,340 miles on it when I pulled it onto the lot to trade it in. I got the $4500 CARS rebate and the dealer gave me another $150 for "scrap value". So, that old truck ended up costing me $11,250 when all was said and done. That worked out to a total cost of 2.9 cents per mile to own the truck. I was the only person to ever touch it with a wrench, not counting the body work that had to be done after I got rear ended about 7 years ago. I put 3 water pumps, 6 distributor caps and rotor sets, 6 sets of spark plugs, 3 sets of wires, 1 exhaust system (Y pipe back), and 8 batteries in it. I didn't keep track of the number of times that I replaced the front brake pads and rear shoes, or the actual number of oil changes that I did, but I am fairly certain that I changed the oil at least 35 times over the life of the truck. I can't seem to find all of the receipts for tires, but I am sure that I put at least 4 sets of new tires on it over the years.
I had to laugh because on the way to drop it off at the dealer, I had to stop by the bank to pick up the check for the new car. I pulled out of my street onto the main road, and the passenger side door flew open as I made the turn. I reached over, grabbed it, and tried to shut it while driving up the road. After 4 slams, it still wouldn't latch closed. I drove the rest of the way to the bank holding the passenger door shut with my right hand, and driving with the left. When I got to the bank, I saw that the latch mechanism had lost the spring that allows the catch to grab the post on the door jamb. I had an old, dry rotted piece of bungee in the bed, so I opened the extended cab and passenger windows and tied the door shut. After I picked up the check, I started the engine, and the temperature gauge nearly pegged itself. I reached up, patted the top of the dash, and said "Come on buddy, you've been a great truck. Give me 12 more good miles, and you get to have a nice, long rest. Shoot, you might even come back as a nice new E Class in a year or two.". Well, the temp gauge immediately dropped back to normal, and the dang thing drove as good as new all the way to the dealer. When I pulled in and put it in park, the RPMs went up to a little over 2000 and I could hear lots of hissing under the hood. I am 90% sure that it blew a head or intake gasket on the way there. :smt043
I felt kinda slimy for taking a government handout, but after thinking about all of the money that the government has stolen from my paychecks and investments over the years, I got over it. So, thanks to all of you for working so hard and helping me pay for a new car. I didn't really need the help, and I am 110% certain that I am NOT the guy that Obama or the dems were trying to help with this program. The truck was already dead, so they didn't gain any pollution "savings" by getting it off of the road. AND... As promised, I did NOT buy a union made vehicle. Union made products and services are BANNED from my household until the unions stop sleeping with the liberals, stop slandering my views as a conservative, and start backing candidates whose philosophies are not detrimental to the country. I haven't been able to beat the politicians, so I have declared war on their constituents. From now on, I will be doing everything possible to hurt the folks who support liberal candidates by giving them money or belonging to a group that does so. Screw those guys. :smt021 :smt013 :smt021 :smt013 :smt021 :smt013
Michael
