I went to Vegas with $1200 in the gambling bankroll. I figured that would hold Mrs H and I over for the weekend. This was gambling only, I had a separate stash for incidentals and such.
I came back with close to $1500, so that worked out well.
By Monday morning, it was all gone.
Those of you sitting at my table during the tournament may remember me taking a phone call and then mentioninng that I just bought a car.
You see, my 16 year son got a job this summer. It’s at a golf course 20 minutes away and he has to be there at 6AM 4 days a week. This effectively removes the possibility of borrowing one of our cars. Plus he’s 16 and is itching to go out with his friends and such.
He’s been bugging me for a couple of months about getting a car. I originally thought that I’d give him my 2nd car, the one my wife drives, a 1994 Pontiac Grand Prix. I’d then get a decent used car for myself and give the mini-van to my wife (she loves it). Well, that kind of fell through last week when my son found his dream car.
Unfortunately, he found it the day before we left for Vegas. I didn’t have time to do the requisite checking and such. He was convinced it was going to be sold soon. He text messaged me repeatedly while I was in Vegas.
The phone call on Saturday was from my dad. My son had convinced my dad to go check out the car with him. My dad told me everything looked good and they were going to put a deposit on the car.
He tells me this while I’m 1500 miles away, sitting in a poker tournament. In Las Vegas for heaven’s sake.
I just said, “ya, fine, whatever”. Next thing I know, I owe $1600 to pay off the rest of the car. Fine.
The wife and I return from Vegas and on Monday morning my son and I drive across town to pick up the car. It’s a 1991 Volkswagon Jetta. It also happens to have been lowered 3 inches, has an exhaust kit, and has rims on its 13 inch wheels.
It starts right up and he drives it around to show off to his friends for a while. He then heads to my parent’s house to show my mom and it won’t start again. This brings out the retired gearhead neighbors. There’s various theories being thrown around, mostly revolving around the starter or alternator, and potentially the battery. They hook a charger up and let it sit for a few hours.
No dice.
I call AAA and have them come out to tow it to the shop. Some young guy comes out with the flatbed and throws a fit because the car is lowered. I tell him I paid for AAA and just tow it. It takes an hour to get it up on the back of the truck. He even tried the regular tow things to no avail. He eventually got it up using some wooden ramps to not drag the exhaust on the ground.
The shop proceeds to replace the starter and tie rod. To finish it off, they have to align the wheels but since it’s lowered the machine won’t fit so they charge me labor so they could reconfigure it.
I’m now $750 lighter.
The next day, he drives it around for a while and then it wouldn’t start again. I’m furious at this point. We go and get a new battery and put that in (we did it ourselves, for the Halverson clan that’s pretty damn good) to no avail.
The next morning I call AAA again and they send out a crusty old tow driver. I was a little worried, but he had zero trouble with it and we were on the road in 5 minutes. That other guy was a complete moron.
Anyway, the starter was bad again and they replaced it for free. I did, however, end up paying $750 for repairs on a 1 day old car. Gotta like that.
Oh, to make it worse, my wife brought her car into the shop the same day. So as of last Monday I had 3 cars, but two of them were in the shop. My wife’s took 4 days to fix and cost another $750.
I hate cars.
(Don’t lecture me on the wisdom of getting a 16 year old a car, there’s rules and such, let’s just concentrate on what’s important: cars suck.)
I seriously question the fact that a 14 year-old Jetta was someone’s dream car.
WE buy nothing but Saturns, they’re boring and dependable., and pretty cheap to repair as well.
Maybe “dream car” is a little strong, but you (should) get the idea. A starter costs about the same to repair no matter what the car is, it’s just one of those things, ie. it’s mostly labor.
I was looking to get a cheap car for him because the chances of it lasting until he’s 19 or so are fairly slim. Even as is it’s just a bit more than 2K, it’s not worth getting a 16 year old a decent car (IMHO) when so many are in accidents.
All cars suck, that’s true (I should know I work in a GM plant.)
But 15 year old pimp-mobiles picked out by 16-year olds are definitely on the suckier end of the scale.
Take it from a college girl, Lowered Jettas Rock
Wish I had a Dad like you, I had to pay for my own wheels
Anna
One of my favorite songs ever addresses your experiences:
http://www.mp3.com/tracks/679156/dl_streams.html
As they say at FTP, “That’s a tilter!”
You did remind your son that it occasionally snows in Minnesota, right?
At least you’ll have a $2,350 lowered Jetta that will double as a snowplow
That is what is wrong with this world today. Kids nowadays think they are entitled to adult things. Such as having a car, or having a cell phone. If you want it pay for it yourself. These kids will never learn responsibility, if you buy things for them. If he wants a car, he has to get a job and pay for it himself. Find his own way to work until he has the money to pay for the car.
I don’t think getting your son a car is wrong. My parents bought me an old beat up station wagon when I turned 16. I paid for gas and my parents didn’t have to drive me around everywhere. They did the same thing for my younger sister and brother when they both turned 16. We all started out with some junker and moved on to nicer cars as we grew older.
“These kids will never learn responsibility.” I couldn’t disagree more. I’m now 25, my sister is 23, and my brother is 18. We are all very responsible people.
Sure, there are definitely kids that aren’t entitled to something like a car that young, but there are plenty out there that can handle it. Not only is it more convenient for everyone involved, but it makes you feel trusted as a kid.
I don’t think it’s wrong either obviously. He gets decent grades, he does his chores, doesn’t talk back, got a job on his own. Seems responsible to me.
A teenager without a cell phone? No chance. Being about to get ahold of him anytime is well worth it. He’s responsible and doesn’t do dumb things like run up huge bills. He has enough minutes and text messages that it’s not an issue (and he texts a lot). He’s had a phone for 3 years and I can’t imagine him not having it. There’s no excuses why he can’t call home and I always know where he’s at.
I think this teaches him MORE responsibility. Danny, methinks you don’t have kids.
You are right. I dont have kids. However, I did help my sister raise her twins when they were little. They are 16 now. When they want something they get it. My sister is the type of person that doesnt want to fight. She doesnt punish her kids or beat them. So she feels that to by pass all that, its easier to just give them what they want. I dont think thats right. These kids have more material things 16 than I have ever had in all my 28 years of living. I have seen teenagers driving cadillacs and town cars. Its insane. Kids only need basic things. Food shelter and clothing. Everything else is unimportant. If they want it, they better get a job to pay for it.
Danny, there’s deeper problems with your sister than her getting her kids a car. I taught my son responsibility and he has lived up to it. If she doesn’t want to disicpline them that her own fault and has absolutely nothing to do with getting them a car.
I love how people who don’t have kids have all the answers on how to raise them (it’s not just you, I’m not singling you out). Just wait…
Anyway, this has deteriorated and blatantly gone against the last sentence in the post where I explicitly said: Don’t lecture me on the wisdom of getting a 16 year old a car, there’s rules and such, let’s just concentrate on what’s important: cars suck.
If you can’t comment on the “cars suck” part, then please hold off.
I agree, cars are horrible. New, old , under warranty, foreign, american, they all suck. They are like infants constantly crying for something “WAH, change my oil” “BOO HOO, do my brakes” They deteriorate faster than anything and its annoying as hell. I think we should abandon all cars and ride bikes or walk to get around… No insurance or high gas prices to pay… it would be heaven. If only everything was in close enough proximity to do away with the vile creations all together.
Or horses!