Ed Icionsub

Last year when the government was doing their “Cash for Clunkers” program I was really tempted to trade in my old Tahoe because it is 12 years old and a real gas guzzler. But I LIKE that car and it has been running just fine. So I didn’t do it.

Now, I am regretting that decision, because it is seriously broken down and I don’t have the money to fix it. So I’m going to end up buying a new car and not getting the extra tax credit.  I have to have reliable transportation, so at this point I have no choice.

To get much better gas mileage, I’ve been looking at the hyundai genesis. This is a small but nice car, and the Hyundai is a popular car in this area.

To get a slightly larger car and still get decent gas mileage, I have been looking at the chevrolet impala specs and am thinking about taking one on a test drive.

If money is no object an dI want my dram vehicle, I would have to buy the new gmc yukon, which is a great truck with a lot of luxury options, such as leather seats and an upgraded stereo system.

My daughter loves her ford taurus and if they would offer another “Cash for Clunkers” rebate this year, I would [probably help her trade in her old taurus and get a new one just like it.

When my nephew wanted to go out to California and start his adult life, I gave him one of my old cars that has been sitting around, my 1986 Ford Explorer. I used to love that car, but I found that over the years I drove it less and less. Eventually it was sitting in the back of the driveway for months and I decided that it made more sense to give it to my nephew so he could get some use out of it rather than have it waste away.

So he drove it all the way across country without incident and has been driving it for two years. But as any older car is likely to do, it eventually needed some repair work. He took it to a Los Angeles auto repair shop that he found on the internet. They’ve told him it needs a new head gasket , so he called to ask my advice about whether he should pay for that type of repair or should he give up on it and buy a replacement vehicle.

Of course, I have a lot of fond memories of the car and would hate to abandon it, so I told him to go ahead and get it fixed, and that i would help him pay for the repairs. After it is fixed, he can drive it a little longer, and start saving up for a down payment on a replacement vehicle.

We were just talking about how different it is to be married for almost 20 years now and how we handle gift buying at Christmas and birthdays. When we were first married and very young, we tended to be much more extravagant on our gift wishes and purchases. It would not be unheard of for me to buy a car for my wife and surprise her with a gift wrapped jewelry box containing the ignition key to her new car, which was waiting for her in the driveway.

The problem with trying to do that now is that I have no idea which car she would want. I think she would like the kia sportage, a sporty but practical car. But she has not driven one and I would like to know for sure that this is the car she would love for several years.

Personally, I would love to get a new chevrolet silverado hybrid. I love the size of the Silverado and to get one as a hybrid and improve the gas mileage would make this ideal for me.

The last car we bought new from a dealership was our chrysler. We bought a new LeBaron convertible and were so fussy about all the features and options that we wanted that the dealer had to find our dream car at another dealership that was out of state, and have it delivered to us a week later.

Now, before I go out to buy any car, I will do my research at home. I can log on the internet and search out details on any car using the wiki cars web site.Once I know all the features and details, then I can make an informed decision when working out the deal with the salesperson on the showroom floor.

One of the worst things about living in a major metropolitan area is the awful traffic. Most people live outside of the downtown area but have to commute back and forth to work each day. This leads to traffic congestion, hours wasted each day and accidents.

A big part of the traffic congestion is due to poor road design. Any time a driver has to make a decision they need time to process the information and make the right decision in time to take the appropriate action. They also need a chance to change their mind – just in case their navigator is of a different opinion than that of the driver.

Another problem that exacerbates traffic congestion is forcing drivers to merge into oncoming traffic or change lanes to take an exit. People slow down or speed up and sometimes don’t see the vehicle beside them. Lane changes and merging are accidents waiting to happen.

Last week my insurance premium came out of my checking account and I’ve been broke ever since. It’s crazy to have to pay this kind of money for the minimum state law requirements for having a car. So I went online to find cheap full coverage car insurance and was very happy to find a good site for that. Ironically, the web site name is the same as what it actually does for you: www.cheap-autoinsurance.com

so that’s easy to remember, it’s easy to use, and I can save enough money on a new car insurance policy to make it worthwhile switching to a new company.

One of the great recycling efforts you can make is buying car parts from 247 parts when you need repairs on your car. Not only do you help reduce the amount of metal and plastic that ends up in landfills, but you help save the raw materials taken and used to make the new car parts. And the best consideration is that Car Parts from 247 Spares are cheaper than new parts from the manufacturer. So you can save lots of green in lots of ways.

My mechanic agrees with me that Used Car Parts are a cost savings as well as helping the environment, and he has been very helpful to me about saving money. He knows that I trust him completely and am loyal to him because of that.

I would not want to see a sign like this in my neighborhood. Would you keep driving past the intersection? I’m thinking it would depend upon my mood.

Looks like most of the monster flicks coming out are about either vampires or zombies. There’s one about aliens. Have we run out of ideas for creating scary creatures?

Although my van is running and has current tags, I had to take the insurance off of it for a couple of months. I thought I might save a few dollars, but I was wrong.

The mechanic who worked on my van to supposedly fix my electrical problem gave it back to me in worse shape than it was when I took it to him and I was out over $200 for the favor. The battery kept dying if the van sat idle for more than a couple of days, so I could not tell if the battery was bad, if the alternator was going bad, or if there was an electrical short in the wiring somewhere.

I took it to a little garage that specializes in electrical repairs, and that mechanic told me that the battery was dead and he sold me a replacement battery. He charged me $200 for supposedly checking out the electrical system and replacing the battery. But when I took it home, the turn signals no longer worked and a week later the battery was dead again. I’m pretty sure he sold me a defective battery, because a few days later I switched his supposedly new  battery with my brother’s van battery when he stopped by. Now my van works great and my brother had a dead battery the next morning. So I bought my brother a new battery and both of us are in good shape. Except now my turn signals don’t work and  I don’t feel it is safe to drive like that.

My neighbor was an insurance agent before he got in trouble and they revoked his license. He might be a crook but he knows about insurance. While chatting in the driveway yesterday, he mentioned that I need to keep insurance on the van even though I don’t drive it every day. It is for my own protection in case someone was to steal the van or if I had to drive it unexpectedly over the weekend.

So I went online to find a good price on van insurance so that I can keep it legal and keep myself protected. After all, that’s the whole point of insurance, isn’t it?

My brother has been working with his step son and teaching him how to race. They both have been going to the professional circuit tracks all summer and are both doing well in the points for championship. That’s my brother on the left and his step son on the bike.

Last year my brother finished second in the country in two divisions. He is amazing and his step son is lucky to have a good teacher.

This morning I decided to give the insurance company one last chance to put Chris on the phone or to come clean. When I called, someone named Jennifer answered the phone. That was a good start, as the guy who has been answering my other calls was some guy named Matthew.

When I asked for Chris, she said that he was “not in” today and offered to help. So I told her I wanted to know why Chris has not been available for over a week to take my call.

Turns out that Jennifer is Chris’s wife and she admitted that he has been out sick with the flu. Evidently, there are a whole lot of flu cases in the county where they live. So I definitely don’t want to go down to their office in person and catch the flu germs.

We took care of it over the phone and I told her to send my get well wishes to Chris. At long last that mystery is solved.