Dh and the great used car debate

Used car........two very small words but when paired together can cause monumental apprehension to people. Being me those words have never frightened me probably for the fact that I know just enough about vehicles to know when someone is blowing smoke up my neather regions. New car strikes more fear for me because I know the insurance is going to be just about as much as the monthly car payment.



Last week there was a disagreement of the minds around my house. My wonderful Dh had decided to purchase a used car from one of our co-workers. No problem as I know this co worker well enough to know he wasn't going to sell us something that was a POS. Sure it needs a little work but for $1,100 and the parts we need already being purchased, who could complain (especially when we could do the work ourselves as the repair is a reliatively minor job). Where the disagreement came from was about WHO is going to be driving this little gem. Dh's truck is starting to have a few motor issues and I was under the impression he was going to drive this car. Apparently Dh had told his 16 yr old daughter she could drive it. Now he had mentioned that idea and I told him my answer would depend on what it did to our insurance....she could drive one of the cars (either mine or the one he was about to purchase) but it had to be the one that was cheapest on the insurance. He seemed to agree with that and we went about our daily lives. Sitting at my computer last week imagine my surprize when I got informed by my 16 yr old step daughter that Daddy was buying this car for her. I was pissed. Not for the fact so much that he supposedly was buying this car for "her" I later realized but for several other reasons. Some having to do directly with her but most not. #1 She's been driving MY car for months now which is a minor inconvience to me sometimes as it's all we have that comfortably fits the other kids but I have my truck to drive and I don't take ALL the kids places very often #2 I've been pushing for 6 months for this girl to get a job to help pay these extra bills associated with her driving (my insurance jumped $40 a month just to insure her and lets not even get started on how much gas she's putting through my car and all the miles she's putting on it) #3 We have 5 kids at home, and in the next 4 years we'll have two more 16 year olds and now they are going to expect (and rightfully so now that he's done this) us to provide them with cars #4 I work 3 jobs......yes you read that right 3 jobs. I have my "real" job here at the PD, my 2nd job where I put in between 4-20 hours a week at Dollar General, and my 3rd job waiting tables at the local cafe that was previously my "real" job prior to the PD. Money was tight due to some medical bills, legal bills and the upcoming holidays so I worked in the area of 60-70 hrs some weeks to cover everything. Now excuse me if I'm a bit cranky when it comes to my wonderful Dh and his daughter spending MY money a bit loosely for non essential items (like $40 worth of gas every week for her to have the privelige of putting miles on my car). So when I got informed that this was going to be "HER" car, my blood boiled. Not a picturesque simmer of water for spagetti, a rolling sterilizing medical instrements kind of boil. I did not unleash my wrath on the child as I realized that this was her father's doing and I needed to take it up with him. Now it's not my money that bought the car, but my paychecks are the ones going into the joint checking account that the car insurance comes out of. Dh rarely if ever puts money into it, so at that point forsaw ME paying the extra insurance. Well Dh got home and I promptly followed him into the bedroom and gave him about 5 minutes to unwind and demanded answers. He assured me he didn't buy the car to give to the girl, but rather he had told her she could drive it. When I asked about the insurance his face went blank. He admitted he just ASSUMED that I'd cover it. Ehhhh wrong answer, try again. He very quickly got informed that I'd be putting my paychecks into my private bank account and then I'd put enough in joint checking to cover what the insurance premium is now....whatever the insurance went up, him and his daughter were responsible for. I got a sincere "Yes dear..." and again our lives went on.



Well the car came home Friday. The 16 year old was being royally annoying with her excitement. I was still a bit miffed and hadn't really put my finger on why....till a couple hours later. For 10 years me and Dh have been together, and we've had to start pretty much from scratch which meant giving up some of the things I'd have liked to have had. For years I've wanted a fast sports car. Not some new off the dealer lot kind of fast car, but rather a old muscle car kind of car. Again I got pushed to the back for someone else and well it pissed me off considering all the hours I've been working to pay bills that technically weren't even mine. Lets just say I was feeling a little jilted and put on the back burner. So when Dh came in, I again laid into him asking when I got my new car. That's when he made the worst mistake he could have........he LAUGHED. Then he saw the look on my face and realized the mistake. I was so mad I was near tears. The the "well when you find something let me know" started. I told him to kiss my white ass at that point and stomped in to the bedroom to get ready for work. He dutifuly came in about 10 minutes later and said "Really, I meant it...I really did...." Internally I was cursing him with words my Marine grandfather would blush at but I just looked at him. Not sure how as I was trying to keep my teeth from biting though my lower lip at that point.

Flash forward to last night:

Dh came home from work and I was happily tapping on my faithful keyboard. We went through our post work chit chat and fell into the normal routine we have in the evenings. Now we are having an ice storm from hell and he was worried about the grocery situation as it looks like the roads will be horrid the next few days. As I'm getting ready to go to town with him, I told him "Heeeeeyyyy remember the other day?"

"Uhhh ummmm no. What?"

"Ya ya do, the one where I wanted to whap you upside the head with my tennis racket"

"Um dear, you wanted to do that several days last week I think, that doesn't help"

"The car discussion day..."

"OHHHH THAT day...ya I won't forget that for awhile. Oh boy, what did you find?"

"Nothing that I can afford quite yet but I do know what I want"

He sat on the bed with the deer in headlights look

"Remember dear, a '69 Vette isn't going to handle our road well and well you'd have to get another job to pay the insurance"

"Ya I know, not what I have in mind...."

"Pass me some of your Excedrin please, I think I'm going to need it"

"Nah, I want a '76 or a '79 Pontiac Firebird....V8, manual, with a limited slip differential, and the original honey comb wheels...preferably dark blue, black or dark dark red. Keep your ears open and ask Terry and some of the other guys to also....ok?"

He passed out....I win (I think)