Why I hate my car and other thoughts of today.

When I bought my first brand new car I thought it the best thing ever. I felt like I had a million dollars and I was some rich, fancy person in a brand, spanking new vehicle. Ah, those were the good ole' days. 83xxx miles later and many oil changes to boot, my feelings about my 'baby' have changed. Gone are the days of very little repairs and only having to get an oil change or tire rotation. Here's what the consumer report in '02 did NOT tell me about my wonderful little car:

1. At the first brake replacement (around 2 years) one must likely purchase not only brakes but new calipers (because they freeze easily), and rotors (because my brand of car likes to put very thin rotors in your car at purchase so the 'gas mileage looks good'.)

2. In 5 years you have to do the same to the rear calipers, rotor and brakes.

3. 4 sets of brake pads, 4 calipers and two rotors later; I'm saving up to replace the rotors in the back too because they are boarder-line.

4. If you like trying to find 195/50/16R tires and spending a lot of money for them, you would love my car! Low wall tires that explode (twice!) while on the highway are fabulous! Not only are these tires usually special order, you get to spend all day making calls around town finding them, they range between $100-$250 each depending on how long you want your tire to last.

5. 3 years after purchasing your car, expect at least one of the automatic locks to get stuck and stop working properly.

6. After two years expect the transmission display (of very thin plastic) to crack. And then two years later (after warranty) expect it to happen again (even if you but actually use the car.)

7. For whatever particular reason, my car seems to enjoy batteries as well (but I also have a tendency to accidentally leave the dome light on. OOPS!)

Pros about the car: Roomy for the price, stereo is decent, when a caliper doesn't freeze on you it actually has pretty good 'zoom zoom,' automatic doors and moon roof, shiny wheels (if that's your thing), engine and radiator seem to do well.

I might be on the look out for a different car in a year or so. Any suggestions on ones you personally own and love? I want pros and cons... real ones from actual consumers.

-----Other Thoughts-----

If you think about it going to get your car fixed is like going to the see the Dr. You really don't enjoy it, but it's a requirement of life (unless you don't own a car.) Every time you visit it's usually because something is wrong. You have symptoms of a less-than-desirable nature, and you are visiting because you want them to go away in the fastest time possible. You know it's going to cost a lot, and usually when you've got the verdict, it feels like you're being told you're going to die in a week (well maybe more like your pocket book will.)

Mechanics are like Dr.'s for machines and should probably get more credit for what they do. They aren't doing surgery on people, but they do mechanical surgery on your car. As one mechanic put it to me the other day "when a mechanic handles and fixes your brakes, they are taking the owner's lives into their hands." I've never really thought about a car that way, have you? When a Dr. takes care of you, your health or life is on the line; mechanics are similar in that your car's health (your mental health) and your life is on the line.

So then I'm thinking. Why don't we have car insurance that works like health insurance? Why doesn't the car insurance company pay or offer a discounted co-pay for preventative maintenance like the health insurance companies do? You know they are making tons from insurance premiums, so why not give the costumer more for their buck? They could even go so far as to be like the 'wonderful' hmo's and only allow a certain amount to be charged for a specific service. They could also go so far as to recommend highly skilled professional mechanics from a list to choose from (ie the primary care mechanic :) This idea could probably be of benefit to both consumer, business owner, and insurance company. There are always drawbacks and the choice shouldn't be required, but it sounds like a good idea to me. If I had preventative maintenance coverage in addition to accident coverage, I bet my car would be in tip top shape and last a lot longer and I'd have a lot less stress when something supposedly 'minor' (which it never is financially) goes wrong.