"I found a car"

But I'm not out of the woods yet. Remember I told you that I contacted my last auto mechanic? (for my mercury sable) And he referred me to an independently owned dealership that he swore would work with me. (I'll believe it when I see it)

I was waiting on my friend Dan to go with me as he was a mechanic years ago, and I was a bit afraid to go alone (as I believe most women are) But he was out of town, and I didn't feel like waiting any longer. So, I took a taxi cab to this dealer on Thursday. I was nervous and worried about alot of things, but I wasn't worried that I'd be taken advantage of because of who had referred me.

It wasn't too bad. There were only 3 cars that I qualified for, and I knew which one I wanted immediately. I test drove it 16 blocks, and said this is the one I want. I put 1700 down. The 3 workers in the shop treated me very respectfully on that day.

I bought an American made car, 11 years old. It looks very beautiful, and initially I thought it ran nice, but I didn't know what to look for from a mechanical point of view.

I got it home, and parked it in a residential area near my house. The key wouldn't come out of the ignition! (All the things I had managed to worry about that wasn't one of them) I looked around the neighborhood to see if someone might be able to help me get the key out.

In this particular residential block, I had no fear of asking a stranger to help.   So, I asked this one kid of about 14. His mother started giving me advice on how to get a key out. Her advice didn't work. Another boy of about 16 helped me get the key out.

The mother threatened to tow me if I park in her neighborhood! I found her comment to be deeply disturbing! I said to her, "If it's true that I need to live in this block to park here, then why aren't there any prohibitive parking signs?" I was really furious. I called the city the next day to make sure about the rules for that block, but I just got voice mail and never got a return call.

I thought it would be safer to park in the residential area then in my park. lot, given the characters that live in my bldg. Especially considering that the last day I had my rental car in Sept, it was badly keyed up by someone,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and I suspect a female tenant in my building!

Anyhow, I did 3 more stops Thurs. night, and nearly every time I couldn't get the key out, or had a hard time turning the key to get it started. I kept asking strangers for help. I knew the dealership was due to be closed on Fri. So, I called the dealership on Sat. to see if I could bring it back in, but my intuition stated that they might give me a hard time if I go back.

Dan, came out and looked at the car on sat., sprayed graphite in the lock, and was 85% sure it would solve the problem. (Again he used to be a mechanic years ago) It did not solve the problem. After we took it for a test drive the key got stuck while he was driving. He said that the key/ignition problem's source is actually the steering wheel or the gear shift.

When I went to the dealer today, they gave me a pretty hard time. They reamed me for not putting any references on my application!  A bit late for that, isn't it?  They knew before I ever came in there that I didn't have references.

The first 3 employees said that there has never been a situation where a customer had to return the car in the first 30 days for repairs.I told them that I have a witness to the problem.   They went and got the owner and he sarcastically said to me: "If he's a mechanic, then why didn't he fix it" "If you knew you had a friend, then why didn't you put his name down as a reference?"

"If you have someone to take you back home then feel free to leave it now. Do you have a ride back?" (We'll send it to our mechanic, but we'll do it very begrudgingly)

They showed me the so called "trick" to getting the key to work. This does not comfort me!   One of the nicer employees said that I can bring the car for anything I want in the first 30 days!   I did figure out the "trick" for getting the key out, but I still sometimes have a hard time getting the car started (turned over that is) I'm real nervous. I'm even nervous that I might leave this library tonight and not be able to get the key to turn over. These guys don't know how scary it is to be a woman with no mechanical knowledge driving a car she has to worry about.

So, I told them I don't have anyone that could bring me to the shop, and I made it clear that I"m not a troublemaker. The owner must have more closely looked at my appl. after the sale, and not liked that I didn't put any refs. When Michael took it for a test drive, I told him that I don't have any financial refs. He said, "It's not financial refs that we want. We just need to have someone to call who can help us locate you if you miss a payment. But as long as you make your payments we won't need any refs"

E-"I made the mistake of using my birthmother for a ref. once on one of these appl's and she reamed me for it"

He laughed.

Anyhow, I dread being treated that way by the owner again, but I'll just be consumed with worry if I don't get the problem totally repaired...............................A sucky dilemma.

With a car there's hope. Without a car, there's no chance of a normal life.