I Hate You, Jimmy

I’m not going to rant. Okay, I’ll try not to turn this into a rant about how I hate my GMC Jimmy and mechanics that may/may not have scammed me out of my money. I’ll try.

$1,393.62. That’s how much Monro charged for the god-awful GMC Jimmy to get fixed. I told the head mechanic that, on such short notice, I was only able to muster up $1350. So he said “I’ll take care of you” and reduced the final cost to $1,335. I remembered reading one of those self-serving Donald Trump books, where he said that the worst a person can say when you ask for a lower price is “no”. So I saved about $60 just by asking, and that enough for a week of food. Then there was the rental which, for 4 days, added up to $135. I felt really good about that deal, as I was expecting to pay much more. So in total, I spent $1,470 for this whole ordeal. Oh wait, I forgot the $80 I lost by missing work at the shipping depot: $1,550. That money could have been used to help get my next vehicle. That money could have been used to buy me a PS Vita with some games so that I can finally throw away my broken down PSP. That money could have been used for so many things other than being put back into a vehicle that is on its last leg.

One Whopping Pain in the Ass

I remember those times when I get my car back from a mechanic after having work done to it. I’d get into the car with a smile on my face, looking forward to driving my nice fixed car. That didn’t happen yesterday. I got in the GMC Jimmy and muttered cusses all day. $1550. Damned vehicle. I remember doing a post at the beginning of last year called Investing in My Jimmy. I was really looking forward to having this vehicle until the end of 2014, but now that’s all screwed up. I’ll be damned if I’m going to continue putting the best gas and the best oil in that junk. It’s a good thing to be meticulous about car maintenance. But what’s the point of taking very good care of an already beaten down car? Before I left, the Monro people told me to come back on Friday because my inspection was up so they will give me a new one. Yeah. To give them another shot at screwing up my vehicle? No thanks. You know, even though I can’t prove whether they scammed me, I’m sticking with my promise of never going back there. Right now, there’s a 10-day inspection sticker, so I’ll take it to the repair shop recommended by Angie’s List next week.

$1,550. I thought back to those GMC Jimmy commercials when they first came out with the model. A chorus would sing "I love you, Jimmy" over and over again. My brother and sister would make fun of the term "Jimmy" as a term meaning dick. I didn't get the joke then but I certainly get it now. The GMC Jimmy sucks dick, and I'm not laughing. Surprisingly, this cost doesn’t affect the purchase of property Charlie. I have enough to close on the property whenever they’re ready. But I’ll be lucky if I could end the month saving $1,000. That hurts my already slim chances of having 30k at the end of the year. But make no mistake: the same day I close on property Charlie will be the same day I’m driving to Brooklyn to get my next vehicle. I just have to hope this piece of junk doesn’t give me another problem until then.