Well this day officially sucked

[Sir Slash]

Damn Con. You really are having a bad summer aren't you? But you're right to consider that, bad as it is, it could've been far worse. Like you said the kids weren't in the car, or your wife. And you could have been easily badly injured or left them entirely. Of course you'd be in Heaven with Sully but that will come when it's supposed to. And we'd be out an excellent Grog Poster as well. If it makes you feel any better, I just found-out I'm going to be out about $3500-$5500 for a new septic drain field. Shitty Deal just to have a Shitty Field I say. But you gotta just roll with the punches sometimes Man.

[MetalDog]

Wish I had some sage advice on the car deal, but, I'm just glad you are ok.  The car is replaceable.

[Con]

I know how you feel about rolling with the punches.  After years of no real emergencies this year the central air went out on the house right at the start of an 8 day heatwave in Boston.  I got convinced to replace it because it was a 10 year old Freon unit and since Freon has gotten banned for manufacturing just repairing it would have cost $1500+  with no guarantee that something else old will fail on it.  Plus I was worried at the time the house would be too hot for Sully so I caved and got it replaced for $4k along with a set of new stairs and front and back of the house (needed due to rot) but I also wanted to build them less steeply so he could climb up and down easier.  All these plans and money spent so that we could all enjoy his twilight years together and the inconsiderate SOB decides to just kick off with no warning :(. (just kidding I have his ashes in the office with me on a shelf next to where he lay and slept as I worked).  We are gathering our friends for one last walk with Sully up in the woods he loved and we will scatter them up there (hopefully it will piss the squirrels off he sure did want to catch them). 

Plus I buy my dog food in bulk and now I have 4 50lb bags of expensive dog food (at least I found a good home for that I am giving it to a shelter).

I have gone from being fiscally conservative to just hemorrhaging money out of the emergency fund but I guess that why its the emergency fund but damn it hurts to spend it all at once.

[Staggerwing]

Con, I'm late to the party here but I'm glad you are ok. As Dawg said- the car can be replaced. Yourself- not so much.

[BanzaiCat]

We had our A/C go out last summer, too. We have a home warranty company that we had gotten just shortly before, thank goodness, because it paid for the bulk of it, but it ended up costing us about 3K total, whereas it would have been closer to 10K+ without the home warranty.

It took them, though, about three weeks, so we had to deal with a house in Southeast Texas in the summertime RIGHT at the start of a heat wave (and one of the worst ones ever, too, of course) for that entire time. It was utterly miserable.

[Sir Slash]

I forgot. And, I'm getting my AC checked today. Probably more $$$$. This is the kind of thing that would send me into days of silent anger and Persecution Complex-Thinking when I was younger. Now I realize it's not the end of the world. My wife and I have got the money and or credit we need at this stage in our life so we'll be OK. Still, It's not much fun though. Handling things like this calmly makes me look good in front of the Wife and does give me a good reason to have a Manly drink and then cuss some. 

[Barthheart]

Glad you made it out of that crash OK Con! Could've been worse in so many different ways.

As for the money thing, seems we've all had a similar crunch lately. Last year we paid the residual on our car loan, new shingles, got a new furnace and a new in-line water heater... all in about 3 months... about $18k! It really does smart when it hits all at once..... Now to slowly build up the cushion for the next round.....

[panzerde]

Glad you made it out of that crash OK Con! Could've been worse in so many different ways.

As for the money thing, seems we've all had a similar crunch lately. Last year we paid the residual on our car loan, new shingles, got a new furnace and a new in-line water heater... all in about 3 months... about $18k! It really does smart when it hits all at once..... Now to slowly build up the cushion for the next round.....

Sounds like our summer this year - New roof ($20K), new tankless water heater ($5K), water softener ($2K), and then I had to buy a new car after my son's car got totaled and I handed mine down to him. We also had the deck painted and some other work around the house, but that was all incidental compared to the rest. Two kids in college, too. We did the roof, water heater, and water softener all within a week's time.


But everyone is healthy and doing well, no one injured in car accidents or anything else. I'll consider that a victory.

[Sir Slash]

It's a good thing gaming is getting cheaper.  ;D

[Gusington]

Con are you and I related? The damage that totaled my car earlier this year was identical to yours but on the passenger side. It also happened at highway speed. My adjustor said that if it was not a Subaru I may not have been lucky enough to walk away. In spite of all that I kind of chalked it up to dumb luck too and went on with life. Passing that spot on the road still makes me a little nervous but that's it. From experience I would still say you definitely want the car declared a total loss. It's just easier.

And my a/c has been acting up too!

I feel your pain.

[Con]

Ugh thats scary to hear it was totaled.  I am still crossing my fingers that it can be repaired but if that frame is bent I am toast.  Seeing all these other tales of woe makes me feel better that I am not the only one having to deal with sucky days.  But I do wonder based on the number of stories if us Grogs are getting singled out.  If life is a balance someone here should win the next $500 Million lottery and be able to build a palatial Grog Gaming palace stocked with the best painted lead figures, craft beers and an ever flowing nacho cheese fountain. 

Con

[BanzaiCat]

Con, won't your insurance cover a totaled car enough so that you can easily get another?

I've never totaled one myself (knock on wood), but everyone I've known that were lucky to get through an accident with no injuries prayed their car was totaled so they could get a new one.

[Con]

Its a difference between the value you get for your car based on a formula and the cost of actually getting a car.  My car was babied and I poured a lot of money in maintenance and drove it very easily had only 80K miles on it etc but it is an 08 model.  We used it for all the family trips camping a lot of stuff needs to be hauled when it comes to kids and for the dog (which I do hpope to be getting another one when the time is right) so I would like a similar SUV.  The blue book value for it is only around 20K.  There are very few cars left available in this class/year so I will have to foot the difference between what I buy and what I get from the insurance agencies.  A new car with the same features would cost 50K so that's a 30K auto loan.  Of course I can get a used one but I am not a big fan of buying used cars (that attitude I think I am going to have to readjust based on these costs) but that's just the way I feel.  My car drove and acted like a new one and I hate to be just given a check for some amount that wont even get me 30% of the way to a new car.  Especially when there was nothing I was doing that was wrong and the huge amount of car insurance i have paid over the years and this is my first claim ever.  I guess this is me whining (and its true I am) but I am just pissed off at the random unfairness of this when it wasn't my fault.

Con

[Con]

This day sucks a little less.....the car was not totaled.  I was told the difference in the airbags going off would have put the repair total over the cost so lucky for me the way he rode over my car missed the sensors in the front.

You know its an interesting week when you are grateful air bags didn't deploy

Con

[BanzaiCat]

That's true...good on you then, Con. About time you got good news...of a sort.  ;)