What again? People have nerve!

[hblueeyes]

I cannot believe the luck I have had lately. I have spent close to $3000 and still cant pass emissions and no one can figure out why. Actually I can pass the emissions but the check engine light stays on so I flunk. My mechanic for close to 30 years screws me, Ford knowing screws me then this guy on thursday, teachiing his wife to drive, jumps the curb and ends up through my fence and into my yard. My son call police and I go see. I ask if he and she are Ok. He says they are fine. He is out and she stays in the car smiling. He tells me to fix it and he will pay. I tell him no. I have to much going on trying to get my 2nd story addition done. He will have to call sears or some other professionals to replace the fence. I ask for his name and he says, "You know me. I own JJ Peppers. No I dont know you and I have not gone to JJ Peppers since my friend ran the place over 6 years ago. I ask again and he keeps telling me he owns JJ Peppers. I tell him, Lets turn this around and I drive thru your property and tell you not to worry cause I own Wal Mart. The fence he hit is 60 feet long on the east side. There are 7 center posts and 2 corner posts plus the top rails, caps and fencing. The fencing is all mashed and distorted. Wires are broke and the norteast corner post is really damaged, plus then I noticed that the north side of the fence has broken wires and bents posts as well. This fence is only about 25' long as it stops at the house where the wood privacy fence begins. He helps me to pull up the fence that was practicly on the gound. His black Lexus somehow ended up under the fence and his car is all scratched up and there was broken glass.
He also helps me to try and recap some posts and there is a section where the post came out from the other and they over lap. My son brings me a pen and paper and I get his name and work number. I also write down his license plate number and he leaves. About 15 minutes later a cop finally comes and he tells me to call the guy and have him come back. I do and he is mad because I want to protect my self. He finally arrives about 15 minutes later in a silver lexus with a buddy. The cop gets more info for me then leaves.

Yesterday at about 3 pm this jerk shows up with a friend and 3 posts and starts pounding one in. My hubby and I go to the window and yell at him. No knock on the door or anything. We explain to him that he needs to get in touch with the village and that the work must be done by a licensed,binded and insured fence man or contractor. The friend starts arguing with my husband and the "jerk" bends over and starts mumbling about how we Fers are trying to screw him. Can you believe the nerve of this guy. So I tell him if thats the way he wants it then I too can play hardball to. I will call his insurance company and I told him that he needs to replace the whole fence, not just the north and east side but the 100' south side and the 25' west side as well because it needs to look the same. I need continuity. Besides after spending 100K on an addition I refuse to have a 2 tone, new/old fence on my property. It would depreciate the asetic value of my home.

Any advice is appreciated.

Me :p

edited to add:

I have a large 104 pound dog that can no longer be out front because the fence is not secure. I have to put in in the back (really the side) where there is a wood privacy fence and he is depressed from it.

[3lilpigs]

$100,000 ON AN ADDITION!!!!!!????

Either your building a whole new house on to your other house, or your getting screwed on that too!

seriously......one hundred THOUSAND???

[YankeeMary]

$100,000 ON AN ADDITION!!!!!!????

Either your building a whole new house on to your other house, or your getting screwed on that too!

seriously......one hundred THOUSAND???
How do you figure she is getting screwed? It depends on where she lives. I am sure it would cost us that if we wanted todo it where we live. Some places EVERYTHING cost more.


I would definatly call his insurance company as well as my own and let them battle it out. Thats why they get paid.

[buttrfli]

$100,000 ON AN ADDITION!!!!!!????

Either your building a whole new house on to your other house, or your getting screwed on that too!

seriously......one hundred THOUSAND???

No offense, but that was my thought as well. Thats a lot of money just for an addition.

As far as the check engine light goes... why can't you just take the light bulb out from behind the check engine panel? It'd be a lot cheaper to have someone tkae your dash off and do that than it would to keep loking for problems that might not even be there. My check engine light stayed on for a year before I took the bulb out :)

[buttrfli]

How do you figure she is getting screwed? It depends on where she lives. I am sure it would cost us that if we wanted todo it where we live. Some places EVERYTHING cost more.


I would definatly call his insurance company as well as my own and let them battle it out. Thats why they get paid.

I guess I live in a cheap area because big 4 bed houses don't even cost half that LOL

[3lilpigs]

How do you figure she is getting screwed? It depends on where she lives. I am sure it would cost us that if we wanted todo it where we live. Some places EVERYTHING cost more.


I would definatly call his insurance company as well as my own and let them battle it out. Thats why they get paid.


i didnt mean for it to sound like i was slamming her or anything....sorry if it did. i just meant it as 'i was shocked' that it was so much.
i still think its a lot of money for an 'addition' tho. i worked for new home builders for about 5 yrs, and i dont think they cost nearly that much to add one to a new house!

anyhow, the guy in the lexus sounds like he may not have insurance and doesnt want her to call about it. or if he does, he is on the verge of getting cancelled.

[Willow]

I guess I live in a cheap area because big 4 bed houses don't even cost half that LOL


I thought it was a lot too. I could buy a bran new house for $100,000. I looked at some last time I was in Florida. They have different styles to choose from. You tell them which style you want and they build it on a lot. It's in a gated community in a nice area.

[DBackFan]

I am having the same problem with the check engine light on my sons car....guh. Everything else passed to but they failed it for that light.

[YankeeMary]

Ok you girls, where I live an acre of land cost roughly $60-80,000.00...for us to build a normal size screened porch on the back of our house was going to cost $23,000.00 and thats if DH helped them...lol...so I can easily see where building an entire addition on top of your house would cost that much easily. I was "assuming" there would be several rooms added on the upstairs.

As for the check engine light cover it with a piece of black electrical tape...haha.

[YankeeMary]

i didnt mean for it to sound like i was slamming her or anything....sorry if it did. i just meant it as 'i was shocked' that it was so much.
i still think its a lot of money for an 'addition' tho. i worked for new home builders for about 5 yrs, and i dont think they cost nearly that much to add one to a new house!

anyhow, the guy in the lexus sounds like he may not have insurance and doesnt want her to call about it. or if he does, he is on the verge of getting cancelled.
I agree completely about the lexus driver, maybe he already has "wrecked" before and doesn't want his rates to goany higher.

[JKATHERINE]

How do you figure she is getting screwed? It depends on where she lives. I am sure it would cost us that if we wanted todo it where we live. Some places EVERYTHING cost more.


I would definatly call his insurance company as well as my own and let them battle it out. Thats why they get paid.


I agree. We're hoping (and hoping and hoping) to be able to put an addition on our house that will include a first and 2nd floor as well as re-do our screened in porch. I know it's going to cost us anywhere between $50,000-$100,000. We're hoping for lots of equity in the house, a payraise for Adam and me taking on a few more kiddos here. Isn't it nice to dream? lol

[3lilpigs]

Ok you girls, where I live an acre of land cost roughly $60-80,000.00...for us to build a normal size screened porch on the back of our house was going to cost $23,000.00 and thats if DH helped them...lol...so I can easily see where building an entire addition on top of your house would cost that much easily. I was "assuming" there would be several rooms added on the upstairs.

As for the check engine light cover it with a piece of black electrical tape...haha.


question.......(and not trying to be a smart ass about it).....
but if you (anyone) already has a house, why would you buy land to put on an addition?? if your building only a screened in porch, thats only $23,000.....not $60-80,000 for land also.
or am i misunderstanding something?

[YankeeMary]

question.......(and not trying to be a smart ass about it).....
but if you (anyone) already has a house, why would you buy land to put on an addition?? if your building only a screened in porch, thats only $23,000.....not $60-80,000 for land also.
or am i misunderstanding something?
LOL...I am talking about adding a porch on to our already existing house. I can see me going in debt $80,000.00 to have a screened in porch out in the middle of an acre of land..haha...I only brought up the cost of an acre of land to let you all see how ridiculously high acreage costs in this area so you all could get a better understanding on how they over price everything. Sorry for the confussion. And I don't think you were trying to be a smart butt. HEHE.

[hblueeyes]

I live in a Chicago suburb where less than 1/4 acre lot goes for a minimum of $100,000. I have a raised ranch house. The new houses that sold across the street from me sold for $370,000 easch, were bi-levels and has less living space than my home without the addition. Two homes were put on the land that one house used to sit on. So I could not buy a house for what my addition cost. My home value before the addition was roughly 380,000. Once the addition interior is done and the main floor gets new bath ceramic tile and the wood floors refinished it will be roughly worth $500,000+. The addition was a cheaper route to go and it was easier than trying to find a home with a minimum of 6 bedrooms and 2 baths that could have separate family living or common areas with a full basement. Plus I like my neighbors and moving out of our good school district was not an option. Plus I have reasonable taxes for the area, buying something different would have my taxes go thru the roof. My current taxes are 3500 the new houses taxes are estimated at 4800 for a smaller house. I have been in those houses and they are nice but not spectacular. No corian or granite count tops, no wood floors, no fancy smancy stuff. Mine does not either but just so you understand.

Me

[buttrfli]

ya'll need to move to oklahoma.. you can get an acre here from $3000 to $20,000 depending on where it is lol

We paid $1200 for half an acre at the lake and I thought that was high! LOL

[Night Wolf]

Reading all your post is just depressing!
All I can say is do NOT move to California, the average price for a house starts at half a million! There are some cheaper places, it depends on what you are willing to sacrafice, ie. how long of a drive to work/schools, safety of neighborhood, etc.

As for the Lexus driver, call his insurance co. asap!

[Denise1972]

That guy sounds like an idiot. If he doesnt do what he says, take him to court.

I didnt know they had emission test requirements for cars up in Chicago. I am not saying you arent telling the truth or anything like that. I wonder how long Illinois gov Ble.... How ever the hell you spell his name, .. If I try I will butcher it, so I wont even try.will have it state wide emmisions requirement? I live in Springfield, and we dont have to do that. I would be taking that check engine light out of the dash if I were you.



I cannot believe the luck I have had lately. I have spent close to $3000 and still cant pass emissions and no one can figure out why. Actually I can pass the emissions but the check engine light stays on so I flunk. My mechanic for close to 30 years screws me, Ford knowing screws me then this guy on thursday, teachiing his wife to drive, jumps the curb and ends up through my fence and into my yard. My son call police and I go see. I ask if he and she are Ok. He says they are fine. He is out and she stays in the car smiling. He tells me to fix it and he will pay. I tell him no. I have to much going on trying to get my 2nd story addition done. He will have to call sears or some other professionals to replace the fence. I ask for his name and he says, "You know me. I own JJ Peppers. No I dont know you and I have not gone to JJ Peppers since my friend ran the place over 6 years ago. I ask again and he keeps telling me he owns JJ Peppers. I tell him, Lets turn this around and I drive thru your property and tell you not to worry cause I own Wal Mart. The fence he hit is 60 feet long on the east side. There are 7 center posts and 2 corner posts plus the top rails, caps and fencing. The fencing is all mashed and distorted. Wires are broke and the norteast corner post is really damaged, plus then I noticed that the north side of the fence has broken wires and bents posts as well. This fence is only about 25' long as it stops at the house where the wood privacy fence begins. He helps me to pull up the fence that was practicly on the gound. His black Lexus somehow ended up under the fence and his car is all scratched up and there was broken glass.
He also helps me to try and recap some posts and there is a section where the post came out from the other and they over lap. My son brings me a pen and paper and I get his name and work number. I also write down his license plate number and he leaves. About 15 minutes later a cop finally comes and he tells me to call the guy and have him come back. I do and he is mad because I want to protect my self. He finally arrives about 15 minutes later in a silver lexus with a buddy. The cop gets more info for me then leaves.

Yesterday at about 3 pm this jerk shows up with a friend and 3 posts and starts pounding one in. My hubby and I go to the window and yell at him. No knock on the door or anything. We explain to him that he needs to get in touch with the village and that the work must be done by a licensed,binded and insured fence man or contractor. The friend starts arguing with my husband and the "jerk" bends over and starts mumbling about how we Fers are trying to screw him. Can you believe the nerve of this guy. So I tell him if thats the way he wants it then I too can play hardball to. I will call his insurance company and I told him that he needs to replace the whole fence, not just the north and east side but the 100' south side and the 25' west side as well because it needs to look the same. I need continuity. Besides after spending 100K on an addition I refuse to have a 2 tone, new/old fence on my property. It would depreciate the asetic value of my home.

Any advice is appreciated.

Me :p

edited to add:

I have a large 104 pound dog that can no longer be out front because the fence is not secure. I have to put in in the back (really the side) where there is a wood privacy fence and he is depressed from it.

[fatesfaery]

If the only reason your car won't pass an emissions test is because the check engine light is on......unhook the battery. When you reconnect it the light will will stay out (mine stays out for a week or so). DH did that last sping and my car passed with no problem.

[freeplease]

Can we please get back to hating the Lexus guy? lol

Sounds like it's time for a chat with his insurance agent. He should consider himself one lucky fella. It could have been a child she hit, not a fence.

[Shann]

As soon as that accident happened I would have been out there taking pictures of the damage and his car and his license plate. THEN I would have been on the phone to his insurance company after the cop left to get someone out there to assess the damage and get a quote. Along with calling a few companies that put up fences to get quotes from them as well. I would have then let the lexus guy know what the findings were and while working w/ his insurance picked a company to come repair my fence.

I hope this gets taken care of soon, that sounds like such a hassell. As for your dog, maybe (if you are not all ready) if you and your family take it on a few walks a day it will be happier?

On the retail front... I'm in Vegas and you CANNOT find a house to live out here for $100,000, if you do it's deep in the ghetto and falling apart. The average home price just bumped up to $309,000 for a single family home which is probably around 1400-1600 sq. ft. I can't believe how expensive it is to live around the country anymore... I can definitely see spending $100,000 on a new addition, although only have two bathrooms in a six bedroom house is not nearly enough LOL we have three bedrooms w/ an optional fourth w/ three bathrooms. I couldn't imagine sharing one bathroom for just the two of us, but I like my space. :)

I hope this headache gets taken care of soon. I like the removing the bulb suggsetion or unplugging the batter, although it sucks to reset all your stations. :p

[evrita]

Go back a few post to the block party thing and see how much income they bring in a year here it is :confused:

hblueeyes
Registered User


Join Date: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,159 Re: the cost of living keeps rising so someone tell me WHY

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First I stated the fact that she was black. had it been a white worker doing that to a black family they would have won a sizeable lawsuit and not needed assistance. It happens all the time. Let a white commit a crime against a minority and it is a race crime and a federal offense. But when blacks set fire to whites because they dont belong in our neighborhood it is not a race crime. This is the mentality of the country we live in today. Gays can get benefits for their partners but a hetro couple unmarried are not afforded the same privilage. I could care if people are gay or not but make it fair. My best friend for 40 years has a partner whom she is allowed to have on her insurance, pension, etc. yet an unmarried couple whom have been togeter much longer than her and her partner and who also have children are not allowed to do the same. Make it equal for all. Period. Do not read into things that are not there. I am not saying this is the case for all employers but it is at hers. Her reaoning is that they have the option to marry and she does not. That may be but co habitating is co habitating.


Quote:
i took my husbands weekly wage before taxes and multiplied that by 26, came up with $24,010!!!! so why the heck am i told i cant get any of these programs when the brochure made by the PA Dept of family services(welfare) says i freakin qualify????



This is typical. it varies from state to stae and no one sems to know what is going on. I was told I did not qualify so I lied for one month. Big deal. My kids ate and I'd do it again if I had too. I never received wic but heard it is a great program.

My husband earns 18k a year and we do not qualify for anything. Not even medical for the kids because his employer offers insurance. The insurance is garbage and very expensive and not worth the paper it is written on. When you add premiums, deductables and copays it would be actually cheaper to buy BC/BS which we cannot afford. My hubby and I are lucky because we are vets and go to the VA which is free except for meds. So I have to pay out of pocket for my kids. So be it. I still owe $12,000 for my sons knee surgery. It will eventually be paid.

I wish our government would think of those at home first, the ones who vote them in and out of office.

Me

[stresseater]

ya'll need to move to oklahoma.. you can get an acre here from $3000 to $20,000 depending on where it is lol
Yep and there is no pesky auto inspections anymore. :D We have 53 acres here and it went for $750 an acre. Of course the cows were living inside the shack of a house on the place but hey... take the good and the bad. ;) :D

[firechic]

No offense, but that was my thought as well. Thats a lot of money just for an addition.

As far as the check engine light goes... why can't you just take the light bulb out from behind the check engine panel? It'd be a lot cheaper to have someone tkae your dash off and do that than it would to keep loking for problems that might not even be there. My check engine light stayed on for a year before I took the bulb out :)
RE the check engine light............you don't even have to do that...just put black tape over it.

[bulldog6186]

I would of bought a new/used car before sinking $3000 and still wont pass.
But anyway try taking the bulb out like other suggested.

And for the person who hit your fence don't argue with him just contact his insurance company.

[azrocky]

I live in Arizona and we have to go thru all of the emmissons crap, and several yrs ago I also had to get my jeep tuned up so that it would pass emissions, but the check engine light came on about a week or so before I could get it taken to DMV for the emissions test, well my hubby disconnected the battery cables and then the light stayed off for about a week or two long enough for me to get it to pass.
Good luck
azrocky

[andreame70]

My car is set up so that if I fail to turn the gas cap enough to make it "click" at least three times, the check engine light will come on. This is a 2003 model and it states this in the owner's manual. I have forgotten to do this 2-3 times and within a few minutes, the light came on. I took it to AutoZone and they have the handheld computer thing that they plug in to re-set the computer with. They do it for me for free and it only takes about 60 seconds. You can get the same effect by disconnecting the battery cables, but the guy at AutoZone told me that it is better to reset the computer with the equipment than to take off the cables and hope the the computer reboots itself correctly. With the handheld thing, you know for sure that it is reset correctly. You might want to try taking it to them. It couldn't hurt, especially since they will do it for free.

Andrea

[hblueeyes]

First for the emissions, it is not a state wide thing just for certain counties. My Mom live about 100 miles away and they dont have to do this either. The problem is that they do not actually check the emissions for 1996 or newer vehicles. They hook it up under the dash to an onboard computer, Which I too replaced. By disconnecting the battery, it does reset but then what happens is that the parts do not get hot enough and I dont pass but I dont fail. They tell me to drive the car more, on expired plates no less and come back because it is not ready to read. I would have been much better buying something else but then I probably would have found myself in the same situation buying someones elses problems. At least I know my motor, trans and braking system are new. They only problem is that damn engine light.

As for evrita comments let me say we were later invited. The party I had was wonderful and the kids in the area got a kick out of a Bear playing music for the party. He signed many autographs and all had a good time. My kids went to the block party that lasted well into the morning though they had to be in at 11 pm. Hubby and I could not go because we were working on the electrical for the addition. But from what I saw and heard it was a great time for all.

I did not pay for the addition. My mother is because her and her husband will be moving in with us. Me and my family will be in the new part and her and her husband will live on the main floor and my kids will also continue to have control over the basement. They are in their late 70s and he has alzheimers and parkinsons along with haveing a pace maker put in earlier this year. My Mom is diabetic, and also needs surgery on her spine so they needed to be closer to family where someone can help drive them to Drs. appts etc. The actual price of the addition has not yet hit the $100,000 mark yet but will by the time we have fiinished. We are doing much of the work ourselves to save money but time is of the eccessense now so we will be hiring out some work.

I continue to stand by my earlier comments of being turned down for assistance. Like I said if a white government employee had done what was done to us for all those months, to a minority family they would have sued and won. But I am not a sue happy person. I have never sued anyone, though there were times I would have liked to.

Getting back to the fence thing. We called the village and the building department said this guy has to buy a permit. ($15) He needs to get 3 estimates from licensed, bonded and insured companies and we choose which we want out of the 3 if any. If we dont like one of them then we can get our own guy. The bill is to be paid by the "jerk" thru the village. The village does this to make it easy on us and to protect us as well. This way if the check bounces or whatever we are out of it and the village takes care of it. That makes me feel so much better and relieves alot of tension I was feeling.

Have a great day all.

Me :p

[3lilpigs]

when you say 'village'.....do you mean like a home owners association?
just curious.

BTW...i wasnt trying to get a whole debate started over the price of houses and land :D . i just thought that $100,000 was a lot of money for an addition. (still do). but now that i see your parents/inlaws are moving in, its probably a bit more of an addition than i figured. i was just thinking something small......like a sunroom, or extention to a kitchen! lol

as far as the car goes.......last winter, i spent $2000 to get my blazer to pass inspection. Two weeks later, the transmission went up!! :mad:
You have no idea how mad i was!! (well, ok, maybe you do! lol) anyhow....i wasnt about to put anymore money into it...it already had 150,000 miles on it......so i ended up getting a new car. (which i absolutly LOVE!). Money might be tight for you now with that addition, but dont keep throwing money into that car either! perhaps a good used car for awhile until the house is done?

[hblueeyes]

When I say "village" I am speaking about the town I live in. The addition is a complete 2nd story. 4 bedrooms a full bath and a living area. (I love my mom but I need my own space as well as my hubby and boys). I would love to buy a new car but I really need a van or wagon. They are just too pricey and I doubt I would get a good interest rate because our income is so low. Besides hubby is out of work so we are living on our meger savings which is about to run out. It is tough but we will manage somehow.

3lilpigs, Your post made me smile and laugh. I do know how mad it made you.

Me :p

edited to add

I like the debates I read on the boards. It opens my mind. I would not have know about the great land deals to still be had in the US as well as many other things. With 2 at college and 2 at school and extra activities til the evening (7-9 pm) I do not have many opportunities for debates anymore.

Me :p

[Sara156]

We just bought a 3 bedroom, 1 and a half bathroom condo in California and it cost $371,000, which we thought was quite a deal.

[Night Wolf]

We just bought a 3 bedroom, 1 and a half bathroom condo in California and it cost $371,000, which we thought was quite a deal.

That quite a deal! Unfotunately that's all that most can afford in ca anymore (which is good if you don't want to deal with yard work anyway lol). :p