This has been the worst day I have had in a very, very long time

[iluvmybaby]

I am having a really bad week, my car overheated and died on the side of the road and my finances are so shaky it is more then likely I can not even pay for a tow. What sucks is, I am very obsessive about maintenance, I get my oil changed every 3 months or 3,000 miles and have had the coolant flushed right as the weather was getting warm here in TN. I check the fluids 2x a week and they were fine. I am afraid to say, what else can go wrong? I dare not! Bummer is, I just got a job that now I am going to have to quit. There are no buses or cabs and it is not within walking distance. Has anyone else noticed that bad things come in threes?

[ilovecats]

:grouphug Hoping a miracle comes your way soon.

[gmyers]

I'd tell you to see if your car insurance will pay for it, ours does. But you have to pay it first them mail the bill to them and they send you a check for whatever it is.

[Eyore]

It may have been the thermostat went in your car. I know they're not that expensive and if you know someone that can change it for you it would save a tow and trip to the mechanic to get it changed. If it turns out not to be the thermostat then your not out a lot of money.
Hope things start looking up for you.

http://www.expertvillage.com/video/83415_change-thermostat-failure.htm

[Gherky]

:hug I hope things start getting better for you soon.

[iluvmybaby]

I'd tell you to see if your car insurance will pay for it, ours does. But you have to pay it first them mail the bill to them and they send you a check for whatever it is.

I do not have full insurance, the car is old and has 200,000 miles on it, and up until this I have had no problems from it.

Someone suggested to me it was a serpentine belt or an accessory belt that overheated

[evrita]

I do not have full insurance, the car is old and has 200,000 miles on it, and up until this I have had no problems from it.

Someone suggested to me it was a serpentine belt or an accessory belt that overheated

I was going to tell you that when the Dodge's serpentine belt went it overheated. The belt itself was 20.00 my husband was able to put it on and if you have to have someone do it for you it should be 30 minutes top maybe an hour for labor. BTW yes it does come in 3s

[BeanieLuvR]

I hope things get better for you soon. :hug

[pepperpot]

:hug I hope it all works out for you

[Army-Mom]

Hope things get better for you

[baragabrat]

Is there no way to get a ride from a co-worker? Even one you don't know that well? Pay for the gas or a small fee? Just something temporary until you can get your car taken care of? And things don't necessarily have to come in threes.

[jasmine]

maybe you can think of a friend, or even a friend that has a friend....... put the word out.
Maybe they know someone that can tow it back to your place with their truck or something.? Or may even know someone that will look at it for you and check it out maybe?
I know that a while back I knew my neighbor worked on vehicles, I mowed his lawn and cooked him dinner one night in exchange for him looking at my car to see what the prob. could be.
It ended up being the water pump slowly going out, and the belt was starting to unravel.
Just a thought.

[Shann]

I agree w/ Jasmine

Hope things look up for you soon.

[iluvmybaby]

I actually found someone who is willing to look at it in exchange for me sitting with his wife as her caregiver for a couple of hours to give him a chance to go run errands and such. NOW, all I need is to find someone who would be willing to tow it for me

[skyrider]

do you know anyone with triple a? when i was in the same boat my friend called triple a and used his free towing to get my car home

[cathych]

I am having a really bad week, my car overheated and died on the side of the road and my finances are so shaky it is more then likely I can not even pay for a tow. What sucks is, I am very obsessive about maintenance, I get my oil changed every 3 months or 3,000 miles and have had the coolant flushed right as the weather was getting warm here in TN. I check the fluids 2x a week and they were fine. I am afraid to say, what else can go wrong? I dare not! Bummer is, I just got a job that now I am going to have to quit. There are no buses or cabs and it is not within walking distance. Has anyone else noticed that bad things come in threes?

you are not going to believe this, but almost the exact same thing happened to us; about a month ago before the weather got hot the dealershop went in and had to do an a/c repair. Then last week, while driving along, funny engine noise, then blooey! Well, the car had to be towed from in front of our house, just turning it on made it get blazing hot. Turns out that the dealership did not put the car back together well after the a/c repair, and a piece of metal shirred the serpentine belt in two. Fixed right? WRONG! My dh takes to car to the graduation of a former student of his in Raleigh NC (2 hours away) he was already there at raleigh airport, when it happened again! (thank goodness for cellphones). They came and got him all the way from Wilmington, now we have a loaner car (a new 2009 I might add) sitting in our driveway. :thumpdown:

[iluvmybaby]

OK, I got really good news an hour or so back. The car overheated because the serpentine belt broke, it is amazing how one belt could cause such a major malfunction, but apparentily the serpentine belt does so much . He actually went and looked at my car and then towed it back to his garage for free, I bought the part and he put it on. All this cost me is $25ish for the belt and a home cooked dinner for his wife and him and 10 hours of health care at one or two block intervals at a time ((His wife had a stroke a year ago and she has all her facilities but he never leaves her alone)) He was so kind to me, I got a nice thank you card and I am baking them a cake ((her favorite)) It is amazing just when you think the world is going to heck in a hand basket, human kindness just humbles you

Thank all of you for your advice/comfort, it has been a very long month for me, and your words really helped


Edited this real quick to ad, and I didnt lose my job, I called my boss when this all went down and found out that another lady lived in my town, so she came and picked me up and would not take a dime from me for gas, but did let me buy her a sandwhich from subway.

[tonka06405]

love this happy ending so glad for you :)

[pepperpot]

So glad it worked out well for you.....:hug

[Airbuswife]

i read this before but didnt really know how to respond except for maybe a hug, lol! but now, all i can say is have faith that there are good, KIND, warm people out there who still care about other people. So glad some people came thru for you! now all you have to do is pay it forward ;)

[speedygirl]

I'm glad things turned out well. :)

[cathych]

OK, I got really good news an hour or so back. The car overheated because the serpentine belt broke, it is amazing how one belt could cause such a major malfunction, but apparentily the serpentine belt does so much . He actually went and looked at my car and then towed it back to his garage for free, I bought the part and he put it on. All this cost me is $25ish for the belt and a home cooked dinner for his wife and him and 10 hours of health care at one or two block intervals at a time ((His wife had a stroke a year ago and she has all her facilities but he never leaves her alone)) He was so kind to me, I got a nice thank you card and I am baking them a cake ((her favorite)) It is amazing just when you think the world is going to heck in a hand basket, human kindness just humbles you

Thank all of you for your advice/comfort, it has been a very long month for me, and your words really helped


Edited this real quick to ad, and I didnt lose my job, I called my boss when this all went down and found out that another lady lived in my town, so she came and picked me up and would not take a dime from me for gas, but did let me buy her a sandwhich from subway.

yes, your serpentine belt is the big belt that turns all the other belts. (learned this from my dh)

[jasmine]

yes, your serpentine belt is the big belt that turns all the other belts. (learned this from my dh)

yeah, that was what I was talking about in my earlier post with the belt thing, but mine was beyond and it is so wierd when they break cause you loose power steering, the water pump goes, it's crazy, it controls EVERYTHING!!


anywho~~
iluvmybaby-
I am soooo happy that you figured out what was wrong with your car, and am so happy you found someone to do!!

[iluvmybaby]

I really need to learn more about cars, I knew that there was a serpentine belt, but had no clue that it ran SO much! Ignorant, I know! Its amazing that a $20ish part affects your entire car, its wacko. Thanks for all the well wishes again

[jcw]

that's great been wondering about you and the job. I'm glad it all worked out so good for you

[gmyers]

I'm glad things worked out so good for you. There is some really nice people out there willing to help out.

[iluvmybaby]

Got my car back and it is running better then ever, they even replaced the coolant that I guess boiled over, and never charged me for it

[skyrider]

that is fantastic things went well:)