It wasn’t very long ago that I heard that asbestos is still actively mined in some countries. I think I was told that Canada is one of those countries. I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but I was certainly surprised to hear that because asbestos is so closely linked to Mesothelioma Cancer. When my wife was working for the phone company, one year her boss put her in charge of an OSHA inspection that included inspecting the building that she worked in for asbestos. That was when she learned that exposure to asbestos could cause Mesothelioma.
Since then we’ve learned a lot about how millions of people suffer, and die from that horrible cancer. I just can’t imagine that any country would allow mining of asbestos to continue! But apparently asbestos is found in lots of things – from insulation to car brakes! I would think that the scientists could come up with a different product that works as well with fewer health hazards!
Our Lumina needs to be inspected, and we knew that there were a couple of issues we needed to address in order for it to pass inspection. So we dropped it off at the garage this morning and came home. We expected to be able to pick it tomorrow.
Well, the dreaded telephone call came in. The repairs are going to cost more than we had anticipated. We told the representative that we talked with to go ahead and do the repairs, but now we are going to have to put a few things that we wanted to do (like put in a remote starter) on hold. The car will be in the shop for an extra day or two. We have to repair it; we can’t afford a new car! That’s discouraging, but that’s life!
Part of growing up includes buying a car. What an irritating process buying a car is! Especially buying from a dealer. When you go into a dealership and the salesman asks you if you have a trade-in, the smart thing to do is to say no, that you are paying cash! If you say you have a trade-in, and say that you brought it with you they are going to ask for your keys so they can give you a trade-in value estimate. Well, once you hand over your keys, you are at their mercy until they agree to give your keys back to you! The last time that happened to us, my wife got irate that they weren’t forthcoming with the keys so she told the salesman that he had five minutes to return the keys or we were leaving anyway, since she brought another set of keys with her! She got her keys pretty fast then!
Another important part about buying a new car is getting car insurance. One should have a good idea how much the auto insurance is going to cost! Take some time to shop around for cheap car insurance. I can remember the last time I bought a new car that the cost of the insurance went sky high! That was an unpleasant surprise and now I’m careful to shop for that before I commit to buying the car!
Winter would be a lot easier if our equipment didn’t keep breaking down! I don’t understand it at all. We take really good care of all of our equipment. It is supposed to be built well, yet it seems that the equipment is constantly breaking down! I’m tempted to buy brand new stuff because then the warranties would cover the costs of repair, but it is hard to justify the extra expense. Sometimes even having the repairs covered under warranty isn’t enough – breakdowns incur lost opportunity costs, not just repair costs. Built in obsolescence is the villain here, of that I am certain!
You just gotta love how the Internet makes looking at car reviews so much easier. There are many website dedicated to assist consumers with their search for the perfect vehicle. I have been looking at some nice chevy silverado 1500 pics on Thecarconnection.com website that is filled with all the information anyone could ask for on new and used cars. I have always been a Chevy man and I can tell you that they (Chevrolet) is still cranking out some nice looking vehicles. The chevy Volt specs that I stumbled onto there were very interesting and the picture intriguing, to say the least. Check out this 2007 beauty:
I certainly would like to take advantage of the program that has been extended, the Cash for Clunkers program, before it finally comes to an end. A lot of people have taken advantage of this extension and I don’t want to be left out in the cold on the deal. I’m taking this offer seriously and hopefully my tax refund check will go a long way this year and I can use a good portion of it for a decent down payment.
I’ve even taken a gander at the honda element, now you can really fit a good amount of stuff in the back of this sport-utility. I have to say is an unique alternative to the other conventional sport-utility vehicles, with it’s awkward looking boxy shape, along with it’s dent-absorbing plastic body panels, and rear-hinged “suicide” back doors, it’s truly sporty and stands out from all the others. Not sure if that is good or bad in this instance. I do like to be unique but not necessarily standing out from the crowd. The older I get the more I feel the need to blend in most of the times, heck I don’t even want to put any bumper stickers on any of my vehicles any more.