We ain't having any fun here.

The most fun in the world is something that is whatever is special to each of us. The most fun thing in the world for me would be something like a beautiful day at the beach with a really good book and wonderfully behaved children playing with their beloved nanny so my husband and I can have an amazingly scrumptious dinner at a candle lit outdoor restaraunt on a tropical island. ((SIGH))
 Doesn't that sound just wonderful?
Mmmm....wonderful.
BUT, that's not what's been going on here. I have been mini van shopping at used car lots because my family van is on it's last leg. Just recently I had to take my sweet, old reliable, and beloved mini van into the shop for some repairs and to renew her tags. I knew when I took her into the shop it was probably going to be kind of expensive, but I wasn't prepared for the news I got. She has some seriously expensive problems that ring up to a grand total of $1,500.00.

I was pretty bummed out. I mean who has that kind of money just sitting around ready to be put into van repairs? I know my family sure doesn't. So I sent an e-mail to the hubby about all the problems, expensive problems, with our good old reliable van. He suggested that I go....ugh....van shopping.

Now let's think about this seriously. I have three boys that each have different school schedules, and at any given point I have at least one child with me for most of the day. There are a few windows of time that I am free but they usually last no more than two hours at a time. On the weekends I have all kinds of time because nobody has to be picked up and dropped off anywhere, but I have all three boys with me the WHOLE time.  I'm not sure of those other parents out there that have well bahaved children, but MY kids aren't like that. Just running into the store to get a gallon of milk can take forever and even more humiliating because how loud and rowdy my kids can be.

Well, I did what my poor husband asked me to do. I did as much of the online research as I could. Made a few phone calls. You know, everything I possibly could from home? I waited till I absolutley had to go to a car lot. So finaly, after much delay, I loaded up the four year old and drove to a used car lot.

A little something you should know about me. I had an amazing grandfather. He believed in showing me the small things about car repair. You know? How to change a tire, change the oil and all the simple things that I can do from home--if I wanted or needed to. So I KNOW what an oil leak looks like. I know what some of the cords and wires are for under the hood. I know a good battery just by turning on the engine, and I know what most of the noises mean when I put on the brakes. I'm not completely car illiterate. I'm NO mechanic by any stretch of the imagination, but I know a piece of junk when I look under the hood. Fortunatly I also know that before I purchase a good used vehicle, I know to take it to a good and trusted mechanic to get a thumbs up or a thumbs down for all the "invisible" stuff. The stuff I know nothing about.

And like any good used car salesman worth his salt, the guy I spoke with tried to show me used vans waaaay out of my price range in hopes that I was stupid enough to fall for it. Then he tried to show me vans that were fresh to the lot and haven't even been detailed yet, and they don't even know what the van is worth yet. Then of course, this guy simply had to stick to routine and show me vans within my price range but with all the "invisible" problems. I looked under the hood. I looked under the van's body. I got inside and checked all the lights and blinkers. I started it up slowly, letting the key sit in each spot for a second as I turned it on. It sounded good. It drove good. No squeaks with the brakes. There was a small spot under the van where it looked like oil, but if it's just a small oil leak, that's repairable. That's managable. So here is when I needed to take it to my trusted mechanic to get the official thumbs up/thumbs down.

 It was also time to go get the other boys from school too. I let Mr. Car Salesman know that it's time for me to go get the other kids and if I come back here with all three boys, it better be worth my time because they won't make car shopping easy. He promised it would be. He promised.

Uh-huh, riiiiiiight.....I was sceptical. Sceptical but I did it anyway.

I need to make this long story short, because this story can become long if I let it. Trust me. I got the other boys from school; drove all the way back to the lot, drove the prospective van and all the boys with me to the mechanic's shop on the other side of town, got a HUGE thumbs down, and drove back to Mr. Car Salesman's lot to let him know I am greatly dissapointed with his honesty skills and left there with three hungry, grumpy, tired boys. I was frustrated. I was angry! But most of all I was exhausted. I had NO dinner made, nobody had done their homework and it was waaaay past time for getting ready for bed. I had wasted more than five hours dealing with this trust worthy-challenged car salesman and his van with invisible problems. $957.00 worth of problems to be exact.

So here is my issue. Here is what I am dealing with so far this week. This may be "fun" for some folks out there. And I'm sure that this would be considered fun to Mr. Car Salesman, but for me and my family, this is NOT fun. This isn't even slightly bearable. I woke up the next morning from this experience with a giant headache. The moment I woke up I felt like I had just woken up from surviving a battle. All I could think to myself was, "I think I'm allergic to bull-shit". My body can not physically handle used car salesmen and all their bull shit.

I don't understand why this has to be some stupid game? I am bringing everything to table and laying it out. I explain what I have, what my budget is and what I want. All I ask is that I find something within those terms or as close to it as humanly possible. I didn't ask for somebody to pee on me and tell me it's raining. Why is dealing with used car salesmen so hard? I think I have, over the years, grown to find used car salesmen about as bad dealing with something gross and slimy that requires a full shower when your done. It must take a special kind of extra gene. The scum-bag gene, to be a good used car salesman. I almost feel sorry them.

I'm unfortunatly not finished here. I still have to keep looking and I HATE it. I HATE IT!!!!!
I HATE this big dumb game they all play and I HATE having to take all my kids with me to these car lots and I HATE that I am considering getting rid of my PAID for van to find something else that will require payments.

UUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!! I HATE IT!