When Life Gives You A Lemon... Part II

I shook the man's hand as he handed me the keys.  The seller had always claimed that he had a great mechanic for years and that the van was given a clean bill of health.  He offered to show me his receipts, and offered any assistance if the car needed repairs that were under his warranty or that his 'guy' had worked on.  The seller said something to the effect of, "Don't take this the wrong way but I hope I never hear from you again."  He wasn't being rude.  He meant he hoped that we would be happy with the Montana we just bought from him and that we would have a long, hassle-free ownership... we did not.  (See previous post)

It wasn't the thermostat.  It was the head gasket.  A costly repair that cost more that the car which I bought earlier in January.  In less than 30 days the used car I bought for a 2nd family car was in need of a major repair.  My 'Car'ma is the worst of the worst.  3 out of the 4 used cars I have bought in the last decade needed a major repair within the 1st month of owning them.  I have often joked that the only proof I have of a god is the fact that I have the worst luck with cars.  There must be some kind of higher power out there in the universe with a wicked sense of humor that I do not understand.  You cannot be an atheist when the cosmic joke is on you.

Suddenly I was faced with a major repair that cost more money than I was anticipating spending on the car in the 1st month of ownership.  Don't get me wrong, I know older used cars need upkeep and that car maintenance cost money but I would rather not have a car fall apart on me right away.  If I have to double down on my investment within 30 days that is not a good investment - that investment sucks!  Money is not something that we have ever had in abundance and there is no way that this repair was going to happen without some kid of assistance or divine intervention.

I contacted the seller to tell him of the problems I was having with the car.  I asked him questions through emails, and voicemail, about the overheating/thermostat issues.  In response he told me he'd never really had any issues like I was describing but to keep him updated.  I took the car in to have the thermostat replaced and the problem wasn't fixed.  The mechanic then explained that it must be the head gasket.  This was a possibility from the beginning but we'd hoped for the easier repair, and expected it to be the issue since it appears that the lower intake manifold gaskets had been replaced sometime in the past few years and that usually those aren't replaced unless you, the mechanic, are going into replace the head gasket, too.  (If you do not speak mechanic, which I do not, I can explain it a little simpler.  Work had been done on the engine which indicated that this might have been an issue in the past.  The repairs that appear to have been done were only a half measure, and most mechanics would have done a more complete job.)

I contact the seller again, because A) I'm trying to wrap my head around the mechanics' diagnosis and price quote and B) I want to see if the seller's mechanic has any paperwork on this particular problem.  I leave a message, fully expecting to not receive a return call, and go to work in the foulest of moods.  What are we going to do?  How are we going to absorb this financial blow?  Why am I cursed?

Back from the shop.

Here's where the story takes an interesting twist.  The guy calls me back.  Not only does he call me back but he feels terrible.  He is beside himself.  He claims he never would have sold the car to me if he knew it had this issue.  He does not want me to have to put the money in to pay for the repairs and says he'll buy the car back before he lets me spend the money.  He just needs more information so that he can go back to his mechanic and make sure he has everything straight.  Over the next few days we exchange texts and phone calls about the car.  He has his mechanic, and his brother, also a mechanic, feeding him questions to ask about the car to make sure the repairs are necessary, to find out the true nature of the problem and, I suspect, to cover his butt.  To be fair, I always had a good feeling about the seller and his wife.  They, a retired couple, seemed to me to be caring, thoughtful and above all honest.  I was beyond frustrated to find that the car wasn't as reliable as I'd been led to believe but was hesitant to think that I'd been screwed over.  They didn't seem the type.

Eventually, to clear his conscience, and wash his hands of the whole mess the seller cut me a check for the majority of the price I paid for the car.  I won't say how much but he was more than generous and I never expected him to make that decision.  I was blown away, and through several claims that he had no financial or legal obligations to me or my family, a few passive aggressive comments about me buying a used car without having any mechanical know how, and repeated reminders about how magnanimous his amazing act was I remained and still am grateful for this turn of events.  He didn't have to give me back the money but he did and I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth for very long.

Thanks to this fortunate turn of events we were able to afford the repairs.  We debated taking the check, selling the van which the seller did not want back, and trying to buy a different car but after consulting with our mechanic we decided to have the van repaired.  This is not a car we will be driving cross country and is only needed for local driving.   Our mechanic believes that with the repair performed it will serve us well.  Of course, we'll have to wait an see what the universe has in store for us unfortunate car owners.

PS.  Today is Leap Day 2016.  I don't think I've ever blogged on the 29th of February before.  I searched and could not find a Leap Day post.  We tried to explain Leap Year to Evie Sue today.  She quickly lost interest. So far 2016 is shaping up to be an interesting year... Happy Leap Year.