We usually glide smoothly along through life, Cliff, Gabe and me; the last few months, though, have presented us with a few sticky problems; nothing life-or-death, you understand. We're doing fine financially and, for our ages, fairly healthy. Things like the CarMax saga keep coming up. It's just a matter of several plans seemingly going awry here and there in clusters. I say "seemingly" because I have learned that oftentimes, events that seemed to be bad at the time turn out to be some of the best things that ever happened.
Meanwhile, I look to my Creator.
Back in the 1940's, my parents were having problems with my half-brother, Jack. He'd been raised by my dad's aunt and uncle after his first wife died giving birth to the baby. When my parents got married a few years later, they tried to take custody of him, but the Aunt would not let him go; my folks would go get him when he was a little older, but Aunt Sadie would come and haul him back home with her. She had raised him from birth so my dad could work: Daddy's mother had also died in childbirth, so he lived with his dad, his brothers, and one sister, Gladys... I think she was about 14 when Daddy brought his daughter, my sister Maxine, into the house. As I recall the story, I believe Aunt Gladys quit school to raise the baby girl that apparently Aunt Sadie didn't want. But Sadie claimed Jack as her own until he was 12 and started to get in trouble; then she couldn't handle him and turned him over to my parents.
Yesterday Cliff said, "Kids these days don't know what "poor" is." "No," I answered. "and our generation really has no clue about it either, compared to what our parents went through."
Imagine one little girl, aged 14, not only being the cook and housekeeper of a farmhouse, but taking on an unwanted (by Daddy's aunt and uncle) two-year old, doing all that in extreme poverty. When Daddy and Mother married, they brought Maxine home to live with them. She has been a blessing to everyone she's met, and still blesses the world with her grace. But I've digressed.
So my parents were having problems with a very rebellious teenaged boy; Mother poured her heart out in a letter to her mom, my Grandma Stevens. Grandma wrote Mother in answer, and I have that letter. My grandmother had been widowed in 1938 and lived alone after her youngest son, Leo, married and moved a short distance down the road with his wife. Grandma never drove a car, so Uncle Leo and his wife took her anywhere she needed to go; when their children were big enough, they helped Grandma Stevens out in many ways around her yard and house.
I'm going to type the whole letter here; it speaks volumes to my spirit. I have no doubt she cried as she wrote the letter, and I know for certain my mom would have cried as she read it. I'm leaving all spelling and lack of punctuation exactly as she wrote it, except for adding periods to make it easier to read.
Dear Lola and all.
Well Lola I will try to rite you a few lines. I surely do sympathize with you all. It sure was bad. I sure hate it so bad. It just made me sick Lola when I read your letter. I sure feel so sorry for you all. Now don't take all the blame on yourselves. You were doing your best for Jack but he is just at that age he don't know what he wants to do. I hope he soon straightens up and trys to be a man and do what is right and I pray for him and you all that he will straighten up. Lloyds (this refers to my mom's sister and her husband) and Leo (mother's youngest brother) were here today and read your letter. We were all sick about it. Couldn't hardly eat at all. So you have all our sympathy and whatever you do don't go back on your dear Lord. he is your very best friend and will help you if you just pray and do your duty to your lord. I prayed for the last 4 years my son Paul would be spared to come home and see me and live with his wife & I feel my prayers were answered. (Uncle Paul fought in Germany in World War II) so I have faith he will hear your prayers if you just won't forsake him. I feel he has been with me the last 7 years to give me strength to go on here. It's been hard & I have tried not to complain. Been times I would give anything just to go somewhere & see some of you children. I want to come up so bad & I think now since Lloyds have tires they might go and take me. Leo would in a minute if his car was fit but it isn't & he wants to pay you folks some. Hope all are well. Sure hope you feel better by now. Am so glad Donna is well. Hope she stays that way. We had it real cold a few days. Had some snow. Wish I were there with you tonite. Maybe I could comfort you some. Lola we all think of dear old dad when we are in trouble but our heavenly father is the one to look to. I hope and pray you will all be better and every thing will be alright so just keep praying and hoping for the best. Lots of love to you from your mom with deepest sympathy.
As I read this letter, I feel I can handle anything. I'm so glad Mother kept this and left it behind for me.
Enjoy this day, won't you? We never know which day will be our last on this earth.
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Tuesday, July 09, 2019
Our experience with CarMax
Sit back, folks. I have a story for you.
Let me preface this story by telling you that many of our friends and relatives are fans of CarMax. That's why we decided to look at cars there after hitting a few other places first to find out exactly what sort of car we wanted. We were looking for something with good gas mileage, and something Cliff, with his arthritic bones, could drive for long distances without discomfort. Also, thanks to Cliff's preference, it needed to be white. I know, right? Also, we didn't want a car payment, so we had a price range in mind.
The first car the pleasant salesman showed us something that was priced right, and Cliff thought it would probably do. When we got out of the car, there was another car right beside us that was a 2018 and had very few miles on the odometer. Unlike the first one we tried, this 2018 Nissan Sentra was white and in like-new condition. It cost more than we had intended to pay, but after test-driving it, we both really liked it. It even smelled brand new! The ride was smooth as silk.
"Well," I said, "if the payment were small enough, I'm sure we could handle it."
We went inside with the salesman. I asked him what kind of interest their loans charged. He said if we had good credit, we could get 3.99%; nobody has cheaper interest than that, he said.
We do have great credit, but our credit union often has better interest rates than most other sources. We told him we wanted to go there and see what they could do. After doing a credit check, the loan lady said because the car was so new, we could get 2.99% interest. We took a check to CarMax and were told we could pick up our car the next day. We also took care of details like property tax, which CarMax does for their customers, and the paperwork we'd need to insure the vehicle.
Then we signed some papers, and agreed to return the next day to pick up our almost new car, We went back to the booth where our salesman did business and were chatting with him while we waited for them to tell us our car was ready when someone on the intercom called his name. He disappeared through a door and was gone awhile. When he came back, he said as they were washing the car and getting it ready for us, the transmission totally stopped working. However, they would take it to Nissan and get it fixed. At this point, we weren't only disappointed, we were also a little wary of these people. Were they feeding us some kind of line?
I asked the salesman how long a wait we'd have; he thought probably two weeks. On the way home we went to our insurance man and set up the insurance on the car.
Two weeks passed and we heard nothing, so after another three days, we called CarMax. Guess what? There was more wrong with the car than the transmission: There was a bent frame, something wrong with some "pan" (what do I know about cars?), and I don't know what all else. They would either let us find another car, or give us back all our expenses so it would be as though we had never bought the car.
Easy for them to say, but we had to see the insurance folks in hopes they could fix the mess we'd created. Thankfully, even after two weeks, they were able to get the car off our insurance. So another waiting period began, and two weeks later we'd heard nothing. Had they paid off the loan? Had they taken care of the three-year warranty we'd paid for?
Thursday I got a call from a lady at CarMax: She asked if we'd received a lien release. "I haven't received anything at all," I told her. "We didn't even bring that car home."
Apparently communication isn't one of CarMax's strong suits. They don't even tell their employees what's going on!
Today, finally, we are at peace with this whole mess. Nobody called me to let me know what was happening with the money we'd left with them, so I called and talked to the manager. He assured me they had the lien release and had returned the money for our three-year warranty onto the credit card we had used to pay them. By the way, our son said the car should have still had a factory warranty as new as it was, so we shouldn't have had to get any other warranty.
All's well that ends well. But these people have no communication skills at all! As I said, we know lots of people, our son included, who love Carmax. We don't.
And honestly, after a month of waiting for a paid-for car that didn't materialize, at this point I'm ready to keep traveling in our old Mercury, which is almost old enough to be considered a classic. Who needs a new car?
OK, we'll probably look around for a car at some point, but when we find one we like, the deal had better go smoothly.
Just color me thankful, because this story could have ended in worse ways.
Let me preface this story by telling you that many of our friends and relatives are fans of CarMax. That's why we decided to look at cars there after hitting a few other places first to find out exactly what sort of car we wanted. We were looking for something with good gas mileage, and something Cliff, with his arthritic bones, could drive for long distances without discomfort. Also, thanks to Cliff's preference, it needed to be white. I know, right? Also, we didn't want a car payment, so we had a price range in mind.
The first car the pleasant salesman showed us something that was priced right, and Cliff thought it would probably do. When we got out of the car, there was another car right beside us that was a 2018 and had very few miles on the odometer. Unlike the first one we tried, this 2018 Nissan Sentra was white and in like-new condition. It cost more than we had intended to pay, but after test-driving it, we both really liked it. It even smelled brand new! The ride was smooth as silk.
"Well," I said, "if the payment were small enough, I'm sure we could handle it."
We went inside with the salesman. I asked him what kind of interest their loans charged. He said if we had good credit, we could get 3.99%; nobody has cheaper interest than that, he said.
We do have great credit, but our credit union often has better interest rates than most other sources. We told him we wanted to go there and see what they could do. After doing a credit check, the loan lady said because the car was so new, we could get 2.99% interest. We took a check to CarMax and were told we could pick up our car the next day. We also took care of details like property tax, which CarMax does for their customers, and the paperwork we'd need to insure the vehicle.
Then we signed some papers, and agreed to return the next day to pick up our almost new car, We went back to the booth where our salesman did business and were chatting with him while we waited for them to tell us our car was ready when someone on the intercom called his name. He disappeared through a door and was gone awhile. When he came back, he said as they were washing the car and getting it ready for us, the transmission totally stopped working. However, they would take it to Nissan and get it fixed. At this point, we weren't only disappointed, we were also a little wary of these people. Were they feeding us some kind of line?
I asked the salesman how long a wait we'd have; he thought probably two weeks. On the way home we went to our insurance man and set up the insurance on the car.
Two weeks passed and we heard nothing, so after another three days, we called CarMax. Guess what? There was more wrong with the car than the transmission: There was a bent frame, something wrong with some "pan" (what do I know about cars?), and I don't know what all else. They would either let us find another car, or give us back all our expenses so it would be as though we had never bought the car.
Easy for them to say, but we had to see the insurance folks in hopes they could fix the mess we'd created. Thankfully, even after two weeks, they were able to get the car off our insurance. So another waiting period began, and two weeks later we'd heard nothing. Had they paid off the loan? Had they taken care of the three-year warranty we'd paid for?
Thursday I got a call from a lady at CarMax: She asked if we'd received a lien release. "I haven't received anything at all," I told her. "We didn't even bring that car home."
Apparently communication isn't one of CarMax's strong suits. They don't even tell their employees what's going on!
Today, finally, we are at peace with this whole mess. Nobody called me to let me know what was happening with the money we'd left with them, so I called and talked to the manager. He assured me they had the lien release and had returned the money for our three-year warranty onto the credit card we had used to pay them. By the way, our son said the car should have still had a factory warranty as new as it was, so we shouldn't have had to get any other warranty.
All's well that ends well. But these people have no communication skills at all! As I said, we know lots of people, our son included, who love Carmax. We don't.
And honestly, after a month of waiting for a paid-for car that didn't materialize, at this point I'm ready to keep traveling in our old Mercury, which is almost old enough to be considered a classic. Who needs a new car?
OK, we'll probably look around for a car at some point, but when we find one we like, the deal had better go smoothly.
Just color me thankful, because this story could have ended in worse ways.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)