The Summer of the Car(Windshield More Specifically)

This Summer is turning out to be all about the Cars here at Chez Sluggy.

Since May we've spent $1,153.01 on car repair and maintenance.
May-new tires, belts, tune-up and oil change on Hubs car.
June-windshield repair, new windshield on Hub's car.  Mystery problem on College Boy's car.
July-another windshield repair on Hub's car.
Can I say Ugh here?

The one that irks me the most is the windshield issues.

While passing through Pascagoula MS on our Louisiana road trip in May on I-10 a truck through up a rock(pebble sized)that hit our windshield and put a nice hole into it near the driver's side edge.

When we returned to PA Hubs went and had the glass place fix it but they thought it just needed filling.
We have $100 deductible for glass replacement on the cars so we paid $79.50 OOP for that repair.
Two weeks later we get into the car to take Hubs to his favorite brewpub during Father's Day weekend.
I mentioned that it looked like the crack had gotten a bit bigger.....maybe 1/2 and inch on one of the lines emanating from the hole that was filled.
Hubs said I was hallucinationg.
Right...........

So we go to the brewpub and when we went out to the car 2 hours later the crack, that Hubs said was NOT betting worse/longer, is now snaking halfway across the windshield........

I know it's difficult to see in this photo under those fluffy cloud reflections but it is there nonetheless.

So Hubs takes it back to the glass place and we pay another $25 to get the windshield replaced this time.  Same "repair event" so they only charge us the difference between what we paid for the fill and the balance of our deductible......except they charged us $25 instead off the actual difference which was $20.50.
sigh.

The windshield replacement was on June 22nd.
Not even two weeks later Hubs is going down the mountain to get to the Interstate here to go to work on July 5th and another pebble hits his windshield and puts a hole into it.
WTF?!?

So as of this past Monday we have another filled hole and we are out another $79.50.
And don't even mention that he should have bought a kit and fixed it himself.
I mentioned that both times the glass company were just going to fill the hole and he REFUSES to even consider doing it.
Men.
Can't live with them,
Can't kill them.
;-)

CB's car is going to be the death of me.  It keeps throwing Check Engine codes.  The dealership had the car last month for almost a week running diagnostics on it and driving it around and pulling things apart and putting them back together.  After a bill of $551+ they still can't figure it out!  They even called Corporate or whatever.  This car is now famous(or should that be infamous?)at this dealership.  They "think" it's a bad oxygen sensor.  I told Hubs if he takes it back in there will be no more extended "look see"by the dealership, just replace the sensor and we are DONE!  I am not putting that kind of money into this POS car again only to have no solution or fix to the problem.

It kills me that Hubs is so eager to throw money at a car problem(because he knows nothing about them when it makes no sense to dump good money after bad.

Have I ever said how much I detest cars and the $ they suck out of my wallet?

Sluggy

The Car Gods are Angry Again

The Car Woes of 2014 continues here at Chez Sluggy.

When we got my minivan inspected in March the auto shop said we needed body work done(a rust/corrosion issue underbody)sooner rather than later.
Said issue would definitely fail our annual inspection next year and take the minivan off the road.

So we bit the bullet and took the car up to our "Auto Body Shop Guy" on Friday.
The news is bad and badder.

IF once he gets it up on the lift and can bang around under there AND he only has to patch the ends of whatever he is repairing, it's going to run $1500.
IF once he gets it up on the lift and can bang around under there and AND the "whatever" can't be patched and the middle has to be replaced, it's going to run $3000.

bleh.

I would have no problem sinking that kind of money into the van since it only has 98K miles on it and it's a 2003.
But it's a 2003 and only worth about $3500 anyway.
Can I justify putting $3K into a car only worth $3500 after it's fixed?
*sigh*

So we have 1 car that needs potentially $3K in repairs, 1 car that has major issues to repair(but keeping the oil and transmission fluids checked and capped is working to keep it on the road w/out sinking the $3K it needs to fix those issues)we have to address eventually and 1 car that is aok right now and needs no work.
The only car without issues is the one #2 Son drives.......our kid has a better car than both his parents at this point. lolz

Once #2 Son goes away to college, we were going to get rid of a car....not the one he drives.
Hubs was going to get rid of his "leaking too expensive to repair mess of a car" vehicle and take over the third car. 
But now my van is on the table for discussion too.....so do we ditch the van instead, since Hubs car is drivable for the foreseeable future with the tweaking he does on it?
Or do we ditch 2 cars come August and become a 1 car family?

I don't need a car except for errands-going to the grocery store, gas station, bank and post office.  I don't commute to a job.  All these can be done when he gets home in the evening and/or on weekends.  It becomes a little inconvenient with the bank and PO, but still doable.
The problem would arise if I had a medical appointment or emergency.

So what would you do in this situation?

I hate these blasted machines' associated costs!

Sluggy