Same problem, different day

March 25, 2011

So here I sit at the Meineke again, third time this month. Now before I go on, I should say that I do not blame the guys working on my car. they have done what they can and they tried to keep the costs as low as possible.

The reason I came in the first time was that the heater/air conditioner fan quite blowing. I still got heat in the car, but it wouldn't blow, so it took a really long time to warm anything up. They replaced the blower resistor, but did mention that it might be the connection to the blower motor or the motor itself, but they wanted to start with this cheaper repair before going whole hog on the motor. So they replaced the resistor and I was on my way.

On Sunday, the blower was working just fine on the way to church, but when we came out of church, it would no longer work, so I went in and had them look at it again. This time they replaced the resistor again for me at no cost, but mentioned the connector if it happened again and got me a price on it. Yesterday, I was sitting in the drive thru waiting to pick up my lunch when the blower quit again! Ok, this time it only took a couple days, so I stopped at Meineke and made an appointment to have it looked at again.

He just walked out to talk to me, and they put the motor itself on the tester and it is pulling too much power from the engine, which is causing it to push too much thru the resistor, causing it to melt and blow the "fuses" in the resistor. So now, I need to replace the blower motor, that will be another $400 I am dropping on the car! At this rate I am going to be driving this thing forever to pay for all the replacements and repairs I have in it!

Of course this will also reinforce Brad's opinion of Dodge vehciles in general. We had an old Grand Caravan minivan and the electrial connection on that went and we had no interior lights, on the dashboard or anything. He complained that Dodge's were known to have electrial problems, and that all Dodge's have problems. When we got my Durango, Brad was not wanting it, but I wanted that Durango so bad, and after we looked at it, he went and looked up the blue book and found that we were getting a really good deal on the truck, so he let me get it. Of course that also means that everytime something goes wrong with it he never fails to remind me of his opinion on Dodge's in general. He is always asking if the guys tell me "It's a Dodge, so we expect these problems."

Last summer we had to replace the transmission on the Durango, and now all this with the heater. It is just not alot of fun. I hate putting alot of money into a vehicle, but then again, I would much rather put the money into it and keep it in good condition than have to put the money into buying a new vehicle. All looked at together though, I can't say that we have had all that much trouble with my Durango, in fact up until last summer when it was the transmission, was the first real problem, or big problem we have had. Before that it was just te problem with the check-engine light and the gas cap. I hate car payments! Thank you Dave Ramsey!

Now that leads me on to a whole new topic. Dave Ramsey. A few years ago our church hosted a Finicial Peace University, which is a program created by Dave Ramsey. Brad signed us up, which kinda surprised me, but it was life changing! We learned from Dave, some one who has been there, done that and bounced back, how to really live and to make money work for you and not you working for money. He taught us to live debt-free, and it has changed our lives. Anytime I hear someone talking about Dave Ramsey I have to jump in and share my opinions and experiences. At this point in our lifes, with three children, we are almost completely debt-free, we only have our mortagage left to pay. No other debt, just normal day-to-day bills, no car payments, no credit cards, no loans, and it feels wonderful.