Completely not BK related rant

[JollyGG]

I am so mad right now.

I've been trying to sell my old '83 S-10 truck. Well I live in town so all the responses I've been getting to my ad have rather unrealistic expectations of a 25 year old vehicle that I'm only asking $750 for.
So I gave the local salvage yards a call. One wasn't interested, the other was interested when I mentioned that I put a rebuilt engine in only 30k ago. It is 4WD and has a V6. However the body is really rusty. He said he could probably do $400 and when could I bring it out? I told him Friday.
So today, Friday, I drive the 30 minutes out there only to find out the guy I talked to is gone for the weekend. So I tell the other guy there what we talked about and ask if he can help me. He starts grumbling about how $400 is kinda high and '83 is kinda old. I tell him it has a good drive train and he gets that look that some men get when they are shocked that a woman knows a car word. He finally gives the original guy a call and agrees to look at the truck. He starts it, looks under the hood, keeps asking me how old the engine is, comments on the rust, ect. Then he tells me to go have a seat inside while the mechanic looks at it (WTF). So the mechanic looks at it and the guy comes back in and tells me they are not interested. The guy I talked to on the phone wanted the truck for a yard truck not to part it out. I was too mad to ask him what he would give me for the truck as salvage?
I've bought a used engine before - something with 30k on it fetches 800-1000. I took an hour and half off of work and drove the 30 minutes out there to get sent home with my truck. I'm more than a little suspicious the problems I had dealing with them had alot to do with my gender.
My father was a mechanic. I actually do know a thing or two about vehicles.
AHhhhhh it just makes me so mad when mechanics, insurance adjusters, parts dealers, and such treat me like an idiot.
My dad is coming out to see me for memorial day next weekend. I'm really tempted to send him back out there with the truck. I'll bet he comes home with cash.

[twuoo]

Try advertising on www.craigslist.com

[SinkingFast]

I hear ya, Jolly.

My Dad was also a mechanic. I worked with him one summer to rebuild the engine in our car. I know an Allen wrench from an impact wrench.

I've been car shopping the last month looking to replace our family car. First I had to get over "Sticker Shock". Man, oh man, how prices have gone up on cars!

Then, all these male sales persons say things like, "I'd bet your husband has to look at the car and sign off on the purchase. Right??!!"

Hell NO!!

But I play "dumb blonde" and let them think that so I get to look at "all the pretty cars".

The one that irritated me the most was the guy who treated me like a wretched homeless person. I was not dressed up. It was a cold, windy day. My hair was a mess. No make-up on. I'm car shopping for gosh sakes!!

I have a pre-approved blank check to spend up to $28K. I'm looking at vehicles when the salesman directs me to less expensive priced cars. "Those are $ABC. These over here are $XYZ. More your price range." Unreal!!

Well I found me a little, out of the way Dealership that knows how to treat people. The salesman gave me Dealer Cash, Manufacturer Incentives, AND,......... He has some "Employee Discount" tickets to help customers get better pricing. My salesman gave me one of those. Saved us an additional $1500. The only involvement Hubby had with the deal was to show up and sign a few papers.

[JollyGG]

I'm calmed down now. Sinking - I'm glad to see another mechanics girl out there. I also make the car decisions in our house. My husband isn't that mechanically inclined though he is learning. We often play their game and let my husband do the talking, but that usually really frustrates him.
The car salesman directing me to the lower priced model's would also have made me mad. I grew up in a town where the local rancher were often ranching for the tax break. The car salesmen in that town usually learned the hard way that the scuffy old guy could sometimes buy and sell that dealership.

[Granny]

Count me in as another daughter of a mechanic. I too am more mechanically inclined that my trucker husband. He can work on the big truck, but can't figure out how to stop the VCR from blinking 12:00.

When we first started dating, he needed to change the spark plugs in his pick up but opted instead to take a nap. While he was napping, I changed the plugs....had him hooked ever since.

Speaking of hooked, today is our 18th wedding anniversary. Too bad he's not here to celebrate with me. Oh well, I will enjoy a nice quiet dinner by myself (without the grandkids). YEAH

[JollyGG]

Count me in as another daughter of a mechanic. I too am more mechanically inclined that my trucker husband. He can work on the big truck, but can't figure out how to stop the VCR from blinking 12:00.

When we first started dating, he needed to change the spark plugs in his pick up but opted instead to take a nap. While he was napping, I changed the plugs....had him hooked ever since.

Speaking of hooked, today is our 18th wedding anniversary. Too bad he's not here to celebrate with me. Oh well, I will enjoy a nice quiet dinner by myself (without the grandkids). YEAH

Happy Anniversary, even if Hubby can't be there. 18 years - congratulations.

See - there are more of us women out there who know a thing or two about a vehicle than people think. I just wish the mechanical world would evolve to realize that a touch sooner.