Too Many Cars, Too many Problems

Some of you may know my father started as a mechanic and my brother too. So growing up , I was pretty spoiled when it came to getting my cars fixed. I also realize I should have had more interest and paid more attention to what they did.

Then I married Jim. Now Jim has been a good husband . But, he is no mechanic ! And in his defense, with 4 boys in christian school and needing to be clothed and fed, we did not always have money to fix the cars, so Jim would say " Oh it works if you do it this way"
I want to write a list of car problems I have had to put up with during my married life ;

1) Most of you have heard about the window washer pump which failed so I could not spray my windows when they were dirty. Jims fix was to put a spray bottle on my front seat.
2) My windsheild wipers were wore out, so Jim put on new ones . I went to turn the wipers on , the next rainy day. One of them flew off my car and the metal then proceeded to scrape my windsheild like nails on a chalkboard. ( this happened 2 times before it was right )
3) My driver side door of my Capri started to sag so when closing it, it would not latch. Jims fix was " Roll the window down, put your hand at the top ,half in and half out of the car, lift with all your might, then pull the door closed , then roll up the window " Be sure to wear gloves for this one in the winter.
4) Driver door will not open on the monarch ( mustard yellow car which we aquired very cheap when my 92 yo grandfather quit driving) Just don't worry about it, get in from the passenger side .
5) Trunk of the capri will not stay open on its own. Not a problem, just hold it open with your back, head and shoulder while you get the 15 bags of groceries out. Then take an advil for the headache.
6) Driver seat will not latch on the firebird so it cannot be adjusted. No problem, just shove a box between the front and back seats or drive in the reclining position.
7) Front bumper and light of cougar is loose after being hit by Esthers car when she did not see it behind her car. Duct tape it so it does not fall off . ( currently still a problem)
8) Windsheild wiper controls on the Jimmy just keep spinning around since the plastic part broke. The wipers go on and off randomly like a phantom and if you spin the control long enough , they may go off or on even when you need them.
9) The sky is falling ! The material on the roof of the Jimmy starting falling off. Jim tried glue, duct tape, both temporary fixes. Then he tore it all off. Now when driving it looks like you have yellow dandruff from the dust which falls off the roof of the car.
10) The ignition of the cougar makes a loud grinding noise at times when you start it. Jim says you have to shake the key and turn the steering wheel and keep trying until it starts.
11) The shifter in the cougar( and the Jimmy) are not as they appear. They have both been rammed so roughly that reverse is neutral, neutral is drive, and drive 1 is really drive 2.
12) Lets not forget the sable : Driver side mirror was torn off by an 87 yo driver going down 32 nd st. when I was taking care of Zak. Jim duct taped it but finally took it to the tech center ( cheaper) to get it fixed. When my car was returned ( middle of winter) When I turned on the defrost, the driver side window went down and would not go back up. ( back to the tech center, Jim had alot of faith) And it only took 3 months to fix both times.
13) Passenger seat in the cougar broke in the short person position. No problem, just squish in the front, it gives people in the back seat more room. We are all 6 ft tall or >.
14) 2 cars with broken gas gages. You better know how many gallons of gas you just got and how many miles to the gallon the car gets, or your screwed.
15) Stearing and brake problem on the cougar. Now this is the most current. Mind you Jim has now decided after all these years to fix it himself. He has had no formal training, and you see how the previous problems were fixed. He said its ready to drive. Soo I took out the cougar-and guess what ? It stears like a truck, it took all my strength to turn corners. And the brakes do work , however in a jerking gradual way. Luckily I did not need to go out of town.

Since I value my life, I am taking this cougar to a certified mechanic. And when my guys are all out of college, I am getting a new car !