I am going to take it in this weekend, but the sucky part is I just moved to this town and I have no clue what mechanic to go to. Oh well, guess I'll just have to figure it out!

Here's the cars I have had so far:
1. 1975 Chevy Malibu (caught on fire )
2. 1988 Pontiac Sunbird (threw a piston)
3. 1986 Ford Bronco (OK car, but my dad sold it)
4. 1990 Chevy S10 (brother wrecked it)
5. 1988 Ford Crown Victoria LTD (awful awful awful car)
6. 1988 Pontiac Bonneville (belt and AC problems)
7. 1990 Chevy Lumina (various problems)
8. 1988 Chevy Caprice (current car)

So I guess I only had 8...I counted once and I thought it was 9...I can't even keep track anymore. My dad is kind of a control freak, and insisted he choose all my cars for me. I paid for the first one, and after that he kept trading them in.

I hope I don't sound like a spoiled brat....but I am just SICK of this. I hate driving unreliable cars, cars with over 150,000 miles on them, cars that have no floor in the backseat (in my Malibu I could see the road go under my feet), cars with melted duct tape all over the seats, cars with broken gauges, cars with constant problems. Wouldn't you think a dad would want his daughter to at least drive something safe? I know I should be thankful I have a car at all, and I am. I'm just sick of pouring all my money into this stuff.

Now that I'm on my own, I gave my dad back the last car and started thankfully driving my own car, the nicest one I could afford (free), in my own name, for the first time. Now that it's having problems, I'm ready to lose it. I just got back from lunch and the Check Engine light came on again. It's going to the shop this weekend. I also hate taking my car to the shop because people always try to rip me off. They think because I'm a girl I don't know anything about my car.

For example, the last time I took my car in to be serviced (it needed a new starter), the mechanics called and told me I needed all new belts. Well, I just replaced all my belts two months before, so I knew this was B.S. Just for the heck of it, I asked him how much it would be, and he told me "about $300." YEAH RIGHT. He said, "Well, you've got a lot of belts here!" Um, no, my car hasfour (maybe five) belts. I had bought the belts two months before and my dad replaced them - for a grand total of $30. So I said, "No thanks, I'd rather not replace them." And his response? "Oh, well you kind of have to, because we already took the old ones off and threw them away."

I about had a fit. I told him I didn't care if he had to go dig in the dumpster himself to find them, he was going to put my old belts back on, and quick. I had not authorized them to change the belts and I was not going to. I knew that they hadn't really thrown them away, or even taken them off probably. They were just trying to get me. Like I'm friggin' stupid or something. I picked up my car that day, with the old belts (which magically reappeared out of the trash), paid for my new starter, and left. Ha!

Go on, try to take advantage of me. I dare ya.

*SORRY* for the rant!