Car Crashes, Jaguars, and 1 more inch, does make a difference….

Have you ever had one of those MONTHS? Well I just did, and when life starts coming at you from every direction I did what everyone would do… got some bigger rims for my Knight Rider car, and bought a Jaguar.

Well, I guess I should back that up a bit. I got my son a great deal on a ford Contour that would have lasted him about 8 years with almost no problems. It was a sweet deal. Got it from a little old lady, garaged kept, oil changed at the dealer etc. So after a new set of tires all around, new brakes all around, and a drive belt just in case so I could turn my attention to other things.

Then 2 drunk men couldn’t mangage to drive past a parked car. Thanks, morons. Seriously, because you were idiots, I have been paying in time, effort, stress, and family upheaval for about a month. So next time get a car without airbags, and take yourself out of the game. Too harsh? They spent a night in jail, and I started paying for thier stupidity from that moment and am still dealing with their poor judgement to this day. At least my son’s parked car kept them from killing someone.

So on top of a full plate of life, I had to go find a new car quickly. (I am leaving out two other car accidents within the same week, a totaled rental car, and a crease down the side of the minivan. Gotta get back to starcar news eventually!)

So I go to an auto auction to get a quick replacement for the Contour, or a newer minivan to solve the transportation problem. Long story short, all the cheap cars were over blue book, no good minivans, so I bought a Jag.

No, my kid is NOT getting a jag. My wife wants a minivan (gotta love her!) OK, she needs a minivan, and I drive KITT and am just fine with that.
But we have discovered that it is fun to say “You want to take the Jag?” And my wife discovered that minivan + McDonalds drive through, = fine, but JAG + McD’s drive through = wanting to say “do you have any grey poupon?” every time.

So I had a nice line up in the driveway when Alex came over to put on my 15″ Knight rider wheels, and take off the wayyyy inferior 14″ rims.

The white car got dumped in my driveway because the insurance company wouldn’t pay for any more impound fees. That leaves pools of stuff on my driveway, black marks, blocks my gate for over a week, and I can’t get my batmobile out of my garage, or use my backyard to work on my Knight Rider car.
(See, this is just like that thing that happened to you…..)

Alex is the man and he is also the TOOL man, so there was no stopping him.
Compresser in the van, air tools and polished racing jack, and KITT was getting some new rims! (See the difference, Jen? 14″ on the rear, 15″ on the front! Man, it’s like night and day!) 🙂

We laid out everything for the job, and then we looked at the “pro painted” hub caps. I hadn’t unwrapped them as I figured I took them to a high end pro custom paint shop and they would be perfect. Instead, every one had imperfections on them. If I had painted them at home I would have said “Eh, good enough from 10 feet!” but when you pay it should be done right. So wheels went on without hubcaps.
After “test fitting” two wheels, we realized we had not put on the dust shields.

Well now the crushed contour is in a junk yard but the stains remain, I have a Jag in the driveway I am not sure what to do with (but it was a great deal!)
and KITT still doesn’t have hubcaps, but the new rubber on the road does make a difference compared to the 1997 tires I was driving on.

We decided to leave the crease in the van (not worth fixing) maybe sell the Jag, and I am off to an auction again this weekend, to again try and get some cheap transportation for my son.

there is a 2010 yellow camaro for sale, and a Peterbuilt truck that both with a little work could “transform” into starcars, but I am going to stay focused this time! Cheap car for son, cheap car for son…..
and maybe an A-Team van… cheap car for son…..

Now back to star car news….