It never ends

Brothers of Briar

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Corncobcon

Well-known member
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Joined
Oct 15, 2017
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Location
Missouri Ozarks
Can I rant?


Just because I help pay for my grand daughter's college, it doesn't mean I have to pay for her car repairs also. Saturday her volleyball team's bus didn't work, so the girls all had to drive their own vehicles to the scheduled tournament in Wichita. After their games they were ready to leave and her car wouldn't start. The car was towed to a service garage and they diagnosed the problem as a bad battery. The garage charged her double for what a battery would cost. She called her mother who had to drive over 2 hours to pick her up. As far as I know, her car is still there but the granddaughter is back at school. Today I overheard my wife talking to our daughter and said she would put money in her account so she could pay for the cost of getting the car fixed. It just gets me all POed. :evil: I could go on and on, but why?
 
My wife is absolutely convinced that women are always taken advantage of when it comes to servicing vehicles. I have seen it in action.

So it is my responsibility to deal with the vehicles. And I do not hesitate to chew anyone's ass when necessary. It helps having spent time in a dealership parts department. Hung out at the local hotrod shop. Hung out at the drag strip. Worked on my own vehicles, including rebuilding. Even not knowing modern vehicles well, I have enough knowledge to understand the problem.

Dealerships typically mark up any parts 100% that they have to obtain outside their own shop. I can walk in to any NAPA and get a better rate than I would be charged through the dealership. Service shops really make the dealership money. Car sales, not so much.

Sometimes it is necessary to negotiate. I try not to be a pain in the ass. But they know that I know, the game, and to treat me right.
 
I agree with you. The biggest problem is that they were almost 300 miles away from where I'm at. If I was closer, I would have been there for them so they would not have gotten ripped off. And, one of these days the 20 year old will have to learn how to manage money. Her mother is the same way, so then they rely on the grand parents. I try to stop all the excessive spending, but my wife feels she has to support them. Most of the time I don't know what is going on. If it wasn't for my oldest daughter, I wouldn't be informed!
 
Been there brother. Unfortunately its a battle you'll never win. Kudos on keeping your cool.

Jim
 
A lot of times, my wife will give the kids money out of the side window when I've got the front door under a tight watch.

I sent this to my daughter (sophomore in college) the other day, telling her it's my parenting style:

 
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