Tuesday, October 7, 2014

It didn't pass

Every year before I head out to Arizona, I do the fall service work on the motorhome...  I don't do it myself, but rather take it to the Freightliner truck shop here in Kansas....    And this year I received a recall...  Its about the brakes on the back of the rig...

I don't know the particulars about what is wrong, but I do know that mine are included in what isn't acceptable...   So get it fixed, right....?  But guess what, they can't get any parts to fix the problem even though there is this recall...  Or perhaps because there is this recall, they have used up all the available parts....    So here I sit in Kansas...  But the weather remains only chilly at night but otherwise nice...

So while I was waiting, it was time to do something with the Ford car that I have been putting off all summer...  Its must be an emotional thing, as we bought the car for Loyce to haul her sewing stuff and fabric to Arizona...  She never wanted to use the back end of the pickup when we had it...  Even though we had a topper that enclosed the entire thing....  She still thought of it as dirty back there...

So the pickup got traded off and we had the ford explorer... as station wagon like vehicle that was carpeted in the back...  Seemed much cleaner to her, so that is where all of her hobby stuff would ride for the winter...  She drove the car too.  Had all her stuff in her possession...

But the car has mostly sat around since she passed on....  Only had 13,000 miles on it, in the last two years....  I knew it had to be sold, but I had sold her little CRV last spring, and just didn't get around to selling the ford...  Like I said it must have been emotional...  I kept thinking, that has to go, but then didn't do anything...

But Monday, I made my mind up that the car shouldn't sit here another winter, not being used...  So I drove around getting used bids from dealers....  And yes, I know that I could have sold it outright, to a private party, but you have to deal with their credit, and if they can get a loan...  And then deal with the possibility of a bad cashiers check..  We used to do all of that when we were in the business...

I just wanted the car gone a quickly as possible...  So after several bids, I found a used car sales manager that really wanted it on his lot, and we made a deal for him and me too...  That meant check in hand by 3 PM on Monday afternoon.

So today it was time to transfer the Jeep into Kansas from Arizona...  The first year of license in Az was up at the end of this month, and the renewal card is out in the mailbox in Mesa...   Also its cheaper to register the Jeep here in Kansas for both License and Insurance... Though not by very  much..

So I spent the day working thru the DMV trading the Jeep for the Ford..  Things haven't changed much as I started by taking the Jeep for inspection at 9 AM..  They make sure the title and the vehicle match up and that it isn't stolen... Really all they do is take your $20 after they look at the title and the VIN on the car...

And after taking it all up to the main DMV office, it only took.......... 3 hours of waiting in line to get it all done...  They have this new system where you can get a number and leave while you wait... They inform you on your cell phone with text messages how your coming along in line and when to come back...

It was still another half an hour to wait once they told me to come back....  It only cost another $20 as the credit for the old Ford was applied forward to the Jeep, but it seems to take all day long to get it done...

So the Arizona Jeep, is now a Kansas Jeep...    But that won't stop me from taking it back to Arizona!!   But the motorhome not being done might slow me down a bunch....  I'm supposed to check back at the end of the week to see if they have found the parts....  Doesn't say much for having a Freightliner chassis, now does it...

Retired Rod


5 comments:

  1. Oh no. I figured you'd already be in Mesa by the time we get back. I sure hope they can get the parts for you. I know it has to be hard letting go of things but I also think it is healthy. Looking forward to seeing you again.

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  2. Good for you, Rod..... Those tough chores and decisions are getting taken care of and that sure
    helps take a load off your shoulders..... Too bad with the recall wait, especially this time of
    year when you and The Biscuit are ready to roll !!!

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  3. Glad to see your post today, I was getting worried! That's one of the best things about Montana, no lines at the DMV and they call us by name when we walk in!! Hope they find you some parts for the MH soon!

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  4. Too bad about that Freightliner brake problem & especially now when your ready to head South. We've been very lucky every year not to have those line-up's for license/ownership renewals. I like your way of thinking on how you sold the car. Smart move for sure & how nice to not have to deal with a bunch of people coming around kicking the tires & trying to get the car for nothing.

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  5. Being domiciled in SD, don;t have to worry about standing in line at DMV. Mail service does it for us. But I sure do remember when we did. What a waste of a day.

    Nice you are satisfied with what you got from the dealer.

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