More?

…and I’m not referring to rain, even though we did get another inch overnight and more is on the way.

What I am referring to is my Cash for Clunkers purchase. We received a call from our car dealership yesterday afternoon that the government had rejected some of the paperwork they’d sent in. The government was also requesting the registration records for a full year prior to the transaction. In other words, the registration that was current when we turned in the vehicle wouldn’t suffice since it hadn’t expired yet and didn’t actually cover a full year. We needed the previous year’s registration papers, too. However, if you follow the instructions given at the revenue office, that copy is supposed to be replaced by the new registration and you shouldn’t even have that copy anymore! As for us, we had disposed of all the old records for that vehicle after a full month had passed.

So… I made another trip to the revenue office this morning followed by another visit to the car dealership.

Surely this time everything is in order!!

Speeding

Speed limits. How many of you really obey them all the time?

Most state and U.S. highways in south Arkansas have a 55 mph speed limit. That doesn’t seem so bad until you cross the state line into Texas and find the same roads with a limit of 70!

I really don’t like driving 55. It’s not that I’m a speed demon or anything, there’s just something about being able to drive 60 (a mile a minute) that satisfies my senses. Of course if the posted limit is 65 or 70, that’s what I drive.

Law enforcement has been out in full force lately in my neck of the woods. A few weeks ago my son was stopped and given a warning for going 57 in a 55 zone. Ticky, ticky. Once upon a time most officers would allow a five mph “cushion”. Not anymore.

My younger daughter and I made a trip to Little Rock on Monday in my new car. It was a beautiful day with perfect driving conditions so I decided to set my cruise control to 55 on the button. Everyone blew by us, and not just when there were passing lanes! I had to laugh. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, handicap plates, young drivers, old folks… everyone in a hurry and many of them clearly aggravated at me for slowing them down. The scariest was the 18-wheeler with the shiny maroon-colored International cab that stayed mere feet behind me until he could pass.

I’m not always the most patient driver, but my attitude has changed a lot in recent years. It was nice knowing that I didn’t have to worry about getting stopped. That was reinforced every time we passed a state trooper or other cop, especially when they were pulling someone over. And no, I don’t gloat when I see that. I learned long ago that vengefulness often backfires.

So tell me, honestly….do you speed??

Cash for Clunkers

It’s been an experience. Then again, when is it NOT an experience dealing with the federal government!?!

I've debated getting a new car for a year or so. It’s been a great car, so I wasn’t quite ready… until “Cash for Clunkers” came along.

When talk of the program first started, my husband realized it might be just the right opportunity to get rid of the old truck he had. Although it still ran okay (even the AC worked!), it was 20 years old and had close to 250,000 miles on it. Definitely a clunker. Considering the “Blue Book” value was less than $500, why not turn it in for a $4500 rebate? It was the perfect time to cash it in for a new car!

The first day the program went into effect we were at the local Chevy dealership. We were their first clunker customer. Little did I know that’s where the headache would begin. Never before have I walked out of a dealership after purchasing a new vehicle that I didn’t have my papers in hand, ready to make the journey to the assessor’s office and the revenue department. Things were such a madhouse at the dealership that it took two days to get my papers. Granted, the business manager had been on vacation, so that also slowed things down. Things went smoothly at the tax assessor’s, but came to a standstill once I reached the revenue department. Turns out I was their first clunker customer, too. Seems one hand didn’t know what the other was doing and all the fingers pointed to the government in blame. Everyone was polite to me (and I to them), but it still frustrated me to no end! I just wanted to get my car taxed and licensed!

To make a long story short…. more than a week after making the deal, I finally got everything sorted out and now am the proud owner of a new 2009 Chevy Malibu.

So far I love it!