ArmyofOne

This is why I do not buy leases or rental vehicles. I refuse. And as far as not changing oil on leases, MOST companies charge if you cannot provide proof of regular maintenance on turn in. I know the big 3 do anyway.

Went into the shop this morning. I got a Kia Sorento EX as a rental. Its Nice, but its not my truck. Funny thing though, avg city mileage on the Kia, is 11mpg. Avg city mpg on the ram is 14.5. hmm...

No, the bed has to be painted, its scratched with a slight dent all the way to metal. In 2 days in the salt its already starting to rust.

Bainzey, That was only 1 weeks worth of salt. I washed it this morning and it looks just like that again. Here are some clean ones I took this morning:

yeah, we filed a claim with her ins co yesterday, we shall see how this all pans out, im not too optimistic. Its traveler's Ins Co.

Wow...nothing like kicking us in the !Removed!. As if we dont have enough to deal with with a 3,000 Mile Military PCS Move coming up...My wife calls me this morning at 11am telling me she was driving through the town square here in Watertown and somebody backed out of a perpendicular parking spot INTO TRAFFIC and smacked her. I don't really know how it happened, I was not with her. She said it was a little old lady not paying attention and felt bad for her. I dont know who this woman is, but I want to kick her !Removed!! Who backs out of a space adjacent to a major roadway, into traffic? Furthermore, you can't see this big !Removed! TRUCK coming right at you? I will let the pix tell the story. Theres at least $5,000 in damage. It moved the bed 2 inches off center as well. FML.

lookin at $3.29 for 87 this morning...burn.

When you say a fill up runs $55., how much do you have to pay a gal. where you live? Here in Des Moiines, it's at $2.79. Paul well at that point it was $2.90, now its at $3.23. It has jumped 60 cents in 2 weeks. the day I bought the truck, it was $2.72. yikes. These are all regular prices BTW. From 1/4 tank today would push $60-$65.

Well Rams depreciate like crazy (dodges in general actually), I expected it, and Thats why I have $20,000 positive equity right now. The v8 isnt killing me as bad as I was thinking it would. She had some miles on her when we bought her (43000), thats why we got it so cheap, well that and the fact that it was in an accident. We used both of those as bargaining tools. I checked to make sure all repairs were done properly, and the truck drives quite well, but some of the paintwork needs tending to, I am going to fix that though. For what I paid and the deal I got, I have no qualms.

So all in all, its not too bad. avg's 15mpg city, havent done much hwy yet. I fill up at 1/4 tank and it costs about $55. so I really cannot complain. 1/4 tank lasts almost a week.

oh boy...2 days in and a half a tank of gas later... . A coworker has the exact truck in white. I asked what it costs him to fill from empty, he said with the fuel light on, $83 yesterday. OUCH.

Wild hair flew up my 4th point of contact yesterday. What with the long distance trip across the northern half of the united states, a dwindling warranty and (somewhat) questionable reliability...My wife and I changed everything...again: Can you guess what it is? Here's a bigger hint: Its a 2009 Ram 1500 SLT Quad-Cab 4x4...with flex fuel package: Pardon the dirt, its been raining for about 6 days solid now. We have been looking at a truck for about a year now. When we started looking, we quickly realized that Fuel Economy goes out the window...you really cant even consider it. If someone is to the point in their lives where they have to worry about affording gas, they probably shouldnt be looking at a truck. Even so, all things considered I dont think we did too bad, $21,000 OTD, gave me $15k on trade for the civic, which was EXTREMELY generous, so my financed amount is $6k. But GAS...OMG talk about a pig. Avg so far is 14mpg...a far cry from 30. But...we needed a truck, and 4wd for this long trip in winter. We didnt need a V8, but the truck was there, and the deal was right. All I have to say is, Dodge has come a LONG way in a short time.

J, just a few more months and my honda and your nissan can get together and make a little subaru! LOL. Cant wait to see that gorgeous ride bro!

PDR is a lost art, but there are many vids on you-tube that show you how to do a DIY. You probably dont want to start learning on your wifes "new" prius though... :whistles:

Yeah, I can imagine it might be more expensive in that area. In Texas, hail happens every year, there are literally THOUSANDS of PDR shops to choose from, and competition keeps prices low right? LOL. Yes, with a $50 deductible, I would claim it too LOL.

Leave is signed and approved, 28 May I will be coming through ATL or DFW.

If you have the money, and its cheap enough, dont claim it. The last time I had PDR done for hail damage was in TX and it was on a sedan, same situaton as your wife, but it only ran $480. I paid with cash, this was in 2003. You might get lucky and find a place that can do a good job cheap, but DC doesnt really have a history of hail. Depending on your deductible, and how long it has been since your last claim, you might get away clean. You might be suprised just how easily and cheaply PDR can be performed. The good places that do it well, do it fast. My car took half a day for 102 dents.

She has FINALLY stepped into the world of "premium" cars. I have been convincing her for years, to get something reflecting her salary, as well as her position as upper corporate project management with Raytheon. She has over the years owned several cars...always decent, but never really reflected where, or who, she is. She is in fact, a mother of 2 (myself and my younger brother), and she has raised us well, gotten her education and is now a career woman in her mid 40's. She isn't wealthy beyond imagination, but has enough for her and my dad (works for DynCorp International LLC) to live comfortably, into retirement. Living where they want, driving what they want, and doing what they want, for the rest of their lives. Some of her previous cars include: 2002 Chrysler Concorde Limited 2005 Toyota Camry XLE 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP (which she sold the camry to get...dont ask me why, I have no clue)... To this: 2008 Saab 9-3 2.0T Convertible. She wanted something with luxury car appointments, but with enough oomph to move the heck out. I had been suggesting a Genesis sedan for awhile, as well as a few other cars. She has the mentality of "I have money, but I don't have to show it off". Well ma, You succeeded in doing exactly that. She took my latest advice. I said to her a week ago: "Why don't you look for a nice luxury convertible? Maybe a 3 series BMW, or a Mercedes Hard Top?" Too flashy. I told her if she was looking for good fuel economy, a convertible, and some pep, she HAD to check out the 9-3 Turbo. She said she was instantly in love. Enjoy mom. You have earned it... Happy Belated Mom's day, to yourself :)

Home . Tomorrow they take down the internet reception tower, after a week or so we will be starting our trip home. It is expected to take about 45 days. As we withdraw out of our Area of Operations, anything that was put there by US Forces that is not a permanent structure affixed to the ground, has to be removed. As such, the phased-withdrawal will take 45-60 days. It will consist of Cleaning/moving things, pulling back...cleaning and moving that place, and pulling back. That cycle will repeat 3-4 times, but when we finally get to Victory Base Complex (Baghdad International Airport, aka BIAP), there will be NO US Forces, or even traces of our presence, left in the 2BCT/10th Mountain Division's Area of Operations. So...off we go everyone! See y'all stateside. :)

Hey bud, Just wanted to tell you I shared this story with my Platoon. We are all pulling for him. Tell him we said to get better and thats an order! ;) . He will be fine, just hang in there NC. Anything you need, just ask. -Josh.

This is exactly what I have. Its especially scary for me because I drive clients and their children around. You're better off to keep your insurance in TX with a real insurance company than to move it to WA with some company nobody has ever heard of and reduce the coverage. You have to think about the viability of the company when it comes to paying claims. What if you hit someone and kill everybody in the car...is this "American Family" insurance going to be able to pay out that claim? Its not like you have nothing anymore, you've got cash in the bank...going to buy a house at some point. You need to be protected. If you need to save money, raise the deductibles don't lower the liability limits. Well, raising the deductible is going to happen when I get home. What is a pup? I dont worry so much about what it costs me monthly anymore...but more what it costs long term. I suppose being 25 and having this kind of money is not nessecarily a good thing. I want to make sure I am protected, and do not want to be taken advantage of. I was not aware the insurance would cover me in a personal injury case, providing my coverage was sufficient. I thought the coverages were simply for property damages/hospital bills. You guys are right. If anything I need to raise my coverage. I am going to have to call my agent when I get home and sort all of this out. Meantime, any other suggestions?

ok, lol, I will take this advice. Yes, I do not really understand insurance. I carry 100/300/50 right now. Maybe I should raise it then? I am not sure what WA state mins even are.

Well, generally I do not like to ask for advice, and then not take it :P . I like to explore all of my avenues...and I sure am glad I did. I went through a private agent for American Family Insurance that is local to the base for a quote. I have yet to receive an email back, but she was confident when I asked if I could recieve a quote through the email, that she could save me money. Her exact words were "if your records are as clean as you say they are, I can have you paying close to, or the same as what you are paying now, with minimal changes in coverage, and better service." She claimed that the Online quoting system goes off of the averages, and many times do not include certain risk mitigator's like: -Extra safety features installed after purchase (such as DOT Approved HID's etc, I was not aware DOT Approved HID kits existed, but hey, learn something new each day :P) -Credit score -type of work/length of employment etc etc. So, I dont know what will happen just yet, but hopefully I can get a decent rate and a great company. I mean lets face it, I do not need $100,000 vehicle coverage, because chances are...IF I have a collision, it is not going to be with a 80k car, and if my car was totalled out tomorrow, I would be lucky to get 14k from insurance. So I am sure state mins will be enough. They are called state mins. for a reason ;) Thanks again for all the help guys, I will keep you all updated and let you know what we find!

NC: The liscense thing does not apply to me. On my Enlisted Record Brief, it has a key phrase, that saves me from ever having to get a liscense in a different state: "Home of Record: Fort Worth, TX". Until I get out of the military, or purchase a home in a state, I am not considered a permanent resident of any state except Texas, and therefore am not required to: -Register my vehicle(s) -Pay State Income tax -register to vote -(in some cases) insure my vehicles In any state except Texas. This is direct from the Judge Advocate General's office (Army Lawyer :P) . So, I only dont need to change my liscense or my residency as an active duty military member until I purchase a home. as far as the deductibles go, I might have to look at raising them some. I keep them low to minimize my out-of-pocket expense in the event of an accident. I know with geico, insured where I am now, it will only lower the premium by $100 or so every 6 months...which is not a huge deal, but maybe its a bigger drop in WA?

LOL! I remember the RAZR, I still have a T-mobile one, though it has long since been disconnected, its still a freakin awesome phone.