Cars are psychic. They always know when you have extra money, and find a way to eat it up.
Last month I paid the balance due on my car note. After a brief hassle with the bank, who wanted to charge a $75 "pre-payment" fee that was not part of the contract I had signed 4-1/2 years ago, and a follow up visit to make the bank understand that I was NOT going to pay the $75 fee, I received the title in the mail last week.
Yesterday on the way home from work, I ran over some road debris. Whatever it was made a rattling noise for about a block, and then fell off. When I got home, the car looked fine. This morning I had a flat tire. AAA came at my bidding, and were very nice about it, too, I might add. The guy changed the tire for the spare "donut" tire, and pointed out a small slash in the sidewall of the tire he removed. "Yep, going to need a new tire, for sure." Then he pointed out that all the tires were looking pretty tired, with small cracks along the side walls. "Looks like dry rot - how old are these tires? Forty thousand miles? You might want to go ahead and get a new set."
Of course the guys at NTB saw the same cracks, and happily sold me a new set. I refused the most expensive tires, and refused the extended warranty, of course. I'll take my chances. The whole incident only cost me $425, which is just $25 more than my previous car payment.
How do cars know?
