So here's what happened.

Many of you (who check my facebook anyway) know what problems we have been having with vehicles lately, but if not, here's the rundown:

Three years ago we bought a pretty Monte Carlo for our oldest kid to start learning on. It was a solid car and a good size.

Two years ago we bought a Firebird for our next oldest kid to start learning on (and I was extremely ticked off to learn he didn't get put in the driver's ed class....he only just now has his permit and he's already 16!! I'm STILL mad about that!!!).

A year ago we got a cool little BMW 365i that was almost exactly like the one the Mr had in Germany. It was labeled as the Little Star's car but in all honesty I kept (and still am) driving it around. It's smaller and a convertible and is generally amazing.

We bought all three vehicle's cheap because my husband is a mechanic and can fix virtually anything that goes wrong with the cars. The Firebird in particular has had several things to be fixed.

I've had my Dodge Caravan for a while....we got THAT supercheap because the guy who had it before wrecked it TWICE (that he told us about) and used it as a truck to haul (among other things) garbage. We had to do a lot to that van to get it family-safe (and legal) but it was SUCH an amazing van it was worth it.

So last year we suddenly kept having car issues. You all recall that the BMW needed a new throttle pin and a new alternator, which was fixed quickly and pretty easy at that (the alternator was a bit expensive). The Firebird suddenly stopped working and the Mr, my PROFESSIONAL MECHANIC, hasn't been able to identify the problem yet (he doesn't get to spend all that much time on it). The Mr started using the Monte Carlo to go to work, and one icy morning to avoid six deer he slid off the road and into a shallow ditch, which seems to have exacerbated several problems, which ultimately caused the rear wheel shock-housing (the back wheels) to come up off the frame and bent the front axle to the point where it could fall off any moment (not something you want your kid learning on), so the Monte Carlo is set to be scrapped (whenever I find the title o.O). That left us with the BMW and my minivan.

We had problems with the water system on our minivan last winter, but we always got it okay again, other than the fact that it would have the same problem every three days or so. THIS winter the van has zero heat. ZERO! I nearly got frostbite one day just going to the bank! So I drove the BMW pretty exclusively, and since the Monte  Carlo was critical and the Firebird was dead, that just left the very cold van for the Mr to drive to work. We found out the van needs a new ENGINE, which we got, but we don't have the time to put it in the van ourselves or the money to hire someone else to do it. It is still driveable, but we wouldn't be able to take the family anywhere, and to be honest it is just on it's last leg.

So we got a new van (see Vlog on YouTube [soon, I'm a bit behind]). This is the first vehicle I've bought from an actual dealership, and it's the newest vehicle I have ever owned ever. It's amazing!  I still love the little BMW so the Mr isn't allowed to use it to go to work (as a mechanic he gets covered in grease and diesel fuel and coolant and all sorts of dirty things) and I will still use it during the week as I'm only driving myself around.

However LAST NIGHT (now here's where we tell ya what happened!!) we were grocery shopping and when we were done we were cruising car lots with my oldest (the Monte Carlo 'owner') to see about a new car for her. She just got her license and wanted to be able to start driving herself around places. She could feasibly drive the minivan....but only if it's not too hot or too cold, which pretty much limits her to these next two months and then two months (if that) next fall.

So we were pulling into various car lots and looking at their cars. We were in a small car lot at the south end of town  (going about 2 miles an hour) when it felt like I ran something over, it caught on something under the car, and then broke. It sounded kind of like a huge rubber band snapping. I said, "that was weird....did you feel that?" then suddenly all kinds of warning lights lit up all over my dash AND the ceiling check-systems panel. We stopped immediately and checked under the car (all good) then the engine....and the Mr pulled out the alternator belt!!!  We tried to make it home anyway, but the engine started overheating (SMOKE!! SMOOOOOOOOKE!!) so we limped it to my father in-law's house (he is also a mechanic). We were forced to leave the groceries in the trunk and get a ride home to pick up our new van and come back and get the groceries.

I didn't make it home until after 11pm, and I didn't get to go to sleep until 2am!! (Groceries had to be put away, dishes done, and we had to eat dinner because we didn't get a chance to while dealing with our poor car!!)

The Mr did try to start the BMW after we came back for the groceries (overheating is BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD for engines!!!) but it started back up so FINGERS-CROSSED HOPEFULLY it still just needs an alternator belt (the Mr says he will just replace ALL the belts!).

The thing of it is....we just bought this new van to have two vehicles.....and now we're back to ONE.

I sure hope this ends our streak of bad luck with vehicles!!!!!

P.S. ~We did find a few cars to inquire about for the older two to start driving.