I came to driving a new used-car recently. It's a 1994 VW Jetta that only had 44K miles on it. I was offered a deal I couldn't refuse by Erin. And its been interesting experience to say the least.

There are a few things one should consider when owning an older vehicle. Here's my story.

Check All Belts - The first thing to realise is that they build cars differently now days. Where something can be rubber instead of metal, it just might be that way. On the Jetta, for instance, I found out that my Timing Belt had broke and needed replacement. Unfortunately, I was driving while it happened. This inturn cause MAJOR damage to my intake values. Big error and costly. Fifteen benjamins.

Address The 'Funny' Things - The ignition key on the Jetta always went it funny. Not smooth. Felt almost like the wrong key. Part was put in wrong originally and inturn caused all sorts of problems. Starter, ingition switch. A judgement call or laziness, who knows. Only nine benjamins this time. However, there would be more.

Trust Your Instincts - The shop that completed the repair the first time got it back again. Their warranty covered everything, but it was a hassle. Lost my car for nearly a week. Finally, I get my car back and it breaks down the very next day - but this time I'm 90 miles from home out-of-town for work. Big fiasco that keeps me up to 2:30 am - thank God for Erin for picking me up. Because I was so pissed off, I lost trust in that shop. I decided to take it to the people who fixed my first problem. Yea it cost me another five benjamins, but I trust them. Plus I got a warranty. The other shop just seemed to be replacing parts.

I've addressed my concerns with the previous shop. Seems like they issue may have been non-OEM parts that didn't work well together. It will be interesting to see how it plays out....

Join AAA and Get The Plus Membership - I have been a AAA Plus member since 2000 because I drive used cars and anything can happen. I used my 3 free tows all up within the last six months. If I hadn't on had that, the tow I needed from Greenville would have cost me about $300.00. It didn't cost me anything.

The saga continues.