Topic: Funny, don't feel like white trash now....

[Hope]

Hah, just a couple of months ago I was piecing back my truck on the side of the street after I tore up my clutch in the middle of a hurricane because I didn't want a huge limb to hit my house.

While I was under my 99 Nissan Frontier for 4 days in the heat with no power tools some people in the persnickety neighborhood said that my truck was junk and working on it on the street was white trash...

Now, I listen to my friends and co-workers struggles with their homeowners insurance companies and mortgage companies concerning having their houses, namely their roofs, repaired after the hurricane.  State Farm and AllState Customers had to anty up 5% of their home's value before having their roofs replaced, or having any repairs made.  Liberty Mutual customers had to anty up 1% of their homes value before having any repairs made.  In addition to having to come out of pocket with thousands of dollars, some people's mortgage companies had the home owners sign the insurance checks over to them and are not releasing the checks to the companies who made the repairs.  Now, the home owner has to pay an inspector to come inspect the work before the mortgage will release the check to the company who repaired the home.

Hah!  Call my Frontier the sacrificial lamb.  Hell, the clutch was going to go out one day anyway....  I made it out of the hurricane with no damage, and only a mess to clean up in my yard, and a clutch to change.

Say what you want, I think it was worth wearing out my clutch to save myself the hassle of having a limb go through my roof.

[333]

I'm curious.  Was one of the people who called you "white trash" the one who owes you money? (Memory like a steel trap!).

[BobbyR]

You know Hope you must live around some real Hillbillies. I live in a pretty upscale neighborhood outside New York City. The neighbors see me tinkering with my Bike, and my Son with his car. they come by and chat about what we are doing. Some have started working on their own machines. No talk of White Trash. Dis I say Hillbillies, that would be politically incorrect, what I meant to say is Sh1tkickers. That has a more organic ring. 

[Hope]

oh boy....  She was one of the nagging neighbors who kept asking if it was broke for good and wanted to know when 'that truck' would be moved from the neighborhood.  She has since paid her balance due because she has completed a new building for her accounting business and wants the website overhauled to reflect the new address and wants to change the overall feel of the website.

She will be paying for her website to be overhauled UP FRONT this time.  You don't get 2 website layouts for the price of 1 especially when it took 6 months to pay me last time!

[Hope]

You know Hope you must live around some real Hillbillies. I live in a pretty upscale neighborhood outside New York City. The neighbors see me tinkering with my Bike, and my Son with his car. they come by and chat about what we are doing. Some have started working on their own machines. No talk of White Trash. Dis I say Hillbillies, that would be politically incorrect, what I meant to say is Sh1tkickers. That has a more organic ring. 

Had my clutch let me down in my own neighborhood, nobody would have called me white trash.  I have a full size shop and plenty of tools in which to work on everything that I own.  My problem is that my clutch gave out in my girlfriend's sister's neighborhood that looks like Wisteria effin lane.  Nobody has workshops, nobody even parks in the driveway.  All the cars and trucks are stored away in closed garages.  How dare I work on my truck in the street when everyone has gone so far out of the way to hide their own precious vehicles...  probably because they think mechanical problems are contagious.  Can't risk catching a burnt clutch!

No, my neighborhood is just fine with working on your own stuff..  In fact, I'm like the Jones of my neighborhood where I live. Everyone comes to me to borrow tools and stuff.  (My dad had just about every tool you would ever want.  It's just a matter of finding it.)... I got it all in succession.

[CrisPDuk]

We all work on our own vehicles in these parts, as well as getting stuck in helping each other when needed

Your girlfriend needs to get herself a better class of neighbour Hope


Editted because Hope posted above at the same time as I did

[Bob Wessner]

State Farm and AllState Customers had to anty up 5% of their home's value before having their roofs replaced, or having any repairs made.  Liberty Mutual customers had to anty up 1% of their homes value before having any repairs made. 

Hope,

I guess I don't understand this "up-front" money in order to collect insurance on damages. What's that about? What's insurance for?

[tramp]

anyopne who works on thier own stuff is ok by me
i wouldn't lose sleep about what others think

[cleveland]

We're all some degree of trash, the good new is that you now know the degree of trash she is.   

Dirty, greasy, oily hands are the happiest hands to have. 

[heffay]

perhaps i missed it, but did you tear up your clutch parking your truck on the roof?  and that worked out well for you?

other descriptors come to mind than white trash... crazy, magic... pardon me, do you have any flubber?

[Sporkfly]

We all work on our own vehicles in these parts, as well as getting stuck in helping each other when needed

Your girlfriend needs to get herself a better class of neighbour Hope


Editted because Hope posted above at the same time as I did

Heh, I wish I could get help on my car from neighbors! None of them will touch it... It's German  ... And probably the easiest car I've ever worked on!

[cleveland]

perhaps i missed it, but did you tear up your clutch parking your truck on the roof?  and that worked out well for you?

As I understand it, she was towing the tree limb.  Could have been trying to pull the tree out of the ground too.   

[fuzzybutt]

hell, here in forest acres (part of columbia) you can get ticketed for doing nothing more than changing you own oil in the driveway, you dont usually get tickets for something like that but a few years ago when i was putting a new motor into the galaxy we got an 895 dollar ticket and had to appear in court.

[mattcb350f]

Hope, your story reminded me of one my machinist friend told me.

When he moved to Toronto many years ago, he got his start in the auto business by doing engine jobs in the driveway. he use to pull the engines, then take the parts to work (at a machine shop) and rebuild the parts in his 'spare' time at work.

He'd bring the rebuilt engines home and reinstall them in the driveway.

This really irked his neighbour since they shared a common driveway. One day the neighbour came out and while he was working on the car, the neighbour took a piece of chalk and marked it down the center of the driveway and said "there's going to be trouble if any car parts end up over this line".....

...A few days later my neighbour said, while he was under the hood of another car, the irked neighbour came out to go to work, got in the car and .............it wouldn't start 

after a few minutes of quietly giggling under the hood, my neighbour went to him and offered to have a look at his dead car.

Got it going and from then on, nothing but respect from his neighbour  ....and the chalk line disappeared too.


 Matt.

[cleveland]

.....the neighbour took a piece of chalk and marked it down the center of the driveway and said "there's going to be trouble if any car parts end up over this line".....

...A few days later my neighbour said, while he was under the hood of another car, the irked neighbour came out to go to work, got in the car and .............it wouldn't start 

Ahhhh, Carma in full swing.   

[BobbyR]

hell, here in forest acres (part of columbia) you can get ticketed for doing nothing more than changing you own oil in the driveway, you dont usually get tickets for something like that but a few years ago when i was putting a new motor into the galaxy we got an 895 dollar ticket and had to appear in court.

People think I live in a snobbish area. Fuzzy you better move. 

[754]

Give a good kICK in the sNaPpEr...and I dont mean a red lawnmower...



 well i havent won the  sublety or tact  award for my post lately, just cant figger out why....

[74cb750]

here in the town next to the tourist traps, you can work on your cars/bikes etc etc.
next door town you would get runout of town. 

[333]

Give a good kICK in the sNaPpEr...and I dont mean a red lawnmower...



 well i havent won the  sublety or tact  award for my post lately, just cant figger out why....

Maybe not.  But I hereby nominate you for the Random Capitalization Award.

[754]

tHaNk yOu.....mUcH aPpReCiAtEd  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[DRam]

This thread makes me so happy I live where I do. While others in the neighborhood don't work on their own vehicles, they don't gripe when I work on mine.  In fact, the guy next door comes over to help when something's going on with one of the outfits.

[Hope]

State Farm and AllState Customers had to anty up 5% of their home's value before having their roofs replaced, or having any repairs made.  Liberty Mutual customers had to anty up 1% of their homes value before having any repairs made.

Hope,

I guess I don't understand this "up-front" money in order to collect insurance on damages. What's that about? What's insurance for?

They are talking about having to pay the 5% of the value of your home in order to get money for the repairs here: http://forums.allstate.com/alst/board/message?board.id=talkback&message.id=176

(The link I provided is AllState's message forum).  Apparently Allstate and other insurance companies don't think you have paid enough in premiums to fix your roof so you need to pay 5% of the value of your home.

FYI (more links)
Some Baton Rouge Homeowners Facing High Deductibles of 2% to 5% of Home’s Value To Pay For Hurricane Damages

Allstate 3% Tropical Cyclone Deductible (… they MUST be kidding ...

2theadvocate.com | News | Storms blew up deductibles — Baton Rouge, LA

Higher Deductibles Sting Homeowners - WSJ.com

[Bob Wessner]

Thanks for the info. Looks like this is their way of dealing with the addition risks associated with hurricane prone areas.

[heffay]

Thanks for the info. Looks like this is their way of dealing with the addition risks associated with hurricane prone areas.

TRICKERY... its what they're best at.

[Bob Wessner]

Well, if it's in the policy I don't know that I would call it trickery. If other insurers don't have similar deductibles, I guess I would change insurers.