Experiencing the Effects of the Economy

The economy is a constant topic of conversation for everyone these days. We are lucky in our house to have pretty secure jobs, but we have seen our investments take hits recently and wonder when or if our retirement accounts will rebound to what they were previously worth. This week I really experienced the economic downturn first hand.

My car has been having lots of minor things go wrong with it recently. It is a 2004 Chevy Malibu, but I purchased it used in 2006 shortly after we had B. because my previous 4-door Chevy Cavalier was just too small for B.'s car seat and comfortable seating positions. At the time we bought the car, we did get the extended warranty. We thought it would be a good idea considering how many miles I drive each day to and from work. It has totally been worth it. Shortly after we bought the car, two major repairs were needed. We really got our money's worth out of the extended warranty purchase. As that extended warranty will be running out soon, we thought it would be a good idea to get the minor things fixed while they would still be covered by the warranty. Two weeks ago my radio/CD player was replaced because the CD player would not work right (even after being reprogrammed) and a lighting cluster was replaced because the bulb went in the gas gauge and did not look right to the mechanics after they replaced the bulb.

While I was there I asked them to order the pieces to fix the steering wheel controls for cruise control and the radio. The bulbs all went except for in two of the controls. I was told the parts were being ordered, and I would receive a phone call. When I called yesterday to check in, I was told by a cleaning crew member that the dealership went out of business this past Friday and all parts had been shipped back to GM. I nearly fell off my chair. I knew the dealership was struggling, but this just seemed out of nowhere for some reason. Apparently when everyone came to work on Friday, they were all let go and the dealership closed for good.

I feel bad for the employees, but I also realized I had a new hassle on my hands to find a new dealership. I did find one, and they are ordering my parts. It is not as convenient of a location, but there really isn't any other option. The other GM dealer in our area went out of business about two years ago.

I am sure we are unfortunately all going to see more stores closing and more people losing their jobs as the days go by. Hopefully the economy will start to rebound, but it is going to continue to show the ugly effects for quite a while.

-Denise