OT gloat =) possibly my lifetime gloat????

[crk133]

situation:

1992 dodge caravan 260,000 miles breaking in nearly every way. friday the transmission started going

solution:

mother in-law comes to visit. how many glaots start this way?????

tells my wife "we talked about it and we want to buy you a new car, do you know what you want?".........and here we go......2004 silverado extended cab 4x4 Z71 with towing and power package as well as the load of other stuff......

i am soooo happy i can't beleive it!!!! oh and the other great part my wife said to me "that is your new car its too showy for me".......someone please wake me up...on second thought dont!!

i guess really it is only slightly OT gloat beacuse you can haul lumber and tools right?

so we are off to buy it tonight =)

[???]

Sounds great, but they have your balls in a vice for the REST OF YOUR LIFE! Can you hear it now? wife: "Lets go on vacation with my mom and dad" you: "I don't think thats a good idea" wife: "its the least we can do, they DID buy you a new truck!"

No thanks, I like to buy my own vehicles and keep my balls in tact.

[Mike Coonrod]

Have you no shame. This sounds nice but I know I would not want this hanging for my head....

crk133 wrote:

[Mark Jerde]

This all depends on the attitude of the giver. And the receiver. (Since we know how the receiver feels about it I'll just talk about the giver side.)

I know of *large* gifts (like new cars) that came with *absolutely* *no* strings attached. On the flip side, I know of small gifts that were positively dripping with obligation. The size of the gift really doesn't matter.

Look at the situation from the parents-in-law point of view. Suppose their daughter and her husband are important to them. Suppose they don't want to go to a funeral because these important people were driving a worn-out POS. Suppose they're well enough off that writing the check doesn't affect their retirement. On the cynical side, suppose they are reducing the inheritance taxes by gifting away money now while they're alive. Why not write the check if everyone's cool about it?

When I was in high school I was going to the state basketball tourney about

350 miles away. My wheels (owned by dad) were on a marginal Pinto. When I got home there was a new bottom-of-the-line Mercury Comet in the drive. He didn't want me driving a marginal car 700+ miles, and he had the $ to make the change.

To me this is a similar situation. Major gloat IMO. ;-)

-- Mark

[Mark Jerde]

BTW, this bothered the h*ll out of me at the time. None of my friends families were able to do that. Everyone else was carpooling down in their semi-POS's. And the Comet was no more cool than the Pinto.

It took me years to learn to give and receive graciously. America is the, "I Did It Myyyyyy Waaaaaaay!" culture. In other cultures large gifts from one generation to the next are more common.

-- Mark

[Mark]

[stoutman]

Nice!

Since you wont be needing that old car anymore, why not donate it to charity?

[Dave Miller]

Does your wife have a sister?

Dave Miller

[The Davenports]

[crk133]

i am a bit disappointed, you guys are generaly being a bit too pessimistic. but i wont let that get me down as i will be rididng in a nice and shiny pick- up for years to come

worn-out POS.

that was their reasoning and that their parents did it for them. they are generous and very nice people, they just wanted to help us out.

friends

that is why i will be driving it. my wife is still in school and most of her friends drive cars that make our woody van look nice........

we did refuse most persistantly but they won after several days.

tonight so the dealer can detail it.

Yeh, nice gloat. Congrats.

thank you..that is all i wanted to hear :)

yep, still in college though

[B a r r y B u r k e J r .]

I personally think borrowing or accepting mega-gifts from the parents or in-laws changes the taste of Thanksgiving dinner. It's not like it hasn't come up on occasion, as both sets of parents have done quite well in life.

My wife and I have GREAT relationships with my parents and in-laws. I've often thought that standing on our own two feet has a lot to do with it. Our siblings have accepted such help, and have vastly different relationships with their parents. One of my wife's sisters lives with the in-laws, with her eight year old son, constantly complaining that she isn't treated like an adult.

I have done work for the in-laws, the latest job being custom made cabinet doors I let them buy the materials. After the job was complete, they thanked me with a Woodcraft gift certificate, which I gladly accepted.

If you currently have a great car, and they offered to buy you an even nicer model, things might be different. You are driving a crap-box, they're worried about you, so they feel that they are helping you out.

They're bailing you out, dude.

Enjoy your new truck.

Barry

[Phisherman]

I envy you. The only thing I have to haul lumber is a Honda hatchback, but I do rent a truck a couple times a year with the insurance savings.