This post brought to you by Zubie. All opinions are 100% mine.
The old saying goes that when it rains, it pours.
I want to be clear that God has blessed our family immensely.
When I think about small–and really superficial–“problems” like those that I am about to describe, I try to remember that I have a friend who was recently diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. There are also three moms in their 30s that our family prays for each night–all battling cancer of some sort.
Car repairs? We can deal with that. It is a temporary frustration more than a trial.
But over the Christmas holidays, we were hit hard.
I have not even written about it yet, but in the late fall, we discovered that our oldest daughter had a hard nodule on her cheek. Long story short (that perhaps I will expound on one day), she had a benign tumor.
After a little scare, the surgeon removed the tumor. And we are so incredibly thankful we found it when we did (because he explained that it could have later turned malignant).
Not only that, but a few days before Christmas, our 2003 mini van broke down.
We drive old cars. (Our second vehicle is a 2001 Ford Taurus.) Honestly, I do not mind driving older vehicles. As long as they get us from point A to point B, I am thankful.
We were able to squeeze all three carseats into the back of the Taurus to allow us to travel from all those points As to point Bs while my husband was home for Christmas break. (He is a teacher.)
So, really, how could we complain?
But the car repair bills and the medical bills all came at the same time–the first week of January. Total? They added up to one month of my husband’s pay check.
Right before the holidays, I wrote to you about Zubie, a little device that can help keep you abreast of car maintainence issues before your vehicle breaks down and you are stranded.
Boy, do I wish we had had this little device before our van broke down! This could have saved us time, frustration and money.
We did receive the Zubie in the mail not long after our car repairs were completed. I installed it, and I am excited that it will now help us keep informed on the health of our mini van.
Basically, the Zubie is a little device that you install in the diagnostics portal of your car. This is the same portal that mechanics use to diagnose issues.
The Zubie is connected to an app on your smart phone, and you simply have to log in to check the status of your car battery, engine, etc.
I can see the Zubie being especially helpful before a big road trip. We stayed local this year, but many years we travel to Mississippi (a 12-hour journey!) to visit my husband’s family over the holidays–or while he is on summer break.
Last year, our car battery died in the middle of Birmingham. You better believe we will be checking the status of our batteries with the Zubie before taking long trips from here on out!
Not only that, but the Zubie helps loved ones keep track of the whereabouts of their family members. If my husband has the app installed on his phone, he can actually track where I am driving! I can see this being especially helpful for parents of teenagers. But really, in today’s time, it can be very helpful for anyone.
The Zubie also monitors and tracks speeding, sudden acceleration, hard braking and more.
Zubie is a service – not an Accessory – that uses a cellular connection to keep you, your car and its on-board systems always in communication. Zubie always-connected service works with the free Zubie app for iOS 4+ and Android 2.3+.
You can order today with code SAVE20JANand SAVE 20% on one year of Zubie always-connected car service and a free Zubie Key. A great way to use your Best Buy and Amazon holiday gift cards!
*Offer good through February 28, 2013. Shipping charges apply.
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Liz Lacy
We too have had huge car bills over the last 4 months. Two transmissions, needing new tires, The fluids needing to be changed, The air conditioning in one of them needs to be fixed, the bearings (whatever that is). Wondering if we need to get new cars, but realizing that after all that we have done, we have “new” cars. Thankful to have them just wondering if there is anything else.
Erin
Oh wow! We are hoping to save to replace our main vehicle before too long. We are not sure how much longer it will last us–and we have to travel 12 hours each way to see hubby’s family at least once/year!
Kimberly
Our neighbors have one of these on their 17 year old daughters car and it has been invaluable to them. She’s a bit of a naughty girl… but we will definitely be getting one for our teenage daughter when she starts driving… one, for the tracking, but more importantly for the maintenance checks it does on the car. Best device ever made!!
Erin
It does sound like a really great device for teen drivers!!
Erin
Oh I could’ve used that little gem a year and a half ago. My hubs and I share 1 car. A 2006 Saturn. It was cheap, American made, and gets great gas mileage. We are AWESOME with maintenance. Oil changes, tire rotations. The only thing is I prefer to pay someone who knows what they’re doing to do those things. We had 3 mechanics in a row change, but not change the oil, including one my husband was working for…and rotate but NOT rotate the tires…. We honestly thought the car had a phantom leak or the tires were bad, and then it started making that sound. You know the one. The one that costs almost $3000 to put in a new engine. Needless to say it sat in front of our house for 3 solid months while we walked and asked for rides everywhere. The car has never been the same since. You can’t shift into 3rd properly, but only half the time, the electronics are always on the fritz…. but it drives and the current, semi trusted (but not really) mechanic says nothing is wrong. We now change our own oil, rotate our own tires, check everything we can ourselves….but something like the Zubie is an item I am now putting on my must have list. **high five** Thanks for sharing!
Erin
Oh what a terrible experience!!
Jen
Our cars are too old. All 3 late 80s models. Oh well.