used car for stranded rural family
Donation protected
Hello.
I'm here asking for help to buy a used car, because I live in the country on a fixed income, and without a vehicle I am completely stranded. My brother and I live on 5 acres in rural Missouri, attempting to live a more natural, homesteading-type life. This was our dream, but we were also forced into it a little earlier than we had planned, when I lost my job and our house in Indiana last year. After being homeless off and on for almost a year, we are living our dream in the woods. The picture is of me shoveling compost from the local compost facility in the nearest sizable town, which is thirty miles away.
But now our truck is now is braking down all the time. It took me a month to get it fixed, with didn't have it all of September. Then, last week we picked it up after the front brakes and calipers were fixed, but it took almost all of my disability. Now, the back wheel of the truck is hanging on by one lugnut, and the bolts that hold the lugnuts to the wheel are seared completely off. And the car place I took it to said that they would not fix just the wheel, because the truck is not roadworthy anymore, the back leaf spring is broken, the transmission is leaking, the tie rods and ball joints and going out, there are no shocks to speak of. It would be THOUSANDS of dollars to repair. Quote from the mechanic: “the best way to fix it would be to drive another truck up under it.” This is also essentially what the other mechanic from a week ago said. This truck can't really be saved saved, I have now poured more money into it than I paid for it, or still owe on it.
Our nearest neighbors are about a mile away from me, but they have been kind enough to take me to the store a couple of times in the last month to help us get through when I walked to their house. Really though, it's impossible to live out here without a working vehicle. My disability is all that supports myself, my brother, and our two dogs right now, so now that our truck is officially out of commission, we are stranded. I've borrowed money, and I've tried to save, but between my bills, I only get about $150-$200 left over each month. It would take months to save enough for a car, and it's not like living in a city where I can hop on a bus to do errands, and I think that my neighbors may get tired of helping.
We don't need a fancy car. I can get a serviceable vehicle from Craigslist for $600, but $800 or so would make for a more reliable one. I already missed my land payment last month in order to fix my now-broke-again truck, and I had to borrow from a friend in order to be sure that we didn't get in trouble with the land company.
So, that's the story I guess. I don't know if this is going to work, but I don't have a lot of options. Any help at all would be immensely appreciated. And if you're interested and do donate, once our homestead is established in a few years, I could send you a gift of our homemade honey or jam. If you want that, you'd need to email me with your address, but that's an option if you want.
Thank you.
I'm here asking for help to buy a used car, because I live in the country on a fixed income, and without a vehicle I am completely stranded. My brother and I live on 5 acres in rural Missouri, attempting to live a more natural, homesteading-type life. This was our dream, but we were also forced into it a little earlier than we had planned, when I lost my job and our house in Indiana last year. After being homeless off and on for almost a year, we are living our dream in the woods. The picture is of me shoveling compost from the local compost facility in the nearest sizable town, which is thirty miles away.
But now our truck is now is braking down all the time. It took me a month to get it fixed, with didn't have it all of September. Then, last week we picked it up after the front brakes and calipers were fixed, but it took almost all of my disability. Now, the back wheel of the truck is hanging on by one lugnut, and the bolts that hold the lugnuts to the wheel are seared completely off. And the car place I took it to said that they would not fix just the wheel, because the truck is not roadworthy anymore, the back leaf spring is broken, the transmission is leaking, the tie rods and ball joints and going out, there are no shocks to speak of. It would be THOUSANDS of dollars to repair. Quote from the mechanic: “the best way to fix it would be to drive another truck up under it.” This is also essentially what the other mechanic from a week ago said. This truck can't really be saved saved, I have now poured more money into it than I paid for it, or still owe on it.
Our nearest neighbors are about a mile away from me, but they have been kind enough to take me to the store a couple of times in the last month to help us get through when I walked to their house. Really though, it's impossible to live out here without a working vehicle. My disability is all that supports myself, my brother, and our two dogs right now, so now that our truck is officially out of commission, we are stranded. I've borrowed money, and I've tried to save, but between my bills, I only get about $150-$200 left over each month. It would take months to save enough for a car, and it's not like living in a city where I can hop on a bus to do errands, and I think that my neighbors may get tired of helping.
We don't need a fancy car. I can get a serviceable vehicle from Craigslist for $600, but $800 or so would make for a more reliable one. I already missed my land payment last month in order to fix my now-broke-again truck, and I had to borrow from a friend in order to be sure that we didn't get in trouble with the land company.
So, that's the story I guess. I don't know if this is going to work, but I don't have a lot of options. Any help at all would be immensely appreciated. And if you're interested and do donate, once our homestead is established in a few years, I could send you a gift of our homemade honey or jam. If you want that, you'd need to email me with your address, but that's an option if you want.
Thank you.
Organizer
Amanda Forrester
Organizer
Rolla, MO
