Once I joined the Air Force and got through tech school, I decided that I was finally ready to get my own car. I didn’t have any credit and the only way the bank would give me a loan was if someone co-signed for me. I asked Dad and he was adamant that he didn’t want to co-sign on a car loan with me. I think Mom was working on him also and he finally agreed to sign on the dotted line and I bought the Mustang. I needed to get full insurance on the car and Dad called All State to come and give us a quote. They quoted me $800 for six months. During the interview with the insurance agent he asked me if I had any tickets on my record. I told him that I had gotten one ticket but I thought it had been three years and had been removed from my record.
After about two or three weeks, I get a call from Dad saying that I either had to pay $1,200 for 6 month of insurance or they were going to cancel my insurance because I had “lied” on my application. I told Dad what I had told the insurance agent. Needless to say, I was a bit concerned because I was only an Airman Basic and lets just say that they don’t get paid much. That was about 1 1/2 months of pay just for car insurance! I wasn’t sure what to do, but Dad started looking at other car insurance providers. After some searching, he was able to get me better coverage with State Farm for $600 every 6 months! I remember Dad telling me that he took great pleasure in telling the insurance salesman where he could stick his insurance. After that, All State lost a customer for life. I will never buy insurance from them, no matter how good their rates.
Years later when I was working at Sysco and living in Middleton I was over visiting Mom and Dad. Dad took me aside and told me that he was proud of me and that he would never hesitate to lend me money because he always knew that he would get paid back! That was one of the best compliments for me considering where I had started out!