5/22 - There's always a silver lining somewhere....
And I was reminded of that today amidst my internal turmoil….
You see, my car is celebrating its 10th birthday this month. I was going to trade it in, but some unexpected expenses earlier this year led me to decide to keep it for a couple more years….it’s served me well and only has 75K on it.
Looking at the owners manual - I was overdue for a timing belt replacement. I’d also noticed that the ride felt a bit bouncy and figured there were new shocks/struts in my future. And looking back over a past post - the rational part of my brain recognized that automotive repair is not cheap.
Even so, I was NOT prepared to hear 2853 and change come out of the telephone receiver. In hindsight - she read the price as two eight five three - and I wonder if that was an attempt to make it sound less intimidating.
I asked if they thought I should get the work done. The response was - it comes down to personal opinion. I can tell you that they looked the car over and didn’t find anything else wrong.
So I told them to go ahead and from that point I’ve proceeded to second guess my decision a lot….should I have just taken it over to Carmax and traded it for that hybrid I’ve been considering? Does it make sense to put so much money into a car that is only worth about 4K in total?
I had so much angst inside that I actually tried to discuss the matter with my Dad. You don’t know him - but if you did, you’d laugh at how ridiculous that thought was. Dads cars survived on ducttape and prayer. When they leaked fluid he just started carrying a spare bottle of whatever it was with him…..brakes squeal - he’d turn the radio up. Right now there is a piece of metal wedged into one of the windows to keep it up. (Not that it really matters - he doesn’t drive anymore so the car pretty much just sits there).
Anyhow only time will tell if I made the right decision…..if this “extreme suspension makeover” gives me a couple more years of safe, reliable transportation from Ms Em - or if this is just the start of many problems to come.
But I am hopeful that my good karma will keep helping me out like it usually does. You see, even though this was twice what I was expecting to have to spend for repairs….May happens to be a three paycheck month, so I will be able to manage this without having to dip into my savings. I’d already decided this would be a staycation summer and I’ve been cutting back on non-essential spending.
And to my surprise - it really hasn’t bothered me much. Sure, I’d like to have another Coach handbag - and new deck furniture - and have the guest bathtub refinished and the faucets changed out.
But its not necessary - at least not this year.
My challenge will be to work with what I have….I’ve watched my friend Carol do this for years…..hopefully I can learn a few things from her.
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