What's in my wallet? Not much!

Remember that cute little red car of mine? It spent the day getting serviced yesterday, so it would be in top shape for the road trip.

Oil Change - check 

New Air Filter - check

New Tires - check

Wheel Alignment - check

Tune Up - check

New front brakes - check
No more money - double check!

And here I thought I was going to save money by driving instead of flying. The cost of repairs would have paid for probably three plane tickets!

You know how it is. You take your car in for one thing and then there's a list of repairs on the other end of the visit. I was not happy yesterday.  I know the dealer is always more expensive, but I've gotten into the habit of going there for servicing to make sure the warranty stays valid. My service adviser, Abraham, could tell I was displeased when he called to give me the news. I'm not sure if it was the loud expression of outrage, the stunned silence, or the final grumble that this was costing as much as my vacation all together.

Okay, so my car has 93,000 miles on it and all those things were necessary to keep us safe on the trip. But come on, have you seen the size of the tires on a Honda Fit? They look like Tonka truck tires! How can each tire cost $100? Yeah, yeah, I know. Unusual size, not widely available, blah, blah, blah.

To Abraham's credit, he did find me some less expensive tires, gave me a 10% discount and only did the most important items on the list. That saved me $400. Oh good, now we can eat on this trip - well, at least on the way there.

Normally, I'd shop around, find the better deal, or go to our tried and true mechanic who works on our older cars. But time was of the essence, so I grudgingly forked over my money and complained the rest of the day.

I'm over it now (for the most part). After all, it's only money (money I don't have a lot of). And of course it's important to have a safe vehicle while driving miles away from home (safety, shmafety...adventure...that's what I'm talking about).

It just kills me to spend a lot of money on car repairs. So that cute little red car better be set for another 93,000 miles, or I may be looking for its replacement.