The cost of cars....

      Well, my purchase price was reasonable for the age and condition of the neon, but now I get to keep investing money, it started with insurance before I even drove the car out of the parking lot.  Then there are the sun shade, the seat covers, the license plate frames, and today the cost of title transfer and license plates, oh, and sales tax.

     Monday the car visits Fisher Automotive, oil change, new tires, if they are in, and brake work, which might just be air in the lines but with my luck, it will be more expensive.  Getting a security key from the Dodge dealership and having that programmed will run me around $170+, but I can send Ben to Jacksonville with the car and not miss work, I sure need that paycheck.  I did order more keys and key fobs from Amazon, but it takes 2 'original' or dealer programmed keys to clone more keys.

     I want to order custom covers for the dash and back deck, or that black interior will really show sun damage here fast.  I will make the back seat cover, am sure I have plenty of fabric for that job.  And I bought a pack of cheap CDs and made the car some music disks.  

     My slush funds savings had over $3800 before buying this car, it is now down to just over $1200.  So, I have spent or invested a lot of money in the car and a bit in the house, lighting in the sewing area, a new, on sale coat for me.  And this does not cover that dealer key and programming it, or the visit at Fisher Automotive.  

     But I do need transportation and I do want something that is more space than my truck, more dry cargo area than my truck and I can afford this car and to have my truck repaired.  I will put my tax refund to good use on the truck repair costs, and other needs.  My wish list for that tax refund had stayed small and now that I bought the neon, it will stay very small.

     And it has been too cold to play with my new car, so I hope to have it warm up a bit and get the seat covers on, the license plates on, start the car and get it turned around, and give Ben a chance to at least sit in it.

     Now, it is time to head for bed, know I get to go to work tomorrow and will again turn down the chance to go home and have a day off, JBS is having our supervisors keep the manning very tight, both Monday and Tuesday someone in our area has gone home soon after start up.  And I will keep saying no, I now have a truck in the shop with a big repair bill and a used car that needs tired and brake work before I can start driving it safely...