New (to me) Car
Well, I finally decided to cut my losses on my old car and go out and find another one, so after much research online, including MSN Auto's Reliability Ratings, I went shopping. I ended up with a 2003 Ford Focus with approximately 85,000 miles on it. It's a nice little car, and one of the few in my price range with 'green lights' across the board on the reliability site.
And no, I'm not telling how much it cost me. Suffice it to say, though, that even with the slightly better gas mileage, my plan to find a job either closer to home and/or (hopefully 'and') with better pay will have to be stepped up greatly. I have enough in savings, especially with my Stimulus Check, to keep me from being in trouble for several months, but that doesn't change the fact that my current monthly budget did not have room for a car payment, but it had even less room for increasingly frequent (and expensive) car repairs.
Anyway, my old '99 Taurus served me well for 8 years, through times of very high daily mileage, and times of low money for upkeep (but I always managed to keep the maintenance up), but now it's time to say goodbye, and move on to another car, which I hope will last just as long. Let's see if I can get this one up to over 210,000 miles.
And no, the puddle under the front of the car is not from it. It's what the Taurus left behind. Maybe now it can actually start fading away.
And no, I'm not telling how much it cost me. Suffice it to say, though, that even with the slightly better gas mileage, my plan to find a job either closer to home and/or (hopefully 'and') with better pay will have to be stepped up greatly. I have enough in savings, especially with my Stimulus Check, to keep me from being in trouble for several months, but that doesn't change the fact that my current monthly budget did not have room for a car payment, but it had even less room for increasingly frequent (and expensive) car repairs.
Anyway, my old '99 Taurus served me well for 8 years, through times of very high daily mileage, and times of low money for upkeep (but I always managed to keep the maintenance up), but now it's time to say goodbye, and move on to another car, which I hope will last just as long. Let's see if I can get this one up to over 210,000 miles.
And no, the puddle under the front of the car is not from it. It's what the Taurus left behind. Maybe now it can actually start fading away.