Rejection

Well, I can now add a bunch more money onto my already looming debt. My car got rejected at the inspection station today because of brakes, back lights, sharp edges on the body, and water in the tail light. I don't even want to know how much this is going to cost me in repairs.

I'm disappointed in the Minibus. When I saw it coming down the line behind a Jeep and in front of some luxury sedan, I felt like the father at a little league game of the kid who pisses himself when he's about to go into the game. I could just tell he was gonna fail by looking at him. Well, that's a pretty shitty feeling, so rest assured when I have a kid, he's gonna make up for the embarrassment I went through today. He's gonna live the life the Minibus couldn't, if I have to beat it into him.

Ok, I'm getting off topic here. The point is, even after spending $61 at the Lube Plus earlier today, the Minibus still couldn't thank me by passing a simple test. No, instead, I have to go out and pamper him with a brake re-alignment, fix its tail lights and back lights, and cover up his sharp edges. I spoil that thing way too much.

There might be an alternative, though. I could cheat for him. I can pay Texaco $35 to do an inspection, which are notorious for its lower standards and maybe, just maybe, they'll be low enough to pass the Minibus. Now, of course this is seedy, and underhanded, but I have to think rationally and financially. Do I really have the money to make all of these repairs? NO. Am I willing to gamble 35 bucks on the hope that Texaco will overlook the couple things that the Inspection Station found weren't of a high enough quality to merely pass? Yeah. This definitely seems like the best option for the amount of money I can claim to my name.

There may be a problem though. While Texaco is not afraid to admit that they're whores of the inspection service in the most subtle ways (such as charging money--why charge unless there's some OBVIOUS benefit we'll get?), will they go so far as to take a car that has already been rejected? Further, do they even have that power to reverse the decision of another, free, more professional, better organized, and highly more credible inspection station? This might be my downfall. By not gambling on my car, I may have just forced myself to get at LEAST some of these things repaired, if not all.

This damn car costs me more money than if I had a bastard son. At least if I had a kid, I could just feed him and clothe him without the government making me bring him to an inspection and forcing me to fix anything wrong with him. So far this car cost me $900 itself, 15 to 20 dollars every time I fill it up, $61 for the oil change, filter, and wipers, $50 for a new battery, and now who knows how much for all these repairs coming up. Not to mention that it has no heat or defroster and no cig lighter, which I have to have installed by winter.

I think after I graduate, I'm going to at least try to live in a city populated enough where I don't need a car, because these things are definitely more trouble, frustration, aggravation, and most importantly, money, than they're worth.