Just a flesh wound

In a bit of a pickle by not having four wheels to get around, a few weeks ago I found a rather abused, not-too-expensive, 1989 Mercedes Benz 300 SEL. I didn't want to get caught up in a new car loan since we plan to go back to Colombia and will have to leave a car out and in the weather while we are away. We actually do have a truck, but Jey-hu is busy taking care of business with it, so there are days when I don't have the freedom I am accustomed to having. Thus the MB. I didn't have Jey-hu with me when I made the decision to spend "not very much on it," and it was a "taillight guarantee" purchase: "When I see your taillights disappear, so does the guarantee."

I regretted the purchase almost immediately. A really cheap MB? There is a reason. The cost of fixing up the things that are wrong can put one in the poorhouse. Jey-hu agreed, after I cried on his shoulder, (did I say that he was smiling when he agreed?) not to remind me over and over again about my decision. Instead he decided to call the car "Only a Flesh Wound" with no apologies to Monty Python.

Well, my investment in "Only a Flesh Wound" doubled after I took it in to have the brakes checked. Once up on the lift, they showed me why I either had to agree to have it fixed or they would insist that it be towed away as their insurance would not allow them to put it back together and let me drive it off. Groan. I completely understood their reasoning... but...

A few hours later, we got a call from the mechanic saying that the parts he ordered were not the right ones because the car was so old that it didn't stipulate a difference on his computer and he had to order another, different, and YES, more expensive set. Jey-hu said in his most innocent tone of voice, "Was this the arm or the leg?" as he waited for me to report on the increased costs.

"In for a penny, in for a pound," is my motto with this situation. The day I picked it up, it was about to rain, so I stopped (the brakes now work very well) at the auto supply store and bought "Only a Flesh Wound" some new wipers to work on the new windshield - that had to be replaced within hours of the purchase - and I was good to go.

I hope.