by Beks
When it comes to cars, I have a poor track record.
Sure I get my oil changes, my tires rotated, and every once in a while, I’ll throw in a radiator flush when the service guy nags me enough, but that’s pretty much where it ends.
I’m more of a reckless, fix it when it makes weird noises kind of gal.
This always worked when I was in college – but maybe that’s because dad was always there to ‘borrow’ my car and bring it back a few days later after he paid a mechanic to clean up my mess.
After I graduated, I bought a new car and with that, bought myself out of any service requirements for at least 50,000 miles (in my mind anyway).
Unfortunately for me (and VERY fortunate for my car), my husband believes in regular maintenance. Both our cars hit 60,000 miles this month and he scheduled maintenance on his truck this month and mine next month.
He worked with a family friend and was able to get the service done for $300. As I was figuring out where to pull the $300 from in our budget, the lovely state of California sent his truck registration bill of $295 – the fee unexpectedly raised yet again from last year (Thank you Arnold Schwarzenegger).
My husband and I were both able to work some odd jobs this month – thank goodness! – and should have most of it covered. But this week is turning out to be one expensive week!
Beks is a full-time government employee who enjoys blogging late into the night after her four kids have gone to sleep. She’s been married to Chris, her college sweetheart, for 15 years. In 2017, after 3 long years working the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps, they paid off more than $70K and became debt free. When she’s not working or blogging, she’s exploring the great outdoors.
It is always terrible when you get hit by unexpected bills. However, it is important to think of expenditures over the long term. Just think of how much you would spend on your car without doing the preventive maintenance. Your husband is smart to do regular maintenance. He is saving you both a lot of money in the long term. You will be able to drive your car longer, safer and cheaper.
Bacigirl
Cars can be so frustratingly expensive sometimes. But you can’t really get around Los Angeles without one. The public transportation is THERE but it’s not very helpful if you have multiple places to go in one day or if you don’t live near a major hub.
$295 for truck registration! That’s awful. Ours runs about $60. We live in Texas…
I was glad to get out of California about 10 years ago. I like the scenery, but couldn’t stand the taxes and the crowds.
I actually got a nice bonus about two years after I left. My wife and I had to pay California emissions fees when we entered CA with our cars of $500 each because we didn’t have a sticker that said “California EPA” on the engine. I heard after we left (about 8 years after we paid the fees) that a judgement in a lawsuit was made against CA and that they would have to pay the fees back.
I didn’t believe it – seemed too good to be true — but filled out the forms. Sure enough, a couple of months later we each got a check for the original $500 PLUS INTEREST!!!!! It was nice to stick it to California for a change.
For those left in California, please work to get some people in the legislature who will cut spending and rein in the public employee benefits before your economy collapses. It is a nice place but needs to clean house.
Also, if you decide to leave and go to a neighboring state, remember that you left CA for a reason – don’t try to change things in your new home to make it look more like your old one.