My youngest daughter, Cakes, called this morning. She is having car trouble. She had gone to a reputable auto repair shop in town, and they had already diagnosed the source of the problem and had narrowed it down to two possibilities. She texted me their quote…
What???
The top number was the cost to take the top of the engine off to see what was the actual cause of the problem. The bigger number was the cost of fixing the worst (and most likely) problem.
She said, “Dad, I’m just going to fix it and then go get a new car.”
I had a problem with that…no…I had several problems with that!
First, she has only been in Nashville for two months. And she is leaving in another month. So she doesn’t really know anyone, least of all a trustworthy car dealer!
Second, my best guess is that this mystery used car dealer will probably give her $2,500 as a trade in. That means that she will net less than $500!
My fatherly protective instincts kicked in, and I immediately started talking her off of this financial ledge.
“Well, what else am I going to do?”
I didn’t really know…but I listened with amazement as the following came out of my mouth…
“Well, let’s meet in Kansas City. You can drop your car off with our old mechanic (who saved us SO much money while we lived there). I can loan you my car while it is being fixed.”
So how was I planning to get back home? I had no idea. I quickly searched for a plane flights…$140. Not great but considering the circumstances, not terrible.
But then how was I going to get my car back from her???
Forget the plane idea…I could rent a car…but how much is that going to cost?
$120-150 to rent a car for a week from Enterprise! That will work!
After I hung up, I paused…”What did I just do? I’m going to drive to Kansas City today? Am I on drugs?”
I called our old mechanic to see what he thought it would cost to fix it…$700-900!!!
I checked the NADA guides to see what her car was worth…$4,500-5,000!
So if I put on my cape and fly…I mean…drive halfway across the country to rescue this poor damsel in distress, she will come out roughly $3,000 ahead!
Hmmmmmmm…
Can I really tolerate my daughter thinking of me as her hero???
