i’ve always had this theory about cars, at least my theory about cars i’ve owned in my lifetime, from the perspective of a privileged white person. it goes like this:

“you either have scheduled payments or unscheduled payments, depending on whether you have a new or used car. in the end, you’ll pay about the same on average, on an annual basis.”

pictured above, is my 2003 honda civic, right after i bought it back in july of 2003. (it should be noted here that this photo also documents the last time i actually wore a dress, other than at my wedding in september of 2006). i’ve enjoyed 5 years of scheduled payments. it’s also poignant that my last scheduled payment is next month.

i just got back from the honda dealer where i had my regular oil change. what prompted me to have the car looked at however, was that my brakes were starting to squeal. since the car has 67,000 miles, and i’ve never had the brakes done, i thought that it might be time.

it is. to the tune of $209.00, at least if i have that done at the dealer. and that’s only for the front brakes. not to mention the alleged need for the power steering fluid change. to the tune of $89.00. and the recommended timing belt change from my last service. to the tune of $500.00.

my main concern is the brakes, which i’m told has only about 2mm of padding left. which means that they probably have about 3mm of padding left. which means they need to be replaced. so i have to make a decision.

1) have the dealer do my brakes for $209.00

2) have “some brake place” do my brakes for as little as $99.00

3) do the brakes myself for as little as ~ $50.00, assuming it doesn’t need anything else

ah, the challenge of unscheduled payments.