A few weeks ago, I bought a new car – new to me anyway.  I had been looking for several weeks, and doing my research.  I did not purchase blindly.  I knew what make and model I wanted and why. Before closing the deal, I ordered the CARFAX and had a mechanic do a 41 point inspection. Some items needed to be addressed in the near future, but they were not critical.  The information informed my purchase price and my savings account.

With delight I moved through the purchase and titling phases and took my new vehicle for a spin to all my favorite places:

The Colorado National Monument

The grocery store

Ft. Collins to visit two of my children

What a ride!

Things were unfolding just as they should.

Then, I hit a bump in the road.  On Easter Sunday morning, cold and frosty in Ft. Collins, my wonderful car refused to start for an extended period of time. Give me a break!  It’s a Rocky Mountain Edition Subaru. After noon, I enjoyed the 5 hour return trip to my little adobe house without negative incident and with several leisurely sightseeing stops along the way.

At noon on Monday, when the weather was fine, the car once again balked at start-up. And at 7:00 Tuesday morning. On Wednesday, I followed my intuition and filled the gas tank with premium from my regular supplier. (That’s the thing about a Subaru, you return from a road trip and still have to drive around town for a week to empty the gas tank). My Friday morning start was better, but over the weekend things digressed again. Thursday, as I prepared to return to the mechanic for the recommended repairs, it took 15 minutes to get the car started.  I’ll be honest.  Cold starts were one of the reasons I sold my 1994 Subaru in February and the buyer knew that.  I paid for an upgrade to 2004.

This type of frustration leads me to think, “I bought a lemon,” or; “The seller deceived me.”  But logic says, “this is a one owner car, 9 years old. The car has 184,000 miles on it.  You do not keep a lemon for 9 years and put 184,000 miles on it.” This too, shall pass.  Yes, I bought a nine year old car, expecting to put out a thousand on repairs every year – but, $1,700 in the first two weeks?  That’s a little steep.

This car is a part of my decision to live 2013 as though I have been given 365 days to live. Already it provided the freedom and confidence to travel over the mountain to loved ones. It is my ticket out of town anytime I need to flee. With regard to unforeseen expense, I will say over and over to myself, “it’s just a bump in the road, it’s just a bump in the road.”

   Let’s hope the same phrase gets me through tax time.

Keep calm and pay your taxes.