Pearl

I swore to myself I'd wait until my car hit 200,000 miles before I bought another one. I lied. Finally, last Thursday, I succumbed to my "new car fever" by buying a 2007 Toyota Avalon to replace the Bastard, a 1997 Toyota Avalon that had only hit 192,000 miles.

At least I fought my desire for "new." I could have spent $40,000 on a a new Avalon Limited, but I chose a 3 year old car that only looks new. It's white, a color that I never wanted, and the interior "wood" trim is very light blonde, an abomination unto god...but it's OK. I spent half the money I would have spent had I bought a new one, so I'm pleased about that.

Unfortunately, it needs new tires right away, so there's going to be that very big expense, but that's life. And it does not have an MP3 player or connector (that became standard in the 2008 model), but I'll live without it.

At the moment, the car is back with the dealer, who agreed to do some touch-up paint on the rear bumper and on the hood. It really does look new, inside out, but I know it's a used car. But I'm delighted with that; I finally got smart and let someone else take the immediate $3,500 depreciation on the car.

But what will I complain about, now? And what will I name her? A distant acquaintance suggested "Pearl." I'm leaning that direction.