$346.78 for two serpentine belts, installed. And with oil service and checkup, a grand total of $439.03.

I haven’t had my car serviced in one day…IN MEMORY! Guess it was worth it waking up at ten to seven. They got right on it.

But I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t anxious right now. This is the bad side effect of the growing old experience, you’ve experienced too many f*ck-ups. I can’t tell you how many times I had to bring my car back to the BMW dealer for service, they could never get it right.

AND THEY KNEW HOW TO CHARGE! The above total wouldn’t even cover a minor checkup on a BMW, never mind parts and further labor.

That’s an advantage of having a cheaper car. They know they can only charge you so much. Feels good.

So I’m kinda numb. I really wasn’t expecting it to be ready today, I heard nothing until after four p.m., I figured it would take a day to get the parts.

And Betsy was going in that direction, so she gave me a ride.

And I got behind the wheel and I was exactly where I was yesterday, at 8:20 PM, before this adventure began. It’s almost like it never happened, but not really.

MY CAR

I could not afford another BMW, but after driving the so-called “Ultimate Driving Machine,” I couldn’t just buy a Camry or another car that was good transportation, but was more of a boulevard cruiser. You can’t go backward in handling/performance. Just like with car stereo.

So I kept reading about this rally car the Subaru WRX. It was featured in videogames and it was turbocharged and I figured that would satisfy my performance requirements, so I went to the Subaru dealer in Santa Monica for a test drive.

Now for those in the know, you know that the parent company of Subaru was Fuji Heavy Industries, at least until 2017, when they changed the moniker to Subaru Corporation. And as the salesman is walking me by a sign in the showroom designating this, he pointed it out, and he said it stood for “F*cking Unbelievable Japanese Import.” Kinda weirded me out, I felt like we were not on the same page, the only thing that would convince me was driving the damn thing.

Which I did. Even took it on the freeway. And the performance was fantastic, but the ride was so STIFF! I realized I couldn’t buy this car.

So what were my options… Well, there was this Acura, but it was front wheel drive and for performance you want rear wheel drive, or four wheel drive, as the WRX is.

And Subaru’s four wheel drive is not like all of its competitors. It doesn’t only kick in when you need it, it’s full-time. And the end result of this is fuel economy SUCKS!

Now they finally had to address this, they were one of the first companies to employ a CVT transmission. Which have been refined at this point, but for a number of years they were known for failures and odd driving characteristics, although they do render better gas mileage.

But I was going to get a stick anyway. I mean how can you buy a performance car with an automatic transmission?

Now at this point, automatic transmissions are even quicker than sticks. You only buy a stick if you want to row through the gears old-style. It might be considered fun, but there is no performance advantage. And my next car, whatever it is, I’m going to get an automatic. For no other reason than the stop and go traffic in L.A. Hell, when I valet my car (something that is required in L.A., don’t think that this is exotic if you live elsewhere), I have to consider whether any of these drivers even know how to drive a manual!

Now it turned out that Saab offered the same car, in a gussied-up fashion, and I could get $9500 off, even cheaper than the WRX, because there was an industry wide recession and Saab couldn’t sell them.

The Saab version of the WRX is called the 9-2x. And it came in two iterations, the Linear and Aero, the Aero being the turbocharged version.

And the interior was a bit more luxurious and the suspension was softer than the WRX (akin to a BMW), and it had the steering of the STI, you know, the Subaru with the wing.

So I bought it. What were my options?

And I was unhappy. I mean after driving a BMW…

You get what you pay for. And this Saabaru is noisy and has almost no electronics.

Yup, that’s what they call it, a Saabaru. You see GM owned Saab as well as a portion of Fuji/Subaru, and in all its wisdom GM thought since Saab didn’t have a four wheel drive automobile, this would solve the problem.

Only it didn’t, because it was way overpriced.

But with my discount…

And they only made it for two years, GM was in financial trouble and it sold its Fuji/Subaru interest. And then they closed Saab down, along with Oldsmobile and Pontiac and those with Saabs were now SOL, but not me, because my car is really a Subaru! After the warranty ran out, I started going to the Subaru dealership for service, almost all of the parts are identical (however the hood is unique and there are no more left so if the hood needs to be replaced, they total the car).

And I tried living with the factory stereo for a few weeks, but that wouldn’t do after my ADS system in my old car. So I ended up with top of the line Focals in every speaker hole and an AVI subwoofer and a JL five-way amplifier and an Alpine head unit. I’d be stunned if your stereo sounds better (and it would cost so much to replace in today’s dollars).

Now with four wheel drive, I found the 9-2x twitchy. Just move the steering wheel a tiny bit and…it required full time attention. And there was so much power, the car jumped. Today you can get this performance more broadly, but back in 2005, this was a cut above.

And people knew it. Those who knew the WRX. Which was nobody I knew, but twentysomethings. They call them “Rice Rockets,” kids customize them and race them and there used to be a competing car, the Mitsubishi Evo, which some people said was even a bit better, but I’m not buying a Mitsubishi, I mean look at the repair records, never mind the lack of dealerships.

So over time, I got into my car. Because the performance was so good. Especially in the hills, the curves of Los Angeles. And just the other day I was getting on the freeway and a Tesla jetted ahead of me, thinking I was a slowpoke, and I floored it and got ahead of him, not that I usually do this, but this guy had been tailgating me for a while.

So do I love my car?

Not really. But I rationalize it because the performance is so good. And it’s a baby station wagon, which makes hauling stuff easy. AND IT’S PAID FOR! With a lower registration fee and a lower insurance rate (but not that low, because insurers know what this car really is, and they know the kind of person who owns one is going to be pushing it, testing the limits).

And now it’s twenty one years later.

CONCLUSION

I still can’t spend any money, even though I have some right now. I waited until seventy to take social security…but my main goal is not maximizing my assets, just making sure I don’t run out. Because then what am I gonna do, who is gonna take care of me, I guess I’d kill myself.

Assuming I live that long.

And how long am I gonna live? My father died at seventy, and I’m already past that. My mother lived just shy of ninety four, but she was losing it the last few years. So should I go for the gusto now?

It’s so hard for me to do. I’m always saving. I bought this gazpacho at Gelson’s, it’s really good, chunky. And I saved it to savor it, and it turned and became sour and inedible!

Such that when I was eating some sashimi the other day, I told myself not to save any, to eat it all now, because it would definitely be worse tomorrow, and after that?

I’m getting to the point where I can throw food out, but it’s still hard.

But there are things I spend on. Like ski equipment, whatever it costs, I am not looking for a deal, I’m looking for the ultimate performance, and I can tell the difference.

And health care, I mean if you’re not alive, what difference does it make how much money you’ve got.

And my car. It may not look so great from the outside, I will never buy a black car again, although Saab/Subaru never provided a good paint job to begin with. But the performance, I don’t let anything slide, I like it to be in tip-top shape.

Now when I was debating all that money to upgrade the stereo in that last BMW, I felt the shrink I was seeing would judge me for the expenditure, I mean who else would spend thousands on a state of the art car stereo? Nobody I knew, I figured he’d come down on me harshly. But what he said was “Driving around in your car listening to music is what you love to do most!” And I popped for the equipment, and I was thrilled thereafter.

You’ve got to spend where it’s important to you. There’s satisfaction in that, if you’re always worrying, cutting back, that’s not really living.

Assuming you’ve got the money, which I did not for longer than I wish to admit.

And you don’t want to be cheap. Split the bill equally, even if they got drinks and you did not, unless they offer to pay the difference.

Tip 20%, or more.

Nickel and diming does not pay in the end, the joke is on you, all that effort for what is ultimately meaningless.

So I paid the freight on my car. I probably could have gotten it done cheaper at an independent, but they see this car every day at the dealership, at least the Subaru WRX version.

And the funny thing is I’ll get all kinds of hate mail disagreeing with me, contradicting some of the stuff above. But I’ve lived long enough to know you really only have to answer to yourself. If they’re happy, fine, but I’m not gonna change my life and style to comport with their wishes, only my own.

Onward and upward!