The Space Toast Pages

Matthew Rasmussen's journal of journals on various topics of interest, published here, there or somewhere since 1999.

The Car

Unable to find work in LA these past four months, I now have to move back East. The following are thoughts I should be dissuaded from...

• The value of having a car is c, which is undefined.

• Flying back to Maine costs about $201.
• A flight from LAX to BOS costs about $160.
• One checked bag costs $15.
• The bus from Boston to Portland costs $26.

• If I get the asking price, I will lose $600 on the car.
• I paid $1900 for the car.
• The purchase price was $1150.
• The new radiator, belts and tires cost $750.
• I am asking $1300 for the car.

• Driving back to Maine would cost a minimum of $562.64.
• Replacing the rear struts would cost about $310.
• Gas would cost about $252.64
• The average fuel price is currently $1.855/gal.
• The driving distance is 3,158 miles.
• A 1991 Geo Prizm averages 23 MPG highway.

QED: If I sell the car for $1300, I will lose approximately the cost of the trip, plus c.

Unfortunately, this decision has more or less been made for me; whatever I can recover on the car is cash in hand that I'll need to get through the next few months in Maine. On the other hand, if I'm still unable to find a buyer after another week or so...

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