What If I Had Said $400? Adventures In Having Your Car Painted...

Today I took daughter #1's car down to get painted. She's going to sell it this summer before moving to Southern California to attend granduate school. The paint has been peeling off the Dodge Neon since she bought it used a year or so ago. It's been a good car. If the air conditioner worked she'd probably pay the cost of shipping it.

We hope the paint job will make it easier to sell and that we'll get our money back from this little investment in aesthetics.

The guy at the shop gave me the estimate at $500. Given the condition of the car it seemed reasonable. But, without really thinking too deeply about anything I sort of mumbled that I had hoped it would have come to $450 or less. Without telling a lie I then mentioned that I had decided that if it was more than that I would go home feeling lousy about the cost.

To my surprise the man said, "OK, I'll make it $450." And he did.

Jesus once said, "Ask and you shall receive..."

While I doubt that Jesus was thinking about automotive maintanence I am confident that the guy at the automotive paint shop will still make a handy profit. But he made me feel really good! I only hope the car ends up feeling good, too!