My "New" Car

I took my car into the dealership since my car was blinking "Maintenance Required" - probably lube and oil and possibly rotation of the tires I thought. Thinking the bill couldn't be more than $250.00 or so --- I was soooo wrong! All sorts of repairs were needed - lube, oil, tire rotation, filter cleaning, new filters, all four brakes needed replacement, radiator drainage, collant, air conditioning check, broken motor mounts - both had to be repaired. The bill --- a whopping $1,700.00 with all possible discounts. If I'm lucky, maybe some parts will be under warranty.
It was so surprising. I'm not one to let my car go to pot. I keep up on maintenance. That's why the repairs were astonishing. I truly hope I'm not being taken for a ride (no pun intended).
Now then, I could have taken the $1,700.00 and put it down on a new vehicle but, in these financially strapped times, it's not feasible for me.
So...when you see me driving down the street, please stop me to admire my "new" car. At least, it's new to me even though all newness is under the hood.