Update on the van

It PASSED!!!!! A friend of mine insisted I go to this one place to get it reinspected. I did, and I even showed him the paper work that explained why the previous place failed the van. He did the inspection and called me into the garage to show me what he saw. The rack and pinion are fine. He wasn't sure why they failed it. There is a leaky power steering hose, that will need to be fixed, but it isn't a safety issue right now. The brake pads are still good, but should be replaced in about 6 months or so, and the struts are fine. I told him that the other place said I needed new tires. He looked at mine and said that was ridiculous, they were in great condition. He charged me $16 dollars for the passed inspection and I could have KISSED that greasy, hairy, gruff 50 year old. Bless that dear man for saving me $2,000. And CURSE Merchants for the last week of stress induced insomnia, headaches (literally and figuratively), and for nearly putting me into more debt for a new car. And bless all my dear friends who prayed for me. Prayers were felt often through the week (in-between my moments of flipping out, I have to admit I had several of those) as I felt reassurances from the Spirit that all would be fine. Here's to just ONE more year of no car debt! (I hope)