So...

We took the Buick in to get it inspected the other day. It passed, no problem - which upsets me a little because we'd been told that the brake rotors needed to be replaced. Not that not having to get those fixed upsets me, just that if this $250 repair was a lie, what's the truth about the rest of the estimate for the AC compressor? Guess we'll check that out in a few months.

In any case, we took the Ford in not long after - you know, the one we haven't driven for six months - and it needs somewhere between $600 and $1,100 worth of repairs to pass inspection.

For. Get. It.

So we decided to go ahead and scrap it. I called the U Wrench It and they'll pay us $110 for it (minus a $40 towing fee, since we can't drive it down there with a rejected inspection sticker on it).

Money saved: $600 - $1,100 worth of repairs. $720 a year in insurance. $35 registration sticker.

For a car that's done nothing more than taken up a parking space for six months.