Flip That Cap?

About a month ago, one of the hubcaps fell off our car. A missing cap made the car look so ghetto that I felt self-concious driving it. Q, on the other hand, only has two requirements of a car: it has to get him to work and have AM radio. Even so, my husband still considers the latter item a luxury on par with Corinthian leather seats and a heated steering wheel. So driving the ghetto car didn't bother him.

Meanwhile, I turned to the Internet in search of a replacement hubcap for our 2001 Dodge Stratus. I was looking to get something cheap, and prices on eBay were going for higher than I was willing to pay. Remember, we are talking about an 8-year old car here.

Eventually, I got very impatient and bought a used, blemished hubcap with a $20 buy-it-now price. It arrived three days ago. We put it on the car. End of story.

Not really.

Today, we set out for biweekly trip to Goodwill's half-price Saturday. It was here where I found not one, but THREE 15-inch Dodge hubcaps just like the ones on our car! My heart sank.

I called Q over and showed him my discovery. He tends to keep his emotions very much in check, but I'll never forget his reaction. He clenched his teeth and muttered "oh my god".

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. I had just shelled out $30 (with shipping) for a used cap with scratches and here we happen upon three more that appear to be in better shape.

The price was better, too. WAY better. Even though we no longer needed them, Q decided to buy the hubcaps anyway. At $2 apiece, he couldn't afford not to.

I'm not sure what we'll do with these extra hubcaps. We will definitely swap out the $30 eBay cap for one of the prettier Goodwill ones. We might also keep one for a spare. The rest will probably be flipped on eBay.

Also at Goodwill, I found two more pieces of Fiesta: a Cobalt salad plate and a Cinnabar luncheon plate. I didn't want 'em and I didn't need 'em. But at 34 cents each, they needed to be rescued.