Cutouts, 50 cents

The journey’s the thing, not the destination. I never gave much thought to this saying until I found myself sharing a seaside motel with the members of an MG car club. One moment we were alone, the next we were surrounded by striking dark green vehicles, and the following morning we were alone once more. The car club must have hit the road, which after all was probably the whole point of their trip. Some day, I’d like to do a Lifeline tour of Victoria. Lifeline has quite the presence on the op shop scene, but you wouldn’t know it if you didn’t venture out of Melbourne. There are five shops in Geelong, six in southwest Victoria and seven in Gippsland. Maybe I could hook up with the car club for a ride.

CD holder, $1

I recently went into a Gary’s Car Radio and asked for a used CD player. The Gary on duty chuckled. Why buy a used CD player when a new one could cost as little as $125? I explained that it was due to a philosophical position, and like all good customer service professionals, he left me to my wacky ways and proceeded to help me out. He rummaged around in the back and found something for me. I questioned it’s credentials. Had he merely ripped the box off a new CD player? He shook his head and with a grin, pointed to the dust collected under the dials. Sold! Next, I needed a car visor CD holder. I soon found one in an op shop.

Used front bumper, $140

My boyfriend and I are respite carers for a young man with a disability. He was eight years old when we first started looking after him one weekend a month, and he is now eighteen. We know that he will try to take the car for a spin if given half a chance, so whenever he stays over we make sure we put the keys in a drawer before going to bed. Twice in ten years we’ve forgotten. The first time, we were alerted to the fact when we heard a car alarm in the distance and saw that the front door was wide open. The second time was a few weeks ago, when we awoke to find our charge calmly eating toast in the lounge room and our Mazda crashed lightly into the front fence.

Harness, $5

Some time ago I learned that my daughter was not to graduate directly from a five-point child restraint to a booster seat with a sash seatbelt. The safest option for the next few years was considered to be the H-shaped child safety harness. These harnesses retail for between $40 and $60, but what kind of parent would begrudge a cent? Not this parent, as it turns out, for I found one in an op shop. The box was a bit squashed but the harness was in pristine condition and all the bits and bobs were still in their original packaging.