An Update to the Update; What Things Cost

OK. Here's an update on a little bit of what things cost. Our Sport Trac threw a timing chain about a month ago. I got it back this morning from our mechanic, Rick Magaña.

A month, you say? Isn't that a long time? In the US, sure. Here? I considered it almost lightning fast, especially when you consider having to find and ship a valve cover from the US, get the timing chain kit from Chetumal, etc., etc.

All in Belize Dollars (BZD)

Of course, this doesn't cover everything. the left valve cover simply wasn't available in Belize at the time, nor was it available in Chetumal. I had to order it from RockAuto (http://www.rockauto.com/). Including shipping from RockAuto to my shipper in Florida, the cost was $76.78 US.

My shipper, You Have Mail, part of PackYa in Florida (http://pakya.cargotrack.net) expedited it by air to Corozal. That cost $120.00 BZD. We use You Have Mail for small items only, and especially for items that need to get down here quick - repair parts, etc. It's not cheap, but hey, if you need something yesterday, they're the way to go.

So, taking the repair total from Rick, $2245.00 BZD, add in the $153.56 BZD and the $120.00 BZD and the grand total becomes $2,418.56.

Anyway, I have the truck back, it runs well, Tropical Storm Nate, avoided us, and life is good.

Just another snippet of costs. Yesterday morning our coffee maker died. I was planning to go into town to Courts to see about a replacement. We had paid about $70.00 BZD for one several years ago, a red Proctor Silex. It worked fine every day till yesterday.

Sometime during the morning, Dianna messaged Colleen about our coffee plight. Colleen happened to be in Courts looking for a mattress or something, took the following picture:

For Sale At Courts

Of course, this one is black, which is what we wanted when we bought the red one. Red was all that was available.

I showered, dressed and went down to courts, in our newly repaired Sport Trac, making sure to take the doggies with me.

In Courts, I found the pictured display model. Looking around, there was no one on the floor. Of course, it was lunchtime. Why have anyone on the floor? I asked the Cashier if anyone was working the floor? He ran and got the manager for me.

Well, in short order, the manager found that there were no Proctor Silex coffee makers available. In fact, there were none available in the warehouse or at any of the other Courts branches in the country. Well, bummer.

I pointed at the display and asked if I could get that one. He said yes, and I asked if there was any sort of a discount since it was a display model. He knocked $5.00 off the marked price. So, we got a new Proctor Silex for $55.00 BZD, a considerable savings over the $70.00 we paid before.

Well, there you have it. An update on what things cost here in Belize. I hope it helps.