Fleet Manager Downsize

One of my jobs as a Dad has been fleet manager for my family's vehicles. At its height, the fleet consisted of 5 cars -- two for Wifey and me, 2 for the Ds, and a weekend yellow Thunderbird which mostly sat in the garage, and then fell to non use on account of Wifey's bad back. My offer to the Ds was two cars: one in high school, and one upon college graduation. As each D turned 15, I bought them Volvo S 40s, very safe vehicles, and bought before they each had driver's licenses (at 15 they only had permits), so I could get insurance coverage without declaring teen drivers in the house. My little gambit worked -- I never paid the high premiums for teens. D1 had a bad wreck in her college junior year, and although her white S40 got fixed, it never drove right. The frame had been bent, and the car could never be properly aligned, and made bumping noises on the highway. So we traded it in, and she got an early second car gift -- a BMW 3 Series. She maintained it meticulously, but when it went out of warranty, I would still get calls about where to get repairs done, new tires, etc...I remained the fleet manager. D2 kept her Volvo throughout college, and her one year of grad school. Since she knew she'd be moving to NYC, she deferred my offer of the second car. We ended up giving her Volvo to my sister of another mother, Mirta, to thank her for all she did caring for my ancient Mom during her last year of life. Mirta loves the car. Whenever D2 complains about NYC, I remind her that that there's a shiny Lexus IS 250 with her name on it awaiting her return to the 305. We'll see... Well, fortunately D1's young practice is going well, and she's decided to lease a new car. Her BMW is now 7 years old, with only 55K miles, and still has some decent trade in value. So we took it to Car Max, the place that paid me a very decent price for my two year old T Bird. Alas, this time they low balled -- offering the same amount the new car dealer offered on trade. So D1 called Wepaythemax.com, and they came out to her office to appraise the car. Sure enough, they offered 30% more than Car Max. So yesterday, D1 and her boyfriend Joey drove the Beamer to the office in Miami Gardens, and signed over the title, and came home with a nice check -- enough to pay the new car lease for two years. D1 and her boyfriend are leaving for a 12 day trip tomorrow, and D1 will pick up her new ride in September. And I plan to bestow the fleet management of THAT vehicle upon Joey. It'll be easy -- the beauty of leases is that all repairs are covered by the dealer. And it occurred to me that for the first time in 13 years, my duties as fleet manager have lessened greatly. Wifey and I both lease our vehicles. As if to remind me of my duties, sure enough on Saturday Wifey called from her mother's condo -- flat tire. What should she do? The fleet manager had her call AAA, and she drove home on the temporary spare. I took her SUV to Lexus Sunday, and sure enough, the lease includes road hazard coverage. A cup of coffee and a reading of the Sunday Herald later, I drove off with a new tire -- no charge. It was a nice moment for the fleet manager. So D1 is off tomorrow for Spain and England -- Joey's best friend is getting married in the South of Spain, and afterwards they will visit London, where each have friends. D2 is back in NYC, and called during her commute to work -- by foot. And the fleet manager has an easy time of it, for now.