The last days of my Victor/Victoria

Well, I know I have said things about my Victor/Victoria. My car is a Ford Crown Victoria, which is also used as a police car. Mine is the civilian luxury version, without the police coolers and power hookups for the equipment. However, its a gas guzzler because of its size and the fact that it's an 8 cylinder 4.6 liter engine. The US DOT says its gets a combined 18 MPG with a 20 gallon (76 liters to my English friends) gas tank. I am not sure how to convert the MPG to kilometers per liter so I won't try. Anyway, I was able to get it to pass last year with a little fudging by the mechanic because I had invested almost a $1000 to get the front end rebuilt as the ball joints and front suspension needed to be repaired. I suspect the work was not done because it is now making a whole host of noises that it wouldn't make if it was fixed. It also needs a new catalytic converter to pass the emissions inspection since I live in a city area that is under pollution control. If I lived another country over, I wouldn't need it. Still, if I wanted to replace that its between $400 and $1000 depending upon the type of exhaust system. I am not going to put another dime into this idiotic thing since it is literally eating me alive financially. I love the car, the power in getting around and so forth, but I just cannot afford it.

I have received a offer from a friend in Texas who has a Blazer 4x4 SUV that he can sell me cheap. The guy is an ADHD type who is very meticulous when it comes to his vehicles. He works at the GM plant in Arlington, TX, so he knows his vehicles. He has had it since he owned it, puts it under a car cover at night etc, so I am getting a good car. Two things, How to get there to pick up the car and getting the time off work to fly there and still drive it back from Texas to Missouri, about a 10 hour drive. I hope I can get it all worked out.