Who's Giving and Who's Getting at the DMV

VII of Pentacles Rider Waite Smith deck

I bought a van last weekend!  Yay! My first car, and also my new future home when we start vandwelling in June!  The flip side of all this joy?- car insurance, vehicle registration, passing inspection, repairs repairs repairs on a used van....  

This morning I got up bright and early and picked a daily card before heading off to the Department of Motor Vehicles to complete the registration process.  I choose the VI of Pentacles reversed, which did not seem promising to me at all.  

Would they find some minute detail that I had wrongly entered on the form and use their omnipotence to deny my application?  Would I be left begging them to please register my car, because it is also my new home, but wait- shouldn't tell them that!  Off I went with a brave heart, full of excitement, reassuring myself that I am a paperwork goddess without error.

And everything went fine!  The line was ridiculous, but moved swiftly once the DMV actually opened.  The woman who looked over my paperwork was even pleasant and accommodating.  So what were the strings attached to getting the registration?- the state requires that I pay taxes on the appraised value of the van, instead of the price I actually paid for it.  Since my girlfriend is such a good bargainer, we paid much less than the value of the van, but I still had to pay taxes on the full amount.  Boo!

There's that VI of Pentacles reversed energy playing out, in which the system gives you what you need but not without taking something in exchange.  We tried to save some money by talking down the price from the buyer, but then end up paying more anyway. Well, whatever right?  I guess that's the price of living in the USA today and I get the the pleasure of knowing that the cars on the road are relatively safe and insured.  What's money when I have a dream taking flight!?