Do I really need brake lights?

I mean, do I? I guess they are useful, but it means another 120$ out of my pocket that i didn’t have in the first place. I bought the Hayne’s repair manual for My 1992 Mazda MPV, thinking I could do the repairs myself. Little did I realize i would have to start compensating for the previous owner’s “installation” of his crappy radio, that apparently rendered the brake lights inoperable. Now, when the brake is depressed, the console lights up at me. Mocking me. Telling me “Just one more reason you will stay poor!!!!!” I guess they went to the same school for radio installation and wiring as they did for routine car maintenance.

So now I have to 1) find a mechanic I am willing to let work on my car, 2) trust him (or her) to not inflate their estimate and try and gouge me and 3) find time to drop the car off and pick it up while not interupting (too bad) my daily work grind.

Thanks again, previous owner of my car, for screwing me over and out and causing not only a major headache to me and my family, but also a safety hazard for me (until it is fixed) and 120$! ….Gawd, I hate you.