So I got rid of the sensible car because a $500 payment was not sensible and the resale value was more than the stupid thing cost new.
But I still need a car to schlep back and forth across the country and make my weekly trips to the grocery store or whatever. Which meant buying in the least sensible car market ever to exist.
The grand plan was to take the excess equity cash from the WRX and plow it into picking up a hawkeye impreza wagon and making it roadtrip-worthy. Call it a budget of $7000 for the car, $3000 for repairs and mods. Should be easy, right? They're 15 year old cars that were worth like $3000 two years ago.
So I pulled up Autotempest and emailed/facebook messaged on *every single one* in the country. *DOZENS* of listings. Two got back to me saying they actually had it:
- One in Tulsa, OK.
- One in Virginia, just outside DC.
The Tulsa one had a fresh paint job (incredibly sus) and I was going to have to spend hundreds of dollars to send a mobile mechanic to inspect it. Guy wanted $5000 for it. It would cost me $2000 to get the thing transported here. So I'd probably be in it for $7500.
The one in Virginia, I could just hop in the car and go look at it myself. They wanted $7500. But it had a brand new Virginia state inspection. And just before that, Carfax indicates it had a brand new Pennsylvania state inspection. Both of those mean it should be fiiine! So I roll up and do a due diligence check. No codes set, monitors complete, no visible rust underneath (there's a bit on the rear quarter but meh). Has a timing belt sticker (it's about time for a new one, though). Normal Subaru leaks only (this one has NONE I've been able to detect thus far!?). Cool. Gave 'em $7500, signed the as-is paperwork.
Not bad lookin'... Until you get up close. She's rough outside.
Every panel has dings and scratches and general ugliness. And it's this absolutely terrible color.
So, off to my local Subaru dealer for a Maryland state safety inspection....
But I still need a car to schlep back and forth across the country and make my weekly trips to the grocery store or whatever. Which meant buying in the least sensible car market ever to exist.
The grand plan was to take the excess equity cash from the WRX and plow it into picking up a hawkeye impreza wagon and making it roadtrip-worthy. Call it a budget of $7000 for the car, $3000 for repairs and mods. Should be easy, right? They're 15 year old cars that were worth like $3000 two years ago.
So I pulled up Autotempest and emailed/facebook messaged on *every single one* in the country. *DOZENS* of listings. Two got back to me saying they actually had it:
- One in Tulsa, OK.
- One in Virginia, just outside DC.
The Tulsa one had a fresh paint job (incredibly sus) and I was going to have to spend hundreds of dollars to send a mobile mechanic to inspect it. Guy wanted $5000 for it. It would cost me $2000 to get the thing transported here. So I'd probably be in it for $7500.
The one in Virginia, I could just hop in the car and go look at it myself. They wanted $7500. But it had a brand new Virginia state inspection. And just before that, Carfax indicates it had a brand new Pennsylvania state inspection. Both of those mean it should be fiiine! So I roll up and do a due diligence check. No codes set, monitors complete, no visible rust underneath (there's a bit on the rear quarter but meh). Has a timing belt sticker (it's about time for a new one, though). Normal Subaru leaks only (this one has NONE I've been able to detect thus far!?). Cool. Gave 'em $7500, signed the as-is paperwork.
Not bad lookin'... Until you get up close. She's rough outside.
Every panel has dings and scratches and general ugliness. And it's this absolutely terrible color.
So, off to my local Subaru dealer for a Maryland state safety inspection....