Automobiles: The Agony and the... more Agony

Forest Shepherd wrote:Now why didn't I think of that.

depends on how much a spray paint job is. you could choose you favourite colour. pimp that ride.

Well I think I'm getting the white '09 Ford Ranger. I met the guy and looked the truck over thoroughly.
Pros:
It handles very nicely.
The rear brakes are new.
Smooth shifting.
Comfortable seats.
Pretty good amount of power.

Cons:
No space behind seat so noone will ever be able to put their seat back inside.
Only a basic radio inside, no CD/USB player!
Some leaves blew out of the passenger side floor-heating vent when I tested out the AC.
Some small dings on the outside, and two rips in the driver-side seat.
And then there is general light rust on most of the underside. Nothing bad, but a lot more than I would expect on a 2009 truck if I bought it in California. (I would expect zero rust on such a truck in California and maybe this much on a 15-20 year old truck.)

I wussed-out last minute and only brought his price down from $6450 to $6100. I think some more dramatics would have forced his hand and he would have agreed to $5800. Or maybe if I jumped him and wrestled him into a half-nelson for half an hour. Maybe even down to $4800 if we tickled him for another half-hour after that!

I'm no expert on used truck prices but that sounds like a reasonable number to me.  The rust thing is a little worrying but hopefully it's a surface issue and can be dealt with easily enough.  Congrats on the new wheels whenever it becomes official!

get it checked out by a pro-mechanic to see if its superficial rust. or maybe some sort of written agreement for the guy to pay for any structural repairs if its bad rust.

I'm going to look it over again one last time before I hand over the money. A handshake is well and good, but there is no gentleman's court last I checked so if I change my mind last-minute he'd just have to deal with it.

Yeah the price is probably right Eldo. Rangers depreciate relatively quickly, but for this mileage the KBB and NADA value is around $5800-7100 from a private seller depending upon trim (like, stereo and power window sort of things). This one is really just the base model. I even have to replace the stereo and unless I do it myself it'll probably be $150-200 in total over at Best Buy.

Geez, I'm getting pretty good at complaining about vehicles. Better stop now.

A turn of events has occurred!
As it turns out, this truck's EPA regulations aren't quite up to snuff to California standards. I think it was only something relatively minor, like re-calibrating the computer codes, that needed doing, but I've decided to get the truck for my dad instead!
He's had a long string of crappy cars for as long as I can remember, and he had said how much he likes this truck when he test drove it for me.
And so I bought it for him! I think he'll be able to pay me back later, at least in part, but right now he's strapped for cash and had been expecting to have to try and patch up an old Toyota truck that had a few dozen things wrong with it (and guzzled gas).
Anyway, I feel pretty great and my mom's real proud of my taking good care of my dad like this. He's doing well health-wise, but ever since his stroke he's had trouble understanding the legality of his parent's farm inheritance that's being left to him and his sister and has been sort of scraping past the last couple years.
Well and his sister is kind of hoarding everything to herself right now and keeping him in the dark as to what's going on and so on. Keeping him on rather a short leash.  
But that's family for you I guess!


Anyway, I'll try and find something a little less expensive when I get back to California. Hopefully my dad will get some of that money back to me by then, but otherwise I have two work-checks coming in then and I think I have enough stored away.

that's a very generous and kind thing you did for your dad. I think good deeds are always repaid in some form or other.

Very kind, indeed.

You are very lucky your dad is still around after his stroke. We lost my grandfather last year to a hemorrhagic stroke. He was in the hospital for a couple weeks and passed on All Saints Day.

{{{This way you can also avoid any unwanted Minnesota rust on your vehicle. }}}

Thats love for you, never needs a "thank you" either, ( but nice when you get one ! ) You got a heart of gold Forest

Oh gosh, I'm blushing.


I drove the truck today for the first time and I definitely want a manual for my next vehicle. I feel far more in control.

I feel far more in control.- Forest

Well I should bloody well hope so if your in charge of a truck!

That was really sweet of you, Forest. I hope things work out well for both you and your dad!

So I'm heading back to California on Friday and I've begun looking for a new car again. It's quite a bugger of an experience because now that I've already gone through all the steps of buying a truck and seen what it's like I am leaning more toward a sedan or hatchback. The only problem is that for the foreseeable future I will be working general contracting, and a truck would be handy at work.

But then really good gas mileage is quite attractive both economically and environmentally, for whatever that is worth.

So here's 4 options I've been mulling over, any thoughts? They're all between $7,500-8,800. (£4,900-5,750) and all of them are manual 5-speeds (I think).


2011 Ford Fiesta. The miles are real low but the asking price is actually slightly below kbb value, somehow.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/5270823927.html


2011 Ford Fiesta hatchback. It sounds like it's been taken very good care of. 55,000 miles.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/5263456952.html

2008 Volkswagen Jetta,

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/5279485673.html
*or*
2010 Volkswagen Jetta

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/5263065849.html

And finally the same vehicle, basically, that I just bought, but in silver and a year newer:
2010 Ford Ranger,

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/5274381030.html

How much do you drive outside of work? If not much, go for your original truck. If a lot, I'd lean towards the fiesta or jetta.

find out who owned them before, a middle aged female is less likely to have pranged it. Unless its an Italian middle aged female, then the opposite is true.

Given the way many middle aged women I know drive I find that questionable! (Maybe Scots wimmin and Italian lassies are alike! )

I think Scottish females are probably just drunk, Italians have no sense of danger as if they were drunk, but they are sober, which is more worrying. they should all be tied up on their sofas in front of 'The Bold and the Beautiful'.

One of the funniest comments I heard when visiting Europe came out when noting the narrow winding mountain roads in Austria, which the locals seemed to zip around unphazed. Don't remember who made the remark, but...

"Even an Italian will pull over when they see an Austrian license plate heading their way."

I've been pretty happy with my Ford hatchback. It doesn't have great storage capacity but it's more than a regular sedan. And even though it's ancient in car terms it does comparably in terms of gas mileage to my girlfriend's much newer crossover (Jeep Compass). I don't drive it much though and when I do it's mostly just to and from work without needing to transport much.

Thanks for sharing the personal experience Eldo.

I miss having a hatchback.