I am at the point where I can no longer resist getting a car. I've held out for two years and now it's time...
It has rained every day last week and there's no way I can tie a flat of strawberries to the passenger seat on my motorcycle.
My dad is a self-proclaimed mechanic and has only bought one car from a dealership in his life. (It was the car he took me home from the hospital in, and the same car I took my driver's test in.) I've followed his example and have only paid cash for every car I've bought, and I've only bought my cars through private dealers.
I found this on Craigslist, and was really excited because it's the same model my dad drives and so he would know how to fix it if something breaks.
It's a 2002 Ford Escort, and it only has 28,000 miles on it.
According to the guy selling it, it was owned by his friend's mother, who only drove it to bingo and the grocery store.
Cue music:
So, I took the car to a mechanic (my dad actually lives in another state) and asked him to do a used vehicle check because the guy's offer was really tempting.
As it turned out, the car needed new front and rear brakes, new tires, the AC was hardwired to the battery or something else screwy. And all the belts and stuff need to be changed because even though the car has such low mileage, rubber still breaks down and goes bad.
Total repair bill would be over $1000. Ouch.
But here's what killed the deal for me-- I checked the vehicle's history on Carfax and it turns out it was rear-ended two years ago.
It has been fixed and looks all nice and pretty now, but I was told on the phone it hadn't been in any accidents...
*sigh*
Here's hoping for dry weather...
