Well, it's done.

[fhrblig]

For only the second time in my life (since I've had my license, that is), I am car-less. It's weird... I really did enjoy this little thing, but I just didn't use it enough to justify the debt no matter how cheaply I got it. I am definitely going to miss it, though my husband still likes them. We might end up with a loaded one later down the line.

As for me, assuming I replace it at all (let's be real, I'm sure I will) it will be with something significantly cheaper. I think my ceiling is going to be $6k but I doubt I'll even spend that much. I might try to keep it to the amount in cash that I receive from the sale. Either way, I won't have a car payment going forward. Time to find a Panther, I guess!

[Chariotoflove]

@fhrblig Hooray for less debt!

[Shop-Teacher]

@fhrblig Panther it up!

[kiltedpadre]

@fhrblig Have I got the ride for you!

oh yeah

[Chariotoflove]

@kiltedpadre “mechanic special” perfect

[kiltedpadre]

@chariotoflove That’s what I get for choosing the first vehicle I know he’d like without bothering with the whole “reading the description” thing.

[Chariotoflove]

@kiltedpadre said in Well, it's done.:

@chariotoflove That’s what I get for choosing the first vehicle I know he’d like without bothering with the whole “reading the description” thing.

That’s the way I choose things like that green BMW. It’s how you have fun with it.

[S65]

@fhrblig It's weird how different being carless is, for the longest I got around with a bike and the bus and metro. And it's crazy to me how much easier it is to get around. There are definitely a lot of advantages to having one though. My Accord was basically the only way I could get to work with COVID restrictions about because public transit is dead.

[DealkillerPoweredByFocus]

@fhrblig This is a bit off topic, but didn’t you used to have a Suzuki SX-4 once? I’m looking at one to replace my Focus, and I found one for $4,600 with 155k mikes on it. It looks like a decent little car. Any thoughts? Sorry if I’m wrong about your Suzuki ownership.

[aremmes]

@fhrblig Not having debt is better than having debt on a cool car. I liked the Venue that I rented earlier this year, they seem well thought out; finding a loaded one down the road should not be difficult.

[fhrblig]

@chariotoflove Agreed! It's a beautiful thing. Cuts my debt by at least half.

[dogisbadob]

Did you make money off it? If I remember, you got it very cheap before the pandemic, and then used car prices shot up!

[boredalways]

@fhrblig Panther you say? How about this Grand Marquis with less than 80k?!

https://denver.craigslist.org/cto/d/denver-1998-mercury-grand-marquis/7360144470.html

[fhrblig]

@kiltedpadre I just happened to look at a '95 near me for about a grand more. White with a severely blue interior. I like the newer generation a bit better, but this one had a really nice interior with heated seats even. It does have hail damage on just the hood, and the paint looks ok from about 15 feet away, but it looks like the suspension is in good shape. I didn't get to drive it because it's one of those dealers that is open for only like 5 hours at a time. I will probably go drive it next weekend. These are definitely in contention.

[fhrblig]

@s65 I'm technically not totally car-less, since we still have my husband's Elantra. As long as I drive him to work on the weekends I'll have a car at my disposal. And I'm allowed to use my work van if needed. But it's such a weird feeling. The last time was for about 4 months while the insurance was sorted out from an accident, and by the end of it I was a bit too hasty and bought a Cube. This time I'm going to try to find something I really like, or at least can tolerate for a year or two.

[fhrblig]

@dealkillerpoweredbyfocus We did, and I've thought about those. Good examples are getting scarce though. If one pops up with AWD and a stick I might have to jump on it.

[fhrblig]

@dogisbadob They gave me approximately $5-6k more than I paid for it. Pretty good haul.

[fhrblig]

@boredalways I'm keeping my eyes peeled for those too. I'm hoping I can get lucky enough to find one with a sunroof, but I can live without it I guess.

[fhrblig]

@dealkillerpoweredbyfocus Also, to better answer your question, it was a decent enough car. I hated the 4-speed auto, though. I fought with it constantly, though when it was snowy it seemed perfect. My mother-in-law has one with the CVT, and oddly that one drives substantially better than the 4-speed in regular weather.

[dogisbadob]

@fhrblig said in Well, it's done.:

@dogisbadob They gave me approximately $5-6k more than I paid for it. Pretty good haul.

WOW

[fhrblig]

@dogisbadob I believe I went through each of those emoji stages.

Or to quote Patton Oswalt from one of his bits, "GAAAH THE MONEY I WANT IT!"

[S65]

@fhrblig It is definitely a weird feeling. I really liked driving over quarantine but as traffic returns I've been wanting to drive less. I've been enjoying my bike commute.

[siennaman]

@chariotoflove you know, it looks like by mechanic's special they mean: this car is old and beat up, don't try to return it when you find something wrong.

I'm more than a little tempted to go give it a test drive..

[Dr. Zoidberg]

@fhrblig said in Well, it's done.:

@dogisbadob They gave me approximately $5-6k more than I paid for it. Pretty good haul.

Good LORD

[fhrblig]

@dr-zoidberg That was my immediate reaction, followed by "YES PLS", followed by, "wait, they know it's a manual, right?" (Yes they did.)