Holy crap! I sold my car!

[Flea]

I hate to see it go, but I really had to be done. My jaunty little pickup got about 15 gallons to the mile. I kept seeing all the predictions for this summer's price hike and I knew it would just be collecting rust in my parking lot. I couldn't afford to drive it, and nobody else would want to gas it up at $5/gallon either.

I advertised it on Tuesday, and I accepted the second offer that came along. I haven't been without a car since college and I'm not looking forward to it, but this city is famous for its bike paths and bus service. And it's a small town - I'm way out in the exurbs, and I clocked the distance from Chez Flea to city hall at 5.5 miles. Puh-lease.

It was a very sentimental thing to hand over the keys. I've taken dozens of camping trips,and some major cross-country road trips in it. I've slept in that truck bed in several states, truck stops, and national and state forests. The biggest moment came for me as I cleaned out the glove box - I found a long-forgotten gag gift from my (best left behind) old fiancee. That was a shocker. I left it in there for the new owners to wonder about. :EG:

So long, old friend. Gosh I hope I made the right call.

 

[girlbug2]

I know the feeling--am getting rid of a van I had for 9 years now. It's hard to let go. Weird, huh?

 

[Flea]

More than anything else, it's a security blanket. Against weather, inconvenience, one's neighbors. I had put it up for sale a couple times before, and then crisis intervened. The first time my dog had a medical emergency on a Sunday, and the only 24 hour clinic was completely inaccessible by bus. The second time, I had to pull it off the market because of a back injury - I sure as hell wasn't about to ride my bicycle to physical therapy under the circumstances. Between those two factors, I resigned myself to the thought that I needed to have my own transportation.

It's very different here though. It's a small town with a very accessible bus system. And better yet, I have an extended family if anything goes really wrong. So that's made me feel comfortable letting go. Aside from the "oh crap its a major paradigm change" factor. I think I'd feel that in any case. It's human nature.

 

[granfire]

what a nice truck it is, too...

Yes, it is a weird feeling to let go. Gave 2 old cars away on one day. I see the one every now and then on the road (both needed major repairs neither my husband nor I could do, the one care smoked so bad when I cranked it, I was afraid to put it in gear - and lock the doors - in case it owuld catch on fire!!)

You are lucky to have a good bus system...around here we are up the creek without wheels..

 

[Big Don]

I had a Grand Marquis. Several expensive things broke in quick procession, so, it sat in my driveway for a couple of months. One night, this guy knocked on my door and asked if I wanted to sell it. I walked out side, walked around the car with him, and pointed out every single thing that was wrong with it. When I was done, he said he'd like to offer me a certain sum for it. I told him, "I bet you would, but, I'll sell it for..." He said he would think about it, and left.
40 minutes later, he showed up with cash. So, I sold it, for $300 less than I had paid for it 4 years, and eighty thousand miles earlier.

 

[granfire]

I had a Grand Marquis. Several expensive things broke in quick procession, so, it sat in my driveway for a couple of months. One night, this guy knocked on my door and asked if I wanted to sell it. I walked out side, walked around the car with him, and pointed out every single thing that was wrong with it. When I was done, he said he'd like to offer me a certain sum for it. I told him, "I bet you would, but, I'll sell it for..." He said he would think about it, and left.
40 minutes later, he showed up with cash. So, I sold it, for $300 less than I had paid for it 4 years, and eighty thousand miles earlier.

LOL,not bad! Not bad at all!

 

[Big Don]

LOL,not bad! Not bad at all!

The best part is, I sold it with zero effort on my part.

 

[granfire]

The best part is, I sold it with zero effort on my part.

LOL, yep, even better.

 

[Flea]

In retrospect I think I lowballed myself by a couple hundred, but I'll make up for that in about 6 weeks of savings on gas and insurance. Which was the whole point of selling in the first place. It feels very strange too look out the window and not see it there.