Driving down to see the car was psychologically trippy. The traffic on the freeway was stop and go from the beginning (it took me 15 minutes just to get ON the freeway!). I panicked. Mostly because I was going to be meeting Buzzer and Turnip down in the south bay and Turnip was going to give me her cell phone number, but didn't, thinking Zaugi was going to give it me. Zaugi didn't know Turnip's cell phone number and, as a result, I had no way to get in touch with Buzzer and Turnip if I was going to be an hour or so late at our designated meeting place. So I freaked out because I already had pent-up stress from the thought of getting myself back in debt over a vintage classic sports car that may or may not be reliable to drive.

I tried calming myself down by repeating to myself calm down calm down calm down. Then I saw a dead black kitty on the side of the freeway, near the center median, and broke into tears. Either it was thrown from a speeding car or it got all the way across 5 lanes of traffic only to find a concrete median wall, where it was forced to turn back... and got hit. How tragically sad.

When traffic eased up south of San Leandro, I finally calmed down.

Believe it or not, but I made it to our designated meeting spot exactly on time. Then I called the owner and had her meet us there.

The car is gorgeous, but not completely restored. Some things were in better condition than I expected, others weren't. The car runs well, although it idles a little rough (meaning new carburetor?). It has a lot of power. The leather interior looks brand new, with not even one miniscule crack. The wood dash trim needs some repair because it's cracked and stained near the bottom. The trunk needs a push-button lock/opener. The seat belts are a little funky and hard to use (they're not retractable and they latch on the door side, down near the floor). It doesn't have a stereo system. And I'll definitely have to remove the window tinting on the side windows. All seemingly minor things.

So I asked about the price. I asked, "How much, again, are you asking?" I knew what she'd say, but I offered her $500 less. She upped my offer by $200. I happily made out the check.

Turnip told me later that she appeared shocked when I offered her less than asking price. I hope I didn't offend her. After all, her husband was throwing in a lot of extra things, like the BMW CD rom, all the extra parts he'd bought for it but never got around to installing, and two rear stereo speakers.

I thought nobody advertised their car for the price they actually wanted, unless they specified that the asking price is firm. Am I mistaken?

I felt bad later, like what if her and her husband had an arguement later about how much she accepted...? Buzzer consoled me, saying I did the right thing and that she wouldn't have accepted my offer if it wasn't acceptable to her.

So then I began my trek up to San Francisco. It was late and I yearned for the safety net of a cell phone. Along with a stereo, maybe that's the other thing I'll be buying this weekend.

I learned that the car has really stiff suspension and that the ride is a little herky-jerky on roughly paved parts of the freeway. And there are some strong odors that waft in occasionally. The owner told me ahead of time that if I smelled anything resembling paint, that would be the new exhaust system they recently installed. Maybe the smell will eventually go away....? I hope so.

I already miss my Legend. It has a smooth ride and is fun to drive. Buzzer drove it away to Sacramento last night; I was so sad to see it go. Zaugi will be the new owner. At least it's going to stay in the family, which is comforting. Zaugi says I can see it and drive it whenever I visit. :)

So I drove the new car into work this morning because I can't park it on my street until I get a SF neighborhood parking permit. That may take a couple weeks, unfortunately... meaning I'll be driving it into work for the next couple weeks. Ugh.

I'll also be driving it to Sacramento this weekend because Felicia's "moving away to the south of France" party is tomorrow. I've still got to buy her a gift. Any suggestions? I'm not so good at gift-giving.

Well, that's all to say for now. Ciao!