I bought a new car.
Not without it’s share of issues and me flexing my new found legal muscle.
I flew (yes, I have been looking for a specific car and have called all over the country for specifics and mechanics who would look at each individual vehicle) to Columbus, Ohio to look at 1999 BMW 528i Sport Wagon. I had looked at a variety of other cars and even 3 other BMW 528i Sport Wagons, but found the deal with this specific one, to be the type of deal I couldn’t pass up.
I called a mechanic shop a mile away from the dealer of the used BMW. I asked him to go look at the car.. and he did. He informed me the brakes would need work in the next 10,000 miles and the tires had less than 7,500 miles on them. Otherwise, the car was more than in good shape. The carfax was clean. It was a good buy.
When I got to the dealership, I got the best service. I took a test drive that included me driving the car 85 MPH down a backcountry road. It was a great ride.
I bought it after some serious wheeling and dealing. The asking price was $5,950. The car has some rust issues in the hatch that will need to be fixed eventually. I also noted the tires and the brakes as potential issues. The guy came back at me with a $5,500 number. I declined.
I said, “Look, I want to walk out of here at 5,000. I dont care what you have to do to make your dealer fees and such match, but that is my offer. 5,000 out the door. Finally after some discussion we settled on 5,000 before fees. I drove home that day.
I was 3/4 of the way between Columbus and Dayton when it happened.
What is it?
It was a huge pothole the size of Texas that appeared under a truck as I went to pass. I hot the thing square on. I bottomed out on th front end and knew immediately that this was not going to end up well.
You tell yourself, “Oh things will be okay.”
I got off two exits down the road and got lunch. I was leaking a green fluid when I came out of the Arby’s and instantly knew this was coolant. A taste test (sweet) confirmed my fears. I didn’t even get down the road to the gas station where I couldn’t even find the coolant I needed, before the car was dinging that it was about to overheat. I called a tow truck to tow me nearly 40 miles to an open BMW dealership. The dealership wasn’t open on Sundays, so I stayed in a Days Inn on Saturday night and Sunday night before driving back to Jackson Monday afternoon and night.
I’m glad to be back now, and want to mention how great my purchase was…. But still a little bit of a hectic way to start my week. I am now more than broke and may need to sell my camera or my soul to make it even for the semester. I guess some guys have all the luck. I do not!
O well. I am heading home for Spring Break on Friday. I’ll write some before then.
~YJ_SL
