June 23rd, 2005

Carl Goes to a Good Home


      It was all much easier than I had anticipated. I made a few photocopied signs, walked all over town putting them up in all the backpacker hostels that I could find, and then went back to my own to rest my weary feet. After a few minutes I went outside to make sure I had everything I needed out of Carl should a quick sale happen in the morning. As I stood there cleaning out the empty soda bottles and gum wrappers and hoping that whoever came to buy it wouldn't ask about the wet floor on the passenger side, a Toyota Land Cruiser pulled up right behind me. A man jumped out and said he had noticed the sign in the window earlier and blah blah blah could he come by in the morning to have a look in the daylight. Mark was his name.
      So this morning I got up, had a bacon-egg sandwich, and went out to Carl to have another check and make sure I had everything once again. As I was cleaning, a dude walked by and said that if it wasn't sold by that afternoon, he'd be keen to have a look at it. Cool, a backup.
      A few minutes later Mark showed up again and walked around it, checking the door straightness, under the hood, around the driver's side cockpit, and most of the things oen would check when buying a car. Then he took it around the block for a spin. Naturally Carl chose this moment to not start on the first turn of the key. But Mark was heavy enough on teh gas that he also didn't stall after 10 seconds like usually does when he's cold. When he came back, he offered me $350. Short of my $400 asking price, but I happily took it. We talked for a few minutes after that, and he told me he had another TX-3 at home that he'd bought when it was new, but his daughter had driven it into the ground. He was going to take the two cars and use the best bits of each one of them to make one beautiful new Carl! "These things are goind to be worth lots of money one day," he said. "They only brought over so many of them the first time, and that was it. The TX-3 that is." I got to thinking I should have stuck with my original thought of $600.
      Mark stumbled a little bit when I mentioned that I had never put the paperwork through for the registration, but I assured him that there was no ticket trail to worry about. And he didn't really seem to care about that really anyway. The same non-concern was in his attitude when he noticed the CV joint chattering away on the left axle.
      I gave Mark the keys, took his photo, and we shook hands. Off he went to work, and off I went to write this email. I took down the sign I'd put up yesterday in the net cafe, and the guy behind the counter mentioned how he was going to call me today! I'll probably get a few calls today. Perhaps I should get into a bidding war. Except that I already have the cash. I gave up the key. I signed the papers. I kept the map, and the scrap of fabric from the seat pocket.
Carl has gone to a good home, Amy. No more scrappy trips around the south island dodging cops. No more I Hope I Can Make It To Nelson Before The Wheel Falls Off attitude. No more water drops on the right arm and leg when it rains. Well, at least not on my arm and leg. I started to get a bit sentimental when I thought of Carl going off and possibly being stripped for parts, but then Mark assured me that it was most likely going to be the other way around. The other car would be stripped for parts for Carl. And then I realized...it's just a car. Esentially I rented a car for two months for $50. Unlimited kilometers. No insurance restrictions. No fear of incurring too much damage. And adventures around every bend. What a bloody good deal.

Ciao,
Chris