New Arrival

Old Blue is struggling.  She's leaking gas, needs new tires, having rotor issues, the A/C takes a while to kick on, the hinges on the doors and tailgate aren't closing very well anymore, and she is succumbing to rust. Lots of rust.  She's due for inspection at the end of October. 

We had a big decision to make.  We've got a lot of irons in the fire at the moment, but we don't want to find ourselves stuck.  We had to make a choice.  Walt Kowalski looked at many used trucks on the internet.  We spent several afternoons and evenings at car lots inspecting the ones he found.  All of the one we looked at feel into two categories:

1. Ones that were not suitable because they had similar issues as Old Blue.
2. Ones that were not suitable because they did not quite our fit our requirements.

Our one and only "requirement" was an 8 foot bed.  An extended cab would have been nice, but was not a requirement. Power windows were not a requirement.  Power door locks were not a requirement. Diesel was a big NO.  A new truck was out. Ford, Chevy, GMC it didn't matter.  No Toyota or Nissan.

All of the used, well-loved trucks were in worse (worser?) condition than Old Blue.  Walt Kowlaski found one that looked good on the internet.  It was 30 minutes away, so he called to ask about it before we make the drive.  

Walt Kowlaski: "Is it a rust bucket?"
Lady on phone: "Not at all.  It looks good."

Away we went. 

She was right.  It looked good.  The top half.  The newer paint job.  That is where it ended.  There was so much rust underneath that you could see through the rails that hold up the bed.  Who knows about the gas tank.

Crap.  Home we go.  Walt Kowlaski was not happy.  My answer for him was that it was a lovely evening for a drive.  (I don't think it helped.)

Then there was one we looked at in Irwin.  Looked good on the top, not too much rust around the edges.  Appropriate for the age of the truck.  Hmmm, they undercoated the bottom and it looks like they did it just last week.  Hmmmmm, what are you trying to hide?  What are you not telling us?

NEXT!

After more discussions we came to the conclusion that we were going to have to go up in price.  But that it was ok.  Instead of writing a check for the total of the truck, we'll just get a payment.  But that also means we get a warranty.  So maybe this is a good thing.  That opened up the list of possible truck a little larger.

So here's Big Red:

Sorry Auntie Rea's family, it's a 2010 Chevy.  I hope we can still come to Ford family dinners. 

No power windows or door locks.  But we got the 8 foot bed, a 5 year warranty, new tires, heavy bed liner, clean interior, 12,000 miles, and no rust. 

Only we would buy a big, red Chevy truck on the day of a blue moon at a Honda dealership. 



And here is the blue moon this morning:

The Tycho crater on the left side really stands out. I remember being very disappointed as a kid when I saw my first blue moon.  (Really!?! It's just the moon!)  Now I get it.  I appreciate the moon everyday now. Blue, orange, or white.

Yes, I took that photo this morning.  I love my camera. FYI, that's only at half zoom, too.

And fear not, Old Blue hasn't been retired yet.  She's got more work left in her.  Dirty work, too.  Our plan is to have the dirty work (plaster and lath removal) at House #1 done by the end of her registration in October.  We have one and half rooms left upstairs and 2 rooms downstairs. 

Things I learned today:

1. No haggle pricing when buying a car is nice. 
2. You can even use a coupon at a car dealership.  Walt Kowalski and I tried not to laugh when the dealership used a coupon to get a bigger warranty for us. Woo hoo! A coupon! My title of Coupon Queen remains intact.
3. I'm glad I don't have to drive Interstate 70 to work everyday. 
4. I'm also glad I have a 10 minute commute.