Brand New EXTREMELY Used Car

 I was going to post about something else and then I remembered I hadn't put up the new rig.  I will have to shut off comments on this post because purchase posts get super spammed.  

Anyway, so, partway through the house build, when I was at the financial nadir of the winter (still thankfully employed and getting checks but the savings had pretty much all been transferred to the builderman and mrs builderman)...the subaru gave up the ghost.  Sol is dead.  Sol (remember, I got it by the summer solstice so "Sol") is an ex vehicle.   It started shaking like a beast.  Very much like when it broke a drive shaft (there are 2 on a subaru) last spring and cost me 300+$.   I took it in and found out it  had a completely f'd ignition system including a blown up (yes, it exploded a little and burned a hole through itself) ignition coil.   That and the new wires and installation on the hard-to-work-on motor cost me 500$ or so.  It was 180k miles LATE on the 2nd timing belt, burning more and more oil, and had 288000 miles on it.  This is not a car worth fixing.  I drew a line under it and started driving the pick up.  Not a super delight, but it was "the good car" for a couple of months.

I searched high and low.  I had 5000$ for a rig and Sol as a trade-in or to scrap.  Also, Sol had a dying battery.  Anyway, the longer I could deal with the truck, the more I could save.  By the time I purchased, I could have possibly spent 6-8000$ for the right vehicle.  I test drove a variety of things.  Chevy Equinox made my spine hurt in 20 min.   Toyota Sienna was just crap.  The particular one I drove, could afford, was less uncomfortable but also drove like a couch which makes me puke.  A super smooth ride and I get car sick.  Both would have been dealt with if I had no truck, but I had the truck.   So, I told the dealer, same one I got the truck from that my dream car was an old Honda CR-V or Subaru Forester.   The sedans I considered did not have enough clearance and newer subarus have the expensive 17" tires.  

I had two dealers I was watching and a CR-V popped up at one.  I called, texted, and emailed them requesting a 36 hour hold on it because I had work meetings I couldn't miss and they are an hour from me.   They held it , because it's easy to sell an old CR-V.  They said they had 4 or 5 people waiting in the wings if I didn't want it.  Whatever.  Don't care.

I read the reviews for the 2002 model, reliability ratings and the CarFax.  All were fine.  Of special interest was the timing CHAIN.  No belt.  The 2002 is the year Honda took the CR-V back to a timing chain.  These are much much more reliable than belts and may not need replacing for the life of the vehicle.  A timing belt replacement on the subaru was going to be over 1200$...nope.  That's why I let it go on Sol.  The CR-V is all wheel drive, plenty of clearance and has 15" wheels hence much much cheaper tires.  Also narrower tires than the subaru.  I did not look up features or cool stuff.  Don't care.  

My bottom line criteria:

Clearance of 5.75" or more

Automatic (clutch/gas dyslexia is not a solvable issue, I tried for 3 years solid, screw it)

All wheel if possible

Reasonable chance of getting 1+miles of driving for every 10cents of purchase price plus major repairs.

Seats that don't cause immediate back/next pain

and...a new one after testing the above mentioned Sienna....does not REEK of baby puke.

Preferred: 

Stiff/rough ride

Decent handling

Cheap to fix

Good cargo space

Stupid but I thought it would be fun:

a tire mounted on the back door  (because I've never had one)

I got there, in the truck, to test drive it.  It was fine.  The driver's seat is a tad wiggly but whatever.  Hood is 1/4" off square.   Scrapes in the doors.  It's grey and hence nearly invisible on the road (maybe reflective flame stickers will help?)

Stiff ride.  Rough idle.  Twitchy steering.  Decent acceleration but not a powerhouse by any means. 

166k miles on it. (LOW for the age).  Engine light on for an "evap" code.  After market gas cap likely cause.  

Asking price was about 5000$

I said I'd be back in 2 days with the subaru to buy it.  We negotiated a price before I did that.   The price was what they were asking but 450$ for the subaru (junk/salvage price would be about 250$ minus the hauling fee if I couldn't drive it there...I would not sell it to anyone who might try to drive it).  With some random 90ish$ fee, the drive-away cost out of pocket was 4650$.  Taxes (my plates from the subaru transferred at no cost) and title fees were about 340$.  Total price: 4990$.  Let's call it 5000$ with the driving down to test drive. 

The day comes and the subaru, which had been sitting for 2 months with the crap battery, would not start.  It also would not take a jump.  I called the dealer and they said they go to auctions up north of me and would pick it up, minus a hauling fee.  FINE.  Kill it.  I told them I'd be there the next day because they were about to close.  Then I called around to the 1 person in my bubble...and she gave me a ride down.  She took a 2nd test drive in it and agreed that it was fine for the price.   She had family to get presents to in the dealer's town so she took off and I wrote a check.

They picked up Sol about a week later.  

So....introducing Juanita:

Not bad looking for nearly 20 years old.

She is called Juanita because she's a bit of a rough ride, is showing some wear (dings, windshield crack, broken trim here and there), and stinks of cigarettes.

Exhibit 1:

So there you have it.

Issues that have shown up post purchase (and yes, I know that the better part of valor is to take a used car to a mechanic but I did not have time and it would have cost me a day off of work in addition to the mechanic's price for the testing.  Then what do I do with myself during 'rona?  Stores don't want you hanging around.  My mechanic near work couldn't do it for 2 weeks and the dealer wasn't going to hold it for 2 weeks...so I thought "what the hell"...and bought it.  It's 5000$.  I've made bigger mistakes.

I bought the truck, reminder: named Prince because 1999)...anyway, things that have shown up:

Shifting issue at 1800rpm and between 25 and 40 MPH.  It quits having an issue if I hit the gas or take my foot off the gas.  I'll get that assessed when it needs oil.  Turns out it the protocol is oil every 10,000 miles...I will go 5000 but I don't think I can deal with waiting 10000 miles between changes.

Mild whistling noise (antenna?) at highway speeds.

Bonuses I've noticed since purchase:

There is a trunk!  The tire is on the back door but there is a tire shaped storage spot under the floor of the cargo area.  

There is a folding table.  The floor of the cargo area is a flimsy (apparently unused) folding table.

Sun roof

Cassette player (I did notice before purchase)

6CD changes (also noticed before purchase but like the cassette player, I don't care)

The backseats not only fold down, they flip up and attach to the back of the front seats so you get a TON of cargo room.

There is a rubbery thing lining the cargo area so things don't leak all over.

There is a storage bin under the passenger front seat that slides out...perfect for filling with baking soda and charcoal to try to minimize the cigarette stank.

All the electric windows still work (I did check before purchase but didn't really care)

The seats are manual hence hard to bust (did notice before purchase but not a consideration)

The front seats lay flat and then you can shove them against the back seats for a super uncomfortable bed area!  More comfortable than the subaru for sleeping.  

There is an extra cubby on the door side of the steering wheel, in the dash but on the door side.  This helps make up for the lack of a console between the seats.  

The thingy between the seats is a fold down table.  Strange.  

Minuses:

The shifty issue

Minimal cup holders that are flimsy and crap.  Like ONE that is functional and it's flimsy.  Oh well.

Just one charging port.

The engine light goes off and on at random.  I had it checked and it's the "evap" code.  Still, annoying.  So I bought a code reader and will be able to shut it off as well as making sure it's not trying to tell me that the engine is about to blow up.  There is just the engine light, not any fine detail on what the issue is.

I think the stupid folding table is the funniest bit.  Clearly it is useless or it would have been used.

The seats do not hurt my spine.  It's like driving around in a straight back kitchen chair.  The head rests do not mess with my pony tail like every other car I'd tested AND the subaru.  This and my pick up may be that last vehicles with bun space.   My left leg doesn't fall asleep in this one like it started to in the subaru (that seat was worn out).

I've put about 2500 miles on it so far...That's 2$/mile cost so far.   It goes down fast the first few months.  By summer, we'll be hitting 1$ or less.   Headed for the golden 10cents.   The first subaru costs me 5cents per driving mile....Betty was a good car.  But, she's dead.  Long live Juanita.