In The Market

I've been saving money with the idea of buying a new computer. I'd planned on buying a hotrod quad-core, boosting the RAM to 6Gb and adding a vid card, more HD space and a flat monitor... which is less than $1k if I buy the parts and do my own upgrades. You can buy a very nice PC for a grand today...sweet!

Sadly, a thousand dollars doesn't buy much in the way of automobiles and that, I am afraid, is where my money is going. I had hoped to coax another 6-8 months out of my beloved Volvo 780, but the tires have recently become wobbly and it makes me afraid to drive it...my car-savvy pal Mike sez my tie-rods (and other things) are breaking, which is more than a little dangerous.

The repairs would cost a fortune in-shop but the parts are relatively cheap, the problem is it would take a long time to self-repair (weeks) because Mike has a busy, busy real-life and it's not an easy task suitable for an unguided know-little such as myself...plus there are still the oil leak issues...sigh. I love my car, but it mu...m-m-...m-must go. Sob.

I can't get to work without a car, so I need a new one soon...on the plus side, I have my late cousin's bicycle and it works like a charm, so groceries and small errands are easy- in fact, I love that bike, so having an excuse to ride is a good thing...riding to work is not an option.

I might have to drive (slowly) to work for a few days and hope that the tire doesn't snap. This week I can carpool, but next week my hours change and I'm not on anyone's work schedule. Yet.

Crap. If the wheel falls off my Volvo it'll wreck and look like this:

Or worse. I'd probably careen into a crowd of orphans while they were on a field trip to the endangered species petting zoo and I'd have to live with that for the rest of my life...or I'd plunge off of a bridge and into the ocean...or a cliff, like in those bad Hollywood movies...in any case, I'm not driving unless I really have to, like to avoid a volcano or meteor or something.

Unfortunately, this pic (above) is also what a $1,000 used car tends to look like. I haven't seen much in the under $2500 range on [ThatList] except a few scams..**see below for scam warning!

If I'm lucky, I'll find a nice Honda/Toyota/etc beater for around $15oo..if it lasts a year, that will give me time to save for a nicer "real" car and maybe a PC too...like I said, PCs are cheap now and I do have a job, so that helps. I will buy cash only. No credit. My Twin might loan me some money, but only what I can afford to pay back -no interest!

More good potential luck: The Twin is considering buying a nice home here in Fallentown. I would help defray the payments by paying rent to Twin and we will work out a sweat equity thing too...personally, I don't care if I own the house or not but I have no trouble with giving the Twin my rent- keep it in the family! My current apartment is small and totally overcrowded with decades of ...stuff. Some is mine and some belongs to dead relatives and missing friends.

It will feel good to rid myself of what I no longer value and to reacquaint myself with forgotten personal treasures.

Twin wants to build a home music/recording studio room...I have the gear, he is shopping for basements and de-commissioned bomb shelters for placement. If it happens, I'd live upstairs and run the studio. It's a big if, but I feel like talking about it anyway, jinx be damned. I can't live in fear of jinxes...it's a self-fulfilling fear,ya know?

Other items belong to the part of me that died in September 2005. I sometimes run into artifacts from my drinking days and I am baffled as to where they came from or why I have them...I just found an awesome letter of recommondation from my State Farm boss- he details the stellar above/beyond accomplishments and gives me the highest marks possible.

It scares me that I barely remember most of what I did on that job. I worked unsupervised, so I did all my work early in the morning and then I got drunk and fucked off all day. It's where this blog was born.

AND THIS BLOG HAS ALWAYS HATED SCAMS

I am in the "looking" process for a car, so I tried craigslist. It's has 100's of listings per day, some are repeats from dealers, some are single owners and some others are simply to good to be true...such as a 2002 Honda Accord for $2000. What's wrong with car? How many miles?...I wrote a letter with a dozen or so questions, including location and this is what I got, below.

NOTE: The reply came in less that 60 seconds after I sent my query, seems to indicate a robot at work:

THE REPLY:

First of all i want to say that the car is in perfect condition,
without faults or dents, no scratches or any kind of damage,
without engine problems, no hidden defects, the car has not suffered
damage.The interior is as new condition and was never smoked in. The price
I find it very reasonable, I ask for it $2,000. The problem is that
I had to leave with my family in Canada as my wife has been promoted
and we had to move here where she got the new job transfer for 5 years.
We can use eBay Safe Pay Insurer to complete the transaction. The deal
will go strictly according to eBay rules and policy.
In order to start the official transaction, I need to know your details:
-full name and shipping address
As soon as I have them, I'll start the official procedure and eBay
service will notify you about this. You'll also receive important
guidelines and payment instructions from them . I'll handle the
shipping, so this will be free of charge for you. We will use eBay
Safe Pay Insurer to manage the payment because it is the safest way
for both of us and also you will have 10 days to inspect the car
before I receive the money. Also, a refund policy will be included.

The car is still in US, at our home in Clinton, IN that we intend to keep
and not sell because we will return after the 5 years contract will close and
when we return we will get a new car so we don't need this one anymore.
I have a clean title ready to be signed.
The car has no electrical or mechanical problems.

END REPLY

1) Ebay doesn't have a 'Safe Pay' thingee. The ebay site warns you of this.

2) No one is gonna sell a sweet car at 50% of book on eBay. It would be very easy to sell such a car with local ads. Unless you are dealing with an established 'Collector/Specialty' dealer, there is no reason to buy a car via long-distance.

Look. Drive. Touch. Listen...

I hate car shopping. I'd rather buy a PC, it's been fun pricing them. Cars are harder.

I also need a good girlfriend. If I could meet a smart woman who likes sci-fi. politics, satire and has a nice house, two cars and a good broadband connection, I'd be set!

Currently holding breath.

MMMmmmMmMmmmMpphh....gasp

Pheeewhew...pant, pant....I'm all dizzy now...have my dreams come true yet?