Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2006 08:14:20 -0700
Reply-To: monte merrick <montemerrick@SPEAKEASY.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: monte merrick <montemerrick@SPEAKEASY.NET>
Subject: Re: Friday: Tales of the sale
In-Reply-To: <37e3f55b0604140608g4b5c6fe9r85f25367a8093203@mail.gmail.com>
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wasn't a vanagon, and it wasn't that long ago
that i stood outside my building and watched some young kid
drive off in my toyota truck (81 long bed sr5 - 22 r 5 speed)
my buddy, my mobile office - in 2003 my little truck and i drove
seattle to los angeles 8 times and my buddy got me in and out death
valley 5 times - twice in summer when it was just me and the european
tourists.
now i've recently acquired my vanagon (84 GL) and even though its been
pretty expensive so far getting her back into true road worthiness -
already ive promised her and my equally smitten partner and myself that
never again will i sell a buddy. (of course one of the reasons i sold
my toyota was the new lovely partner - the van makes a lot more sense
road tripping for two!)
still miss that truck
and still miss the 78 bug convertible
and the 69 bug with the leaky sunroof (in those days it was cold new
jersey rain that leaked in)
and the two 66 mustangs
and the 72 suburban
and the 85 toyota xtra cab(stolen and totaled)
and
and
and
On Apr 14, 2006, at 6:08 AM, Julia Schrenkler wrote:
In a roundabout way Chris Gronski's pricing theory reminded me of my
van's
PO and our sale. Since it is Friday I'll babble on...
The PO was really, really good to the van, honest in his sale
description
and had a totally fair price. Thing is, he was very FIRM on his price. I
wouldn't have been able to show my face in my uncle's shop if I didn't
try
to barter, so I tried and failed multiple times. When the moment came
where
I conceded defeat and agreed to the listing price (again, a fair price
on a
sweet vehicle, I was only doing my car-buying duty) I *swear* his stoic
face
fell. His wife beamed and she spoke of how that money would be applied
to
the cabin they were building. He wore no expression and stopped looking
me
in the eye.
A week or later when I made the drive to pick it up he sort of shuffled
around, making small talk, stalling the signing of the title.
Afterwards he
asked to take photos, cute stuff like pictures of his wife in it
smiling and
waving. This photo session went on to the point she finally said, "That
is
enough." in a gentle but very firm tone anyone would recognize as a
distinct
"and I'm not kidding, sweetie." As I drove off grinning from ear to ear
he
stood in his driveway, still taking pictures as I drove away! I was
afraid
to look back because I didn't want to see if he was crying. Just at
point I
was nearly out of sight I did glance and he was standing in the same
spot,
camera held down facing us, his frame slightly slumped.
Although I would never have shared this with him, after the stilted
signing
and the photo session my better half and I agreed if he called within
the
first 24 hours of the sale I would have resigned it back to him, plus
cost
of gas etc.
In the past I've been in that spot on the driveway, trying not to bawl
in
public as a favored vehicle was spirited away. All of us probably have
been... Figured he couldn't have been feeling great and goes without
saying,
they're not just any vehicle.
Julia
http://www.wanderwagen.com
"I long ago lost a hound, a bay horse, and a turtle dove, and am still
on their trail. Many are the travelers I have spoken to concerning
them, describing their tracks and what calls they answered to. I have
met one or two who had heard the hound, and the tramp of the horse, and
even seen the dove disappear behind a cloud, and they seemed as anxious
to recover them as if they had lost them themselves." - henry thoreau
