I just sold my old Eclipse that's been in the garage for years.   I thought it died in back in '05, so it's just been sitting for nearly four years, and despite the many people that have told me that I should spend some time investigating it - I ignored it.

Finally, I posted it on Craigslist, and after nearly a month of getting dumb offers, and people that didn't actually show up to see it - I finally got someone to come out tonight.   He looked at it for about 30 minutes, then  He told me the budget he was on (including repairs), which was pretty much what I was asking for the car in total (given that it didn't work, and I thought the engine was shot), so we negotiated a price that seemed fair to me.   Not really what I wanted, but better than all the other offers that I'd had. 

So, negotiations aside, he got busy with a few tools, some voodoo, and a rubber-chicken-with-a-pulley-in-the-middle.   After shaking said chicken, he did the unthinkable.   He started the car.   It started, and ran.   Then it died.   He determined that he also needed a new battery, so off he went to the local Autozone, got a battery, came back, tinkered some more - and about 2 hours into the whole thing, he drove it away with his wife and kids following...   He asked me several times at different points in the revival if I wanted to renig on our deal -- not so bluntly, but I could tell that he was seriously worried that after I saw that it WAS a working car, that I was going to bump the price.    He didn't want me to feel sore about him or the deal, and was generally a really cool guy.   I'm not one to welch on a deal like that, so I stuck to it.   I halfway hoped that he would find something wrong that he didn't want to fix, and that I'd get another chance to get more money for it - but decided that I'd deal with that if it happened, but I was comitted for now.

He's a cop for a local police department, with 3 small kids and a wife.   He'd had to close his family business a while ago, and then decided to change career paths to be a cop, and his wife was a stay at home mom, studying to be an EMT.   They'd had to sell their minivan in order to make ends meet, and they replaced it with a $900 special from Craigslist that he's fixed up - it was actually quite a nice car...   Not new, and not luxiurious, but it was in good shape, had AC, and fit 3 kids.   So, in order to stay away from car payments, he's been looking for another car to replace his old gas guzzling chevy, but was on a serious budget.    He said his dad always taught him that he needed to know how to work on his own cars, and he was putting that to use now more than ever fixing up a couple of cash cars.

I know it could have just been a super elaborate story, but really - after talking with him, and seeing how excited his kids got when he got the car running - they all wanted rides and stuff - I really think he was legit.   He told me I could ride through his precinct parking lot and see it if I wanted to...    

Katie was sad, she cried a little.   I was a little sad - knowing what I know now, I could have driven that car longer - I can't remember if I would have wanted to or not though.   But, I held to my word, and I believe that someone will greatly benefit from from my old Eclipse.   It really was a good car for me, and I really hope that it's a good car for him.