I was heading to Santa Cruz, about 130 miles from SLO, for a short vacation the next weekend and decided to pick up the car and not wait for Ken to change his mind. Both he and his wife were unavailable the day I was to arrive (July 5) so he overnighted the key, pink slip, the previous smog check results from September 2011 and a bill of sale to me the day before I left. The wife and I took the Amtrak Coast Starlight on an enjoyable trip to Paso Robles where Ken had parked the car in the small parking lot at the station the night before.
After looking it over and starting the engine I knew this wasn't a Q I was going to part out. It had been garage kept most of its life, the engine purred without missing and the paint was in like new condition with barely a scratch or ding on it. The interior was equally as nice with like-new leather. After the drive to Santa Cruz I opened the trunk which was full of new parts and had service records with the original window sticker neatly organized dating back to 1992 when he purchased it new for $42k. Parts included new O2 sensors, a full set of new belts, 2 sets of new brake pads, a FPCU, sway bar bushings, the FSM, 3 MAF sensors, and a full key set in the plastic case with red velvet pouch.
I won't be selling this car either as I registered it in my name (it easily passed smog) and gave it to my daughter to drive to replace her 99 accord with 210k miles. She rents the house next door so I'll be able to keep an eye on it and I can sell the Accord for $2500-$3000.
I spent 4 days in Santa Cruz detailing the Q and it had pie pan wheels so I swapped them with my spare set when I got home.
Many thanks to Ken for his generosity.
Here's the pics:
