But that's exactly what I did (the former, not the latter).
I've been all over the west the last few months. I went to a wedding in Washington, went to LV and LA for JCCS, then went to LV, Phoenix, Tucson, LA, and Santa Maria/Lompoc CA to help a friend shop for resale cars and serve as co-driver.
Originally, we flew to Phoenix thinking we'd pick up a 2010 Mercedes CL. List price was about $49k but the paint was in poor condition. We stayed at Greg and Becky's house for a couple days and ate like gods (YOU GUYS ARE FRIGGIN AWESOME
) while we shopped around for luxury cars to buy at wholesale (with a dealers license). Almost pulled the trigger on a pristine 2008 S-class but the salesman was a douche, so we headed to Vegas to enjoy some shows, gamble, and look around Nevada for cars.And like some magic coincidence, friends of mine from Washington were flying to LV while I happened to be in town.
I also saw David Copperfield. Great show.After LV, we went back to Phoenix to return the rental car (Passat) and pick up another one (Fusion), drove to California, and ended up in the central coast to look at a 2009 BMW 7-series. Everything on the car was fine but a better deal came up back at home. Also, my friend's business partner suddenly decided he wanted a 1970s BMW 2002 tii, so we inspected a couple of them for him, one in LA (owned by the guy who runs socalvintagebmw.com) and another in Tucson AZ.
To put it briefly: They drove like four-seat Miatas. Gobs of fun.
ANYWAY, LONG STORY SHORT:
After not buying any cars, we had to find an alternate way home. We were about to get on Amtrak in Maricopa AZ and take the train home to St Louis when I got the wacky idea to buy a Craigslist car.
I looked at a 1979 Ford LTD with working AC for $1000. It had 69,000 miles but didn't maintain an idle, so I had to pass. The radio and power accessories still worked! LTDs arent very desirable, but I figured there's always some wacky person out there who has a peculiar fondness for particular cars from particular eras.
Then I looked at a 92 Buick Riviera that a guy acquired from his deceased uncle. He had been driving it for the last year or so to and from work an the car had never been outside of Phoenix, which meant no rust. It was also kept in a covered space so the paint was in nice shape.
The AC, unfortunately, didnt seem to work but at least the compressor wasnt seized. The 3800 V6 put the torque down like a little velvet hammer and shifts were crisp and precise. It even came with new tires, fresh coolant, a new radiator, new t-stat, new coolant hoses, and fresh motor oil.
He wanted $1100. I offered $800 and we settled on $860. After exchanging paperwork and cash, we tossed our suitcases in the back and hit the road in a completely unknown car with 1500 miles of mostly desolate AZ, NM, and TX highways ahead of us. [Amtrak refunded our train fare.]
I then called Greg and Becky and said, "You won't believe what I just did..."
So far, we've made it to Abilene, TX. It's another 800 miles from here to St Louis.
This old Buick had a pretty soft suspension from the factory, but 20 years and 119,000 miles have turned it into total mush. It bounces over pavement undulations like a speed boat jumping over the water. I accidentally smacked the undercarriage on a speed bump in El Paso not because the ride height was too low, but because the springs were so worn that it very easily bottomed out.
My original plan was to take it home and flip it for a profit as-is but I've found myself getting attached. The beige velour is plush, clean, and in surprisingly good shape and the excessive use of plastic "wood" simply oozes pure Americana.
You know that feeling of child-like satisfaction you get when you bite into a McDonald's Big Mac even though its mostly made of soy, wood pulp, and plastic? Same goes for this old Riviera. It's not the greatest thing on four wheels, but it satisfies like Velveeta on steamed broccoli.
I say, it's actually a darn good looking car. The original metal wire wheel covers were missing so we stopped at a Wal-Mart and picked up some plastichrome replacements. Very "klassy." Also, the Riviera "R" badges on the C-pillars still light up at night.
Bonus: The all-digital dash still works! The dimmer is broken so its obnoxiously bright at night while none of the buttons on the radio or climate control panels light up. I have to flip the dome light on to change stations or adjust the fan.
As we wafted down the road at 80mph with the windows open (broken AC) and a single rear speaker blasting painfully sh*tty Mexican polka on the radio (all the other speakers are blown and neither of us brought an iPod adapter), I said to my clearly disappointed friend seated next to me, "Don't be sad. You still got to take a road trip in a luxury coupe like you originally planned."
I'll post more photos and updates in a bit.
