Giving it the once over.

November 19/2007:

The appointment was set for November 19; which just happened to turn into a particularly cold Monday. I had to stop briefly at a Variety Village to pick up a coat, since it was so cold, and I didn't feel like dolling out too much for a coat. A gray plaid "hick jacket" fit the bill at under 10 bucks.

I managed to pull the first gaffe of used-car buying right off the bat; which is checking out a vehicle at night (I heartily do not recommend this). I found the place fine, along with the G-Wag sitting out front, and I was immediately hooked. It had road presence like nothing else. The G-Wag's are big, but not obese like current GM stuff; they definitely have a muscular yet agile look to them.

The owner and I took it for a spin, and ended up at an all night car wash station, which was really brightly lit, so that took care of gaffe #1. I inspected the vehicle to the extent that I thought was pretty thorough, and the owner (who was really nice) pointed out anything that had ever given him a problem. The bad rocker panels were no secret. they were terrible. It was obvious that someone in the past had the bright idea to inject expanding foam into the rockers, sculpt it and bondo over everything. a few other rusted areas suggested the vehicle was rather neglected body-wise for most of it's life.

The price was flexible, and I was able to negotiate the price down to $500 (without any work really). Upon saying "sold!" I performed my second gaffe of the night; which is buying a vehicle without ever actually driving it. lucky for me, when i did drive it back to the owners place, it felt great. I went halfs with my dad on it, since he's a big fan of FSJ's too, so I count it as $250

I didn't take any pics that night. 1- i forgot my camera, and 2- it was dark anyways, wouldn't have been the most glamorous shots.