6 thoughts on “I have become a Used Car Salesman”

  2. I have yet to throw a chair, or threaten to kill anyone.

    Nor do I look like “The Creature” from a Mel Brooks movie.

  3. The mileage number (>177,000) and rate (~25,000mi/yr) seem high – and I’m in Calif where high mileage is common. Do you think that would be a concern? Or more to the point, is the car close to being worn out? Modern auto manufacturing seems to make cars that last about 150k-175k and then fall apart while you watch. Should a potential buyer (me) be concerned about the high mileage?

    By the way, those are pretty good beauty photos!

  4. Six months after we bought it, we moved and drove it for one year between Arlington & Seattle on our commute. That is a 120 mile RT. The first year we moved out here we kept the boys in their old schools, and Sue & I worked in downtown. After that year, I drove it every day between Arlington and Bothell for another few years. That is a 89 mile RT. That is what racked up the miles. In 2002 I switched to the TDI Jetta, and Sue used the Bug to commute to Mt. Vernon, which is only about 15 miles away, so over the past three years the car has averaged about 10-15k per year.

    The car had several, typical new car shake down cruise issues, which VW corrected under warranty the first year. The oxy & MAF sensors were buggy for another couple of years (in fact I’m pretty sure both of those are due for a change soon)… otherwise, the car has been *mechanically* bulletproof. It doesn’t burn oil, and has had all major maintenance items done on schedule. I suspect it has another 50-100k miles left IF the next owner keeps up the maintenance schedule. Hell, it is German, it could last another 200k! The key is to maintain it.

    My lawyer wife would of course caution me about making any such statements.

  5. So, is the $5100 final another eBay Miracle, less than expected or on target?

    Too bad you didn’t take the $2250. 😉 That’s OK, I have a domain up for sale at the moment that thus far has received a ton of way under market bids and one halfway reasonable offer. Wish there was a decent way to sell domains. Bah.

    Congrats!

  6. An eBay miracle I guess. It is a bit higher than I expected to get, but not a bad price for the car. As “Sports Car Market” would say: Well sold, well bought.

    Of course, this is the first time I’ve sold a car via ebay. I have sold some big ticket items – a datacenter scale UPS and 150kW Diesel generator – for big bucks ($25k IIRC.) But that was a “B2B” transaction, so easier to deal with. The buyer is in Alaska and can not retrieve the car for at least a month, so that could put a wrinkle in it. It does give me time to sort out some random issues like the bumper plug, and whatnot.

    As for the $2250, I have never understood all these people who want to bypass the ebay procedure and protocol. If you want it, put a bid in! Don’t email me and ask to do some other deal.

    –chuck

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