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In every life
comes a time to do something different, something that normally you wouldn't do
something that may be considered foolish by friends and family. However,
somewhere there are a group of folks who understand your motivation without
question.
Over the last year, I have been without a working
motorcycle. For those of you who just tuned in, and may not be very familiar
with me; motorcycles have always been a large part in my life. Until a couple
of years ago I've always owned several at the same time. In an attempt to
simplify my life, I decided to reduce my stable of motorcycles to just one. So
I sold my very exotic MV Agusta F4 1000R, which left me just a very mild Honda
Pacific Coast. The PC was a very good motorcycle for transportation. It
afforded good weather protection, it was easy to maintain, and most of all it
was paid for.
About a year ago it developed a starter problem. Not
really, a big problem, but a 1990 motorcycle especially one that was long ago
discontinued presents problems when it comes to getting parts.
I also
had a slight mishap when a rude woman decided to make a right turn from the
center lane right in front of me. Unfortunately, I was in the right lane right
next to her.
(see:The Great Crash of 15 May
2015 )
Both motorcycle and I proved that our world still obeys the laws
of gravity. When she cut her turn in front me, I reacted by applying the front
brake hard. I avoided a collision with her. However, some time before my
arriving at this particular spot on the globe, someone had left an aluminum
foil cake pan in the roadway. It had laid there long enough to be run over
enough times that it was absolutely flat.
The woman who started all of
this with her impromptu right turn from the middle lane, and cause me to brake
so hard to miss her also blocked my view of the roadway ahead of me. I never
saw the pan lying in my path. As soon as my front wheel, which was under heavy
braking, ran onto the flat pan, my
 front wheel stopped turning. The wheel and pan began to slide
along the ground. We slid for a few feet and then the front wheel abruptly slid
sideways sending both me and the motorcycle to the ground, where we slid along
for fifty feet or more. The PC's body parts that were damaged in the accident
could not be replaced, they are out of production. Thankfully my body parts
healed.
So once my starter failed, I wasn't too keen to fix this 28
year old motorcycle. That was at least a year or so ago. I began trying to
convince Flo that I needed to buy a nice new Gold Wing. She asked how much and
I replied around 27,000. I didn't think she would react to that after all I
bought the MV which retailed for 25,000... I was told I'de have to wait until
the new car was paid off, another 3 years.
 Well as things go my little mind began to wander. On my
daily walks with Jack (my dog), we passed several used car lots. I started to
look over all of the cars on the lots looking for something. I wasn't sure just
what I was looking for and most of what I found I really couldn't afford nor
did I really want it. I've always wanted a Mustang convertible but they are
very rare and hard to find, I did fall in love with a very pretty Red Mustang
GT which was well out of my range of affordability. I was heartbroken when it
was sold. I used to walk out of my way just to look at it.
 Finally I decided that if I was going to forgo a new
motorcycle for a car the car had to be a convertible; and, why not we already
owned a very practical 2013 Ford Focus. I started internet shopping the local
car lots looking for convertibles. I saw a few that were all Audi's or BMWs but
very few American or Japanese cars. I saw an ad for a very nice 2006 Audi A4
convertible and it was just down the street at Goode's Automotive, Inc. I gave
them a call and the car was still available. Therefore, I decided to go and
just look.
When I got there, I discovered that a young man had gotten
there before me and was leaving the lot on a test ride to see if he wanted it.
Jesse the salesperson told me to wait until they get back and I could take it
out. He wasn't too sure if he could get financing for him. I waited around in
the rain when the car returned the young man was not happy he complained about
the rough transmission.
However while he
and Jesse talked I started to wander around the lot and discovered a car that
wasn't on Goode's website. In the rain sitting in the lot was a 2006 Pontiac
Solstice in silver. The Solstice was a little two seat roadster. Yes, it was a
convertible and it was fun. Flo and I took it for test ride even in the rain
the little car was calling us to take it home.
Before going to look at
cars, Flo called our credit union and inquired about a loan with a max of
8,000, and they tentatively approved it. Now all I had to do was not get
carried away and go beyond our limit of 8,000.
The little car was just
under 6,000 and two days later we drove it off the lot. We lost a buisness day
due to New Years day and Credit Union being closed.
The little car
hadn't been on the lot long enough to make the website or for them to clean it
up. When I got it home and in the garage I began by vacuuming out the entire
inside and little pockets in the trunk and under the hood. There was enough
leaves, and pine needles to make me believe the last owner left it parked
outdoors under trees. Places where I thought the paint was chipped or damaged
turned out to be just dirt. I don't think the little car had ever been given a
wash. I rolled it out in the rain and washed it from wheels to top.
What a difference a bath made, and cleaning the interior of the car mad a big
difference in it's look and feel. I did discover that the rear window had come
loose from the top and water was pouring right into the passenger compartment.
Now the little car has 134000 mile on it so there are some things you expect to
be wrong. Some time the previous owner replaced the driver's side headlight and
the well the passenger side looked very typical of modern plastic yellow-fogged
headlights we see on many older cars. The headlight bezel cost 350.00 bucks so
I understand why they replaced only one.
But after washing and some
application of polish the little car looks a lot better than I originally
thought it would. Yes, I was pleasantly surprised to be rewarded by such little
effort. Remember that I bought this car because it was a convertible, and just
a two-seat roadster. It may not be a new motorcycle but at least I can drive it
in the winter and in the rain...
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