THE ROAD TO GOOD TIMES...the start (Part 65b)

Talk about “going to school“! Within seconds after arriving at the car lot Jay had the hood up and had the oil dip stick out and up to his nose. He told me that the engine burned oil. That was a new one for me. Then he pulled a couple of the ignition wires off the spark plugs and immediately told me that it had been a while since the engine had been tuned up. I asked him how he knew and he showed me how white the ceramic part of the plug was under the rubber cap and how dirty the rest of it was. Another ”trick of the trade“ became known to me. By then this short little man with a mustache showed up and immediately started extolling the virtues of this particular vehicle. Jay interrupted him and asked for the keys so we could start it up. He looked startled but retreated towards the showroom returning quickly. Just as Jay had predicted there was a puff of smoke from the exhaust as soon as the motor started running. Jay let it idle for a few minutes while checking the carburetor and radiator for leaks. The salesman jumped right in again saying that it had just been tuned up and was ready to be driven off the lot. Jay didn’t hear him as he had his head down inside the engine well. The salesman continued on saying that there were brand new tires and brakes. Jay heard the word ”brakes“ and immediately opened the rear door and found the spare tire well. He took out the jack and proceeded to the rear of the car. The salesman protested but Jay ignored him. In just a few minutes he had a tire off as well as the brake drum. It was obvious that the brakes were not new although they were more than adequate. At that point Jay revved the engine up and more smoke poured from the exhaust. He then turned to the salesman and said we’d give him $500. He made some sort of smart ass remark to which Jay demanded to see the sales manager. The little man was taken by surprise with that. When he didn’t head for the showroom Jay did. The guy started running after him and it was funny. Jay was about 6’3” and he was, at best, 5’5“. I stayed by the wagon and in a few minutes Jay was headed back with another man. He had a folder with him. Back at the vehicle he showed us the file for the car. There was a job ticket in there that called for an oil change and a lubrication as well as a tune up (new distributor points and spark plugs). He apologized and said it had been ”missed“ by the shop. Jay then said we’d give them $650 for it with the missing work to be done. Jay pointed out the fact that the engine burned oil and proceeded to rev up the engine to show the man the smoke. He hesitated for a few seconds and then said $800. Jay looked at me and we went around to the other side of the wagon. He pointed out that this was the top of the line wagon and had a lot of ”extra’s“. He felt that if I could get it for anything less than the $800, even with the issue with the oil, it would still be a good deal. I nodded in agreement. As we approached the two men Jay said ”$750!“. The taller of the two just shook his head. Jay nodded to me to follow him and just as we got to his truck we heard ”Wait!“. The taller man walked over and said he’d let it go for $775.

We left with the understanding that all the missing work would be completed by 5pm. I’d been impressed with Jay right from the first time I’d had a chance to watch him work at the County Center. This was a whole new experience and I was somewhat amazed at how he’d handled the whole thing. I wouldn’t have done any of the things he did. In a way I had seller’s remorse in that I wished I’d had him to negotiate with the guy I’d sold the convertible to.

Jay drove me back after work and the station wagon was right out in front of the showroom. It was dark except for the lights in the lot. I could see that it sparkled in the lights as we walked past it and into the showroom. It didn’t take long since I had cash. They agreed to let me use the dealer plates until I could get the vehicle registered and plates for it. I thanked Jay profusely and happily got in it to drive it across the street and home.

Of course Elle insisted we go for a ride after we ate. As we drove past my grandfather’s house I felt really bad. I was definitely not looking forward to telling about the change. We drove out to the main highway and then I had Elle drive back. She loved it. I remember her saying that she was no longer driving a ”tank“. When we got back to the trailer and were getting the kids ready for bed Elle asked about the camera. I’d forgotten all about it. Too many more important things on my mind... that is until she mentioned it. I remembered the picture I’d taken of her but hadn’t yet developed. The way the original Polaroid cameras worked was that you actually pulled the film out to activate the development chemicals and, after a minute, you peeled the picture off the film. Then you had to put a coating over it to keep it from disappearing. As soon as I told Elle it was to take pictures of the kids she wanted to do it with them in their night things. I had a mini panic attack right them and there. Fortunately, the little one had a poop in her diaper which needed to be cleaned up first. That gave me a few minutes to get Elle’s picture out, coat it and to have the camera ready for the kids. (you can see the results...)

To be continued...