[FWDLK] This picture is worth less than a thousand words

[Dan Morton <morton@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Well, the World's Slowest Auto Mechanic made the trek to Brooklyn yesterday
to see this car:

http://www.classifieds2000.com/cgi-cls/ad.exe?P1+C14+R1237881

All that glitters is not gold.  The car is strategically positioned to not
show the damage to the paint on the right eyebrow; there's some bubbling
around the wheel wells, and if you open the passenger side front door, you
can see the inside fender rusting away.  It got painted right over; around
the drip cap, there are cracks in the paint where rust is bleeding through.
It looks like it was a very good paint job over a very poor prep.  I
wondered how many bondo-ed patches would pop out in the next 6 months.

The trunk was rusted through near the rear of the car; more than just rust
on the bottom of the rear bumper, the plating was worn thin, heavily
scratched and hazed.  Chrome was flaking from the wiper pivots, and the
windshield needed replacing -- delamination.

The interior was a horror story.  The engine compartment -- let's not go
there.  I didn't even have him start it.  I made a ridiculously low offer,
and walked away.

It dawned on me:  EVERY old car is a used car.  Yes, I probably should have
started with a car in better condition than mine to choose to work on.  But
if I want something that's substantially better than mine, I am really going
to have to pay for it.

And this car ain't it.

So, I'm not sure now what to do -- keep picking away at my mechanic's
special; pay someone to work on it; or make a substantial investment in
something that won't need a lot of work.  Dunno.

        Dan, TWSAM
        (1) '55 Savoy