One of my first target of getting a replacement car was the RAV4. I missed it. If not for the bellend who showed no remorse for crashing into Stargazer, I am sure we will still be driving it today. It was such a nice car - while it lasted. Reliable, nippy, sunroof and all. The problem with old RAV4s within my budget was that they do not come by. In fact, they do not usually get onto the used car market because good ones are kept within the family, many passed on to children.
So imagine my surprise when someone was selling one at a good price. He was asking for $2,500 and was willing to negotiate. I thought that was a great deal. The owner lived in Harvey. That was about 2 hours drive from me. However, in the advertisement, he said he was willing to travel to Perth for buyers who were "serious". So I called him and checked it out.
It was a pom sounding guy who explained he was leaving Perth by the following Saturday. If he could strike a deal with any buyer of his car, he would have to hold his car until that Saturday. He would then drop the car and leave for the airport. No money would be paid until the car arrive. I thought that was a fair deal. In fact, I had nothing to lose except for the risk of empty elation. So I decided to meet the buyer and test his car before I head to the hospital to visit Jen, who just gave birth to our baby boy on 2 Nov.
He drove to my place all the way from Harvey alright. His name was David and he was from the UK. The car was in good shape. The test drive was fine, perhaps it drove even better than Star Gazer did if my memory served me well. So I told David I would buy it for $2,300. He wanted $2,350. Deal. We shook hands and I told him I would be expecting him with my money on Saturday.
Though the baby kept excited (and busy) for the week, I was excited to get to drive a RAV4 again. Alas, the bloody pom did not honour the deal and did not turn up, without even informing me that the deal was off. I lost a full week of paternity leave where I could have spend the time on searching for the next deal. If he had told me he found another buyer, I might have found my car before that Saturday. It left me with little time to find the replacement. With little time, it often lead to desperate buys.
Spit.
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