I live, write, and garden in the PNW with my husband of 27 years, disabled daughter, college-aged son, and my 84-year-old mother. We have paid off $250,000.00 worth of debt (if you include the interest) in the last fifteen years and as of 6/12/2020 are 100% DEBT FREE!!!!DH did some searching on line and discovered that it might not be the starter in the Crown Vic after all and that the battery was just so dead for so long that it couldn't be jumped, but it might start if we left it on the charger overnight. So we did that and voila, it started right up.
We drove it around for a bit and then we took it to the gas station and put air into the tires, then over to the local do it yourself car cleaning place and vacuumed out a bunch of pine needles under the hood. We had some Clorox wipes that we used on the doors and dashboard (one of the doors still needs work) and we did some of the seats. We took it over to the self-car wash and did a presoak and then a high pressure hose. It got off most of the dirt and pollen. We spent six dollars doing all that.
This morning we took it into the regular car wash and got their top of the line wash and wax which was $13. Then we swung over to Kmart and picked up windshield washer fluid, a thing for reattaching the rearview mirror, and some adhesive for some other bits that are loose inside the car.
DH will take it over to the detailer for an estimate. The carpets need to be seriously steam cleaned and the seats need a more heavy duty cleaning than we can give them without renting equipment, but for having sat there for a year, it seems in pretty decent shape. We'll also take it in for an oil change sometime this week.
The car is worth about $2000 in a private sale according to KBB for the shape it is in (or will be in after it is ready for sale) so I don't feel bad about spending a couple hundred dollars to get it into salable shape. It's a 92 luxury model (we bought it used in 98) and has a modern sound system that we put in in 2008 that you can plug an MP3 player or flash drive directly into. It is quite nice, just dirty. It's also pretty low on miles for a twenty year old car, in the 120,000's.
My PT is looking for a good and reliable car and I am thinking of broaching the idea of giving her the car in exchange for 15 to 20 free sessions. She's always talking about how she barters with other professionals for things, and if I could free up that $90 a week for something else that would be awesome. Right now her husband is laid off and going to school and they are dealing with only having one vehicle working. I'd love it if she'd go for it.
It Does Work
June 5th, 2011 at 06:00 pm
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feAp7mxgdMI
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