I really like my old Cadillac. It’s a big 1989 DeVille, shiny black, and looks like a mobster’s car. It doesn’t get the best fuel mileage around town, but surprisingly, it’s not too bad on the highway, as long as I keep the speed between 100 and 110 Km/hour, and I’ve got a brisk wind behind me. Under those circumstances, I can get over 700 KM out of a single tank of gas – mind you, a tank is a bit larger than what you’ll find in a Honda Civic. But still, 27 or 28 mpg isn’t too shabby. It does even better at 80 Km/hour, but that’s just too slow for me.
Problem is, it’s approaching the 300,000 KM mark, and things are slowly going on it. This week, it’s the starter as well as an exhaust leak. But it’s so darn comfortable to drive. (Update: The Cadillac DeVille actually lasted much longer than this one – and I continued to drive it up until about 2010, I think it was).
I was doing some ‘tire kicking’ though, and discovered a client of mine had got into used car sales. Bruce Beach is an interesting fellow, to say the least. He’s been involved in projects such as a one world language, and believes the world as we know it will soon come to an end. If you’re interested in the latest how-to’s about world reconstruction after a major nuclear event, you might want to take a look at Bruce’s site.
His latest venture though is to locate decent used cars and resell them. His market is mainly those who can’t afford those big dealer prices but still want some kind of guarantee on the cars they buy. They’re not looking for anything in perfect shape, but need transportation.
Well, Bruce had a Caprice Wagon for sale – another big car I like. I’ve owned two of them previously, and both of them had over 400,000 KM on the dial before I sent them off to station wagon heaven. Station wagons aren’t exactly sexy, but who cares about sexy when you’re camping or driving around with fly rods, a cooler and a portable Bar-B-Q in the back?
I figured two cars are probably better than one. It’s a pain when you need to get somewhere, and the starter just won’t start. And Bruce’s wagon was as promised – not perfect, but in reasonable shape and I didn’t have to take out a car loan.
So in about two days, I’ll be back to being the owner of two cars. Both of them big. Environmentalists will hate me, I’m sure. But I probably burn less fuel than most tree huggers, with the little driving I do over the course of a year.
If you’re interested in a cheap, but good car, take a look at Bruce’s Used Cars site. He’s a nice guy, and honest as well: Goodcars.ca.