With the housing transition behind us, YAY!, the next chapter in this saga is Jessica. To refresh, this is Jessica:
She’s named after Jessica Rabbit:
“I’m not bad, I was drawn this way”… Love that movie BTW. But, I digress.
After much deliberation, it’s been decided that we will give someone else the pleasure of enjoying Jessica’s manifold benefits. The reasons are many:
Space. The house in Reston provided for ample space for the three cars. Jessica and the MDX in the garage with Pilotto living outside. Unfortunately, here we have no such luxury. With all the “stuff” in the garage, there is only space for one car. Currently Jessica, with the other two parked out on the small driveway pad.
Physical issues. Both Melanie and I are beginning to suffer the vagaries of arthritis. Some time back I was knocked off a ladder, relatively unscathed thank goodness, but the comment from my GP about the x-rays of my lower section was about the arthritis that was in my hips. It wasn’t an issue at the time, but it’s becoming one. Getting in and out of Jessica is, as they say, amusing.
Value. S2000’s have escalated in value recently. There aren’t many floating around and the ones in good shape, with low miles are commanding a premium price. More than the purchase price some 9 years ago. With the escalation in value, I was going to have to change insurance to one of the specialty car insurers as the replacement price of the car far exceeds the “Blue Book” value. State Farm and I have already had a less than positive experience with this topic after Pilotto was damaged in a rear end accident about 5 years ago, so an alternative insurer was going to be necessary if she was going to be driven regularly.
Getting all my documentation together was the first order of business in offering Jessica for sale. Not a big challenge, but getting everything in one place took a bit of spelunking. Documentation spread is around the plethora of computers and tablets and is definitely not as organized as it should be.
In discussions with a coworker about selling her, after BaT (you know who they are), his recommendation was to attend Katie’s Car’s and Coffee in Falls Church as a test of the water if you will. So dragging my sorry butt out of bed yesterday morning, Jessica was taken out of the garage and we headed to Falls Church. It was a beautiful crisp spring morning, designed expressly for driving around in a high performance convertible. There was a tinge of regret in my mind thinking, do I really want to do this? But was resolute this time, unlike all the other springs, where thoughts of selling had crossed my mind while Jessica was in winter hibernation, but quickly extinguished with the first drive of the season. No that wasn’t going to happen this time.
Arriving, there were a fair number of cars, but not a lot. It was early, as I had to leave at 8:30 to go get bloodwork done for my bi-annual med refill. Anyway we are idling through the parking lot and someone makes a comment about another red car, and it should park it next to them. Looking around there is an empty space, and I back the car in. Getting out, this is what I’m blessed with:
That worked out well! Almost immediately, a number of folks came walking by exclaiming how beautiful the car is. The “For Sale” sign was displayed, and I got out of the car with my camera. Several folks came by to chat. All the pertinent stuff on the flyer except for the price. When told the ask, all said they thought it was fair, but it was obvious they weren’t expecting the number thrown at them.
At 8:30 as I prepared to leave, a young man came out and asked if the car was for sale. He indicated some interest and we chatted for a few minutes, and he didn’t seem off put by the asking price, and said he would contact me as he was very interested. We chatted for a few minutes, and then I departed for my bloodwork appointment.
As of Sunday morning, there has not been word from him, so perhaps it was nothing. All my documentation is collected, so today she will be listed for sale at s2ki.com and probably on CraigsList, and perhaps FaceBook Marketplace, although I have no experience with that whatsoever. There is no real hurry to sell, other than to take advantage of the sellers market, we will start there.
Stay tuned for the next fun filled adventure in the path toward retirement….
