Sold the Jeep Wrangler on Sunday. Would've posted before now, but Sunday was crazy, Monday offered up a lovely migraine atop a large to-do list, which brings us to today and...
The sale. It was a snow day. All day Sunday, as many Dallas-area-ites may remember. Around here it wasn't Frosty-building snow, but enough to jar the bones when sitting outside for roughly 45 minutes desperately trying to get the stuck ignition to turn on the Jeep. The buyer was here. With his kid. Waiting. And the thing wouldn't budge. Remember what I said about tests...from above? Yea? Well, this was like a semester exam. Pass or fail type test. Of which, at first, I was suffering from major test anxiety. I didn't bring a pencil or a Scan-tron. I was doomed.
This was the buyer's second look at the Jeep. So we both knew that he liked it. No need to mess with it before getting down to business, right? Ugh. We signed over the title and strolled into the blizzard only to find that the ignition did not want to move - I kept thinking the Jeep was like "I'm not moving!"
Another annoyance in my mind was that we already signed over the title! Should he have a change of heart, this would mess me up in a domino-effect kind of way. You see, I had a one-week offer from CarMax that was about to expire the next day. They low-balled me real good, knowing the Jeep was worth more than they offered, but they had me over a barrel, which is where most dealerships like to have their customers. Easier to control the outcome that way apparently. So...
I had no where else to turn. I had listed the thing on several websites for weeks with zero response. On a final whim, I added it to a bunch of other stuff we were selling on CraigsList, nowhere near the auto section and - BAM! - multiple interested people. But back to...
...the CarMax deal. It was weak. But it was my only back burner option. And it was about to go bye-bye should this new sale go south, making me toss the signed/ruined title and order a new one - which would take days and days...far beyond the offer period I was given. The key had to turn!
And it finally did. But, only after I took a deep breath and left it to God. I no longer cared if this guy bought it. I was ready to give the man his check back, thank him for coming, apologize for wasting his time. It somehow was no longer a big deal to lose that money we really needed. In that moment...the key turned.
That was 45 or so minutes in the freezing weather. Both of us trying to get that key to budge. I'm just glad I decided to lower the price for the buyer, enough to where he said he couldn't pass it up.
It was sort of bittersweet to sell it. I've had it since my college graduation in 2003. But, after all the drama at the very end, I was pretty much glad to see it go. Especially to a man who knew Jeeps and was going to fix it up for his daughter.
I asked him to send me a picture of it when he's done.
