Sold my Eclipse!
As many of you probably know, my Mitsubishi Eclipse was my first car. (that I paid for) I bought it just weeks after graduation from CSU, before I even received my first paycheck from my job at Auto-trol Technology. I think my Dad had to loan me the money for taxes, and the loan covered everything else.
Eleven years later, with an addition to the family on the way next April, it was time to get sensible (a little) and upgrade to a four-door. Ashley didn’t fit too comfortably in the back seat anymore either - okay, so no one over 4′6″ really ever did! I purchased a Volkswagen Passat in May, 2002 and I absolutely love it.
Here it is October, and it was time to finally get serious about selling the Eclipse. I finally got organized last weekend enough to put it in the paper. I had a sign on it since I got back from Sydney, but that didn’t generate any interest as it sat in front of the house. As I walked Twizzler on this past Friday night, I noticed that the blinking light from the alarm system was off. Whoops - I had not started the car in probably 3 weeks and the battery was completely drained. So, after pushing it into the garage and re-charging the battery slowly over 2 nights, it was back to normal. I took it to a car wash and had it detailed. Today I took it in for an oil change so it was in tip-top shape. I signed up for a 15 day run in the Denver Post, along with accompanying pictures at www.ad-pixx.com.
The ad started its run today. I had four calls right off the bat, so I was pleasantly surprised, as I didn’t even think people would find it in the paper until the weekend. I lined up appointments for people to come see it at 3:00, 4:00, and 5:00. I was getting more excited, until the first two guys didn’t show up. The 5:00 appointment was a young woman in her twenties, and she brought her infant son and her father who was a mechanic. Her father absolutely loved it - he must have gushed at least 4 times how impressed he was at how well I took care of it. I gave him a print-out from an Excel spreadsheet I maintain that shows an itemized list of every maintenance item I’ve performed on the vehicle since 1993. He drove it around the block and said he was ready to deal. We negotiated for about 5 minutes and then he said SOLD!
I can’t believe my beloved old car sold on the first day, to the first person that looked at it! The funny thing is that she didn’t even care that it had a 6 disc changer in the trunk, that the stereo and rims were after-market upgrades, that the turbo still works like the day I bought it. About the only thing she said was “Oh, a sunroof!” 
Here are the pictures used in the online ad:
Exterior rear
October 10th, 2002 at 5:44 pm
I will never forget the first ride I took in the beloved Eclipse. Around South Boulder Rec Center at Cuervo (I think). Ooooh was I jealous of Twizzler’s SWEEEEEEEEET ride!!! She was a beaut. We will miss her dearly.