I replied to the post, and toyed with going down to and making an offer, but the $700 asking price seemed a bit too much. So I put it out of my mind. Then, last week, an email showed up in my box. Apparently, the Benz was still without a home, and the owner needed it off her hands by the end of the weekend. "First offer takes it!" Saturday, I made the hour-long trek in my grandmother's dinky Mazda, through torrential rains and gusting winds, to Waitsfield to check out this beast. The test-drive was a blast; since it was pouring I got to experience first hand the leaky trunk (she comes with a complimentary bilge pump!), the hole in the passenger-side floor (to accommodate the grease system), and the overall awesomeness of this vehicle. The driver-side seat belt buckle doesn't really work. "I never bother with it," the former owner told me, "but you could just use the passenger buckle." It takes a bit of coaxing to get her started, especially if she's cold from sitting still, and sometimes she prefers starting in neutral instead of in park. So, I put the Benz through her paces, convinced her to haul us up a steep gravelly hill, and got her going 55 on Route 17. I was beginning to understand why no one had made an offer, and I was in love.
The girl selling the Benz was headed down to work on a farm in Costa Rica on Monday, so she was about the most motivated (read: desperate) seller one could ever hope to find. "If you don't take it," she admitted, "I'm bringing it to the scrap yard." So I gave her $200 and told her I'd be back to pick up my new baby blue beater as soon as my boyfriend had a day off. Gabe and I planned on going down Sunday before Magda's former owner took off for warmer climes. When I tried to call her to figure out where to meet, her phone told me it had been disconnected. Hmm. I started to envision myself wandering around Waitsfield like a private eye, going up to locals and saying, "Have you seen this vehicle?" Or else I'd end up on Judge Judy with this chick, being all like, "I gave her $200 for this car, and then the bitch took it to the junkyard anyway!" But none of that was to be. She called me back the next day, and promised to leave the car at Full Circle, the auto place in Waitsfield that specializes in WVO conversions.
Gabe and I drove down after work on Monday afternoon and had to cruise up and down Main Street for a while figuring out just where Full Circle is. Found the greasebeater, sat for ten minutes or so warming up the glow plugs (and finding the e-brake), and we were off! Right now, she's running on regular diesel until I put in a new Fleetguard filter for the veggie. For a car that's eight years older than I am, Magda drives impressively. She is a true German tank, heavier, I think, than my Audi wagon was--you can feel it when she barrels down hills. She's inspected through next June, and the only real issue that might keep her from passing is the rust. Her previous owner gave me the contact of the shop she'd been going to for inspection: "He doesn't really care as long as all your lights work. Also, the rear bumper is a 4-by-4. He told me, 'That's not really legal; you might want to spray paint it black.'" So that's the plan: Bondo the rust and spray paint the bumper (and probably the rest of the car while I'm at it).
Now, I know I said I wasn't going to own a car again anytime soon, but you know what? I feel better, from an ethical perspective, owning the hottest veggie-beater on the East Coast than I did bumming other people's cars on a regular basis. Also, my car insurance is now cheaper than it was as just "named-insured" driver insurance, so Progressive is actually sending me money! Ah, the joys of a car worth nothing. Did I mention the tax and registration cost me more than the car itself did?
A note on naming: I believe in naming. Rather, I believe in naming everything that shares a large part of one's life. I had planned on not getting too excited about this car, but the pride I feel toward this vehicle borders on parental. My first Audi, the first car I ever really loved, came with the name Veronica. In keeping with the tradition, I named my second Audi Archie. I toyed with calling the Benz Betty, but there are enough real-life human Bettys in my life that it would be a little weird. I also wanted the name to have the letter G in it. I don't know why. Gabe was pushing for Gunter, but as soon as you get behind the wheel it's clear that the beater is a girl: stubborn and finicky and way too sexy to be a male automobile. Naming is not a democratic process. The name imposes itself and there is no way to refuse it. Personally, I was leaning toward something very period, very 70s, like Donna or Aretha. I really liked the sound of Jackie O. But Magda kept pushing, so Magda it is. It's got a good German ring, which is important for a German car. And it's strong. "It's a strong name," just happens to be my mother's justification for naming me Kate. I never bought that argument, but here I am. I guess Magda and I will just have to be strong together. With our powers combined...
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