Its the small pleasures in life

Small pleasures...  

I was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time the other day and pass that good fortune onto both buyer and seller of a great little car.  

I was visiting a friend and he mentioned he had decided to sell his little car, and inquired if I might know anyone looking for a great little car. I had admired the car before, but asked for details. Its a '98 Saturn Wagon with... wait for it... 69,000 miles on it. (yes- 069,012 on the ODO)

Fuel economy: irrelevant or distracting?

Fuel economy... really? 

As a rule, what do you think of when you buy a car? Comfort? Amenities? Looks? Shiny? Reliability? Power? Fuel economy? How about asking how much resources the machine cost to build in the first place? Why not ask what the total cost to the planet is instead of just looking at one little part of the energy story. Why only MPG? 

Love your Used car Salesman! A guide to swindling the swindler. PT-3

So here we are with a vehicle that we like and that has passed all the initial checks, its time for a test drive.

Start the engine (any blue smoke out the tailpipe? No? Good.) and turn on the headlights, test the brake, reverse and turn signal lights one-by-one as your helper verifies that they all work. While the engine warms up, have a look around at how the interior is laid out, find and familiarize yourself with the controls and display while you also make necessary seat and mirror adjustments and of course, get your seatbelt on.