Finally Sold Rover, and Cordless Phone
Aug. 18th, 2009 12:38 amFor those who aren't aware, I actually own two vehicles. In addition to my Crown Vic, I also have a Land Rover Discovery. I bought it back in 2004, at a time when the mountains of Virginia actually got pretty severe winters, and I wanted to indulge my redneck side with a truck. Long story short, this truck and I have a long history, and a very love/hate relationship. It's been there for some of my fondest memories, taken me to amazing places I never thought possible, and saved my tail a few times in bad weather. At the same time, it's quite possibly the most unreliable vehicle I've ever had first-hand experience with, spending most of its time in a state of "it kinda runs right, maybe, if it's in a good mood".
Anyway, two winters ago, its engine issues worsened, to the point where I couldn't really drive it. Combined with the severe underbody rust I discovered a few years ago, I finally came to the decision to let it go. I simply don't have the time, talent, or resources to restore it to its proper glory, and it'd be better off in the hands of someone who can either fix it properly, or part it out.
For a number of reasons, with the biggest one being my lazyness, I didn't try particularly hard to find a buyer for it. Recently, though, I stumbled across the Land Rover forum I used to frequent, and found the thread I posted from the last time I tried to sell it. My previous attempts were to get $1500 or so for it in barely-running (but driveable) condition. It now has a flat tire, thanks to dry-rot, and an unsalvageably-dead battery, but I really can't keep hanging on to the poor thing. So, I bumped my thread with a $500 pricetag.
Inside of a day, three people replied asking where I was (apparently, I removed that from my profile at some point), saying they were very interested. Unfortunately, the first two were too far away, but the third happened to be the person I wanted it to go to all along, a parts dealer and Rover expert in southern VA. With a quick phone call, it's sold. I loaded it up with most of my spare parts, removed the super-rare grille I spent a month importing from England, and got the title ready. Still waiting on the money to arrive via Paypal, but I trust the buyer. He even has an in-house towing guy now :-)
In a way, this is kinda liberating. I no longer have to worry about getting a ticket for the inspection that expired two years ago, I don't have to worry about dealing with it when I move, and I no longer have to listen to mom whine about how its $3/month insurance premium (storage insurance, since it doesn't run) is such a massive burden. At the same time, though, it's really sad to finally let it go. I've talked off and on about doing this for years, but to finally do it is very different. I feel like I'm putting down a beloved pet. That truck's been part of my life for so long, and I've gotten so much out of it, but it's now crippled beyond repair.
*sighs* I'll be ok, and the money is a huge help. I think what's tearing me up the most is that we didn't get to have the one last off-roading trip I so badly wanted. When I knew beyond a doubt that I had to part with this truck in the near future, I really wanted to take it out to the woods just one last time, sort of a final farewell. But, I couldn't get it running well enough to trust it not to strand me in the middle of the forest. I couldn't even get it running well enough to drive around town, I almost had to have it towed back home the last time I tried.
And yes, I probably will get another truck, once I'm in a position to do so. Since something like that would never be my daily-driver, I can't put much priority on it, but I really do want another off-road vehicle. Maybe even another Rover.
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On a lighter note, I forgot to mention this before, but I acquired a new toy this weekend. After my sister moved, she left behind a decent cordless landline phone that she hasn't really used in quite some time. She had a VOIP line at one point, but stopped using it when she discovered SMS (and promptly ran up multi-hundred-dollar phone bills whenever mom's cellphone billing changed and accidently dropped unlimited-text), so this cordless phone has been sitting unused ever since. So, I asked mom if I could use it until I get one of my own, and she said sure.
This may seem like a silly thing to get gadget-happy over, but in the 8+ years I've had a private landline/VOIP line, I've never had a cordless phone. Never needed one, until recently, but still, it's not something I've had for myself. So, this is kinda neat. I don't have to run across the apartment to answer the phone if I'm working in the shop, and I can take my laptop onto the deck without missing calls :-)
The phone itself is a Vtech something-or-other, 5.8GHz, with a bunch of blingy features I don't understand the logic in having on a landline. This was apparently made at a time when landline phone makers were desperately trying to compete with cellphone manufacturers, without realizing that they cater to different markets. So, in addition to standard phone features like caller ID, speakerphone, and speed dial/phonebook, it has a USB connection to load ringtones and images into the handset. Seriously. Why anyone would want to do this is beyond me, or so I thought at first, but after playng with it, I can actually see some appeal, if only for the gee-whiz fun factor. I added a background, and a couple numbers that I wanted to have distinctive ringing for. Still want my phones to sound like phones when they ring, but this thankfully has some default options for that (unlike my cellphone).
So, yeah, I have a new phone. I don't plan to keep it indefinitely, since I really want a 2-line cordless phone (a bluetooth-to-landline bridge for my cellphone is pretty high on my stuff-to-buy list), but it's nice to have in the meantime.
Anyway, two winters ago, its engine issues worsened, to the point where I couldn't really drive it. Combined with the severe underbody rust I discovered a few years ago, I finally came to the decision to let it go. I simply don't have the time, talent, or resources to restore it to its proper glory, and it'd be better off in the hands of someone who can either fix it properly, or part it out.
For a number of reasons, with the biggest one being my lazyness, I didn't try particularly hard to find a buyer for it. Recently, though, I stumbled across the Land Rover forum I used to frequent, and found the thread I posted from the last time I tried to sell it. My previous attempts were to get $1500 or so for it in barely-running (but driveable) condition. It now has a flat tire, thanks to dry-rot, and an unsalvageably-dead battery, but I really can't keep hanging on to the poor thing. So, I bumped my thread with a $500 pricetag.
Inside of a day, three people replied asking where I was (apparently, I removed that from my profile at some point), saying they were very interested. Unfortunately, the first two were too far away, but the third happened to be the person I wanted it to go to all along, a parts dealer and Rover expert in southern VA. With a quick phone call, it's sold. I loaded it up with most of my spare parts, removed the super-rare grille I spent a month importing from England, and got the title ready. Still waiting on the money to arrive via Paypal, but I trust the buyer. He even has an in-house towing guy now :-)
In a way, this is kinda liberating. I no longer have to worry about getting a ticket for the inspection that expired two years ago, I don't have to worry about dealing with it when I move, and I no longer have to listen to mom whine about how its $3/month insurance premium (storage insurance, since it doesn't run) is such a massive burden. At the same time, though, it's really sad to finally let it go. I've talked off and on about doing this for years, but to finally do it is very different. I feel like I'm putting down a beloved pet. That truck's been part of my life for so long, and I've gotten so much out of it, but it's now crippled beyond repair.
*sighs* I'll be ok, and the money is a huge help. I think what's tearing me up the most is that we didn't get to have the one last off-roading trip I so badly wanted. When I knew beyond a doubt that I had to part with this truck in the near future, I really wanted to take it out to the woods just one last time, sort of a final farewell. But, I couldn't get it running well enough to trust it not to strand me in the middle of the forest. I couldn't even get it running well enough to drive around town, I almost had to have it towed back home the last time I tried.
And yes, I probably will get another truck, once I'm in a position to do so. Since something like that would never be my daily-driver, I can't put much priority on it, but I really do want another off-road vehicle. Maybe even another Rover.
===============
On a lighter note, I forgot to mention this before, but I acquired a new toy this weekend. After my sister moved, she left behind a decent cordless landline phone that she hasn't really used in quite some time. She had a VOIP line at one point, but stopped using it when she discovered SMS (and promptly ran up multi-hundred-dollar phone bills whenever mom's cellphone billing changed and accidently dropped unlimited-text), so this cordless phone has been sitting unused ever since. So, I asked mom if I could use it until I get one of my own, and she said sure.
This may seem like a silly thing to get gadget-happy over, but in the 8+ years I've had a private landline/VOIP line, I've never had a cordless phone. Never needed one, until recently, but still, it's not something I've had for myself. So, this is kinda neat. I don't have to run across the apartment to answer the phone if I'm working in the shop, and I can take my laptop onto the deck without missing calls :-)
The phone itself is a Vtech something-or-other, 5.8GHz, with a bunch of blingy features I don't understand the logic in having on a landline. This was apparently made at a time when landline phone makers were desperately trying to compete with cellphone manufacturers, without realizing that they cater to different markets. So, in addition to standard phone features like caller ID, speakerphone, and speed dial/phonebook, it has a USB connection to load ringtones and images into the handset. Seriously. Why anyone would want to do this is beyond me, or so I thought at first, but after playng with it, I can actually see some appeal, if only for the gee-whiz fun factor. I added a background, and a couple numbers that I wanted to have distinctive ringing for. Still want my phones to sound like phones when they ring, but this thankfully has some default options for that (unlike my cellphone).
So, yeah, I have a new phone. I don't plan to keep it indefinitely, since I really want a 2-line cordless phone (a bluetooth-to-landline bridge for my cellphone is pretty high on my stuff-to-buy list), but it's nice to have in the meantime.