Most of you know by now that I lost my baby--"The Hottie"--to Hurricane Katrina (completely submerged for 2 1/2 weeks, not pretty) in August. Well, once a fiero-addict, always a fiero-addict, right? Of course, once we settled in hilly middle Georgia, the first thing I thought of was that I needed to find another fiero. I mean, the roads here practically scream "I was made for a fiero" with all of those hills, valleys, twists and turns. LOL
So, once I made the decision to get another car, we started looking around and checking online, ebay, newspaper, etc. We found out about an '88 coupe in Florida that was going for $750--but couldn't get things together with the seller--mainly because we had to try to coordinate navigating a 7 hour trip in order to arrange delivery/transfer of the car. Scheduling wasn't working out at all. So then Ronnie PM'd me and let me know about a couple of leads that he had on cars here in Georgia that were ready to be sold. Checked out a couple that were out of my budget, then got an email with this pic of an '86 SE for sale only an hour away:
Whoo-hoo! How fast can you say "SOLD"!? LOL I was sooo excited! The car looked great! The paint was amazing and I instantly fell in love with it. hehe So of course I immediately emailed him back and asked for the contact info and the details; called them up and proceeded on the path towards becoming a legitimate fiero-owner once again.
We communicated with the owner (who, by the way, is a great guy--really nice, honest and cool) and his wife for a couple of days and arranged to go over on last Thursday to check out the car and complete the transaction. When he got the car about 2-3 years ago, it was a silver, 4 cyl with an overheating problem. Now it's a V-6 (love that power, Jscott! LOL), yellow automatic with only about 7000 miles on the rebuilt engine (182K total miles)! Talk about power! Acceleration in no time flat and a really smooth cruising speed of 70+mph on the highway.
Even the interior looks good! The headliner is fine; the console had been replaced already; the steering wheel was changed and he'd even put in a new stereo! The only thing that needed to be changed was the seats. These have older seat covers on them, so of course I had to go to pick up some temporary ones until I decide which route to take--recovering them or Mr. Mikes. hehe
Thursday morning I was so excited I could barely keep still. We followed our mapquest printout--got turned around a couple of times 'cause we were going into the "country"--translation, not alot of street signs, landmarks and traffic LOL--then pulled up an hour later to find that the car looks just as good in person as it did on the picture. It was drizzling a little--more like ice-rain--so I knew I wouldn't be able to test drive it in the slippery conditions and red Georgia clay. Once we pulled up, the owner came out and started her right up--no pumping the gas pedal, no coaxing, nothing. He told me that he hadn't started the car in about a week, but it ran like a dream.
He popped the trunk and the engine was soo clean. Not to mention that the trunk was almost spotless as well. I couldn't believe my good luck!
So we went inside out of the cold to make me an honest fiero owner. I called my bank to arrange a wire transfer for payment as we'd agreed. According to my banking officer, I could do the transfer and he'd get a confirmation number that he could use to verify that the funds had been sent until they actually hit his account. That way, even if his bank didn't update the account before I left, he'd have proof that the money was his. Sounds like a good way to make sure that he didn't get ripped off, right? So, picked up the phone to call and implement the master plan and hit the first snag--the bank officer that I'd arranged everything with was out to lunch--wouldn't be back for about an hour and there was no one else who could do it. Ugghh--so close and yet so far!
No problem, we'll hang out for a bit and then call back. It's around 11:30am, so we've got some time before he has to go to work at 2:30pm. So we talked about fieros, I showed him some of the pics of my original car on the forum and he gave me the low-down on the car. We also checked out their humongous fish tank--they have baby gold fish that they raised--and killed some time. Called the bank a few more times during the next hour and 20 mins and finally got the bank officer. Emailed her the info. and explained that I needed to have it done asap 'cause I was buying a car from an individual who had to leave to go to work. Called her back about 20 mins later and was told that transfer had been sent, but that she didn't have a confirmation number or anything that he could get that would prove that he'd been paid. Aaarrrgggghhhh---is nothing easy?! Now it's well after 1pm and he's got to get ready to go to work. She said the transfer should show up in about an hour, which would be cutting it real close to the time that he had to leave.
I didn't want to leave with the car until I'd been assured that he'd received the funds, and I didn't want to take another ride out there the next day. The weather forecast didn't look too good 'cause we were expecting more ice and I knew I wouldn't be able to drive back out on Friday.
Okay, decided to get everything ready--just in case. Signed the title in the appropriate places and waited. Half an hour later he called and checked his bank before going to work--nothing. So he offered to let us take the car and he'd just mail us the title once the funds were received. (Like I said, really honest, nice guy.) We didn't want to do that, 'cause we wanted to make sure that everything was finalized before taking the car. After all, for a deal like that, it was only fair.
So, on to plan B. He had to go to work and his wife had to go and pick up their son from school, so he was going to check with his bank again from work and then call his wife to give her an update. We decided to go into town (about 20 mins away) and get something to eat while we waited for him to check on the transfer from work and wandered into the local Wal-Mart to get seat covers. (Gotta think positively, don't I? )
Called his wife at 3:30pm--nothing yet. She said he was going to call the bank back before 5pm 'cause they said a transfer should hit the account by close of business. Okay, I could wait another hour and a half, no problem. Stopped at McDonald's; killed some more time in Wal-Mart; then started back to their house after 4pm.
Got a call from her at 4:30pm--apparently the bank had closed early, so he couldn't talk to anyone to see if the funds had hit the account. She said they'd talked about it and wanted us to take the car and they'd mail the title once the funds cleared on Friday. Since we had to pass their house anyway on the way home, we decided to stop by and talk it over. By this time I was really disappointed. I thought I'd had all of the bases covered and would have been driving away in my "new" fiero, but now I was faced with the prospect of having to come back to pick up the car later. I couldn't let him let me take the car if the funds hadn't been verified yet--I just didn't feel right doing that--so I wanted to stop by and say good-bye to the little car. (Yeah, I know I'm hopeless. LOL)
We pulled up at 5pm; got out and went inside. We had just got through telling her that we'd arrange a time to come back on Friday, when we thought about having her check the automated system to see if the funds had cleared (yeah, one last ditch effort)--and IT WAS THERE! Whoo-hooo! I jumped up and down and then hugged her, I was so happy! Then I started the "I've got a fiero" chant with this big goober grin on my face. LOL
She gave me the title and the keys and I went out to start up my little car. The ride home was just as eventful, since we missed our turn and ended up in Athens, Ga. (about another 30 min away) and had to get home from there. hehe I didn't care though, 'cause this baby was sooo sweet to drive!
We just got a digital camera, so I'll post some more pics and some other details on my other "adventures" since I've had the car later. hehe
Welcome me home, boys. I'm back in the fiero-saddle again! LOL
--Tress
------------------ I may not know alot about cars...but I make a Fiero look good!
Alright! That was quite an adventure! I'm glad everything worked out for you.. That fiero sure does look nice! Get us some more pictures when you have the time
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09:35 PM
Riceburner98 Member
Posts: 2179 From: Natick, Ma, USA Registered: Apr 2002
Good to have you back!! And wow, that car looks great! Sounds like this one won't be giving you any problems for a long time.
------------------ Bob Williams Multi-colored '86 Mutt, a work in progress! (3800SC running great! Fixed the bent roof, now I need an intercooler! Yeehaa!)
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09:36 PM
Scott-Wa Member
Posts: 5392 From: Tacoma, WA, USA Registered: Mar 2002
Congratulations! The power of the V6 is like night and day. You know what they say, once you go V6 you never go back!
It's great to have you back, you have been an inspiration to a lot of us. Maybe you will inspire me to work on the Indy of mine. What's the name for the new one? When do the diaries start up? To many questions? I can't wait!
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09:48 PM
litespd Member
Posts: 8128 From: No where you want to be Registered: Aug 99
Congratulations on the new car, Tress, and welcome back to the forum! It's good to see you back, and see that your enthusiasm hasn't waned! Now...how about 007....when does HE get a new Fiero?
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09:48 PM
aerosmithr0cker Member
Posts: 1199 From: Charlotte, NC, USA Registered: Aug 2004
http://www.mrmikes.com/fierochristmassale.htm check out #149.... originally I thought your new car had beachwood interior due to the carpet color in photo, but I looked again and saw it's gray. If I had the money and a running Fiero... those would be mine :-)
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10:43 PM
PFF
System Bot
datacop Member
Posts: 1426 From: Indianapolis, IN, USA Registered: Jan 2004
AHAH !!!! Been waiting for you to post about the car !!! I can feel your excitement . Glad you like it. Damn , I shoulda bought that car myself !! Looks good. But , glad to see it go to you instead. You deserved it. Now I'll be watching for updates. Don'tcha love it when you see someone happy !!!
[This message has been edited by Ronnie (edited 12-19-2005).]
Tress, you know what would be really cool? If you could get another one of those license plates with the little rabbit on it and put it back in your rear window! (The one that says, "Hi.....loser!")
Welcome back! It's nice that everything turned out well. This looks like a much better car to start with than your old 88 coupe. Sounds like you can focus on the fun stuff insteading of head gaskets & overheating problems. Now you can start looking for a couple aero rocker panels. They're fun to change & I know that you can do it. Oh, and by the way, yellow Fieros rule!
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01:02 AM
Frizlefrak Member
Posts: 2921 From: El Paso, Texas Registered: Aug 2003
A bit late in joining in with the "welcome back's", but the same goes for me. You write a fascinating post..looking forward to some more from you!! Well done, and have loads of fun with your 'yellow fever'!!!! Nick
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04:10 AM
Gokart Mozart Member
Posts: 12143 From: Metro Detroit Registered: Mar 2003
Good job on getting the new car! Another thing you might think of getting is a good map book of your area. You don't want to get lost on those backroads when you're checking them out .
In Mr. Mikes Christmas sale items I think the #0146 or #124 would really look nice with your interior. Congrats on the new Fiero. Looks really sweet!!!!
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07:20 AM
Fierochic88 Member
Posts: 4983 From: Staunton, VA Registered: May 2001
CONGRATULATIONS TRESS!!! That's one sweet looking SE you have there! Sounds like it's good runnning car, too! No overheating / head gasket issues like the Hottie!
Stick close to those Georgia Fiero folks - they're a great group!
------------------ One-owner 88 Coupe Sharon's GT Under Construction CFOGi Region 3 News
Congratulations from me as well. I am glad life is getting back to normal...if that can be said. Miss-Tress, 007, Exotica Rida, what about those Fieros in New Orleans ? Any hope at all for any of them ? Also, I keep wondering about the "brand new" 88 you found in the barn and the one at that dealership. Could you do one more investigative reporting assignment ?
quote
Originally posted by jscott1: What's the name for the new one?
Carefull here, you named your last one the Hottie and it had overheating problems.
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11:36 AM
Exotic Rida Member
Posts: 563 From: new orleans louisiana, now displaced to atlanta Registered: Jan 2004
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