Okay, I’m back from the scary, angry place I was yesterday. [Good thing, because I don't like it when I shut down.]

Anyhow, I drove back up to Pulaski yesterday, waited about two-and-a-half hours on the truck to be fixed [as the radiator didn't arrive until after I got back to Pulaski ... but I had to be back when I did to avoid incurring more charges on the rental car]. All told, that cost me a little over $400 … a figure I’ll be taking up with the folks at the local National Tire & Battery very soon. Do I think they owe me everything? No. While the loss of the alternator belt did contribute to the death of my radiator, overpressure wouldn’t have killed that radiator if it hadn’t already been corroded at some level; there are overpressure relief paths that don’t involve breaching containment in the radiator. IF NT&B would pay for the tow, the alternator belt, and the labor, I’d probably be okay with that. Not that I won’t start with paying the full bill as the opening position, of course.

Now, what I didn’t post yesterday is that I thought that I’d landed a steal of a deal.

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A little backstory: longtime readers of this Weblog will remember that I nearly totaled my truck four years ago, and while that whole saga played out, I became quite infatuated with owning a Subaru Impreza WRX. In fact, I had a hard time not going ahead and buying it at the time even when the truck was found to be repairable. [I don't think I ever mentioned it here, but we got very damn close to the 75% limit that Jeremy mentioned; the repairs were over $4000 on a sub-$6000 truck.] I even said the following:

Some folks have said, “Look at a used car.” Well, I’ve thought about that, and I figure that this is the only time in my life when I can afford a new car [good-paying job, low rent, no wife or kids], so screw it … I’m not going to buy a house, so buying a new car is the next best thing. [You may think I’m silly. I think you’re right.]

Yeah, yeah, I bought the house, and now I want to add a car? I know, I’m a bit crazy. At this point, though, I’m to the point that I just don’t trust this truck at all—a weird place to be for a vehicle that I’ve put 162k miles on. [It had 28,303 when I first test-drove it in September 1996, and I know that no one else drove it after that drive, because the odometer was the same at the end of the test drive and the day Jay Derbort dropped me off at the dealership to get it. Strange the things I remember.] But I’m still in the same personal situation, save for the house, which costs less than the apartment I was renting at the time, and my salary has gone up 25% in that time. [I didn't really believe it until I ran the numbers the other day. I've been blessed, to be sure.] So … in the name of supporting the economy, I’ll almost assuredly be getting a new car. [Read: I'm feeding my consumerist side, and we all know it.]

Oh yes, there was a point to all this talk of WRX’s, and it involves a comment I made two years after the fact:

If I ever buy a WRX—it’s been two years since the wreck that started this spate of entries—I’ll be getting a wagon.

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When I said way up there that I’d landed a steal, I really thought that I had: the local Subaru dealership had a listing for a 2003 WRX sedan—equipped almost exactly as the wagon I’d put a deposit down on four years ago, down the to color—for $18,900. I did some quick work with Edmunds and determined that I could probably get it for $18k even. [I probably could hammer them down to $17,600, but there might be competition, and I'd want to make the deal quickly.] Sadly, when I got the dealership last night, I hadn’t gotten the call—because my phone was dead, don’tchaknow?!—that was to have told me that their Web site was a month out of spec with the inventory.

But in any regard, I’ve done my pricing on what I want, have a loan through my credit union pre-approved for a bit more than I’m willing to pay for the car [so I have wiggle room and no go-backs with the CU when I come in under the number], and a sales rep who not only called me back today but read this site to read up on me. [D'oh!] So yes, Jasper, I want a WRX, but I’ve done my homework, and I’m willing to walk if the price isn’t right. Besides, I’ve also got a second car in mind, something I won’t mention here, and it’s not a Subaru, so I’m not beholden to it.

I also have an appointment on Saturday to see about WRXs. Here goes nothin’. [Hopefully, my truck will hold together in the meantime.]