So this weekend I finally got my vehicle here on the island. I had been using my roommates 95 Jeep Wrangler and bumming rides off of my coworkers when that was not available.

I have been searching for a car for the last month or so and was not having much luck. Most of the SUV’s that I found were either

A) not worth what they were asking (even after adding the “this is an island and things cost more here” premium) or
B) they were falling about and would not last for more then a couple weeks

I had been keeping in contact with a local dealer and just happened to stop in this past weekend when a gentleman was attempting to purchase a new 2007 GMC Colorado (a pick up truck) while trading in a 96 Honda Passport. Obviously the dealership was not going to give him as much as he thought it was worth and someone how I came into the picture. I ended up being called yestarday (monday) to come in and and test drive the vehicle. Its an automatic, V6 with 4WD and CD player and while it seems that the rotors need replacing and a control arm or sway bar bushing has worn out, it ran pretty well. The engine was strong and quiet and the transmission was smooth. Obviously the salesman had told the folks what my limit was (3k) and the private seller was asking exactly that.

I decided I like the car and that it was the best deal I had seen so far so I talked him down 200 so I could afford to get the rotors done and we came to a price of 2800. While that may seem alot, the good news is it only has 57k miles and even back in the states I found them going for the high 3’s low 4’s depending on condition. Also as a frame of refrence I had test drove an 88 Jeep Cherokee that had 159k miles on it that the owner was asking 2300 on it and refuse my offer of 1500 saying it was worth no less than 2000 2100ish just a few weeks after testing driving an 89 Montero (that was burning oil badly) for the same price. For 800 more I got a car with 100k less miles on it and one that is 8 years newer.

Anyway - Overall and so far I am happy with the deal. It seemed to be a win win for everone, the guy got 2800 from me and was able to close his deal on the new truck and I got a fair price on a decent car here on the island (not the easiest task!)

On a side note I was thinking about painting the car in a camo style with spray paint from Homedepot … think that will hurt my resell value?