As fate would have it, he found one online that was local. A dream. One owner, low miles, etc. He saw it and although he couldn't test drive it, he thought the price was good. He checked with other MR2 owners and verified that.
So he bought it. It had been left at a shop in town to be fixed because the alternator had gone kaput. We got a good battery (Optima is all we use down here), he put it in and I followed him to the shop of a Cobra guy.
It had been left out in the AZ sun for a few years and regular maintenance had been avoided for awhile, so it took our stimulus check and then some to get it into working order. Hey, we did our part. We didn't save it.
It still needs lots of interior work to undo the damage from the sun, but it will probably become Trout's daily driver so long as the dirt road to LMMM stays graded and the washes don't get too deep.
We've talked a lot about how getting another, lower mileage car won't ever pay for itself in the difference between the cost of the car and its maintenance, insurance, etc. and the increased cost of fuel. But those are only rational arguments. They don't address how much more fun it will be for him to drive this around town until he gets the Cobra done.
So this means we are now a 3-vehicle family. Now I know why he wanted that 3rd garage bay so badly. Silly me. I didn't think we needed it with that big shop...
