“For your $1,000 Trade-In, I’m giving you $1,500”

It was May of 1995. Karen had a 1984 Pontiac Sunbird with 132,000 miles. It started leaking coolant from the engine. Our mechanic said it might be a cylinder head crack or a blown head gasket. We had to keep adding coolant. It would occasionally spew out coolant from the engine block. It was time to get Karen a new(er) car.

We started looking at used cars. Karen used a new resource: the internet! She found a used 1993 Honda Accord with 21,600 miles from Enterprise Car sales. This purchase was not particularly impressive because they priced their cars at a reasonable price and it was not negotiable. However their prices were better than used car prices at dealers. It was comparable to buying from a private party. The price was $13,989. We had our mechanic check the 2 year old Accord and there were only minor items that he recommended; spark plugs, alignment, new wheel rim.

There were two items about this purchase that were notable. 1) This was the first Honda that Karen purchased and she fell in love with the make and purchased only Hondas after that. 2) Enterprise accepted trade-ins and I was determined to get the highest I could for the 1984 Pontiac Sunbird.

The day came for the trade in evaluation and purchase transaction. We filled up the coolant before leaving home and started the drive to Enterprise. About half-way there, we heard loud knocking and pulled over into a parking lot to check it. There was coolant spewing out onto the parking lot! We thought, “That’s it, we won’t get anything for this!” We filled up the coolant again and it seemed to be ok. We continued on our way and hoped for the best.

We arrived and the trade in specialist came to evaluate the 1984 Pontiac Sunbird. He was impressed with the body. We said, “Oh yes, we waxed it every 6 months.” He started the car and stood next to it. He said solemnly, “Do you hear that?” Our hearts both skipped a beat. He opened the hood and next said, “The engine sounds good.” We both had a huge sigh of relief!

Next he said, “I’m going to do something I normally don’t do. This car is worth about $1,000 but I’m going to give you $1,500.” We thanked him very much and completed the purchase!

Karen drove the 1993 Accord until July, 2005 when our daughter Kristin started driving it as her first car while living at home. Kristin and her friends had a nickname for it. On acceleration, it made a progressive louder “rrrrrrrrrrrrr” sound. So, it got the name Erin….. Errrrrinnnn!

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