Sale of the century

My uncle has a hunter green 1993 Volvo Wagon that he has had for years. Over Thankgsgiving it came to my attention that he was going to try and sell the car and I immediately thought of my brother Ricky who just got a license in October and has yet to get a car.

I called my uncle a time or two during the holidays but we were never able to get with each other and so at Bailey and Cooper's birthday party he approached me about Ricky buying the car. I told him I really wanted the car for Ricky and that we would try and find a way for him to buy it. Only problem is we don't have any money to lend anyone (not even my mother who is in danger of having her utilities cut off from not working since September, but that's a different story altogether) even for a car. My uncle and aunt said they would talk about how much they wanted for the car and get back to us.

This past week we have been talking to Ricky about the car. We looked it up on Kelly Blue Book and even without air conditioning and high mileage the car is still worth somewhere between $2-$3k. My brother wasn't sure he could afford both the car and the insurance on the car, especially with being a freshman in college who isn't allowed to have a car on campus without a "good" excuse. To my chagrin he decided against the car. I thought it would be a good investment but I understood (mostly) his decision to not buy the car.

I put off calling my uncle back because I was a little embarassed (because that's the kind of freak I am) about not buying the car. Finally, this morning I called. I told him about Ricky not being able to afford both a car purchase and car insurance at this time but asked him if they had decided what they wanted for the car. They had.

He wants to sell the car to my brother for $1.

I took it. I mean we were thinking $1000-$1500 would be a great deal and at best maybe he would take pity and offer us $500 but $1, I can't find a reason to turn that down. So I told him that we would make arrangements to come to his place in Northern Virginia but he said that he would meet us in Charlottesville.

My uncle is strange. Not in a terrible way, just in a very quiet you can never tell with him sort of way and I must admit that I am a little taken with his offer to sell us his vehicle for $1. He told me that the stereo was better in the Volvo than in either of his other vehicles. I told him Ricky would like that but really I think he would just like the price period.

And he did. I called him immediately and he called me back about a half hour later and was just as surprised as I was about the offer. He worried that a car and insurance would stretch him too far but with just the insurance to worry about it sounds a lot more feasible.

I am excited for my brother, having your first car, especially when you're young, is like a rite of passage. I remember having my first car and working just to afford the gas and insurance for that car and being really proud of myself. I hope my brother is at least half as excited as I am for him.