Trading a Lemon for Lollies

Our Honda Integra (white with a purple and teal stripe... very 1990) gave us a good 6 months and almost 10,000km. She will always be remembered as an integral player in our great Kiwi summer road trip. Among her endearing quirks:

• The automatic locks don't work. The passenger door often unlocks when you lock the driver's door. Sometimes both doors unlock on their own.
• The car doesn't like hills, which is a problem in hilly NZ.
• It leaks. When starting the car after a big rain, the driver and passenger get a slosh of water on their feet.
• The boot (trunk) doesn't stay open, so you have to prop it up with your head.
• The limp antenna was dangling off the car until it finally fell off.
  

Approximately 10 minutes after this gem was posted on TradeMe (NZ's version of craigslist/ebay), I received a phone call from a potential buyer, the owner of one of Auckland's finest kebab shops. We paid him a visit after the next day's lunch-hour rush. As the store's owner/sole employee, he was unable to stray far from the shop. He hastily inspected the car, which was chock full 'o luggage and illegally parked in a bus zone in front of the shop.

Then the haggling began. He informed us that he was negotiating on behalf of his girlfriend so she would stop nagging him with requests to borrow his car. He called us names such as beautiful, gorgeous, sweet, pretty, dear and darling. I am impervious to flattery. He called me tough and demanded to know my age because I looked like his 17-year-old niece, whom he hasn't seen in 10 years. When we finally agreed on a price, he handed us each a ChupaChup lollipop. Dawn summed it up best: "Do you think he comes from a country that oppresses women?"

We said the car wasn't available for 4 more days. He gave us a $200 deposit on the spot and said to come back whenever we were ready. When we returned 4 days later, he handed over the cash without even checking that the car was parked out back like we said.

When a car changes hands in NZ, the license plate stays the same and there is only minimal paperwork. The new owner fills in some basic information and the old owner mails in the form. When asked for the date of sale, the guy entered his girlfriend's birthdate. Something tells me he's not a details man.

I've met so many travelers who are having a very difficult time unloading their old cars, so I consider us to be very lucky. We almost made our money back and we had to deal with only one person. And we got some candy! Easy as.