Sunday, March 24, 2013

Meet Dougie the Dodge

It was meant to be. Like Romeo and Juliet.....like Bonnie and Clyde...like...oh you know what I mean! I'd been searching on kijiji for awhile for a pickup truck, thinking I would get one in May or June so that I could take a lot more "stuff" out to our PEI home.  The plan was to give good old reliable Cora Cobalt to my daughter Kazi as she is graduating from her post-graduate program in April and will be looking for permanent work. Or at least she better be!! I thought that by having her own wheels she'd be able to look a job offers outside of London as well as in London. And it helps to build up my "BEST MOM" brownie points!
My goal was to find a used pickup with low mileage AND a low price AND a cap AND 4 wheel drive so we can plow our own .5km laneway in the winter. That's not asking TOO much is it? I wanted a cap for a couple of reasons: protect our stuff from the elements and theft when hauling it around (by stuff I mean furniture, loads of firewood, antiques etc) ..... and for camping in!! 
I saw the ad for this truck early on in my search. It was intriguing and had everything I wanted. But I kept looking as the budget that I had set aside for this purchase was twice as much as what was being asked for this Dodge Dakota.  So I looked, and I looked but I just couldn't find a deal that was as good as this one even at twice the price! So I decided to have a look at the real thing.
Pretty sweet don't you think? Just like the ad said this truck had been babied and cared for. It had less than 60,000 miles on it, had brand new tires, the cap is in good shape, it's a 4x4 - it was PERFECT! And see the building in the background? That's the French Immersion school my daughter went to from Gr. 1-8! To me that was a good omen.

It also has this great extender thingy so if we have something to transport that's longer than the truck bed we can flip this thing out onto the tailgate and away we go!
Here I am taking it for a test drive - Michael was busy snapping pictures as you can see. The next day we took it to our mechanic and he checked it out. He said I was getting a really good deal. There were two repairs that needed to be done for the safety so we offered the owner his asking price minus the cost of repairs. He agreed!! So how much did I pay??
$5,000.00!
The one negative about driving a truck vs my little Cora Cobalt is of course the cost of GAS! That will be offset though by the fact that I'm not paying Kazi's insurance anymore ($687 per year as an  occasional driver). She'll be paying for her own insurance now as a principal driver on the Cobalt. AND of course she'll be paying for her own gas instead of using mine so I think I will at least break even. Also I'm putting the remainder of the "truck budget", which is $5,000 into my EF so that I will have money on hand for maintenance and repairs. I'm pretty sure I've covered all the bases. 

My sweet Michael spent a few hours yesterday cleaning the truck - it is SPIC AND SPAN!! And he bought me an adapter so I can charge my iPod and iPhone :) 

For those of you who are wondering how on earth we could camp in the back of a pickup truck have a look at this blog site!  What an awesome conversion! My brother who is a pretty good carpenter has offered to measure the bed of the truck and figure out a similar conversion for us:) 

I just now wondered if Kazi would need to car tomorrow for school - then I realized I don't have to think about that anymore!! She's free....I'm free!! Wow, what a feeling!

13 comments:

  1. livingrichonthecheapMarch 24, 2013 at 1:21 PM

    Great deal on the truck. We slept in the back of our truck with a cap when I was a kid when we went camping - just put a foam mattress back there. Excellent price!

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  2. That's a sweet ride (as the kids would say)! And a good deal too!
    I nominated you for a prize on my blog too!

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  3. OK Thanks B-Kat!! I'll answer the questions in my next post!

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  4. I know, I'm still pinching myself!

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  5. I've seen some conversions where the bed is up about a foot allowing for storage underneath - simple, just the way I like it!

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  6. Nice ride!!! And a sweet deal too!

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  7. Fantastic deal Jane and I LOVE the extender. Trucks are just plain awesome, so much stuff you can do with them. I remember camping in my parents truck and canopy combo. We just threw down some air mattresses and away we went.

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  8. It's like a house on wheels! :)

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  9. Jane,
    What a great looking truck. It's colour I just love and it looks to be in really good shape. Nice find. I'm sure you will be very happy with Dougie. Funny how we name our vehicles but it makes them feel more part of the family. I have only driven ours once because I'm a little afraid of the size as I was with Big Red.
    plus it's hard to get hubby out of the drivers seat.
    I'm sure it will plow your lane-way no problem and if you do have any mechanical problems Clayton's C.H. Automotive in S/Side is the place to go. He is a big Dodge fan and knows his stuff. We have been going to him for over 25 years.
    I think you should get the sticker for your back window that say's "Silly Boy's Trucks are for girls". I want to get one but Hubby says he will be taking it off when he drives.
    Welcome home Dougie!!!

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  10. SWEET RIDE! I love trucks. I'm so glad that it all worked out. I love it when a plan comes together.

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  11. Great deal! Hope you always drive Dougie in good health :)

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  12. It was actually a good deal! Glad you didn’t hesitate to buy this Dodge. It could have been taken by someone else if you neglected the great things the car has. I’m certain it will be a great help for you. Congrats on your new car!
    For more car ideas, visit BrandonDodgeOnBroadWay.net .

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