And on a Friday afternoon on Geraldine's Freshchoice notice board, we saw an ad for a 1994 Ford Telstar for $1200...
Even though we had never heard of a Telstar, we had to at least phone and maybe even take it for a test drive. As it happens, Telstar happens to be the Australian/American version of a Mondeo, which if my childhood memory serves me right, wasn't the greatest of vehicles. We took it for a spin anyway, and despite the drive being short, the car drove well, sounded fine, had everything it needed and although having a few marks here and there, looked good to go.
Again we faced the same questions; car or buses? More independence or reliable? invest and save or safe in knowing we're getting what we pay for?
So when the price dropped down to $1100, our choice was sliding and when it settled on $1000 we couldn't resist. Were we buying a piece of scrap? Quite possibly yes, I would never buy a £500 car in the UK, but twenty year old cars with 200,000 kilometres on the clock seem to be the average backpacker car, and the call of the back country, away from the tourist highways and honey spots is starting to call. Adventure comes at a cost and I'd be happy if it cost me £500, only time will tell.
Anyway, the British couple who owned it let us drive it for a couple of days before any money was handed over, although I'd have to admit that was mostly due to our funds being transfered than it being a prolonged test drive. But we can say that we were as satisfied handing the money over, as they were receiving it.
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| On our steel horse... |
