For the low low price of a battery, some kindheartedness, and whatever else I need to make it safe and legal.
To make a long story short, its been sitting for a year, hasn’t been ‘legal’ for about two, its got some rust and scrapes and some odd door/hinge issues (I’ll expand on that some day in the future), but it’s a One Owner 2001 Mirage DE Coupe with a 1.5L, 5-speed manual, and 158,000 miles.
The owner can’t afford to fix it (CEL was on, couldn’t pass emissions), is no longer driving, and is about to lose the car and its parking spot due to living arraignments, so I reached out to see if I could at LEAST get it running so she could either sell it to me or scrap it once she finds the title...
So I came prepared to do battle, but all it needed was a fresh battery and a few stabs at the throttle pedal to get the juices flowing.
Drove it down the road to the gas station, put some air in the tires ($1.50 for air? SINCE WHEN?!?!) because I forgot my air tank, and other than the loud exhaust and rusty brakes, it drove NICE.
So besides the obvious rust, it could make someone a nice cheap car, once I fix a few things. Hell, the air even blows cool-ish.
But about those doors.... nah, I’ll save that gem for another day.