Trixie...

I found Trixie in a classifieds ad on the Vortex forums. The asking price was $2,000, which is a great deal higher than I normally like to spend on my cabbies, but because she appeared to be in such decent shape, I figured I'd throw him an offer of $1,800, which he accepted.

Here are the actual pictures from the classifieds ad. (click to enlarge images)

So I called my ex-husband, who lives about 4 hours away from Grand Rapids (where the car was located), and seeing as he owes me a few favors, I asked him if he would be a doll, and go pick her up for me. He agreed, and took care of the exchange, and kept the car at his place until I could get to Illinois to pick her up.

After test driving it once, and then taking it for another short drive, he called me and tried to buy it from me. Needless to say, the answer was "HELL NO." But I did offer to keep my eye out for one for him.

Unfortunately, the whole "runs perfectly" part of the ad wasn't entirely accurate, and there were a few other things that the seller wasn't quite as forthcoming about, such as the wheels, which were actually one of the biggest selling points for me.

I never thought about the fact that the other side of the car wasn't pictured, but the beauty rings are only on the driver's side of the car.

There was also no mention of the random surface rust, most noticable around the windshield, or the ugly top.

The top isn't *too* bad, as far as rips and stuff, but it's just plain ugly and dirty, and will definitely be replaced.

She had 125k miles on her, and aside from two small holes on the tops of the back seats, the interior is in really good shape, though it doesn't really matter much, since it will be replaced anyway.

Updates...

When I picked Trixie up, she had a blown front strut, so I replaced that just as soon as I got home with her.

A few months later, her motor was pulled, to donate the transmission to Kitty, and to prepare her for a swap, and that's about all that's happened with her so far.

Mechanical repairs     • Replaced blown front strut/shock

Hopes and Plans...

  Trixie will essentially be the same as Bandit, but with white instead of black, and clear lights, rather than smoked. She will have a white and gold theme, with lots of bling and a few pretty baller (in my opinion) touches.

Performance...     • Complete motor swap     • Bigger brakes     • Fix cruise control     • New tires Tunes...     • New speakers for door panels     • Install speakers in headrests     • Amp and subwoofer

Cosmetic...     • Complete body work and paint job.     • Shave side markers and 3rd brake light     • New top and headliner     • Complete custom interior including carpet     • Gold side trim     • Swap grille to early chrome trim dual grille     • Angel eye/halo headlights     • Custom gauge faces     • Add various gold blingy bits, including gold wheels

Here are a few pictures of Trixie from the road trip picking her up...