Meet Meringue

As in Lemon. After many an discussion of sinking $700 into a $500 car, we decided it would be best to simply drive around and look for cheap used cars in parking lots. That plan worked better than I would have thought.

For $200, we picked up this beast. The brakes need work, there's no coolant, the fender is... not straight. But she's got six cylinders under the hood, half a tank of gas (hey, that's 20 bucks right there!), and she starts right up. The cavernous trunk even included a spare tire and a tiny broom. For tiny witches.

I'm pretty sure my parents have never bought a new car in their lives. Consequently, neither have I. The Cavalier, the BMW, the Saab, the Cabriolet, the Westfalia: all used. Maybe it's because new cars start at around $12,000, solidly twice what I've paid for my most expensive automobile. I suspect, though, it's because taking a several thousand dollar hit in value just for rolling it off the lot doesn't mesh with my old-man sensibilities. (Why eat mashed potatoes at the buffet? They're only 30 cents a pound.) Then again, I sold my last car for 13% of what I paid. That was the real lemon.