So maybe we are buying a bus. For the summer it’ll be in our friend’s name and then, when the time comes we’ll buy it again. For a lot.

Today, towards that end, I took an hour drive to check out a bus for sale. The engine sure seemed good and the transmission fluid was kinda red with no particulates. Except I am leery of the guy, who went out of his way to let me know he is honest, and the front tires needed replacing when everything was in super shape per the ad and the frame was plain rusty, information conveniently omitted. Per M AW who is providing exceptionally helpful advice and buys used cars for people professionally, I walked away. If you need help getting a car in the Bay Area, I can pass on his info.

What did I really see and do when I was inspecting as I could? I looked at the transmission fluid and oil dipsticks. That was something the seller helped with: I could see two dipsticks though I didn’t know which was which. First I only looked at the tread of the tire, which was ok. Then I noticed the cracking rubber close to the rim that was news to him. I banged my knuckles on the wheel wells to hopefully identify any rust issues. I looked at the floor for signs of corrosion. Felt the front and rear air conditioners working. Accelerated and braked hard. Used the turn signals though forgot about all the other stuff there. The big find was looking under the back. Actually, the guy most considerately parked it with the right wheels up on the curb since it is pretty wide which made looking underneath super easy. For sure I wouldn’t have seen so much rust without his help.

Did I make a wrong turn back there?

Of course we had another beautiful bike ride.

More and more rain! Like more than Oakland’s winter it seems.