So I said in the first post it was a real odyssey getting this VX back to Virginia, and I want to say up front that it wouldn't have been possible without the support of several members of the VX family. God help us if this forum ever disappears...

Anyway, I found this VX through AutoTempest on Cars.com. It was located in Evergreen, CO, had 93K miles and a clean AutoCheck, and overall looked like a good possibility. I put a request out to some of our Colorado members, and VXorado volunteered to drive out and take a look for me. He gave me some great feedback, not the least of which was that the tranny was slipping in reverse. I convinced the owner to have it diagnosed, and the feedback from the shop was that the reverse gears were worn and it was probably a good idea just to rebuild or replace the transmission. I priced a rebuild at $2200 and a new transmission at $3100, so I pushed the owner to drop his price by several thousand. After several back and forths we came to a good enough price to make it worth it for me to fly out and see it for myself. I already had a business trip scheduled to Phoenix in October so I routed my return flight through Denver so it wouldn't cost me anything to check it out.

Unfortunately the owner had a conflict pop-up a few days before I was to arrive in Denver, so rather than cancel on me he left his VX unlocked in the airport parking deck so I could test drive it anyway. I got in touch with Earl (Mile High VX) and he put me in contact with Jack (pbkid) who arranged for us to inspect the rig under the bright fluorescent lights in the Car Toys shop (it was dark out when I got to Denver so it was an immense help). We noticed some rust on the roof rails, a missing headlight gasket, a cracked insert, as well as that the tires were nearly bald. Couple that with the fact that the ABS unit (or wheel sensor maybe) needs to be fixed or replaced, and I probably should have known better than to do what I did next. (Insert ominous music here.)

I used to travel to Denver all the time for my last job, so I decided to stay at a hotel in downtown so I could go eat at one of my old hang-outs. I was checking my blind spot to get off the interstate when a Chinese delivery guy in a Kia in front of me came to a near stop in the middle of the interstate. I swerved, but with bald tires and no ABS I didn't have much of a chance. I caught his bumper with my driver side front bumper, which cracked the headlight, fog lamp, and turn signal, and bent up the front of the hood, driver side fender, and front cladding. I probably hit the guy at less than 15-20 MPH, so while I am still impressed with the VX's safety from my other accident, I'm less than impressed with how well it absorbs low speed impacts without generating significant damage. Mechanically everything was fine though - I actually drove the VX off the interstate and into a McDonald's parking lot for us to sort everything out.

So can you imagine how awkward is was when the police showed up and the registration and plates were for someone else entirely? Fortunately they were cool about it and I managed to get the owner on the phone with the cop so they didn't book me for grand theft auto. I had the VX towed called GEICO in the morning to report a second accident with an identical vehicle in less than two months. (Fortunately insurance covers new vehicles for up to 30 days even if you haven't informed them of the purchase yet.) GEICO was great about getting her repaired quickly - they found most items new, got a few things used (like the hood), and took care of everything within a week or so. While it was there I had them fix the roof rust as well, so in the end the VX actually looks BETTER than before - no rock chips on the hood, flawless paint, etc. Earl agreed to go inspect the repair job before I had it shipped home, and sent me a TON of pics so I could compare the pre and post-shipped condition once it got to VA. I got her a week ago last Wednesday, and she looks great other than having one beautifully clear headlight and one cloudy headlight.

Thanks again to VXorado, Mile High VX, and pbkid, as well as Pitt VX'r for checking out the Foxfire in Pittsburgh that I didn't buy. You guys made this possible for me, and after all that I've been through this fall, I really appreciate it!