Nice post Stuart... thank you for sharing your journey with us. It puts a "human touch" to the whole affair.
I will say this about budgets - and sticking to them...
When someone says to you -- man! you should have bid again because that car sold for 85K man! And you were already at 80!
Well let me tell you that - if it was that simple - it would be nice... but the simple truth is - had you been willing to go to 100K - someone else might have been willing to go to 125K..... and that my friends is something we'll never know. Don't second guess yourself about it... it is what it is. When bidding - stick to your $$. Remember the song - you've got to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em....
Cars are like buses.... there's another one coming by every 15 minutes.
