I'm trying to buy a car, which, when you don't have car to begin with and you live in a tiny town with no cars for sale, can be a really pain. For many reasons I've decided I want a Subaru Outback. I've wanted one for a long time. When I bought my last car, a Saab 9-3, I really wanted the Subaru, but the deal on the Saab was too good to pass up.

Yesterday I test drove 2 Outbacks. The first was a '99 in a place somewhere north of Phoenix. It had 60,000 miles and was in decent shape. There were a few nicks and scratches here and there, but nothing major. It drove like a dream. They are asking 11175 and I wouldnt have to pay sales tax because the deal would take place on eBay. I'd be all over it, except the color. It's red.

The other Outback was a 2000. It was green. And it was offered by Bob Elliot Ford in Flagstaff. Yesterday afternoon I test drove it in the snow, which was disconcerting buy fun. The car is immaculate. It has 53K miles. The price tag is 13,898 including sales tax, which is a great deal. That's almost 2 grand below what they think is wholesale, but when they ran the numbers, they didn't include the fact that it had an in-dash CD player and heated seats. I'm leaning towards this car in a big way.

My FICO score is 797, so getting financing shouldn't be a problem, even though I don't have a job at the moment. They quoted me interest rate of a little more than 5 percent but are going to work on getting it down in the high 4s which would be excellent.

I'd feel so much more comfortable buying this car from an established dealer than the other one from some guy with a business on eBay. Either way, despite the problems with Equifax, I should have wheels by the end of the week at the latest.