Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

explorerx4

I'm sure NYC left already, but sticking to the Interstate would be better.
Weather is much worse to the west of here.
Currently, wind is howling and a lot a smaller debris is blowing around.

jmonroe

driver100 said:

That $6.95 would probably be worth close to $200 if invested wisely. And, you say I left $200 on the table for the C250!

And that $200 you left on the table would be worth more today. So you are still ahead of me in blowing away good money.

jmonroe

jipster

O.K. I just got back from looking at the car with my son. Everything the guy said about the car was legit. There's a few superficial scratches on the car. Wheel cover is torn a bit on one. He does all maintenance himself. A lug nut cover is off. Everything on the car worked. Drove for about 20 minutes. Everything checked out. Took a photo of vin number to run carfax. Owner a real nice country boy...reminded me of oldfarmer. I told owner I like the car. Felt confident enough to say Edmunds private party for that car in outstanding condition was $5,100. Mistake. Should have said $5,400 per jmonroe. The guy looked like I punched him in the stomach. He mentioned NADA the low miles, and he has only had on market for 2 days. I countered with Edmunds TRUE MARKET VALUE PRICE is more inline with actual market prices. That the price I offered was for the car being in outstanding condition.. even though it's more excellent. Confident the car was maintained well. Owner says the price would have to be in the $6's. I go all in and ask if he'll take $6,000. Owner says the least his wife will let him take is $6,200. I say I'll talk to my son and run the car fax and let him know. So what sayith my Edmunds brother's and sisters???? Son and I like the car.  Like g.g said, I wasn't blown away by the car. But it would make a solid first and safe car. Is $6,200 too much? Offer $6,100? Wait a few days and let the Craigslist wholesalers beat him down? Thoughts?

tbirdmarco

 Agree with all the commenters above its brand and model specific 

tbirdmarco

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FK-m4PsUhAA

xwesx

Good luck to Bradd!! Not that I am not a huge fan of adventures in inclement weather, but it sounds to me like it would have been a great weekend to stuff the schedule in the trash and just spend some family time at home.

explorerx4

@jipster,
I would get the carfax. It sounds like the guy is a skilled negotiator. Throwing his wife in at the end would have ticked me off.
I would be tempted to call back and ask to speak to his wife since she has final say.

jmonroe

jipster said:

O.K. I just got back from looking at the car with my son. Everything the guy said about the car was legit. There's a few superficial scratches on the car. Wheel cover is torn a bit on one. He does all maintenance himself. A lug nut cover is off. Everything on the car worked. Drove for about 20 minutes. Everything checked out. Took a photo of vin number to run carfax. Owner a real nice country boy...reminded me of oldfarmer. I told owner I like the car. Felt confident enough to say Edmunds private party for that car in outstanding condition was $5,100. Mistake. Should have said $5,400 per jmonroe. The guy looked like I punched him in the stomach. He mentioned NADA the low miles, and he has only had on market for 2 days. I countered with Edmunds TRUE MARKET VALUE PRICE is more inline with actual market prices. That the price I offered was for the car being in outstanding condition.. even though it's more excellent. Confident the car was maintained well. Owner says the price would have to be in the $6's. I go all in and ask if he'll take $6,000. Owner says the least his wife will let him take is $6,200. I say I'll talk to my son and run the car fax and let him know. So what sayith my Edmunds brother's and sisters???? Son and I like the car.  Like g.g said, I wasn't blown away by the car. But it would make a solid first and safe car. Is $6,200 too much? Offer $6,100? Wait a few days and let the Craigslist wholesalers beat him down? Thoughts?

EDIT: @explorerx4 is a faster typer than me.

So, this guy doesn't wear the pants in the family. It sounds like he's an order taker that has to have the sale approved by the tower. If that's the case why not talk to his boss?

Before I'd spend money on a Car Fax, I'd have to be damn sure this car is worth it and getting a mechanic to look it over is an even greater expense. While this might be the best car you have seen so far, that doesn't mean there won't be a better one in a week or two. I don't remember you saying you had to buy a car right away. He does have a slight advantage because he just listed the car and wants to see who comes along and what will be offered. 6 grand would certainly be my limit but I'm not the one buying.

Whether you by this car or another one, don't continue looking after you buy. There will always be a better deal somewhere but all you can do is get the best deal at the time you are buying. A week in the car biz is like being in another galaxy. Things are always changing, prices might get better or they might get worse.

Only people who aren't sure that they got a good deal look back.

Good luck.

jmonroe

jipster

Explorer/Jmonroe...the old...in his prime Jipster...would have been able to close the deal. Should have been hanging out at Edmunds the past 6 years instead of that tennis forum.   

But seriously, if the owner agreed to my price, I would have done the car fax then mechanic routine. This is actually the first car Ive looked at in person. Mostly web browsing the past 2 or 3 months. Like I wrote earlier, my timeline for buying was May to July. So I'm still ahead of the game. The owner did mention being annoyed at all the Craigslist wiseguys calling, wanting to  make payments and such. Said he didn't like to negotiate. Wife said nothing less than $6,200. Looking back? Yep, my wife gave me the same advice as you jmonroe. Good advice. I guess I'll wait a bit and see what happens. 

roadburner

jipster said:

O.K. I just got back from looking at the car with my son. Everything the guy said about the car was legit. There's a few superficial scratches on the car. Wheel cover is torn a bit on one. He does all maintenance himself. A lug nut cover is off. Everything on the car worked. Drove for about 20 minutes. Everything checked out. Took a photo of vin number to run carfax. Owner a real nice country boy...reminded me of oldfarmer. I told owner I like the car. Felt confident enough to say Edmunds private party for that car in outstanding condition was $5,100. Mistake. Should have said $5,400 per jmonroe. The guy looked like I punched him in the stomach. He mentioned NADA the low miles, and he has only had on market for 2 days. I countered with Edmunds TRUE MARKET VALUE PRICE is more inline with actual market prices. That the price I offered was for the car being in outstanding condition.. even though it's more excellent. Confident the car was maintained well. Owner says the price would have to be in the $6's. I go all in and ask if he'll take $6,000. Owner says the least his wife will let him take is $6,200. I say I'll talk to my son and run the car fax and let him know. So what sayith my Edmunds brother's and sisters???? Son and I like the car.  Like g.g said, I wasn't blown away by the car. But it would make a solid first and safe car. Is $6,200 too much? Offer $6,100? Wait a few days and let the Craigslist wholesalers beat him down? Thoughts?

$6,000 is the absolute maximum I'd pay. It's simply not that special a car to pay over that amount.

oldfarmer50

jipster said:

O.K. I just got back from looking at the car with my son. Everything the guy said about the car was legit. There's a few superficial scratches on the car. Wheel cover is torn a bit on one. He does all maintenance himself. A lug nut cover is off. Everything on the car worked. Drove for about 20 minutes. Everything checked out. Took a photo of vin number to run carfax. Owner a real nice country boy...reminded me of oldfarmer. I told owner I like the car. Felt confident enough to say Edmunds private party for that car in outstanding condition was $5,100. Mistake. Should have said $5,400 per jmonroe. The guy looked like I punched him in the stomach. He mentioned NADA the low miles, and he has only had on market for 2 days. I countered with Edmunds TRUE MARKET VALUE PRICE is more inline with actual market prices. That the price I offered was for the car being in outstanding condition.. even though it's more excellent. Confident the car was maintained well. Owner says the price would have to be in the $6's. I go all in and ask if he'll take $6,000. Owner says the least his wife will let him take is $6,200. I say I'll talk to my son and run the car fax and let him know. So what sayith my Edmunds brother's and sisters???? Son and I like the car.  Like g.g said, I wasn't blown away by the car. But it would make a solid first and safe car. Is $6,200 too much? Offer $6,100? Wait a few days and let the Craigslist wholesalers beat him down? Thoughts?

A 2010 is a pretty new car. It's got all the good points of a Fusion. If he's really a good old boy like me he's being polite about the wife's bottom line...it's HIS bottom line and trying to squeeze another hundred out of the deal might kill it. If you can live with $6200 I'd say go for it.

Remember, the only difference between that 2.3L Mercury and a Mustang Ecoboost is the turbo. I'd love to see a sleeper like that.

roadburner

It's T-Minus 28 days until the official kickoff of the RB Political Campaign; the past three Friday nights have been spent at four different fish fry venues. Tomorrow night is a political dinner and next Saturday is a Chamber of Commerce "Kidsfest" event. I hate to admit it, but it's actually kind of fun. The word on the street is very positive; we'll see, but I think my opponent didn't think things through.

28firefighter

roadburner said:

It's T-Minus 28 days until the official kickoff of the RB Political Campaign; the past three Friday nights have been spent at four different fish fry venues. Tomorrow night is a political dinner and next Saturday is a Chamber of Commerce "Kidsfest" event. I hate to admit it, but it's actually kind of fun. The word on the street is very positive; we'll see, but I think my opponent didn't think things through.

For the amount of effort this requires, it’s good you’re having fun. 

xwesx

jipster said:

Explorer/Jmonroe...the old...in his prime Jipster...would have been able to close the deal. Should have been hanging out at Edmunds the past 6 years instead of that tennis forum.   

But seriously, if the owner agreed to my price, I would have done the car fax then mechanic routine. This is actually the first car Ive looked at in person. Mostly web browsing the past 2 or 3 months. Like I wrote earlier, my timeline for buying was May to July. So I'm still ahead of the game. The owner did mention being annoyed at all the Craigslist wiseguys calling, wanting to  make payments and such. Said he didn't like to negotiate. Wife said nothing less than $6,200. Looking back? Yep, my wife gave me the same advice as you jmonroe. Good advice. I guess I'll wait a bit and see what happens. 

I would stick with the $6K tops and leave it at that. Give him your number and tell him to call you when he's tired of the "wiseguys," then you can just keep looking in the meantime.

Ultimately, if you pay more than you want for a car, you'll never be quite satisfied with it.

explorerx4

@roadburner,
Better to embrace it. Kind of reminds me of going to Christmas parties. I grumble about going, afterwards am glad I went.

cdnpinhead

jipster said:

. Good advice. I guess I'll wait a bit and see what happens.

Just remember that he who cares least always wins the negotiation.

driver100

That $200 was just over a year ago.........market is up about 20% but is falling fast, the $200 will be worth less soon.
Your $6;95 had the power of compound interest over 40 years. Your loss is much greater

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

It's T-Minus 28 days until the official kickoff of the RB Political Campaign; the past three Friday nights have been spent at four different fish fry venues. Tomorrow night is a political dinner and next Saturday is a Chamber of Commerce "Kidsfest" event. I hate to admit it, but it's actually kind of fun. The word on the street is very positive; we'll see, but I think my opponent didn't think things through.

I'm glad you're enjoying the process. Me? I couldn't stand that. I bet there were tears at the BMW store when you left.

driver100

Jip. If you love the car then what is $200 over the next 4 years......$50 a year?
If you want to leave your fate to the gods....compromise $6100.
If you want to be tough...and possibly kick yourself if you lose it....stick with $6000.

He could go lower once he deals with some CL buyers......but that is a risk. One problem is you just started looking, so you aren't too hungry yet. There are more cars out there...if you lose it there will be something else (agreed with Monroe twice in 24 hours - what is going on?)

oldfarmer50

xwesx said:

jipster said:

Explorer/Jmonroe...the old...in his prime Jipster...would have been able to close the deal. Should have been hanging out at Edmunds the past 6 years instead of that tennis forum.   

But seriously, if the owner agreed to my price, I would have done the car fax then mechanic routine. This is actually the first car Ive looked at in person. Mostly web browsing the past 2 or 3 months. Like I wrote earlier, my timeline for buying was May to July. So I'm still ahead of the game. The owner did mention being annoyed at all the Craigslist wiseguys calling, wanting to  make payments and such. Said he didn't like to negotiate. Wife said nothing less than $6,200. Looking back? Yep, my wife gave me the same advice as you jmonroe. Good advice. I guess I'll wait a bit and see what happens. 

I would stick with the $6K tops and leave it at that. Give him your number and tell him to call you when he's tired of the "wiseguys," then you can just keep looking in the meantime.

Ultimately, if you pay more than you want for a car, you'll never be quite satisfied with it.

In a similar situation the seller wanted $3700, I offered $3500, she hesitated so I bumped to $3550. Sold.

The next day others had called and said they would have offered her more. Blowing smoke? Maybe. Blowing the deal because I wouldn't bump? Possible.

You never know until you walk.

While it's true that a Mercury isn't a special car, you have to decide if you really need a special car or one that gives good service for a decent price. How much would a 2010 Accord cost?

BTW, I was down in Bradd's area Thursday at Sikorsky Airport. Got to drive a hen's tooth Honda CR-V. Not many of them in the Enterprise fleet. Nice vehicle. Very big inside compared to how it looks. A bit underpowered in 4cyl version. Lot of road noise coming from underneath. Is that a Honda trait?

roadburner

explorerx4 said:

@roadburner,
Better to embrace it. Kind of reminds me of going to Christmas parties. I grumble about going, afterwards am glad I went.

This campaign is different from my previous contested elections in two major respects:
1. The campaign is over on May 22; I won't have an opponent in the November general election.
2. If I lose, I haven't lost my job.
Essentially, there's no pressure, unlike my opponent, who is having to put out one fire after another as she tries to learn the administrative side of running the office, prosecute cases, and all the while also trying to campaign.

jmonroe

driver100 said:

Jip. If you love the car then what is $200 over the next 4 years......$50 a year?
If you want to leave your fate to the gods....compromise $6100.
If you want to be tough...and possibly kick yourself if you lose it....stick with $6000.

He could go lower once he deals with some CL buyers......but that is a risk. One problem is you just started looking, so you aren't too hungry yet. There are more cars out there...if you lose it there will be something else (agreed with Monroe twice in 24 hours - what is going on?)

Now you have me thinking that I'm all screwed up.

jmonroe

tbirdmarco

Tipster yes talk with your son and on the or fax chips there yes talk with your son and run down or fax do you like it that much to lose it over $200 I think your asking price is more than fair with the want to lose the sale over $200 keep us updated and have a mechanic look at it if you guys to agree on the price if not you’ll definitely find something else and future so ahead of the game and have time on your side you’re good to go 

tbirdmarco

 Loved your story above J Monro 

jipster

 Well, they don'  call me "the jipster" for nothing. I wont lose any sleep over losing the car for $200. Every month  that goes by without me paying car insurance for a 16, soon to be 17, boy is money in my pocket. I like the car, wouldn't say I love it. I believe it's a good car. I raised my price $900. That's $900 over Edmunds TMV! The guy want a kidney too? The car was in upper clean condition. Not outstanding. I'll sleep on it a few days. If it sells, it sells.

Sandman6472

JM, the duo pinstripe on the folks Grand Prix could've been painted on, I know it was a demo and was being used by the store's General Manager before it was put out for sale. I know those doors were heavy, almost lost both legs in an incident with a golf cart and a guy being a real jerk. Do remember having to tell my folks my friend, they hated him, had just damaged their brand new vehicle!

The Sandman

jipster

tbirdmarco said:

Tipster yes talk with your son and on the or fax chips there yes talk with your son and run down or fax do you like it that much to lose it over $200 I think your asking price is more than fair with the want to lose the sale over $200 keep us updated and have a mechanic look at it if you guys to agree on the price if not you’ll definitely find something else and future so ahead of the game and have time on your side you’re good to go 

Hey Gbird.  Thx. You new here? Happy Friday brother! My son likes the car. He wasn't impressed with my negotiation  skills though. :-(
But I was glad he got some observational experience on how to buy a car private party, for the first time.

Sandman6472

Got a call that the adjuster will be looking over my Golf on Tuesday. Wish I knew an adjuster to see what the process involves. Is he the person who decides to fix or total? And if they do total, how do they come up with what check I'd get? Vehicle has just under 40K on it and was in pristine condition with a good set of run flats on it.
I mean, there must be a "break even point" where it's decided that it's just best to total it and move on. Since I'm pretty "nitpicky" about my vehicles, I'd really want it back like a new vehicle. And then, there's the issue of "diminished value" as the accident will surely show on CarFax, and I will be given a trade-in value less than an unmolested version. How do they account for this issue going forward? Why should I get penalized a second time down the road due to someone else's fault?
Hate that this whole nonsense started though right now, my hands are basically tied. And since his insurance company is so bad, I get screwed again as mine has to take the lead and then go after them. Just seems totally unfair!!

The Angry Sandman :@

jipster

oldfarmer50 said:

O.K. I just got back from looking at the car with my son. Everything the guy said about the car was legit. There's a few superficial scratches on the car. Wheel cover is torn a bit on one. He does all maintenance himself. A lug nut cover is off. Everything on the car worked. Drove for about 20 minutes. Everything checked out. Took a photo of vin number to run carfax. Owner a real nice country boy...reminded me of oldfarmer. I told owner I like the car. Felt confident enough to say Edmunds private party for that car in outstanding condition was $5,100. Mistake. Should have said $5,400 per jmonroe. The guy looked like I punched him in the stomach. He mentioned NADA the low miles, and he has only had on market for 2 days. I countered with Edmunds TRUE MARKET VALUE PRICE is more inline with actual market prices. That the price I offered was for the car being in outstanding condition.. even though it's more excellent. Confident the car was maintained well. Owner says the price would have to be in the $6's. I go all in and ask if he'll take $6,000. Owner says the least his wife will let him take is $6,200. I say I'll talk to my son and run the car fax and let him know. So what sayith my Edmunds brother's and sisters???? Son and I like the car.  Like g.g said, I wasn't blown away by the car. But it would make a solid first and safe car. Is $6,200 too much? Offer $6,100? Wait a few days and let the Craigslist wholesalers beat him down? Thoughts?

A 2010 is a pretty new car. It's got all the good points of a Fusion. If he's really a good old boy like me he's being polite about the wife's bottom line...it's HIS bottom line and trying to squeeze another hundred out of the deal might kill it. If you can live with $6200 I'd say go for it. Remember, the only difference between that 2.3L Mercury and a Mustang Ecoboost is the turbo. I'd love to see a sleeper like that.

The 2010 Milan is a redesign. Has the 2.5L 4 cylinder 175 HP engine.. The son would love the Mustang though.

oldfarmer50

jipster said:

 Well, they don'  call me "the jipster" for nothing. I wont lose any sleep over losing the car for $200. Every month  that goes by without me paying car insurance for a 16, soon to be 17, boy is money in my pocket. I like the car, wouldn't say I love it. I believe it's a good car. I raised my price $900. That's $900 over Edmunds TMV! The guy want a kidney too? The car was in upper clean condition. Not outstanding. I'll sleep on it a few days. If it sells, it sells.

Why don't you do like the car shows and show up with a fan of hundred dollar bills and wave them in his face?

dino001

jipster said:

O.K. I just got back from looking at the car with my son. Everything the guy said about the car was legit. There's a few superficial scratches on the car. Wheel cover is torn a bit on one. He does all maintenance himself. A lug nut cover is off. Everything on the car worked. Drove for about 20 minutes. Everything checked out. Took a photo of vin number to run carfax. Owner a real nice country boy...reminded me of oldfarmer. I told owner I like the car. Felt confident enough to say Edmunds private party for that car in outstanding condition was $5,100. Mistake. Should have said $5,400 per jmonroe. The guy looked like I punched him in the stomach. He mentioned NADA the low miles, and he has only had on market for 2 days. I countered with Edmunds TRUE MARKET VALUE PRICE is more inline with actual market prices. That the price I offered was for the car being in outstanding condition.. even though it's more excellent. Confident the car was maintained well. Owner says the price would have to be in the $6's. I go all in and ask if he'll take $6,000. Owner says the least his wife will let him take is $6,200. I say I'll talk to my son and run the car fax and let him know. So what sayith my Edmunds brother's and sisters???? Son and I like the car.  Like g.g said, I wasn't blown away by the car. But it would make a solid first and safe car. Is $6,200 too much? Offer $6,100? Wait a few days and let the Craigslist wholesalers beat him down? Thoughts?

It’s a risk management issue.

1. If you have little time (your son needs a car now), you might try $100-200 and that’s it. It will be expensive, but only by a few hundreds, really. If the car is good, it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. How many times we bought something we believe should be cheaper, but got it anyway? The guy has an advantage at this moment (he has a product and you like it).
2. If you have time (seems you said you actually do) and don’t mind losing this deal, leave him with a lower, but fair enough (in your view) offer, say $5500-$5700 and your number, and keep looking. He needs to stew and experience several jokers offering him four grand or taking joyrides, never to be heard again. Even though you already offered $6000 on the spot, you can always back your lower offer by more research (confirm his NADA and look at Kelley and Autotrader) Then he might just call you back. Or he’ll sell for what he asks. Or you call him back in couple of weeks or a month. You seem to have that kind if time.
3. The car is nice, but it’s hardly a rare jewel. There must be decent 5-6 grand cars around. But that’s only if you have that patience. The risk is you’ll get frustrated and end up buying a lesser car for even more. If this is a real risk, take the car now.

And get a Carfax, either way. If you think you’ll keep looking, rhey offer a month of unlimited subscription, I believe, for not that much more than a single check.

One final thing on Edmunds values. I found them grossly undervaluing my last two cars, by several thousands. Granted my cars were special with really special customer pool and much higher price point (6 years old wagon BMW and three years old Subaru WRX STI), but Kelley values, which were higher across the board (private-trade-retail) and closer to what finally got for both of those vehicles. I know I asked too low for my BMW, as I sold it in two days with three offers. A real trade offer for the STI from a dealer was also thousands higher than Edmunds would like you believe (Kelley was almost spot on). It just looked like Edmunds did not have a good command over those prices at that time vs. Kelley. What I’m saying, check additional sources, like Kelley, Autotrader, NADA.

tbirdmarco

 You are welcome chips there no not new around here been posting it here for quite some time now more than any other board lately that’s good you were able to show your son some real world you go shooting skills and how things get done we shall see what happens 

tbirdmarco

 Sandy sorry to hear about all the trouble you’re going through we are all here for you like always awesome little drive that BMW rental though was it Mercedes can’t remember have to look in the prior posting from yesterday 

driver100

sandman_6472 said:

Got a call that the adjuster will be looking over my Golf on Tuesday. Wish I knew an adjuster to see what the process involves. Is he the person who decides to fix or total? And if they do total, how do they come up with what check I'd get? Vehicle has just under 40K on it and was in pristine condition with a good set of run flats on it.
I mean, there must be a "break even point" where it's decided that it's just best to total it and move on. Since I'm pretty "nitpicky" about my vehicles, I'd really want it back like a new vehicle. And then, there's the issue of "diminished value" as the accident will surely show on CarFax, and I will be given a trade-in value less than an unmolested version. How do they account for this issue going forward? Why should I get penalized a second time down the road due to someone else's fault?
Hate that this whole nonsense started though right now, my hands are basically tied. And since his insurance company is so bad, I get screwed again as mine has to take the lead and then go after them. Just seems totally unfair!!

The Angry Sandman :@

Sandman....every case is different.
From my experience, the adjuster will have a garage assess the cost of repairing.
In my case, I believe the cost of repair was about 60% of the value of the car....so it became a write-off.
Remember, the parts are probably worth more than what the destroyed car is worth at this point.
If you don't have full replacement value insurance they give you what it would cost to buy another car in similar condition.
From my experience, you get nothing extra for making the car equal to a car that wasn't in an accident.
It isn't fair. You are the victim and yet you are the one to lose.

Like I say, every case varies, insurance companies and rules vary, just speaking from my experience.

imidazol97

Mr. Sandman's posts sound like he'd like to keep the car even if it's totalled by the insurance adjuster.

Does he have any options of buying the car from the insurance company and paying to have it repaired
on his own. I recall people getting their "totalled" vehicle from the insurance company. The insurance
is looking at the cost to them of paying a value claim for their opinion of the car's value that they are
liable for combined with what they can get for that vehicle from the folks who buy damaged vehicles.
So the income from selling a car that does not have any damage to the front end especially is high which reduces
their cost of that payment to @sandman_6472.

I thought of this because there's a large "yard" near IKEA West Chester (Cincinnati) that is filled with wrecked cars and it appears to be an insurance company yard where buyers come in for the rebuildable and parts cars.

graphicguy

RB.....as others mentioned, good thing you’re enjoying it. Hell, for the price of one of those fish fry outings, I’ll come up there and vote for you.......twice!

I have a college friend I hadn’t heard from in a long while. She reached out to me earlier this week out of the blue, wanting to catch up. My 7th sense told me it wasn’t a “let’s catch up” sort of request. Agreed to meet for a drink.

After a brief exchange of “what have you been up to?”, the purpose of the meet surfaced.

She’s running for a State Rep seat. She’s looking for donations. As I explained to her, our political views couldn’t be more different. Plus, she’s running for a seat in an area where she wouldn’t represent me, as I don’t even live in the county she’s running in.

Made no sense to ask me for money, but she gave it a shot. I ended up having to pick up the tab for drinks and snacks on top of everything else.

I don’t mind helping out a friend in need. But, don’t lure me into your political goals when you can’t represent me. Not sure why it irritated me so much, but I sort of felt deceived.

imidazol97

The hearse carrying Rev. Billy Graham to the Capital Building was built in Cincinnati, actually Amelia, an eastern suburb. The company had a call searching for a high line carriage and they had just finishing building one that was a dealer order and not a customer-ordered hearse. The dealer gave permission to use it for the ceremony.

It's a Cadillac XTS...

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2018/03/02/billy-grahams-hearse-born-greater-cincinnati-made-trip-washington-and-back/389366002/

stickguy

Sandy, I am pretty sure that your new tires and well maintained condition don't matter. They will look at book value and go from that. You won't get extra for being OCD about your car if they total it. Just get a check for what they deem it would cost you to get a comparable replacement unit.

And diminished value is not part of it. That has been discussed a few times recently around here, but you are correct that if it gets fixed and you go to trade it in right after, you will be offered (likely substantially) less $. So if you want DV paid too, you are going to have to fight for it.

in the big picture, you might be better off if they find enough structural damage to just total it, especially since the cops assigned the blame to the other driver. You get your money, and everything else becomes the insurance companies problem.

roadburner

In Kentucky the measure of damages is the value immediately before the accident and the value immediately after; the insurance adjuster will likely balk(and/or lie, depending on the carrier) at the mention of DV, but it can be recovered. As others have mentioned, DV is a more significant factor the more expensive/exclusive a particular car is, but most any late model car's value will suffer if there's a ding on the Carfax...

graphicguy

imidazol97 said:

The hearse carrying Rev. Billy Graham to the Capital Building was built in Cincinnati, actually Amelia, an eastern suburb. The company had a call searching for a high line carriage and they had just finishing building one that was a dealer order and not a customer-ordered hearse. The dealer gave permission to use it for the ceremony.

It's a Cadillac XTS...

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2018/03/02/billy-grahams-hearse-born-greater-cincinnati-made-trip-washington-and-back/389366002/

Near my neighborhood. I drive by it 2-3 times/week.

http://www.ogaramobilesystems.com

snakeweasel

stickguy said:

I am still stuck at about $30k as the point that starts to give me palpatations. I don't think I could handle $40k. And would definitely be just looking at leasing at that point.

I would agree with you on that. Now I may lose my membership over this but I think my next car is going to be a simple inexpensive reliable "appliance" type car, a well under $20K type of thing. Seriously that's all my car has become, just something to get me to work and back and trips where I am the only person in the car. And now that I have the bike my car is pretty much used when the weather prohibits using the bike. So basically my car has been relegated to being driven to and from work in crappy weather.

My wifes car is a bit nicer and bigger so when we go out it's usually in her car, when we take trips its usually her car, if we go somewhere with other people and we are driving it is in her car. So My thoughts are to get myself just basic transportation and when it's time to replace my wifes car to get something really nice.

oldfarmer50

dino001 said:

jipster said:

O.K. I just got back from looking at the car with my son. Everything the guy said about the car was legit. There's a few superficial scratches on the car. Wheel cover is torn a bit on one. He does all maintenance himself. A lug nut cover is off. Everything on the car worked. Drove for about 20 minutes. Everything checked out. Took a photo of vin number to run carfax. Owner a real nice country boy...reminded me of oldfarmer. I told owner I like the car. Felt confident enough to say Edmunds private party for that car in outstanding condition was $5,100. Mistake. Should have said $5,400 per jmonroe. The guy looked like I punched him in the stomach. He mentioned NADA the low miles, and he has only had on market for 2 days. I countered with Edmunds TRUE MARKET VALUE PRICE is more inline with actual market prices. That the price I offered was for the car being in outstanding condition.. even though it's more excellent. Confident the car was maintained well. Owner says the price would have to be in the $6's. I go all in and ask if he'll take $6,000. Owner says the least his wife will let him take is $6,200. I say I'll talk to my son and run the car fax and let him know. So what sayith my Edmunds brother's and sisters???? Son and I like the car.  Like g.g said, I wasn't blown away by the car. But it would make a solid first and safe car. Is $6,200 too much? Offer $6,100? Wait a few days and let the Craigslist wholesalers beat him down? Thoughts?

It’s a risk management issue.

1. If you have little time (your son needs a car now), you might try $100-200 and that’s it. It will be expensive, but only by a few hundreds, really. If the car is good, it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. How many times we bought something we believe should be cheaper, but got it anyway? The guy has an advantage at this moment (he has a product and you like it).
2. If you have time (seems you said you actually do) and don’t mind losing this deal, leave him with a lower, but fair enough (in your view) offer, say $5500-$5700 and your number, and keep looking. He needs to stew and experience several jokers offering him four grand or taking joyrides, never to be heard again. Even though you already offered $6000 on the spot, you can always back your lower offer by more research (confirm his NADA and look at Kelley and Autotrader) Then he might just call you back. Or he’ll sell for what he asks. Or you call him back in couple of weeks or a month. You seem to have that kind if time.
3. The car is nice, but it’s hardly a rare jewel. There must be decent 5-6 grand cars around. But that’s only if you have that patience. The risk is you’ll get frustrated and end up buying a lesser car for even more. If this is a real risk, take the car now.

And get a Carfax, either way. If you think you’ll keep looking, rhey offer a month of unlimited subscription, I believe, for not that much more than a single check.

One final thing on Edmunds values. I found them grossly undervaluing my last two cars, by several thousands. Granted my cars were special with really special customer pool and much higher price point (6 years old wagon BMW and three years old Subaru WRX STI), but Kelley values, which were higher across the board (private-trade-retail) and closer to what finally got for both of those vehicles. I know I asked too low for my BMW, as I sold it in two days with three offers. A real trade offer for the STI from a dealer was also thousands higher than Edmunds would like you believe (Kelley was almost spot on). It just looked like Edmunds did not have a good command over those prices at that time vs. Kelley. What I’m saying, check additional sources, like Kelley, Autotrader, NADA.

Good points, especially about getting a monthly CarFax. I'd be wary of pulling back on an offer price unless more data indicated a reason. Might indicate lack of good faith to the seller.

On valuation tools, does NADA offer a private party valuation? I thought they were strictly dealer retail and trade in values. If I'm wrong on that do you have a link to their PP valuation tool?

oldfarmer50

imidazol97 said:

The hearse carrying Rev. Billy Graham to the Capital Building was built in Cincinnati, actually Amelia, an eastern suburb. The company had a call searching for a high line carriage and they had just finishing building one that was a dealer order and not a customer-ordered hearse. The dealer gave permission to use it for the ceremony.

It's a Cadillac XTS...

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2018/03/02/billy-grahams-hearse-born-greater-cincinnati-made-trip-washington-and-back/389366002/

That's ugly even for a hearse. I wouldn't be caught dead in it.

snakeweasel

fintail said:

I didn't claim make money - with generous public sector bennies, that would be difficult indeed. But it is still a revenue stream, and I suspect also an ego issue at play. If it is removed, something will need to compensate for it.

I wonder if an autonomous car is pulled over, if the LEO will check the little box telling a judge to not go easy.

snakeweasel said:

The vast majority of municipalities lose money on issuing traffic tickets. There is the salary of the officers involved in issuing a ticket as well as the support staff that handles the paoerwork, all their benefits and all the infrastructure to support them and their jobs really add up. 

Now if you go to court you have to cover the judges, bailiffs, court clerks, city attorneys salary and benefits as well as the infrastructure that supports their job duties. 

So unless a town writes a lot of tickets they can't make money issuing tickets  

My whole point is is that if a municipality doesn't have to enforce traffic codes then they will save a lot of money or resources can be applied to other things. No traffic enforcement means there will be more police for other things as well as the municipality not needing as many clerks entering ticket information into computers that the municipalities won't have to buy and maintain running expensive special programs that the towns wont have to buy any more. Not to mention lower costs of running courts due to there not being a need for traffic courts.

The benefit to losing that revenue stream is a reduction in expenses.

snakeweasel

Mr_Shiftright said:

I wish they'd make SUVs out of glass so I could see through them when I drive.

If they did everyone would have a dark tint on the glass so you wouldn't be able to see through them anyway.

snakeweasel

sandman_6472 said:

My Golf got hit this morning, just got home from the hospital and body shop. Frame is bent and suspension damaged, told me to not drive it on the freeway. Guess what I drive to work?
Gotta get my insurance involved because his is for [non-permissible content removed] body shop told me. Gonna need a rental vehicle it seems.
This really sucks!!!

The Sandman :@

Sorry to hear that Sandman, I hope it works out for you.

driver100

Imid Mr. Sandman's posts sound like he'd like to keep the car even if it's totalled by the insurance adjuster

Difficult to have a reason for buying it back. If it can be repaired, that is what the insurance company will do. It would never be enough money involved to buy it for parts....the insurance company has a chain of how to dispose of the carcass (used the word car) for maximum dollars.

driver100

graphicguy said:

Made no sense to ask me for money, but she gave it a shot. I ended up having to pick up the tab for drinks and snacks on top of everything else.

I don’t mind helping out a friend in need. But, don’t lure me into your political goals when you can’t represent me. Not sure why it irritated me so much, but I sort of felt deceived.

GG, just the kind of politician we don't need more of.....likes to feed (and drink) off the public trough. On second thought...maybe she will do well.

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

Ya know, after listening to the two of you discuss you tennis skills, it doesn't sound like either of you are all that good. So yeah, I'll shine your cars with one hand, and play both of you with the other and I'll still win. :@
jmonroe

JMonroe...you are on...if you also pick up the balls. Do you play with a wannabe racquet too?

Why do you ask, you worried? :@

jmonroe

Just so you know....these racquets are illegal;

You would never guess this but that's a regulation sized racquet.

snakeweasel

nyccarguy said:

jipster said:

https://louisville.craigslist.org/cto/d/2010-mercury-milan/6514058089.html

What do you guys think of this vehicle for my son? It's Craiglist...buyer BEWARE!! See any red flags? Owner emailed me a lengthy response. Says has owned a couple years. Bought from some close friends in Florida, who bought from dealership. Says no wrecks as far as he knows. Planning on doing trans flush this weekend.Tires 1 year old. New plugs, rotors and brakes. Seems to be overpriced by about a grand. Thoughts?

How much driving will your son do? You should lease him something cheap for 3 years. A Civic, Fit, Jetta, Mazda 3...

If he doesn't drive much he could always order a pizza for his current location and one for his destination and when the pizza gets delivered to him he could jump in the self driving car and ride it to his destination.

I call it Uber Hut. (Name trademarked by Snakeweasel).