Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

ruking1

bwia said:

abacomike said:

I just paid for my daughter’s airfare to come down for her job interview - she couldn’t afford it on her salary.  After all, what are Dads for?

As for jmonroe, not a chance.  

In my experience the prospective employer usually pays for travel and lodging. Of course they don't do it for all hires but if the position is important enough and person is a serious candidate they usually pick up the tab. After all, that's just part of cost of doing business.

Indeed ! Just recently (both) my daughter got interview, then moving expenses (signing bonus also) from part time & full time employers.

We might want to confirm this with our resident CPA/s, but in the “old” days, job hunting IS deductible: such as travel, taxi, car rental, lodging, meals, expenses, etc., IF NOT picked up by the prospective employer for the employment seeker. So she should pay so she can deduct it. Then, at any time abacomike can slip her the cash.

abacomike

suydam said:

I just paid for my daughter’s airfare to come down for her job interview - she couldn’t afford it on her salary.  After all, what are Dads for?

As for jmonroe, not a chance.  

In my experience the prospective employer usually pays for travel and lodging. Of course they don't do it for all hires but if the position is important enough and person is a serious candidate they usually pick up the tab. After all, that's just part of cost of doing business.

Not anymore unless it’s a senior management position. My daughter got her last 2 jobs via Skype interviews. I can see that if there are local candidates she might feel disadvantaged that way, but it’s pretty common.

I think she is being smart about the interview - coming down for a face-to-face that is.  By giving herself the opportunity to observe, firsthand, the operations and programs, she is getting on an even keel with more local candidates.  She felt a Skype interview would put her at a disadvantage since she does not have firsthand knowledge of the position and it’s responsibities.  So she will enter the interview by expressing the fact that she spent time at the various facilities and observed the programs in action.

If I was interviewing candidates, the fact that she flew down and observed and investigated the environment would be a plus, in my opinion!

tjc78

28firefighter said:

IMO the hiring process has gotten increasingly more complicated and time consuming. My wife is unemployed and is making excellent progress in a short period of time (lots of interest in her), but each role has no less than 4 rounds of interviews. A combination of phone, Skype, and in-person.

By the time you get through it, you forgot why you wanted the job in the first place. 

My wife just started a new job last week. The interview process was pretty intense.

1- Informal phone interview with hiring manager
2- Hour long phone interview with HR Recruiter
3- Four hour in-person interview with 5 different team members from various areas of the business finishing with the hiring manager

Process took about 3 weeks from first inquiry.

Rewards were well worth it in her case. Serious salary bump and better medical coverage at lower OOP costs.

ruking1

abacomike said:

suydam said:

bwia said:

abacomike said:

I just paid for my daughter’s airfare to come down for her job interview - she couldn’t afford it on her salary.  After all, what are Dads for?

As for jmonroe, not a chance.  

In my experience the prospective employer usually pays for travel and lodging. Of course they don't do it for all hires but if the position is important enough and person is a serious candidate they usually pick up the tab. After all, that's just part of cost of doing business.

Not anymore unless it’s a senior management position. My daughter got her last 2 jobs via Skype interviews. I can see that if there are local candidates she might feel disadvantaged that way, but it’s pretty common.

I think she is being smart about the interview - coming down for a face-to-face that is.  By giving herself the opportunity to observe, firsthand, the operations and programs, she is getting on an even keel with more local candidates.  She felt a Skype interview would put her at a disadvantage since she does not have firsthand knowledge of the position and it’s responsibities.  So she will enter the interview by expressing the fact that she spent time at the various facilities and observed the programs in action.

If I was interviewing candidates, the fact that she flew down and observed and investigated the environment would be a plus, in my opinion!




Indeed & ALL the best!

Just looking at what is being said and not knowing any of the parties, the clues point to the likelihood they may have a candidate/s in mind already. They are just using whatever number of candidates answering the posting they’re interviewing, to for fulfill/check off many “boxes” in the “process”. They might also seeing if there are better candidates. They are also probably rank ordering them in, case one or more of the candidates drop off for any reason.

ab348

fintail said:

I think lately, HR types and "hiring managers" like to add extra steps maybe as a way to make themselves look busy. My employer has a seemingly 25 step process for direct hires, too. Apparently, contractors have a more streamlined process, so there are quite a few KPMG and PWC emails in my lists.

Good luck to your better half, 28ff - we are fortunate to have this market.

I was in the workforce for 36 years and never once did I find the HR department to be in any way useful or helpful to me with one exception. That was their handling of applications and initial screening of candidates applying for a position. The rest of what they did was just useless paper-pushing for the most part, and was often quite painful, although very occasionally you would get a staff member who seemed to not be a slave to process and had some common sense. I agree that like many other professions, their embrace of "best practice" has led to increasingly complex and expensive processes, but in their case at least, no noticeable improvement in results.

Then you have the situation I just witnessed this past week. The CEO where I used to work retired back in January. In part that was because he became increasingly frustrated with the politicians ignoring his advice and otherwise imposing their will upon the organization. For the last 3 CEO hires there a national search was done and brought in well-seasoned retail execs for the position. This was also done this time but this week the new hire was announced - someone with zero retail, alcohol industry, unionized workplace or logistics experience whatsoever. He had been a zone manager for a bank, and after that had his own company dealing with contaminated material remediation. Largely unknown in the local business community as well. Somehow he got the job - political influence is highly likely. People there I have spoken with are absolutely boggled. I sure am glad I am no longer there.

ruking1

ab348 said:

fintail said:

I think lately, HR types and "hiring managers" like to add extra steps maybe as a way to make themselves look busy. My employer has a seemingly 25 step process for direct hires, too. Apparently, contractors have a more streamlined process, so there are quite a few KPMG and PWC emails in my lists.

Good luck to your better half, 28ff - we are fortunate to have this market.

I was in the workforce for 36 years and never once did I find the HR department to be in any way useful or helpful to me with one exception. That was their handling of applications and initial screening of candidates applying for a position. The rest of what they did was just useless paper-pushing for the most part, and was often quite painful, although very occasionally you would get a staff member who seemed to not be a slave to process and had some common sense. I agree that like many other professions, their embrace of "best practice" has led to increasingly complex and expensive processes, but in their case at least, no noticeable improvement in results.

Then you have the situation I just witnessed this past week. The CEO where I used to work retired back in January. In part that was because he became increasingly frustrated with the politicians ignoring his advice and otherwise imposing their will upon the organization. For the last 3 CEO hires there a national search was done and brought in well-seasoned retail execs for the position. This was also done this time but this week the new hire was announced - someone with zero retail, alcohol industry, unionized workplace or logistics experience whatsoever. He had been a zone manager for a bank, and after that had his own company dealing with contaminated material remediation. Largely unknown in the local business community as well. Somehow he got the job - political influence is highly likely. People there I have spoken with are absolutely boggled. I sure am glad I am no longer there.

When you say politicians, do you mean the Board of Directors? The way the sentence is written, it would seem like the politicians he would normally have to deal with, outside of the organization.

ab348

No, the Board has been filled with political appointees who follow the direction of the Cabinet members in government. They are no longer an independent Board but instead a vehicle for the politicians to use.

ruking1

ab348 said:

No, the Board has been filled with political appointees who follow the direction of the Cabinet members in government. They are no longer an independent Board but instead a vehicle for the politicians to use.

The retiring CEO did that organization a disservice by not understanding what the REAL job was.

henryn

Interesting comments about the hiring process. Anytime I interviewed out of town, the hiring company picked up the tab. Which sometimes made for a pleasant trip to an interesting area. The place where I work now (major oil company) interviews on campus, and then flies them here for followup if there is an interest in actually hiring. All expenses paid.

I was talking to a young man just the other day, he’s been with us about 4 or 5 years now. He was telling a story about how he wasn’t really interested in going to work for an oil company, but took the interview as a “paid vacation” thing. I can appreciate what he was saying. When you have been living as a “starving college student” for 4 or 5 years, a fully paid trip out of town, a nice hotel, a rental car (or taxi fare, your choice), meals in nice restaurants, everything paid for …

henryn

The talk about trading in a car with an understanding it will be sold to your friend reminded me of "Driving Miss Daisy". Which is the only time I have ever heard of such a deal being made. I myself have bought cars from friends and relatives, cars which were about to be traded in. I just pay them what the dealer was offering, plus sales tax (6.25% here), and everyone is happy. It makes it easier for my friend to negotiate (deals without a trade in are always simpler).

And if the dealer was being honest with his trade in offer, he should be completely neutral about whether or not he gets the trade in. Now there's an oxymoron for you -- "dealer" and "honest" in the same sentence.

suydam

I do not believe moving expenses are tax deductible any longer.

fintail

I've worked in a few departments that ended up with leadership or personnel issues, and had to deal with
HR contacts a few times, as well as being on a hiring committee several years ago. People usually forget that HR is there to protect the company, not the employee. Not saying that most HR people I have dealt with aren't good competent people, but others forget why they are there. I saw someone mentioned the term "best practices" - that's another one I loathe, as it seems to stop any idea of progress or innovation, relying on what may have been "best" before someone created something better. Tear down some silos, create some synergies to make a paradigm shift and take it to the next level of ROI.

I remember "Office Space" came out when I was a student. It was amusing then, and a few years into the workforce I realized it is pretty realistic. 20 years ago, some of it is still scarily real.

ab348 said:

I was in the workforce for 36 years and never once did I find the HR department to be in any way useful or helpful to me with one exception. That was their handling of applications and initial screening of candidates applying for a position. People there I have spoken with are absolutely boggled. I sure am glad I am no longer there.

ab348

ruking1 said:

ab348 said:

No, the Board has been filled with political appointees who follow the direction of the Cabinet members in government. They are no longer an independent Board but instead a vehicle for the politicians to use.

The retiring CEO did that organization a disservice by not understanding what the REAL job was.

Explain? He had been there 12 years under 3 different govts with much success. It was only recently that the Board was neutered.

ruking1

ab348 said:

ruking1 said:

ab348 said:

No, the Board has been filled with political appointees who follow the direction of the Cabinet members in government. They are no longer an independent Board but instead a vehicle for the politicians to use.

The retiring CEO did that organization a disservice by not understanding what the REAL job was.

Explain? He had been there 12 years under 3 different govts with much success. It was only recently that the Board was neutered.

Sure. When the Board was “neutered”, the ones with the powers left huge to normal power vacuums & room for different directions. The “new” regime may have indeed wanted a new CEO.🎭

imidazol97

abacomike said:

My 2018 MB S450 turns 18 months old next Friday and has 12,670 miles on the odometer.  I haven’t had a car in my possession that long since my 1991 300E (1996 - it was 5 years old and had 59,000 miles on it).  So I broke a 23 year record by keeping this for 18 months - and I have no intention of getting a new car until this lease is up a year from November.

I know you are all proud of me - right? 

We're holding you to that. We know you can do it. CBA is there with their 12-step program if you feel yourself slipping (Car Buyers Anomalous).

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

I have a friend who says he could buy whatever car he wants.........but, he buys his cars from a friend who trades in a car every 3 years....and whatever car that is that is what he takes. He was getting Camrys for many years. This friend says cars mean nothing to him, he wants to be comfortable, but driving gives him no pleasure. He's had a 2017 Avalon that looks like this for a few years now.

Actually, he has a good formula for buying a car. His friend trades it in with the stipulation they sell it to my friend....that way he gets benefit of the trade in value plus tax savings......my friend gets a 3 year old low mileage car he knows was well taken care of.

At first I thought it would be nice to have a friend like that but then you mentioned the dealer getting involved. So instead of selling for a higher PP price and forgoing the sales tax savings (which would probably even out) the friend makes this guy pay dealer mark up?

I suppose he gets some kind of warranty going through the dealer though.

Good point OF. The dealer sells the car at cost, that is the deal. It is the same if a dealer has a family plan....you trade in your car, and the dealer sells it to your relative with no mark up. That way the one trading in the car gets the tax benefit, and the dealer does some paperwork to transfer title....but knows, they have a happy new car customer.
Now, we just have to latch on to some person we know who trades cars we would like to get our hands on, every 3 years.

Interesting, I bet the new car buyer is paying sticker to get the dealer to sell his old car at cost. I never heard of a family plan, is that something that’s common? I don’t know too many dealers that would give up the larger profit on a used car sale. Especially a low mile cream puff.

I remember when I got my first car. My father knew a woman at work was planning on trading so my he told her to ask the dealer for a trade offer and then ask how much off sticker without a trade. The difference was the true value of the trade. We bought it off her for that price. No need to get the dealer involved any further.

I don't think they push the Family Plan too much, but I was turning in my 2004 X3, and mentioned my infamous SIL was interested in buying it. The salesman said they had the family plan, and if I did it that way I would get credit for the sales tax.

I think the way the dealer see's it, they aren't going to make anything on the trade-in if I do sell it privately. What they gain is 1) the SIL like many people bought an extended warranty, and, 2) they have a fair chance of getting his service work and possibly buying another car from them 3) it also pushed me to buy from them since they would do all the paperwork - made my life simpler.

They did charge full price for the 2008 325 hardtop convertible........but, their story was they were only alotted 2 a month so if I wanted one I had to pay full MSRP. Knowing the dealer the way I do now....not so sure how true that was.

driver100

abacomike said:

My 2018 MB S450 turns 18 months old next Friday and has 12,670 miles on the odometer.  I haven’t had a car in my possession that long since my 1991 300E (1996 - it was 5 years old and had 59,000 miles on it).  So I broke a 23 year record by keeping this for 18 months - and I have no intention of getting a new car until this lease is up a year from November. 

He is counting off the months.....chomping at the bit!

Good luck to your daughter....have some good visiting time.

driver100

henryn I myself have bought cars from friends and relatives, cars which were about to be traded in. I just pay them what the dealer was offering, plus sales tax (6.25% here), and everyone is happy. It makes it easier for my friend to negotiate (deals without a trade in are always simpler).

I like that way of doing it too henryn. In my case, I was selling to my SIL, I wanted nothing to do with selling directly to him for a lot of reasons....one being that I don't trust him. But, another big factor, was if anything went wrong with the car he would blame me....by doing it through the dealer he understood he was buying from them - and not from me.

ruking1

driver100 said:

henryn I myself have bought cars from friends and relatives, cars which were about to be traded in. I just pay them what the dealer was offering, plus sales tax (6.25% here), and everyone is happy. It makes it easier for my friend to negotiate (deals without a trade in are always simpler).

I like that way of doing it too henryn. In my case, I was selling to my SIL, I wanted nothing to do with selling directly to him for a lot of reasons....one being that I don't trust him. But, another big factor, was if anything went wrong with the car he would blame me....by doing it through the dealer he understood he was buying from them - and not from me.


It’s always good to be prepared for “no good deed goes UNpunished !

houdini2

I guess Kansas has it's own family plan. When I bought a car from my son a few years ago I learned there was no sales tax when buying directly from a family member.

ruking1

houdini2 said:

I guess Kansas has it's own family plan. When I bought a car from my son a few years ago I learned there was no sales tax when buying directly from a family member.

Indeed! That’s still true for even CA! (app 10% taxes, new/used) No $’s taxation for family transfers.

I’m indeed VERY grateful for “car buying” drill driving home the utility of both saving & investing to meet goals or ...pleasures.

So for example, $450 per mo saved per mo for NO car payments over 18 years (10% to 15%) can yield close to $490,000.

This can of course pay for one to several college bills, which in fact, this one did. This was x 2 in that each had a fully depreciated Toyota Land Cruiser during 4 years each of university, graduate, doctoral schools & working lives. Each worked to cover college expenses. One has paid her working “dues”. The other is hard @ work paying hers. Cars have long since been transferred to each.

For housing, we are waiting for another crash. (2008/2009 financial style)

oldfarmer50

tjc78 said:

28firefighter said:

IMO the hiring process has gotten increasingly more complicated and time consuming. My wife is unemployed and is making excellent progress in a short period of time (lots of interest in her), but each role has no less than 4 rounds of interviews. A combination of phone, Skype, and in-person.

By the time you get through it, you forgot why you wanted the job in the first place. 

My wife just started a new job last week. The interview process was pretty intense.

1- Informal phone interview with hiring manager
2- Hour long phone interview with HR Recruiter
3- Four hour in-person interview with 5 different team members from various areas of the business finishing with the hiring manager

Process took about 3 weeks from first inquiry.

Rewards were well worth it in her case. Serious salary bump and better medical coverage at lower OOP costs.

Most of my job interviews have been pretty easy, especially since they were mostly before computers. My first professional job was a mailed in resume’ followed by an in person talk with the boss in a coffee shop. No problem.

The bus job starting in 1990 was a paper application and an interview on the spot. Guess they were desperate.

The Enterprise job was the most complicated. Filling out on line questionnaires, setting up accounts etc. all stuff I hate doing. When it came to the resume’ section I just put down: “bus driver 27 years, no at fault accidents”. By that point I figured if they wanted more, screw em’.

Here’s a question. Have any of you underreported your credentials when applying because it might make you look overqualified? I have a masters degree but haven’t put that on an application for 30 years.

ruking1

oldfarmer50 said:

tjc78 said:

28firefighter said:

IMO the hiring process has gotten increasingly more complicated and time consuming. My wife is unemployed and is making excellent progress in a short period of time (lots of interest in her), but each role has no less than 4 rounds of interviews. A combination of phone, Skype, and in-person.

By the time you get through it, you forgot why you wanted the job in the first place. 

My wife just started a new job last week. The interview process was pretty intense.

1- Informal phone interview with hiring manager
2- Hour long phone interview with HR Recruiter
3- Four hour in-person interview with 5 different team members from various areas of the business finishing with the hiring manager

Process took about 3 weeks from first inquiry.

Rewards were well worth it in her case. Serious salary bump and better medical coverage at lower OOP costs.

Most of my job interviews have been pretty easy, especially since they were mostly before computers. My first professional job was a mailed in resume’ followed by an in person talk with the boss in a coffee shop. No problem.

The bus job starting in 1990 was a paper application and an interview on the spot. Guess they were desperate.

The Enterprise job was the most complicated. Filling out on line questionnaires, setting up accounts etc. all stuff I hate doing. When it came to the resume’ section I just put down: “bus driver 27 years, no at fault accidents”. By that point I figured if they wanted more, screw em’.

Here’s a question. Have any of you underreported your credentials when applying because it might make you look overqualified? I have a masters degree but haven’t put that on an application for 30 years.

No, but getting out of the US military as an honorably discharged Vietnam era veteran, dropped me from consideration for a LOAD of jobs. Being a veteran was almost like having job killing leprosy. I hope Veterans after this era do not have to experience this after serving the country.

Evidently in your case, that (omission) was not a fireable “offense. ”👍

thebean

I got way behind on posts due to a bunch of things, so I took the time today to catch up on 700+ posts. Man, that’s an hour and a half of my life that I will never get back. Will each of you that posted a lot during the last two weeks please send me 10 minutes of your time for my trouble? That way, I won’t feel so bad at wasting the time to read all those posts. Thanks in advance, thebean. 8^) (smiley thingies won’t work, so I’ll use the old fashioned one)

ruking1

The 145th Kentucky Derby is being revved UP. Let’s raise a bourbon glass to a great horse race!

explorerx4

@ruking1,
Thanks for reminding me about the Derby.
After my volunteer day today, I'm ready to just couch it.
Took out a section of ceramic floor and replaced with new tiles.
Prior to this, I have never removed a tile floor, hammer and chisel.
Last time I installed tiles was over 30 years ago.

ruking1

explorerx4 said:

@ruking1,
Thanks for reminding me about the Derby.
After my volunteer day today, I'm ready to just couch it.
Took out a section of ceramic floor and replaced with new tiles.
Prior to this, I have never removed a tile floor, hammer and chisel.
Last time I installed tiles was over 30 years ago.

It’s tough to a few parts of the body & it can be exacting work!

jmonroe1

thebean said:

I got way behind on posts due to a bunch of things, so I took the time today to catch up on 700+ posts. Man, that’s an hour and a half of my life that I will never get back. Will each of you that posted a lot during the last two weeks please send me 10 minutes of your time for my trouble? That way, I won’t feel so bad at wasting the time to read all those posts. Thanks in advance, thebean. 8^) (smiley thingies won’t work, so I’ll use the old fashioned one)

Good to hear from you again. Hope all is well. I know what you mean about reading some of the posts in here but it makes you a better person for having the stamina to do it. Of course mine sorta takes the edge off most of the others. So, you get no stars, dues reduction or time back for reading mine.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

explorerx4 said:

@ruking1,
Thanks for reminding me about the Derby.
After my volunteer day today, I'm ready to just couch it.
Took out a section of ceramic floor and replaced with new tiles.
Prior to this, I have never removed a tile floor, hammer and chisel.
Last time I installed tiles was over 30 years ago.

Now that you have gotten a warm-up, you're just the guy Son #1 is looking for to help with the two bathrooms at his flip house. He'll even spring for the pizza and beer.

jmonroe

explorerx4

@ruking1,
It took me a few extra broken tiles to figure out how to only remove the ones I needed to.

@jmonroe1,
After a 6 month recovery period, I should be good to go.

oldfarmer50

thebean said:

I got way behind on posts due to a bunch of things, so I took the time today to catch up on 700+ posts. Man, that’s an hour and a half of my life that I will never get back. Will each of you that posted a lot during the last two weeks please send me 10 minutes of your time for my trouble? That way, I won’t feel so bad at wasting the time to read all those posts. Thanks in advance, thebean. 8^) (smiley thingies won’t work, so I’ll use the old fashioned one)

Hey, those 700 posts are literary gold. You should be full of regret that you didn’t get more time to savor them.

driver100

Of course mine sorta takes the edge off most of the others. So, you get no stars, dues reduction or time back for reading mine.
jmonroe

For reading yours, he should get the Congressional Medal of Honor.

ruking1

Over servicing! https://youtu.be/aGK7XPNFhpQ

driver100

suydam said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

My brother is looking for an odd job guy to take an old mattress to the dump. So, I go on CL and find an ad for two guys who will do odd jobs....and this is the picture they used;

Do you think this is the truck they will be using?

Either that one or another off the boss’s lot when he’s not looking.

And parked in a handicapped spot too.

That is funny you noticed that suydam....wish I caught that.
Then I noticed he doesn't have a real front license plate either....which we have to have here.
The cars in the background have signs in the windows that looks like a used car lot.

ab348

thebean said:

I got way behind on posts due to a bunch of things, so I took the time today to catch up on 700+ posts. Man, that’s an hour and a half of my life that I will never get back. Will each of you that posted a lot during the last two weeks please send me 10 minutes of your time for my trouble? That way, I won’t feel so bad at wasting the time to read all those posts. Thanks in advance, thebean. 8^) (smiley thingies won’t work, so I’ll use the old fashioned one)

The inestimable amount of our collective wisdom you just absorbed has enriched you in many ways. Perhaps cheques payable to each of our favourite charities would be appropriate.

ruking1

Here’s a 10 min segment on why it’s not good to RACE on highways. https://youtu.be/xaUAyawLTEA

ruking1

driver100 said:

Of course mine sorta takes the edge off most of the others. So, you get no stars, dues reduction or time back for reading mine.
jmonroe

For reading yours, he should get the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Unless he’s military & probably posthumously (18%) for a REAL act of extreme valor, many military folks, etc., etc. would find that inappropriate to insulting.

oldfarmer50

ruking1 said:

Here’s a 10 min segment on why it’s not good to RACE on highways. https://youtu.be/xaUAyawLTEA

Like a Russian dash cam video.

ruking1

oldfarmer50 said:

ruking1 said:

Here’s a 10 min segment on why it’s not good to RACE on highways. https://youtu.be/xaUAyawLTEA

Like a Russian dash cam video.

Before the crashes, I’m sure they each were LEGENDS! (in their own minds )

explorerx4

Not sure if you can read the story, but here's how you get a CMH.
If it's a good story, you get a tribute GI Joe.
The picture is him signing the GI Joe I have.
Francis S Curry

ab348

ruking1 said:

Here’s a 10 min segment on why it’s not good to RACE on highways.

That’s a racetrack.

ruking1

It’s one of the MOST iconic motor sports complex’s & test tracks in the world ! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nürburgring

The point is when these accidents happen in a so called “controlled environments” by enthusiast who arguably know how to drive.... & who also have signed their literal life’s away.... connect the dots & give those on highways who do not want to be part of the mayhem a break? Keep right except to pass. 😉😎

roadburner

koreans

jmonroe1

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

I have a friend who says he could buy whatever car he wants.........but, he buys his cars from a friend who trades in a car every 3 years....and whatever car that is that is what he takes. He was getting Camrys for many years. This friend says cars mean nothing to him, he wants to be comfortable, but driving gives him no pleasure. He's had a 2017 Avalon that looks like this for a few years now.

Actually, he has a good formula for buying a car. His friend trades it in with the stipulation they sell it to my friend....that way he gets benefit of the trade in value plus tax savings......my friend gets a 3 year old low mileage car he knows was well taken care of.

At first I thought it would be nice to have a friend like that but then you mentioned the dealer getting involved. So instead of selling for a higher PP price and forgoing the sales tax savings (which would probably even out) the friend makes this guy pay dealer mark up?

I suppose he gets some kind of warranty going through the dealer though.

Good point OF. The dealer sells the car at cost, that is the deal. It is the same if a dealer has a family plan....you trade in your car, and the dealer sells it to your relative with no mark up. That way the one trading in the car gets the tax benefit, and the dealer does some paperwork to transfer title....but knows, they have a happy new car customer.
Now, we just have to latch on to some person we know who trades cars we would like to get our hands on, every 3 years.

Interesting, I bet the new car buyer is paying sticker to get the dealer to sell his old car at cost. I never heard of a family plan, is that something that’s common? I don’t know too many dealers that would give up the larger profit on a used car sale. Especially a low mile cream puff.

I remember when I got my first car. My father knew a woman at work was planning on trading so my he told her to ask the dealer for a trade offer and then ask how much off sticker without a trade. The difference was the true value of the trade. We bought it off her for that price. No need to get the dealer involved any further.

I don't think they push the Family Plan too much, but I was turning in my 2004 X3, and mentioned my infamous SIL was interested in buying it. The salesman said they had the family plan, and if I did it that way I would get credit for the sales tax.

I think the way the dealer see's it, they aren't going to make anything on the trade-in if I do sell it privately. What they gain is 1) the SIL like many people bought an extended warranty, and, 2) they have a fair chance of getting his service work and possibly buying another car from them 3) it also pushed me to buy from them since they would do all the paperwork - made my life simpler.

They did charge full price for the 2008 325 hardtop convertible........but, their story was they were only alotted 2 a month so if I wanted one I had to pay full MSRP. Knowing the dealer the way I do now....not so sure how true that was.

In my neck of the woods it's called a "courtesy trade". I've been involved with two of these. One was when Son #1 got my '95 Bonneville when Mrs. j got a 2006 Sonata and the other time was in 1997 when Son #1 bought my cousins '95 Bonneville (supercharged edition). When he got my Bonny it was a straight forward transaction with nothing interesting to report, so I won't bore you with that. However, the one with my cousin is pretty good. So, that's the one I'll tell.

Son #1 destroyed his '91 Grand Prix (engine and tranny) that he got when he graduated from Penn State in '91 by doing auto-crossing. So he was in need of a car but since he was doing some serious saving for a house (still single but didn't like the idea of renting) he didn't want to buy a new car. He had heard my cousin talk about getting a new something in '97 several times and he really liked the supercharged Bonny he had. So one Saturday he called my cousin but he wasn't home, he was car shopping according to his daughter who answered the phone. Son #1 said to me, "well I guess I won't be getting that car". About an hour later my cousin called and wanted to know what he wanted. My Son said, "I wanted to buy your Bonny but you already got rid of it". My cousin tells him he couldn't come to terms with the Acura dealer so it was still available. They were $400 dollars apart. My Son asked what he wanted for it and my cousin said, "I'll sell it to you for $100 more than the dealer offered. I'll take the hit for the rest. I really like the Acura I saw and I was thinking of calling the dealer to see if his offer on his car was still good before they close today". The dealer said yes come on down and we'll do a courtesy trade so you can get the tax credit on the purchase of the Acura. Before we left for this sleazy dealership I asked my cousin why he would even go there instead of the Acura dealer on the other side of town. He said because this guy is very close (about 3 miles) and the other dealer didn't have the exact car he wanted whereas this sleazy dealer did.

We are now at the table with this sleaze ball salesman (yes, he is the reason why this dealership has the rep that they do. He fits in perfect with the model of how they sold cars). The salesman decides to do the courtesy trade paperwork first for some reason that I couldn't understand. Anyway, here is where it gets good. Before he passes the paperwork to my Son for signature, he says, "how about if I give you a hundred dollars more for it than what you are about to buy it from him for" (he points to my cousin). My cousin jumps out of his chair and says, "WHAT" ? The sleaze ball said something like, "hey, this is a transaction with him and me. You're out of it now". My cousin said something like, "you're f-in nuts". My Son decides to irritate my cousin a little more and says, "don't mess up this deal for me I like this". I'm now just about on the floor laughing but not to just sit there and say nothing I said to the sleaze ball "why don't you just give him what he wanted for it and be done with it"? He said he couldn't do that but to make my cousin feel better he would take another hundred bucks off the Acura. I told my cousin to stay put and to get all of the remaining $300 he wanted for his Bonny. The salesman says let me go talk to my manager and he gets up and leaves. I'm still laughing and my cousin says, "I'll settle for another hundred off on the Acura. I really like that car". The salesman comes back and says, "I can only do another hundred on the Acura but we'll throw in 2 oil changes" (none were offered originally). My Son then said, "can you do anymore on the Bonny". The guy just smiled and said, "it's getting late and we're closing in another hour. So let's just do the paperwork, OK" ? The deal was done and both my cousin and my Son liked the cars they got.

The strange thing about this dealership was that, according to my cousin, the service department was the polar opposite of the sales department. He said they couldn't have been nicer to deal with.

FWIW, this dealership no longer sells Acura (I heard that his franchise was pulled from him. Don't know if that is true or not but he longer sells Acura. But, he does still sell Toyota's.

jmonroe

qbrozen

That white Clio (I think thats what it was) seemed rather new to NOT have ABS. 

ab348

ruking1 said:

It’s one of the MOST iconic motor sports complex’s & test tracks in the world ! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nürburgring

Yes, I’m well aware of the location.

I fail to see the point you are attempting to make. Diving on a racetrack is always risky, especially when the red mist descends. Not sure what that has to do with idiots on highways.

ruking1

ab348 said:

ruking1 said:

It’s one of the MOST iconic motor sports complex’s & test tracks in the world ! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nürburgring

Yes, I’m well aware of the location.

I fail to see the point you are attempting to make. Diving on a racetrack is always risky, especially when the red mist descends. Not sure what that has to do with idiots on highways.

Then good on all counts! Then as long as racing is done @ a track rather than the streets.....crashing is then fun to watch.

driver100

ruking1 said:

driver100 said:

Of course mine sorta takes the edge off most of the others. So, you get no stars, dues reduction or time back for reading mine.
jmonroe

For reading yours, he should get the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Unless he’s military & probably posthumously (18%) for a REAL act of extreme valor, many military folks, etc., etc. would find that inappropriate to insulting.

btw....just for your own knowledge.....there is no such thing as a Congressional Medal of Honor.

The award is not called the Congressional Medal of Honor. Contrary to popular belief, the official title of the highest U.S. military distinction is simply the Medal of Honor, not the Congressional Medal of Honor. The confusion may have arisen because the president presents the award “in the name of Congress.”

I thought being in the military you would know that.
Would it be insulting to have said "A Nobel Peace Prize"?

I need to get a new high speed scroll button.

tjc78

Hey guys... anyone take their wives to see Pretty Woman in NYC? We are thinking of going in October for our anniversary and typically don’t see a show, but she loves the movie and think it would be a nice change of pace for us.

graphicguy

abacomike said:

jmonroe1 said:

explorerx4 said:

@abacomike,
We are going to visit one of the kids next weekend and will be checking out some houses while we are there.

At first you can’t wait until the kids move out on their own - but there comes a time when you want them back - close to you.  Having her close - 20-25 minute drive away would be great! 

I hope it all works out for you Mike even though that will just about kill any chance of you sending me airfare money to come visit you. Then again, you could still send the airfare money and put me up in a nice swanky hotel. Yeah, give that some thought.

jmonroe

I just paid for my daughter’s airfare to come down for her job interview - she couldn’t afford it on her salary.  After all, what are Dads for?

As for jmonroe, not a chance.  

@abacomike ....great news about your daughter. Just a quick note.....if a company won’t pick up the bill for your daughter’s interview, especially after a 2 hour phone interview, I might think twice about working for a company that is so “chintzy”!