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I agree that it's (generally) better to let the seller name the price - having this discussion right now about selling our house. I told the hot lead we have that we have a decorative viga (a "stick") that's rotten and needs replacement. My wife said I shouldn't be talking the house down.
But we knew about it from our home inspection, I intend to share our inspection with this couple, and I'll encourage them to get their own inspection (we're talking maybe a $300 repair). Why play hide the ball, especially with something that's obvious?
I dunno, it's a bit different because we don't have to sell and if the numbers don't work we won't.
The best negotiating tool anyone can have is the freedom to walk away from a deal.
I was talking to a real estate agent today and he said there are more buyers than sellers in our area (Tampa Bay area). He said buyers have to pay full price or they will lose.
He said one house was offered for $210k. His buyer would only go as high as $202k...just couldn't pay full asking price. Well, the house sold for $210k and he would have got it if he paid full price up front. I said when you look back after 10 years $8k means almost nothing. I have paid more than I wanted to for a house but I have never been sorry about the price I paid.......a house is too important and you won't regret paying extra if that is the house you want. Now, the buyer will probably have to settle and won't want to lose another house, and will probably pay even more now that he has possibly learned his lesson.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
We've been landlocked for two days with a couple of feet of snow. Three days for me because I've got no good reason to go out in that. Driveway is all cleared, the cars are all cleared - all with no help from me. I'll finally venture out tomorrow - PT. The Miata is safely undercover in the garage where it will stay until I'm pretty confident the salt is off the roads.
Meanwhile, gas is down to $1,41 at Costco.
Some want to stick to their "if we/will you?" scenario. At which time I say "no". Most of the time the dealer says..."well, you forgot this hidden fee, or the dealer doc fee, or this fee or that fee".
Which I reply..."no I didn't. It's all there in the number I gave you. That's what I'm writing the check for".
And yes, being willing to leave is the best negotiation tool you have.
We got about 4" where I am, quite lovely. Gorgeous weather since. After last year's snows, nice to get "normal" snow amounts!
Toyota dealer just down the road from work has a '15 MB S-Coupe for sale, only ~4k miles. Just lowered the price to $106,995. Bargain? Man, it is a beauty...
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
Always something!
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
@fezo and @driver100, I'd like to be closer to town but it's hard finding the right house. My wife loves the current house but she's come to terms with moving. We did something similar after a year in our first Boise house (although she was the one wanting to move then). We have a potential buyer.
Yesterday was the first time I really started to experience the boost part of the ecoboost in my F-150.
It's going to get fast as it breaks in.
@abacomike,
Temperature depends on what you are used to.
Went for a walk at lunch. It was 36 and sunny with no breeze, loved it.
On the way home it was 42, so I drove home with the window down a few inches.
There were actually two if IRC. One was a 1917 Reo that wouldn't start and the other was a custom 1976 C 10 with a dead battery.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
at least step in height is nice and low!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Anyway, my marriage joke:
An old man was being congratulated on his 50th wedding anniversary and was asked to what he owed his marital longevity.
He answered: "on my honeymoon I took my wife to Hawaii"...
..."and on my 49th I went and brought her back".
On negotiations I agree, the door is your most powerful tool. I got an extra $1700 for my trade doing that.
As you may recall they gave me $9,000 for my car and then overpriced it on their lot for $14,000. They got stuck with it all winter and now price it at $9,995.
They could have gotten $11k last July all day long. Just dumb. I can see trying for a home run but after a month why not price it honestly?
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
I don't understand why someone would do that to a great looking pick-up....it looks freaky.
btw...that car looks like it will need a lot of work done to it....getting it started is the least of that cars problems.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Was that Irene Ryan's Reo pickup?
I'm half blind, can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine, take 10 different medications that make me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts. I have bouts with dementia, poor circulation, and can hardly feel my hands and feet.
I have lost all my friends...but thank God I still have my drivers license."
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
Forgot about @bobst... he was a regular on the now retired (and forever infamous) Stories from the Sales Frontlines thread.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Icon I6L Golf Cart
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Seems to be another trend...keep the antiques original. Nothing wrong with that. As they say, those vehicles are only original once. Still, some of them look fretty darned ratty, and probably not driveable (at least, not safely).
I agree about the pickup. Wheels don't do it any favors, nor does the lowering kit. I think that's the one I saw that caught on fire right before the auction.
Negotiations....yeah, I never could understand why bobst would raise his own offers, either. NO faith in his numbers, as stated.
I think it only happened to me once where I was so far off on an offer, no one would accept it. And, that was on an '04 RX8, which at the time, was selling for over MSRP. I came in $500 over invoice, and no one would touch the offer. I ended up buying for $100 off MSRP and had to visit 4 dealers to get that.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I have to say that I thought that truck was ugly as sin and never could understand the lowering air ride nonsense. For what's it's worth they took a bath on it at the auction.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
And, that's not including the upholstery shop Rawlings uses (Sue). I'm sure she gets a nice stipend from the show, and probably more business than she knows what to do with. Then there are the offshoots....some of the guys who Rawlings fired parlayed their misfortune into their own reality show. His chief body and paint guy opened up his own shop.
So, lots of success has surrounded Gas Monkee. I give them credit.
The only people who can't lose is the auction house itself---unless nobody shows up to bid. Otherwise, they make commissions no matter how beat up the sellers get, or how inept the buyers are.
What a waste of time and effort. Going to trial is not an acceptable way for defendants to "PROVE their innocence." They should be presumed innocent, until proven guilty. If you can't prove who was driving, you have no case.
Also, the reason people speed up (yours truly included) is because it is much cheaper and better to get a speeding ticket than a red light camera $500 ticket (at least in CA). So a yellow light now means either PUNCH IT, or SLAM the brakes, no ifs, ands, or buts in between. No hesitation, it is either or, because why risk a $500 ticket that could come down to a hundredth of a second on whether you legally crossed or not.
No sir, red light cameras is one of those things that definitely makes things worse than we were without them.
*you have to be aware of what is behind you and how close a vehicle might be to your rear. Stopping short might cause a rear end collision - especially with the older drivers whose reflexes are not as sharp as they once were.
*amber lights are not timed the same at each traffic light intersection. A road with a 45 mph speed limit could have a short amber light which can create havoc.
I agree that that municipalities and counties set drivers up for traffic violations by manipulating the timing of the amber lights at certain intersections to increase revenues. Determining what is a reasonable time frame for an amber light could be a good defense against a short amber light in traffic court. In my opinion, the higher the speed limit, the longer an amber light should remain on.
There are actually standards for yellow light times written by engineering authorities that makes sense, at the federal and national level. There are some contradictory sources, but the logical authorities agree yellow light time intervals should be set based on the prevailing 85th percentile speeds. This means longer yellow lights for faster traffic roadways, and minimum standards (3 seconds) for slower traffic roadways. It needs to be based upon real-world speeds, the 85th percentile, because speed limits are often under set in order to generate revenue in that way as well.
These standards exist in National Federal Traffic Manuals. The local crooks in charge are just ignoring and disobeying them.
*you have to be aware of what is behind you and how close a vehicle might be to your rear. Stopping short might cause a rear end collision - especially with the older drivers whose reflexes are not as sharp as they once were.
*amber lights are not timed the same at each traffic light intersection. A road with a 45 mph speed limit could have a short amber light which can create havoc.
I agree that that municipalities and counties set drivers up for traffic violations by manipulating the timing of the amber lights at certain intersections to increase revenues. Determining what is a reasonable time frame for an amber light could be a good defense against a short amber light in traffic court. In my opinion, the higher the speed limit, the longer an amber light should remain on.
There are actually standards for yellow light times written by engineering authorities that makes sense, at the federal and national level. There are some contradictory sources, but the logical authorities agree yellow light time intervals should be set based on the prevailing 85th percentile speeds. This means longer yellow lights for faster traffic roadways, and minimum standards (3 seconds) for slower traffic roadways. It needs to be based upon real-world speeds, the 85th percentile, because speed limits are often under set in order to generate revenue in that way as well.
These standards exist in National Federal Traffic Manuals. The local crooks in charge are just ignoring and disobeying them.
I was amazed that in Jersey, anything that generated revenue into the pols pockets was removed. Very rare occurrence.
of course, if you just are worried about safety, adding the 2 second delay on the other direction turning green (so extending the red overlap) is much more effective.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Icon I6L Golf Cart
Our city employs a traffic engineer who is highly qualified. He works for several of the municipalities in the area and follows the laws and good engineering of the timing for the lights. E.g., a main traffic artery off the intertate with 35 mph limit and dual turn lanes onto another artery has a longer yellow than other 35 mph lights in our fair city and has a 2-second all red before the other lights turn green.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
This was a very telling finding:
A 2007 Virginia Research Council study had more mixed results, finding that the “cameras are associated with an increase in rear-end crashes (about 27% or 42% depending on the statistical method used …) and a decrease in red light running crashes (about 8% or 42% depending on the statistical method …).”
Plus, researchers noted significant variation across intersections and geographical areas, with one area reporting increases in all crash types, while 2 others showed decreases in most types. Given the variable findings, these researches recommend evaluating the need for red-light cameras on a case-by-case basis. (Perhaps after trying to see if lengthening yellow-light times — a method that has proven effective in several cities — addresses the issue?)
A 2005 study by the Federal Highway Administration looked at red-light camera performance in 7 U.S. cities. It found that while rear-end collisions increased by 15 percent, right-angle crashes decreased by 25 percent. Since right-angle crashes tend to be more severe, the lowered incidence effectively offsets the increase in rear-end accidents, at least from a monetary perspective. Total crash costs decreased by a total of $18.5 million across the 7 communities studied.
What does it all mean? That is the question? My guess is people will learn to stop for red lights, and the most serious accidents that actually happen in intersections will be reduced.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
In fact, in Roswell, Georgia, traffic cameras generated record revenues of $835,253 in 2008.
That’s nearly a million dollars the city stands to lose if they remove their cameras.
Taking the monetary argument a step further, the National Motorists Association has gone so far as to point the finger at corporate interests. According to the Association, Lockheed Martin (a major manufacturer of red light cameras) rakes in a quarter of the ticket cost ($70 of the $271 total) for each infraction in California.
Eric Skrum, Communications Director for the National Motorists Association, also notes that Lockheed Martin “has included clauses in their contracts that prohibit city engineers from applying engineering practices that improve compliance and reduce accidents.” So if the purpose of installing red-light cameras is to make the world a safer place, why prohibit other potentially effective countermeasures?
ARE RED LIGHT CAMERAS ACTUALLY CAUSING ACCIDENTS?
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
In case you don't think Chicago is a good representation, they aren't the only City to play games with red-light camera fraud (see above regarding Los Angeles). This is more typical I'm afraid.