Stories from the Sales Frontlines

snakeweasel

Of course when driver leaves me his BMW that could be a burden but I am willing to take that chance.

What makes you think he will leave it to you? I think he will have himself buried in it.

fezo

I'm worried about that. I'm still negotiating with him....

driver100

What makes you think he will leave it to you? I think he will have himself buried in it.

Not a bad idea actually. That way the boytoy won't be able to drive it.
Sorry fez............

snakeweasel

Trying to but unable to resist

Good, if you do that you can get the feel of the grave.

sterlingdog

What a great tribute to a wonderful mom---3 good boys raised by the right lady. You are indeed blessed. Though my wife has had a hard time with her family, my sister and I never had a problem. We simply divided what was left and went home with no hard feelings. Families are unique unto themselves.

Richard

sterlingdog

Both cars are running great---no need to rock the boat. Hope the good fortune will continue for you. As you say, the best move may be no move at all. Just give it time. Things will work out for the best.

Richard

sterlingdog

When the archeologists dig him up 200 years from now, they'll wonder about his interesting coffin. They'll figure that BMW stood for "Buried My Way."

Richard

jmonroe

They'll figure that BMW stood for "Buried My Way."

That's a good way to put it...sorta has a real "feel" to it.

jmonroe

Sandman6472

Exactly Richard...we've waited since December of 2005 so what's a bit more time. I've come to grips with all this awhile ago, my true family are my wife & kids...period. looking back I was always on the outside & intimidated by the other five strong personalities in our house...I was the one who kept a smile on my face & tried not to "rock the boat" until I got a job, made my own $ & married. Before that, if I did something they deemed unacceptable, they would threaten to "cut me off financially"...the proverbial carrot before the horse. My wife, bless her heart, made me see that I was the normal one & should not cotow to them because they controlled the purse strings...to be the man they brought me up to be. Doing so made us divorce the rest after my dad died...it was the right decision then & I have no regrets. My kids had a normal upbringing without all the drama that I had growing up & they are better people because of it.

We have shown them that $ is not the end all in life, that happiness, good times & good friends/family are what make a life, not all the drama & making sure one gets the most stuff in the end. So I will wait for G-d to bring closure to all this nonsense & move on with our life. Even though my health problems are getting worse, I always hope for the best while expecting nothing in return. Being 56 now, I realize that there's so much to look forward too & the past is the past. The present & the future are what truly matters now. This is the gift that I give to my wife & kids!

Please excuse the long rant, I had to take a larger dose of pain meds cause the pain is unbearable today...your patience is greatly appreciated.

I am,

The Sandman :sick:

driver100

They'll figure that BMW stood for "Buried My Way."
"Feel of the grave"

People can be cruel!

I thought BMW stood for "Boytoy.....Mmmmmmmmmmmm..no.....Way".

Sandman6472

This week the weather has been in the mid 80's with mid 60's at night...nice weather here. February is always a bit iffy here. But I did see the 2001 blue/blue BMW 325 convertible with the top down yesterday & wow...very sharp looking. I had talked to the woman who owns it & and mentioned she wants to sell. But it has around 83k on the clock & think she wanted like $16k if I remember correctly. Very costly for such an old car with high miles. Great color combo though. Decided then not to take a test drive since I'd probably fall in love with the convertible & want to bring it home. Funny thing is she still has it, as I pass it whenever I come home.

A shame that high mileage BMW's can become a money pit if the original owners didn't keep up with all the maintenance...a scary proposition. I know Roadburner has had much luck with his, but just not willing to take the plunge. I can dream though!!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

driver100

But it has around 83k on the clock & think she wanted like $16k

This one has 54k miles and is $13,200, but that is a lot for a 2001 car. I agree, though, it could become a money pit. I feel a lot better when a BMW is under warranty....though, roadrunner has had good luck with his. I have a tennis friend who has 200k onhis 96 and it runs like new. But is is risky.

I like the 2001s, they look as nice as almost any new car out today.


Also, I like square cars, so I really like this one which is an earlier edition;

jimbres

Wifey

Just curious - does your wife know that you refer to her as "wifey"? If my bride of 36+ years ever heard me call her that, I'd spend the rest of my days sleeping in the garage.

Kirstie_H

First real journey in the Escape is today - oddly, a return to the scene of the crime. Headed to St. Louis (not really a vacation... a "working" vacation), and will probably pass the location of the accident. Maybe some of my stuff is still there on the road.

driver100

Sandman's comments about Florida being in the mid 80s reminded me about the quad townhouse we were looking at.

First we put in a bid 10% below asking price including furniture.
Owner wrote back she wanted the full asking price...if it included furniture.
We wrote back and gave a price 6% below asking.
We haven't heard back.....she may be upset or she has another interested party. If we get it, we get it, and if we lose it we lose it, we would like to have it but we'll pay what we think is fair.

I was hesitant for the same reasons many people here were. But, we talked to our financial people, and one owns a winter home in Arizona. He has had his home there for 20 years. His answer was, if you have enough savings to live on, and you can afford it, and it is what you want because you feel your life would be better, then do it. You are buying a lifestyle and you can't make everything into a financial matter. If we were always practical, we would all drive Kia's. You have to reward yourself (within reason of course) by buying things you really want, you worked hard to be able to do it.

I am surprised we haven't heard back!

Sandman6472

Exact car but the one down here is blue on blue...a great combo, really striking & it always catches my eyes whenever I pass her house. Too bad! =-(

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

Sandman6472

Does "the wife" sound more pc? I'll use that from now on as I don't want to offend anyone. How does that work for ya?

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

tallman1

Hopefully, the guy that hit you is far away from that spot!

Sandman6472

I used to pass the site of my postal vehicle accident site & always had a sad feeling...the palm tree is doing a lot better than I am! It changed our lives forever but the tree healed itself & looks great! Eh, such is life, sh-t happens & we all move on...just wish I wasn't left with this chronic pain that will never be cured! :sick:

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

driver100

and will probably pass the location of the accident.

Drive carefully. I got stopped by the police on Saturday for the 2nd time this month, and we were away for 2 of those weeks.

I saw the police car and he followed me for about 6 miles through a residential area. I made every stop a full one, stayed within the speed limits.

Then I got to an intersection and I could see the don't walk sign was flashing so I knew the light would change from green to amber. I picked my point of no return and when I got there, the light did change to amber. I put my foot on the brake even though I decided to go through, thought about stopping, but thought that would be ridiculous...I would come to a screeching stop, throw my 2 passengers forward, probably stop half way in the middle of the intersection....so I slowly went through.

His flashing lights went on immediately and I pulled over. His first question was a very good one, "What happened back there". I am sure he was testing to see if I knew the light was amber, or if I was going to get defensive and say, well, you can drive through an amber light.

I said, I picked the point where I would go through, I thought it would be even worse to jam on the brakes, throw the passengers forward, skid to a stop in the intersection, so I slowed down (brake lights) and cautiously went through the intersection, and by the way, I saw you following me for quite a distance.

He asked if I had any recent tickets or demerit points. I said I haven't had a ticket in over 16 years.

He went back to his police car to do a background check on me. He came back and said "Drive carefully and have a nice day".

I am getting better at this, the last one gave me good practice. Don't argue, be sane and rational and polite.

Twice this month though and I haven't been stopped by the police in over 20 years...the one 16 years ago was photo radar.

Kirstie, drive carefully, but not too carefully or you could get stopped too.

Sandman6472

You will hear back if it's meant to be. I personally like the east coast of Florida but the parts of the west that we've been to, Marco Island, Tampa, Ft. Myers are all nice also. Do agree with your financial planner though, if y'all can afford it & really want it, go ahead & just do it. Any doubts, then just wait & rent a few more seasons. You are right, you will be buying into a "life style" and things like HOA fees & assessments will always go up...just the nature of the beast.

Have heard that Arizona is really nice also, just not as tropical. But no news is good news, she might just be tying up loose ends. And a villa is nice, our 1st place was a town home with stairs which became a safety hazard once the 2nd girl tumbled down the 1st small flight. The wife sold it & bought a new spec home with her dad within 3 weeks. Also, she was pregnant with our son but didn't tell me until the contracts were signed. A great surprise for me!!

Good luck with this adventure...keep us posted.

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

lemko

From the Philadelphia newspaper:

Test Drive Turns Deadly

jimbres

Oh, you don't have to change anything on my account. I'm not a PC sort of guy.

I was simply wondering if she ever heard you call her "wifey". Has she? Just curious.

As for "the wife", it sounds a bit lower class to me - dismissive & disrespectful. I imagine a drunk saying to a bartender: "Gotta get home before the wife locks me outta the house". As my late mother would point out, that's nothing that a well-bred gentleman would say. (When it came to matters of language, she was a stickler for proper form - like Richard.)

I've always said "my wife" because that's what my wife wants me to say.

jmonroe

I am surprised we haven't heard back!

You never know what the other party is thinking when it comes to these things.

When we moved back from SC we found a house that was empty and the owner had already moved to CA. The house was on the market for about 4 months at that time and was overpriced by 25K as far as I was concerned (and others too, apparently) so I made an offer that was 25K below the asking price. The owner countered with a price 7K higher than my offer but I walked.

About a month goes by and one day Mrs. jmonroe said, “I don’t think we’re going to find a place better than that house. So maybe we ought to give the guy his price since it is where we want to live and with you doing some of the work that I’d like done, it will be worth it and that price isn’t so bad anyway”. We both agreed that we’d give him his asking price but decided to wait a few days. The very next day the realtor called and said, “Mr. Stubborn just called and wants to know if you’re still willing to make the same offer that you made last month”. I wanted to say that deal is now off the table but I didn’t because Mrs. j would have flipped and there’s no telling what she would have done to me if she landed on her feet.

Sometimes waiting pays off.

jmonroe

fezo

Not a bad idea actually. That way the boytoy won't be able to drive it.
Sorry fez............

I'm in there with the boy toy now? :confuse:

Man, how I've fallen - and I can't get up! :surprise:

oldfarmer50

"...2001 BMW convertible...it has around 83K on the clock & I think she wanted like $16K..."

For that money you could buy 3 or 4 Chrysler Sebring convertibles. You don't need BMW handling on those Florida roads that are straight lines from one end of the state to the other.

If you buy the Sebrings in bulk you can just toss them into the swamp off Aligator Alley when they wear out and start driving the next one.

roadburner

I'm sorry to read about your family/estate troubles. I saw it all the time in my line of work. As a matter of fact, my wife, co-worker, and secretary all had stressful conflicts with their siblings. It all made me extremely thankful that I am an only child.- Ditto for my son, who will only have to deal with his loopy parents- and not have one or more siblings around to further screw things up.

roadburner

I am getting better at this, the last one gave me good practice. Don't argue, be sane and rational and polite.

The 99% of the officers I saw in traffic court would almost always agree to an amendment down or an outright dismissal of any minor traffic infraction(speeding, careless driving, etc.) as long as the defendant displayed a respectful demeanor. If the defendant was a jerk all bets were off. In fact, I know of numerous situations where the officer was planning to issue a warning, but the driver's attitude earned him/her multiple citations. In any case, you will never win a heated roadside argument with a policeman so why even try?

roadburner

You never know what the other party is thinking when it comes to these things.

Several years ago a friend was shopping for a new house. She found a nice home that needed a bit of work. The owners were asking $300,000 so she offered $275,000. The sellers' counter offer? $300,000. My friend decided to look elsewhere. Her realtor told her that the sellers kept calling him asking why my friend hadn't made another offer... :confuse:

jmonroe

If you buy the Sebrings in bulk you can just toss them into the swamp off Aligator Alley when they wear out and start driving the next one.

Sounds good to me and he can get the first 2 from ‘snake’ and Richard.

jmonroe

Sandman6472

Ditto for my wife, an only child where Mom did everything "pod" & my wife had all the paper work in place years before since dimentia took over the last two years of her life...a very sad situation for such a nice lady. But things went easy peasy & now my wife has "her" nest egg. A win/win for her.

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

jmonroe

In any case, you will never win a heated roadside argument with a policeman so why even try?

When I lived in SC (early ‘90s) I was pulled over for speeding in a known speed trap area but I wasn’t speeding. I was sure it was the guy that was passing me but the officer said, “no, no, I know it was you”. I didn’t say another word. I went to traffic court even though everyone said I was wasting my time.

We were about 10 cases back and I was listening to everyone plead their case and there were some pretty good arguments being made but the judges gavel always fell in favor of the state. With him saying, "I find in favor of SC..." I remember saying to Mrs. jmonroe that this is pretty funny but we were warned not to waste our time. Just chalk it up to experience.

Finally, it was our turn and we both told the same true tale. I said, “I’ve had this car for years now and there was no way I could have been going 53 MPH in a 40 MPH zone. I have a feel for my car after all those years (who does this sound like?) so I knew it couldn’t have been me and it had to be the guy passing me”. The judge politely listened, just as he had done for everyone before us. Then he said, “I know what you mean about having a good feel for a car that you’ve had for years but couldn’t you have been going 46 MPH”? I said, “yeah, I guess, but I know I wasn’t doing 53..." I wasn't even finished pleading and he slams his gavel down and says, “I find in favor of SC (I'm thinking you SOB) going 46 in a 40 MPH zone. Pay $50 and no points”.

Yippee, that was a lot better than around $150 and 4 points.

jmonroe

driver100

we've been to, Marco Island, Tampa, Ft. Myers are all nice also.

I don't know why but Canadians seem to favor the west coast. Especially Port Charlotte, which is like Canada2. There are companies here that have offices and they rent homes they have built in Port Charlotte. Ft. Myers, Sarasota, Venice, Anna Maria Island, St Petes and Tampa are all great places.

On the East side we really liked St Augustine......but, I know there are lots of equally nice places on the East side. Seems the airlines though really cater to the west side. There are return flights from Buffalo to Punta Gorda (near Port Charlotte) for $169 right now....Vision and Direct Air.

I don't think Florida would survive without Canadians. There should be a direct high speed rail service from Canada to Florida.

driver100

Test Drive Turns Deadly

Talk about stories from the sales frontlines....that was scary. Usually it is the one test driving I thought you had to worry about, but in this case it was the salesman.

It is a story that does show the value of wearing a seatbelt though.

Lemko, now go back to your Buick site.

tjc78

Yippee, that was a lot better than around $150 and 4 points

I am not sure if Jersey is still the same, but on most violations if you go to court you can at least get the points reduced to 0 but you still pay a fine and court costs.

When I had to 93 Taurus the speedometer cable was sticky and at times wouldn't register the proper speed. After a late night coming home from a friends house I had the cruise control set at 63 (in a 55 usually no problems). I get pulled over and officer states I am doing 71 in a 55. I plead my case and was honest. He didn't care and writes the ticket.

The next day I have the cable swapped out and held onto the receipt for my day in court. The Prosecutor comes over to me in the waiting area and I explain what happened and showed the receipt for the new cable. She told me that the judge wouldn't care and the best thing I could do would be to plead down to a "no point violation". I was paying big bucks for insurance at the time so I didn't want it going up further. I took her offer and paid a fine that was about 1 1/2x the amount of the original ticket.

driver100

The house was on the market for about 4 months at that time and was overpriced by 25K as far as I was concerned

There is an important lesson in that statement that I have learned and would like to pass on. Over the years I may have paid too much for a few of my cars, and a few of our houses. If i could do it again I wouldn't change anything, because 5 years later it didn't mean a thing. I liked the cars while I owned them, and the houses were well worth it. We might have paid too much for this house 2 years ago but it is worth more today then it was then.

All our houses went up, but even if they didn't, and I know in the US prices have fallen in most areas, you still need to live somewhere and some day your house will be paid for.

I don't want to pay full price for the villa, I will settle for a few thousand less than asking price, but in the big scheme of things I don't think the few thousand dollars is going to mean much.

But, I don't know why we haven't heard back yet....but I do believe if it was meant to be something will happen.

Sandman6472

Hollywood Beach has a huge Canadian population in the season...many business's speak the languages also. But really, in the winter, nothing beats Florida!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

driver100

I'm in there with the boy toy now?
Man, how I've fallen - and I can't get up!

You might have a chance, I am going to have a codisil added that no boytoy, boyfriend, or new husband can ever drive my BMW. That would just hurt too much!

driver100

Her realtor told her that the sellers kept calling him asking why my friend hadn't made another offer...

Sounds like there could still be hope. It is strange that she hasn't written back something....I am deciding, there's another party interested, I decided not to sell..........something! Maybe just playing hard to get.

roadburner

Yippee, that was a lot better than around $150 and 4 points

My traffic prosecutor and I would do just about anything to avoid passing a case for trial. Here is how things usually would go:

Me: Mr. Smith, you are charged with speeding- 65 in a 50 mph zone. How do you plead?

Mr. Smith: Well, I was speeding, but I don't think I was going that fast.

Me: So, how fast do you think you were going?

Mr. Smith: I was doing maybe 58.

Prosecutor: If Mr Smith will plead to 8 over the Commonwealth recommends Traffic School, no fine, and minimum costs.

Me: You want to plead guilty to 8 over?

Mr. Smith: Sure.

Me: OK, on a plea to 58 in a 50 I assess Traffic School and minimum costs. Next case!

Why waste everyone's time only to attempt to get a higher speeding conviction? Beats, me, but I know some judges and prosecutors that want to try every case.

snakeweasel

Does "the wife" sound more pc?

Just say "She who must be obeyed".

Sandman6472

But, isn't that a given???

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

snakeweasel

In any case, you will never win a heated roadside argument with a policeman so why even try?

I have seen to many people talk themselves into traffic tickets. My favorite was a freind of mine who when the poiliceman was giving him his drivers license back telling him he was just going to give him a warning said "Damn right, you know you are wrong and can't give me a ticket". The policeman just snapped the drivers license back walked back to his squad car and wrote the ticket.

I just sat there in the passenger seat simply amazed that he said what he said.

snakeweasel

Sounds good to me and he can get the first 2 from ‘snake’ and Richard.

Not sure about Richard, but I am keeping the ragtop for many years to come.

snakeweasel

Yippee, that was a lot better than around $150 and 4 points.

Here in Illinois they don't have a point system. Its three moving violations in a year and you lose your license (with some violations a manditory license lose) and a mark on your record. So being convicted for 6 over won't be any different than being convicted for 13 over.

roadburner

I just sat there in the passenger seat simply amazed that he said what he said.

One KY State Trooper(who was almost an identical twin to Bull on Night Court, by the way) told me he was going to give a speeding warning to a woman. As he walked up to her car she looked at him and said, "I guess you don't have a damn thing better to do than give me a ticket." Not only did she get cited cited for speeding, but he also dinged her for several equipment and paperwork violations...

snakeweasel

I once lived in the suburb of Stone Park, IL which was, and still is, a very strick high enforcemant speed trap. And by that I mean it was not unheard of to run into people who got tickets for doing 31 in a 30 MPH zone.

Well I get my discharge from the service and I go home. Now I was stationed in Kodiak, AK so I drove home in a car with Alaska plates and I had an Alaska drivers license. Well with the out of state plates I got pulled over real quick and the Policeman was giving me a real hard time about speeding through his town. Well I explained to him that I just got discharged from the Service and I was returning home to Stone Park and told him where I lived. All of a sudden his demeanor changed, he told me to drive safely and let me go with no problems.

nyccarguy

This happened maybe 5 years ago. My wife's grandmother died. The estate consisted of a house (nothing special). The house was to be sold & the proceeds were to be divided up equally between 4 siblings. My father-in-law & his older sister were named executors of the estate. Their younger sister lived in the aforementioned house with her husband, 2 children, & her mother (the one who died). After the funeral was over and the proverbial dust settled, they contact a real estate agent to start showing the house.

Then the fun started. The younger sister sues the estate (my father-in-law & his sister) for back wages because she cared for her mother for X number of years. She'll drop the suit of course if they give her the house.

During her time of caring for her mother, she also opened up credit cards & took out loans in her mother's name.

The suit & counter-suit were eventually dropped & the younger sister agreed to buy the house from the estate.

Nobody talks to her anymore. It is a shame. My wife has 2 younger cousins (Teenagers) that she has no contact with. It is sad.

Sandman6472

Had a Sebring rental a few years back...we loved it especially at night...would just take a ride to enjoy the fresh air it was so cool! Could actually see us getting one if we do stay in Florida...I know the wife would love it. Our night time temps are usually great for top down cruising. And some brands are pretty well priced. Think the Sebring would be too big for my side of the garage...a BMW 1 series is probably the perfect size for us. If I do win the lotto, that would be the 1st purchase definitely. Like the retractable 'verts but probably costly when they do break. In high school, the folks had a brand new '70 Caddy 'vert & we all used it. The high school even had me drive in all the school parades & at the football games which was fun.
And living in South Florida, a convertible is just made for here.

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

fezo

That is sad. Happens way too often. At very least with my parents my brothers all agree that essentially everyone did what they were capable of doing to help the folks in their last years. There's no question that two of them (one each for mom and dad) dealt with the lion's share of things but that was largely because they lived closest. There was also the fact that due to my own health issues I couldn't do as much as I would have liked.

On speeding and tickets - there's actually a topic in here about pleading to non-moving violations in NJ here. Another poster and I have been through it a couple of times. I had one cop that was a hard [non-permissible content removed] but finally let it ride. The second one was a speeding ticket on the Garden State Parkway. The prosecutor there was like old Monty Hall - Let's Make a Deal. He says to a group of us, "I've been doing this for 20 tears. Tell me the deal you want in less than 30 seconds and I'll tell you if we can do it." I say "I've got a ticket for 69 in a 55 (the cop had cut me a break already - I was doing 80) and I'd like to plead to obstructing traffic." "As long as the cop's OK with it done!" Turns out the cop wasn't there but they called him and he signed off on it.

I always had a good story with that until my brother got a speeding ticket reduced to illegal parking. Of course he's a lawyer and a prosecutor so that's almost cheating.