Stories from the Sales Frontlines

sterlingdog

"What's a 'buy here-pay here' dealer?"

It's an independent, locally owned dealer who sells used cars. The dealer will finance your purchase himself, even if your credit isn't the best in the world. You may have to pay a higher interest rate than the banks advertise. Many of the cars have high mileage or may have been in an accident. Though some are lemons, you can also find a decent ride now and then. In 1973, I purchased an MGB from such a dealer. It was a :lemon: and was painted the same color. I paid $900 in cash. One year later, I sold it myself for $700 after having repair bills of about $1K. It was definitely not one of the best deals that I ever made. Looking at the situation from your perspective, I drove the car for $100 per month: $900 cost + $1,000 in repairs - $700 sale profit =s a negative $1,200 driven for 12 months. That breaks down to $25 per week or $3.57 per day. Sounds better, doesn't it? :P

Richard

kyfdx

kyfdx: how do I resize a pic from facebook?

What is facebook? :surprise:

Seriously, out of my depth, there... you may not be able to.. I re-size photos on my computer, then put them on photobucket..then link from there.. That's easy and free..

snakeweasel

What is facebook?

Facebook is that social medium that my sister wished I would get on so that we may stay in contact with each other even though:

1.) She knows my e-mail address

2.) We both have phones and she knows my phone number

and

3.) She knows my street address and has the ability to buy paper, envelopes and stamps and can write.

driver100

. I suppose that we could call it "the feel of the house".

He finally gets it! :P

driver100

He's a car guy like daddy and can name quite a few car brands just from looking at the logos

That's great. I remember sitting on the front porch when I was a kid and I knew all the cars. On our street there was a Willys, a Henry J, Hudson, and my father bought a 1950 Morris...I think it had about 40 hp and you didn't know if it would make it up a steep hill.

But, the cars all looked so different then. Today it is hard to tell them apart, so if your son can do that, he is pretty good.

jmonroe

He's a car guy like daddy and can name quite a few car brands just from looking at the logos.

That almost sounds like Son #1 when he was around 2. He would look at a Chevy logo and then point out all of them on our way to a store as I carried him through parking lots. Son #2 at that age didn’t really seem to care all that much about that stuff; kinda took after his mother.

jmonroe

driver100

some are lemons, you can also find a decent ride now and then. In 1973, I purchased an MGB from such a dealer. It was a and was painted the same color.

Well, at least they warned you. The dealer was a bit honest.

Looking at the situation from your perspective, I drove the car for $100 per month: $900 cost + $1,000 in repairs - $700 sale profit =s a negative $1,200 driven for 12 months. That breaks down to $25 per week or $3.57 per day

Now you are learning, and you won't feel so bad. You have learned about "the feel of the road and house" and the Driver Method of rationalizing any purchase.

Thanks for the explanation of what a pay-here-buy-here dealer is. I haven't really bought a car that way. I did pay cash for my first car at a dealer that was like that, Walt's Motors...it was a 1960 Austin Sprite.
Probably more expensive to run than your MG, it used a gallon of oil a week. It was too risky to drive it on the highway...I'd have to keep pulling over to add oil every few miles.

jmonroe

Looking at the situation from your perspective, I drove the car for $100 per month: $900 cost + $1,000 in repairs - $700 sale profit =s a negative $1,200 driven for 12 months. That breaks down to $25 per week or $3.57 per day. Sounds better, doesn't it?

There is no doubt that you were a teacher. You must have known your students pretty well. Breaking it down like that, I knew he’d get it.

Nice job.

jmonroe

sterlingdog

"Well, at least they warned you. The dealer was a bit honest."

Not really. The dealer was a crook. The MGB was advertised as a one owner cream puff. He was correct about one thing. The poor little car did puff, puff, and puff some more. The fumes coming into the car from the fuel line were enough to kill you. The pistons and gaskets were shot to hell. I'll admit that it did look good---pretty yellow with black interior and a black top. Just like computers, I should have asked for some advice and had it checked out before the purchase. As my father said, "You should have let me look at it. You don't know a damn thing aobut cars." He was correct. He did some of the repairs and finally told me that I had better get rid of it. Fortunately, I found another sucker like myself. The only problem was that I made matters worse. I allowed the new owner to make payments to me---big mistake. I finally went to his boss who pressured him to pay me in full. The new owner had just begun a banking job. His boss took a dim view of bank employees who didn't pay their bills. I learned several lessons from that experience.

Richard

imidazol97

>kyfdx: how do I resize a pic from facebook?

I'd suggest setting up the free photobucket account and upload a picture you want to post to photobucket.

You are able to change the size of the photos there and save them in the smaller size--I believe one of those is 600 x ???.

Edmunds allows a maximum size of 650 pixels for width after which the excess is truncated.

Your picture can be sized on Edmunds by inserting the proper width and height after you add the html markers in your post with the IMG button. The sizing can be done as editing after the first post of the picture.

E.g., if your picture is 800 x 738, you divide 650 by 800 to obtain the ratio of the reduction needed. Then multiply that ratio by the 738 pixels. That gives 599 for the result. So my addition in front of the last greater than sign (>) with a space in front would be this:

width="650" height="599"

houdini1

That is about where we have ours set, and we hardly ever touch the thermostat.

Our house has 2 zones but only one forced air furnace and one heat pump. The system switches from one zone to the other by some type of computer, etc.

The electric company used to give us a break when we used the heat pump for heating in the winter months...then they double crossed us and took the credit away after a couple of years. I now have it set where it hardly ever operates for heat.

sterlingdog

I classify Driver as one of my "special" students. He requires a lot of patience and careful explanations. :P He is a speed reader and, at times, draws the wrong conclusions from a post. I only tolerate him because he loves cars, posts nice pictures, is well traveled, and is a gentleman---most of the time.

Richard

imidazol97

>Our HVAC company did say that the unit could be a little bigger.

That fact should make it work well for AC because it will run a high enough percentage of the time to dehumidify well. That fact might make it a little short on the heat side. But at 30 degrees the lack of output should not be a problem.

The constant air movement of heat pumps for heating bothers people used to gas units. I feel that gas units seem to have a higher humidity in the home perhaps from the combustion of the gas.

imidazol97

>I allowed the new owner to make payments to me---big mistake.

Judge Judy could have told us that in advance.

sterlingdog

"You must have known your students pretty well."

It was a key factor in my career for discipline control and motivation to achieve. You must know your students on an individual basis. Every student has his/her own learning style. For a high school room, my class looked more like an elementary setting. I had colorful pillows for those who liked to study by sitting on the floor, rocking chairs for those who didn't like to sit still, reading lamps for those who liked a brighter light, snacks for those who liked to munch while studying, soft music via earphones for those who studied better with background noise, etc. Still, there were times when we had to come together as a class and sit in rows or sit in groups. Students also have to learn to interact with others, as in the real world. Not all principals agreed with my approach, but as one principal said, "I don't bother Mr. Richard. The test scores are pretty darn good." Later on, I taught new teachers how to become effective teachers. I used my same old classroom methods as a model. Some teachers tried them; some didn't. Each teacher has to find what works best for them based on their own personality and objectives. As I used to tell them, "No matter how you approach teaching, you still have to get to know your students."

Richard

sterlingdog

This morning, I thought about what you told me. When I got up, the outside temperature was 17 degrees. Though the thermostat was set at 71 degrees, the interior temperature was 69. I pushed the setting to 73 and it is now back to 71. The house probably needs a larger unit. The unit is 7 years old. If we don't sell the house, I'll get a larger unit in another three years or so.

I'll tell you one neat thing that the unit did for us. Just before Christmas, we had a lot of interior painting done. Though it was pretty cool outside, we decided to run the A/C for one full day. It completely cleared out the paint odors. When my family arrived two days later, there was no hint that we had just completed the painting.

Richard

sterlingdog

I agree with you about FB. Though I let a friend talk me into signing on, I rarely go there unless I get a message. I have to laugh because I have 421 "friends" there. They are mostly former students. I can count my really good friends on one hand and have fingers remaining. I'm just not into sharing my personal life with the world---I do more of that here than any other place. Also, I'm not interested in reading on FB how a "friend" enjoyed his morning coffee or the fact that he is going to town to purchase some tools. I am amazed at some of the really personal stuff that people post on FB. If you have a mistress or a funky habit, please keep it to yourself. I think that there must be some really lonely people in the world. This need to constantly network socially is a trend among many. People used to enjoy some quiet time---reading books, going fishing or hiking, etc. It now appears that there is a continuous need to stay connected. I suppose that FB fills a need for some---those who live alone or are home bound for some reason. If it brings them comfort, then I can understand their involvement in something like FB.

Richard

tjc78

I am constantly harassed for my lack of Facebook. I have no interest. Like Snake said, everyone has my Email and Phone #. I can received email on my phone and text with the best of them. I just don't need another form of communication with all I have

Work Email
Personal Email
Home Phone
Cell Phone
Work Phone

If you can't get a hold of me..... something is wrong!

michaellno

My .02 on Facebook.

Yes, I've got an account. Like richard, I don't post all that frequently. I don't find my life so interesting that others would want to know about it.

Most of my "friends" fall into three categories - family members, old childhood friends and classmates from school - be it grammar, HS or college.

I've found FB to be good at informing me of bigger events. For example, I learned through FB that a HS classmate passed away last fall from cancer. As my 30 year HS reunion (!) is this year, it was good to know that we've lost one of our own. More recently, my cousin made a post that my uncle is currently in the hospital suffering from pneumonia.

The day-to-day minutia that gets posted gets minimal attention from me. Pictures of a restaurant meal, both before and after, aren't just that interesting to me.

Re: HVAC. I've got a natural gas furnace and an electric A/C system at my house here in Colorado. Both are the original and are about 11 years old. Currently, the thermostat is set to 69; in the summer, I think we set it around 73-74. Working from home has its advantages; I can open or close curtains / blinds / windows as necessary to keep the house cool or warm.

kyfdx

... I have an account... no personal information... and, exactly one friend... my teenager..

Being his friend allows me to monitor his page.. He is a good kid.. I probably don't look at his page any more than bi-monthly.... but, the threat is always there.... lol

boomchek

Pictures of a restaurant meal, both before and after, aren't just that interesting to me.

Haha, I use fb frequently to stay in touch with friends and family but one thing I don't get like you said, is people posting pictures of food they're about to eat.

I also use fb for my work to stay in touch with some of our fans and clients. It works quite well for us in some instances.

driver100

I classify Driver as one of my "special" students.

Ah, comeon teach, I at least deserve an A for effort (or is that an E for effort?)
Well, you know what I mean.

I am trying to help your economy by buying a place here in Florida. That should count for something!

You are correct though, I try to read every post but sometimes I have to speed read, but, don't forget, I read 2 newspapers a day, work about 1/3 time, play tennis 4 to 6 hours a week, do some weight stuff 1 to 2 hours a week, on top of all the regular day to day stuff every one does.

And, I am getting better....staying out of trouble lately for awhile now at least!

driver100

Every student has his/her own learning style.

You were a very talented and rare teacher from what you have just said. It is brilliant that you actually made allowances for the various personalities in your class, and that makes so much sense because there are different styles of learning.

I am certain all the teachers I had were one size fits all types. Do what I tell you to do. I had some teachers that were pretty good and none who I would say would have thought it important to teach students in a different way if they seemed to need that.

The high school I went to was the largest in the British Empire at the time I went, it had 2300 students. I don't know how that compares with todays schools. But, I feel we were treated as prisoners with numbers. Not much individual attention or interest in students.

I taught elementary school for a few years and I tried to make the classes interesting and enjoyable to my students, but, the system could wear you down very quickly if you tried to do that for too long.

I give you a lot of credit for being so caring and patient.
Now do I get an A+++?

driver100

This need to constantly network socially is a trend among many.

You are right on. I heard about this survey the other day:

a whopping 70 percent of ladies said that they’d gladly give up sex for a week rather than go a week without their phone. The survey found that people would be willing to give up some other big items too if it meant getting to keep their phones on their person. For example, 70 percent said they would completely ditch alcohol, 55 percent said they would bid caffeine adieu, and 54 percent said they would give up exercise

driver100

Pictures of a restaurant meal, both before and after, aren't just that interesting to me

I wouldn't be that interested in seeing the before, but, I for sure don't want to see the after. :shades:

tjc78

When I was researching cruises, I came across a large forum devoted to all things about cruising. There were tons of pictures of food. I never, ever thought to take pictures of what I was about to eat.

fezo

Ah, comeon teach, I at least deserve an A for effort (or is that an E for effort?)

Yeah, an E works. It's not up to the standards of a D but isn't quite an F either... :P

fezo

Richard - here is a great investment opportunity for you! -



If it works out I'll only need a small continent for my finder's fee.....

sterlingdog

Since the land is in Japan, you might want to settle for a small county rather than a small continent.

Richard

sterlingdog

"Now do I get an A+++?"

Well, you HAVE mastered the art of brown nosing. We'll give you an "A" for this grading period since you purchased a new car and a new house in order to help the economy. Also, you have stayed out of trouble and exhibited your usual nice manners. The only way that I will ever give you an A+ is if you convince me to buy a BMW.

Richard

mako1a

Driver, I had a new heat pump installed in spring 2011.

It's a Trane XL15i. Yes, little i at the end like a BMW.

I wonder if it has feel of the climate. ps, It works very well,

even with temps in the low teens. Same with A/C in summer.

mako1a

Driver, another thing you may want to consider instead of cable.

I've had DirecTV for 7 or 8 years now. Excellent service.

It's satellite based and comes with every convenience known.

We have 4 TVs and 3 of them have the DVR installed. I haven't

seen a commercial since it was installed. The DVR lets you pause

and rewind live shows (up to 2 hrs). It will record 2 shows at once.

I thought of you as I got a bill today and enclosed was upcoming events

including the Australian Open. Satellite isn't just for homes away

from cable. My buddy has it and he lives in jmonroe's "Burgh".

fezo

Do you get outages in bad weather with Direct TV? I'd sure like to be rid of Comcast....

Who provides your Internet?

mako1a

Direct TV only goes out when rain is very heavy and precludes the dish from receiving a signal due to the amount of rain/snow. About 2 or 3 times/year and for 10 minutes or so. Snow over 2 inches deep on the dish has to be knocked off. I keep my old boat hook extend-a-pole handy for tapping the dish to remove snow once, maybe twice/year.

My internet is also DirecTV, but if I could get real fiber optic broadband I would. Satellite downloads are better than dial-up, but not as good as cable or DSL.

The TV dish is about 12 or 13 inches and the Net dish is about 18 inches. Between those, my HAM radio antennas and the infrared security cameras, we must look like a psyops unit of the NSA. My garage doors have small labels of 0 and 1. When asked I tell them it's a binary thing.

verdugo

The MGB was advertised as a one owner cream puff. He was correct about one thing. The poor little car did puff, puff, and puff some more.

LOL I'm not joking. I actually did laugh out loud. Good one Richard.

verdugo

I don't find my life so interesting that others would want to know about it.

I wish new parents would feel the same way. A picture once in a while is nice (not picking on you nyc, your pics were great.) But do they really have to post everying their babies do? I don't really need to know it's her 3 week birthday.

Oh, and don't even get me started on a friend who has an account for her 1 year old baby.

driver100

The only way that I will ever give you an A+ is if you convince me to buy a BMW.

Well, you are experiencing the "feel of the house" and next you will want to experience "the feel of the road" too.

We are getting there.

At least the A++ in BNing is my first A++.

snakeweasel

I've had DirecTV for 7 or 8 years now. Excellent service.

As for me I will avoid CDirect TV like the plague. A few years ago we decided to get Direct TV, At the time my wife was going to be out of the country for three weeks and I was going into my busy time for taxes. So for three weeks there would be no one to be at home for installation except for the saturday before the wife left the country. So we made an appointment for that saturday, the day before they called and said they couldn't make it.

I explained the situation to the guy who called explaoning that it would be over three weeks before we could reschedule it. He said that they would see what they could do and call me right back. they called back an said that they could make it on saturday.

Saturday morning they called up and said they couldn't make it. So I took a day off of work (which was really hard for me to do) so we could reschedule the apointment. On the day of the appointment a guy came did some work in the back and came around to tell me he needed a supervisor there. The only problem was that there was no supervisor avaliable.

So against my better judgement I took another day off of work for another appointment. The night before they called and said that they couldn't make it. They wanted to reschedule and I told them don't bother, I'll stay with Comcast.

Fast forward to a couple of months ago and the wife wanted to try again, so i said ok. We were on the phone with the customer service rep discussing what they could do for us. After some time discussing our options she gave us prices for each item and a discount for bundling them together and then gave us a final total monthly cost.

Now when I get the numbers I add them all up and get a figure thats $10 less than what the rep said it would be. Now we have the rep on the speaker phone when me and the wife are discussing this and trying to reconcile the $10 we heard the rep say over the speaker phone "F***ing idiots".

Real great customer service Direct TV has. Glad I will never experience it again.

driver100

I've had DirecTV for 7 or 8 years now. Excellent service.

Back in Canada we have a Cable Box that can record, even while watching another program. Or you can record 2 different programs if you aren't watching TV.

My problem here is twofold. One is the condo provides cable as part of the monthly maintenance fee. We pay a little extra to get more channels. That same cable company provides our internet. I am not sure if DirectTV is satelite TV, but if it is there are condo rules which won't allow you to put a dish on your roof. There are lots of rules, such as where you park, your garage door is supposed to be kept closed, your mullions have to be straight or they call the Mullion Police (mullions are those cross bars in the windows in case you don't know, I didn't until I moved here). Overall, I think the rules are good, but in some cases they defy reason.

Thanks for your thoughts though, much appreciated. I think what will work best is for about $100 I can get a DVD player burner. They have HDMI, I can burn DVDs, the cost is reasonable, DVDs are fairly cheap just for watching the Australian open.

Glad you are getting the "feel of the furnace" by the way. And, at least your furnace is part BMW with that "i".

driver100

I don't really need to know it's her 3 week birthday.

That's funny...... a 3 week birthday!

[Deleted User]

Do you get outages in bad weather with Direct TV?

I lose reception from DISH satellites during heavy rain, snow, and wind. Personally I'd switch to Comcast if given the choice, especially for Internet, but we're remote enough that it's not an option.

driver100

I've had DirecTV for 7 or 8 years

I think I might get something like this for $99:




Toshiba DR430 DVD Recorder - HDMI, 1080p, One Touch Recording, USB, Dolby Digital Recording, 3D Virtual Surround Sound.

This is what it does;

With the Toshiba DR430 DVD Recorder, converting and archiving your favorite home movies to DVD is simple. You can also experience your DVD movie collection in near HD quality with the Toshiba DR430 DVD Recorder's 1080p upconversion via HDMI®. One Touch Recording on this Toshiba DR430 DVD Recorder makes recording your favorite show simple. Just connect your DVD recorder to your cable or satellite box and you are set to record with the push of one button!

List Price: $119.99
Instant Savings: - $20.00
Price: $99.99
ADD EXTRA PROTECTION
with a Top-Rated SquareTrade Warranty Learn More
SquareTrade 2-Year Electronics Warranty $9.98
SquareTrade 3-Year Electronics Warranty $14.98

I left in the warranty because $9.98 which is 10% of the cost price for a warranty for year 2 basically is very expensive warranty. And, in 2 years they will probably be out of date or cost what a VHS unit would be now, $25!

fezo

You are lucky they aren't sending you potty training stories......

I loved the pictures of nyc's kids. MAybe I'll post mine though they are older than that....

murphydog

I dunno - the sign says "earth", I take that to be the whole ball of wax, not just one country, right?

nyccarguy

No offense taken. I have a Facebook account & check it regularly. It is mostly a novelty. It has allowed me to reconnect with a few people who I genuinely lost touch with. There are people who post completely mindless things or completely personal things.

It is "so high school" where people want to have the most "friends.".

roadburner

Yes, great pics!!!

roadburner

I bought the Magnavox MDR513H/F7:



I use it to record shows OTA(we don't have cable or satellite). The HDD can record over 60 hours of near-HD programs. The down side is that it does not record the Dolby Digital soundtrack; stereo playback is all you get...

driver100

I bought the Magnavox MDR513H/F7:
RB, that is an amazing unit and people who bought it really liked it. I always check the reviews and almost 300 reviews with 4 out of 5 stars is excellent.

I am sending that one to my IT expert to see if he thinks that one will suit me better than the Toshiba. The difference in price is quite a bit, $250 vs $99, but I realize the Magnovox is definitely worth the extra amount. I am just not sure it is worth it for 2 or 3 months of the year.

Not recording in Dolby doesn't matter very much to me. The last thing I want to do in this beautiful climate is to stay inside watching movies. The plants and vegetation and wildlife is incredible around here.

Thanks, we'll see what our IT guy says.

driver100

infrared security cameras, we must look like a psyops unit of the NSA

ATTN: MAKO

Mako, I hope you around today. I wanted to ask you about your security cameras.

We have a security system at home and I really like having it. The system was built in and by accident I found a security company that costs just $10 a month. That $10 a month (about 35 cents a day using the Driver Accounting System) gives me a lot of piece of mind and helps me to sleep a lot better too. Our house in Canada is just 5 years old but it makes some creepy noises at night...just because of expansion and the furnace or a/c noises...sounds like people are walking around. I would have to get up and check if it wasn't for the security system.

In Florida, it seems monitoring companies cost $35, and I can see by their ads it will really cost more than that. I think it is worth $10 to $15 a month, but not so sure about $35.

At work we have a video camera and you would be surprised how many vehicles come in to our place to dump garbage in our bins, or who actually try to get into a trailer parked outside...just old inventory of books - which thieves would never take. But, the ones checking the trailer always wear hats low over their face and they blurr their license plates. So, though I like the idea of a security camera, I am not sure how much good it does.

I am not sure how good security systems are either, since the police won't show up for a few hours any way. But, it is a bit of a deterrent as thieves might choose a house without security first, and if you are in the house they will know the police could arrive at any time.

What is your thinking?

dougb10