Stories from the Sales Frontlines

explorerx4

Although I wasn't here the whole time, we lost power for 11 days last year at this same time.

houdini1

I would give him a "promotion" and tweak his duties so that he had little, if any, interaction with sales, marketing, etc.

oldfarmer50

"...$1641..."

Wow, I don't pay that much on the 4 cars combined. :surprise:

oldfarmer50

"...GF made a good point last night..."

That gal has a bright future in car sales!

verdugo

Glad Liberty Mutual is treating you well (I have them too.)

Governor Malloy signed a bill that makes sure those affected by Sandy do not have to pay 1 cent of their deductable.

I don't agree with this. They should pay their deductible.

abacomike

"...$1641..."

Wow, I don't pay that much on the 4 cars combined.

Go ahead, make me feel worse! Isn't it outrageous? I don't even carry medical or towing or rental car reimbursement! And I carry $1000 deductible collision! And every other company I called except for one (which was a few bucks less) was even higher!

It's the cost of that darn PIP that is the culprit. And my uninsured motorist was also the reason - so many drivers down here either carry the minimum insurance or no insurance at all!

I have to pay it - no alternatives!

isellhondas

I agree. It's none of the Governor's business.

Those unpaid deductables will only result in increased insurance rates for EVERYONE. Not just those affected.

They knew they had a deductable when they signed up and some people who could afford it may have signed up for huge deductables that they now won't have to pay.

jwilliams2

I think what the Governor's are saying is that the hurricane deductables won't apply, because the storm wasn't officially a hurricane when it made landfall. Most policies up here have two deductibles, one regular (ie $500-1000) and a seperate hurricane one, which can run 1% to 5% of the property value.

Folks will still have to pay the normal deductible, just not the higher hurricane one.

explorerx4

You are driving a Mercedes E class, not a Nissan Versa.
Funny thing is, when I had my Ford Focus, that was the most expensive vehicle to insure.

fezo

Good point.

Now I pay almost as much for my car and again on my wife's car. My kids cars cost almost twice that and they don't have collision. AT least in 14 months one turns 25 which will drastically cut the cost of her insurance. Another year or so after that I'm betting she marries her boyfriend which would cut my costs even more drastically.

That hurricane vs. non-hurricane makes more sense. The insurance folks have a whole bag of tricks to avoid paying. Just try to get into a "is this water damage or wind damage?" argument with them.

dino001

dIsn't that new Amerian way? Sign contract first for a lower rate discount an when time comes go on TV and cry that evil insurance corporation screwed you by providing the exact service tha was promised you agreed to pay them for.

imidazol97

>Two politicians from way opposite sides checking things out and making plans to fix it.

But it's not "fixed." People in huge numbers are out of their houses demolished or are stuck in houses/apartments with no power, based on TV reports. FEMA knew the storm was coming. They should have gasoline trucks appearing at the stations needing deliveries. They should have food deliveries to the groceries in the dark areas. They should have mass shelters. Obama flew in for photo op with republican governor and is back to fundraising. I see horrible stories of the people on the tv stations, especially Fox.

I know how bad it was in winter when we have ice storms kill power lines here, which can take up to 2 weeks to repair. In cold weather it's terrible enough, but not to even have a house... There in the NE, many people don't have houses to hook power back to. Terrible tragedy. I'm appalled by the politicking on the backs of people in horrible straits. One lady was crying about how she'd been in her house for 22 years and its gone--probably on a retirement /SS income. Where will she live for months/years if insurance will rebuild, if she can rebuild?

I recall people coming to the quick markets for ice and food during Hurricane Hugo here in Ohio. But in most areas the power outage was spotty and they could drive to nearby areas which had power. AND the temperatures were warm. People will have freezing in the NE area now.

Time to donate food and money to the many places that will actually help the people, Salvation Army, e.g., and the other individual groups which were loading semi trucks on Monday in Cincinnati, e.g.. The CEO of Red Cross gets $900,000+ in pay, so I'm hesitant to recommend them after what came out with Katrina about the monies. But help is needed by the people and big government help is slow.

driver100

I would give him a "promotion" and tweak his duties so that he had little, if any, interaction with sales, marketing, etc.

Company isn't large enough....everyone has to interact. 5 full time people, 5 part-time.

stickguy

You are a generous dad. I am going to solve that problem with my rule of 22.

You turn 22, I stop paying tuition, car insurance, cell phone, etc.

For my son's sake (he graduates college in May), I hope he finds a real job in his major quickly, because the overnight shift at Taco Bell sucks.

fezo

Those houses tat are gone are way expensive beachfront housing. Not all of it but a great deal. How do you propose to suddenly house the entire population of a town in this large an emergency? They are more or less doing that right here and a large part of that role is being handled by government whether you like that or not.

Also, while the hurricane was still going full force I saw dozens of Army Humvees heading to the island that is now several disconnected smaller islands to ready the place so that gas, power, sewer and sorts if other necessary things can be repaired. The private companies don't have that kind of capacity. It takes federal attention and, yes, orders from the commander in chief.

Too bad if you don't like that.

I see government doing what it's supposed to, charities doing what they are supposed to do, and business doing what it's supposed to. It takes time (though I'll bet they've put the island back together in time for next season). They don't call it a catastrophe for nothing.

fezo

Oh, and for a bit of before and after look here.

Tell me what was supposed to those folks losing homes and who is supposed to build new ones right away.

I wonder why they allow so much building on areas where they KNOW this will happen. But that's life. And your taxes went into protecting all those houses for decades from lesser storms.

stickguy

impressive picture show. Especially the way they did the tech.

I feel the same way to an extent. barrier islands are pretty much what they are from protecting the mainland from the sea. And if you build them there, you should know you are betting against the house (the ocean) and the house usually wins eventually.

it certainly sucks if it was your house of course, but that is the risk you take to get right on the beach like that.

There are some neighborhoods in Philly that are in flood plains for some of the creeks, and they flood in any good sized storm. And yet, people keep crying when their house floods, then they rebuild using Fed funds of course), and a year later are crying about the flood from the next storm.

some areas should just be given back to nature, but it rarely happens.

fezo

The town I grew up in has a section like that - though in this case river water. They are now talking about getting the feds to buy teh houses and turn the area into a a big rec area. We'll see.

In his last couple of years my dad was convinced a storm like this was coming and the first thing he wanted me to do was to find a panicked seller and buy up the house (well, he wanted to buy up the house). There's some thought to that. The last storm of this magnitude here was 5o years ago. People stayed away for a year maybe and started coming back. Right how you can't buy a dog house there for under a half a million and a little 2 bedroom house with no frills will set you back more. If it's on a lot that is big enough for today's zoning codes it's worth at least $700,000 as a knock down.

Dad used to have a little dump of a duplex on the island back in the 80s. Bought it for $86K in 83 and sold it for $160K in 87. I lived in the bottom half and we rented the upstairs out by the week in the summer and put in winter renters (easier said than done) from mid-September to Memorial Day. Made out like a bandit and just after the sale real estate caved so he figured he'd made out great. Once real estate recovered and it was selling for $600K he asked me why we sold it. I said because you saw you had a big profit at the time! And he did.

The guy that bought it in 87 had a bad time of it. Did all sorts of redesign and repair (I hated all the redesign but it was his house....) and ended up selling it for less than he paid for it. Oh, well.

tjc78

Well, not anymore at least. The cruise I was on was supposed to arrive in NY on Monday morning. The port of NY had closed down and did not reopen until yesterday morning. We ended up with four free days and an unplanned stop in Boston. The cruise line did an awesome job of informing us with what was going on and keeping us safe. Aside from one night of some serious waves, it was fine. Naturally, the complainers were out in full force and some moron called Fox News saying the ship was out of food. They obviously didn't see the buffet, which could have fed a small nation.

My car was parked at the port, but luckily was ok! The port had no power when we docked, but they did a decent job getting us off the ship.

Stick, saw your post thanks for asking. I also saw tons of trucks heading up the turnpike from several power companies, in addition there was a huge string from Alabama heading north on the Black Horse Pike that I would assume were heading back from the shore areas. There was also serious lines at the service areas on the northern part of the TP. (Above exit 10)

graphicguy

tjc...good to hear you're OK. Not a bad deal....you miss the hurricane, and get an extra 4 days of cruising.

Funny...I've been on probably 10 cruises. The last thing a cruise ship would o is run out of food.

jmonroe

Just try to get into a "is this water damage or wind damage?" argument with them.

Get the rider that covers "water damage brought on by wind damage". I wonder how much they charge for that? :sick:

jmonroe

fezo

The only folks that write flood policies are all underwritten by the feds. The insurance companies want nothing to do with it. As a result they then try to pass everything off as water damage.

That Fox News report on your ship must have been an opinion piece. We know in here they have the most accurate actual news reporting. (where is that rolleyes?)

roadburner

We bought a new heat pump this week; a 15 SEER Rheem/Ruud system. Total damage was $6,200 installed, so I'm not complaining. We used the HVAC contractor who had regularly serviced our old unit, so I'm confident that the installation was done properly and that he will stand behind his work. I'll be interested to its effect on our electric bill...

driver100

Naturally, the complainers were out in full force and some moron called Fox News saying the ship was out of food.

Welcome back. Nice that it all worked out ok....some people aren't happy unless they are complaining.

graphicguy

RB....congrats....I think. When the gov't was "incentivizing" us to replace old HVAC systems with big tax breaks, I replaced mine. It was "only" 15 years old. But, I knew sometime in the next 5 years, it would probably become overly troublesome. It really did make a big difference in my power bill.

roadburner

Yes, we thought about replacing the system while the Federal tax credits were in effect, but at the time it was working fine so we decided against it.

nyccarguy

Congrats & welcome home! An extra 4 days of your honeymoon for free? Sounds good to me.

sterlingdog

"...a 15 SEER Rheem/Ruud system."

Please keep me posted on that electric bill. Our two Carrier units are 22 years old. My AC guy advises a Rheem/Ruud replacement when the time comes. I imagine that our $500-$600 electric bill will drop a bit. I still don't complain about the bill when I consider that the units are heating/cooling a 4,500 sq. ft. house.

Fezo: Glad that you are safe.

GG: Been there; done that with selling items to relatives---never again. You have my sympathy. As you say, no good deed goes unpunished. My only advice is that if you live through this, don't do it again.

Tjc: Glad that you arrived home safely.

Damage and destruction: Several of you mentioned those electrical trucks from Alabama heading up North to help. We heard that they were turned back by the electrical unions who didn't want them taking their jobs. Whether that is true or not may be better known by some of you.

Mike: Just a thought, but you might check rates with Farm Bureau Insurance. I've been with them for 25 years. I never change because each time that I check rates, Farm Bureau is consistently lower on the cars and house. Also, I know my agent well and all of the staff recognizes me when I enter their office. It's a nice feeling. I pay $1,080 a year for the two cars with major medical and collusion coverage. My deductible is $500.

Richard

abacomike

Mike: Just a thought, but you might check rates with Farm Bureau Insurance. I've been with them for 25 years..

I've contacted State Farm, Allstate, Esurance, Progressive, Geico, USAA, Travelers, Farmers (Farm Bureau), 21st Century, Nationwide, etc. All of them except for State Farm were higher, and what I would save with State Farm isn't worth changing insurance companies for. Additionally, Liberty Mutual, my company, writes their policies for 1 year, so I do not get socked with increases every 6 months.

You live in NC, and if I lived there, I would pay 1/3 what I now pay. My major costs are PIP and Uninsured/underinsured motorist. 50% my cost is for those 2 items. Most people down here pay some of the highest rates in the country - due to fraud and high theft and accident rates.

My brother pays 1/2 of what I pay in Ponte Verdra FL, and his car is a $131,000 Mercedes CL. So, it's where I live. I can assure you that if my Dad would move, which he refuses to do, I could save a bundle.

Thanks for the advice.

robr2

...any of this shown up in NJ yet?

fezo

Not a nice can like that but I do indeed have drinking water. Thankfully, even though we were without power for two and a half days we still had water - and hot water to boot. No heat but we did have hot water. I am still trying to figure that out.

kyfdx

Gas heat and hot water?

Gas furnace controls are electric, because you can't get heat through the duct work, without the electric blower... Hot water is just heated with gas, then moves through the lines via water pressure...

oldfarmer50

"...I've contacted...Farmers (Farm Bureau)..."

Farmer's Ins. Isn't the same as Farm Bureau. Farm Bureau is a lobbying group that offers different insurance to farmers. That's where I have my car and farm insurance. My company requires bundling of home and car. When I switched to them years ago I saved quite a bit.

On another topic:

I know this isn't a HVAC question but this car caught my eye:

http://albany.craigslist.org/cto/3332614245.html

Milage is low for the year and the price is within my limited budget. The only bad I see is the paint job. Has that crummy GM white paint just like on my '91 Oldsmobile which peeled off in sheets. I can see from the pictures where it is chipped and bubbled in spots.

Seller claims rebuilt tranny. if he has paperwork showing it was done professionally is that a positive?

I need another car like NJ needs rain but I never know how much life is left in the Vette and I'd like to keep my topless options open.

mako1a

Oldfarmer, both Buick (Reatta) and Cadillac (Allante) made supposedly "timeless" cars designed to look like fresh models for years to come.

They were both made in the 1989-1993 era and were expensive when new.

Not sure about the Buick (ask isell as he has/had one), but the Cadillac was the one I had. It was a hardtop convertible. Mine had both tops, a V8 A/T and ran well. However my ABS went out leaving me with a 60s version of power brakes. Very expensive to fix. They were rare Bosch III systems only put on high end cars. If the Reatta has it...stay away. Needless to say, the Allante got traded in for a 98 GT Mustang.

fezo

Doh! Of course the blower! I'm trying to pin it on auto pilot lights....

isellhondas

2000.00 for a Reatta CONVERTABLE and you haven't jumped all over it???

I sold our 1990 Reatta hardtop last year for 3500.00 and it had 150,000 miles on it!!

Of course a professionally rebuilt transmission is a positive!

If it were here I would be all over it!!

No doube it's been snapped up unless I am REALLY missing something?

oldfarmer50

"...my ABS system went out..."

The ABS on my son's LeSabre went out and we got a quote for $1600 to fix. I told him to pump the brakes. :lemon:

oldfarmer50

"...I would be all over it..."

Dang, where's driver100 when I need someone to talk me out of buying?

$3500 for a car you bought for $1200? Pretty sharp wheeling and dealing. :shades:

"...unless I'm REALLY missing something..."

Yeah, that's my worry. Seller is kind of sparse with details.

graphicguy

OF.....I like that Reatta. Usually, GM trans and 3.8 motor were pretty bullet proof. Kind of surprised the trans needed a rebuild with only 80K miles, though!

isellhondas

Oh, I think I put something like 500.00 into the Reatta while we owned it.

Seriously, the more I think about it, SOMETHNG must be amiss with that Reatta if it's being sold that cheaply. Still, is it close enough for you to go take a look?

isellhondas

Sometimes age takes a toll on a transmission. I would like to see that receipt. Some people think a reseal job is a "rebuild".

stickguy

you can buy it for me. stick it in the barn, and I will swing by over Christmas to pick it up!

love that tacky interior. But at least the electronic dashboard lights up still.

isellhondas

There is a very active Reatta club and parts are available.

houdini1

It's a nice feeling. I pay $1,080 a year for the two cars with major medical and collusion coverage. My deductible is $500.

Now why would a model citizen like yourself need collusion coverage ?

driver100

Dang, where's driver100 when I need someone to talk me out of buying?

I am right here, in Ruskin Florida! That little Reatta sounds like a steal, for $2000...however, I have a feeling they weren't the most reliable car on the road.

We picked up the Passat today. It is a wonderful car, solid, nice steering, great comfort....and really fun with the manual. It is about half the price of my wife's A4, and though the A4 is nicer, I don't know if it is twice as nice.

On the other hand, our rental car was an Altima. I have no idea why we need Altimas, when there are so many better choices around. Not sure how much less the Altima is compared to the Passat, but it is worth about half the price of the Passat. Cheap interior, terrible numb steering, very little power, lots of road noise, seats not too comfortable. Good gas mileage, 35 mpg.

Briefly, the Passat seems to be a car where they didn't take short cuts, the Altima seems like it is the bare minimum in driving.

driver100

Now why would a model citizen like yourself need collusion coverage ?

I think "collusion coverage" is for people who plan their own accidents. :sick:

oldfarmer50

"...cheap interior..."

I was at the auto show yesterday and saw a Passat. Indeed it has a very nice interior. One the few that wasn't all black. $34k sticker price would keep my checkbook in my pocket.

In fact, I got a bad case of sticker shock everywhere I looked. A Smart Car for $18,500? Come on! I could buy 9 Reattas for that price. :surprise:

driver100

$34k sticker price would keep my checkbook in my pocket

The beige interior and leather trim seats look beautiful. The base S model is pretty sparse, but the SE is nicely equipped, power drivers seat, multi-function info screen, leather seats. The manual was $23K, automatic #1100 more, pretty well equipped and a great driving car for under $25K!

A Smart Car for $18,500? Come on! I could buy 9 Reattas for that price

That makes you think doesn't it? I'd rather have one Reatta and pocket the rest.

tjc78

I have no idea why we need Altimas

I've driven previous generation 4cyl and 6cyl Altimas. I can't agree with your evaluation. I found them a pleasure to drive MINUS the CVT transmission that I couldn't get used to.

We had a few of them as salesman cars at work and they all made it well over 200K with little issues.

Isell,
Didn't the early Reattas have a touchscreen for radio/HVAC that was later replaced with a traditional radio and separate controlled HVAC?

sterlingdog

"Now why would a model citizen like yourself need collusion coverage?"

LOL! It's a special form of insurance for those times when the cops plot against you to give you tickets.

Richard