Like the rest of Americans, and all world citizens, I have paused prayerfully out of respect for the victims and families affected by the massacre in Aurora, CO. It happens too often, and is there nothing able to be done?
I get a catalog called Sportsman's Guide. There are a lot of bargains in the catalog, on shoes, boots, tents, hunting equipment, ammo; even a gatling gun kit that allows a person to convert a .22 into a weapon that will shoot 4 bullets a second (I think that's correct.) It's the concept that is the problem. I asked myself, "Where can that be used?" Maybe if attacked by a herd of deer! or bears! Rabbits!
Lots of cross bows in the catalog too, and air rifles ala Red Ryder, and pellet guns. So I can get all this stuff, online, mailed to my home. And this company has some great buys on ordinary things like shorts, shirts and socks.
There are some places in the USA where I will not travel, a self restriction, because you never know who has a weapon, and sooner or later there will be a victim, often shot "inadvertently."
One congressman from Texas was surprised that no one in the theater had a weapon to confront the killer. Right! Compound the situation.
Is there really nothing that can be done about the violence in our land?
Friday, July 20, 2012
Friday, July 13, 2012
Buying a car the easy way
Business is not my thing at all, and I usually feel hustled whenever I go to a car dealer showroom, no matter how prepared I am. Yesterday, I got a new car, practically for free. A year and a half ago, after two hours of wrangling, threatening to walk out, pleading for mercy, I did buy the car I just traded for a price that was okay, not what they promised, but I got what I asked for my old one.
So, Tuesday of this week, the salesman from the dealership called me up. "Do you still have that 2011 Accord?" "Yes," I replied, thinking they wanted me to get it in for the pending recall before it went up in flames. " We will take your car, pay off the principal, and give you a 2012 on a payment schedule less than you are paying now." "Right!" I replied, and he must have anticipated a click. So he said, "Really...we are looking for pre-owned cars. Would you like a red one as you have now, or some other color." "Blue, would be nice!" and that was tantamount to saying yes to his offer in his mind. "I think we have one blue one out there, I'll go check and get back to you." Right! You do that."
He did get back to me. He had a blue Accord, and he could lower my payments by $20 per month. I, still skeptical, said, "What about mud guards, can you throw those in?" (I remembered the negotiation a year and a half ago when mud guards came up after almost everything was finalized, except the payments. "They are $100 extra, and your car will look like a piece of crap with out them. You don't want to leave here without them.") This time, after the guy talked to the boss (they do this all the time... go to the back room to see what the boss thinks just to throw you off your game), the answer was "Sure, "We can do that." And the deal was sealed, or was it. "You have to bring in your car today to finalize everything-bring your license, registration, title, insurance card... this is a today only deal."
I gave it some thought after we had hung up. A today only deal. I have things to do today, and sitting around signing a bunch of papers after driving 35 miles was not on the list. I called back, left a message that I would not be coming in. It was too complicated for me to do it today.
Shortly thereafter, the boss called me. In his Italian way, he said "I thought we had a deal. I gave you everything you asked for!" "I can't get there until Thursday at 3 p.m.; will the deal hold until then?" "Sure, we want your car." "Why?" I questioned, "Is it valuable?" He explained that he could sell my car for $2 to $3000 more than my payoff, and he already had a buyer. The car I would be getting would be the dealer cost or thereabouts, which was considerably less than the suggested retail price of the car. We set up the Thursday exchange.
I woke up on Wednesday, and called the boss. I wanted to be sure about the terms of the deal, the trim of the car "It had to have the moon roof!" "How about the 17 inch wheels?" (I have come a long way from looking for the basics- wheels, motor, seats, steering wheel and stick shift.)
And so, Thursday, I had my new blue car, with 7 miles on it. I never knew I needed one. It was just too simple, and I made a lot of people happy, the boss, the salesman, the buyer (who probably overpaid) and of course me. Happy Birthday!
So, Tuesday of this week, the salesman from the dealership called me up. "Do you still have that 2011 Accord?" "Yes," I replied, thinking they wanted me to get it in for the pending recall before it went up in flames. " We will take your car, pay off the principal, and give you a 2012 on a payment schedule less than you are paying now." "Right!" I replied, and he must have anticipated a click. So he said, "Really...we are looking for pre-owned cars. Would you like a red one as you have now, or some other color." "Blue, would be nice!" and that was tantamount to saying yes to his offer in his mind. "I think we have one blue one out there, I'll go check and get back to you." Right! You do that."
He did get back to me. He had a blue Accord, and he could lower my payments by $20 per month. I, still skeptical, said, "What about mud guards, can you throw those in?" (I remembered the negotiation a year and a half ago when mud guards came up after almost everything was finalized, except the payments. "They are $100 extra, and your car will look like a piece of crap with out them. You don't want to leave here without them.") This time, after the guy talked to the boss (they do this all the time... go to the back room to see what the boss thinks just to throw you off your game), the answer was "Sure, "We can do that." And the deal was sealed, or was it. "You have to bring in your car today to finalize everything-bring your license, registration, title, insurance card... this is a today only deal."
I gave it some thought after we had hung up. A today only deal. I have things to do today, and sitting around signing a bunch of papers after driving 35 miles was not on the list. I called back, left a message that I would not be coming in. It was too complicated for me to do it today.
Shortly thereafter, the boss called me. In his Italian way, he said "I thought we had a deal. I gave you everything you asked for!" "I can't get there until Thursday at 3 p.m.; will the deal hold until then?" "Sure, we want your car." "Why?" I questioned, "Is it valuable?" He explained that he could sell my car for $2 to $3000 more than my payoff, and he already had a buyer. The car I would be getting would be the dealer cost or thereabouts, which was considerably less than the suggested retail price of the car. We set up the Thursday exchange.
I woke up on Wednesday, and called the boss. I wanted to be sure about the terms of the deal, the trim of the car "It had to have the moon roof!" "How about the 17 inch wheels?" (I have come a long way from looking for the basics- wheels, motor, seats, steering wheel and stick shift.)
And so, Thursday, I had my new blue car, with 7 miles on it. I never knew I needed one. It was just too simple, and I made a lot of people happy, the boss, the salesman, the buyer (who probably overpaid) and of course me. Happy Birthday!
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