Pray For Your Enemies

As I have been seeking employment, I have had some really great interviews that have wound up being complete dead ends. I know a lot of people have been telling partial truths about me and it's been quite a struggle. Last night I decide to pray that God would bless these people and their lives. I would ask those of you that read this to join me in asking that God bless them and draw these people close to Him.

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Matthew 5:44

Trying to buy a car

As I 'm trying to buy a car, I keep running into people who don't understand that they cannot charge more than the vehicle's worth. They also don't seem to understand that putting tires on a vehicle does not increase its worth but is simply regular maintenance. Consider the following emails, this is for a 2000 Honda Accord EX w 135k miles.

From the seller:
Condition Value


Excellent
$7,315


Honda Accord Ex

Power everything, leather, front dual airbags, front side air bags, premium sounds, sunroof, its everything! and 135k miles on it.

I just looked it up and thats what it says. I have a bunch of people wanting to look at it. So let me know.

Its worth more than Im asking for it. I owe 325.00 left on it. I just paid 6000.00 off of it. And only have that much left.

I should really be asking 6500.00 for it. since i still owe on it. Cause Im wanting to get somethig else after this car..

From the Captain:
I'm not working with dealers, because I'm only willing to pay the "private party value". With these features and mileage, Kelly Blue Book shows the following. If you end up lowering the price please let me know, best of luck selling it.



More Photos
Condition Value

Excellent $5,065
Good $4,590
Fair $4,040

From the seller:
No def not. You are not adding all the stuff that it has. Im not taking that for it. Def not.

Its worth more than that. And its in very good shape with low miles. there are honda accord 98 models all online for 5999.99 still. i would be stupid to sale it for less. plus i just paid 6325.00 on it to pay it off. and i have to replace it with something else. so no.

sorry!

From the Captain:
That was every available option with the miles you listed for this zip code. Best of luck selling it, I hope you get what you need for it.

So far I haven't heard back but wee will see. Here is another example of someone asking $5800 for a 2001 Chrysler 300m with 120k miles :

From the Captain:
I went home and ran a pricing report on your vehicle with my own observation of the condition. My estimation is that the vehicle is in good to fair condition based on the possibility of needing engine work, one or more front brake rotors needing replaced, and the cosmetic issues like the cracked dashboard, blown front speaker, stereo knobs, and the burlwood trim being pulled away from the dash. If you decide to lower the price, let me know.

I got the following values:
Condition Value

Excellent $3,965
Good $3,565
Fair $3,115

From the seller:
Here are the NADA and Consumer Reports I also ran when pricing the car. The work done three months ago was $741 for the new tires/belts plus I had the tires rotated/balanced/full alignment yesterday for 90. I had the rotors checked at firestone when I initially had the work done, and they do not need replacing. He said they could re-cover them for 70 if I recall correctly, so that's not too expensive of a fix (it was not necessary at the time which the guy I was working with agreed). I do not believe the engine work will cost more than 200-300 dollars, and am willing to take that off of the price. I was quoted 100 dollars at firestone in order for them to find the leak, and then whatever it costs to patch/fix it.

Let me know what you think when you take a look at these reports. I averaged the two of them when pricing the car, also taking the recent improvements into consideration.

From the Captain:
I hope you were able to sell the car, the prices you sent appeared to be retail but I am sure someone will pay that for it. Additionally, I do not count maintenance as improvements.

Movie Review (Cop Out)

The trailers were so funny, the movie is awful. I really hate it when funny things in the trailer aren't in the film too. I regret going to see this one, horrible.

Used Car Shopping

I have been used car shopping for several days now and thought I would share some of the fun I have been having. Yesterday I found a pretty decent, I thought, deal on a 2001 LeSabre but then the whole "good cop bad cop" thing started. As I was looking at the vehicle the guy was all smiles and offered the car for $4900. When we decided we wanted it the thing was $6000. Why can't they just tell you an honest price without some pushy sales crap with $2000 worth of processing fees, taxes and other garbage? It also seems that every car sales man I talk to has a belief that no one on the planet can look up what a vehicle is worth without the tiny book they hold in their pocket. I mean do these guys even need to exist now? It would seem that used vehicles could almost be sold from a vending machine at this point. Yesterday's fiasco actually prompted me to send the guy the following link when he told me I couldn't find a better deal anywhere:

http://autos.yahoo.com/used-cars/overview;_ylt=A2KIRufp.JBL9HQAUQNXc78F;_ylv=3?listingtype=used&make=buick&model=lesabre&modelyearlb=2001&modelyearub=any&askpricelb=any&askpriceub=any&deliverymileagelb=any&deliverymileageub=any&location=37931

I was trying not to be rude but this guy's car was one of at least ten and the most expensive. When confronted with that data, he acted as if no one had ever done this before. I would also caution people to stay away from the "buy here pay here" lots since the only things those men seem to be able to say are "what kind of payment are you looking for" and "it drives out real straight". I don't have any idea what driving straight "means" and I will need the car to also go both left and right to get it back home.