Atomictumor

This comment has been promoted to post status on account of because it seems like a good idea at this point of time.
OK, I’d write a post about it, but it was sorta anticlimatical…

Ed: This is a post about it.

We picked it up (Ed: The car.  Not a banana, or fruit roll up.) around 5:30 or 6, drove it in heavyish traffic back here (Ed: heavy traffic sucks even worse in a punchy car), went up and down the driveway (slight scrape, but nothing to worry about, better than the van was) (Ed: a 3 out of 10 on the scrape-o-meter, akin to “picking fight with nerdy kid in 4th grade”).
Took it to the time out (Ed: Deli, where we met Netmom and two of her multitudes of somewhat identical looking daughters), had a meal, got back late, 30 minutes till quitting time, and the guy hadn’t had the van appraised, he was “busy” (Ed: Busy not doing what I told him to do).
So I told him thats a setback (Ed: “Well, car guy, thats a bit of a setback, isn’t it?  I was looking to do this thing tonight”), and told him about the other place that’s selling essentially the same car (same mileage, same year/model) for 1500 cheaper.
I told him I don’t like that dealership (Ed: Twin City sucks.  Totally.  Sucks donkey balls.  Wait, is the editor allowed to say things like ‘donkey balls’?), but I’m not going to spend extra because I like this better.
So I told him I’m not going to pay more than 14,500 for the car (1000 bucks less than this other place, btw) and that I won’t accept less than 3500 for the van.
Lowball away… (Ed: Huh huh huh… you said ball) he said he didn’t know if he could scrape 2500 off the cost of the car, but he’d see what he could do (Ed: Again, you do it because I told you to do it, son). I told him to talk with who he needs to, and that I’ll be calling him tomorrow (Ed: And I don’t need no jibba jabba).
I also told him that we’re not really worrying about financing, that I’m only talking an ‘out the door’ price (Ed: Elicted the blank stare…).
Played the dead wife card, in saying that I really don’t want to spend more of this money than I have to because… “its all I have left of her”
(I’d like to thank the academy…)(Ed: clap clap clap)

(Ed: … uh, I have nothing more to say, but that, as a post, this comment is of poor quality)

OK, so heres whats happening.

I talked to my bank, got a mighty nice rate, and pre-approved for $12,000, evidently my credit isn’t as bad as I thought.  She’d be able to rework the loan after I get the insurance money without extra fees, because she’s cool like that (this gal has been our go-to financial chick), so there wouldn’t be a reason to wait to get the cash.

Woot.

I called used car guy, and told him we’d be there 5ish, I want to put Pigpen in the car, drive it up to the ‘Ridge, make sure that it won’t scrape going up our driveway, drive it on all sorts of roads, introduce it to my family, and have a good ol’ time.  We’re also going to use it for our Time-Out Deli run.

Yes.  Grand borrow auto.  Good stuff.

Then I’m going to drop off Pigpen, and MastaG is going to accompany me on the haggling, because its a good thing to learn.  I don’t remember my folks ever taking me to do that, and its a skill everybody needs for when Al Gore’s global warming turns us all into barbarians.  I’ve been schooling him.

For instance, on the second time the guy comes back with a new price, he has been trained to look at me and say “They’re breaking your balls, Dad”. Additionally, I have trained him to start acting bored, and picking stuff up off the guys desk, after the first 20 minutes.

I have a firm price in my head, which is the lowest that I will accept.  I have three other cars (with VINS) at three different dealerships, with three different prices.  I have the NADA, KBB, and Consumer Reports values memorized.  I’m all set to thank em, and get up to walk out.

I’m going to talk “out the door” pricing for the Mazda before I even discuss the van, and then I have a certain amount that I won’t take less for for the van, and I’m not going to mention that I have the financing taken care until everything else is figured out.  We’ll have that nailed down, and then I’ll grab a deal sheet and split.  Oh yes.

3 posts in one day!  Unbelievable!

But in news that has me hearing the faint, otherworldly excited squeal of BJ, Val Kilmer is talking about making a sequel to Real Genius.

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Speaking of things that would make BJ squeal, MastaG was singing “secret secret… I’ve got a secret” on the way to school.

Domo Arigato, indeed.

The CNN front page today says:

• Manhattan smells funny.
• Birds drop dead in Austin.
• Bill Gates has finally caught up to me with regards to the wired home media computer dealy (the ATivo)

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Edit: I posted before I lept, with regards to sprucing up the ol’ ATivo, I found that Sling Media, who got in trouble for marketing a device, the Slingbox, that allows you to stream the contents of your TV to any computer, thus sharing a cable TV connection, is going to start selling the SlingCatcher, which does the opposite. It sends whatevers on your computer screen (movies, media, solitare) to any TV in your house.

Now, I have that done through wires, but this does it wirelessly, and evidently with better fidelity than the SVideo connection video card out that I’ve been using.

Interesting. Not for me, but anybody interested in downloading things like TV shows and movies.

Not that I’d condone doing that, but like HST said, it always worked for me…

Well, party people, here we are in week two of 2007.  We all apparently survived the first one, and can reasonably expect the same in this one.

Woot.

I’m going to meet with a lady at the bank to talk loans, and might just buy that bastard of a car tonight.  I’m armed with what they’re charging at other car lots, and fully expect to knock off about 2 grand from the final deal.  At least.

Hardball.  Hell yes.

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It was pointed out to me that alot of places wouldn’t want to just finance 2 grand of the car, so I might be forced to finance 10 grand or so, which fits with my whole instant gratification get-the-car-now thing.  MastaG is all about it, he tells me he wants that particular car, but maybe in a different color.  I pondered the logic in that, and he suggested spray painting it when I questioned him.

Good thinking, G.

That boy’s got style, lemme tell you.