Cars: new, not so new, and totalled
Test drove a Saab this afternoon. It was on the lot, and it was in my price range, but I told the salesman upfront that I would definitely want to research Saab before making any decisions since I don't know anything about Saab.
He said, "When we go back in, I''ll give you all the research you need."
I said, "No, I'd much prefer to do my own research, thanks."
It was fun to drive; it felt very luxurious, with its fancy self-folding cup holder and heated seats and badass instrument panel. And before I even left, and before I even made any offers, they knocked the price down twice, eventually hacking $1,230 off. I felt compelled, but I still wanted to research reliability, fuel economy, and the history of this specific car.
After I left, I called my expert friend who said Saabs aren't known for reliability, especially since they were bought by GM. And I read the cartalk.com review and learned that Saab parts are expensive and labor-intensive to replace since so much is buried under the dash. And then I read that this car averages 24 miles to the gallon. Um, hello, Phil Salesman? Didn't I tell you on the lot that even 32 mpg was only "okay"? What part of "I want a car that gets better than okay gas mileage" do you not understand?
So that's out.
In other news, litjason suggested I write a little about my job and how it's going. It's going great! Today, we attended a workshop on total loss and how to write one and how to pick out pre-existing damage. The class was at a salvage facility, and we spent some time out in the yard writing estimates on junked cars. We also witnessed some excitement when a big truckload of salvaged vehicles arrived and got unloaded by forklifts. One forklift operator had trouble fixing his fork underneath a 90s Mustang and wound up pushing it until one of the forks slid right through the suspension, slicing the wheel and the shock apart altogether, the damage apparently unnoticed. We saw another forklift miss a Kia SUV and knock it into the car behind it. Good times!
Total loss is the one thing I feel a little uncomfortable with, because it seems like the one thing that's almost never in the customer's best interest, and I feel like people with old, crappy cars are the ones who are the most likely to need as much as they can get for their junker when it's totalled, because they're not likely to be able to afford much to begin with. Then again, a car's actual cash value isn't really subjective. A 20-year-old sedan with mismatched doors, a ton of dents, a pitted interior, and bald tires isn't worth a lot of money. It just ain't.
I'm enjoying the work in the office, too. I get to call all these people and find out about their accidents. Often, it's really juicy! Somebody didn't have permission to drive, or somebody got hit and only had time to write down the license plate before the other guy drove off, or somebody is about to go to jail. I get to read police reports and take recorded statements. I haven't had anything too difficult, but I do get to assign liability, and people aren't always happy to know they were at fault. I've also gone out to write estimates a few times, and one of those times, I had to negotiate with the body shop manager because my estimate was less than his. That was actually pretty easy, because my estimate was only about $150 less, and it really came down to refinish time, but I busted out my negotiating skillz anyway, and he agreed without any arguing.
It won't always be this easy, but every day I feel more prepared to face sticky situations. Next week, we're in Berlin for one more week of intense property damage training, and then it's back to my actual office, where I haven't worked since late August. Then it's the real thing. Eee!
He said, "When we go back in, I''ll give you all the research you need."
I said, "No, I'd much prefer to do my own research, thanks."
It was fun to drive; it felt very luxurious, with its fancy self-folding cup holder and heated seats and badass instrument panel. And before I even left, and before I even made any offers, they knocked the price down twice, eventually hacking $1,230 off. I felt compelled, but I still wanted to research reliability, fuel economy, and the history of this specific car.
After I left, I called my expert friend who said Saabs aren't known for reliability, especially since they were bought by GM. And I read the cartalk.com review and learned that Saab parts are expensive and labor-intensive to replace since so much is buried under the dash. And then I read that this car averages 24 miles to the gallon. Um, hello, Phil Salesman? Didn't I tell you on the lot that even 32 mpg was only "okay"? What part of "I want a car that gets better than okay gas mileage" do you not understand?
So that's out.
In other news, litjason suggested I write a little about my job and how it's going. It's going great! Today, we attended a workshop on total loss and how to write one and how to pick out pre-existing damage. The class was at a salvage facility, and we spent some time out in the yard writing estimates on junked cars. We also witnessed some excitement when a big truckload of salvaged vehicles arrived and got unloaded by forklifts. One forklift operator had trouble fixing his fork underneath a 90s Mustang and wound up pushing it until one of the forks slid right through the suspension, slicing the wheel and the shock apart altogether, the damage apparently unnoticed. We saw another forklift miss a Kia SUV and knock it into the car behind it. Good times!
Total loss is the one thing I feel a little uncomfortable with, because it seems like the one thing that's almost never in the customer's best interest, and I feel like people with old, crappy cars are the ones who are the most likely to need as much as they can get for their junker when it's totalled, because they're not likely to be able to afford much to begin with. Then again, a car's actual cash value isn't really subjective. A 20-year-old sedan with mismatched doors, a ton of dents, a pitted interior, and bald tires isn't worth a lot of money. It just ain't.
I'm enjoying the work in the office, too. I get to call all these people and find out about their accidents. Often, it's really juicy! Somebody didn't have permission to drive, or somebody got hit and only had time to write down the license plate before the other guy drove off, or somebody is about to go to jail. I get to read police reports and take recorded statements. I haven't had anything too difficult, but I do get to assign liability, and people aren't always happy to know they were at fault. I've also gone out to write estimates a few times, and one of those times, I had to negotiate with the body shop manager because my estimate was less than his. That was actually pretty easy, because my estimate was only about $150 less, and it really came down to refinish time, but I busted out my negotiating skillz anyway, and he agreed without any arguing.
It won't always be this easy, but every day I feel more prepared to face sticky situations. Next week, we're in Berlin for one more week of intense property damage training, and then it's back to my actual office, where I haven't worked since late August. Then it's the real thing. Eee!