The biggest negotiating thing you have going for you with a car dealership is the willingness to walk away from the deal. Especially since you are looking for a Prius in Southern California, there are tons of them around so you just wait until the right deal hits.
Very much this. Which is why I'm doing it now, while current car doesn't have a major problem.
The sales guy was very cool. Wasn't trying to pressure me. Agreed that the two items were of note. Agreed with my Edmunds tool for pricing. And we agreed that we couldn't close the gap. He said he'd call when the tech's take a look at it and fix the errors. But, to be honest, no matter how nice the guy was, if this dealership did the 160 point inspection on the car, how did they miss a crack in the windshield? I think it's safe to say, I won't be buying from them. The panel on the dash that wasn't closing was the one with the START button for the car. You could see the wiring harness underneath. Did an idiot try to hotwire it? I dunno. I said, unless they want to give a one year warranty on electrical, I don't feel comfy buying that car.
o_a, the lack of a carfax report does not necessarily mean no accidents. If you pay the body shop directly and don't go through insurance it won't show up.
Zen, the main advice I have with regard to bird feeders is placing them in a place or way that keeps squirrels away, much more difficult than you would think. In Otter Lake there is the added fun of keeping them away from bears! They did a number on one of Mom's bird feeders.
Hummingbirds get kind of a liquid sugary type thing. Google images of hummingbird feeders. I'm sure that Audobon or the NWF can fill you in on what to look for.
Yeah, I can see how those issues would make you wonder what else the "160 point inspection" missed.
o_a, the lack of a carfax report does not necessarily mean no accidents. If you pay the body shop directly and don't go through insurance it won't show up.
Ah. Good to know. We discussed how not all repair shops report to carfax. Some reports show every service visit. Some show just a handful. Which says to me, either the owner didn't do a lot of regular service, or they did it themselves, or they took it to a garage that doesn't report it. Either way, Carfax isn't the be all end all. It's a tool, but not gospel.
Yes, I would still look at Carfax, but I know both my mechanic and our body shop don't report. I've had all my regular maintenance done at the Ford dealership so it is on the record. But the body repair I didn't go there. Places like Carmax or others will still know if you had body work done. They have their ways! Of course I love my car and never want to sell it.
I don't want to work. I want to nap. By the time I all I have to do to get out of the house and get to the office I am worn out. Wah Wah Wah
I've never seen or heard of a bear in this neighborhood. I haven't seen any squirrels here either, which is probably due to the feral cat population, but the TNR program has been successful and it seems we only have two ferals left. So squirrels may appear this summer. We definitely have more songbirds than we did with lots of cats around.
I'm going to hang the bird feeder from my porch. I don't know for sure what kinds of birds are here, so I'm going to use a generic mixed bird seed from the grocery. It's been good enough for them to regularly visit the bowl of it on the porch, so it'll do.
Hummingbirds are the ones I actually know how to feed! That feeder will go on the patio, because that's where I see them the most. Along with a little bird bath. I never use that patio, so the birds might as well have it!
I enjoy watching the birds at the feeder, but I have many squirrels. Squirrels are also entertaining, but they make buying birdseed way too expensive. I've had some supposedly squirrel-proof feeders, but at best they could be described as "squirrel inconveniencing."
Not so good for birds, but great for entertainment value. And hey, squirrels gotta eat.
I've hardly ever seen anything funnier than watching squirrels defeat my father-in-law's array of supposedly squirrel-proof birdfeeders.
