Hahah good luck!

Bucky wrote:Amtrak booked! Leaving 30th street @5:15 Saturday Morn, changing trains at penn station, arriving in Poughkeepsie @8:45AM

OH BOY

Don't pick your feet.

https://www.google.com/search?q=do+you+ ... oiXiySwVUM:

old guy at the firehouse said that today or I'd have had no clue what you were talking about



just scheduled a lyft to 30th Street Station for 4:10AM. I was expecting the normal find-a-driver routine with someone accepting the gig, but just got a confirmation saying "great! be ready at 4:10AM!". Sorta nervous about this.

And that was the last time anyone saw or heard from Bucky

Lyft driver said they get these calls real-time just like if I had opened up the app at 4AM and requested the ride. Kinda scary given how I believe their model works- don't they just zap a request out there and nearby drivers can accept the gig if they want? What if 4AM rolls around and they put the request out and nobody is around to answer? Oh well worked this time.

In related news, Amtrak business class is nice. much more legroom, and the tray table is much sturdier. Gotta do this more often. And it's free thanks to my amtrak points! And just I was typing that the conductor came by- didn't ask for my ticket, just wanted my name, looked it up and said "i got you right here! If you want something to drink, go to the cafe car and show them you're in Business and it's complimentary". But of course I have a backpack full of diet dew already...

Arriving in Poughkeepsie. Remember me fondly.

good luck buck

You guys remember Bucky? He was awesome.

He was aight

Ripip

Looking to buy a used Mazda 3 for Lil' Vulture to use as she soon gets her license. If say cars.com lists the car for 10k, how much should I actually be willing to pay? Consider the possibility that I may need to travel some distance (as far as 200 miles) to get the car I want--the supply is much greater in Dallas than local--so I may end up doing most of the negotiation through e-mail. Also, it looks like there are a lot more cars available at used car dealers--do they operate differently than new car dealers who sell a few used cars?

New car lots that sell used cars basically cherry pick through the trade-ins they receive and take the rest to dealer's auctions (need a dealer's license to buy)where they sell-them to used car dealers. Used car dealers will also buy good deals from public auto auctions.

WheelsFellOff wrote:New car lots that sell used cars basically cherry pick through the trade-ins they receive and take the rest to dealer's auctions (need a dealer's license to buy)where they sell-them to used car dealers. Used car dealers will also buy good deals from public auto auctions.

Right--so how much will a used car dealer typically take off their listed price? I would guess it depends a great deal on how many of a particular model are out there--so a Mazda 3 may not be the most common car out there, but still there seem to be a lot of them.

Do you know the blue book values for various conditions?

WheelsFellOff wrote:Do you know the blue book values for various conditions?

All I've done so far is futz around on cars.com. I'm really just trying to get a sense of budget--if I'm willing to spend 8 grand what can I expect v. spending 10 grand. If there's a car that looks like it will make everyone happy that's listed for 11k, could I realistically buy that car for say 10k?

the mariner was listed well below kbb and any other metric i could find (including available comps) but i still offered $500 less because i think that's the law. we ended up at $300 less.

Figure they bought it for half or accepted it as trade for 2/3rds. I'd probably start by offering %25-30 less than their listed price. Shop at the end of a month (financial quarter even better) when they're more likely to be feeling pressure to meet quotas.

I haven't bought a car in 15 years

had been 17 for me! (unless you count the 5 times buying used cars (by her choosing) for the wife).

Had it been a private seller I would've given the asking price without any negotiation. But since he professed to be a "dealer" I had no qualms, based on the things WalFo mentioned. He wouldn't have sold it without making a profit.