In the last two days, I have only gotten two inquiries about the most terrific car that is for sale in the East Bay. It is very discouraging, and I blame the lack of email traffic on the pending financial crisis.
The first response I got was from some dude with an email address that caused immediate suspicion (onmyhustle17@aim.com). I immediately recoiled, thinking, "Why would I want to be hustled?" Also, the dude's sentence structure and greeting he put in the email left me doubtful he'd be the distinguished kind of soul I'd prefer to have driving my car. I didn't write him back, if you were wondering.
Then, this afternoon, I got a tug on my fishing line. The email as follows:
Hi,
I'm interested in the car...do you have any more pics of the interior? or a close-up of the paint or any dents?
Do you have service records? Do you know when the registration is up?
Thanks,
-dan
'Nice enough sounding guy' immediately went through my mind. Who is this Dan? Does he have a respectable driving record? Is he employed? Will he take my car to Karmakanix when it needs mechanical upkeep? All these questions, and more, were looming.
I decided to write him back. I looked at his name as it compared with the name listed on the email. They were different! Very, very different in fact. The email name seemed like it was for some fictional character. Interesting. So I googled it. What I found was most distressing. In fact, it almost caused me to spit up.
This person knowingly and consciously assigned the name of a Nazi (the alleged successor to Hitler it seems) to his gmail email address. It IS that awful.
This is why Craigslist is such a damn crapshoot. You go out there, with honest intentions of selling the best car in the world, and a blasted Nazi writes you an email!!
It isn't surprising given the events of the last week, with the financial crisis and all. All kinds of diseased vermin is slithering out of the woodwork for a good deal, I guess.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Selling my soul.....
...well, actually just selling my car.
It's a sad day. This morning, I rallied myself to fix a small hose problem on the Fox (windshield fluid hose was dried out). Having fixed it with great effort and uttering of expletives, I took the little soldier to the car wash place to get cleaned and vacuumed. After that was accomplished, there was really nothing left to do but post this ad on Craigslist.
Originally I said I would sell her for $500, but pride got the better of me and I simply couldn't offer her for less that eight and three quarters. We will see what happens.
If anyone wants to buy the best car in the world, please email me at the address on this ad. Really, you won't regret it.
In other car-related news, the Civic has been patched up. The guys down at La Loma did a great job, and they didn't try to shirk me outta my student discount they mentioned when I got the quote. I paid $1300 for the work (the other place wanted $2300!!). A hard lesson, but now I have the car fully insured.
It's a sad day. This morning, I rallied myself to fix a small hose problem on the Fox (windshield fluid hose was dried out). Having fixed it with great effort and uttering of expletives, I took the little soldier to the car wash place to get cleaned and vacuumed. After that was accomplished, there was really nothing left to do but post this ad on Craigslist.
Originally I said I would sell her for $500, but pride got the better of me and I simply couldn't offer her for less that eight and three quarters. We will see what happens.
If anyone wants to buy the best car in the world, please email me at the address on this ad. Really, you won't regret it.
In other car-related news, the Civic has been patched up. The guys down at La Loma did a great job, and they didn't try to shirk me outta my student discount they mentioned when I got the quote. I paid $1300 for the work (the other place wanted $2300!!). A hard lesson, but now I have the car fully insured.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
I am tempted by the body's offer
La Loma came in under my limit. Way under, it turns out. I really do not understand how a repair using similar parts and relatively identical labor methods could possibly vary by as much as $1000. Dear god, thank goodness I had the sense to get a second quote.
Anyway, while I was satisfied with La Loma's assessment of damage to my Civic I am quite certain the quality of work may not turn out as detailed as Uptown. But it is likely going to be more than adequate. I shall call them tomorrow to schedule my repair.
Anyway, while I was satisfied with La Loma's assessment of damage to my Civic I am quite certain the quality of work may not turn out as detailed as Uptown. But it is likely going to be more than adequate. I shall call them tomorrow to schedule my repair.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Headed "downtown"
Billy Joel expressed my sentiments best back in 1983 when he exclaimed:
Im gonna try for an uptown girl
Shes been living in her white bread world
As long as anyone with hot blood can
And now shes looking for a downtown man
That's what I am.
After my visit to Uptown Fender and Body on 26th Street in Oakland, I am truly in the market for a downtown man. Er, a downtown body shop.
The quote I received today for described damage was $2300. Ouch! I can't imagine what the price would be if anything other than the exterior had been damaged. Unfortunately, in the world of auto body repair, it's the man-hour estimate that will drain the bank. The availability of cheap replacement parts, though a blessing, in fact distorts the actual price of simple and routine auto body repair. Aside from parts, I was told it would take between 20 and 25 man hours (at $70 an hour!) to complete all the painting, buff work, repositioning, and smoke breaks needed to get the Civic into relatively excellent condition.
I am headed to a competitor of Uptown tomorrow, a placed called La Loma (which translates to "The Body"), to acquisition a counter-quote to Uptown's offer (if I can even consider it an "offer"). I assume the enterprise is headed by a group of highly-skilled Latino auto craftsmen. At least, that is what I can hope for. I've decided that I will go with them if they offer near-similar services and can do it for below $1900. That is La Loma's cut off. I've heard too many good things about Uptown to not use them to save a measly $400.
I hate cars....and having two of them that I rarely drive is most annoying.
Im gonna try for an uptown girl
Shes been living in her white bread world
As long as anyone with hot blood can
And now shes looking for a downtown man
That's what I am.
After my visit to Uptown Fender and Body on 26th Street in Oakland, I am truly in the market for a downtown man. Er, a downtown body shop.
The quote I received today for described damage was $2300. Ouch! I can't imagine what the price would be if anything other than the exterior had been damaged. Unfortunately, in the world of auto body repair, it's the man-hour estimate that will drain the bank. The availability of cheap replacement parts, though a blessing, in fact distorts the actual price of simple and routine auto body repair. Aside from parts, I was told it would take between 20 and 25 man hours (at $70 an hour!) to complete all the painting, buff work, repositioning, and smoke breaks needed to get the Civic into relatively excellent condition.
I am headed to a competitor of Uptown tomorrow, a placed called La Loma (which translates to "The Body"), to acquisition a counter-quote to Uptown's offer (if I can even consider it an "offer"). I assume the enterprise is headed by a group of highly-skilled Latino auto craftsmen. At least, that is what I can hope for. I've decided that I will go with them if they offer near-similar services and can do it for below $1900. That is La Loma's cut off. I've heard too many good things about Uptown to not use them to save a measly $400.
I hate cars....and having two of them that I rarely drive is most annoying.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Not a virgin
This past weekend my cherry was popped on Hwy 101 going through SF. That is, I got into my first car accident. A sad day.
The altercation was my fault, admittedly. Gridlock stop and go on a beautiful Saturday afternoon caused me to become a tad impatient. I attempted to change lanes while coasting. At the moment I looked into my side mirror to check my opportunity, the car in front of me slammed on its breaks. I slid into his back left bumper at about 12 miles and hour. At least it was no more than 12.
Here is the damage to my car...my new(er) car. Shame.
Here is my victim, a blue Toyota Prius. I am most certain that damn bumper is going to be several thousand dollars to replace considering the fact the entire car is practically enveloped by it. I am quite amazed the impact of the crash did nothing to harm the equally enormous light panel. I was REALLY close.
The dude I hit was more than pleasant considering the fact I made a dumb mistake. He didn't even seem too annoyed, but he may have been hiding his disgust. I can't really tell. The car had some previous damage to it, the result of hitting a jack rabbit in the deserts of Utah going 70 mph. There was also a large scratch on the paint job near one of the passenger doors. Apparently, this guy was no virgin either, and I really thank heavens for that. Otherwise, I'd more than likely have been dealing with some self righteous Prius owner who wholeheartedly believes the universe revolves around their ugly car.
The situation was made more complex as I had to provide insurance information belonging to my sister's policy. About 2 weeks before the crash, I'd applied for my own insurance, but I had no cards to prove otherwise. Since then, the issue has been cleared and my insurance is now covering the accident.
Tomorrow, I shall take my car into Uptown Body and Fender, located in the heart of Oakland. This woman-owned business has some amazing reviews on the Berkeley Parents' Network, a resource, that, strangely, I trust and utilize in moments of great need. I've heard that you get free cappuccino while you wait on your free quote. I can't wait.
The altercation was my fault, admittedly. Gridlock stop and go on a beautiful Saturday afternoon caused me to become a tad impatient. I attempted to change lanes while coasting. At the moment I looked into my side mirror to check my opportunity, the car in front of me slammed on its breaks. I slid into his back left bumper at about 12 miles and hour. At least it was no more than 12.
Here is the damage to my car...my new(er) car. Shame.
Here is my victim, a blue Toyota Prius. I am most certain that damn bumper is going to be several thousand dollars to replace considering the fact the entire car is practically enveloped by it. I am quite amazed the impact of the crash did nothing to harm the equally enormous light panel. I was REALLY close.
The dude I hit was more than pleasant considering the fact I made a dumb mistake. He didn't even seem too annoyed, but he may have been hiding his disgust. I can't really tell. The car had some previous damage to it, the result of hitting a jack rabbit in the deserts of Utah going 70 mph. There was also a large scratch on the paint job near one of the passenger doors. Apparently, this guy was no virgin either, and I really thank heavens for that. Otherwise, I'd more than likely have been dealing with some self righteous Prius owner who wholeheartedly believes the universe revolves around their ugly car.
The situation was made more complex as I had to provide insurance information belonging to my sister's policy. About 2 weeks before the crash, I'd applied for my own insurance, but I had no cards to prove otherwise. Since then, the issue has been cleared and my insurance is now covering the accident.
Tomorrow, I shall take my car into Uptown Body and Fender, located in the heart of Oakland. This woman-owned business has some amazing reviews on the Berkeley Parents' Network, a resource, that, strangely, I trust and utilize in moments of great need. I've heard that you get free cappuccino while you wait on your free quote. I can't wait.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
They're gone. It's really sad.
There's been a lot of change on campus this week. A big defeat for the longest tree-sit protest in recorded history. The grove, which is located a couple hundred feet from our building, was thoroughly dismantled on Friday evening. Understandably, a huge setback for Berkeley's tree people.
With any luck, the "high performance sports facility" (otherwise known as the football team's private gym) the university plans on building will slide into the Hayward fault when the next big earthquake hits. Click here to read about the sad day on campus
In other news, in order to consolidate my growing catalog of possessions, I am forced to sell the beloved 1989 VW Fox that my family has owned since 1993. I took it to the car wash and took some pics at Shoreline park that I will eventually post on my Craigslist ad.
She is a beauty! I am hoping to get $500 for her.
Today I went to Park Merced to do some observation and initial footwork for my Social Research Methods in Environmental Design course. We shall study the social life of vast open spaces beneath large supertowers - asking questions such as, "Do people actually use these sleepy old lawns?"
Lastly, I am posting a couple pics from The Walkmen performance at Outside Lands. I had an amazing position right near the stage from where I was able to stare at Paul and Ham for the entire set.
This is Hamilton Leithauser.
This is Paul Maroon.
With any luck, the "high performance sports facility" (otherwise known as the football team's private gym) the university plans on building will slide into the Hayward fault when the next big earthquake hits. Click here to read about the sad day on campus
In other news, in order to consolidate my growing catalog of possessions, I am forced to sell the beloved 1989 VW Fox that my family has owned since 1993. I took it to the car wash and took some pics at Shoreline park that I will eventually post on my Craigslist ad.
She is a beauty! I am hoping to get $500 for her.
Today I went to Park Merced to do some observation and initial footwork for my Social Research Methods in Environmental Design course. We shall study the social life of vast open spaces beneath large supertowers - asking questions such as, "Do people actually use these sleepy old lawns?"
Lastly, I am posting a couple pics from The Walkmen performance at Outside Lands. I had an amazing position right near the stage from where I was able to stare at Paul and Ham for the entire set.
This is Hamilton Leithauser.
This is Paul Maroon.
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