So now it is up to waiting to see if the offer has been accepted...What a pain in the arse it is trying to borrow money....Argh....Especially with me being self employed...I make twice what my wife does and they love her...Hate me...
Anyone have any good tips for negotiating so I can get the closing costs included in the asking price? Someone mentioned to me that I need to hire an agent....I do not currently have one...We were just in contact with the selling agent of the house... I would love to haggle them a little more and get the title search appraisals and other closing fees ($3000 ) included....
So yes advice is greatly appreciated.
:)
Real estate people are supposed to work for thems that hired them.
I.E., not you in this case.
So it might not be a bad idea to at least ask how much having your own agent is going to cost, what she will do, etc. etc.
If it's likely to run to $6500 then you've got your answer as to whether you need one.
Amanda
Thanks for responding...The house was a bank repo that I found...I did not hire an Agent I just contacted the Selling Agent who is working for the bank...
I asked a few people and as I understand it..The comission is about 5% and if I have a agent then the Selling agent and the buying agent split the comission..Is this accurate?
If this is the case I have nothing to lose by hiring an agent...as their fee will come from the comission on the house that has nothing to do with me...
I just thought that maybe I could low ball and haggle a little more with the listing agent as she would want the whole comission cheque....She might be more lenient with the Banks property and allow the closing fees to be included in my offer... That or allow a really low offer to be accepted...Either way I would save a bundle...
And as a lowly Auto Mechanic I need to save all the money I can :-/
I don't know how you would come out on this, Peter. Like PEG says, Depends. :-/
Glenn
Can you be a little more specific than Depends? *LOL* It is good to know I got the money I needed...I would like to save a few thousand more if I could...
More money for working on the Hot Rods....
Or improving the yard at the new house if the wife happens to read this ::) ;D ::) ;D
I'm a tax accountant who started doing mortgages out of frustration with the brokers my clients were using, since they're mostly self-employed.
Occasionally you can get a low-documentation or no-documentation loan at the same rate as conventional financing. THAT APPROACH SAVES TONS OF HASSLE. Don't know your situation, so can't be any more specific here. Brokers usually take part of their commission by increasing the interest rate, and it that's happening here, you may be able to negotiate by 1/8% or so.
Rule of thumb in any deal: it never hurts to ask. If the bank repossessed the property, and the owner was required to carry PMI, or mortgage insurance, because they financed more than 80% of the appraised value, the bank is probably making money there, too.
I would say the broker tagged a extra point onto our Mortage...It is okay I do not plan on taking that long to pay for it...Luckily South Carolina allows you to pay off early without penalty...
So instead of paying the minimum of $400 a month the plan is to chuck down $1000
The point about the bank is duly noted though...I suspect that they could give the house away and still make money on it... One thing I learn as I go is that no matter what the bank's end is always covered...They do not gamble or take chances...It is all about the money.
I have specifically asked the listing Agent for a rundown of closing costs...I have yet to hear back to the exact figure. My loan manager went through looked at my house and said to expect about $3000 in closing costs...
So if I get the figure under that amount I will be partially pleased.
Too many unknowns for me. I have sold and bought a couple pieces direct just using the title company to keep me safe. You get away from the broker fees and still get the protection you need. My wifes dad is retired military so we get go through USAA for financing and insurance (they extend services to family members). Hard to beat them on almost anything like that. Was paying $800 per year insurance on my old truck -- switched to them it dropped to $80 per year for part time use.
For financing they have good rates but are a bit frustrating for her to deal with at times -hard time getting things sttraight once in a while. We got the property at such a good deal they didn't require a survey - septic check - appraiser or anything like that as I remember - we bought it as is and saved all of the fees.
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#1: whole comission cheque....
#2: And as a lowly Auto Mechanic I need to save all the money I can :-/
#1 Your not in Canada anymore Toto, it's check ;)
#2: Who you kidding mechanic generally charge to much :o :o
You may want to ask if you can make biweekly payments on the mortgage, if that suits your cash flow. Or,make one nice lump sum payment shortly after getting financed. If you can somehow do that, get an amortization schedule and look how much you can save--astounding!
It sounds like you're dealing with a local bank, but with anyone out there who isn't, it's often a good idea to take some pictures and send them off to the bank. If the house needs alot of repairs and the bank isn't aware of that, they will often reduce the price by several thousand dollars.
Good tips, Creative. See - everyone has their day here at Countryplans. :)
PEG ---- wanna arm wrestle? :-?
QuoteGood tips, Creative. See - everyone has their day here at Countryplans. :)
PEG ---- wanna arm wrestle? :-?
Sir NO SIR ! The Petty officer does not wanna arm wrestle ;D :P
Creative...Yes a local bank had to foreclose on the place and it is a repo...It does need a few repairas...The asking price has been reduced by 30,000 in the last 3 months....
I called the listing agent this morning here is a rundown of the fees Not counting the Mortage:
Attorney: 400
Inspection: 200
Appraisal: 300
Title: 150
Survey: 300
Other: 450
Total: $1800
The other is the homeowners taxes and inspection fees, whatever that means.
I have to find out what the closing costs are for the Mortage now...I will spend some time on the phone this afternoon.
I only have a limited amount of money so I have to try to get it all done with what I have. :-[
Peg...It will always be Cheque, just as it will always be trouble, colour etc...
And I don't know about Washington State....But around here it is hard to make $5-600 a week clear..I do a little better than that....But not a lot...
Considering I work usually 80 hours a week...I do not consider the $50k a year to be huge money. I might be better off working for someone else?
I charge $25 an hour ....Which means there is half of that for me... I don't know many other people that will work for what I work for... I have tried to hire someone to work along side of me as a maintenance person...Answer the phone sweep the floor pick up parts in town....For $10-12 an hour and I cannot get anyone not named Juan Valdeez....I refuse to hire an illegal....I just don't believe in that sort of thing.
Maybe I am wrong, maybe I charge way too much.... I don't think so.. but I have been wrong before....Just not about Bush and the Iraq War :P :P :P :P :P :P :P
So do you take twice as long to make a repair ;D Your working to cheap if your charging $25.00 per hour , is that Canadian? Might be worth the trip to your shop if it is .
On the subject of Colour / check / cheque etc . When my family came to the states in the late 1800 from Canada , Quebec MTL they intergrated into US terms / language ASAP or so the storey goes . Today due to PC ness I guess thats no longer a way to do it .
As far as the Iraqi deal time will tell who is wrong or right , 20 years from now , if we get that far will be the true test of success or failure , IMO , which BTW doesn't mean spit, in the vast grand idea / outlook.
Have a nice day Peter , enjoy what freedom you have , it wasn't free.
Ok Glenn we return to your normally regulated wave length, AE-1 Out , Roger ;DYou wouldn't arm wrastle fair anyway :o ;D
Benevolance, the whole money thing is certainly a complicated issue. This from an always-hippie who became an IRS Enrolled Agent and a Certified Financial Planner! I also taught business classes and developed seminars on the psychology of money. But--never made much money, working more as a mentor and a teacher. That does NOT pay the bills, but does earn you lifelong friends. The hugs and gifts usually mean more to me.
Even though barter is a dirty word to the IRS, I have really come to appreciate the "Underground Economy".
Your value as a human being doesn't have anything to do with what you are paid. But it's hard not to feel a little uncomfortable when you hit a life event like scrambling to buy a house.
An interesting lesson: Several years ago, one of my trucker clients died on the road of a massive heart attack. He was only in his 40's, didn't own anything except his financed truck The guy was so nice that I took him with me to the tax audit--he came out with a refund mainly because he exuded honesty. In the process of the audit, I had to call some of his employers to complete his records, and EVERYONE bent over backwards and told me story after story of his kindness and generosity. He had two funerals, one in Florida and the other in his hometown, and both were packed.
Tell someone this story and see if they consider him a successful man. I do.
Peg,
Veitnam has proven to be a waste of human life and in 30 years I am sure that Iraq will prove to be more of the same.
Freedom isn't free...But I refuse to accept the scare tactics that our government would use to force our young men into service to "protect freedom"
Big difference between something like the entire world getting together to stop Hitler...And 2 countries (England and America) Going into Iraq.
The bulk of the entire world was and still is against the United States going into Iraq or Occupying Iraq...They did so without UN Approval...And Technically they have violated international law and committed war crimes.
So excuse me if I scoff when I hear phrases like...The men and women in Iraq are fighting for our freedom...That makes me want to puke...
Life is precious and if there ever arises WWIII Every young able bodied man may have to go... Bad enough to lose a loved one...To lose someone you love over nothing, a invasion that means absolutely nothing to americans, or their safety....Is pretty hard to understand and accept.
Peg,
As for the Repair rates I am thinking of increasing the wages to $35 an hour...I charge what it says in the repair manuals....The flat Rate....For better or worse I charge what it says a qualified technician should charge in terms of time spent on the car.... If I can fix it faster hooray for me...If not I have to absorb the loss.
I do a lot of jobs for a flat fee to simplify things...Rear wheel drive older cars for things like Automatic transmissions I will Change them out for $150 plus materials... If it is an easy one I charge $100 flat fee....Most motor swaps run around $200 - $250..If it is a really easy one and there was no other issues like Exhaust bolts broken or twisted off...I can sometimes charge as little as $150... The front wheel drive 4 cylinder aluminum head cars....I usually do a head gasket every week it seems...Replace the timing belt when I am in there and it is $200 plus materials...But that includes the cost to get the head checked to make sure it is not warped or cracked...
I prefer to work on classic cars and to that end I have started to shy away from general repairs and focusing on restoring classic cars for people and restoring a couple cars a year to sell for myself.
It is a living...And I have all the business I can handle by myself...If I could ever find someone who wanted to work I would expand....But as it is now I am about maxxed out as I am
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Ok Glenn we return to your normally regulated wave length, AE-1 Out , Roger ;DYou wouldn't arm wrastle fair anyway :o ;D
I think I have been giving too many clues away --you are onto my thinking. My poor nephew tried me wrestling at the family reunion - it was over in about three seconds -- he also thought I didn't play fair -- as a matter of fact I didn't play fair. But it was a shrewd move. :-/ :)
Glenn
Did ya kick him in the balls? That is a three second move... :'(
Peter, mechanic shops at car dealers here are usually over $80 per hour if I recall correctly. Seems my airplane mechanic went up to $60 a couple years ago - cars were costing more than airplanes for a mechanic.
Your prices would be extremely low out here even for a country shop -- but this is California -- we're supposed to get ripped off. General contractors here in the foothills generally run $25 to $45 per hour - I try to stay within that for general contracting. $80 per hr for the Big Bobcat -- $60 per man hour for Structural steel and certified welding plus equipment and supplies including travel time.
Insurance just went up to a floating $20000.00 per year subject to audit and adjustment for working insurance only -- Contractors G/L . Autos and trucks and tools and equipment and health are on top of that -- this is for a small business.
QuoteGlenn
Did ya kick him in the balls? That is a three second move... :'(
I did that to a Navy boxer in 1973 -- also a 3 second fight --- maybe 3 minutes---Wife says I should explain so you don't think ill of me. I needed to cash a check because my boss was broke down 200 miles away - I had to go get him. I walked into the Beacon service station to cash the check and a drunk was in there with a quart of beer picking on all the customers.
I was wearing a fuzzy Russian looking type hat because it was freezing out. He said "Anybody who would wear a hat like that must be pretty f***ed up."
I said "Why don't you shut your mouth."
I remember it like it was yesterday. He said "What'd you say?" The place got totally quiet. Now it was just him and me.
I said, "I said shut your mouth-- I'm tired of taking crap from dirty old drunks."
He said "Who's a dirty old drunk?"
I said "You're a dirty old drunk."
He said "When's that last time you've been really hurt."
I immediately replied -- no kidding --- "When I walked in here and saw your ugly face."
He didn't like that I guess and said he'd wait for me outside. His old junk beige Cadillac had been idling outside the door for a couple hours. I thought he'd left - finished my conversation and was putting my money in my wallet -- I opened the door and saw his fist coming at me. He hit me in the forehead above the left eye-- just took a little skin off.
I'll let you in on a little secret here. If you ever want to really hurt me---- don't even think of hitting me in the head, The most you will get out of it is bruised knuckles. :-/
I stepped back - quickly put my wallet in my pocket and caught his next swing in the air with my left hand. I held on to it so as he was struggling to get free I grabbed his other hand - the one the quart of beer was in, with my right and pushed him back against his car. While he was occupied with getting his hands loose I swiftly brought my knee up between his legs, lifting him off the ground a few inches and causing him to drop his beer, breaking it on the ground. I tripped him with my right leg and pushed him onto his back on the concrete. I was on him like flies on stink, quickly sitting on his chest. He kept trying to take punches at me so I put each of his arms under my knees, grabbed his hair and began slamming his head on the concrete.
No one would do anything until my co-worker from the phone company showed up -- i told him to call the cops.
Try as I did, I couldn't knock him out. He begged - "OK -- OK ---Ok" - he was too drunk and doped up to pass out. I told him I would let him up if he would behave himself. He got up and walked back into the store like a whipped pup. Police showed up at that time and took over from there -- they grabbed me and I said "It wasn't me -- it was him. A cop who knew me acted like he didn't as his friends questioned me -- I said --ask him -- He knows me ---- so they got onto the right guy finally.
He resisted the cops so one of them started kicking him into the car while holding onto the top of the car for leverage --- His buddies pulled him off the guy and warned the drunk that if he didn't co-operate they would turn Pete back loose on him.
They got him for drunk in a public place, resisting arrest - assaulting a police officer, posession of marijuana --- didn't even need me to file charges --- but his buddy - the store clerk was mad at me for a long time. His drunk friend had been harassing customers for about 2 hours I heard.
The telephone co. cable splicers wife was the police secretary or clerk. She told him to let me know the guy was a Navy boxer and I should watch myself. Never did see him again though.
Nephew -- no --took it easy on him -- resisted him for just a second then I just continued to push him in the direction he was pulling - he lost his balance and I just used him for a soft landing on the ground -- spread eagled over him and kept him smashed to the ground until the fight was gone out of him --- not the life though--- :)
Glenn is our enforcer....I think it is all agreed. ;)
I know what you mean about hard heads...I had a guy mad at me one time for dancing with this girl he had his eye on back in my younger days...I was at a friends party...I went outside to urinate in the back bushes and he came up from behind and busted a beer bottle on my head....
I bled a little cursed a little and kicked the ever living sh*t out of the guy...Just made me more mad than anything...Broke a knuckle smashing him the the mouth...teeth are hard man....If at all possible aim for soft and cushy...It sucks not being able to take your wallet out of your pants for a week ;D..Hands looking like bean bags
I can count my tussles on one hand or near enough.... not much of a fighter.. try to avoid it whenever possible
I don't go looking for trouble but don't walk away from it if it comes to me. (Unless it positively looks like the best thing to do, or if it looks like there may be a better way to go about winning).
Sometimes sleeping on it will reveal a much more devious, covert and effective method of resolving the situation safely and without repercussions. (Usually don't have to resort to this though).
Glenn
I would love to pick your brain...I have a deadbeat customer that owes me money and they are a punk to boot...Called me to inform me they were not paying the money they owed me and if I did not like it they told me they would be down to lick my arse....
I do not usuallywant to actually pound someone into the pavement...Man that got me hot...So all week I have been thinking about some way I could get this jerk
You cannot just go hit someone now....Unless you like getting charged with assault and having the wife come visit you in lock up on Sundays ::)
Like a fool I allowed a repeat customer to owe me money...Foolish thing to do I know... I was so mad the other say I wanted to drive up to his house...But I know that nothing good can come of it...I can get shot, or charged...Neither is worth the $600 he owes me.
Some people have so much nerve they need a good ass whooping..Sometimes I wish I had no conscious...Did not care and had nothing to lose...I would be all too willing to beat the smugness out of that deadbeat.
And even if you win a fight your hands are sore for weeks...And it does not get you your money back....So anyway you want to slice it I got screwed... :-/
I've had to deal with renters who are anywhere from 1-3 months late - they've been renting the house for 7 yrs now. I've been burned by people in the past - I was always trying to help them out, letting them live with me, giving them furniture, money, food & then they would take advantage of the situation... so it makes me a little nervous - but they always end up paying, although we have had to barter (he's a roofing contractor & he re-roofed the house, painted our house in Kerman, worked with Glenn some in lew of rent. Now, I just try to make them feel guilty - we are self-employed & so is he - so I just tell him that it is just as tough for us as it is for him... then every so often I tell them I'm going to sell the place, that it isn't worth the hassle - I usually get some money fairly quick then. But that is a little different situation than yours... of course, I would never get in a fight... although as a kid I guess I was a pretty good scrapper with my brothers & sister! ::)
In this case, Peter, I would take it to small claims court. Let the law handle it. If the judge rules in favor of you, he will give you a judgement, but you still have to work ot collect your money - then you take the ruling to the Sheriff and have his bank account attached or any other asset you may be able to find that he has. They can go after cash - rents or other assets.
Sometimes if I figure it isn't worth my time I just write it off the taxes and don't bother -- depends on how much time you have to devote to it. I got a judgement one time -- never did go to collect it though. To pursue things like this would usually require enough time that I would need office staff so it's sort of a wash. I commonly advertise to everyone for the rest of my life about the deadbeats though. :)
Giving a good beating while it seems like the right thing to do, isn't going to work. The laws are pretty well set up to victimize the victim again if he beats the criminal. So -- small claims it is.
Glenn
I thought about small claims court...But how do you get blood from a rock...The guy rents so he owns no property...And if I get a judgement the guy can use his girlfriends bank account...
I have spent time and money chasing guys before..It costs several hundred dollars just to file the papers....So I guess I have to eat this one...
Laying a beating on a deadbeat might not be the politically correct thing to do....But I swear it is appealing sometimes... ;)
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be down to lick my arse....
Peter you are wierd , I'd just let um lick away ;D For $600.00 that would be lots of lickin ;)
But seriously $600.00 is to small a amt. to chase after, the court syst. will cost you more in time. They'll get "theres" I'd move on . And like Glenn said kick thier arse might seem like a good thing but in the end >:(is all it is. ( >:(= mad)
Some times not doing the work for ah unsaviorie types is the answer. Difficult to judge americans EH!
Knowing what you know about the guy, then that's probably the thing to do. Seems a shame the wonderful system doesn't have a way to deal with it though. :)
QuoteKnowing what you know about the guy, then that's probably the thing to do. Seems a shame the wonderful system doesn't have a way to deal with it though. :)
Sure they do ,the system that is , but as noted the only ones getting richer are the LIERS , opps I mean lawyers :-[ :P You can and would spend thousands to collect hundreds, jessh Glenn a conspirecy guy like you should see that ::)
Welcome to the American dream Peter,, the land of lawyers ::)
That's exactly what I was talking about, PEG - just blocked that out of my mind as not feasable. :-/ An attorney once told me the same thing- no one comes out in those situastions except the liar lawyers.
We had some pretty big losses 4 years in a row with Glenn's business - $25,000 each year - & these contracts were with big, "reliable" companies... one even had a relative in high places working there... Glenn would bid on the contracts - these were several month contracts - do all the work, pay his guys & all expenses - the companies paid ok for the 1st parts of the job - one company where Glenn was remodeling an old church for a hospital which was converting it to a business office - the general contractor had gotten the project on the reputation of his ex-father-in-law... turns out he was doing coke & so were all his buddies - he kept hiring his friends as foremen, they were all buying new trucks, etc - the bank finally put a hold on the money until things were completed - but he never paid us, although we signed legal agreements , etc. Another one was with a huge company - Glenn had bid 2 contracts - these lasted a year in total, it wasn't until he was into his 2nd job that they kept asking for more & more documentation of the work he had done - he spent hours, days on documenting the change orders on the extras, etc that they had asked him to do - of course he had paid his workers, expenses & all - they finally told him that they had already filed a notice of completion & continued to "flim flam" him for the 30 days notice & then told him it was too late. Oh, another one - he didn't get paid $14,000+ on a job building a casino in the Bay Area - they paid real good up to the last few weeks & then refused to pay anymore...
These were all reputable, large companies - Glenn does all his own bidding, billing & paperwork for the business (I do a little of the bookkeeping), he does most of the repairs on his equipment, he's even slept in his ruck when he's been on a job away from home by himself rather than pay for a hotel. He tries to deal with good companies - now he works with 3 steel companies & doesn't have any problems but the time it takes for paperwork, filing, attorney's fees & on & on - it wasn't worth going after - he would have spent what he lost.
He's doing several small remodel jobs, building a large house for friends, does some dirt moving occasionally, septic systems & other things around the Mariposa area - they have all been good in paying so far... you just figure that you win some & lose some - hopefully you make enough to cover expenses without borrowing too much to live on. This year has been a pretty good year so far - that's why Glenn is trying to upgrade some of his ancient equipment - helps to make the jobs go faster & easier.
Sassy,
I get the run around all the time...I take deposits for cars and hold them and wait and never get paid... I work on someone's car and it sits here and I do not get paid....I have people try to show up at night and get their cars with spare keys....I had to build a fenced area to put cars in under lock and gate to prevent non paying customers from driving their cars away at night...
The more I do business with people the more time I spend just to make sure I do not get ripped off. It is very frustrating. I have been burned a few times...Badly...Bought some classic cars out west a couple years back and the guywas great...Bought another load and it was the houdini routine...The guy, my money and the 2 cars vanished into thin air....
I am a small operation of one...When I lose $600 or $6000 it really hurts...It keeps me up at night wondering what I could have done differently, what I can do to get my money back...Thinking about ways to get revenge and not go to jail.
I have a great paperwork system taught to me by an amazing man....But I have little time for it and less patience....So clutter and disorganization rules supreme.
I know about living on the cheap...I take the tent with me at swap meets and car shows and sleep in my parking space beside the car....Coleman stove and cooler with food...I refuse to go to Hotels that cost $100 a night and eat three hots at the Outback.
I don't know what a modern truck or piece of equipment is either...My tire changer is 50-60 years old...My compressor is at least 40 years old off a military base..My tow truck is 35 years old...My delivery truck is 41 years old..
I do love old cars and trucks...That is half of it...The other half is I cannot afford a $40,000 quad cab dually Diesel
As you get larger in business You have to do what the gas stations and walmart does....They factor the price of drive offs and shoplifting into the price of all items...So their business plans work out and they meet or beat expected profit margins...
If Glenn has trouble a couple times a year he needs to calculate the average cost for each mishap and divide it by his total income and the number of jobs he does get a percentage...Increase the cost of all jobs by this percentage and apply it universally
I guess I need to do the same sort of thing. :-/...I hate to charge an honest person the theft fee....But I have a family to think about and a house to pay for...
Do like I do, Peter-- get a good used 1 Ton dually diesel 4x4 -- $16999 --- and the dealer replaced the fuel pump - did 2500.00 work - charged me 400 for a few extras he did. He already dropped the price from 19999 so it was quite a bargain.
I'd rather drive a good used truck than pay all that depreciation the minute I sit in the drivers seat.
Glenn
17,000 for a truck....man...Wow that is a lot of money for me. I would need to sell 5-6 cars to come up with that kind of bread....
It is frustrating..I have usually around 35 cars...I can sell off 6-8 and buy a nice work truck...But then I am hurting for inventory of parts and cars to sell. I keep trying to get by with vehicles I have no money tied up in....My 72 GMC tow truck I paid $750 for it...And spent about $400 on it and it works like brand new!
I need a bigger truck...Something I can hook a 3-4 car trailer to and make runs to the desert...I would like a 4 door dually...1 ton diesel..Maybe a 2 ton diesel.. The internationals have great diesel motors...They are not the most powerful, but they are bulletproof and decent on fuel...
For years the ford large trucks used the international engines..
If I can find a 20 year old 4 door 2-3 ton diesel truck I will try to get it...And then get a 4 car trailer and I will be able to make a huge leap forward with my business.
But it seems every time I get a little money built up and a few extra cars I have to spend a bunch of money...I will have to renovate the new house now...It needs a heat pump and central ac installed and it will cost me About $4-5000 to do it myself...I also have to buy a washer, dryer, kitchen table and chairs...a new bed.... My wife and I talked about it and we are not going to rob anything from our current home to furnish the new one...
So in the next few months I will spend 10-15k easy on the new place renovating and furnishing the place.
There goes all the extra money for a better truck that would make my life easier. :-/
I should not complain my wife and I started with very little and it has been less than 3 years....But we work very hard and it is frustrating that there always seems to be something else that pops up and we are always broke no matter how much we try to save or how hard we both work.
and so goes life-- if you make more you will spend more and need more.
Just knowing how to make things go with very little is worth a lot -- I hardly ever get anything new any more and even this truck is cheap relative to what I could have spent for the same thing. I put a dump bed on it -- Hire it done $5000 to 6000 bought the parts kit for $1800 and did it ourselves-- manifold cracked - parts were $400 - Fred and I put it in --but 4 wheel drive is pretty well required to get home in the winter - dually with dump bed is necessary for fixing our roads and work and better fuel mileage will help make the payments. I made everything in modules so it can be anything I want it to be.
It's pretty tough no matter how you do it. I know people who don't know anything about mechanical things and boy do they get ripped off.
Benevolance, Glenn & I are quite a bit older than you are so have worked a few more years to get where we are at. Believe me, we've done without... in fact, I've never owned a new car in my life - always had used ones, usually at least 10 years or more old. I spent a few weeks one winter in Washington state, in the snow, tying raspberry vines, pulling a plastic skiff by a rope where my 6 mo & 3 yr old sons could sit wrapped in blankets while I worked. I couldn't afford a babysitter. And they say that only illegal aliens will do work like that... I've raked almonds by hand during almond harvest in 110 degree heat, changed irrigation pipe, done flood irrigation, packed peaches during the day & afterwards worked at Sears in the credit department in the evening... I could go on, but you probably get the picture... we all pay our dues one way or the other & hopefully one day we get to start enjoying some of the fruits of our labor before we get too decrepit! :-/ :)
You are way ahead of the game - you are able to do a lot of things yourself that most people have never learned or aren't resourceful enough to learn how; you think about life & what impact you have on others & the earth, you have goals & are achieving them - you should feel pretty good about that! :) End of sermon.
Sassy
Sassy
I dunno about my impact on anyone...I am way to busy to go there... And yeah a lot of us work really hard I know...I have been pretty fortunate to have decent health and to meet someone that works with me in life instead of against me.
So I do feel fortunate mostly. I have made plenty of sacrifices and worked terrible jobs though....And lived on Grass and water literally.
I get mad at myself because it took me several years to get any momentum built up being self employed...I could and should be a lot farther along in the game.
I guess there is always just tomorrow and never yesterday...
-Peter
Had a friend in the auto salvage business (imports for the most part, but he did have a couple of King Midgets around) back in the days when it was possible to drive from Tennessee to Detroit every couple of weeks and come back with two cars--one towed, one on the back of the car-hauler. Oh, yes, and do it profitably. What he got were good mechanicals, salt-riddled bodies.
But his car-hauler had been created out of a large handful of car makes--probably the frame from a Datsun truck, MG engine (IIRC slightly larger bore or stroke but otherwise similar to the one Nissan was building under license), somebody else's front end bodywork, and then the car-hauler bit.
Well, it got good gas mileage!
But if you want to haul several somethings, all bigger than, say, 128 Fiats or TR-4's, you might want a bigger truck.
Amanda
I used to haul out of Los Angeles...Take a $100 car from my fathers auto salvage and drive it to L.A. Find 2 classic cars...Dump the beater at the auto salvage...Drive one vehicle tow the other behind with a tow bar...Make a few trips a year when I could scrape time for extra cash..
And if I get serious about going west again I will want to bring 4 at a time...So a 2-3 ton truck would be needed.
I currently send a lot of stuff to New England and Canada from Georgia and the Carolinas...But anything older than 1970 is getting rusty here...So you have to get west of New Mexico for really nice stuff...
I prefer to work on and restore 50's cars so West is where i have to go if I want to get really nice stuff.
I expect. But Ron (the name of the salvage yard guy) stories are often kind of fun--if somewhat bizarre. He turned up a water pump for some 50's Citroen for some poor guy who had driven it to some convention in Nashville. I hung out there a lot, didn't even know he had one buried in the back. I knew where the King Midgets were, rusting quietly away. But he told stories of some times when one was the only thing he had that ran well enough to get him downtown and back home. On the freeway. In a thunderstorm.
He was looking for engines and transmissions in Detroit (also had family there, so he could stay with them overnight), not sound auto bodies. His car hauler (called the abortion) did get fine gas mileage, though.
And I think what he did really was better suited to the 70's than now. Although I've been out of auto parts for so long now I've lost touch with all the people I used to know.
King Midgets? no relation to the MG. Except that they were convertibles.
http://www.kingmidgetcarclub.org/
I am into the other end of the spectrum...Big and heavy american Steele
Yep. I can tell. :)
Bear in mind, though....
a) King Midgets were illegal on the interstate--what was it, an 18 hp Kohler engine in the later ones?
b) but at the height of rush hour in a downpour the average speed may have been low enough that it didn't matter--much.
c) The top leaked. Or was possibly nonexistent. He wouldn't have had it if it hadn't come in as salvage.
So I'm not sure if he ever drove it again.
A lot of Ron stories went this way.
I think most interstates are either 40 0r 45 miles per hour....So I am betting that mopeds, those mini motor cycles and a whole bunch of other vehicles are illegal as well.
Yes indeedy.
Here in SC no license is needed for mopeds or anything that goes under 45 miles per hour....They call those mopeds drunkencycles.... or the DU-Icycle
Amazing thing is that a dozen blat past my house every afternoon on their way home from work....there are tons on the road
I'm not sure around here--regular mopeds do not need a license, but, IIRC, something like the old Honda 50's (top speed around 45, on a good day) and certainly the 70's (newer, but probably not much faster) do.
But we get the 4-wheelers around all the time--ridden by groups of men, I've always assumed that they were drunk. Be nice if I were wrong, though.
In Oregon, the drunks used to ride lawnmowers to the bar when they lost their license, but I heard they were even getting ticketed on them once. :-/
In canada you lose your license and go to jail for paddling a canoe after a couple of beer....It is considered a motorized vehicle...you being the motor of course.
you would not get away with the lawn mower in Canada...Off to jail you would go...likely do something like 90 days for driving while suspended and repeat drunken driving offense...Lose your license for another 4-5 years to boot with $5,000 in fines because the lawn mower was not insured..Insurance fine is $1500 and 2 years minimum no license...The drunken driving is minimum 1 year and the driving while suspended is minimum 1 year
Get caught driving the lawn mower drunk in Canada and you might want to ask the cop to do you a favour and shoot you! ;)