Life is mellow here in the rainforest. We erected a shelter for our tractor last week so we could move the machine off the driveway to make room for stuff. 
The stuff came, all the way from Colorado. We are now finding places to put the stuff, one box at a time. Despite our attempts to simplify our lives and purge a huge amount of stuff before moving here, we still find we have too much stuff. That's the American way though, right?
We converted an old dog Kennel just off the driveway into a storage shed. We were planning (and still are) to actually build a structure there, but in the meantime, we opted for tarps, a shower curtain and some 2x4s. Hey, there are people living in shelters less attractive and secure than this. Hey. It works.
We had both a bad and good car buying experience this weekend. We recently decided that, since my old purple truck is now deceased, we should buy an economical commuter car to zip to town and back when we don't need the utilitarian virtues of the SUV. We happened upon what we thought was a good deal at the Kia dealership in town. When we walked onto the lot, the salesman said he had a brand new one for 11,000. Sounded great. Then, when we were going through the process of filling out paperwork, he insisted on knowing what we could "comfortably afford" for a monthly payment. Ron refused to answer, knowing what they do with that info. I, on the other hand, was clueless. So when he asked "Can I just write down $350, I said sure. They then used that number to calculate the interest rate. Instead of giving us the best rate possible, they simply wanted us to take the rate that kept our payment at $350! They, of course, would then pocket the difference. We both have impeccable credit ratings, so qualify for the best rate out there which is right around 5.5% for a new car. They offered 7.75 %. Ron told them that if they could not beat 5.5%, we would go to the bank for financing, where we knew we could get the much lower rate. They came back matching the bank's rate. Then, after reams more paperwork was completed, the final numbers were presented. This, after about three hours at the dealership. Now, all this time, we think we're going to pay the price advertised for the car, the price the salesman told us it car cost when we walked onto the lot. Instead, the numbers sheet had the price of the car at over $14,000 - well over the quoted $11,000. When we questioned this, they brought us a copy of the newspaper ad (which I had not actually seen - I was simply going by the price the salesman quoted). In unbelievably fine print, is said something about a rebate that must be paid back tot he dealer upon purchase, and that the advertised price assumes you will be trading in a Kia as part of the down payment. What a joke. They lied about the price of the car, wore us down for three hours, got us all excited about buying the car, then just expected us to overlook the difference and sign. We walked.
The next day, we made a lowball offer on a 2005 Ford Focus. It was accepted. We'll pick it up Monday.
Lucky for me Ron is a tough negotiator when it comes to buying cars. He actually took a course on the sales tactics of car dealers and has a client who owns a dealership, so he knows how they operate and can recognize when he's being scammed. The Kia dealer tried to scam us. The Ford dealer did not. I would love to have purchased a Toyota Prius or a new Corolla, or a hybrid Civic or Honda Fit. But the prices are off the chart here for those cars. Dealers are charging premiums of several thousand dollars more than MSRP and getting it here. So, we went cheap and practical. As long as I can play CDs and my iPod in it and the trunk has enough room for groceries and my tennis junk, I'm happy. Plus, the Focus is a five speed, which I really wanted but the Kia did not offer.
My potted tomato plants have blossoms now and I was able to snip some fresh cilantro for my fish marinade last night, so things are looking up for my meager attempt at gardening.
Ooh! The biggest news is my new tennis racquet! I am so psyched! It's awesome! I love it! It's the latest and greatest from Prince. I tried several, including one that the saleslady insisted I try because it was the one she uses. It was a power racquet, which gives players with limited strength added pop on the ball. Not for me. I have all the power I need in my stroke. It is almost impossible for me to keep the ball in the court with those racquets. They just go flying! They're great for beginner or intermediated players or those with weak strokes. I play with a control-oriented racquet and found the perfect match. A little bigger sweet spot than I'm used to (which is nice on those just out of reach mis-hits) but still plenty of control. Modern technology is definitely great when it comes to sporting goods.
I discovered another potted plant the other day, hidden until now in some foliage overgrowth. I discovered it because it had sent out a long shoot and was blooming. This is it. A gorgeous yellow orchid. Pretty, huh?
The stuff came, all the way from Colorado. We are now finding places to put the stuff, one box at a time. Despite our attempts to simplify our lives and purge a huge amount of stuff before moving here, we still find we have too much stuff. That's the American way though, right?
We converted an old dog Kennel just off the driveway into a storage shed. We were planning (and still are) to actually build a structure there, but in the meantime, we opted for tarps, a shower curtain and some 2x4s. Hey, there are people living in shelters less attractive and secure than this. Hey. It works.
We had both a bad and good car buying experience this weekend. We recently decided that, since my old purple truck is now deceased, we should buy an economical commuter car to zip to town and back when we don't need the utilitarian virtues of the SUV. We happened upon what we thought was a good deal at the Kia dealership in town. When we walked onto the lot, the salesman said he had a brand new one for 11,000. Sounded great. Then, when we were going through the process of filling out paperwork, he insisted on knowing what we could "comfortably afford" for a monthly payment. Ron refused to answer, knowing what they do with that info. I, on the other hand, was clueless. So when he asked "Can I just write down $350, I said sure. They then used that number to calculate the interest rate. Instead of giving us the best rate possible, they simply wanted us to take the rate that kept our payment at $350! They, of course, would then pocket the difference. We both have impeccable credit ratings, so qualify for the best rate out there which is right around 5.5% for a new car. They offered 7.75 %. Ron told them that if they could not beat 5.5%, we would go to the bank for financing, where we knew we could get the much lower rate. They came back matching the bank's rate. Then, after reams more paperwork was completed, the final numbers were presented. This, after about three hours at the dealership. Now, all this time, we think we're going to pay the price advertised for the car, the price the salesman told us it car cost when we walked onto the lot. Instead, the numbers sheet had the price of the car at over $14,000 - well over the quoted $11,000. When we questioned this, they brought us a copy of the newspaper ad (which I had not actually seen - I was simply going by the price the salesman quoted). In unbelievably fine print, is said something about a rebate that must be paid back tot he dealer upon purchase, and that the advertised price assumes you will be trading in a Kia as part of the down payment. What a joke. They lied about the price of the car, wore us down for three hours, got us all excited about buying the car, then just expected us to overlook the difference and sign. We walked.
The next day, we made a lowball offer on a 2005 Ford Focus. It was accepted. We'll pick it up Monday.
Lucky for me Ron is a tough negotiator when it comes to buying cars. He actually took a course on the sales tactics of car dealers and has a client who owns a dealership, so he knows how they operate and can recognize when he's being scammed. The Kia dealer tried to scam us. The Ford dealer did not. I would love to have purchased a Toyota Prius or a new Corolla, or a hybrid Civic or Honda Fit. But the prices are off the chart here for those cars. Dealers are charging premiums of several thousand dollars more than MSRP and getting it here. So, we went cheap and practical. As long as I can play CDs and my iPod in it and the trunk has enough room for groceries and my tennis junk, I'm happy. Plus, the Focus is a five speed, which I really wanted but the Kia did not offer.
My potted tomato plants have blossoms now and I was able to snip some fresh cilantro for my fish marinade last night, so things are looking up for my meager attempt at gardening.
Ooh! The biggest news is my new tennis racquet! I am so psyched! It's awesome! I love it! It's the latest and greatest from Prince. I tried several, including one that the saleslady insisted I try because it was the one she uses. It was a power racquet, which gives players with limited strength added pop on the ball. Not for me. I have all the power I need in my stroke. It is almost impossible for me to keep the ball in the court with those racquets. They just go flying! They're great for beginner or intermediated players or those with weak strokes. I play with a control-oriented racquet and found the perfect match. A little bigger sweet spot than I'm used to (which is nice on those just out of reach mis-hits) but still plenty of control. Modern technology is definitely great when it comes to sporting goods.
I discovered another potted plant the other day, hidden until now in some foliage overgrowth. I discovered it because it had sent out a long shoot and was blooming. This is it. A gorgeous yellow orchid. Pretty, huh?
Comments