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Old 07-28-2014, 07:38 AM   #21
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I spent around 20 minutes with her. She sized up candidates by looking at their clothing, especially shoes for women, and the jewelry on men and women, the grooming of their children, and whether one had bad teeth!
Looking at teeth makes lot of sense to me.
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Old 07-28-2014, 07:39 AM   #22
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Originally Posted by marko View Post
"...a late model luxury German sedan---you know, the kind that anyone can lease for a few hundred a month"

PLEASE let me know where I can get one for a 'few hundred a month'!!
My lease is....errr....let's just say....considerably more than that.
I guess it depends on the specific model and your definition of 'few'. In Cincinnati a 2015 428i can be leased for $439/month. That is the advertised lease offer, not a negotiated deal.
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Old 07-28-2014, 08:42 AM   #23
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Dumb question, but how do you get insurance money, rather than getting your car fixed? I've never been offered that opportunity, unless the car got totaled and they paid out. Otherwise, it would always be a matter of take it to the body shop, they fix it, and the insurance handles it. I've never been offered the opportunity of getting the cash instead.
Nice truck. I don't know how I got a check but it's happened 3 times. Same thing my pickup(s) had a bent bumper, the other vehicles were totaled. Each time ~$500 check for a bent bumper from insurance. Each accident the person behind me didn't stop.

Sounds like a great deal, except I've had to spend months doing PT(old C-spine injury) as a result. I too started alerting other driver's when I saw traffic slowing down by tapping brakes.
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Old 07-28-2014, 08:55 AM   #24
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Dumb question, but how do you get insurance money, rather than getting your car fixed? I've never been offered that opportunity, unless the car got totaled and they paid out.
I took my car to a body shop a got a quote for fixing the damage. It was something like $1-2k for really minor damage. I gave the quote to the insurance company and told them I wanted to do a "cash out".

I drove that car for 19 years before donating it so the cash out was pure gain.
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Old 07-28-2014, 09:01 AM   #25
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When I had that first accident, with the Infiniti, I didn't come out of it unscathed, either. The hit was so hard that I swear it felt like the truck went airborne. And the back of my head slammed into the rear window pretty hard, to where I was achy for a day or two. No headrests in that truck, and the back window is only a couple inches from the back of my skull.

I didn't even feel it when the Hyundai hit me, though.

Oh, and a couple months after the bumper got repaired after the Hyundai hit, someone pulled a hit and run on the truck unattended in a parking lot, as I noticed the bumper was bent AGAIN! This time though, it would have been on my dime to fix it, so I just left it.

At some point, someone whacked the passenger side door in another parking lot hit and run. And rust is starting to really take its toll on that truck. So it ain't so pretty looking, these days Sometimes I'll use it though, if I have to go into places like DC, where they can be rough on cars with parallel parking, sideswiping parked cars, etc.
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Old 07-28-2014, 09:12 AM   #26
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My ability to put up with other peoples mouth is directly in proportion to how much bigger or smaller they are to me.


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Old 07-28-2014, 09:14 AM   #27
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I guess it depends on the specific model and your definition of 'few'. In Cincinnati a 2015 428i can be leased for $439/month. That is the advertised lease offer, not a negotiated deal.
Or, $238/Mo for a 2014 3-Series.


The Lease Outlet | Lease a BMW: 328i $306 Mo | Porsche 911 $811 Mo | Mercedes C250 $241 Mo | E350 $375 Mo
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Old 07-28-2014, 09:36 AM   #28
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I must confess I have reversed prejudice. If I see Mr. BMW I automatically assume this guys has no investable assets.

And if I know such guys in 9/10 cases that assumption is correct.
I must be the 1/10. Making assumptions of any kind is a dangerous game.
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Old 07-28-2014, 09:41 AM   #29
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I had someone back out of a parking space right next to me (I was in the car on a call). She scraped right down the side of my car - fortunately right on the rubberized door guards! Unfortunately, she scraped the paint right off the door guards, leaving a nice long line of primer. I politely asked for and received a copy of her insurance information. I took pictures of my car and her car for insurance purposes.

After she left, I immediately called her insurance company and filed a claim, sending the pictures along as support. A week later, her insurance company called me, telling me that she was contesting the claim and alleged that she never hit me. Having no witnesses, I thought I was out of luck, but her insurance company said that it came down to credibility. I explained that if she hadn't hit me, why would she willingly give me her insurance information and allow me to take pictures of her car (showing numerous scrapes on all 4 of her corner bumpers - meaning she was probably terrible in parking lots)? Another week later, her the insurance company called and told me they were honoring the claim and would send a check for $300.

I pocketed the check and bought a $10 bottle of touch up paint. After about 1/2 hour of painting, the door guards look pretty much brand new. Why invest $300 in an 8-year old car with 128k miles just to have a perfect paint job on door guards?
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Old 07-28-2014, 09:44 AM   #30
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Looking at teeth makes lot of sense to me.
Works for horses, too.
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Old 07-28-2014, 10:01 AM   #31
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Any similar stories from members of the forum?
I get mistaken for waiter in casual dining restaurants where waiter(ess) do not wear uniforms or aprons. On my way to and back from restroom, I get stopped and asked "can you get me some water?" Ditto in small 7-eleven type of market, e.g, I get "hey, where do you stock beers?" type of question. I just smile and say "I don't work here." Then again, they may be assuming I am rich enough to be the owner ... .
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Old 07-28-2014, 10:13 AM   #32
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I am looking forward to the days when I am retired and can wear my old garage working clothes all the time. I hate having to be dressed up, and even my fairly causal work environment, is more than I like. I am not one to be embarrassed about going tot he store looking like I have been working all day in garage or around the house.

As to the stealth wealth, I concur better to be thought of less means and have more, than be thought of with more and not have it!
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Old 07-28-2014, 10:15 AM   #33
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Dumb question, but how do you get insurance money, rather than getting your car fixed? .
Between the kids and me, we have had only incidents where the other party was 100% at fault. We take the insurance information from the other party at the scene, and promptly call their insurance company with the details. I don't involve my insurance company at all, since for most of our vehicles, we have no collision insurance (just liability) anyway. In all cases, the other party's inusrance company has promptly sent out an adjuster and a (negotiated) check is issued on the spot once they confirm there is no lien on the vehicle. If they start to delay the process, just mention a possible upcoming doctor's visit due to some pain, and this usually moves things along to a successful financial resolution very quickly.

Next, its off to the junkyard to get the parts needed and replace as necessary, and pocket and invest the rest as sweat equity.
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Old 07-28-2014, 10:18 AM   #34
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I get mistaken for waiter in casual dining restaurants where waiter(ess) do not wear uniforms or aprons. On my way to and back from restroom, I get stopped and asked "can you get me some water?" Ditto in small 7-eleven type of market, e.g, I get "hey, where do you stock beers?" type of question. I just smile and say "I don't work here." Then again, they may be assuming I am rich enough to be the owner ... .
Don't wear a red polo shirt when shopping at Target. Made that mistake a couple of times.
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Old 07-28-2014, 10:53 AM   #35
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This thread has given me an idea for if I have an accident!

Since I usually have my mp3 player in the car (listening to podcasts of my choice instead of how X are killing Y), and the mp3 player has a voice recorder, I will activate the recorder! Problems with people changing their story might be mitigated a bit.
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Old 07-28-2014, 11:05 AM   #36
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I was impressed once when I walked into the Pfaff Porsche dealership in Toronto (I was out for a walk and was curious). I was dressed in my usual 501s and golf shirt with runners on but they treated me as if I might be laying down cash for a 911 Turbo S that day. Seems like they may have read 'The Millionaire Next Door' - well except what cars they are driving.
Luxury car dealers will tell you that nowadays, the guy with the jean shorts, T shirt, flip flops and baseball cap is the one that will drop $120K on a car and pay cash. (no, not a drug dealer either)
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Old 07-28-2014, 12:03 PM   #37
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I think I told this story here once before.

DW and I were in Aldi's near our house. We live in a low to moderate income area of town, and the Aldi is frequented by those that I perceive to be of lower income. We had maybe $30-40 worth of groceries at the checkout line, including a $6 take and bake pizza. DW was pregnant with kid #3 and we had two other little ones in tow.

We usually don't dress like much if we're just going to Aldi or Walmart (as in my clothes may have been a little stained, perhaps a couple of small holes in my shirt, worn out collar, old sneakers, etc).

When I went to pay for the groceries, I couldn't remember the PIN on my debit card (I normally use credit cards, not an option at Aldi). I pulled out all the cash in my wallet and I was $6 or $7 short, so I grabbed the pizza and asked the cashier to put it back since I couldn't afford it without running to the car and grabbing $6 in change from my center console in my car (and holding up the line).

We leave the store sans pizza and proceed to our car. In a minute or two, a nice lady who looked decidedly lower middle class runs out of the store and hands us the pizza. She says "Here, enjoy the pizza. I know what it's like to be in your shoes and come up a little short at the check out line. I was there when I was pregnant with my kid too."

I tried to get her to wait while I grabbed $6 in coins from my car to reimburse her, but she insisted on making it a gift. She probably saw my beat up 14 year old Honda Civic and our family of 4 (about to be 5) and figured we needed the money.

I remember this happened shortly after we crossed the million dollar NW mark and we felt awkward about receiving handouts from someone who probably needed the money more than us.
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Old 07-29-2014, 10:38 AM   #38
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I remember this happened shortly after we crossed the million dollar NW mark and we felt awkward about receiving handouts from someone who probably needed the money more than us.
The reward of doing a kind deed for somebody (even though financially, they might not have needed it) was probably worth far more to her than any payback.

Just pay it forward to somebody else you might see in need someday
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Old 07-29-2014, 10:58 AM   #39
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DW and I were traveling by car one time I forget where now but after checking into our hotel I walked to one of the local markets to pick up a sixer. I didn't care for anything I found in their very limited premium beer section so I asked the clerk where the rest of the beverages where (it was a rather large store). Without even making eye contact he pointed over his shoulder saying "The cheap beer is over there. "

Well I never!
You were looking for the cheap beer? Right?
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Old 07-29-2014, 12:18 PM   #40
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My husband has a story from before he met me. He was on a vacation with friends in Boston. He's an architect who likes to do pointillism drawings of architectural subjects. Boston is full of things he wanted to draw, so he'd head out solo, early in the morning to do his drawings before his travel buddies woke up. He was doing a drawing one morning and he had a dunkin' donut coffee cup next to him. He was wearing jeans and a hoodie under an denim jacket, since it was a brisk morning.

Some lady came by and commented on what a great drawing it was. She chats him up then tells him there's a group of people that will be having a breakfast at the church across the street and would he like to join them in about 20 minutes. He goes over there - and as soon as he's in the door, he realizes it's a homeless meal program. But he's not the quickest so he already has his plate full of food when he realizes this. He realizes the lady thought he was homeless. He makes a point of going over to the priest running the program and offers to pay for his meal, explaining the mistake. The priest gets a big kick out of the mistake. Hubby puts a donation in the box.

Later, he's finishing up his picture and someone else drops in a dollar to his (still partially full) dunkin' donut coffee cup.

Homeless? Or decently paid architect.... The crowds thought the former.
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