That’s right. Like that logging reality show where there was always so much drama and someone was always on the verge of imminent death. Much more interesting than just cutting, loading, and hauling logs. It was entertaining though, in the first few seasons.
Hi. Can we please come back to cars? Thanks.
Or the ice road truckers show. “If he can’t downshift on this hill, he’ll DIE!!!”
Well… Good thing he’s guaranteed to be able to downshift then.
(Trucks count, right? 
)
2 Likes
I think that allowing people out of a car loan if the car broke down would be a TERRIBLE idea. What happened to personal responsibility? People would come up with all kinds of ways to make the car break and get out from under the payments. This is just like those accidental fires…
I was doing some work at an insurance agency with their computers so overheard some of their business. One was a car fire. It happened out at the end of a dead end road in the middle of nowhere late at night. The guy had no business being out there and was just “taking a late night drive.” This was obvious fraud. They said that the legit car fires happen in rush hour traffic on the way home from work and such. These cars burn up on the side of a busy roadway, not some isolated road in the middle of nowhere.
I agree that people have lost all expectations and the cable TV shows are a large part of this. People want more complicated and expensive. Appliances are getting this way where they have an electronic control panel operated via a touch screen. I don’t need a touch screen on my refrigerator. I was in Lowes the other day and a $3,400 Samsung floor model had a touch screen prompting to kick off a software update. Phones didn’t used to need software updates and I don’t see why a refrigerator does either. I guess this can be an easy way to fix flaws such as with cars but don’t see the need on appliances. I mean if they used a digital temp control and there was a bug such as something that would cause the unit to turn off and spoil the food, a software flash might be an easy fix for this.
The infotainment centers on cars are the same way. One breaks and it is THOUSANDS of dollars to repair or replace. What even happened to being able to swap out a radio with an aftermarket model? Those days are over or nearing an end. I prefer NOT to have touch screens in cars. I can control an analog control radio easier without looking away from the road than a touch screen. Of course everyone has been convinced that this is the way to go and that you need a car with these features. This just drives up cost and complexity of repairs.
Unreasonable expectations definitely get people into financial troubles. What ever happened to not having the best and greatest when trying to save money? Of course there are times where a new car can be cheaper than used due to the financing incentives. That is if you finance it and don’t just pay cash.
1 Like
As for high expectations, I had some older customers a few days ago. They had a perfectly good working printer, DVD player, and some other stuff they sent me off with to recycle. They had tried to give it away to churches and charities and no one wanted it. The DVD player was missing the remote. Sure you could buy a universal for $10 but DVD players are not expensive. People won’t buy used stuff at thrift stores unless it is basically perfect.
I used to try and donate decent stuff but now know what they do and don’t want so don’t waste my time and their’s. I just send it to the recyclers which is too bad because SOMEBODY would probably want this.
1 Like
I remember going with my father to buy a used car in 1949. He always drove junkers and worked on them to keep them going. He ended up buying a used Ford that was a few years old. I remember him telling me later, on several occasions, that in those days you had to have a 20% down payment or they couldn’t sell you a car. And I remember that for many years all new cars were sold on a 36-month contract.
Trust me… car dealers have always been willing to “settle” for full cash payment.
Yes, they prefer to have their customers finance their purchase through the dealership in order to increase their profit margin, but–when push comes to shove–they will all accept cash or a cashier’s check.
And we might benefit from returning to that situation.
The prices, size, and gadgets on new cars would have to be reduced if the loan terms were made stricter such as 20% down and a 36 month term. That being said, I don’t think this is a bad thing but the automakers and finance companies will never go for it.
I was doing some work for a used car lot yesterday. They made mention about how they had a 3rd party finance company because they didn’t want to do it themselves. The terms of the financing sounded pretty bad but they had no qualms about a person walking in with cash or other financing. This was definitely not a BHPH place. They had some nice cars there and the prices didn’t look too bad. There were a couple “ricers” with strange modifications and such though. They said people love these things and they always sell, so again, they are selling the looks.
They said something about how the people who brought their own financing rarely had issues paying for the cars while those that used the 3rd party service through them had huge interest rates and a huge incidence of repos. There is a towing and mechanic shop attached to this dealership and the finance company has them do the repos. I guess that is part of the terms with them because they said that was the last thing that they wanted to do. They are looking into a new finance company and someone else to do the repos.
You’re absolutely right. Those HGTV shows like House Hunters are fabricated. The couple has already purchased one is the houses when the show is filmed. A producer tells them what to say and do. Sometimes they get the couple to get a friend or a family member to offer up their house for filming. It’s all fake. All reality shows manufacture drama.
Of course, everyone knows that “reality TV” shows are scripted, and anything but “real”. Whether shopping for a house or a car, or home appliances or electronics, or whatever, you would think that most reasonable people have decided up front what they’re willing/able to spend. Similarly, most reasonable people understand that it is the job of the sales consultant to try to convince you to spend more, and how to avoid that.
I also agree that shows about smart people making sensible decisions are not good drama, unfortunately. Instead, the “reality TV” shows always depict people spending vast amounts of money unnecessarily, which they may not even be able to afford over the long term.
Also, the ability to pay for a purchase over time does not make an excessive purchase price a good deal, even if you can somehow afford the monthly payments. If the house isn’t worth $500,000, or you didn’t want to spend that much, then the fact that the mortgage payment is “only” $3000 a month doesn’t magically make it a better deal. Similarly, if the car isn’t worth $20,000, or you had planned on paying a lot less, then the fact that the loan payment is “only” $300 a month doesn’t magically make it a good deal. The same could be said about overpriced appliances/home electronics, expensive furniture, or anything else which people waste too much money on because they focus on the “monthly payment”.
Ha ha ha. Yep bought this property for $450,000, hired contractors to do all the renovation work for $150,000, and sold it after 30 days for $750,000 with a profit of $150,000. On to the next house, whoopee. One might ask why the original owner just didn’t put the $150,000 in it to sell it for 750 instead of 450, but that’s Hollyweed. I’ve got a bridge over here. Just needs a little work. Sure thing.
The reality shows must draw considerable audiences since they are a growing trend. But is the audience laughing at the obvious farce or are they suckers falling for it?
I dunno, I’d like to see the detail on that one. (See Below) On the other hand, if you are tired of the news media, have had enough of the syrupy Hallmark channel, don’t like the Twilight Zone or Hitchcock, maybe the reality shows are decent background. I usually just watch the weather until the Twilight Zone comes on.
I was part of the Nielsen rating once and it is quite a farce actually. I made the mistake of telling them I had seven TVs so I had seven reports to fill out every hour. So if I had a TV going in the bedroom, the bathroom, and kitchen, it was reported as three times what I was actually watching-or actually not watching, just on. I have the TV on as background now but couldn’t tell you what they are talking about. Maybe they are using NSA to beam in to see what everyone is actually watching.
When one pawn shop program suddenly becomes 3 there must be someone watching them. And Parking Wars is occasionally the best my cable company has to watch so I spend a more time piddling in my shop these days… Or piddling on CarTalk.
I used to know somebody who was “inspired” by the house-flippers that he saw on TV, so he decided to get into that racket himself. You might have seen his book on display at Barnes & Noble. The title is………
I Made $200 in Real Estate!
Yeah, my retired cousins have done a few houses but they do the work themselves and don’t hire everything out.
Thirty years ago the GET RICH QUICK schemes sold on late night television were more outrageous than what I see these days but people keep buying the junk. How can anyone believe that someone with no money and no credit and no knowledge of home repairs can get rich overnight flipping houses? And when I watch a Meecum auction and see a restored automobile sell for <$20,000 that obviously has hundreds of hours of labor and $thousands in parts added to the cost of the original car I wonder how deeply in debt the customizer will be when the deal is done.
Yeah the car restoring shows are a hoot. Of course they are always under a tight tight time frame to finish the car. They never have any trouble getting the parts that come in a box brand new. One setback after another but they finish in time for the auction. So who would want to go through all that work just to sell the car at an auction? At least enjoy it for a year or two. Then what really bothers me is they take a decent stock car and instead of restoring it, make a hot rod out of it.
1 Like
Absolutely @bing. All those great old cars become street junk when they hang a tilt wheel in it and stuff a small block Chevy engine and TH-350 transmission in it. What a waste.
1 Like