Catching Up: June and July with Lesley & Amelia

Readers may have noticed that my blog has been silent since early May (except for the recent article "Beast the Car Dealer with AlphaCBA).  No excuse.  We've been living the good life here in Hingham and I've been a bit lazy.  So, now it's catch-up time.

I plan to write a series of articles and will probably do so in no particular order.  My plan is to write on different adventures as the spirit moves me. But I will catch up

That said, let's start with June and July.

My daughter, Lesley, started weekly visits in late June with the end of school in Providence and with her comes my granddaughter, Amelia.  Lesley teaches biology and chemistry at Classical High School.  Amelia in July was 2 years and 8 months old.

Lesley and Amelia are my dingy buddies and together we have been exploring the local waters.  This year with just a little prompting Amelia is starting to show interest in driving the 13 foot AB Rib.

An late June highlight was a visit to the Cohasset Art Fair with Diana, Myrna and myself.

 Here's Amelia enjoying dinner at Tosca, Hingham's top restaurant.

In late June, Lesley, Scott and I explored the Bass River on jet skis, a repeat of last years adventure. This was made possible by Diana's babysitting Amelia while we did our thing. 

Late June on Cape Cod can be a little cool but again, this year, we lucked out with a fairly nice day (i.e., warn with low winds).

Scott, my future son-in-law, runs AquaSport, a jet ski rental company operating at the Lighthouse Inn in West Dennis on Cape Cod.  Our Bass River adventure takes place on the weekend before AquaSport opens for business.  Here's some photos of our adventure:

Trailer holding four brand new Yamaha Jet Skis

Getting ready to launch

Scott

Lesley and Scott going under the Route 6 Bridge

We pass boaters enjoying and afternoon on a sandbar

Speaking of dingy's, one of Amelia's favorite trips is a visit to Hull's 100 year old carousel. 

The carousel is operating while also under extensive restoration

Lesley's favorite activity is playing SkeeBall at what remains of the arcades at Paragon Park.  Amelia, while too young to play, gets involved with the prize tickets, which we use to purchase turtle toys.

Another July activity was a visit to the New England Aquarium in Boston.  Highlights of this trip included Amelia's first ferry ride and a special exhibit on turtle rescue.

Lesley, Amelia and Diana listening to the turtle rescue lecture

Overlooking the penguin pool

On the ferry leaving Boston

Written by Les.

Beat the Car Dealer with AlphaCBA

My friends, Sophocles Karapas and Jerry Skama, have started a new and exciting on-line business venture called Alpha Car Buying Authority (AlphaCBA).

www.alphacarbuyingauthority.com

Why do I say exciting?  Well, think about the last time you went to a car dealer. I will go out on a very short limb and bet it was not necessarily one of your most favorite experiences. Most dealers are expert in making the car buying process as profitable for them as possible and that translates into a less than pleasant experience for most buyers.  In fact many people would rather go to the dentist for a root canal than to the dealer to buy a car. Sound familiar?

Enter Soph and Jerry.  Their website contains all the tools needed for you to negotiate the best possible deal and best of all, their tools and wisdom are FREE!  Need or want help?  That's available also. For $99 their team will talk you through the process and prepare an Expert Buyer's Report (see link below) that will give you a considerable advantage when you negotiate with the dealer.  For $499 they will accompany you to the dealership and expertly negotiate the entire transaction. You can literally save as much as $5,000 on an average priced new vehicle (around $32,000).

Why you ask am I so enthusiastic?  Simple. I spent my entire 38 year career with a warranty company that dealt primarily with car dealers.  During most of my first 10 years I conducted a two week training program for Finance and Insurance (F&I) Managers that taught them how to maximize the profit from every customer regardless of how they intended to pay for their car.  In fact, I personally trained close to 2,000 F&I Managers over the period and I was one of five trainers. I am also credited with developing the training curriculum and the training methodology, which I named Guided Discovery and which, as readers know, is the name of my boat.

Explanatory Note: Guided Discovery is an interactive performance based teaching method which uses questions to involve participants in discussion where they draw upon their past experience and intellect to understand and accept new concepts and exercises (technically known as behavioral simulations - role play) to develop confidence and competence with new skills.  My book, The Training Effectiveness Handbook, published by McGraw-Hill in 1995 contains a complete explanation of how to construct a training program under the Guided Discovery methodology.

Later, in my career as a program developer with the company's performance improvement group I developed training for car salespeople on how sell cars and maximize profits. My specialty was programs on effective negotiation both for the salesperson and their managers.  I know how the game is played in fact you might say I wrote the book (well, OK, the training).

Trust me, car dealers have the advantage.  They negotiate deals seven days a week 52 weeks a year.  They are good at what they do.  We, as consumers, buy a car on average once every 7 years. Even if you are good at negotiation you can be "had" unless you've done your homework and have all your ducks in a row.

Let's start with the basics.  There are multiple ways for dealers to profit; the price of the new car, the allowance on the trade, the margins on financing or leasing and, most lucrative, the products sold in the finance office. Did you know that 40% of a dealer's vehicle sales profit is made in the finance office and that, on average, the F&I Manager makes $1,000 for each and every car sold? It's true. 

Enter AlphaCBA.  Their Expert Buyer's Report (EBR - see link below) guides you through the process of gathering key information and links you to the resources you need.  It also contains wisdom (dos and don'ts) that alert you to the many ways the dealer can take advantage.  With a completed EBR you will know:

• The invoice price of the car
• The dealer's holdback (more profit below the invoice price)
• The average selling price (truecar.com) paid by other customers
• The real (cash) value of your trade
• Your credit FICO score
• The best rate for financing based on your credit score
• The best terms for leasing (again based on your credit score)
• Which dealer products to buy and what they cost

Here's the Expert Buyer's Report link:

http://media.wix.com/ugd/63bd09_57524445aa7a4337a46cea0f4524e357.pdf

Now your ready to deal.  Key points.  First. Use AlphaCBA's "dealer rater" link to find top rated dealers.  They tend to be more "reasonable" in negotiations.  Second. Follow Alpha's negotiation advice (Step 8 - Close the Deal. See link below).  Third. Negotiate the new vehicle and trade value before negotiating the finance or lease payment. Fourth.  Do not hesitate to "walk" if the dealer does not want to play ball on the new vehicle or trade value.  Fifth. Negotiate the finance or lease payment and finally, deal with finance products.

Step 8 - Close the Deal link:

http://www.alphacarbuyingauthority.com/#!step-8/c21fi

Now to the products offered by the F&I Manager.

Did you know that there are many different products that dealers offer in the finance office?  Did you know that almost all are over-priced and that you really do not need any of them?  Here's a list:

1. Mechanical RepairAagreement (aka extended warranty)
2. GAP (pays the difference between what you owe and the value of the vehicle in the event of a total loss)
3. Prepaid Maintenance
4. Window Etching
5. Paint and Fabric Protection
6. Alarm systems
7. Tire and Wheel Protection
8. Lease Excess Wear and Tear
9. Dent/Ding Protection or Paintless Dent Repair
10. Windshield Protection
11. Key Replacement
12. Roadside Assistance (e.g., AAA)
13. Vehicle Tracking and Recovery Devices (Lojack)
14. Credit Life and Disability Insurance (total waste of money)
15. Involuntary Unemployment Insurance
16. Bi-Weekly Payments (aka Accelerated Equity)
17. ID Theft Protection
18. Rust Proofing
19. Nitrogen in tires - $69 to $179 (seriously??? Air is 78% nitrogen)

Phew!  That's quite a list.  Further, it is impracticable for dealers to offer each product separately.  Explaining each product's benefits along with it's price and disclosing any key limitations would take a lot of time. So, what dealer's do is package five to seven of the products into groups and present them on a menu.

F&I Menu

The F&I Manager briefly explains the products in the first column and then points to the new payment including all the products in that column.  If you say "yes" they make a home run and win the game.  If you say "no" they go for a triple by showing what's in the next column. Another "no" and they go for a double and then, finally, (groan) a single.  If you keep saying "no" they "strike out" and you win the game.

Better to say at the start "lose the menu" or, more tactfully, "sorry, but I'm not interested in any of those products."  The F&I Manager will then make up some excuse as to why he/she has to present these products to every customer.  Continue to say you are not interested or whatever comes to mind.

Having said that, there is one product that is worth considering.  Its the extended warranty if it makes sense in relation to your ownership plans.  For example, if you trade frequently and essentially do it while the vehicle is within the manufacturer's warranty period (e.g., 36 months or 36,000 miles or 48 months or 48,000 miles) then take a pass.  However if you keep a vehicle years beyond the manufacturer's warranty or drive a lot of miles annually it may be worth consideration.  Here again AlphaCBA provides links to warranty companies so that you can either buy from them of use their pricing to negotiate the price of the extended warranty.  Very soon they will be able to facilitate its purchase on their website at very attractive pricing.

Explanatory Note: I've had an extended warranty on every Audi I've owned (1986, 1992, 1997, 2001, 2004) and have come out ahead every time.    The transfer provision helped me sell two Audi S4s (1992 & 2004) privately and at a good price and the claims paid exceeded the cost of the warranty in all cases.  We currently have one on the 2011 Ford Taurus and have only had 2 claims in 81,000 miles. The warranty company is winning and so are we as we do not have to worry about paying for an expensive breakdown. 

AlphaCBA explains all of the F&I products and to their credit only recommends the extended warranty for most people.  That said, some of the other products may have value to you and their insights will help you make an informed decision.

Soph and Jerry, Alpha's founders, have a combined total of 50 years of experience in the car business.  They share their wisdom and experience in the form of "Protips" that you'll find on every page of the website. Profit from their experience and beat the dealer on your next car purchase or, better, if you live in Chicago, let one of the expert buyers do it for you.

Written by Les.