Question for you car people
 

I would just leave it, period. If I had a kid, I would check to see whether the crack in the bumper would impair bumper performance (if that is the right term) and if so, fix just that part of it. You could run your actual vehicle through the blue book thingy that JP posted a link to; buyers of fancy-pants vehicles may put more of a premium on cosmetic stuff than buyers of plain vanilla vehicles. Dunno whether the bb would take that into account or not.

Question for you car people
 

Do you have collision? If so, that may cover your damage minus the deductible. If it's someone else's fault your insurance company will seek to subrogate and get its money back (and your $500) from the other motherfucker's insurance company.

I say get it fixed. Jeep Cherokees have value even with 100k. Spending $500 oop is worth it.

Question for you car people
 

I have collision with a $500 deductible. Plus, Florida is a no fault state.

Mostly, I don't want to deal with it, which I know is the insanely lazy way of coping. I'll probably get it fixed, just because I'm too vain to drive around with a dinged-up car.

Question for you car people
 

Can your insurance company get you a better price--in some states they have deals with repair shops to get lower prices? Not saying you'll get a better fix, but who cares if you're going to sell it. As long as they can flatten out the ding and repaint so that it looks new for a year, getting the best quality may not be too important.

(I'd get it fixed, because who knows whether you might be driving it longer than a year . . . )

Question for you car people
 

Any thoughts on using those guys who advertise on Craigslist and will come to your office?

Question for you car people
 

None of the girls I've used knows aa thing about cars.

Question for you car people
 

Hepful, as usual.

But I meant like this. http://westpalmbeach.craigslist.org/aos/444179332.html

And he came out and gave me an estimate that was cheaper than the body shop. In fact, it's damn close to my deductible.

He's doing the work here, in my office parking lot, right now.

Question for you car people
 

No fault refers to medical expenses, not car damage or pain and suffering. In Florida or anywhere else.

Driving fun
 

OK, this weekend I drove the new Mercedes C350, the BMW 335i coupe and the Cooper S w/John Cooper Works upgrade stage 1.

The Mercedes was disappointing. Cosmetically it is a huge improvement over last year's design, although why they have 2 options for the nazi star is beyond me. You can order the nazi star on the hood (like before) or in the grill. I prefer it in the grill, but most of the inventory on the lot had the star on the hood.
The most ridiculous feature is the door for the "screen." You cannot see the radio or the (Mercedes version of the i-Drive) functions on the screen unless you open this stupid little door in the dash. Why would you ever close the door? It's stupid. Open the door, close the door. And why would they want to emulate i-Drive? I don't think anyone likes it.

The nav is an automatic popup thing behind the maddening door. So I guess that's one reason to buy the nav. Steering was boaty, braking a little grabby. Interior was nice. Overall, meh. Car as we drove it was $44k.

335i coupe - the opposite. Interior a tiny bit cramped for the husband at 5' 11" Did 0-100 in about 5 seconds but I backed off right at about 95 because a corner was coming up. Interior not as good a grade of plastic as the Mercedes but it had a more quiet interior, much better steering and brakes, no stupid flippy door for the radio and fast as hell. Car as we drove it was almost $50k.

Cooper S w/JCW upgrade stage 1 and JCW 18" wheels was stiff as hell. Steering was MUCH less squirrelly than on the standard Cooper S. Mechanics could not explain it other than probably the 18s help it out. The JCW upgrade brings the twin turbo to 189 hp, about 80 horses less than the Mercedes, but put to much better use. Ride was harsh but not punishing - loud, but not as loud as last year's Cooper S. Car as driven was priced at about $40k w/o nav.

New Bike
 

Here's a new bike to try. Takes a minute to start and I'm sure you can cut down trees on the way. How bad could it be? The guy's German!!

Motorcycle chain saw

And a very Smart Car

serious question need quick answer
 

okay. buying a car in the next few days. the model doesn't matter for the question.

we are looking at a 2008 with the middle package. the lot starts pushing the 2007 with the package one up (about a $4000 difference). They haven't priced it yet but imply the step up will be almost nothing (rebates maybe).

but we're a bit paranoid about it, like maybe they're trying to clear out a lemon. any hints on how to sort out if it is a lemon? any view on dealerships doing something like this?

serious question need quick answer
 

Is it new? More likely they're just pushing out an old model. Check one of the online sites, because it's quite possible the dealer is getting incentives from the factory/company to sell the old models. It's quite typical of dealers to try to clear off last year's models once the new ones start coming in. Savvy buyers often look for such deals if they're willing to buy a "year old" car.

serious question need quick answer
 

Rebates and interest make this legit.

I always buy left overs. I bought a 2005 4runner in late 2005 and paid 3000 under invoice.

Manufacturers help push remaining last years model cars by giving the dealer money for each car. Typically they pass this on to you in the form of rebates. For something like a Saab this could be like $6500 for a 2007. When you calculate the price, take the rebate off of Invoice, not MSRP though you need to add the tax before subtracting the rebate.

They pay floor plan interest on cars once they have been sitting on the lot for a period of time. It's generally a relatively high rate. In addition, allocations of 2008s are usually based on how many 2007s they sell.

You have several sources:

Carsdirect.com (gives you good prices) consumerreports.org (have to pay) and edmunds.com

Fastest car
 

OK, another world's fasted production car. This time out of West Richland WA.

And only $600k!

Fastest car
 

Fast, schmast. Like there's ever any chance to go all that fast on the clogged highways and byways of California.

The real question is, smart car or Honda Civic hybrid?