Vehicle 101

Hi Again Friends, I was looking over some of my prior newsletters, and one suggestion I had made was to purchase a good used vehicle instead of a brand new one, due to the loss of value when you drive a new one off the lot.

Then, I realized there was a big info-gap I left you in.

So, you might be interested in this “buying a vehicle 101″ before deciding on any used vehicle.

So – here goes:  Usually you will want to choose a vehicle between 3-5 years old, with low mileage, under 40,000 is a good number. That means it’s only been driven approximately 10,000 miles a year – pretty good rate.Now, before you even go to look at a vehicle, check the approximate price at www.kbb.com – the good old Kelly Blue Book! At least it will give you a guideline and…. Hey! There’s another great freebie!!!

Okay – you’ve heard about a vehicle or seen it advertised in the paper on online.

Walk up to the car, stand at the rear and see it the tires line up front and back – if the vehicle looks like the tires are heading one way and the body of the vehicle is heading a bit left or right, it probably means the vehicle has been in an accident. Question the owner about that.

Check the tires – the old bit of putting a penny in the groove and not being able to see Lincoln’s hair is a pretty good way to judge how many miles are left on the tires before you’ll have to replace them. Physically run your hands around the tires – make sure there are no places where the “rubber” is gone and the threads are exposed.

Now – it’s time to look inside. First you’re going to check the back seat: Check the carpet – a car with 40,000 miles should be in good condition – if the owners took care of it. If they took care of that, perhaps they were considerate of the whole vehicle. Check the seat condition and make sure the seat belts in the back seat work. Close the back doors – do they close securely without slamming?  Now, you actually get to go to the front seat! Just open the door, don’t get in yet – take a  visual appraisal at everything: How’s the upholstery on the driver’s side? Cigarette holes  – I’ve never found a way to fix those successfully. Is the upholstery excessively worn, especially on the driver’s side?

Then question the odometer reading. There is an Internet site you may want to use:  www.carfax.com that gives you a history of the vehicle– but how often do we look at a vehicle then take the time to go home,  run a check and then go back – by then, if the car was good, it’s probably already been sold – so – do what makes you comfortable.

How are the brake pedal look? Just about worn through? Then, has this car been driven aggressively. How’s the gas pedal? Same thing – aggressive driving can be hard on the engine and the whole system. Check the headliner – that’s the material that goes over you head – is it secure? No excessive staining? Does the top interior light work? Both sunshades secure?  Check the front seat – finally, you should get in and sit down.

Ask for the owner for the key. Do a visual check – if the key is really worn off, again question how carefully the owners treated the car and question the mileage. Insert the key, make sure the brake is on, and start the vehicle. See if any warning lights come on – it’s normal for the oil to light up and then instantly go out, as may some of the other warning lights – it’s normal to light for a moment, but then they should all go out. Pay attention to the sound – with low mileage, it should still pretty much sound like a new car – quiet. If it is equipped with a motorized seat, does it work? Is it big enough for you to comfortably enter and to drive? Alternatively, is it small enough? Does the passenger seat have adjustments? Long rides and comfort go hand in hand.

Now, your partner needs to help for this – turn on the lights – headlights, parking lights, brake lights, and all four signal lights – make sure they perform.Check the interior lights – the ceiling light – maybe the glove compartment light. Take your time – don’t get flustered. All of this is important.

Probably long before this, the owner is trying to get your attention on the pretty color – tell them “yes” and proceed with your inspection.

If the windows are automatic, make sure they all work – one motor in one door for the window can be quite expensive – this is from experience. In hot climate, are the windows tinted? Is that in good condition? Are the door handles secure? Check the door locks – make sure they all work.  Check the seat belts – looking sturdy still? Do they lock properly? Are they secured at the proper points or have they been altered?

You still have the vehicle running – it should not have died. Now, with the motor running,  and the car in park, and the brake on, carefully exit the car – make sure to leave the door open so it doesn’t accidentally lock (how embarrassing) and again check under the hood. Everything looking and sounding good? Great!

So, back in the vehicle for a test drive. Turn the car off, then turn it back on. Try to do a test on city streets for the brake testing (when you use the brake, it shouldn’t feel mushy – it should give you a bit of resistance as you push it in) and turning performance and then on a more open road to check pickup speed, quiet ride, whether the steering wheel feels correct and doesn’t shimmy, and the car holds the road (doesn’t pull to one side or the other) and the motor doesn’t stutter. Make sure the windshield wipers work. If there’s a radio, check it out.Air conditioning working properly? You should also turn the heater on – make sure the fan/blower works well. After slowing down – foot off the gas, step on the gas – you shouldn’t see a big cloud of smoke come out of the back – a small one is acceptable, very small.

When you return the car, leave it idling – it should run smoothly. Get out – leave the door open remember – and go to the back – check for smoke again.  Walk to the front – no terrible odors coming from under the hood – like smoke? OK. Get back in and with the brake on, shift through all the options – reverse, 2nd, drive, etc – make sure they all take and there is no clunking noise as you change. In fact, while you are still driving, the gears should change pretty much noiselessly – no clunking accepted.

Presuming the car by now has been sitting in the driveway for several minutes, do a visual under the car. See any oil leaks? The dripping from the air conditioningcondensation is normal. But anything other than water that’s dripping needs checked.Well, now I think I’ve pretty well covered the gamut of checking out a car. Of course, you can ask the seller if you can take the car to a qualified mechanic to have it checked over. That may cost a few bucks, but may be worth it. If you’re lucky, the seller may have all the repair records for you to see. Those may bring up other questions.

So, after going through all of this, if you like the looks of the car and will be satisfied with it, made the seller an offer. Try starting with at least a 15% reduction from what it’s being offered for. You can usually settle with a 10% cut. Of course, if there are obvious faults that you are willing to live with or get fixed, negotiate even further. Just remember – there’s another used car coming up for sale tomorrow.

Well, I’m sure I’ve missed some things, but, this is a good base to start with when you go to look for a used vehicle that you want to last a while. Hope this helps you in saving those pennies!

Vehicle article by Barbie.

Memories

During the Holiday seasons, the radio and cd player only play my favorites: Christmas Music – from “Frosty the Snowman”, to “White Christmas”, to “We Three Kings”… and the memories come flooding back…

SEEMS AS THOUGH MY LIFE HAS BEEN A SONG

I sing a lot…no, no, not in front of anyone – I’m typical I think… I sing in the shower – I sing in the car – I basically sing when no one (other than Dick) is around. Thank goodness, Dick is very tolerant! (And I think he has a fabulous voice, the few times I can get him to join along!)

My Uncle Paul was in W.W. II. He and Aunt Alice had two children – right around my sister’s and my age, so we, (my sister Bonnie and I) were closest to those two cousins. I knew there was a war – I remember at two years of age, the day the U.S. joined in – and I knew that the war was major – but, I mainly remember the songs -“There’ll Be Blue Birds Over the White cliffs of Dover”. I remember singing that when I was probably 3 or 4.

I can remember singing with my older sister, Bonnie, when we washed and dried the dishes together years ago.  “Rock of Ages”, helped the time pass doing chores we weren’t fond of doing. We sang “Blue Bird on My Shoulder” from Uncle Remus – we sang church songs – we sang “Jingle Bells” – we sang every song we heard.

We often visited my maternal grandparents “out in the country”… and down the lane.  On one visit, my cousins and I discovered an ancient “Victrola” in my Grandpa Huntsman’s barn. It actually worked after a few cranks and the dusty records stacked there sounded just great – we  thought. Mostly country western songs – neat – Gene Autry and Roy Rodgers among some others.

Some where in my memory is the fact that my sister and I actually made a record – seems like we were in a big town – maybe Columbus, Ohio – maybe it was at a fair…and there was a small building you went into, put coins into a slot, and you could perform and some how be recorded. Of course, we thought we’d be wonderful – however, after about 4 words of the song we picked to have immortalized, we forgot the words – darn. We had that record for years and years – just a lot of “You sing!”, “No! You sing!”. Wonder what ever happened to that?…

Do you remember the song, “Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy, a kid will eat ivy too, wouldn’t you?” We always sang it as “marseydoats and doeseydoats and little lamsey divey, a kiddle de divey doo, wouldn’t you?” Words and meaning were pretty unimportant at that age – just the rhythm and tune were good enough to enjoy.

When I was about seven years old, for some reason, my parents decided we were going to move to California – from Ohio.  We did the Route-40 trip across the country in a red Willys Jeep (all metal inside if I remember correctly, other than the seats which were a tan naugahyde) , pulling a trailer – our living quarters for the trip. Across the country – no air conditioning of course, so Daddy bought big blocks of ice, put it right on the floor of the jeep and somehow we managed to drive across the desert.

My Daddy, Bob Ogle, worked for the local Kroger grocery store when we moved back to Ohio. We luckily had a movie theater in town, that my sister and I loved to go to on weekends. In 1950, Disney created the wonderful movie “Cinderella” and we went to see it. Well, being a girly-girl, I fell in love with the beauty of the movie. I remember swinging under the trees at home, on our home-made swing, and since it was fall, the leaves swirled around as I swang back and forth – I felt as though I was Cinderella with the magic dust flying around and I sang Bibbidy Bobbity Boo, at the top of my lungs, for hours on end.

Apparently, Mother and Daddy liked California when we got there, because we ended up living in San Diego for a while – until the Christmas season came. I guess they got homesick – because we moved back to Ohio – and there we stayed. Oh, the songs that goes with that memory?  “Detour, there’s a muddy road ahead, detour…” and of course, “California, Here We Come”. I have a picture of my Daddy working on the roof of our San Diego house, on Boundary Street, and you can see our trailer was parked in back – guess they were keeping a way back to Ohio, just in case.  So, we moved back to Ohio.

Daddy built a one-story, 2-bedroom cement-block home (Including a “John” down the path) for us out in the country, very near (walking distance) to where my Aunt Alice and Uncle Paul had built and lived with my two cousins, and just a couple of miles from Grandma and Grandpa Huntsman, where the Victrola was.

Jump ahead years and years and that little girl grew up – and then, I met Dick, the wonderful man I’ve been married to for 50 years (that never ceases to amaze me – just the length of time – where have the years gone?) “Sunrise, Sunset…”
When we were dating, one night Dick took me to see Nat King Cole. The crooner sang “They try to tell Us We’re Too Young” and it seemed as though he was directing it to us – but, we knew “Our Love Was Here to Stay”, and, only 19 months after we were married, I was singing “Rock-a-bye Baby” to a beautiful, dark haired, healthy miniature of Dick.

Now, the time really starts to fly – “Chiao, Chiao Bambino” turned into “Here Comes Santa Clause”, and then another beautiful little boy, this one tow-headed and the songs continue: “I Love You a Bushel and a Peck”, “The Bear Went Over the Mountain”, “Two and Two Are Four, Four and Four are Eight”……, “On Top of Spaghetti All Covered With Sauce”…, and then the birth of another beautiful little boy, with dark curly hair…and the tunes continue… “I’m Hen-er-ry the Eighth I Am”.

And the eldest is in high school, the middle is in junior high and the youngest is starting school, and we’re singing “ The Razor’s Edge is Cold and It Stings” and “Someone Left the Cake Out In the Rain”, (whatever those songs were about) and Johnny Cash songs, and “Here Comes Santa Clause”, and “Two and Two are Four”, and “On top of Spaghetti”, and “The Bear Went Over the Mountain”…

And then, the Parks Family decides to follow the route of Grandpa and Grandma, just for a vacation. A rare three-week vacation – a once in a life time event! We decide to follow the route my Mother and Daddy had taken years ago, see the same sights – show out kids all the wonders of America – Mount Rushmore, the Corn Palace, the wheat fields, the Arch, the oil fields, the sand dunes, the Petrified Forest, Pikes Peak, Las Vegas, and the Golden Gate… and so we slide into “California Here We Come”… and “Detour”, the second time around…

Then, somehow, we got through high school graduations, beginning college, college diplomas, new jobs, kids moving away, moving to Kentucky, learning of Blue Grass and cloggers, barbeque and burgoo, then moving on to Louisiana with their Zydeco and Cajun, and the fabulous food of that area.  Then, on to discover the beauty of Mexico and Spanish music and the exciting Flamenco!

“The Falling Leaves Drift by My Window”…Now, in retirement, it seems as though we’ve come full circle. In our home, oldie-moldies play most of the day – the car plays our favorite oldie-moldies- Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Gene Autry, Roy Rodgers -we sing to them all. When we drive in our car to visit the tow-head, who now lives in California – yep – we sing.

Memories article by Barbie.

FM3 Visa for Retirees

The Consulate of Mexico will issue the Nonimmigrant Visa for multiple entries (FM3) to those who wish to make trips into Mexico, of limited duration. (And that duration can be a long time.) If you have now made the big decision to retire in Mexico, and your expenses will be covered by: Income brought into Mexico from a foreign country, or Income resulting from investments, either in Mexico or abroad, you can apply for a Nonimmigrant Visa (FM3) for retirees. The requirements for a Nonimmigrant Visa (FM3) - we’ve always called this a visa for a “permanent tourist” – for multiple entries are:

Fill out the Visa Application form, (available at the Consulate website for downloading).

• Appearance in person at the Consulate with a valid passport
• One photocopy of the pages containing personal information
• Photograph of bearer
• two (2) front view passport size photos.
• proof of economic solvency

Applicant must prove an approximate monthly income of $1,000.00 USD dollars, or equivalent in Mexican currency.

If the applicant will be accompanied by members of his immediate family, the minimum income required is $500.00 additional per month for each member 15 years of age or older.

Documents accepted as a proof for Visas:

• Bank statement
• Social Security or Pension Receipts.

All documents must documents must be notarized and bear the apostille issued by the Secretary of State where the documents were notarized. United States passport holders must have a valid passport.

A visa is not required for stays of up to 180 days, if holding a Tourist Card/FMT form issued free of charge by an airlines.Business travelers do not require a visa for up to 30 days if holding a FMN form.After September 30, 2007:All US citizens traveling to and from Mexico by air will require a passport. By January 1, 2008, the requirement will be extended to include all land and sea border crossings as well.

An FM-3 costs approximately $98.00 US per year, per person, and is renewed annually. It allows you to keep a U.S. plated vehicle in Mexico, to leave and return at will, open and maintain a Mexican bank account, and can exempt you from capital gains tax when selling and allows you to purchase property in Mexico. (Cost is approximate as of this writing. )

With your FM-3 status, you can bring a car and keep it with you as long as that status is maintained. The cost for an FM3 – for Retirees – no working permit = approximately $98.IMMIGRATION FEESSome of the fees (taxes) are: (These can vary, so just consider them approximate osts.)

The issuing or renewal of an FM-3 document without the right to work) is approximately 1500 pesos – or approximately 150 dollars, U.S., per year. This can be renewed indefinitely. You can also apply for an FM-3 with the right towork for a bit more – about 1800 pesos ($180.00 U.S.) The issuing or renewal of am FM-2 document (with the right to work) is approximately 1,900 pesos. $190.U.S. A permit to leave the country while documents are en tramite (pending approval) is approximately 90 pesos. $9.U.S.

Visas for those who want to stay longer than six months at a time in Mexico, without having to make a semi-annual trip to the border, the next step in the immigration process is the FM-3. You must be 55 to apply, and you will need these: A completed official application form (FDN1/02) and a copy. These are available at any Mexican consulate and at the Regional Immigration Office in Mexico.

Needed for your valid tourist visa:

• Your current passport.
• If spouses are applying, a copy of the couple’s marriage certificate.
• Written proof from a U.S. or Mexican bank that the equivalent of $1030 U.S. is being deposited monthly into the bank account of the applicant.
• For each dependent, The amount required is approximately $515US

If you own property in Mexico, the amount required is reduced by one half. These minimums are set by the Mexican government and can fluctuate.

MY BAREFOOT BOO-BOO!

I did something dumb.

I wore sandals when we took our last air trip…

Seemed like a pretty good idea – easy to get off for your “inspection”. Right?

But, standing in line and watching all the other passengers removing their shoes and realizing I was going to have to walk there — in my bare feet — where thousands and thousands of people have already walked.

Yes… in my bare feet.

So if you’re thinking about flying (anywhere)  I don’t recommend sandals. Or flip flops. I suggest wearing slip-ons with socks  instead. Or, stick a little pair of sox in your pocket you can slip on.

One thing is for certain… I will never wear just sandals again when traveling by air – no matter how comfortable!

(Yep, now you know – I am a neat freak – I carry my little anti-bacterial squeeze bottle in my purse.)