Manchester High School Melee

So the latest excitement in Manchester is the fight at MHS.  I watched the news coverage, talked to some school officials, and attended the parent meeting that was held on Saturday.  For those that might not have seen the story, at least 8 kids got into a fight at 9:01 am in the school last Thursday, and there were many onlookers, some of whom refused to disperse when order to do so by the police.  The story made all the local papers and the local TV news. 

The forum I attended had about 250-300 parents, and a few students, most of whom where angry.  Very angry.  The forum generally went well.  There were a lot of questions, along with some angry rants from members of the community.  The comments and questions mostly boiled down to this:

• People were angry because either their students didn't feel safe attending the school, or they didn't feel safe sending them, or both.
• People felt that information wasn't shared well - and that some of the information shared was inaccurate.
• People felt that the students involved in this fight should not be coming back to MHS.

The second point above was highlighted by some misunderstandings, which may or may not have been intentional.  There WERE altercations later that day.  They may not have been physical, although some claimed they were, but clearly there were additional altercations, and this information seems not to have been communicated by administrators.  I didn't know that these had taken place, and the police officers involved noted that there were "incidents" although they were verbal in nature.

This is a very important point.  While such incidents may not have resulted in arrests, there WERE incidents, and the message that "all was quiet" after the school got out of lockdown was, at best, disingenuous. 

When things like this happen, it is very important for ALL relevant information to be shared.  It doesn't matter if such incidents are common, or unrelated.  What matters is that people were watching, and now many felt lied to.  It's never the crime that gets you, it's the coverup.  While I don't feel there is a cover up here, the APPEARANCE of one was critical to avoid. 

The biggest question at this point is, what to do now?  Well, I'd offer the following suggestions...

1. Say as honestly as possible, without violating any confidentiality, that the school system will seek the most severe penalties for the behavior of these students.  If they can be suspended, say that the system will seek to suspend them.  If they can be expelled, say that the system will seek to expel them.   Then carry through on those statements.
2. Examine very carefully what could have been done to KNOW about this fight ahead of time.  There were at least 10 students not involved in the actual fight, who knew it was going to happen.  There may have been more.  
3. Plug into the social networks that these kids have.  Facebook, Twitter, hallway conversations, stoolies, girlfriends/boyfriends, etc.  At least some of the kids knew that this was going to happen... how does the administration find out too?
4. As Chris Pattaccini noted, change the culture at MHS.  This includes teachers, administrators, and students.  While "zero tolerance" may not be an option legally, whatever is legal should be adopted.  If there is a question, err on the side of order and safety.  
5. Staff needs to work as a team.  That means strong leadership and loyal support.  Anyone who can't sign up for that should do the lemon dance or find a new job.  
6. Parents need to be called to task.  The administration knows who the gang members are.  Parents should be sent a letter saying that their child is identified as such.  They should have to come in to the school.  Expectations need to be laid out for the parents.  The kids will lose their gang affiliations, or their kids will lose any privileges they have at that school.  Parents that don't respond should be sent certified letters.  And if those letters go to a non-Manchester address, the students should be disenrolled immediately. 

Some may say this is all an over reaction.  It was just a fight, right?  Wrong.  This is the tip of the iceberg.  If MHS cannot be made a safe place for learning, the students that make that school great will leave.  And if that happens, God help MHS and the Town of Manchester.

TTFN

Hertz Rent2Buy - Part 6 - It's Finally Over!

So if you've been reading this blog, you know that I purchased my VW Grand Caravagon (Routan) and am liking it.  Well, here is the final installment in the saga.  When I last left you, I had inquired why I had not gotten plates yet in the mail.  They were looking into it.  Well, it turns out I'm a tax cheat!

I'm from the Government and I'm here to help you!

So I got a call from Hertz and their title company.  Turns out that my name was on the Delinquent Taxpayers list that the State of Connecticut maintains.  I sheepishly told them that I'd have to check on it with my local tax collector to see what the problem was.  I hung up and checked my bill pay.  Yup, I sent them a check, and it was in dollars AND cents, so I had at least tried to pay the exact bill.

I called the tax assessors office and asked if I was delinquent.  They confirmed that I was.  I asked them how much?

$3.91

Yes, I got put on the list, after paying town property taxes in the $6-7,000 range, for less than four bucks.  I went down that afternoon to find out the details.  Without going into great detail, between a credit for my dead minivan, and an interest charge for being 14 days late, I owed them almost $4. 

So then I asked why they sent my name in for 4 dollars.  I mean, we have people in my town that haven't paid any property taxes for years - one case in the paper recently was for hundreds of thousands of dollars.  I couldn't register a car because of $4 that would obviously come out in the laundry in a matter of months?  I was told that the town had no choice - that the State law was written that no matter the amount, they had to send my name in. 

So I paid the four bucks and got a paper saying I was no longer a tax cheat.  I had to mail that to the title company, and they had to mail it to the State DMV, who had to look at my registration application a second time.  I have no doubt that between the time I spent at the local tax collector, and the time the DMV took processing my registration a second time, that the government spent far in excess of the $3.91 collected. 

Oh yeah... I looked up the law.  The clerk was correct - the State law IS written that way - the town has no leeway on setting the amount past due before putting your name on the delinquent list. 

Idiots!

The End Game

So after mailing my get out of jail free card off to the title company, I finally got my registration and a couple of new plates for my car!  I put them on the car last night.  So I'm no longer impersonating a New York driver.

At this point, I think I'm done.  The car is mine, I've made the first payment, and it's all registered and legal like. 

I still like the car very much.  The process sure could have been smoother.  Some of it was me, some of it was Hertz, and some of it was my government service providers.  But in the end, I'd do it again.  The price can't be beat, the car runs great, and if I went to sell it tomorrow, I'd likely get all I put into it in trade. 

So ends the saga.  Hope you enjoyed the ride!  (Pun intended)

TTFN

Hertz Rent2Buy - Part 5 - The Waiting Game

Well, it's been a while since my last post on this topic.  As you've read, if you got this far, I've sent in the paperwork and mailed them a check.  Not too much has happened since then!

My loan was approved without any fuss, and I've made the first payment.  Unfortunately, I still have New York plates on the car.  Hertz Rent2Buy has forwarded my documents to a title company.  They apparently do the title check (should be easy - Hertz should be the only other owner besides me) and they do the registration.  I got an email to that effect on November 1st.  It said they might call to verify information.  They haven't.

So I called Hertz yesterday to find out the status.  That was November 22nd.  They checked with the title company, who've said that "they should be receiving the plates and registration anytime now and there is a possibility."  Possibility of what, I have no idea.

In the meantime, I've got my own insurance on it, and I'm happily driving with New York plates.  I guess I don't have to be very courteous at this point while driving... I mean, as far as anyone else knows, I'm just another jerkface New York driver.  Too bad it didn't have Mass. plates... if it did, I could impersonate a masshole!

So far, the car has been wonderful.  I've filled up 6 of the 7 seats at least once now, and it drives nicely.  Everything still works fine, and the soda cans are piling up.  Really, I have no complaints about the car at all...

Just hoping I get my own plates before I have to bring it in for its next oil change!

TTFN

Hertz Rent2Buy Review - Part 4 - Here Comes The Paperwork!

One of the cool things about this Rent2Buy program is that when you decide to buy the car, you just keep it!  I've been driving this car ever since I picked it up in Boston a couple of weeks ago.  I've shown it to some friends and most have approved of it - one saw me on the road... those who know me know I'm pretty distinctive... okay, fat... but he couldn't reconcile the two... "That looks like Moose... but it can't be him, those are New York plates!"

Anyway, it's pretty cool to be driving this thing around WITHOUT having to go to a dealership and play the "I'll talk to my boss" game and "Okay, come back in 3 days because we need to 'prep' your vehicle"... All that is out the window.

I got a Fed Ex package - it had a WHOLE LOTTA PAPERWORK in it.  Some of it is standard stuff, a sales agreement, the warranty acknowledgment, etc.  But some of it I've never seen.  Because the car was out of state, I had to do a "VIN Verification"... Well, I was off to Motor Vehicles anyway, so that Becky could get her learners permit, so I waited in line for the inspector.  I had prepared her for the little slice of communism in America that is the DMV, but because we went first thing in the morning, there were no lines for her permit.  It went smooth as silk, and I was actually disappointed that it wasn't harder.  But at the end, we waited in the inspection line for about 40 minutes... so she got her Marxism fix anyway, as it turns out.

I had to have the sales agreement notarized, as well as two Power of Attorney documents that Hertz uses to do the transfer and plate reservation.  This required 2 witnesses, so I had to get my dad to come down and witness the signature, and of course, pay the $20 in fees for the 3 documents and one of their witness (guy in the mail room gets $2 for witnessing - good for him!)

For those that have reviewed Hertz Rent2Buy - there IS a "documentation fee" - it is in the sales agreement and was $199.  Ironically, that is almost exactly the "discount" that I got for finding the promo code... BTW - if you are looking to buy, I'd google it, but as of this writing, the current code is R2B024.  I don't remember any of their disclosures discussing this fee... but be forewarned.  I decided that I was willing to pay it... but they were at my upper limit.  I've had dealers try and hit me for $350... one tried to get $600 once!  They say it is not negotiable, and in Hertz's case, that is probably true.  But every other dealer will cave if you stick to something reasonable.  They'll protest and say "we can't change it, see - it's PRE-PRINTED ON THE FORM"... and I say "Fine, your form says $600 and I'll pay that if you give me a $400 credit on the sales price"... They'll fight and fight about it and it'll have to be approved by their "manager", but they will cave.  It's still a ripoff at $200, but I'm willing to do that to stay out of the Peoples Republic of the DMV.

Anyway, back to the forms I had to fill out... Hertz provides a checklist, and sticky notes and "sign here" arrows so that you don't forget anything.  What wasn't included was any note or checklist item for the money for the down payment.  So I sent everything back, wondering when they might ask me for a check, and what kind.  I sent it off a week ago and got a call tonight from them.  Why didn't you send the money for the down payment?  I said that they hadn't asked for it!

Well, this might delay things now - they can't send in the loan request form without the down payment.  I told them I didn't know what worked for them - did they need a cashiers check?  Would a personal check do?  Wire transfer?  Money Orders?  She said they could take a cashiers check or I could wire them the money.  I told them I'd get a cashiers check out tomorrow, and mail it out, but that they wouldn't get it until next week.  She seemed disappointed.  I also told her that they should have put a note in about the money, and/or put an item on their checklist... something like "Don't forget to send us money!"

After our phone conversation, I noticed I had an email on the topic.  It was from the same person I talked to.  So I confirmed the conversation and my suggestion that perhaps they add this item to their checklist... We'll see what happens next - hopefully not a big glitch... Looking forward to having CT plates on the car.  Although it is tempting to drive like a jerk in the mean time... people will understand... the car has New York plates after all!

TTFN

Hertz Rent2Buy Review - Part 3 - Colleen to the Rescue

As you can see from my previous posts, I almost gave up on the Hertz Rent2Buy program.  But I did call Colleen back on Monday morning - she had said that she KNEW she could find me a car.  We talked about the fact that I was looking for a VW Routan, and that I wanted the SE model that came with 2 packages, key among them was the towing package which allows you to tow up to 3500 pounds.  It included air shocks in the back and an automatic leveling feature that helps accomplish this.  Without this package, you're limited to 2000 pounds, which means a Class 1 hitch, and only the ability to tow a small utility trailer.

She had found one in Boston - and I was willing to go to Boston to get it, but she was trying to get the car closer to me.  She ran into a lot of the same troubles that I had run into myself, but she had the clout to move past those problems...  Long story short, she had found the car I had tried to rent the week before - it was in a holding lot, had NOT been rented, and had the same mileage that I had been quoted.  They couldn't get the car closer to me, but were definitely holding it for me if I wanted it. 

I arranged to drive up with my brother in law to pick up the car.  When I got there, they had never heard of me!  Par for the course.  I gave them my reservation number, and they said that I was 3 weeks early!  They hadn't prepped the car, but would do so and in short order, the car was ready for me.  I finally took delivery on it.

The car was what you'd expect from a rental... it was clean, but had some minor dings and smudges on the bumpers.  There was a stain in the back seat carpet.  But this is a minivan - it was to be expected - and I have no doubt that I'll put another stain right on top of the one that is there!  The seats were uber comfortable.  The Routan is a rebadged Chrysler Town and Country.  In fact, my new name for it is the Grand Caravagen.  It's tweaked a little from the standard Dodge/Chrysler faire... some reviews say it's suspension and steering are much tighter.  I'm guessing the tweaking made little to no difference in this area.  But it does sport some nice VW type interior items and probably most importantly, they DO NOT have the Stow 'n Go middle seats.  The VW seats are removable but not stowable.  The bins that they fold into are still there, and these are spacious and will get use.  But most importantly, the seats are COMFORTABLE... it's like a Lazy Boy... The front seats are heated, there are power windows everywhere, including the vents in the back... The rear seats have the same Tailgate seating option, and the cargo room behind them is amazing... A trip to the warehouse club with a full cart equates to filling up the bins the rear seats fold flat into... TONS of room.  I'm very happy with the van.  But back to the test drive...

I picked the car up on a Friday, and it was raining, so I got to see if there were any leaks, and how well the wipers worked.  All good.  The next morning, I took the car to my mechanic.  They checked the car out for free.  They said that everything was good - brakes, hoses, belts, tires, etc.  They only found one thing... the gasket around the transmission pan was leaking - weeping really.  It had covered half the pan, but they couldn't measure the level as the new Chrysler transmissions require a "tool" to check it.  So I took it around the corner to the VW dealership to see if they would check it out, and see if the leak was covered under the powertrain warranty.

I made an appointment for the following Monday, and brought it in, but that skips Sunday... On Sunday, the family piled in and took a beautiful ride through the Berkshires to look at the foliage.  Everyone was impressed with the van, and all agreed it was a great car.  So the family gave it a thumbs up.  I averaged 23 MPG on that cruise, which was probably the best it will ever do... Few stops on the back roads, but the top speed was around 50mph, so this was as good as it was going to get.  Fairly impressive for such a big and heavy van.

I brought the car in on Monday, and picked it back up around Noon.  I had checked with co-workers who were mechanically inclined.  Most said a leaking transmission pan gasket was no big deal.  I tended to agree.  When I got the VW place, they said that it wasn't covered under the powertrain warranty.  The service advisor made a big deal out of a small scrape on the pan and undercarriage.  He kept pointing it out as if it was really there... the tech shook his head... I asked if the pan had the original gasket and the tech said no.  And it was also clear that the main procedure for changing the transaxle fluid was to drop the pan.  It looked like they had used some kind of black goop as a gasket, or on the gasket when they put that pan back.  They said the level was full.  So I'm pretty sure that the fluid was changed - not sure why - but it was no matter.  It wasn't leaking enough to care about, and I'll be changing the transaxle fluid in a year anyway, so the leak will get fixed by default then.   And the nice thing is that I can go to a Chrysler/Dodge dealership for that, or the VW dealership, and bid them against each other on it!

Anyway, I decided that the car was a good deal, and when I got back to work, I pushed the Buy button on the website, and called Colleen to let her know that she had made a sale.  The next part was the actual purchase part... at least two more entries on this process, and another glitch in the system.  But you'll have to wait for that one!

TTFN

Hertz Rent2Buy Review - Part 2 - Don't You WANT To Sell Me A Car?

So in my last post, I talked about how I wanted to buy a car from Hertz Rent2Buy.  I had settled on a VW Routan and had found one near me in New Haven. 

I signed up with the program and signed up to rent the car the next day.  I took the bus to work that day and planned to get a ride with a coworker to New Haven the next day.  I live in the Hartford area.  I cancelled weekend plans, as the pickup day was Thursday, so I would have the weekend to evaluate it with my family.

I got a call from the Rent2Buy agent on Thursday saying that they were confirming the car would be available.  Later I was called by both the local agency and the Rent2Buy rep that the car was actually out on a rental.  I asked when it was due in, and they said Tuesday the following week.  I took the bus home that evening, and ended up walking from the stop to my house in the pouring rain.  I was frustrated and disappointed, but decided to give the program another chance.  I signed up to rent the same vehicle the following Thursday.  Again, I cancelled weekend plans.

I was called on Wednesday of that next week and was told that the car had been returned, but that the windshield had a ding, and that the car was “shaking.”  It was going in for maintenance for a new windshield and for an alignment.  That night, I decided I was no longer interested in that vehicle, as new windshields can leak and whistle, and alignments don’t typically cure a shaking problem.  

I looked on the website again and found a similar vehicle in Boston.  I signed up that night to rent it on Friday, September 24, 2010 at 4pm, the latest time available from the website.

Thursday morning, I got a call from Rent2Buy that they were checking on the availability of the car, but that the local agency “couldn’t find it”.  They said they would call later that day to let me know about availability.  I told them that I was traveling 2 hours to the Boston location, and needed advanced warning.  They said not to go until I heard from them and that they would call later that day.

I heard nothing and at 3:30 I decided to call again.  Again, they checked with the local agency, and was again told that they were still “looking for the car”.  How do you lose a car, I thought to myself.  Anyway, I waited for another call and didn’t get one that day.

Friday morning, I called around 9:30am.  They said they had called and again told me they couldn’t “find the car.”  I again told them about my distance from the vehicle, and was told that they wouldn’t be calling the local agency as they were “working on it.”  

I waited as long as I could.  At 1:30, I had still not heard anything, so I called the local agency.  They knew who I was and that I was looking for the Volkswagen Routan.  The agent there told me that it was out on rental, and that computer problems had stopped them from updating the system.  They said they had explained this to the Rent2buy agent.  I asked when it was returning, and the agent said Saturday or Sunday, and I asked him to confirm exactly when it was due.  He told me that the car was coming in on Saturday, but that it was being returned to Providence and so would not be coming back to Boston.  

I called Rent2Buy and the agent said that they were still waiting to hear from the local agency.  They asked to put me on hold while they checked again, but I told them not to, as I knew where the car was, when it was coming back, and where it was being dropped off.  How could it be that I could get this information but they could not?  

I asked to speak to a manager, but everyone was “out to lunch” and was told the best way to lodge my complaint was to send an email.  So that is what I did. 

I wrote a long email explaining that they had used up their 3 strikes and that I was done playing this cat and mouse game.  I was utterly exasperated.  I told them in the email that they needed to get the car to me, rather than me chasing it down.  I gave them my cell number and told them to call me that day if they wanted to try and fix this.  If they were going to call and make excuses, I told them not to bother.

I missed the call, but Colleen called me that same day.  She left me a message telling me that she worked in the corporate office, that they had gotten my email, and that she was one of the people who fixed things for people like me who had the system break down on them.  She said that she KNEW she could get me a car.  I tried to call her back that night but it was Friday after all, and she had already left for the day.

I decided to call her back on Monday, and see what she could do for me.  It turned out that she was able to turn this whole mess around for me.  

More about my friend Colleen and the rest of the story next time.

TTFN

Hertz Rent2Buy Review - Part 1

So in my previous entry, I talked about why I was interested in a rental car.  A big piece of it is price.  Rental agencies need to dispose of their older vehicles and they have a few ways to do that.  They can dump them into the auction market.  They can sell them on their own lots.  Or they can sell them right out of their fleets of rental vehicles.  Hertz has decided to try the last one.

Here's how it is supposed to work.  You go to http://www.hertzrent2buy.com.  You tell them your zip code, and they will find cars you might be interested in.  The selection of their rental cars are quite comparable to most used cars on the market.  Tell them you want to look at minivans, and all their rental minivans that are up for sale appear, within a default 100 mile radius.  Living in southern New England yields lots of places where those cars are for sale.  Anyway, you pick one you are interested in and you are given options for checking the vehicle out.  You can take a complimentary 2 hour test drive, or you have the option of renting the car for 3 days at $49.95 per day (a "special" rate).    If at the end of the test drive, you don't want to buy the car, just return it to where you rented it, and pay the rental fee.  This is definitely a new and interesting way to buy used cars.

If you decide you want to buy it, you click a button on the website, and the buying process starts.  In the meantime, you keep the car, and the rental fees are waived.

I LOVED the sound of this and really wanted to try it out.  But before I get into that, some caveats:

• The price of the car is non-negotiable.  You can get a discount by applying a promo code.  Search the web... I found one on their twitter site for $200 off the purchase of the car.
• UPDATE: Here is a promo code for $100 off:   R2B-CSU
• The cars offered are generally the base model.
• The selection of models is limited to what Hertz bought 1-2 years ago... so not every model in a class is offered.
• Reserving the car can be troublesome (at least it was for me) and more on that later.

As you know, I was looking at minivans.  Hertz had several models to choose from.  They had the Mazda5, the Kia Sedona, the Toyota Sienna, and the Volkswagen Routan.  What the heck was a Routan, I wondered.

The Sienna's were pricey.  They were over $20k and were the base model usually.  I want to stay married so I scratched the Sedona off the list.  And the Mazda5, while very inexpensive and highly rated, had no towing capacity.  So what about this Routan?

Well, it's essentially a Chrysler Town & Country.  VW wanted to enter the minvan market, as their research has shown that while they do well in the young single and married couples, they get choked out of the market when those young families have kids.  The euro van they produce was too expensive for the US market.  And Chrysler was shutting down the Pacifica production line in Canada after ending that model.  So VW made a deal to have Chrysler make a rebadged T&C for them.

VW did tweak the car.  They reworked the suspension, and some of the sheet metal.  They put their own seats in the 2nd row - non Stow 'n Go - so they don't fold into the floor, but are VERY comfy.  Overall, it does look significantly different from a T&C, but I can't speak to the ride.  Compared to the new Odyssey I drove, it feels bigger and more like a boat - you know, like a minivan.

Hertz did have two different options to consider.  The 2009 models were the SE trim, while the 2010 models were the S trim.  And their SE models also had two option packages of great importance to me.  One provides steering wheel audio controls (but they hide on the back of the steering wheel), and more importantly, they all came with the Tow Package - thus preparing the van for a 3500 pound towing payload.  PAYDIRT!  And the price?  Well the one I ended up renting was $16,600 after the $200 discount, and it had 39,000 miles.  That price is SWEET.  Edmunds shows the trade in value north of $17,000 and even the radically dealer biased Kelley Blue Book put the trade in at $15,800 at "fair" condition.  So I can buy this van from Hertz for what others might expect trading it in to a dealer!

So I decided to try and rent on of these.  And this is where all the "fun" started.   More on that in the next post...

TTFN

Buying A Rental Car

I've decided to buy a rental car.  No, I'm not insane.  Well maybe I am, but not for that reason...

As a systems guy, you always start with the business case and the requirements.  The business case was pretty simple.  Becky (my daughter) is turning 16 and is going to start learning to drive.  She'll have her license in 4 months, and at that point, we'll be ending the Edwards Taxi Service for her.  In fact, in short order, she'll be able to run her own taxi service for her younger sister!

If this is going to work, then we'll need a vehicle for her to drive.  I already covered this to some extent... two years ago I bought a new PT Cruiser Convertible that I've been driving for the last couple of years.  It came with a lifetime powertrain warranty, and I plan on running this car until Chrysler has to give me a new engine and/or a new transmission.  Anyway, my intent was to drive a trouble free car for a couple of years, and then give this to Becky to drive.  Late model car, 30k miles, drop top - just right for a teenage girl.

I HAD planned to buy a new Chevy Volt as my daily driver.  However, they priced it like a Cadillac, and the availability isn't going to work anymore.  See, I had another car in reserve - our old Kia Sedona.  I was planning on driving that through the winter and then buying the Volt, however, the pricing of the Volt, combined with the fact that the Sedona's engine died meant that I had to do something sooner.

This brings me to the requirements.  Originally, I had planned on driving the Volt, and keep the Sedona as the family hauler in part time use.  But with it's untimely demise, I was left with the quandry - how to go camping?

Now my family used to be flush with minivans.  My sister had one, my dad had one, and I had one.  Now, my sister traded up to a Jaguar, my dad traded his in during the clunker program, and now mine is dead.  So no more vans.

Now, I need a car, and the family needs a hauler.  So I guess I have to bite the bullet and get a minivan. 

So, what to get?  Well, I need to be able to carry at least 6 people, preferably 7, and I need to be able to tow a trailer.  I want the towing option to be as high as possible - 3500lbs if possible.  And I can't break the bank.  So again, what to get?

Well I started with Consumer Reports (http://www.consumerreports.org).  They basically said, "Get a Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna, or if 6 passengers is okay, a Mazda5.  So I started with the Mazda5.  Cool little car.  Inexpensive.  Problem is that it isn't rated to tow ANYTHING... I came to the conclusion after doing the research, that towing is something that requires RESPECT.  Don't overload the vehicle.  In fact, don't even load it to the limit... at most, do about 75% of the rated hauling capacity.  Since the Mazda5 has no rated towing capacity, I scratched it off the list.

Next look was the Honda Odyssey.  EXPENSIVE.  I guess you get what you pay for, but the resale values are really high on these cars.  That makes buying used hard.  Worse still, is I was looking at close to $27 large for a new one.  (I figured, well, if you can't buy a used one cheap, buy a new one at least)... Well, even at that price, towing is limited.  You need to add an Accessory Towing Package to get 3500lbs.  Even more cash.

The Sienna was better used on prices, but even more expensive new.  Both have good resale values, forcing me into the north of $20 large range.

So then I started looking at the next step down.  For that, you're looking at a Kia Sedona, or a Chrysler product (Dodge Grand Caravan or Chrysler Town and Country).  Resale on these are much better, so you can get a cheaper used vehicle.  And new, you could get one in the low 20's... The Kia was scratched, mostly because my wife told me she'd divorce me if I bought another Kia...

There was another option, which I'll save for the moment, but I want to get back to the rental car thing.

In the olden days (like when I was in my late teens, early 20's) you could buy a used rental car at a rental car lot.  My family did this on at least two occasions.  First, my Dad bought a V6 Mustang there.  He drove that car for years.  It did ultimately die due to engine failure, but not before many years of service.  The other car, my sister bought after graduating from Med school.  It was a Dodge Shadow... again, reliable transportation at a price that couldn't be beat.

Alas, the rental car lots simply disappeared after that.  I had heard that the dealerships were unhappy with the rental outlets undercutting their used car prices, and had cut a deal to have them auctioned back to the dealerships.  In the days before CarFax, my guess is that a lot of people bought a used rental car without knowing it.

However, the rental car lots have popped back up.  Enterprise has one locally, but I found their prices to be more like CarMax than a rental agency.  And Hertz created a Rent2Buy program which intrigued me.  I'll write all about that experience (the good, the bad, and the ugly) in another post.  But why would someone consider a rental car anyway - don't they get beat to hell?

Well, here is a quick list of rental car pros and cons:

PRO

• Rental cars can be purchased for VERY low prices because, well, they're rental cars
• Rental cars are well maintained by the rental agencies
• Most people drive them on business - from the airport to the hotel, to work, and back
• Beating up a rental car and getting caught means paying damage claims
• Late model cars (1-2 years old) with 15-40k miles

CON

• People may beat up rental cars
• Resale value lower because, well, they're rental cars
• Cosmetic damage
• No accurate maintenance records/CarFax

Overall, when you read the expert opinions, most say that a rental car is a smart buy.  They cite all the reasons above, and the cons can all be mitigated by having the car checked out by an independent mechanic prior to purchase.  Most rental agencies will let you take a car and do this, some allow you to have the car for 3 days to evaluate it and "kick the tires".

Since I don't plan on reselling the car, the resale con goes out the window.  People may beat up rental cars, but I see this more as myth than fact.  I don't care about cosmetic damage, as my wife will drive the car from time to time, so it's only a matter of time anyway. 

I decided to try out the Hertz Rent2Buy program.  I'll save that saga for another post... actually it will take several I think, and the story isn't over yet.  I have the car, but haven't purchased it yet.  It's an interesting story, and I hope that anyone looking to use the program gets some valuable tips from me on it.

TTFN

First Entry!

I'll probably post a few entries tonight... but this will be the introduction. 

First off, let me say that I'm not a good blogger.  So far, I've been posting very sporadically, or more precisely, in machine gun bursts... I think about blogging, and then blog, post a lot of posts, and then leave it for months at a time.  This is not the way to kindle your interest, dear reader.  I realize that and hope to get better.

This new blog is a way to get at that problem.  My first blog, the oldest, was a blog about serving on a local Board of Education.  "A Conservative Grows In A Blue State" is the name, and the link is right over there if you want to check it out. 

Originally, this was supposed to be an anonymous blog - and it surpassed my wildest dreams - it was so anonymous, no one read it!

Well, now that my service is almost up, there it is for anyone to link to my name as it appears above in the title.  Anyway, it was specialized - topics regarding politics and education only.

My second blog, "Moose's N Scale" is newer but of the same type.  I've decided to start playing with trains - I had a vision of creating a completely automated layout... well anyway, if you are interested in all that, go read that blog.  The link is right over there!

Anyway, same deal - specialized.  Not a place to just put my random thoughts, or the stuff that consumes me today or this month.  It seems like everything I do, I rush through so I can do something else.  I'm trying to fix that, but in the end, my interests are wide and varied and I need a place to blog on them.  So this is my answer to that.  One blog to rule them all!

In here, I'll be posting the stuff that is too complicated for Facebook, and hopefully more interesting than "I got up this morning and took a dump" type stuff that ends up on Facebook.  I'll probably have a whole blog entry just on Facebook... Anyway, this is what it is here for - my random musings, things that strike me funny, or make me mad, or the latest saga - like buying a rental car from Hertz, which has been amusing the people I work with for almost a month now. 

That's enough staring at the belly button for now.  TTFN