| New fish |
[10 Jun 2009|06:46pm] |
Puffy the Magic Dragonet
|
|
| Legal aid |
[07 May 2009|05:44pm] |
I saw a lawyer today about my auto fraud case. He specializes in dealer fraud, and was quite optimistic about my case. Of course, there are costs involved, so I now have to weigh my options. Here are the facts. Discuss.
My actual damages are probably in the ballpark of $7000 -- $2000 for resurfacing the car and $5000 in diminished value.
Legal fees for this lawyer would be $850 pre-litigation if he handles everything from writing the letter through negotiating to executing the settlement. This is assuming they settle out of court. We would seek reimbursement of his fees, but that would be part of the negotiated settlement. If we do go to court, it would be another $850 then $150/month plus excess expenses over the $150. In civil court, I would certainly be asking for larger damages as well as legal fees paid.
My alternative is to try small claims court. The limit in CA is $7500, which I would be under. I would have to pay about $200 in filing fees, but then it's lawyer and fee free. This lawyer said he would advise me in this process, help with drafting letters, etc. for $350. Problem with small claims is that everything is at the discretion of the judge. Depending on the judge, I could get everything I asked for or basically nothing at all. At that point, I'd be stuck with the results.
Thoughts anyone?
|
|
| BMW update |
[05 May 2009|06:42pm] |
Today I spoke with BMW of North America customer service. They were unfortunately not very helpful. The key thing I did learn from them was that they don't consider it a breach of the Certified Pre Owned policy that the car has been dented, had a terrible re-paint, and had some unknown damage to multiple panels. The rep I spoke with also seems to think that because I declined the CPO warranty, the certification somehow doesn't apply; as if the car was never certified to begin with. That doesn't really make sense to me, but it is immaterial since the CPO warranty doesn't cover this anyway.
My last resort before legal action is the dealer's parent company, Sonic Automotive. I will be calling them back tomorrow. They're on the east coast, so our overlap of time is not so long (I wake up late!).
I'm going to talk to an attorney specializing in these matters ASAP. See where it goes from there.
Again, take this as a lesson: have any used car bought from any source with any warranty or guarantee whatsoever inspected by a mechanic of your choosing (and at your cost) prior to purchase. It'll save you a huge headache!
|
|
| Shady car dealings; lawsuit? |
[02 May 2009|08:13pm] |
Well, it was bound to happen. After six car purchases, I finally got scammed by a dealer. Luckily, it's not the worst scam that could happen, but I am upset nonetheless. Here's the story.
April 18, I went to BMW of Monrovia to check out a Certified Pre-Owned 2005 BMW 325 convertible. Ian went with me. They offered me a good deal on my trade-in and haggled on the price. The car had a clean Carfax report and was certified by a BMW dealership, so I did not have any worry about its quality. So I thought.
Because the car still has factory warranty left, I decided to have my mechanic look it over so I could repair anything possible before the warranty ran out. Before he even started, he told me that the driver's side was repainted... poorly! I couldn't really tell, but he showed me the difference. Now I can tell. I left there car there for the day, and he found that it had some body damage, as well. Probably nothing terribly serious, but easily found and poorly repaired. The dealer did not disclose this, even though they CERTIFIED the car.
I went back to the dealership and got nowhere. The manager basically offered to have his body shop look at it and make a recommendation. I asked to take it to a shop of my choice -- nope. I asked to return the car -- nope. I asked for an extra warranty -- nope. I asked for diminished value -- nope.
At this point, I am getting close to a lawsuit. I will probably use small claims court to win diminished value and a repaint. Any advice from the lawyers out there??
Take this as a lesson -- dealer certification doesn't mean a thing. Any used car you consider buying should be inspected by an independent mechanic who has experience with your car. I was fooled by the assurances of certification and factory warranty. Now I'm stuck with having to bring a lawsuit to get restitution.
|
|
| Car auction action! |
[14 Apr 2009|08:19pm] |
Today I attended a car auction. This was a public auction of cars that were likely repossessed by banks and insurance companies. This was mostly informational, but I thought there may be a worthwhile buy there, or at least good deals. Boy, was I wrong!
First of all, the cars. These cars were in some bad shape. Smelly, scratched, missing random parts from the interior, and very high miles. Some were from the mid 1990s. The "gems" of the group included a 2002 BMW 525 sedan, a 1997 Jag, and a 2005 Jag S-type. The BMW looked nice on the outside, but inside smelled like a combination of mildew and BO. Same goes for the Jags. I used the BMW to sorta gauge the pricing, along with a few other cars. The way this one went was the auctioneer started the bids way high then lowered them to some floor. The capped the BMW at $8500, $2000 OVER the Edmunds price for that car with those miles and average condition! Needless to say, it didn't sell. Neither did most of the other cars.
An amusing experience at best. Live and learn.
|
|
| Vacancies |
[02 Apr 2009|02:09pm] |
|
Something eerie is going on in my neighborhood. Almost every single building has a For Rent sign in front of it. Over the past two days of observation, I estimate 90% of the buildings have at least one apartment for rent right now. That's ridiculously high! I've been living in Brentwood for 7 years and have never seen anything like it. I wonder where everyone is going?
|
|
| My first cavity |
[10 Feb 2009|05:13pm] |
Today, I found out I have a cavity. My first one! Admittedly, I knew this was coming. Last time I went to the dentist was 9 years ago, and he told me then that I needed to remove my wisdom teeth or risk a cavity on my impacted molars. Well, I never go them out, and now I have a big old cavity on my left side, AND I have to get the wisdom teeth out. Hopefully it won't be a root canal.
Otherwise, my dentist said my teeth were in amazing condition for not going to the dentist for so long!
|
|
| Not dead yet... not dead yet! |
[22 Dec 2008|10:38pm] |
I almost totally lost a big beautiful coral today. Those of you who've seen my tank will likely remember the green centerpiece:
(October... grown since then)
Now here it is:
(broken off pieces that are dead)
I hopefully have saved enough of it to keep it going. We'll see what happens.
|
|
| Jason's Holiday Playlists |
[21 Dec 2008|03:37pm] |
For the holidays, I have compiled two albums for your listening pleasure. They have special holiday themes, their titles. If anyone wants a CD of either or both, let me know!
( Playlists! )
|
|
| Running |
[26 Nov 2008|05:20pm] |
|
Yesterday, I went running for the first time in years. Wow, does that hurt! Last time I tried it (8 years ago?) I had no trouble running 2 miles. Now I can barely go 2 blocks before I'm winded! It's gonna take some work to lose my tub of lard, apparently.
|
|
| Fat! |
[18 Nov 2008|01:23pm] |
I am getting way too fat! I realized the pounds creeping up over the past few years, but now I think I've hit the limit. I am starting an exercise routine immediately. Daily exercise biking and running at least twice a week. My roommate and I may buy some weights as well. I don't plan on changing my eating habits yet because I enjoy dining out too much. Maybe if the exercise doesn't help I'll adjust that, too.
Wish me luck!
|
|
| Testing |
[11 Nov 2008|01:08am] |
|
Trying out this lj iPhone app!
|
|
| End of racism? I think not. |
[08 Nov 2008|04:50pm] |
As expected, there's a lot of idle chatter in the media questioning whether the election of Barak Obama signifies the end of racism in America. While the election of the first non-white president is clearly historic, I have to wonder what rock these pundits crawled out from under. Obama's election is not so much a victory for racial equality as a condemnation against the Bush administration. 75% of this country realizes that the last eight years have been a disaster, the economic turmoil being the nasty icing on the rotten cake. ANYONE the Democrats ran would have been elected; I even think a Muslim or Atheist could have won.
The saying "there are no atheists in a foxhole" comes to mind. There aren't many racists in foxholes, either. I think the fact that things are so bad in this country for so many, and the margin of victory for Obama was only 6% of the popular vote says more than the victory itself. There are still a lot of nasty, bitter racists out there who wouldn't vote for a black guy (or Muslim, or Atheist, or Jew, or homosexual ...) even when he's clearly the best choice.
Add to this observation the enshrining of anti-homosexual laws in four states, and things in this country don't look so good in the area of prejudice.
End of racism? This is the end of the beginning of the struggle against human stupidity.
|
|
|
[04 Nov 2008|01:40am] |
|
I'm watching a really cool episode of Nova. Apparently, the lead of The Eels, Mark Everett, had a physicist father, Hugh Everett III. Hugh Everett invented the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. Pretty amazing!
|
|
|
[30 Oct 2008|11:22am] |
|
Creepy yet amusing robot head!
|
|
| My food project |
[27 Oct 2008|06:09pm] |
I heard a cool thing on the radio the other day: Man Bites World. Basically, this guy in LA is going to a restaurant of a different country every day until he runs out. Sounds cool. I want to play! I just won't do it every day.
I made a map that shows where I've already eaten prior to starting the project. Red are countries I've eaten before the project. Blue will be for countries I eat during the project.
My food map
|
|
| Victory is mine! |
[21 Oct 2008|12:42am] |
The terrorist zoanthid-eating crab in my tank has finally been caught! Thanks to a tip from a local hermit crab, he was found hiding in a "spider hole" near the front of the tank, snatching blue zoanthids from a newly-acquired rock. Special Forces set a trap with a small glass and lots of bait. Tonight, my friends, the crab took the bait! He is now serving out his sentence as a "warshed-up old terrorist" in my aquarium sump.
He's a lot scarier looking in person....
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
bromion's journal