Re: MOT "Inspection" Experience PSA
Reply #50 –
Bob,
Sure, a lot of people want to buy cars, RVs, planes, trips, etc. wholesale but few have learned the trade. You can't just go up to a car lot and say, "I don't want to pay your price, I want it cheap" can you? If you have a lot of disposable income, you can complain about the price but in the end, you pull out the checkbook and pay the price. On the other hand, if you have dreams but a beer income, you find a way to buy for less, perhaps a fraction of the price. That's always been my way since I retired and my income was drastically reduced many, many years ago.
I've always loved to travel and especially to more offbeat locations like North Africa, The Balken countries, etc. I noticed there were prices for regular tourists and for another for backpackers. The prices posted said "no bargaining" but listened as the backpackers or fellow countrymen would haggle for sometimes hours over a relatively small amount of money. After a while, I started to realize that their life was slower and haggling was a necessary ability and an enjoyable part of their lives.
Attitudes are regional and cultural. My in-laws went on a very expensive cruise down the Nile in Egypt. Just as the ship was about to sail, a backpacking couple walked up the ramp and asked to talk to the captain. They haggled for about 5 minutes and paid about 20 percent of what my in-laws did. They were so resentful and for years, that always seemed to come up in travel talk.
Inspections: Yes, they are important in selecting the coach that will have the least amount of problems/cost both short term as well as during the years ahead. But, no inspector is going to be able to foresee every problem that will come up and can't be faulted for things that go wrong. You do have to take responsibility for the inspector you choose as well as for things that go wrong down the road. No, the trans cooler failure (e.g.) was not the inspector's fault, they don't have a crystal ball.
You also can't expect a shop that sponsors NASCAR races to give you competent and reasonable prices for any work you have done there.
Just as you can see a mentally challenged person coming toward you almost a block away, a dealer/seller can tell by your body language what kind of buyer he or she is about to meet. So easy to smile and shake hands.
But do your homework ahead of time, don't be in a hurry and expect to travel even across the U.S. to find your coach and then if reasonably lucky, you may enjoy years of ownership with most of the expense being diesel and insurance. This assumes you can do your own basic maintenance like oil changes, air bags, etc.
And for a Frugal Fred like me who may like to cruise the Nile on a deluxe ship for a fraction of the price, give me or Mr. Bob a call. $200pp total for 5 nights on a deluxe ship with the best cabin or pay $$$$ here or in Egypt for this quote: "Yes these cruise packages offered online or by travel agencies in Egypt start from around $200 per day and that's just for a basic ship – roughly equivalent to a 3*star hotel.
Pierce
Topic: MOT "Inspection" Experience PSA