plus 4, 5 Car Dealer Extras You Don't Need - YAHOO! |
- 5 Car Dealer Extras You Don't Need - YAHOO!
- Typewriter shops hanging on in tech-savvy world - Pantagraph
- Keen & Peters Team up to Sponsor Speedrome Stocks in 2010 - Who Won
- Shattered and Forgotten: Jacmel, Haiti Waits - DAILY KOS
- State, Ford City police reports - PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
| 5 Car Dealer Extras You Don't Need - YAHOO! Posted: 16 Jan 2010 02:05 PM PST Negotiating for a car can be a nerve-wracking and difficult process. But even once you've agreed on that golden price, you're not home free. If you're buying a new car, there are plenty of options a dealer will still try to persuade you to tack on. While some of these might make sense for you, others aren't worth the money. Though they may add only pennies a day to your monthly payment, they can add a lot to the price of your new car. Here are five dealer add-ons you should think twice about. 1. Extended WarrantiesThe extended warranty is one of the most alluring dealer extras. After all, doesn't everyone want a little extra peace of mind? But no matter how good it sounds, remember: Always say no. First of all, your car's original warranty may be all you need -- especially if you're buying a Hyundai or Kia, which both offer lengthy five-year/60,000-mile basic warranties. Many other manufacturers are now also offering five-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranties. Secondly, even if you do want an extended warranty, you don't need to purchase one the moment you buy the car. If you want one, you can easily buy it later, either from the car manufacturer or a reputable third-party company (but beware of unsolicited phone or mail offers down the line). The dealer's extended warranty isn't necessarily the best deal; in fact, it usually costs more. Plus, you're in a high-pressure situation at the dealer and might not be able to read the fine print. Finally, if you buy the dealer's extended warranty, you might be required to return to that dealership to get it honored – which could become a problem if you move. 2. Fabric and Paint ProtectionStain protection for your seats and floors can cost hundreds of dollars at the dealership. But while it may make you feel better when you're balancing a milkshake in one hand and driving with the other, it's not worth the money. Scotchgard Auto Interior Fabric Protector is available at Wal-Mart or Target (around $10 for a 10-ounce can), and it accomplishes virtually the same thing as what the dealer provides. The only difference is that the dealer's fabric protection might come with a warranty, which means they'll cover the cost of removing any stubborn stains. Another typical dealer extra, Paint Protection, won't accomplish much more than a good coat of wax will. Again, you can apply this yourself by picking up polymer sealant car wax at the auto parts store. Remember that your car already comes with a good coat of sealant from the factory, so you only need to apply wax about once a year. 3. RustproofingUnless a car is decades old, rust isn't usually a problem. And unless you plan on keeping your car for decades, you won't need any extra rustproofing. Modern vehicles are built to withstand rust, and nearly every new car comes with a lengthy rust perforation warranty. That makes rustproofing one of the biggest rip-offs a dealer can entice you to buy -- because why would you want to pay for something twice? 4. Maintenance PlansA maintenance program covers fluid changes and other regular maintenance items as part of your monthly car payment. If you buy such a plan, you won't have to worry about budgeting for car maintenance. However, you will have to take your car to the dealership for service. While buying the maintenance program up front may cost less than paying for individual services at the dealership, it might not cost less than going to an outside repair shop for maintenance. You'll have to do the math to decide if a maintenance plan is right for you. Note that during negotiations, you might even be able to convince the dealer to throw in a maintenance plan for free. A few automakers already provide maintenance programs for free with a new vehicle. Volkswagen and Volvo offer plans that last three years or 36,000 miles, while BMW's Ultimate Service program runs for four years or 50,000 miles. Scion provides the first two maintenance services for free. 5. Ding ProtectionBuyers who are worried about cosmetic scratches on their new car might be inclined to opt for Ding Protection. It covers the cost of fixing small dents and scratches (often less than four inches long) for a set period of time. The price varies, but a three-year plan can cost as much as $650. While this may seem like an alluring offer for a concerned new car owner, that's a lot to pay up front for something you may never use. Even if you do use it, remember that large dents aren't typically covered under this type of plan. Will the cost of buffing out small scratches really ever add up to the cost of the protection plan? Unless you repeatedly ram your new car with shopping carts, the answer is probably no. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Typewriter shops hanging on in tech-savvy world - Pantagraph Posted: 16 Jan 2010 10:02 AM PST MAPLEWOOD. Mo. -- There's no Twitter or Facebook in Vernon Trampe's life. In his world, all "texting" should only be done with a typewriter. Though the typewriter may be part of a bygone era, Trampe's Jones Typewriter Co. and a handful of other businesses are hanging on through a combination of niche need and nostalgia. "People come in here and say, 'Oh I'm so glad I found you. Please don't close on us,"' said Trampe, 67. "Because there are so many of us closing." The St. Louis area still has at least a half-dozen businesses that fix and sell typewriters. And like Trampe, evolving technology, business needs and consumer tastes have forced them to expand service to printers, copiers, counting machines, fax machines, cash registers and calculators. Today, Trampe and his business partner, Charlie May, 62, say their survival depends largely on contract work for businesses, including law firms, doctors' offices and nursing homes that still use typewriters for special documents not meant for inkjet or laser printers. The AAA Auto Club of Missouri still has several typewriters at its St. Louis headquarters, said spokesman Mike Right. Nearly every department has access to a typewriter for specific cards or labels unsuitable for the computer. Right promised that AAA isn't going back to the typewriter. "My God, no," Right said. "There's no spell-check on a typewriter." A few companies are still producing typewriters. Among them is New Jersey-based Swintec, which sells the majority of its machines through long-term contracts to government agencies, said Ed Michael, a sales manager for the company. Swintec's clients include police departments and prisons, where inmates can be barred from computer and Internet access. One of their most popular machines is a typewriter with a transparent case designed to prevent inmates from hiding contraband inside. Michael says there also is still demand for typewriters from writers and older people who tend to avoid computers. "Some people really like the feel of a typewriter because it's a warmer, more tactile way of doing things," Michael said. Walking through Trampe's store feels like a tribute to the biggest players from the typewriter's golden years: Smith-Corona, Royal, Underwood, Woodstock and IBM. They're all there, stacked sideways and jammed into shelves almost to the ceiling. A white placard in back proudly proclaims the store the "USED TYPEWRITER CAPITAL." Trampe has worked with typewriters for the better part of four decades. He got a job with the Remington Typewriter Co. in the mid-1960s. After Remington closed, Trampe started his own business in the St. Louis area before moving to Maplewood a decade ago, later taking over Martin Office Machine. But buying a new typewriter can be cheaper than fixing an old machine, further limiting the trade. "It's tough right now," Trampe said. "At one time, (repairs) were up to $100 to $125." Trampe said he can't survive on the typewriter alone, but has his loyal customers. "They keep me in business." Kurt and Jeannette Koerner, 88, of Crestwood, Mo., prefer the touch of their 1930s Royal manual typewriter over a computer and recently brought it to Trampe for a new ribbon. "I can't type on one of those new-fangled things," Jeannette Koerner said of computers. Hollywood and the toy industry also have helped boost demand. A popular American Girl doll and film depicts a young journalist making ends meet during the Great Depression by selling stories written on her typewriter. That sent some parents and grandparents looking to buy the same model as gifts. "I got at least a dozen (customers) wanting that exact typewriter," said Dan Puls, 73, of Florissant, Mo., the self-dubbed "Mr. Typewriter" who refurbishes and sells typewriters from his vast personal collection. "Grandma will go and spend $295 on a typewriter for a 4-year-old who probably can't spell her own name." Kevin Powell, 50, service manager of Williams Office Products in Alton, Mo., says typewriters account for just a sliver of the shop's overall business. And he said those with the skill to fix them are dying because younger people aren't learning the trade. "Most of the people we get in here say they've taken them all over and no one will work on them anymore," Powell said. Perhaps no one knows that better than Charlene Oesch. She runs the Baco Ribbon & Supply Co. in Ballwin, Mo., and still inks typewriter ribbons and distributes them throughout the country. She took over the company from her father in 1987 and has watched the typewriter trade's gradual demise. "Gosh, there used to be so many of them," said Oesch, 58. "After (people like) Vern and Charlie are gone, I don't know who's going to repair typewriters anymore." Ervin Schoessel, 81, still buys ribbons at Oesch's store for his 95-year-old cousin so he can continue writing poetry on his manual typewriter. "It keeps his mind occupied," Schoessel said. "It keeps him going." Trampe wants to keep going, too, but rising rent, taxes and overhead costs have made it tough to pay bills and medical costs for him and his wife. He tries to stay optimistic about the future of his shop. "I just love fixing stuff," Trampe said, his voice trailing off. "I don't see (staying in business) a long time. As long as I can make a few dollars at it." Trampe's passion for fixing old-fashioned equipment hasn't kept technology completely away from his store. But his computer mostly collects dust unless his 39-year-old daughter is around. "When my daughter's here, it all goes through the computer," he said. "When she's not here, it all gets typed." (c) 2010, St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Keen & Peters Team up to Sponsor Speedrome Stocks in 2010 - Who Won Posted: 16 Jan 2010 08:14 AM PST Indianapolis Speedrome Saturday, January 16, 2010 Keen & Peters Team up to Sponsor Speedrome Stocks in 2010 INDIANAPOLIS -- The World's Home of the Figure 8 is proud to announce a new sponsor partnership for 2010. The Speedrome Stock division, one of the oldest classes at the historic track, will see two Indianapolis businesses attaching themselves to the grand division. They will be known as the Scooter's Auto Sales Stocks presented by Peter's Auto Service. The drivers will look to earn the Scooter's Auto Sales Stock Cup which represents being the regular season champion. We would like to thank both these Speedrome Proud groups for their support of the track and the Stock division. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Shattered and Forgotten: Jacmel, Haiti Waits - DAILY KOS Posted: 16 Jan 2010 08:36 AM PST A spirit of resilience can only carry a Haitian earthquake victim so far. It is asking too much of a people to cobble together a school for children on a site where dozens of corpses remain smashed beneath tons of destruction when aftershocks are still being felt. It is asking too much of a people to patch up one anothers' injuries when there are no bandages, no casts, no anti-biotics, no salves, no pain-relievers, no medical supplies of any kind, and no professional medical assistance. It is asking too much of a people to keep a minimum standard of personal hygiene when there is only enough water for menstruating women and girls to bathe in, when that water is already filthy and contaminated, when fresh water for any purpose is as rare as good paying jobs have been in this man-forsaken country. It is asking too much of a people to carry on providing for themselves and one another when there is no fuel for generators, for cooking, for transportation, or for light. Once there lived 34,000 souls in Jacmel. Today no one knows how many are left alive. And none dare predict how many will survive to face this season's hurricanes, mudslides, construction collapses, or additional earthquakes and -- oh,yes -- the preying urges of man. Until relief workers arrive, besting the blocked road that leads into the town, the dead of Jacmel will have to await them under the collapsed hospital and vocational institute, and the living will have to remain among their dead fellow citizens, breathing the scent of decomposition and inhaling the black smoke from burning tires that hangs in a pall above Jacmal as if it were a charnel house. And wait. And wait. And wait. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| State, Ford City police reports - PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW Posted: 16 Jan 2010 08:07 AM PST The following reports were issued by state police: VALLEY — Richard Lowry, 49, of Kittanning, was arrested for driving under the influence after he wrecked his car along Route 85 at 11 p.m. Thursday. Lowry fled the scene on foot was located at his residence a short time later. He was not injured in the roll-over crash. Rayburn and Kittanning Township fire departments assisted at the scene. BOGGS — Jacob D. Brewer, 30, of Kittanning, was cited for failing to stay in his lane after his truck collided with a sport utility vehicle at the intersection of Route 28/66 and North Oliver Road at 9:30 a.m. Thursday. Brewer had pulled onto Route 28/66 and spun around, causing his truck to cross into the path of the other vehicle, driven by Connie D. Traister, 40, of Templeton. Traister suffered minor injuries in the crash, while her children, ages 10 and 11, escaped unharmed. Brewer also escaped injury in the crash. Pine Township and West Kittanning fire departments assisted at the scene. NEW BETHLEHEM (Clarion County) — Tina K. Myers, 45, of Mayport, was cited for careless driving after she backed from a parking stall at the VFW, along Route 28, and struck a parked vehicle at 8:49 p.m. Sunday. She then left the scene. EAST FRANKLIN — Police said someone used a counterfeit $50 bill to pay for food ordered from the drive-thru at McDonald's in the Franklin Village Mall between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. Thursday. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 724-543-2011. The following report was issued by the Ford City Borough Police Department: • Police are investigating two burglaries on Monday and Tuesday in which items were removed from two businesses. On Monday morning, vehicle inspection stickers and cash were removed from Tires & More, 1401 Sixth Ave. On Tuesday, someone forced entry into Taylor's Auto Repair, 1424 Third Ave., and removed cash, checks and credit card receipts. Taylor's Auto Repair is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 724-763-9024.
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