xrac

That is hilarious! We did a $2,000 estimate on an extended warranty vehicle yesterday and we are now waiting for an adjuster. An adjuster always means they are looking for a way to disallow or beat down the estimate.

http://albertaventure.com/2007/07/when-partnerships-go-bad/ http://www.ihatemypartner.com/

I am in a similar situation. I had a guy whose last day was Saturday. I have two replacement candidates and I am not wild about either one.

We use both a electronic tester and a VAT 45 depending upon the circumstance.

In the interview you ask if they have experience. They tell you they have worked on their own car in the drive way for years. They don't tell you if it ever ran again or not rthough. I have seen the brakes put on by someone's friend who is a "mechanic" in the back yard. Do I want them working on my car? Absolutely not!

A partnership is like a marriage. Unfortunately 50% of all marriages end in divorce and many marriages that survive are not really happy. Marriages usually start off well for the first few months. As one person said, "it begins when she sinks into his arms and ends with her arms in the sink.". Most partnerships are similar. http://www.startupsafter50.com/archives/perils-of-bad-partnerships/

Not one in ten that call themselves mechanics really are.

I would nominate my wife for the world's best mom and grandmother! She is a good one.

Be sure to cast a vote and voice and opinion. I was once told that a committee is the unfit appointed by the unwilling to do the unnecessary. That is almost my opinion of partnerships especially equal partnerships. I would never enter another partnership unless I am the majority, controlling partner and then only reluctantly. It would probably have to be family and some of them I don't like too well.

I thought a partnership poll might be of interest since that has been a topic of discussion.

Work hard, seek good advice, listen to your wife, pray hard, and trust the Lord. If I had listened to my wife I would not have entered the partnership.

The greatest thing you have in your favor is youth. You have time to make mistakes and recover. If you are young enough you can completely fail and still rise from the ashes and succeed. The founder of KFC was completely broke when he started selling his recipe and grew to become a very wealthy, nationally know figure.

Here was the bottom line for me. I did not need what the other partner brought to the table but "I thought I needed it". The partnership was my way of dealing with my own lack of confidence in myself. The partner was my safety net.

If you cannot agree what happens then? In my opinion 50/50 is the worst because no one is in control. In my partnership we are 50/50 but I have control because I am named as the operating partner in the operating agreement and as the franchise representative with the franchisor.

If you cannot agree what happens then? In my opinion 50/50 is the worst because no one is in control.

If you cannot agree what happens then?

Don't trust just the attorney. I would find an experience business person and run the agreement by them. The attorney we used did not leave us with a good mechanism to dissolve the partnership and we thought he was good.

Erie is a good company as well as Auto Owners, Pekin Insurance, and Ohio Casulaty.

No problems so far doesn't mean a thing. How will you react if your partner takes $5,000 out of the business to go on a cruise without your knowledge as mine did? Can your partner accumulate debt that you will be responsible for as happened to a friend of mine? It almost caused him to go bankrupt and almost cost him his marriage. Do you have a buy sell agreement spelling everything out including how the business will be valued? Where will the money come from to execute such a buy out? Are there any terms spelled out? On and on the questions go. How about my friend whose partner skipped the country with $500,000 and left him to face all of the debtors including the IRS. At the age of 40 he was forced to start over at the bottom. It took him ten years to pay the IRS off. The bottom line is I would say that the majority of us on this forum have tried partnerships and almost to a man we regret it. If you have entered into a partnership it is too late for advice. The agreement has been executed and the die is cast. It is what it is and now you have to live with it be it good or bad. People ask questions after the fact for confirmation of the decision they have already made.

More information is needed. What size engine. What have you check? How many miles? What is the circumstances before the no crank?

Save your money!

The following is a story that I sent to the local paper as a letter to the editor. It was ran this past Tuesday. Think you may enjoy reading it and be inspired. http://www.courierpress.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/commentary-spotlight-on-caring-epd-officers_65881643 Editor, The Evansville Courier & Press 300 E. Walnut St. P.O. Box 268 Evansville IN 47702-0268 Dear Editor: Val is a lady in her 50's that I have known for several years and I consider her to be my friend. She is not very tall and probably doesn't weigh more than a 100 pounds soaking wet but is intelligent and as gritty and spunky as a pit bull. Unfortunately, Val is unable to work due to chronic back problems that multiple surgeries have not cured. While living in constant pain she bravely survives on a meager disability income which leaves her constantly scrambling to make ends meet. Val has been coming to our shop for several years to have her car worked on and we have helped her at times by doing work at reduced prices and allowing her to pay as she was able. However, lack of money to do needed repairs and the age of the car all came to a head recently. When she came into the shop there was no way around it. Her car needed a $1000 worth of repairs to keep it on the road, probably as much as the car is worth. While I could do a bit to reduce the cost there was no way to eat all of the work or let her charge an amount that large. It was a nut simply too big to crack. I gave Val the bad news and she went outside presumably to call family or friends. This is when the wonderful story that I am going to relate begins to unfold. It just so happened a first time customer, a retired policeman who now teaches criminal justice at an area university, had paid for his car, picked up the keys, and walked out the door but a few minutes later he came back into the shop. He told me that there was a woman (Val) out on the front sidewalk crying and he wanted to know the cirumstance. I explained the situation and he told me to let him see what he could do. He would talk to his friends including several police buddies. A few minutes later he came back in asking me to do what I could to keep the cost down and telling me that he would raise the money to fix the car. Subsequently, he brought me $200 in cash and an hour later a uniformed Evansville police officer I have never met brought me a check for $100. The next day all of the parts needed for the repair bought and paid for by he and his friends were brought in. When it was all said and done Val's car was fixed and she was able to pay her part of the repair in full. Now she has a dependable means of transportaion again due to the fine gentleman and his friends. What a wonderful reflection this is on our community, on our police and our law enforcement officers. Police are receiving a lot of bad press but I would like to declare that there are many officers who are kind, compassionate, considerate human beings that put their lives on the line for us everyday. We also hear a lot of bad press about race relationships especially abuse of the African American community by the police. Did I mention that Val is African American and that all of those who helped her fix her car are white? No one ever saw black or white they just saw a woman in need and reached out to help. I say hurray for the fine citizens and police of this community who let me participate in and witness this wonderful act of kindness and compassion. “God bless us everyone”! G. Frank May, Manager Car-x Auto Service

Gonzo the call was taken by a typical anal retentive with no sense of humor. Gonzo were you just bored those days or slow when you called him up?

Joe we do not see rust much here. However, we recently had a 2001 car with less than 100K on it where the subframe was rusted to the point of being dangerous. The body was in great shape.

I plead ignorant. All I know is I have been with them 3 1/2 years and the rate has never changed.