Ripoffs: Another good story
 

Unconventional salesmanship doesn't necessarily relate to a rip off.
I've often been given more for my used car than what I paid for it
originally! But I bought the new car anyway. lol

No you didn't get more for your car than it was worth. What you got was a
discount on the MSRP of the new car, part or all of which was represented as
being for your trade in. A very common practice--often you can get the same
price and still keep your used car. You would have gotten a better deal not
including the trade-in during the negotiation, then when you have gotten your
best price from the dealer you offer the car for its wholesale value. Or make a
little more by selling it yourself.

Regards,

John

Ripoffs: Another good story
 

('nuther Bob) writes:
So, friend of mine (non-handy) gets a call from New Pro windows.
She's interested in replacing a picture window with a bay, so she
agrees to have the guy some out and do an estimate.

He arrives, before he's done he's decided that she should do a
small casement "garden bay" to replace the kitchen window too.
Total price for the job ? $13K. But, after he gives her the 15% for
this month, and the "put the sign on your lawn" discount, and
this discount, and one for that too, he's down to $6700. What
a deal, $13k of work for $6700. :-)

Fortunately she's smart enough to know a rip off. What amazes me is
that these guys stay in business.

Bay windows are very expensive, as your friend discovered. She would get
by much cheaper to just do a small glazed addition using conventional
windows. With a built in window seat, it would look pretty much like a
bay window and only cost half as much.

Was there some reason she wanted to go with a casement hung garden window
rather than a conventional (and inexpensive) fixed pane with small
sliders?

--
http://home.teleport.com/~larryc

Ripoffs: Another good story
 

On Mon, 21 Jul 2003 16:38:20 -0500, jim wrote:

that is why i dont like to have anyone do any work on my house.. it
takes longer and at least i dont have to worry about being ripped off..
after hurting my back and having hail damage to a roof i had to let a
contractor work on it... well his subs were a joke.. i could see just
about every mistake they were making..... it took them two weeks to put
on the roof.... and i still had to get the boss out and get one of his
employees finish the job....

How did you get this contractor's name? Out of the yellow pages? The
best way to get a good contractor is to ask your satisfied friends and
colleagues. Works for me almost every time; I just had my roof done
by a guy who did a colleague's roof, and he did a great job tearing
off 3 old roofs and putting on an entirely new 22-square roof with new
1/2" sheathing, ice/water shield, felt, 50-year shingles, and proper
flashing throughout. The cuts are perfectly straight, and the roof is
truly beautiful. Again, word of mouth is best, and I am taking my own
advice again right now to hire a tile guy to clean up and regrout my
1940s tile and marble shower.