How To Really Save Big Money On Buying A Used Car

Yes, it is better to buy a used car than a new car. You save on depreciation, taxes and insurance. Most people do not realize that, although a vehicle is necessary, it is also the worst investment possible as it depreciates 20 to 30 percent in value the moment a new car is driven off the dealers lot. Take advantage of someone else by buying a slightly used car (1-3 years old with 10,000 to 30,000 miles). Let someone else pay that ridiculous depreciation. Besides with all the recent improvements in cars of all makes and models it is not uncommon for a car to run to 200,000 miles.

It used to be that back in the 80s a import would run 100,000 to 150,000 miles and a domestic like Ford or GM was good until 80,000 to 100,000 miles and then it was time to junk it. With recent improvements it is not uncommon for a car to reach 150,000 miles plus of any make. When you equip this with the fact that most states have a rather high sales tax, property tax or combination thereof that is directly related to the value of the car, a used car with a lower value becomes a more attractive option. Even insurance is lower on used cars. So with all the savings in buying used versus new, should you pay the asking price at your local used car dealer?

We Buy Any Car

Absolutely not. Having experience as one of the top car salesman in the entire country, I can definitely explain how a used car dealership makes money and exactly how much they will profit off of a sale. The basic rule of thumb is that for every ,000 in price there is at least ,000 in markup or profit. So, in a ,000 car the asking price includes around ,000 in dealer markup (profit). On top of that there is a dealer processing fee that almost every dealer charges (average of 0 to 0 per car). The so called dealer processing fee is just pure gravy or profit to the dealer. The processing fee came about as a way to generate non commissionable profit (profit that the dealer did not pay a percentage of to the salesman). Basically, the dealer processing fee has nothing to do with any processing and is a scam (do not pay it and if they refuse to remove it go elsewhere. If enough people do this they will remove the bogus fee).

Now, there can be costs that the dealer has in detailing, servicing, etc to the car. These are usually minimal and always ask for documentation for anything they say. For instance, if the dealer says we had a whole new brake system put into that car and it cost over ,000. That may be true, but it probably is not. The actual service records will probably show 0 or so. If they will not show you the actual service records leave and look for another dealer. This means they are hiding something.

So, now you know how they markup their cars, but first you must understand that there are some very honest and reputable dealers, but there are 10 times that many that are extremely dishonest. Here are some definite rules that you must follow.

1) Drive the vehicle. Do not take their word for anything. Drive it. Take it for the day and drive it on the highway, curvy roads and in stop and go traffic. Use it like you normally would. This will reveal problems or items that need to be looked into or fixed.

2) Always, after you have settled on a car that meets your needs, take it to an independent mechanic. This is not as important on low mileage 1-3 year old cars, but vitally important on older cars with higher mileage. The independent mechanic or shop will give you a complete run down for about that will reveal everything about the car and whether or not it is a good deal or a nightmare waiting to happen.

3) Run a Carfax report. This can reveal previous accident and or flood damage, but it does not over rule the independent mechanic. Sometimes a mechanic will find things a Carfax did not report like a flood or car accident. Not all accidents and flood damage are correctly reported.

4) Always negotiate the purchase price. Never let them switch you to payments until you have agreed to a price. It amazes me how many people are easily switched to payments where they have no idea what the purchase price and profit or markup are. Most do not even know the term or rate before they commit. They just want you to commit and then the finance manager befriends you and takes even more money out of your pocket. At most dealerships the front end profit averages around 00 on a used car and the back end or finance office profit averages around 00. This money comes from one source the consumer.

5) Negotiate. Do your homework. Be ready to walk and look elsewhere if the dealer will not be reasonable. Look into separate financing. What most people do not realize is that a home equity loan could save you huge on rate and interest. A car dealer as a rule adds 2 to 3% to the actual rate for profit and they call it their convenience for providing a service (as I saw on a CarMax sign and do not think Carmax will save you money with their no haggle price. A simple comparison will prove this). In California they have created laws and legislation to curb this practice or limit it. Always ask the finance manager for the approval rate and proof. The banks will each fax over an approval. If the rate is too high then walk.

6) An even better alternative is to buy your car online. I recently bought a GMC envoy through Ebay and got a better price than I could have at a dealer only auction. I paid about 00 less than what the dealers actual cost would be on this vehicle. I also did not pay any bogus processing fee. When I drove by some local dealers and showed them the car and told them what I paid they said it was impossible until I showed them the bill of sale, title and paperwork. Now several of these dealers are buying their own cars online and through Ebay. It is important to note that you must do your research online and delve deeply into the car, the sellers feedback and transaction history, email questions that you have, and look into price and listing histories for the make, year and model of car or truck you are interested in. Watch out for processing fees and such (they are all listed clearly). The best thing about buying online is you control the price, no back end profit for the dealer, and you save big!

How big can you save online? I saved over ,000 off of what local dealers were asking for the same envoy and mine had even more options. The best deal on a used car is to avoid the dealer completely and buy it online. You can find your own financing regardless if you have good or bad credit and save a ton. If you must go to a dealer, never fall in love with any car. The dealer will use this to their advantage. Use the steps above and give them a fair offer. You want to end up at 0 over their cost and that is reasonable. I have seen profits of upwards of ,500 or more on one vehicle worth ,000. That is sickening. The average dealer profit is ,500 to 3,000 per used car. Do not get taken by a used car dealer. Do your homework and compare. Not only will you save just from buying a used car, but you will save for years on things like term, rate, interest, taxes, etc. The average American works too hard to fork over one or two months earning to the dealer for profit.

How To Really Save Big Money On Buying A Used Car

New approach towards new media

The Government is likely to take a new approach and a more active approach towards the new media.
http://newasiarepublic.com/?p=33833

I have seen the bad side of the new media and how people can act irresponsibly when giving their comments (and untruths) and malicious attacks under anonymity. I like to see the new media being used in a more responsible manner and will welcome moves in that direction.

French credit review threatens euro zone rescues (Reuters)

PARIS (Reuters) ? Doubt cast on France's triple-A credit rating by Moody's raised uncertainty over Europe's hopes of drawing a line under its sovereign debt crisis, five days before a crucial EU summit.

The U.S. ratings agency said late on Monday it may slap a negative outlook on France's Aaa rating in the next three months if slower growth and the costs for helping bail out banks and other euro zone members stretch its budget too much.

"The deterioration in debt metrics and the potential for further contingent liabilities to emerge are exerting pressure on the stable outlook of the government's Aaa debt rating," Moody's said in its annual report on France.

The warning, which sent the risk premium on French government bonds shooting up to a euro lifetime high, came as European Union leaders are preparing measures to protect the region's financial system from a potential Greek debt default.

That strategy includes new steps to reduce Greece's debt, strengthening the capital of banks with exposure to troubled euro zone sovereigns and leveraging the euro zone's rescue fund to prevent market contagion to bigger economies.

The October 23 summit is likely to agree to leverage the bailout fund by allowing it to underwrite a portion of newly issued euro zone debt, euro zone officials said.

With about 300 billion euros of its 440 billion-euro capacity still available, by guaranteeing the first 20-30 percent of any losses, the European Financial Stability Facility could stretch three to five times further.

"This idea is the main contender," one official said.

Economy Minister Francois Baroin insisted that France's AAA status was not at risk but acknowledged that the 1.75 percent growth forecast on which the government has based its 2012 budget was over-optimistic and would have to be revised down.

"The triple-A is not in danger because we will be even ahead of schedule on passing deficit reduction measures," Baroin said on France 2 television.

"We will do everything to avoid being downgraded."

Asked if next year's outlook would have to be reduced in light of weak growth prospects, he added: "We will adapt it, that much is clear."

France and Germany, the two strongest economies among the 17 euro zone members, form the backbone of the EFSF rescue fund and are drafting a crisis-fighting strategy for Sunday's summit.

Without France's triple-A rating, the whole edifice of rescue measures for troubled peripheral euro zone states would begin to crumble, putting more weight on Germany, where there is a strong public backlash against bailouts.

German leaders on Monday doused market hopes of a miracle cure at Sunday's Brussels summit, saying no one should expect a "definitive solution."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a closed-door meeting of her Christian Democrats she favored having a permanent presence of the so-called "troika" of international inspectors in Greece to supervise its public finances if there were doubts about fiscal management, party sources said.

She also expected agreement on proposals to send euro zone countries that repeatedly breached EU deficit rules to the European Court of Justice, the sources said.

FRENCH SPREAD HITS RECORD

Analysts said Moody's move was unusual, since it had not put France on ratings watch, but it was a signal to the government that it needed to adopt a more realistic growth assumption and adjust its budget measures accordingly.

Monday's review was only a preliminary step, but a negative outlook would be a sign that Moody's could downgrade its rating on France in the next couple of years. It placed the United States's Aaa rating on negative outlook in August.

The two other major ratings agencies, Standard & Poor's and Fitch, reaffirmed Paris' triple-A rating in August when French banks came under fierce market pressure over their exposure to the weakest euro zone sovereigns.

The spread on French 10-year bonds over benchmark German bonds jumped to a 19-year high of 114 basis points, the first time it had breached 1 percentage point in more than a decade. Safe-haven German Bunds rose on ebbing hopes of a quick solution to the debt crisis.

The ratings review was a potential embarrassment for conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is expected to run for re-election next April and May and faces a strong challenge from Socialist candidate Francois Hollande, who won a primary election run-off on Sunday.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon made clear in a television interview that if growth fell short of official forecasts, Paris would take further austerity measures.

But Philipp Waechter, head of economic research at Natixis Asset Management, said: "We're entering an election year. Before May 6, 2012, it will be complicated to take strong measures. The government's ability to respond is reduced."

In Greece, ships were harbored and trains halted on Tuesday as angry workers built momentum for "the mother of all strikes" expected to bring the entire country to a halt in protest against a new package of tax hikes and wage cuts.

Unions representing around half of Greece's 4 million-strong workforce have called a 48 hour general strike for Wednesday and Thursday to protest against a sweeping package of austerity measures due to be passed in parliament this week.

Prime Minister George Papandreou told the cabinet late on Monday: "The nation is at a crucial moment and we have to be united. In this battle, we need everyone."

Hours earlier, a deputy from Papandreou's party quit his seat in protest against what he called "unjust" steps. The lawmaker will be replaced by another socialist, so Papandreou's four-seat majority in the 300-strong assembly is unchanged.

Meanwhile Portugal, which has also received an EU/IMF bailout, announced a draconian 2012 budget that risks a severe recession. The European Commission called it "courageous."

Greece's overall debt is forecast to climb to 357 billion euros ($491.4 billion) this year, or 162 percent of annual economic output -- a level economists agree is unsustainable.

To reduce this mountain, euro zone leaders are racing to convince banks to accept "voluntary" writedowns of up to 50 percent on their sovereign holdings. At the same time, they are trying to agree on a blueprint for recapitalizing financial institutions at risk from the deepening crisis.

Negotiations with the Institute of International Finance, representing the banks, were continuing in Brussels after diplomats said Deutsche Bank chief Josef Ackermann, who is also chairman of the IIF, met EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy to discuss write-downs and recapitalization.

Ackermann has objected to efforts to force banks to raise more capital and IIF lead negotiator Charles Dallara told Reuters on Monday that bigger writedowns on Greek bonds could only happen if policymakers addressed broader sovereign debt issues in Europe.

(Additional reporting by Walter Brandimarte in New York, Geert de Clercq, Jean-Baptiste Vey and Matthieu Protard in Paris, Emelia Sithole-Matarise in London, John O'Donnell in Brussels, Edward Taylor in Frankfurt; Writing by Paul Taylor, editing by Mike Peacock)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111018/bs_nm/us_eurozone

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Subsidy for Japanese manufacturers

The Japanese government is introducing a subsidy to help its manufacturers to keep their production in Japan, in the face of a stronger currency. This shows that the system of free trade and open market is now under stress. http://www.cnbc.com//id/44983686

Communist Manifesto - 1848

I read some parts of the book by Karl Marx entitled the Communist Manifesto. He described the struggle between the proletariat (working class) and the bourgeois (capital owners). Today, 163 years later, it is a struggle between the 99% (ordinary people) and the 1% (elite). This can be seen in the "Occupy Wall Street" protest.

National Service Deferment

The Minister for Defence said that there was no preference treatment for National Service deferment. He explained in detail to Parliament how the process for deferment was carried out. However, the newspaper report did not carry the details. I hope that our MPs in Parliament would question the process, to ensure that the relevant questions have been asked and answered satisfactorily.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Parliament/Story/STIStory_725378.html

My preference is for National Service to be made fairer to male citizens, so that they do not need to sacrifice their time and opportunity. This can be done through reducing the duration of national service and/ or compensating them adequately for the time that they have to spend. The Singapore males have to compete with foreigners and females in the job market and should not be placed at a disadvantage.

List of contractors

The list of contractors have been updated to include plumbing, electrical and TV repair. There are now 13 categories of contractors. This list will be converted into a database for easy access at a later date. The contractors have been contacted to establish their responsiveness to calls or emails.
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=579

Top-up CPF by cash

The charge (by eNETS) to top up a CPF by internet banking is too high. For an amount of $1,000, the charge is $15. For a larger amount, the charge is NOT specified.

To avoid this excessive charge, I decided to pay by cheque ($0.25 for postage). But I have to write a lot of detail at the bank of the cheque including an unweildly transaction number. See below.

This is not the only thing that I have to write. I still have to write the cheque and make sure that the amount in words and letters are correct, the date is correct, the payee is correct. I also have to make sure that the address of CPF is correctly written on the envelope.  This is a sad part of life in Singapore - so much hassle and over-charging.

Top-up CPF account

CPF took an advertisement to advice members to top-up their CPF account (for themselves and their family members). I responded and tried to do it at their website. My experience is shown in this report, which I sent to the Ministry of Manpower. My findings:

1. The CPF online process has bugs.
2. The administration charge is too high.

I hope that our Government will wake up and sort out the shortcomings and over-charging!

http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=581

I Did a Crazy Fad Diet From the Internet

Those Internet ads that say you can ?lose a pound a day with one simple trick?? The hCG diet is one that you?ll find when you click on those. And there is a trick to succeeding on the diet: Don?t follow the plans on the Internet, which usually involve ordering homeopathic drops. The FDA considers the drops to be ?fraudulent and illegal,? though the agency rarely does anything about it. Instead, find a doctor to prescribe injections. They are considered off-label use for weight loss, but when I found out that my OB-GYN?the same woman who once changed her vacation plans to deliver one of my kids?was offering the diet through her practice, I figured it was safe enough to consider. I attended an information session, learned the pros and the cons, and thought about it. And then I mentally deducted all the money from my imaginary iPad fund (It cost me $450, which isn?t cheap, but then, neither is Nutrisystem), and went for it.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=6b1216eb99b45148b65ec5786f31a4c9

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X-linked mental retardation protein is found to mediate synaptic plasticity in hippocampus

X-linked mental retardation protein is found to mediate synaptic plasticity in hippocampus

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have solved part of a puzzle concerning the relationship between changes in the strength of synapses ? the tiny gaps across which nerve cells in the brain communicate ? and dysfunctions in neural circuits that have been linked with drug addiction, mental retardation and other cognitive disorders.

A team led by CSHL Professor Linda Van Aelst has pieced together essential steps in a signaling cascade within excitatory nerve cells that explains a key phenomenon called longterm depression, or LTD. The "depression" in question has nothing to do with the human illness with that name. Rather, it refers to a tamping-down of the strength of individual synapses ? what scientists call synaptic plasticity.

The mechanism behind LTD is called endocytosis. It involves a retraction of receptors where neurotransmitters can "dock." Van Aelst and colleagues have demonstrated how LTD works following activation of a class of receptors called group I metabotrobic glutamate receptors, or mGluRs.

It was known that longterm depression mediated by mGluRs depended in part on the rapid synthesis of specific proteins. Yet the identity of these proteins had largely remained a mystery. The CSHL scientists have now shown that locally rapid production of a protein called oligophrenin 1 (OPHN1) follows activation of group I mGluRs. OPHN1 in turn was shown to mediate LTD in hippocampal nerve cells, by interacting with yet another protein called EndophilinA2/3.

The result of this cascade of intracellular signals was dramatic: persistent removal of AMPA-type receptors at the excitatory synapse, and the onset of LTD. When rapid production of OPHN1 was blocked, mGluR-dependent LTD did not occur. These findings appear online today ahead of print in the journal Neuron.

Van Aelst explained the significance of the finding. "OPHN1 has two important functions that we know about. One is early in development, after synapses have appeared in the emerging nervous system. In this phase, OPHN1 in concert with other factors stabilizes receptors at synapses, and thus is essential in maintaining the structure of these essential features of neural circuitry.

"Our new findings show another vital role for OPHN1, later in development and into maturity. We assume that in response to behavioral stimuli ? we aren't yet sure what kind ? mGluRs are activated, setting off the series of steps that we identified: rapid upregulation of OPHN1, which binds to EndophilinA2/3, which in turn mediates the long-term removal of AMPA receptors."

OPHN1 is known to be associated with X-linked mental retardation and with other cognitive and behavioral deficits. The team hypothesizes that OPHN1-related changes in plasticity such as those described in their new work may be causally related to such pathology. They are investigating this possibility in their current work.

###

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory: http://www.cshl.org

Thanks to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 47 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/114463/X_linked_mental_retardation_protein_is_found_to_mediate_synaptic_plasticity_in_hippocampus

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Large bonus to bankers

Goldman Sachs pays large bonuses to its employees, in spite of making a loss for its shareholders. The amount of bonus is described as "ridiculous". http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/20/news/economy/goldman_sachs_occupy_wall_street/index.htm?section=money_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fmoney_topstories+%28Top+Stories%29

Too many investment choices

This article explains about the difficulty faced by consumers in investing their money, when they have too many choices. http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/20/pf/expert/401k_retirement.moneymag/index.htm?section=money_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fmoney_topstories+%28Top+Stories%29

My recommendation is for most consumers, who are not financially experienced, to invest in an indexed fund, such as the Straits Times Index Exchange Traded Fund. If you are financially experienced, you can make your own choice, i.e. DIY (do it yourself).

How Come All Captchas Don't Just Work Like This? [Video]

Is it just me or have Captchas gotten insanely freaking impossible these days? I mean, I can't even make out if I'm supposed to type in a letter, a number or a hieroglyphic. Annoying! We need a new Captcha method. What about drawing a shape? More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/MPy8hm62upQ/how-come-all-captchas-dont-just-work-like-this

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Sharing of medical records

There is law in USA regarding the rights of patients for access to their medical records and the duty of the health care providers to protect privacy of these records. We need similar laws in Singapore. http://www.tankinlian.com/Redirect.aspx?PK=2c77701b4c43102f8aebde1ae83d78a1   

Electronic Health Records

Medical costs have been escalating for the past few decades. As people get older, they have to spend more on health care. The experts have identified ways to improve the efficiency of health care and to cut down on wastage. They have suggested that electronic medical records of each person, that is available to their doctors can cut down on repeated tests.

President Obama actively proposed the creation of a central system to keep the health records. Google launched its innovative Google Health system to meet this need. But Google has decided to scrap this system, due to insufficient interest to use it. It seems that electronic medical record will not take off, at least for the immediate future.

What is the problem? If escalating health care cost has to be contained, why did these initiatives fail? Why are people reluctant to use electronic health records - which can help to improve efficiency and bring down cost?

Which of these factors are most important?

1) Doctors want to keep control of the records, so that the patients will keep going back to them
2) The Government failed to pass the law to give political support to these measures
3) Patients are reluctant to have their health records kept electronically
4) Consumers are weak in enforcing their rights and interest.

Please share  your views here.