BUYING A CAR

So my wife and I are shopping for a car. Not just any car,but a small SUV with room. We are willing to give up cargo space for leg room.

My wife and I refuse to ever buy a new car just for the fact that it loses thousands of dollars of value just by driving it off the lot.

Here is what we do. We start shopping between May and June for a car. We agree that unless it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, we are not going to buy a car until September. We know that the last quarter of the year is when deals happen. Car lots are trying to dump cars for the new year. Also if you buy a car at the end of it's year, you are getting a car that is a year old with 0 miles on it. Keeps the value up.

The next thing we do is buy used or demos. These cars can be marked down as much as $10,000. Our last four cars were from enterprise rent a car. They sell theirs with new belts, tires, filters, and fluids and they still give you bumper to bumper coverage. I bought a 2001 grand am in 2002 with 27,000 on it for $11,000. Used is good.

The last car I bought was the dodge grand caravan. It was a 2006 and I bought it in 2007 with only 260 miles on it. It was a car used to drive customers back to their work while the dealer fixed their car in the service department. I paid $15,999. A new one was $30,000. I love the stow and go seating that goes underground, but that's another story.

Now we are looking for a ford flex. We want a 2010 since 2009 is the first year. You never buy a first year car. You all know why.

We have told four ford dealers to be on the lookout for a low mileage FLEX SEL. We are hoping for a return or financing that fell through or a return on 60 day option. We will wait and see. A new FLEX SEL will cost $32,000 bare bones. A used one will have all the features for about $26,000.

Stay tuned. This could take awhile, but will be worth it.

Location:Orange County, CA

iPAD DAY ONE - MY REVIEW SO FAR

Here I am on my first day with my iPad. I am still overwhelmed with all it does. Here I am blogging from it. I just watched netflix on it. Read the morning paper on it.

All the iPad apps have more features and way more tools to maximize the experience. I love the WORDS WITH FRIENDS app. I can play and chat and see the whole board without zooming.

The USA TODAY app is going to make me read the morning paper again. It's better than a real paper. It updates on the fly. Within an hour of today's earthquake it was up on the front page of the paper. I didn't have to wait for the morning paper.

I am surprised FACEBOOK didn't make an app for it. It's just the pixelated version of the iPhone version.

The iBook app is really exciting. The ability to change the font size,color,and brightness of the book your reading is priceless. This will get me reading again like when I was a kid.

I have just fallen in love with comics. I now can read comic books with the MARVEL COMIC app like I'm 10 again in full digital color and the different ways to read a comic is a trip.

I just bought NEED FOR SPEED -SHIFT for $15. It's has really amazing graphics. Driving with the iPad is flawless.

I am very shocked at the speed of this device. PANDORA took 3 seconds to open and play music.

NETFLIX takes 13 seconds to open and have a movie streaming.

Now for the down side of the iPad. I wasn't sure how easy it was to hold and type. If I have to hold it with my hand then I have to type with one finger. I ordered the case which hasn't arrived yet. That will flip around to turn into a slanted stand. You really can't type normal on this. Still too small and you can't rest your fingers down. So I am doing the two finger peck.

Also, it's very thin, but gets heavy after awhile. The iPad case will help in that area,too.

The other thing is how much people who don't have one are just nasty about the device. I really hate how some people can't see the hundreds of uses this has. It's a tv guide, remote control, library, radio, newspaper, gaming console, mp3 player, magazine rack, word processor, spreadsheet, and especially a great video presentation device for showing thi gs to your clients.

Make fun of it all you want. You will be using one some day when your in college, visiting your doctor, or on your next flight.

-- Post From My iPad

Location:BUENA PARK, CA