too many cars

So Duksim and I are currently going through a slight decision-making quandry here. The photo I posted at left is not Duksim's Honda Civic (since I didn't take a picture of her actual car - just pulled this off the web, and wouldn't you know it, I couldn't find a black one). Anyway, as you know, we purchased a new 2005 Nissan Murano and the plates just arrived at the dealership. The insurance has been transferred over to the new car. For all intents and purposes, we should not even be driving the Civic anymore. But for now, Duksim is still tooling around in it on the weekdays - since it's only to her aunt's cleaners and back home. But we've now arrived at the time where we need to unload the Civic. The dealership undercut us big time at the point of sale, so we didn't go the trade-in route. So now we are planning on selling it ourselves - by posting a large FOR SALE sign on the rear quarter window and seeing if we can sell it that way. Blue Book value for its present condition puts it at around $5000 (more or less). I don't think people will fork over the full resale price, so maybe $4000 might work? How about $3,500? Dunno how to balance cost with present condition. The engine is excellent, around 70K miles, only options are an automatic transmission, air conditioning and 3rd party alarm system. There are minor dents in the front hood (with a little rust) and rear left taillight area. I do not have much experience in this, and neither does Duksim - any suggestions as to the best way to go about doing this? We have a little bit of time, the temporary plates on the new car do not expire until October - but would still like to get this car out of our hands sooner rather than later...

***update: We just posted a FOR SALE BY OWNER sign on the driver's side rear quarter window. We ran the car through a car wash and thoroughly cleaned out the interior. Cleaned the tires and emptied out pretty much all of Duksim's personal belongings. We also went to Wal-Mart and purchased a set of inexpensive floor mats, as well as giving it an oil change (since it was due). Now we will see what happens, we set the initial price at $4,300 or best offer. Funny thing was that after all that was done, a family drove up to Duksim inquiring about the car. Let the games begin!!!

***update 08.30.05: Duksim and I decided to increase the visibility of her Honda Civic by relocating it to her aunt's cleaners in Glenview at the corner of Harlem Ave. and Glenview Rd. We'll keep in parked there for the next couple of weeks and see what happens...her aunt mentioned that a couple looked at the car today, so that's a good start.

question on ethics

This is just plain creepy...

I didn't post this until now partly because of my laziness, but also was debating whether to put this up at all. Well, it doesn't directly affect me, so I guess it's ok - since no names are being given. About two weeks ago, a person at my work passed away from a heart attack. She was 5 months pregnant at the time. Her wake was held the following week on a Thursday, and one of my coworkers lived close enough to the funeral home and decided to pay his respects. When he arrived, there was only maybe 4 people inside. Peculiar, but maybe he was early. He saw the open casket in front, and the person inside was holding something in her arms. From a distance, it looked like a teddy bear or something, which is what he figured. As he moved closer, he took a second look and discovered that it was not a teddy bear - it was her unborn baby! Needless to say, he didn't stay very long - and probably explained the low turnout for the wake.

Now I am not a mortician or a doctor, and cannot vouch for these acts - but is this in any way normal? I don't know if this lady prepared a will or final directions to have this arranged - or if the lady's family took it upon themselves to have this done. I dunno, this seems like a scene straight out of a bad horror movie - and I can only imagine how my coworker must have felt at that time. Jeez - I dunno if he even got any sleep that night...I know I'd have a major case of insomnia if I saw that - and I don't scare that easily anymore. Even now, it's grossing me out just thinking about it...ok, better stop.

is it the dog or the owner to blame?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-080305dog_lat,1,4315162.story?coll=chi-news-hed

I just saw this news clip in the online version of the Chicago Tribune, where a rottweiler literally ripped a girl out of her mom's arms, dragged the kid down the driveway and mauled the kid to where she died at the hospital. Now I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I have an extreme bias against rottweilers. No other dog species have I seen more in the news attacking people than them. I realize that they are guard dogs and are usually used as such - but I have seen way too many examples where these dogs have literally gone out of control. The question to ask, I guess, is whether the blame falls on the dogs or on the owners. True, I don't know what condition this particular dog was in when it attacked that girl, how it was being treated, any abnormal medical condition, etc. And in all fairness, there have been numerous examples of animal cruelty that totally mess up what can otherwise be a very happy and healthy pet. But certain animals have to cast some shadow of doubt as to whether they are truly cut out to coexist with humans - especially humans with children. To me, rottweilers can be classified in this category - not enough are known about them, why they behave so aggressively for seemingly no reason. There are plenty of other species of dogs that can perfectly fit the bill when it comes to companionship, protection, and so forth. I also realize that there are rottweilers that do end up as perfect pets with no serious problems to speak of. But I personally feel that owning one is likened to a roll of the dice when it comes to personal safety, and I for one would rather err on the side of caution...

accessories - part 2

The accessories keep coming for our new car.

For those of you who have seen my car, you know that I have some rain/wind guards around the top of my windows (the picture at left is from the manufacturer's website). They are not the cheap, thin stick-on variety, but a thicker, more sturdy version that slides into the window channels. The purpose for these (aside from the obvious image enhancement bonus) is to be able to crack open the windows during rainy weather and not let any water in. It also allows for the windows to stay cracked open while the car is parked, so as to allow for heat dissipation within the car. True, people already do this with their sunroof - but unfortunately I bought my car without one, so this validated my initial purchase. Also true that people still crack their windows open without these, but I feel safer leaving the windows cracked open with these installed so that the windows still appear closed (safety measure) - and also serves to allow for interior air circulation, and interior protection in case the windows are left open and it starts raining . And like I mentioned before, they are pretty thick, and also install within the window channels, so they are pretty darn secure and won't break off/walk away (the ones on my car still look like they did when I first bought them a few years ago).

Well, the company who makes them are still around - so we purchased a set for the new car. They just came in yesterday, so I installed them after work. Not bad, looks very custom-made, almost OEM quality - and perfectly complements the wind deflector for our sunroof. The picture I included at left is again a sample picture from the manufacturer's website, but you get a good idea of what it looks like...