Been a long, long time

It's really been since April that I've posted on this blog??  There have been many more miles traveled, many more things seen, and places visited.  It never gets old.  I know the road stays the same but it seems just a little different with every trip.

The two major highways I travel the most are Interstates 75 and 94, plus the Ohio Turnpike.  Somehow, construction season has come and gone, and already have had to put up with snow/ice.  The fall colors are gone and the bareness of winter awaits.  With that, the new car and truck models have arrived, and it's always interesting to find the differences from last years models.

With the travelling, every now and then I pass by an empty building and lot that I knew was once a dealer I had visited, that had been closed by corporate decree.  Also, once in a while I will find someone who I knew had worked at a dealer that had been similarly closed.  Got to admit, I couldn't have spent a career with that sort of uncertainty, and wonder about those who I don't see.  As one dealer told me just before he closed, "This store had been open for almost 80 years, and employs 120 people.  What the hell are they supposed to do now?"

I don't know, but I still wish them well.

The Roads Taken

Spending time on the road, you can't help thinking about the conditions of the road you're on, and the scenery (or lack of it) of said road.  Some of the favorites are:

US-24 westbound out of Fort Wayne, Indiana.  Good highway with rolling hills and great scenery.  Going to Kokomo is always a pleasant trip.

I-80 through upstate Pennsylvania.  Mountains, curves, tunnels, it has it all.  Spectacular in the fall.

On the other hand, some of the bad ones;

I-75 through Ohio.  Flat and boring.

I-94 eastbound from the Wisconsin line through Chicago.  A parking lot.  Seems to never move.

More to follow as the trips continue.

New title, same old blog.

Since this is my first attempt at any sort of blog, I really don't know how to go about it.  I notice that in the 4 or 5 months I've had this, I've had the grand total of 0 views.  Either the blog can't be found, or no one really cares.  Anyhow, to try to get this read, I have changed the title.  Will it work??  Can't get any worse.

The Roads Not Taken (too often)

The late Charles Kuralt, the one time host of "CBS Sunday Morning" once wrote:  "Thanks to the Interstate Highway system, it is possible for one to travel from coast to coast without actually seeing anything."

Once in a while it's nice to get off of the Interstate system and travel the back roads of America.  Mostly the US-XXX highways of 50 or more years ago.  Some of these roads look just like they did "back in the day."  The Mom and Pop stores and diners, 2 pump gas stations, junkyards by the side of the road, and roadside parks next to rivers and streams.

As spring approaches (and convertible weather beckons,) these roads present a time to reflect, remember, and plan for future return trips.  Makes the job one of the best things going.

It's that time of the month

January and February are usually slow sales months.  Our auto show is in mid-January and I used to think that people would go car shopping during and after a major auto show.  Doesn't happen.  Quite often, someone will come in and ask, "When can I order that [way out concept car]?"

For trades, that usually means 2 or three a week.  Since I do this part time, and there is another employee who is in full time, I might get one trip a week.  Since this has been a mild winter, it hasn't been too bad being at home.

Life keeps repeating itself

A couple days ago, I posted about going in to a dealer and the person you deal with takes out his having a bad day on you.  Happened again yesterday.  I went into this place I had been many times before, and had had some bad experiences with a few times.  While completing paperwork, the manager doing the trade took some of the forms he was supposed to keep, (like the statement of origination - kind of like the title) throws them literately back at me and says, "I don't want this f@#$%^g s#$t."

So, I'm thinking, "I just blogged about jacka**es like this."  I took all the papers back, and told my guy who writes up the trades, "He might need this in the near future, and by the way, we don't need this stuff from him." Long story short, now those forms have to be mailed back to him, they can't sell the car without them.  But all would have been a lot easier for all concerned if he had just taken a little time, and a deep breath.  He may advertise as being "The largest [insert brand here] dealer in [insert city here], but he's just one of many contacts we run across, now he's a blog entry.

Idle Time

There hasn't been a lot going on the past couple weeks.  It usually happens during the cold weather months right after the first of the year.  So, I planned to snowmobile in the upper part of the state.  Problem is, there's no snow.  So, I get to be retired.  Nice for a while, but cabin fever definitely settles in.  Today I made a 460 mile round trip and it was nice to get back on the road again.

So This Guy Walks Into a Car Dealership

After a while, you end up going to a particular dealer multiple times, and you kind of get to know the person who does the trades - usually a manager of some sort.  When you find out that the trader has been replaced, left, gotten fired, whatever, it's kind of like losing someone you considered a friend.

Then there are the "cold calls."  First time in a new city, and as you walk in the door, you're looked at like something the cat dragged in.  Sometimes the dealer is having a really bad day, and takes his frustration out on you.  I had one dealer who (unknowing by me,) wanted the car delivered with a full tank of fuel.  When I didn't have it filled I was told to, "...take that f#$%^g car down the road to the f@#$%^g gas station and fill the f@#$%^g thing up."

At a time like that, there are three courses of action.  One, tell him to fill the f@#$%^g car up himself, and while he's at it, shove it someplace where it won't fit.  Not a good course of action.  Second, go fill the car up and tuck your tail between your legs and take your whipping.  Better course of action, if you have no self respect.  Third, tell the guy, "Tell you what.  I'm going to walk out the door and come back in again.  Let's start this trade all over again."  Works better, and sometimes the guy realizes that it's not your fault.

Most are ok, they know you're only doing an easy job you're not getting paid a lot to do.  Besides, if you tell the guy you have friends in the area, (whether you do or not,) he thinks you might throw some business his way.

Getting Paid

Of course, doing dealer trades is partially about getting paid.  How drivers get paid varies by dealer.  Most pay by the hour, but some pay by the mile, and some use the map circle method. Pros and cons are:

By the mile - Nice if you do multiple trips during the day or long trips. but if you cool your heels between trips waiting for papers or whatever, you aren't getting paid.  Same if you have to wait at another dealer, you sit on your own time.

Map Circle - The dealer takes a map of the area, draws some circles on it, and you get paid for whatever circle you end up going to.  For this to work for the driver, you have to drive like hell to get where you're going and back to make a decent wage.  I once made it to Cleveland and back (the $65 circle) in 6 1/2 hours, and the manager wasn't too happy.  His comment, "I'm paying you $10 an hour for this trip."

Per hour works out best.  The thing to remember is that most of the drivers doing dealer trades are, like me, retired people who are driving for a little extra income and to get out of the house for a while.  Therefore, we're looking for a decent wage, but not looking for doing dealer trades as our primary income.  Driving dealer trades is not recommended for someone looking for a full time job.  Sometimes a couple weeks can go by without any driving.

What, me blog?

I've never been one who thinks what I do is special - like most, I just do it.  In this case, I am a dealer trader.  I take cars from one dealership to another, then bring a different car back.  It's a part time job, it's not difficult, and over the course of a year there are a lot of cars changed, a lot of miles driven, and a lot of different people, places and roads traveled.

Why a blog after doing this for 12 years?  Beats the hell out of me! So since I have no idea how this is going to end up, come on along for the ride.