Ex-Pat Fatigue

bigbird

Gold
May 1, 2005
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I dunno.

Seems to me the "best option" is knowing how to look for, evaluate and buy a car for yourself without third-party assistance.

May be hard for you to understand but there are plenty of folks who don't know how to add a quart of oil to the crankcase. el gorgon certainly seems to know what he is doing as I have yet to read a bad word. There are plenty of times in life it is so much easier to pay some pesos and let someone who is in the know take care of business for you.
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
40,964
936
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CB
he has a ton of diagnostic tools... to go 'behind the curtain'

Not that yours aren't 'built in'...... Cobra Boy !!!!

and 'NO' ... most don't know how to do it
This Car Concierge stuff is big business in the US....
to obviate crooked used car salesmen
Diagnostic tools are plentiful.

Knowledge is free.

Not saying that "concierge" has no merit. But the best consumer is an educated consumer.

Cars are so much better now than they used to be that between a relatively inexpensive plug-in tool, CarFax, a lifetime of experience and the internet one can easily rely on oneself and know what they are buying than to rely on a third party to assess a third party...

The most powerful tool a consumer has is the word "no."
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
40,964
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May be hard for you to understand but there are plenty of folks who don't know how to add a quart of oil to the crankcase.
True. And they tend to be taken advantage of. Repeatedly.
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
4,329
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Bird
Didn’t you have a serious case of ‘fatigue’ once?
To the point where you were leaving permanently?

We talked you off the edge of the cliff.... as I recall

hahaha
Funny now... but you were gone
 

bigbird

Gold
May 1, 2005
7,375
163
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Bird
Didn’t you have a serious case of ‘fatigue’ once?
To the point where you were leaving permanently?

We talked you off the edge of the cliff.... as I recall

hahaha
Funny now... but you were gone

Yes I did, and i took your advice. Everyone has a different tolerance level. Your suggestion was before you reach your individual level hop on a plane and Get Out of Dodge for a short bit. My cap off point is six weeks and I am gone for a week or so. Leaving and going back stateside rejuvenates the mind, body, and soul. I could never, ever stay in la rep dom for a solid year without going stateside. No way Jose.
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
4,329
113
Yessir
I agree.... hit the ‘eject ‘ button when you need to

I do it
Off to NYC tomorrow... new car pickup....

Cue the music
Happy Days Are here Again.... 11th and 51st....

My wife gags at 3 weeks
 

the gorgon

Platinum
Sep 16, 2010
33,997
83
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Yessir
I agree.... hit the ‘eject ‘ button when you need to

I do it
Off to NYC tomorrow... new car pickup....

Cue the music
Happy Days Are here Again.... 11th and 51st....

My wife gags at 3 weeks

safe travels, WW...watch the speeding tickets...
 

Tarheel

Well-known member
Dec 19, 2005
619
197
63
I dunno.

Seems to me the "best option" is knowing how to look for, evaluate and buy a car for yourself without third-party assistance.

I would buy a used car from Gorgon but I sure wouldn't buy anything from you. You are low class trying to hurt his business.
 
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bob saunders

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
32,502
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dr1.com
Exactly, and that is where el gorgon steps in the help.

He obviously offers a service that is appreciated by many, but that doesn't mean that those in the market for a car shouldn't educate themselves on how to find, inspect,....etc a used car. I find my own cars and have a trusted mechanic ( Ing Jose Manual Jimenez) check it out. I actually enjoy looking for a car, and test driving them....etc. Tarheel makes a big assumption.
 
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the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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He obviously offers a service that is appreciated by many, but that doesn't mean that those in the market for a car shouldn't educate themselves on how to find, inspect,....etc a used car. I find my own cars and have a trusted mechanic check it out. I actually enjoy looking for a car, and test driving them....etc.

bob, people come to me for a variety of reasons. a guy who has no mechanical knowledge, and who has been in the DR for 3 weeks, and who does not speak a word of spanish, needs all the help he can get when buying a car. people like you , who are always trying to marginalize the value of my service with your ''buts'' do a disservice to people who want help. bob, can you ''educate'' yourself to tell if the car you plan to buy is having issues with the ABS? how about your ability to tell whether or not the airbags will deploy in an accident? can you teach yourself to do that? can you tell whether or not there are transmission issues? can you hear failing in a CVT tranny? do you know what to listen for? why not? i thought your solution is to educate yourself?

guess what, bob..i have a sophisticated handheld computer, which can tell me which cylinder in your car is misfiring, and even how much it will cost to fix it. my electrical system tester can tell me all i need to know about the battery, starter, and alternator. my amplified stethoscope lets me hear every sound, even leaks in vaccuum lines. and my snake camera goes into nooks and crannies, looking for sand residue, so i can tell if the car was in a flood.

so, bob, are you suggesting that when Janet from Miami moves to Gaspar Hernandez, and wants to buy a car, she should get a rash of tools, learn to use them, learn fluent spanish, build a network of reputable dealers, learn to recognize lemons, and learn to recognize when odometers have been set back'? REALLY?
 

bob saunders

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Jan 1, 2002
32,502
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dr1.com
bob, people come to me for a variety of reasons. a guy who has no mechanical knowledge, and who has been in the DR for 3 weeks, and who does not speak a word of spanish, needs all the help he can get when buying a car. people like you , who are always trying to marginalize the value of my service with your ''buts'' do a disservice to people who want help. bob, can you ''educate'' yourself to tell if the car you plan to buy is having issues with the ABS? how about your ability to tell whether or not the airbags will deploy in an accident? can you teach yourself to do that? can you tell whether or not there are transmission issues? can you hear failing in a CVT tranny? do you know what to listen for? why not? i thought your solution is to educate yourself?

guess what, bob..i have a sophisticated handheld computer, which can tell me which cylinder in your car is misfiring, and even how much it will cost to fix it. my electrical system tester can tell me all i need to know about the battery, starter, and alternator. my amplified stethoscope lets me hear every sound, even leaks in vaccuum lines. and my snake camera goes into nooks and crannies, looking for sand residue, so i can tell if the car was in a flood.

so, bob, are you suggesting that when Janet from Miami moves to Gaspar Hernandez, and wants to buy a car, she should get a rash of tools, learn to use them, learn fluent spanish, build a network of reputable dealers, learn to recognize lemons, and learn to recognize when odometers have been set back'? REALLY?

Perhaps you should reread what I wrote instead trying to pick an argument with me. You are offering a service that is appreciated by those that hire you and you have satisfied customers, good for you.
 

bigbird

Gold
May 1, 2005
7,375
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He obviously offers a service that is appreciated by many, but that doesn't mean that those in the market for a car shouldn't educate themselves on how to find, inspect,....etc a used car. I find my own cars and have a trusted mechanic ( Ing Jose Manual Jimenez) check it out. I actually enjoy looking for a car, and test driving them....etc. Tarheel makes a big assumption.

You're getting me confused bob. You say you use a third party to check out the vehicle you may want to purchase? Well isn't that what others have done when they use el gorgon? Not everyone is interested in getting under the hood and snooping around. A lot just want to turn the key and have it start every time.
 

bob saunders

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Jan 1, 2002
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You're getting me confused bob. You say you use a third party to check out the vehicle you may want to purchase? Well isn't that what others have done when they use el gorgon? Not everyone is interested in getting under the hood and snooping around. A lot just want to turn the key and have it start every time.

Perhaps you have the same reading comprehension problem Gorgon has.
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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Perhaps you have the same reading comprehension problem Gorgon has.

i might have a comprehension problem, but i do not have the one of being a spiteful, vindictive, petty human being, who seeks to sabotage the efforts of others because of personal grievances. just in case you do not realize how ugly this is, you need to sit down with some people who have some class, and have them explain it to you.
 
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the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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Perhaps you should reread what I wrote instead trying to pick an argument with me. You are offering a service that is appreciated by those that hire you and you have satisfied customers, good for you.

i am not picking an argument. you should have sat this one out, because everyone sees what it is about. no recently landed expat is in a position to venture into the car market in the DR. how long do you think it will take a person who has never had to learn about a car to acquire enough knowledge to buy a car? i have built several engines in my time, and sometimes it takes me a long time to figure out a sound i hear in an engine. do you think a guy can wait until he can diagnose random noises to buy a car?
 

Berzin

Banned
Nov 17, 2004
5,898
550
113
A pity that this thread devolved into this. But when The Gorgon gets attacked by a couple of the biggest a-holes on DR1, the mods suddenly forget how to moderate. The bias is nauseating.

And the one who shall remain nameless, if you think he's petty and vindictive on the internet, get a load of how he back stabs people in person.

The angriest, most vindictive people you'll meet in the DR are NOT Dominican. This is just another pathetic example of it. I cannot imagine something more pathologically egregious than messing with another man's hustle for absolutely no reason.

But of course, if anyone dared to attack the other one's business, the offending comments get deleted and warnings handed down with the quickness.

Don't worry, my fanboys. I plan to stay away. But this one time I had to come to the defense of a man that certain people on this forum could never hold a candle to in terms of integrity and friendship. And this no one told me about. I've experienced it personally on many occasions.
 
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