Poor Toyota. All they wanted to be was the number one automobile manufacturer in the world. They were so close. Good cars, great reputation, worldwide distribution, owners are fans, and the best marketing of any auto manufacturer. The successful launches of the Lexus and Scion lines changed the luxury and first car markets. Nobody was close to Toyota’s momentum.
Now their name is smeared with runaway cars, stuck gas petals and floor mats. Have talked about companies not believing complaints by customers, and over confidence in their product. Complaints are second chances given to you by customers to save the sale. You can look at the Big 3 in the USA ignoring reports by the car rental companies that the Japanese cars were performing better with less maintenance, and they ignored statistics proving them. It was hubris by domestic manufacturers.
Toyota is in a difficult situation. Too many lawsuits by too many opportunistic attorneys looking to make money, and government prosecutors looking to improve their political name by suing Toyota. If you read the previous article I sympathize with Toyota finding intermittent problems with multiple causes. They are difficult to see and harder to analyze than production problems, and a nightmare to resolve.
The San Diego case is strange, very strange. A 61 year old car runs away with him. 94 miles per hour. Police chase him and help slow him down. Makes the national news. Next day we find out he driving a car NOT recalled. It has a brake override system that if he was holding down the brake should have turned off the accelerator. Worse, the “victim” is $700,000 in debt and was about to lose the car along with the other three repossessed. He could be motivated to fake the runaway to make money.
First of all, am not going to assume this was faked. Am going to analyze the situation and ways to investigate this. I am not convinced by investigators who can not make the car do it again. How can you know how to trigger it unless you know all the possible causes and combine them all? Right now that has not been settled.
Would love to see the video if I were investigating. Per Toyota if he is stepping on the brake the acceleration should stop. The police cruiser video should show solid brake lights if he is pushing like he claimed. Were there any highway cameras or news copter pictures of the incident? Did they as for witnesses?
If he was faking, he had to overcome the brake override system that should have turned off the accelerator. There would be evidence of that unless he was a top flight programmer. Most people do not know how to reprogram a car.
First impressions by the police are good evidence. Did they smell the brakes catching up to him? Yes. Did the brake lights stay on the whole time? Maybe not, he was reportedly pumping the brakes until the police had him apply the parking brake and stay on the brakes. That may have finally activated the brake override system. How did the victim act when they stopped? The brakes should have been too hot to touch. The wheels hot too conducting heat away (unless they were aluminum or magnesium. They might conduct heat away too fast, but the hub would be hot.
Physical evidence needs to be checked. They would have had to fade. That may glaze the face of the pads or show other damage on the pads and discs. Experts can tell. The reports are the brakes were worn out.
If the evidence is he let go of the brakes to accelerate, would suspect fraud. If not, Toyota would be well served to assume this is a possible real problem and keep looking for combinations of problems. How likely is a 61 year old to panic when his car acts irrationally. Know a lot of teens through fifty year olds who would panic. My gut feel is this is a real runaway.
Okay, what possible problems are there? Physical, Hardware, Firmware or Software. Physical has been exhausted with petal recall and changing the floor mats. Hardware is what it is. Firmware and Software are really the biggest culprits left. My partner believes it is software. Too much probability with the diversity of runaway cars over so many models and years. Also he is a systems expert unlike any inside the auto industry with too many years of experience to fall for the first good probable answer and would dig deeper.
Toyota would be wise to hire an expert like him, but suspect it would not happen. Mainly for litigation reasons. Toyota is better off with non English speaking help who would be tough to be interviewed on a witness stand. (Especially if the company help was hard to find?). Disclosure rules in the US would eventually flesh this out, but still makes the attorneys’ jobs harder with all the difficulty of translating exactly technical jargon to English. Can’t blame Toyota here, is any country more litigious than the US?
Don’t think Toyota’s problems are over. Cruise control runaways are happening too. Would expect more recalls and finding more causes. Some people are saying a brake override software solution and reprogramming the on/off button to shut off under repeated pushing is all that is needed. I have doubts that covers everything unfortunately. Technology is too complicated and simple solutions often miss part of the problem like the sticking petal and floor mats.
Toyota will recover like Ford did from the Pinto fiasco, and will focus like Ford on making great cars again. May take a few years, but Toyota’s great reputation will return.
Till then I would know how to shift my Toyota into neutral, or hold the start button down for 3 seconds. Yes I would still buy a Toyota before this is resolved, because the odds of it happening are under 0.1% and going down with every improvement.
Drive safe,
Steve
Showing posts with label Solve Real Estate Problem. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Solve Real Estate Problem. Show all posts
March 14, 2010
October 24, 2007
Self Insuring Your Home or Neighborhood
Tonight I get to unpack the car and put the important papers back in my unit. The wind has died down and I am far enough away to be safe from my local Orange County CA fire. My apartment would have likely survived because of location and construction. We do not back up to a canyon nor have woods surrounding us. But the closeness of the disaster and my cousin evacuating in San Diego has me thinking about protecting your home or business. In the western US, we have fires every year ore so.
Your home or business is a big investment. Firemen can get overwhelmed during a big fire. They can’t be everywhere. You don’t want to be one of those heroic people trying to save their property against a 50 foot wall of flames with a garden. Your life is not worth the risk. Evacuate when you are told to!
It would be great buy the right house or pick the right business building. Get a fire proof roof if possible. Tile and metal roofs are best choices. If you have a shake roof, replace it! You can get modern tiles that look like a shake roof.
You want the walls to be Stucco, Cement or Brick. These materials will resist burning best, and should be good long term investments.
View homes have wonderful appeal, and living trees are great shade for summer comfort. I want a home like this too, but fires love to climb hills and travel through treetops. Location will affect your risk.
Most homes burn from the fire getting into the attic. The fire licks the side of the house, and the embers find their way through the vents or eves. Make sure you clear brush, woodpiles, and other fuel away from the house. At least 30 to 100 feet are recommended.
Some experts recommend sealing under the overhangs. I am not sure how to let air circulate and block the embers, but this is worth investigating. Would love to hear from someone how.
Have or install a sprinkler system. Make sure the attic is covered. Water will keep the fire from expanding although I would expect some water damage.
Above is wonderful advice if you are choosing a place, but what if you already own property? So what else can you do? Invest in a fireproof foam system. The fire is nearby and you have to start packing your important papers. Close the windows and doors. Park the car in the driveway with the engine running, get out your hose and ladder and start spraying under the eves, over the walls and windows. Spray trees too close to the house, the tank on the barbecue, and any car or truck to be left behind. Leave the sprayer tool soaking in a bucket of water. Then leave as soon as you can or you are told to.
The firemen will not have to risk their lives to save you home. If the fire comes too fast, your place is still safe.
Find out more by going to the following websites:
Barricade Gel www.barricadegel.com
No Char www.nochar.com
Thermo Gel www.thermogel.com
There is some downside to these products. Your outside walls will probably discolor and the foams can remove oxidized paint. So you may wind up repainting. If the fire isn’t right there, you have to water them to keep them moist and effective. The foams are very slippery, so you have a good chance to fall while applying the foam.
Kits start around $300 and neighborhood associations can protect ten to twelve houses for $2,000 to $3,000. The chemical does age and have to be replaced.
Note: I have no financial interest, nor am receiving no reimbursement for writing this. Just want you to be aware foams are available. I heard about Barricade Gel in Florida a few years ago when visiting family in the Daytona Beach area.
Consider investing in foam to insure yourself. Who wants to lose all those memories inside?
Your home or business is a big investment. Firemen can get overwhelmed during a big fire. They can’t be everywhere. You don’t want to be one of those heroic people trying to save their property against a 50 foot wall of flames with a garden. Your life is not worth the risk. Evacuate when you are told to!
It would be great buy the right house or pick the right business building. Get a fire proof roof if possible. Tile and metal roofs are best choices. If you have a shake roof, replace it! You can get modern tiles that look like a shake roof.
You want the walls to be Stucco, Cement or Brick. These materials will resist burning best, and should be good long term investments.
View homes have wonderful appeal, and living trees are great shade for summer comfort. I want a home like this too, but fires love to climb hills and travel through treetops. Location will affect your risk.
Most homes burn from the fire getting into the attic. The fire licks the side of the house, and the embers find their way through the vents or eves. Make sure you clear brush, woodpiles, and other fuel away from the house. At least 30 to 100 feet are recommended.
Some experts recommend sealing under the overhangs. I am not sure how to let air circulate and block the embers, but this is worth investigating. Would love to hear from someone how.
Have or install a sprinkler system. Make sure the attic is covered. Water will keep the fire from expanding although I would expect some water damage.
Above is wonderful advice if you are choosing a place, but what if you already own property? So what else can you do? Invest in a fireproof foam system. The fire is nearby and you have to start packing your important papers. Close the windows and doors. Park the car in the driveway with the engine running, get out your hose and ladder and start spraying under the eves, over the walls and windows. Spray trees too close to the house, the tank on the barbecue, and any car or truck to be left behind. Leave the sprayer tool soaking in a bucket of water. Then leave as soon as you can or you are told to.
The firemen will not have to risk their lives to save you home. If the fire comes too fast, your place is still safe.
Find out more by going to the following websites:
Barricade Gel www.barricadegel.com
No Char www.nochar.com
Thermo Gel www.thermogel.com
There is some downside to these products. Your outside walls will probably discolor and the foams can remove oxidized paint. So you may wind up repainting. If the fire isn’t right there, you have to water them to keep them moist and effective. The foams are very slippery, so you have a good chance to fall while applying the foam.
Kits start around $300 and neighborhood associations can protect ten to twelve houses for $2,000 to $3,000. The chemical does age and have to be replaced.
Note: I have no financial interest, nor am receiving no reimbursement for writing this. Just want you to be aware foams are available. I heard about Barricade Gel in Florida a few years ago when visiting family in the Daytona Beach area.
Consider investing in foam to insure yourself. Who wants to lose all those memories inside?
May 24, 2007
Secrets to Sell Real Estate Now
It is Memorial Day, and Now is the Prime Selling season for Homes. A friend of mine is flipping an investment house he bought and is fixing up. He needs to finish soon and sell before July. Do you need to sell your home, condo, single family, duplex, vacation home, forclosure, or investment real estate Now? I will disclose the secrets to a fast sale.
Most homes are sold after school is out and before September in most of the country. We will exclude the winter home markets where the fall is the big market like Florida and desert communities.
When you get promotions, new jobs or if your company moves you may have to sell quickly. My advice is based on my experience as a homeowner, an investor, a former agent, and as an appraiser. Have over twenty years experience. I sold my last house in 4 days on the market within $3,000 of my asking price, so I do know how to market a house.
The steps are simple: Price the house right for your market. Get professionals involved. Prepare for buyers. Develop a marketing plan. Deal fairly.
1 - First focus on being realistic. Every house is special, but every house has flaws, neighbors, and competition. To real estate professionals and investors, houses are a commodity and won't generate emotion like when selling your own house. Find out what houses are selling for in your neighborhood, NOT what other homes are listed for. List prices are wish lists. Then find out how long it took to sell the homes that sold. You need to know what is the sales trend for similar homes. Price it below the median to generate buyer traffic. Price it near or at the bottom to sell now!
The general trend in 2007 is prices are falling after the big boom of the last 6 years. Investors and speculators are selling, or only buying bargains. Buyers with borderline credit will not qualify for loans, so there are less buyers.
Why should you ask a low price? Because you don't have time for someone to fall in love with it. You need a buyer now. Agents will only bring buyers to houses priced fairly. Ask too much and no one will see your home. The ideal to get multiple offers so you can pick the best qualified buyer and get close to your price.
Special note to those who owe more than it is worth. Mortgage holders will work with you if you are selling below what you owe. Technically they can make you pay the whole amount, but they do not want to take the foreclosure. If you can sell it for them and get most of their debt they will be thrilled. Don't forget the second or third mortgage holders. They have the most to lose.
2 - You want to sell fast? Get every real estate agent in town to see your place. The odds of your listing agent having a buyer also is low. That is why they want other agents to bring their buyers. Hold agent open houses. Clean up, get out of the way, and they will run through your house in five minutes as they tour all the open house. If an agent wants to see your place quickly, let them in no matter how messy or inconvient. The agent just will run through quickly, ask a couple questions, and bring buyers. Have your agent invite agents for other companies!
Don't consider selling yourself if you are in a hurry. The odds of your advertising beating the Multiple Listing Services (MLS) is low. Great agents will maximize your sale price and do lots of paperwork for you.
Disclose any problems to your agent. They may help remedy them, and you will avoid a messy lawsuit or canceled sale. You can write down an allowance for new carpet or whatever necessary will be included in the sale.
3 -Buyers buy within the first 5 to 10 steps into your home. First impressions are the most important! Beware, lots of buyers will stay in their car unless your house appears ready.
So get the buyers into your house. Key is to have a neat front lawn, fresh paint or washed walls, and some colorful flowers by the front door. Potted plants are a good investment.
Next clean up the junk in your house. Especially the living room and any room you can see from the entrance. Start packing momento, family pictures, knick knacks, books and anything you won't need until you are in your new home. Especially throw away anything you can.
The next thing is how does your house smell? Go out for an errant, and check when you come in. The kitchen is the main culprit. Especially cooking with oil, garlic, onions, or strong spices. Next where do you keep shoes? I ate out, cooked outside on the grill, and still sprayed the house with Lysol or Oust every time I left for work or someone wanted to see my house. Don't forget to pack and remove clutter from the cabinets.
Next focus on the bathrooms and the master bedroom. You have made a good impression, don't destroy it. Pack, throw away, and pack some more. Storage is a good idea, and I found buyers will forgive your garage if it is filled with packed, taped moving boxes. They like the idea you are ready to leave.
4 - Market your house. Now is not the time to be private or discreet. Anyone can find out how much your house is list for or what it sold for. Before the internet, most homes are sold to friends of one of your 20 closest neighbors by them telling family or friends about a house for sale. Tell everyone you know and tell them the price.
Classified ads with prices get 5 to 10 times the response than ads without a price. I don't know why agents don't put the price on the for sale sign instead of making people stop for the flyer. So tell every neighbor a couple street each way with a flyer your house is for sale. Some agents will mail postcards for you.
Next I will remind you how important it is to be nice to agents. They are your friend no matter what a nuisance they seem to be. They bring buyers. Hold a second agent open house. Invite other agencies to visit.
5 - Deal fairly with everyone. People can tell if you are looking for an excuse to stiff the agent his commission, or trick a buyer. If you smell tricky, or desperate you will not do as well. It is best to be honest, disclose fairly, and be a good seller to do business with. Agents make their money by commission, and they will keep buyers away rather than deal with a foolish seller. Especially with so many other homes for sale. In this market your deal may fall through, so you want them motivated to deal with you.
Be reasonable. I was trying to sell another home in Connecticut when I changed jobs in Texas. My agent called me up with an offer below what I wanted. When he told me the price was $3,000 below my asking price, I responded "That is only a couple months mortgage payments", and we countered $1,000 higher to insure the deal went through. I saved money by being reasonable.
Good luck and get to work! Believe it or not this method will get you the most money as well as sell quicker.
Steve
Most homes are sold after school is out and before September in most of the country. We will exclude the winter home markets where the fall is the big market like Florida and desert communities.
When you get promotions, new jobs or if your company moves you may have to sell quickly. My advice is based on my experience as a homeowner, an investor, a former agent, and as an appraiser. Have over twenty years experience. I sold my last house in 4 days on the market within $3,000 of my asking price, so I do know how to market a house.
The steps are simple: Price the house right for your market. Get professionals involved. Prepare for buyers. Develop a marketing plan. Deal fairly.
1 - First focus on being realistic. Every house is special, but every house has flaws, neighbors, and competition. To real estate professionals and investors, houses are a commodity and won't generate emotion like when selling your own house. Find out what houses are selling for in your neighborhood, NOT what other homes are listed for. List prices are wish lists. Then find out how long it took to sell the homes that sold. You need to know what is the sales trend for similar homes. Price it below the median to generate buyer traffic. Price it near or at the bottom to sell now!
The general trend in 2007 is prices are falling after the big boom of the last 6 years. Investors and speculators are selling, or only buying bargains. Buyers with borderline credit will not qualify for loans, so there are less buyers.
Why should you ask a low price? Because you don't have time for someone to fall in love with it. You need a buyer now. Agents will only bring buyers to houses priced fairly. Ask too much and no one will see your home. The ideal to get multiple offers so you can pick the best qualified buyer and get close to your price.
Special note to those who owe more than it is worth. Mortgage holders will work with you if you are selling below what you owe. Technically they can make you pay the whole amount, but they do not want to take the foreclosure. If you can sell it for them and get most of their debt they will be thrilled. Don't forget the second or third mortgage holders. They have the most to lose.
2 - You want to sell fast? Get every real estate agent in town to see your place. The odds of your listing agent having a buyer also is low. That is why they want other agents to bring their buyers. Hold agent open houses. Clean up, get out of the way, and they will run through your house in five minutes as they tour all the open house. If an agent wants to see your place quickly, let them in no matter how messy or inconvient. The agent just will run through quickly, ask a couple questions, and bring buyers. Have your agent invite agents for other companies!
Don't consider selling yourself if you are in a hurry. The odds of your advertising beating the Multiple Listing Services (MLS) is low. Great agents will maximize your sale price and do lots of paperwork for you.
Disclose any problems to your agent. They may help remedy them, and you will avoid a messy lawsuit or canceled sale. You can write down an allowance for new carpet or whatever necessary will be included in the sale.
3 -Buyers buy within the first 5 to 10 steps into your home. First impressions are the most important! Beware, lots of buyers will stay in their car unless your house appears ready.
So get the buyers into your house. Key is to have a neat front lawn, fresh paint or washed walls, and some colorful flowers by the front door. Potted plants are a good investment.
Next clean up the junk in your house. Especially the living room and any room you can see from the entrance. Start packing momento, family pictures, knick knacks, books and anything you won't need until you are in your new home. Especially throw away anything you can.
The next thing is how does your house smell? Go out for an errant, and check when you come in. The kitchen is the main culprit. Especially cooking with oil, garlic, onions, or strong spices. Next where do you keep shoes? I ate out, cooked outside on the grill, and still sprayed the house with Lysol or Oust every time I left for work or someone wanted to see my house. Don't forget to pack and remove clutter from the cabinets.
Next focus on the bathrooms and the master bedroom. You have made a good impression, don't destroy it. Pack, throw away, and pack some more. Storage is a good idea, and I found buyers will forgive your garage if it is filled with packed, taped moving boxes. They like the idea you are ready to leave.
4 - Market your house. Now is not the time to be private or discreet. Anyone can find out how much your house is list for or what it sold for. Before the internet, most homes are sold to friends of one of your 20 closest neighbors by them telling family or friends about a house for sale. Tell everyone you know and tell them the price.
Classified ads with prices get 5 to 10 times the response than ads without a price. I don't know why agents don't put the price on the for sale sign instead of making people stop for the flyer. So tell every neighbor a couple street each way with a flyer your house is for sale. Some agents will mail postcards for you.
Next I will remind you how important it is to be nice to agents. They are your friend no matter what a nuisance they seem to be. They bring buyers. Hold a second agent open house. Invite other agencies to visit.
5 - Deal fairly with everyone. People can tell if you are looking for an excuse to stiff the agent his commission, or trick a buyer. If you smell tricky, or desperate you will not do as well. It is best to be honest, disclose fairly, and be a good seller to do business with. Agents make their money by commission, and they will keep buyers away rather than deal with a foolish seller. Especially with so many other homes for sale. In this market your deal may fall through, so you want them motivated to deal with you.
Be reasonable. I was trying to sell another home in Connecticut when I changed jobs in Texas. My agent called me up with an offer below what I wanted. When he told me the price was $3,000 below my asking price, I responded "That is only a couple months mortgage payments", and we countered $1,000 higher to insure the deal went through. I saved money by being reasonable.
Good luck and get to work! Believe it or not this method will get you the most money as well as sell quicker.
Steve
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3:15 am attack on Bourbon Street, New Orleans this morning. This tragic attack killed 10 and injured ~35 including 2 police officers. Most...
