As one who had limited knowledge about Caterpillar products, I always felt that it would be the ultimate machine to own if I could ever afford one. Anyone who spoke of CAT, spoke highly of the reliability and endurance. Plus, the all raved about the company itself. About two years ago, an opportunity arose to obtain a 2007 CAT 242B skid steer. It was more powerful than I needed, had a cabin, heat and a/c. Sadly, the prior owner was behind on his payments and was about to get hit with a serious mark on his credit for a repo. Long story short, I took over the payments and the burden was no longer his. The machine had about 230 hours on it, so it was virtually brand new. If you’ve ever driven one, you understand just how handy and powerful these machines are.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. To-date, the machine had been flawless. It was always checked, lubed and maintained prior to use, so when the oil light began to flicker, my first thoughts were that it must be a faulty switch. Having seen a few engine failures due to ignoring the so-called “idiot-light”, I shut it down immediately and began looking for the root of the problem. Oil was full and only had 50 hours on it. Filter was new, but replacing it just in case was a good measure. No good. Pulled the oil pressure sending switch, tested with an ohm-meter and it was fine. Not looking too good at this moment. Then I plumbed in a mechanical oil pressure gauge. 0psi. Uh, oh…

Not one to take any chances, I took another gauge out of a known-working car and checked it back-to-back. Nothing. Zero psi. Panic sets in as this cannot be a cheap job, yet I’ve done nothing but take excellent care of the machine. At this point, I call a friend who is a heavy-equipment guy who has worked on CAT’s for 20 years and happens to work at large dealership in the East. He asks for the machine’s id # and before you know it, there are two potential issues that point at this very problem. One bulletin(similar to a recall notice for cars) says that the oil pump gear dowels shear off causing a loss of pressure and engine failure. The other says that the oil pump pickup can come off causing the aforementioned issues. Well, at least there is something to go on, but the machine is three years out of warranty. This is when the value of purchasing from Caterpillar became perfectly clear.

A call to the local CAT dealer starts with the usual description of symptoms but ends very differently. This time, the rep. says that CAT is very good about issues like this, so it’s best to take it apart, ascertain the real issue, then talk to the company. You’re not going to believe this, but they replaced the entire engine and the receipt says “Caterpillar Goodwill 100%”. They paid for a reman engine which is $8k, the installation and everything but the incidentals. Are you kidding me? Someone actually stands behind their product to this extent and took care of a machine that was babied but three years out of warranty. This is the kind of company I want to deal with and will literally forever. This kind of goodwill is unheard of in any industry and I am thankful for the backing of CAT and all involved in the transaction.

What will my next machine be? A Caterpillar. Without question, a Caterpillar and it will be from the dealer that helped bridge the gap and turn a bad situation into a great experience.

A word of warning folks, read the fine print when you get one of these notices. I took a few moments to read AMEX’s most recent update- which of course is meant to be better for me – but in reality only backs us into a corner further. The most poignant piece of this update in terms was the DEFAULT INTEREST RATE which says that if you have one late payment- just one – they can default my interest rate to 27.24% (prime plus 23.99%) for a MINIMUM of Six MONTHS!!!! At their sole discretion of course. The same default rate applies if you bounce a check as well. They are definitely not on your side like Nationwide…

The solution: enroll in their automated payment system which will take the minimum payment from your checking account automatically thereby avoiding the issue of late payments altogether. Be sure to add over-draft to that checking account because bouncing a check will result in the same 27% interest rate being applied for six months. I’ve dealt with AMEX on the phone and let me tell you, they are not accustomed to working with people and any company that would bang you for a minimum of six months because of one late payment might need to be avoided…. if the were the only one. Sadly, this is common.

Might sound like they are here to help in the advertisements, but trust that if you are having trouble, they’re not going to bail you out. It’s just not in the business model. During the economic crash we saw in 2008, I received what could only be called a “margin call” from AMEX. Here’s how the conversation went:

AMEX: Good afternoon. This is AMEX. We need you to make a payment today.
Me: The bill isn’t due until the 15th and I am current.
AMEX: How much of a payment can you make today?
Me: Did you hear me? The bill is not due.
AMEX: How much of a payment can you make today?

They never faltered from this same line. I was both pissed off and disgusted at the same time. Their strong-arm tactic wasn’t for the weak-willed and I’m sure they made thousands of calls that week. What I didn’t realize was that their fiscal quarter was ending and it was an attempt to shore up their cash position. Bet it worked, but it made me vary wary. A word to the wise: be ready to make a payment at any time if AMEX is your main source of credit.

Pay your bill on-time, set up auto-draft to avoid late payments and have enough to cover this payment at all times!

Recently visited Toronto and had a last minute thought the night before boarding the plane: do I need a different plan to use the iphone or my ipad in Canada? Picked up the phone and dialed 611. Guess what the answer was? Of course you do, Sir. Standard international rates are $.79 per minute, but if you pay $4.99 for the month, we’ll reduce it to $.59 per minute. Chances were very good I would exceed 25 minutes usage during the three days and that would justify the fee. The next question: “what about text messages?”. They are 50 cents each but paying $10 for the month will get you 50! And data usage? That’s separate! No way!! Yes, Sir, 50 megs of data will run you $59.99 for the month, but if you don’t keep it for the full month, it will be pro-rated. Great, so every use of this phone is going to be ridiculously expensive.

But wait, it got better… Just after crossing the border, a text message came through stating it would be $15.28 per megabyte of data transfer. Hold on a minute! A 2meg picture of the Canadian border would cost $30 to send? Ridiculous. To say I am displeased with our good friends at ATT would be an understatement.

What this made me realize while being in Canada without my usual tools is that we are far too dependent on this damn iphone. It’s a real dependency and something should be done about it. I couldn’t check email, no looking at google maps to see where I was, no checking facebook, no text messaging just for the hell of it with a picture of my smiling face. Every addiction has a price and this one’s not so bad…

Test drove several new cars recently, including: the 2007 Nissan Murano, 2007 Honda Pilot and the 2007 Subaru B9 Tribeca. Of the group, the Subaru was my favorite, but this car wasn’t for me…. So, after several test drives, we settled on the Murano. The Pilot was the least pleasant of the group and rode the most like a truck. It also felt a bit dated compared with the two competitors and the styling was the least appealing. The B9 was very well thought out and made the interior of the other two look spartan. All had similar warranties and a few thousand separated the B9 and the Murano. After driving the Murano, the decision was made. The acceleration was beautiful and it hugged the ground like a go-cart. Braking was excellent and driving position/visibility was fantastic. Enough about the cars, let’s make a deal. This is where the fun began….

The first dealer we spoke with seemed like a very nice guy and was quite personable. We discussed the parameters of a purchase, but the deal wasn’t great. Then we discussed the lease deal I had seen in the paper that morning. The specifics were 39 months for $329 per month with $2300 at signing, 12,000 miles included. He proceeds to tell us that this is the deal for a Murano S, not the Murano SL which we had liked so much. I couldn’t remember this detail and asked what the price was for the one we wanted with 15,000 miles. Guess what happened then….? The answer- $429 per month with $5000 down. “Go to hell” was my first reaction.  He then starts with the manager bit where he has to talk to him and see what he can do. I hate this shit and say “get him to come out of the ivory tower and we’ll have a deal or we won’t, but there won’t be any games”.  He comes back a few minutes later with $390 per month, same down. I say “that’s not gonna work”. With that he continaully reassures me that the manager is 100% straight up and doesn’t play games. He tries to hold us there for some more time, but now I’m pretty upset at the games, so we go home, look up the offer I saw in the paper and call him back to say that your manager was incorrect, the deal is for the SL. He says that the manager made a mistake and quoted full retail and that the deal on the board was for an offer that expired. Come’ se dice… You’re full of shit! 

With that, we call another dealer who has the color we want and a better package who quotes us the price in the paper, plus a few bucks for 15k per year. No additional down! So, we go in and lease the truck and this part of the deal is painless. The finance guy reminded me of a guy from my childhood whom I detested, but he did a fine job. This Let me preface this by saying that the salesman was great. No-nonsense, right to the point.

Ok, back to the story… One of the options we want is Sirius radio. The car came with XM prewired and they say no problem, we’ll get it done for a few hundred bucks. We set an appointment, drop the car off and when my wife returns, guess what’s in the car?? XM, not Sirius. The service manager, George, tells her that Sirius isn’t available in the Murano and follows it up by lying about what we ordered. Well, “that’s not gonna fly”. I get the phone call… “they put the wrong radio in, told me it’s not available, blah, blah, blah. Well, by the time I reach the dealership, they are offering free tanks of gas, free rental car and will have it in before you know it. They wouldn’t even let me speak to George… The Supervisor did a great job intervening for it was going to get ugly. Having everything in writing made all the difference in the world. As the saying goes, what you don’t have in writing, means nothing.

Lessons:  a) know your product before going in and what you should expect to pay. This way, if they try to pull the wool over your eyes, it will be glaring and they won’t get away with it. b) hold people accountable. If they made a mistake, they should pay for your inconvenience and make the situation right. If they don’t, demand a refund on the vehicle and take your business elsewhere. c) How can you avoid this malarkey? Visit one of the best sites around: CarsDirect.com. You can research new cars, price options and even buy the car right there if you don’t want to deal with the crap above… I will on my next car for certain. Always an adventure!

There are many facets to buying a house. I am not a professional home buyer, nor do I pretend to be. Back in 1999, we decided to purchase a new home, so, in good faith, we contacted the agent who sold us our prior home and said we’d like his assistance finding a new home. He immediately pushed for the listing on the current house and since he was so helpful during the purchase of it, we had no problem with that. We’ll call him Jim, because that’s his real first name! After a few questions, Jim put together a list of properties to see. All of them were just above our range and nice enough homes. None really fit our needs. One had a yard that was entirely a pool, another had three baths that needed to be redone and we just finished a year of work on the existing house. In short, we were in no mood to rip out all of the bathrooms. This house however, had 4 fireplaces in the basement. Something I had never seen before and three years later had doubled in price. Should have bought it.. but that’s not the lesson here.

 The lesson begins with the next house. It’s a beautiful Tudor owned by a doctor and is out of our range. When I say beautiful, I mean old-world beautiful, with redone everything. We go into the house and my wife just about passes out. Talk about the lack of a poker face..  :0) . They’re not ready to move and an open house is scheduled for the following weekend. We love the house, so we call the agent and tell him we’d like to make an offer. We meet at his office and sign a binder and provide the customary good faith check.  We are to meet at the house later that evening and the agent is to present the offer- this is his duty.

Fast forward a few hours… Jim meets us at the house and we begin discussing the offer and really hit it off with the owners. They agree to the price and didn’t really want an open house anyway, so this saves them strangers walking through their house. Here’s where the fun begins. Jim states, “ok, you have a verbal binder”. Well boys and girls, there is no such thing as a verbal binder in the sale of real property and I state this to the owner and Jim. The owner looks to Jim and believe-it-or-not lies stating this is incorrect. I inform him of the law classes I have taken and bet him an obscene amount of money that he is lying. He says he left the binder at the office along with our check. I say “go get it or pull out another one and I’ll give cash with it”.  Jim causes a scene, then calls an assistant at the office and tells her to bring over another one. We fill it out and they sign along with $100 in cash. We leave the house feeling uneasy because the greedy agent is pushing for the open house the following weekend. ALWAYS FOLLOW YOUR GUT INSTINCT. IF YOU FEEL UNEASY ABOUT SOMETHING, ACT ON IT.

You can probably guess what happens next. We get a call after the open house with some bad news…. There have been 4 full price offers and two over full price- all cash. The owner of the house has been persuaded by the agent (and the extra cash) to terminate our binder- showing a great deal of bad faith- and take one of the higher amounts. I threaten to sue them both and call my attorney. We wanted the house and were approved for the mortgage and ready to set a closing date before the damn open house even happened. I found out later that once it went to contract, backing out would be much harder for them. Then they question our ability to purchase the house and this was at the beginning of the internet boom and we certainly had the ability to purchase it. I am livid to say the least. They say that karma has a way of working things out and the owner calls a few days later to state that the deal fell through and that he wants us to have the house. We are relieved to say the least. Given the fact that Jim had the listings for both houses, we were in no way going to let him keep our listing after pulling this crap. This is where it gets really ugly. Jim states that if we don’t allow him to keep the listing on our house, he will kill the other deal. One call to my attorney and that was put down fast. Being new to this kind of crap, I wasn’t going to take any chances and paid for the big dogs to take care of him. The entire conversation was relayed to the owner of the new house in writing and he assured us that would not happen. He wanted us to have the house. We got the house, but not without losing some sleep and a few bouts of high blood pressure.

The lessons: there is no such thing as a verbal binder on real property in NY; do your homework before buying a house- have all of your finances in order so that you are assured that when you make an offer you can close; if you feel uncomfortable with your agent, get a new one! Seven years later, it still feels like yesterday and I can see his smug face telling me I have a verbal binder. Karma got him too as the agency he owned failed… Funny how things work.

Over time, we all learn a number of things the hard way. Many are worth passing on and I have decided to begin posting them as they arise or I recall them.