At the core, most dealers aren’t out to rip you off. But they employ experienced and aggressive salespeople who have a bag of tricks designed to maximize the salesperson’s cut and the dealer’s profit.

Here are ploys that some dealers — even the most scrupulous — may try to run on you when it comes time to buy:

1. The credit cozen: A dealer may say something like, “With your credit score, you won’t qualify for competitive financing rates.” This may be true. However, some dealers will imply your credit is worse than it is so you think you’ll have to pay a higher interest rate. That’s why it’s important to know your credit score before you head to the showroom.

2. The single-transaction strategy: Many people view buying a car as one transaction. It’s not, and dealers know this. It’s really three transactions rolled into one — the new-car price, the trade-in value and the financing. The dealer sees all three as ways to make money. Treat each as a separate transaction, and negotiate each one. If you get a new car for $200 over invoice but receive only $1,000 for a trade-in car that’s worth $2,500, you haven’t done as well as you could.

3. The payment ploy: A dealer might say, “We can get you into this car for only $389 a month.” Probably true, but how? In some cases, the dealer may have factored in a large down payment or stretched the term of the loan to 60 or 72 months. Focus on the price of the car rather than the monthly payment. Never answer the question, “How much can you pay each month?” Stick to saying, “I can afford to pay X dollars for the car.”

4. The sticker shenanigan: The vehicle price listed on the window is what’s known as the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, or MSRP. Who cares? You want to know the invoice price — the amount the dealer paid for it. Working from the invoice up is much easier than trying to cut from the MSRP. You should also find out what cars actually are selling for after taking into account any consumer and dealer incentives. Of course, some really hot cars go for sticker price and even above. Be patient and wait: The prices will fall as demand slackens. And three years later, you’ll be selling or trading a car for the same money as the early buyers who may have paid thousands more initially.

5. The holdback hustle: Manufacturers often give cash incentives — sometimes called holdbacks — to their dealers to encourage them to move slow-selling models. This typically isn’t mentioned in advertisements. You’ll want to search for holdbacks or other factory-to-dealer incentives available for the car you’re considering. While it’s not a given that the dealer will apply any of these funds to the car you like, it doesn’t hurt to ask.

6. The financing four-flush: Some dealers have been known to call customers days or even weeks after they signed a purchase agreement to tell them that the financing fell through. It’s a crock. The dealer can know if you qualify for financing almost instantly. The goal of the later call? To sign you up for a loan with a higher interest rate because, according to them, they just found out you didn’t qualify for the lower rate. Never leave the showroom without signed contracts that spell out every detail and with every blank filled in. If you’ve got that, they can’t retreat on the financing.

7. The insurance illusion: Some dealers may try hard to get you to purchase an insurance policy when you’re buying your car. One type, gap insurance, covers the difference between what the car is worth and the amount you still owe on it. Say the car is worth $10,000 but you still owe $12,000. If your car is a total loss, a gap insurance policy will cover that $2,000 difference. But don’t automatically agree to it. Some insurers include the benefits of gap insurance in their regular comprehensive automobile coverage, so check there first. Also, gap insurance is generally quite inexpensive when purchased from your regular car insurance company rather than a dealer. Another favorite, credit life insurance, will pay the balance of your loan if you die before you’ve been able to repay it. These policies may or may not make sense for you, but in most cases you should decline all such offers. If these policies interest you, you’ll want to understand what you’re purchasing and have the opportunity to decline it and shop around for better prices. The mark-up on these policies at the dealership can be enormous, in part because the insurance companies that sell the policies to the dealerships offer them huge incentives — everything from cash to first-class trips — to push the policies.

8. The rate razzle-dazzle: It certainly sounds tempting — zero percent interest to finance a new car. However, this deal may not be the best one for your pocketbook. For starters, most financing incentives are for shorter terms, and you need a stellar credit record. With very short-term loans, such as 24 or 36 months, payments on even a moderately priced car can be sky-high. In addition, you may be better off finding your own financing and then taking the dealer rebate, if one is offered. Say you’re looking at a $20,000 car and will get $4,000 for your trade-in. You can choose between zero percent financing or financing at 3.49 percent with a $2,000 rebate. The term of the loan is 36 months. Over the course of the loan, you’ll come out ahead by more than $1,200 if you take the rebate and the 3.49 percent financing. Use our calculator to compute the actual dollars over the term of the loan to figure out what deal suits you best.

9. The rollover ruse: Often, it’s tempting to trade up to a more expensive car even before you’ve finished paying off the car you’re currently driving. One way that some car buyers do this is by rolling over the remaining payments on their current car into a new car loan or lease. While this isn’t illegal, it is risky. Why? You’ll end up owing more on the second car than it’s worth. In the parlance of the automobile world, you’ll be “upside down” on the vehicle. If it’s totaled in an accident or if you decide down the road to trade it in, you’ll end up writing out a big check to cover the remaining amount of the loan. Rule of thumb: Don’t roll over an old car loan into a new one.

10. The long-term trick: There’s nothing illegal or even deceptive about dealers offering loan periods extending out six or seven years. After all, many cars last longer than they used to, and longer loan terms mean your monthly payments are lower. Still, it’s not optimal. You’re likely to continually owe more on your car than it’s worth because your car is depreciating faster than you’re paying it off. If you’re considering a long loan period, you probably should scale back to a less expensive car better suited to your budget.

11. The balloon bamboozle:Similarly, some dealers will encourage you to purchase a car for unrealistically low monthly payments now but with a much larger balloon payment at the end of the loan period. In a few cases, this can be a legitimate way to finance a car. For instance, you may have just graduated and can realistically assume that your income will rise by the time the balloon payment comes due. But be wary. That big payment could hit you when you’re least able to pay it.

[Source: By Bankrate.com]

Rat out a tax cheat, collect a reward

If you knew coworkers, former bosses or exes who cheated on their taxes, would you turn them in? The Internal Revenue Service is hoping your greed will make you turn people in no different then the Feds.

As tax season nears, we all want to get as much money back from the IRS as possible. And while taking advantage of this year’s new tax breaks will put some extra money in your pocket, snitching on a tax cheat could make you richer but remember no one likes a snitch.

cnnmoney.com

By Blake Ellis, staff reporter

“In a down economy, the temptation to cheat on taxes is much stronger because people are in more desperate situations more often,” said Bill Raabe, a tax expert at Ohio State University’s business school.

More people may be just as desperate to turn in a business, rat out an ex-spouse or report a colleague to collect a reward.

Small-time crooks: The IRS’s informant program has been around for more than 140 years. If you suspect a person is committing tax fraud and report it, you could receive up to 15% of the amount that has been underpaid, with a maximum award of $10 million.

Because there is no minimum requirement for the amount in question, anyone can file a report in hopes of making an extra buck off of a cheating boyfriend or obnoxious neighbor.

To weed out the bogus reports from bitter ex-husbands and disgruntled employees, the IRS requires informants to fill out a detailed form and provide intimate information about the tax evader, including the person’s social security number, address and date of birth.

Big cheaters: In 2006, the IRS really started cracking down on big time cheaters and introduced a new whistle-blower program, in which informants are paid a minimum of 15% and a maximum of 30% of the amount owed.

But there’s a catch: In order to collect a reward, the taxes, penalties and interest in dispute must add up to at least $2 million. And if the suspected tax evader is an individual, his or her annual gross income must exceed $200,000.

So far, the new incentives have been effective. The IRS has received tips from about 476 informants identifying 1,246 taxpayers in fiscal year 2008, the first full year the program was implemented.

SOURCE:

cnnmoney.com

By Blake Ellis, staff reporter

March 3, 2010: 3:57 PM ET

People line up at job fair for convicted felons

More than 3,000 people turned out in downtown Houston, Texas, Wednesday for a job fair designed for convicted felons.

Organizers of the Road to Re-entry Employment Fair, created to help those with criminal records find work and reintegrate into society, had expected a few hundred job people. The line of job seekers, which ran for a few blocks and tied up traffic, as reported by CNN affiliate KHOU, took the planners by surprise.

“These were not individuals trying to get concert tickets or a free dinner,” said Jarvis Johnson, a Houston City Council member who helped sponsor the inaugural event. “They were individuals who were waiting in line because they want to be productive members of society.”

Lavell Byrd was just one of the people who came out in search of work. He told KHOU that he hadn’t had a full-time position since December.

“I’m an ex-con, and that’s the main thing that’s holding me back,” Byrd said to KHOU. “It’s a very, very, very hard thing that people still look at what you did in the past and not what you can do in the future.”

Giving people like Byrd a chance to succeed and be a productive part of the work force is in the interest of all of us, said council member Johnson. If ex-criminals can’t find jobs, they’re more likely to land back in prison, he said.

“They made a mistake, but they’ve paid their debt to society,” he said. “At the end of the day, we are all going to pay if we don’t open the doors of opportunity — whether we become the victims [of future crimes] or we have to use our tax dollars to imprison them.”

And according to the Road to Re-Entry Web site, there are incentives in place to make hiring ex-offenders more appealing to employers. For one, the Federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit gives tax credits to those who open their doors to those with criminal records.

Only about 35 to 40 positions were available at Wednesday’s job fair, said Jaa St. Julien of St. Julien Communications Group, a marketing and public relations firm that was one of the coordinating organizations.

One of the vendors offering positions was Certified Traffic & Flagger Solutions of Texas. Don Jones, the president and general manager, told KHOU “I’m a second-chance company. I believe that anybody, once they’ve been incarcerated … we need to give them a second chance.”

St. Julien said the overwhelming turnout of job seekers illustrated the need for more employers to step up. He also emphasized that background information on prospective employees is readily available, employers can be selective and that, as his experience shows, ex-felons — whom he described as “very hungry” — can be great hires.

He has worked closely with programs in Houston that provide job training and transitional support for convicted felons. He said graduates of the Professional Sales Institute of Houston have gone on to be some of the top salesmen in their companies.

After Wednesday’s success, organizers said they are already planning a follow-up.

SOURCE:

By Jessica Ravitz, CNN.COM

New state law reduces drug penalties in school zones

A new bill signed into law by Governor Jon Corzine last week rolls back mandatory minimum sentences for some drug offenders caught within school and park zones. While the law has been praised by groups that claim the old law had a disproportionate effect on minorities, some local law enforcement officials are concerned whether it sends the wrong message.

The bill was co-sponsored by Englewood Assemblyman Gordon M. Johnson and Trenton Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman. Prior to the passage of the new legislation, anyone within 1,000 feet of a school or within 500 feet of a library or park caught either distributing drugs or in possession of drugs with the intent to distribute was sentenced to three years in prison without chance of parole.

The new law allows judges to waive the minimum prison term or parole ineligibility depending on the circumstances of the case. Judges can take into consideration the defendant’s prior criminal record, how far away from the school the offense took place, whether school was in session at the time and whether minors were present at the scene of the offense or were reasonably likely to be exposed to drug-related activity.

Defenders of the bill have argued that the old law had a disproportionately large effect on blacks and Hispanics because cities and other densely populated areas become almost entirely covered by school zones.

“Our insistence on mandatory minimums combined with the disparate geographic distribution of Drug-Free School Zones has created a situation in which 96 percent of the individuals imprisoned for dealing drugs within the zones are black or Hispanic,” said Johnson, who was Bergen County Undersheriff from 1999 to 2005. “When a policy so disproportionately affects a single group, we must take corrective action.”

“The mandatory minimum sentencing the zones require has effectively created two different sentences for the same crime, depending on where an individual lives,” said Coleman. “This is geographic discrimination at its most basic.”

However, the law doesn’t sit well with local police officers who believe it’s a step in the wrong legislative direction.

Chief Larry Minda of the East Rutherford Police Department said that he has faith that local judges will continue to sentence drug offenders appropriately and that giving judges greater leeway won’t necessarily translate into greater leniency for drug dealers. Nevertheless, he said that between laws like this and New Jersey’s recent legalization of medical marijuana, he is concerned that the appearance will be one of a general laxness towards drug laws.

“My concern is what kind of mixed message this could send out,” said Minda. “I certainly think it could be interpreted [as greater leniency] by people who lack respect for the law.”

“I think it’s a big step backwards from where we were headed,” said John Thompson, Rutherford’s civilian police director. “Instead of being tough on drugs we’re going in the other direction.” Thompson particularly noted a provision in the law that will allow inmates currently serving prison time to appeal their sentences on the basis of the change in the law.

“That’s a kick [to police],” he said.

However, representatives of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, a national non-profit organization that works to oppose mandatory minimum sentences at both the federal and the state level, praised the state’s decision, saying that its previous statutes did little to curb drug crimes.

“Mandatory minimums in New Jersey have filled our prisons with drug addicts instead of drug kingpins, caused the erosion of faith in the fairness of the criminal justice system because of severe racial disparities, and wasted millions without protecting public safety,” said FAMM’s director of state legislative affairs, Deborah Fleischaker.

Statewide, 3,622 people were convicted of selling drugs within school zones in 2008. Under the new law, many will get the chance to have their sentences reviewed and possibly lessened.

The study, conducted on behalf of the Federal Commission for Children and Youth, interviewed 1,480 people aged 10 to 20.

It showed more 12 to 14-year-olds were having sex, in comparison with the 1990s.

The Hotshot condoms, which cost  £4.70 (about $6.00) for a packet of six, have been created by Lamprecht AG, a leading condom manufacturer in Switzerland.

A standard condom has a diameter of 2ins (5.2cm) in comparison with the Hotshot’s diameter of 1.7ins (4.5cm). Both are the same length – 7.4ins (19cm).

On a side note: this may be good news for some grown men who are smaller than average.

Most kids want and even need a computer of some sort. A few companies on EBAY are selling “generic” net books for about $100 including shipping. We’ve been told that they work well and are perfect as a child’s first computer. The hard drive is only 2GB but you can use a USB external hard drive for extra storage. The mini netbook may be a little too slow for an adult user but its just cheap enough to give to your child without having to worry about losing money if they break or lose it. They can learn to use the net, email and play games.

Know What Sex Offenders Are Around You and Your Children!

Although technology and information is available at your fingertips…many of us don’t use it. Which is unfortunate when you think about the many “things” that happen that may have been prevented had you done your due diligence. Its a joke around my house that my son can’t go on a play date at a class mates home until I do a background check on the other kid’s parents. People make light of my paranoia but guess what? I am not playing.  There is no excuse for not keeping your children safe when the information is at your fingertips. If your child’s babysitter, little league or friends parent is a sex offender there is NO REASON you should not know this before they start spending time around your child.

This is not to say this will keep your child 100 percent safe but it is a precaution.  There is an IPHONE app that costs .99cents that can The app allows you to see a list of offenders based on your current location (using the iPhone’s location services), any contact’s address, or it allows you to manually enter an address. The app then scours the database and lists the sexual offenders based on their proximity to the location you gave. You can click on any of these names to get a picture of the person, their information like date of birth, height, weight, and a picture. And you can also see the specific sexual crime they were charged with.

Modified by Intercar Modena – a company that offers funerial conversions of everything from Ssanyong Rextons to BMW sidecar motorcycles.

Can The Rap Game Be Revived?

Words by: Industry Veteran Wendy Day (www.WendyDay.com)

When Don Diva called and asked me to write about the changes I’ve seen over the last 10 years, I started writing this before I even got off the phone.  It’s easy to write about something you live and are passionate about.  In fact, it almost wrote itself.  I’ve been in the music industry for almost 20 years now (March 2010 marks the beginning of my 19th year) and there are very few people left who started back when I did or who’ve been in it as long as I have.  I chalk that up to the continual changes and to insanity-ya gotta be a little nuts to stay in this industry any length of time. Especially the folks like me who do this for the love, and not solely for the money!

Since The Dawn Of Hip-Hop

Before I talk about the changes over the past decade, there are two changes that have occurred over the past two decades that I need to mention first: the music and the industry people.  The music went from being an art form in the 80s and 90s, to being a business.  When Hip Hop began in the late 70s and early 80s in the Bronx, it was art.  Artists made music to express themselves, tell stories, and entertain fans.  And although artists today also do the same thing, the motivation has changed drastically.  Artists rarely make music today solely to entertain fans, express themselves, or tell stories.  Almost all well-known artists try to make music that is marketable, fits a radio format, and will sell to the masses thereby bringing revenue and income to the artist.  It went from being an artform to big business.  Many years ago Chuck D said “Rap is the CNN of the Ghetto.”   Today, it’s the new dope game-everyone is trying to hit a lick and make a quick buck in the music industry, it seems.

This change in the music (from art to commerce) also brought about a change in the people working in the music industry.  The industry originally went from people outside of the artists’ community pimping them to people inside their community pimping them.  At one time, the folks coming into the music industry to work were people who loved the musical art form, lived it, and wanted to be surrounded by it.  Qualified workers were attracted into the fray.  This changed in the 90s, bringing in people who saw the music industry as a “come up.”  It became an industry with a low barrier to entry (meaning you didn’t need any special training or knowledge to work in the music industry) and where anyone could believably proclaim themselves a specialist or authority within any area of the industry (marketing, promotions, etc).  Access replaced aptitude.  It went from being fun to being the cut throat, over crowded, greed driven business that it is today.

Spreading The Wealth

In the 90s, I watched (and helped) the music industry shift from being centered in NY to giving access to many other areas of the country (L.A., the Bay Area, Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, Detroit, Atlanta, etc).  The music went from being lyrically motivated (artists used to HAVE to have, and prove, their skills) to being motivated by sales (measurement of success was whether an artist could sell Platinum as opposed to lyrical skill).  It became a multi-billion dollar business by its height in the early 2000s.

That geographic change also changed the discovery of artists and distribution of music from national through the Major Labels, to regional through independent labels.  This is when Rap-A-Lot, Cash Money Records, No Limit Records, Swisha House, etc, sprung up and began to make money and gain fame.  Even in NY and L.A., the major labels began to sign production companies like Bad Boy and Death Row to focus on urban music.  As long as they brought in more money than they spent, and let the Majors continue to own all the masters, it was all good.  Even when wars broke out.

Change Gon’ Come

And then things began to change in the past decade, and the change happened pretty quickly.  The internet came along, increased in popularity, and by the height of rap music sales, the labels were complaining about all of the free downloading and swapping of the music through outside web based companies like Limewire, Kaaza, and Napster.  This also affected software companies and the film industry, but not like it impacted the music industry since what was being “stolen” was only 3 or 4 minutes in length per song…by the millions.  As bandwidth got wider in the internet world, the problem increased due to the ease of downloading.  Instead of labels embracing downloading and figuring out how to monetize it, they fought it.  Unsuccessfully.  Fans were happy to take songs for free because it was common knowledge that their favorite artists weren’t being properly compensated for it anyway.

Read the complete article in Don Diva’s 10th Anniversary Issue #40

http://dondivamag.com/issue40.html Print Edition

http://www.dondivamag.com/dig_issue40.html Digital Edition (read online now)