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Beamer, Bug, or Blue Book?

Blue Book

1 votes

Beamer

3 votes

Herbie the Love Bug

2 votes

Edgy MD Apr 19 2021 08:01 AM

My friend is an architect and she posed me this conundrum. It seems, back about 2007 her friend, a young architect herself at the time, was doing some work at the Walt Disney Family Museum. Late one night, she is responsibly passing through an intersection, coming to a full stop before proceeding, when BAM!! she gets t-boned. She's in a Ford Taurus wagon, and if you can say nothing else about that car, it could take a hit. She was shaken up, but upon exiting, she realized her pieces were all in place. The car was a total job. She and her friends had taken to calling it "Jesus," because it had a fish logo on the bumper from a previous owner. Blasphemy is funny! Surveying the damage, she soon realized that the older lady who had plowed into her was ... Diane Disney! While a minority shareholder in the massive conglomerate that her father and uncle built, she was a co-founder of the museum for which the young woman worked. While anyone else in town would see getting slammed by Diane Disney as their ship coming in, she made a mental calculus that it was better not to play hardball with your boss. Especially a boss that probably employed an army of lawyers. So she was motivated to accept a quick settlement. She was offered: (1) Blue Book value on totaled Taurus wagon, (2) a BMW that the family had lying around (if they say it's in good condition, you're going to have to take their word for it), (3) Diane's personal Herbie the Love Bug. You have to make your decision on face value. What do you do? [FIMG=250]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/tuC3-ls0LF_j5-1pMefk-I59VHLmkNgCsf-C3n51LT7uJ0UlPbwslMbW448rNUi3kW9biTvMJ0YqenPaTUSmor7uABHWeCLq [/FIMG] [FIMG=250]https://media.ed.edmunds-media.com/for-sale/f8-wbabs33492pg84351/img-1-600x400.jpg[/FIMG] [FIMG=250]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9b/51/94/9b5194d396f335c2c471bcea9e3d9c52.jpg[/FIMG]

Willets Point Apr 19 2021 08:19 AM Re: Beamer, Bug, or Blue Book?

Definitely not the Blue Book. Take one of the other cars depending on how whimsical you are.

Edgy MD Apr 19 2021 08:26 AM Re: Beamer, Bug, or Blue Book?

She went with the the Blue Book, calculating (she says) if you're a one-car person, that you can't commute in a collectable celebrity Beetle, and she didn't have a chance to inspect the Beamer. I suspect she was afraid to take anything excessive the boss lady, because I strongly suspect could easily flip either B or C for more than the Taurus was worth. e-bay, man. I don't know which production of Herbie Ms. Disney's artifact was from. That should certainly be a factor in the calculus. A Buddy Hackett association is no small thing.

Lefty Specialist Apr 19 2021 11:06 AM Re: Beamer, Bug, or Blue Book?

Well, that Herbie could split in half at an inopportune moment. Blue Book on the Taurus is safest from a 'I want to keep working' viewpoint. The Beemer was certainly worth more if it was new or new-ish, but turning it down would be the better play. Ownership transfers and the like would be messy.

whippoorwill Apr 19 2021 11:14 AM Re: Beamer, Bug, or Blue Book?

Beamer and congratulations to your friend for not being one of those people who would hose someone just because they are rich

whippoorwill Apr 19 2021 11:15 AM Re: Beamer, Bug, or Blue Book?

=whippoorwill post_id=61442 time=1618852454 user_id=79] Beamer and congratulations to your friend for not being one of those people who would hose someone just because they are rich

I'm assuming the BMW in the picture is not the one in question unless there was a freak snowstorm at Disney World

Edgy MD Apr 19 2021 11:57 AM Re: Beamer, Bug, or Blue Book?

Lefty Specialist wrote: Well, that Herbie could split in half at an inopportune moment. There's always that. No, I'm not sure what kind of Beamer it was. The incident took place circa 2007, so I just dialed back five years and posted a blue Taurus wagon and a random BMW from 2002. I imagine BMWs hold their value as well as any cars, but I'm guessing. I'm also considering that the incident suggested that the cars Ms. Disney actually drove probably saw some hard living.

Chad ochoseis Apr 19 2021 12:32 PM Re: Beamer, Bug, or Blue Book?

Well, if her heart said lovebug, I'd take the lovebug, but not counting on any historical/resale value necessarily. If Ms. Disney is clearly in the wrong, your friend is in the driver's seat, so to speak. I'd negotiate and say you were interested in the Beamer, but that you'd like them to have it inspected by a mechanic agreed upon by both parties - but at Ms. D's expense - and ensure that it was given to you with all needed repairs made. That seems fair. Straight blue book isn't compensating your friend for time, effort, inconvenience, and the frictional costs of buying a new car like taxes and registration. I don't think Beamers hold their value particularly well, and luxury cars are supposedly crazy expensive to maintain and repair. Not that I'd know...in the past 28 years, I've owned a Nissan, a Hyundai, and a Scion.

Benjamin Grimm Apr 19 2021 12:45 PM Re: Beamer, Bug, or Blue Book?

I would have tried to get a brand new Ford Taurus. It wouldn't involve "soaking" her in any way, but it would be better than getting the Blue Book value. Now, if she offered a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car, I'd leap that THAT!

batmagadanleadoff Apr 19 2021 01:12 PM Re: Beamer, Bug, or Blue Book?

She's Walt Disney's only biological child. She's currently dead. And the internet sez her net worth was half a billion dollars.

Edgy MD Apr 19 2021 01:20 PM Re: Beamer, Bug, or Blue Book?

She wasn't quite as dead in 2007, but yeah. And I agree that new Taurus or inspected BMW are perfectly reasonable (generous!) counteroffers. And I know that's the real answer. But I also know how quickly I've rolled over when confronted by the powerful. I'd probably forget to ask for the trunkload of flubber.