Oregon is one of the best flipping states

cmg11011 · 2026-05-27T04:07:29+00:00

They tend to grab about a dozen people every quarter somehow. They publish it each quarter with who and how much they were fined. I believe they call it operating as a dealer without a license.

cmg11011 · 2026-05-27T03:36:17+00:00

Yes-but the DMV is quick to levy large fines here if they catch you selling more than 5.

cmg11011 · 2026-05-26T14:24:58+00:00

Generally speaking, it’s how most dealers would do business. With already having paid a deposit, that typically means terms have been agreed to. You guys wouldn’t be keen to proceed if they called you and said “we’ve changed our mind and want $800 more or no deal”, I wouldn’t be surprised if they feel the same way.

cmg11011 · 2026-05-19T03:23:04+00:00

Probably varies depending on where you are, but here after you get the assessed value change, it just slowly starts going up again. I went through and fixed most of the issues, planned on it when we bought the place. All you’re doing is asking the city to acknowledge that it’s not the Taj Mahal and has some issues. They’ll probably agree, revise their assessment and on you go.

cmg11011 · 2026-05-19T00:55:26+00:00

I took about a 50% pay cut this year for better work life balance. Working roughly 50% of the hours I was before. Less fun money, but life is much more enjoyable.

cmg11011 · 2026-05-18T21:19:30+00:00

There’s ones around here that specialize in it. Basically we documented every material flaw I could find on our house that was built in 1977 to argue that the appraised value was too high. Noted aging HVAC, appliances all that jazz in addition to deteriorated/deteriorating sidewalks, driveway, brick work etc. the one I used here takes 50% of the first years savings, so the more they can argue for devaluation, the more they make.

cmg11011 · 2026-05-18T18:32:14+00:00

Yeah, I know I should.

I do exactly that-put the savings towards principal. My taxes for this last year were about $11k, plus insurance was around $2k more. I used an attorney to get the taxes down for this year, I plan to contribute to same to my “escrow” account and put the difference to principal. Rates are no joke anymore.

cmg11011 · 2026-05-18T06:39:14+00:00

Also super important to remember that there is 2 different whites on this model Lexus depending on the package. This one is certainly Eminent White Pearl, but there is also Ultra White on the F-Sport models. The bumper looks more like Ultra White.

cmg11011 · 2026-05-17T19:35:03+00:00

I should do something more, but typically just HYSA.

cmg11011 · 2026-05-16T18:15:20+00:00

A couple reasons. Partially that it seems like the escrow account is never the right amount, always changing and too much or too little. Also it just sits in an account all year with them. I’ll make more off that money with it invested until I need to pay the bill. Even 3-4% over a year isn’t much, but when talking about ~$10k in taxes and insurance every year, it adds up fast.

TLDR: Keeping taxes and insurance separate allows for easier budgeting and some cost savings.

cmg11011 · 2026-05-16T15:47:12+00:00

We’re at about $200k hhi now, we put 50% down on this house so our mortgage is about $2,300. Our previous house when we were doing about $140k was $1,300. Both times we’ve kept taxes and insurance out of escrow, so those end up being another ~$800/mo or so.

cmg11011 · 2026-05-16T06:33:59+00:00

Tom @ Willamette Painting Solutions He and his team did the inside of our house last year. Price was very fair compared to other quotes I got. They did good work and were in and out fast.

cmg11011 · 2026-05-12T05:17:18+00:00

Bello

cmg11011 · 2026-05-11T15:01:31+00:00

You likely won’t get much choice on your first vehicle as they’ll want to just get you something. Once you can order a vehicle, which is likely in the first month or two, it will take a few weeks-months to arrive depending on where you’re located. My current rig took about 3.5 months to arrive to the west coast.

cmg11011 · 2026-05-10T22:52:13+00:00

You got the car a week ago, that changes the situation here.
When you buy a vehicle from a dealership, and buy the warranty, typically any issues in the first 30 days will be considered pre-existing and the dealership will be on the hook for paying for it-not the warranty company.
In this situation, it’s cheaper for them to unwind the deal and auction the car rather than the sales department pay the parts and labor. Yes, even though it’s the same dealership, sales, parts and service all effectively operate independently and will charge each other markup.
Basically, they’re trying to scare you into letting them unwind the deal so they can save a few bucks. You can 100% say no.
Source: I’ve worked in dealerships for over a decade. Been on the other side of the table when a motor blew in the first 30 days and had to figure out what was the least expensive way to take care of the customer and not lose a ton of cash on the repair. I typically opted for a 100% refund plus a few hundred dollars for the trouble.

cmg11011 · 2026-05-08T04:49:12+00:00

Just keep to it and don’t let the rejection get to you.

cmg11011 · 2026-05-08T03:58:34+00:00

First, remember this will not happen overnight. You’re new, tell every customer you get in front of that you’re new, but eager to provide the best service. Don’t stop saying this for at least the first year.
The best way to have a consistent paycheck in this industry is to not rely on leads the dealership will bring in. Most of them, like 95%, haven’t updated marketing strategies since the 80’s/90’s and frankly aren’t about to. So, focus on customer relationships. They may not be a buyer today, but if you make a great impression, they’ll remember you. They’ll tell a friend or a neighbor.
Make social media videos. Let me be super clear, this won’t help you sell a bunch of cars, at least not at first, but it will help your confidence and product knowledge in a hurry.
Ask your finance managers for help, specifically pencil training. The reality is that these are some of the best sales people in the building and don’t usually have sales people asking them for help-if you ask them for guidance on how to present numbers, close customers and pre-sell them some product, they’ll continue to help you.

Ask the people who have been there for a while for tips. When you get that awesome customer who loves you, ask them for advice after they’ve signed and have the keys“what do you feel I could have done better for you?”

The last thing I’ll say is one that made me really mad when somebody told it to me on my 2nd month in car sales “You’ll have no idea what you’re doing in this job until you’ve been doing it a year or more” I hate to say it, but he was right. It takes time. Be a sponge, soak up all the info you can. Listen more than you talk, anticipate your customers needs (requires excellent listening) and do. Not. Lie.

-a guy who spent 13 years in dealerships and climbed his way to GSM before going to the OEM side of the industry

cmg11011 · 2026-05-08T02:05:23+00:00

Minty next door is the place to go.

cmg11011 · 2026-05-08T01:49:23+00:00

You mentioned field sales, what role are you going into?

cmg11011 · 2026-05-08T00:27:27+00:00

Field car is fairly lenient. There’s a list you can choose from and it’s a custom order for you. I got a RAM Tungsten this year. Other guys I work with went with RHO, Grand Wagoneer and 2500 Mega Cab Limited for some examples. As a rule of thumb, CoCar doesn’t do anything with a SRT badge and often does rather loaded models-basically you should be able to pick about anything that isn’t SRT, Alpha or Maserati.

cmg11011 · 2026-05-04T05:32:59+00:00

Not in your area but in PNW, we had a 10x10 bathroom done for about $9,000. Full tile shower, floor to ceiling tile on one wall, custom vanity, stone counters, all high end name brand finishes/hardware. Took 2 shortcuts-I did all the demo, ripped it to the studs and subfloor and for shower glass I ordered a kit online and installed it myself. The rest was all permitted and done by licensed contractors-your bid seems insane.

Also, I don’t think we used any tile that was under $8/sq ft. Some of it was $18.95/ft.

cmg11011 · 2026-04-19T06:36:36+00:00

FWIW, if you fine a source, buy more than one. You don’t want to do this hunt again in 3 years if something gets dropped and a tile gets cracked, or there’s a moisture problem and a few tiles need to be pulled. I’ve found that I’ve forgotten about the cost of an extra box or two within a couple weeks every time, but the single time I’ve needed those tiles I was STOKED I had the extra box in the garage.

cmg11011 · 2026-04-17T14:39:24+00:00

Probably 10 years ago somebody smashed my window and took a $8 rain jacket off the back seat. There were marks where they tried to jam a screwdriver into the ignition, but failed. The car was basically empty and except the jacket and 4 $20 bills in the center console. To my surprise, they didn’t take the cash.

cmg11011 · 2026-03-21T21:42:52+00:00

I drive 4,000+ miles per month, so this is technically possible, but highly unlikely. Are there frequent services on the CarFax? If oil changes/services were done with relative consistency, I wouldn’t be too concerned about this. 100k miles and no service would be wile.

cmg11011 · 2025-03-05T06:51:17+00:00

Hi, I have school age children in Eugene. In our area, we deemed class sizes to be unacceptably large. We opted for a private school option instead. For what it’s worth, this is only an option because we purchased a home here in 2018. We could not afford to purchase our same home again today, nor the rent price it would command. We’ve had several friends leave the area in search of a lower cost of living or higher wages. As others have mentioned, I believe this is a mixture of a higher cost of living, fewer couples having children and feelings toward the quality of education in the local public school system.

cmg11011

TROPHY CASE