Coffee. Old magazines. Quiet murmurs of conversations. I am stuck in an old office with two dozen other people who are awaiting instructions from a young tattooed lady with a clipboard and a shrill nasal voice. "Follow me!", I hear six inches from my ear. It seems like the perfect moment to have a rendezvous with the doctor, the dentist, or the job interview. Or at least someone who doesn't instantly give me an instant flashback to my New Jersey upbringing Not this time. I'm in…
Hollywood. Or at least the Atlanta version of it. 24 hours ago I posted an ad on Craigslist for a 1983 Mercedes 300D. Nothing special. Great interior. I had priced it for a quick sale in a business where well used early-80's vehicles have limited demand. Within ten minutes I received the following response. "Hi, We are actually looking for a few additional cars for a scene we are filming tomorrow for a new pilot 'Halt and Catch Fire' for AMC." Now I have been selling on Craigslist for over 10 years now. So I am acutely aware of the scam side of this world. One that is typically loaded with aspiring Nigerian bankers who need your exclusive help with freeing up millions of Euros. Or my personal favorite. The listing for a car where the phone number is written like ( 5^7^3) 286 – 1 ^ 4 ^ 2 ^ 3). This one was a bit different. A complete sentence. An unusual attention to grammar and punctuation. It was a boring Sunday afternoon, so I responded. "I would be interested if I could bring a second vehicle along with my wife as well. Let me know if you are looking for a particular era of vehicles. All the best!" The emails went back and forth and my wife, bless her film and video background, was able to confirm the rest. The listing was likely legitimate. A bit random. But metro-Atlanta often has anywhere from 5 to 10 movie shoots during the spring season and yes, they do need old cars. This was to be a shoot for the year 1983. It just so happened that I had that Mercedes and a 74' Chevy C10 pickup that would be the perfect background vehicles for a set that would try to recreate an office park in Dallas right after the famous early-80's oil crash. The clincher was that it was only 15 miles away and the Monday auto auctions are horrifically expensive this time of year. Cars that sold for only $6000 this time of year now sell for $7500 thanks to Uncle Sam redistributing refunds and unearned perks to single parents with way too many kids. Tax season is an incredibly difficult time to buy cars on the cheap. This is why I will buy as many as twelve a day in the final quarter of the year and fewer than 12 a month from January through late May. It's cheaper to buy a holding yard and replace a few batteries than it is to pay a four figured price premium on a per car basis. The pay for 2 people comes out to $120 each for 10 hours; plus $35 for each of our two glorified clunkers. The family revenue would be $310 in total for a short drive and interminably long waiting periods in a long line of small offices. Would it be worth my time? Well… you live life once as the old saying goes and since this is a minimal hassle deal, we take it. 5 A.M. buzzer. My wife and I eat our fruits and pack our coffees. I get the keys to a 39 year old Chevy with the 350 V8, while the wife gets the screaming 'Eeeeeee!!!' buzzer of the Mercedes Turbodiesel. 20 minutes later. No traffic. We're there. A parking lot that will soon look like the 70's version of American Graffiti. from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com | |||
| |||
| |||
|
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Hammer Time: The First Set
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Archive
-
▼
2013
(7180)
-
▼
April
(593)
- Crapcan Central: We Drive Seven of the Worst Cars ...
- 100th Anniversary of Ford’s Assembly Line: How It ...
- Name That Exhaust Note, Episode 182
- Robert Brockway: Car Jousting—It’s Not Just For Gl...
- Engine Downsizing, For Reals: The 6.09-Cubic-Inch,...
- Dissected: In-Depth with the Updated 2014 Bentley ...
- 2012 Fiat 500 Sport Long-Term Wrap: America Is an ...
- 'Couldn't See the Sign' Is Top Excuse for Cops
- 2014 Acura RLX “Luxury, Luxury” Commercial: They W...
- Price Cuts in the Sports-Sedan Aisle: 2014 Lexus I...
- Infiniti Looks at Platform-Sharing GT Coupe and Fl...
- 2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid: First Drive
- 2013 Toyota RAV4 Earns IIHS Top Safety Pick Status
- First Official 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-class Photo Ap...
- GM Expands Safety Alert Seat to 2014 Sierra Lineup
- Next 911 Turbo Abandons The Manual
- 2013 Toyota Sienna Video
- Piston Slap: Fix my Bro-Ham, Sanjeev!
- Ex-Ford CEO Says Australian Car Industry Is Dead
- GM Prepares A Barrage Of New Cars, Hopes To Right ...
- Review: 2012 Nissan Sentra
- Fathers, Sons, Apples and Trees
- Junkyard-Found Chevy Tribal Sticker Leads To New M...
- Residual Value Miracle Aston Martin To Fetch Millions
- Even Back Home In Korea, Lying About Gas Mileage C...
- Analysts Predict Very Strong April Sales
- Winterkorn Not Worried About Billion Euro Porsche ...
- 2014 Mazda6: Second Take
- Airbags, Tailgates Are Targets Du Jour for Thieves
- Latest Harebrained LeMons Scheme: It’s A K Car, Pa...
- America’s Next Top Bubble: Delinquencies Down, Dea...
- Best Selling Cars Around The Globe: How Chinese br...
- New or Used? : The Blasphemy Of Accountancy Edition
- Hyundai’s Offensive “Pipe Job” Commercial Was Pull...
- 2014 Toyota 4Runner: Kickin’ It Body-On-Frame Style
- Kia Style: 2014 Kia Forte Sedan 2.0L Automatic Tested
- Name That Shifter, No. 126
- Media Reporting Tesla Model S As Plug-In Sales Cha...
- Cars.com Reviews the 2013 Jeep Wrangler and Unlimited
- Lexus Prices 2014 IS
- Really, Infotainment Isn’t So Bad
- “Skipping the Ignition Spark to Fire the Points” –...
- Monday Longevity Champion: Long Live The Leylands!
- 2014 Toyota 4Runner: First Look
- Recall Alert: 2013 Nissan Altima
- Recall Alert: 2012-2013 Honda Fit
- 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe: First Drive
- Review: 2013 Chrysler 300 SRT8 (Video)
- Boston Marathon Bomber’s Deadly Mistake: He Took A...
- Open Mouth, Insert Jackboot: Daimler Insults Its C...
- ATS Coupe, New Escalade On The Way
- Mercedes-Benz Confirms Diesel For C-Class – In 2 Y...
- China Cracks Down On Military Plate Abuse
- How to Remove A Sticker From Your Car
- Why Luxury Sales Could Thrive in 2013
- America’s Top Suzuki Dealer Switches To Subaru
- Opel Abandons Bochum Completely
- Piston Slap: Just Bought It, Now Gotta Sell It!
- 34th Aannual Association Of Handcrafted Automobile...
- Sunday At The Drive-In
- What Makes An Enthusiast These Days
- Most-Read Car Reviews of the Week
- The Other Jim Russell
- Cop Drives Classic Cop Car: 1972 Ford Galaxie 500
- Building The Right Car At The Right Time
- Most-Watched Videos of the Week
- Topless Hedonism: BMW M6, Porsche 911, Mercedes SL...
- Alfa Romeo Weighing Options for Next MiTo, Wants t...
- Volkswagen Golf MkVII Gets R Line Treatment—At Lea...
- Despite Warning Signs, Fed Kept Money Flowing to F...
- Car Redux
- The Continental: Greetings from Vienna with BMW, H...
- 2014 Chevrolet Stingray Coupe and Convertible Pric...
- 2013 Honda Civic Video
- C7 ‘Vette Just $2,000 More Than Outgoing Model
- Akerson Gets Millions More In Cash To Grease His Exit
- 2014 Corvette Gets Modest Price Bump
- Fiat 500XL Forgot Its Epi-Pen
- Volkswagen Announces 10-Speed Dual-Clutch Automati...
- Recall Alert: 2014 Subaru Forester
- QOTD: What Is The Most Misunderstood Vehicle On Th...
- Where Is Currency Manipulation When We Need It: Ja...
- Hyundai Creates Killer Ad, Does Not Want You To Se...
- Cars.com Family Reviews the 2013 Lexus RX 450h
- Junkyard Find: 1992 Dodge Shadow America
- Review: 2013 Dodge Avenger SE
- Nissan Micra Solves Renault’s Labor Problems
- Fisker Edges Closer to Bankruptcy as New Details E...
- Geely & Detroit Electric Announce Strategic Partne...
- Spring Showers Bring Summer Tires Back to Our Suba...
- Formula Golf Cart: The Twizy Renault Sport F1 Conc...
- NHTSA’s Distracted Driving Guidelines Actually Mat...
- 2014 Cadillac ATS Coupe Spy Photos: Fewer Doors, t...
- What Price Mediocrity? Well, the 2014 Nissan Versa...
- Fiat Group Developing V-8 Turbo-Diesel for Global ...
- Convertible Comparo: 2013 VW Beetle Turbo vs. 2013...
- Spark Ranger: 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV EPA Range, E...
- In Bid for More Global Appeal, Lexus Emphasizing D...
- Cars.com Reviews the 2013 Lexus LS 600h
- Fitch, Moody’s, Stand Alone As Subprime ABS Skeptics
-
▼
April
(593)
No comments:
Post a Comment