Darling Divas
It seems I’ve opened a whole new chapter of information, I was enjoying my little trip to the city yesterday, I like to take the BART system (but the cars do need some clean up) and on my train I ran into an old friend of mine, Wallace.
Wallace is a wonderful gentleman who introduced me to my tax preparer. I told him about my “blog” and he said that he had come across it by accident and thought that it sounded familiar, and has it flagged when ever a new posting is put up.
He loved the information that I had come across, but he felt that I left another part off.
He informed me that just as it is important to keep all paperwork on home repair and improvement on one’s home, especially for re-sale, it was equally important to keep all receipts on work done on one’s automobile or van.
I thought that was a bit unusual, but he said that if one plans to sell one’s vehicle, by having a copy of what has been done and at what mileage, when it comes time to sell your car to a private party, you as the seller, can give all full information on what has been done to your vehicle, as a form of full disclosure.
He said that sometimes for those that use a personal vehicle for their job by having all these receipts for repair and maintenance it maybe possible to take it as a tax deduction, but always check with your tax preparer because the tax laws change every year.
But even so it did make excellent sense to keep this information on your vehicle, especially if there is any sort of warranty on the repair. It did make sense especially if your job is in real estate or as a wedding or event planner or something of that sort, which a lot of traveling to different locations or clients is required, therefore because of that type of work it then requires keeping receipts for tax information, but to also have it for your personal information on repair and maintenance is equally important.
Now the tax law does vary a bit if your vehicle is used both for business and pleasure, so I do believe keeping a mileage report is important, but do ask your tax preparer about the tax laws covering this.
He also said that it didn’t make sense to buy a brand new vehicle especially since one loses value the minute it leaves the lot, but to buy one that has low mileage, is gently used and is from a reputable dealer that has gone through it completely to check it out to ensure that it is safe makes sense, and to hold on to it for no more than 10 years at the very most, perhaps only 8 years, because after that time it begins to cost more to repair than the worth of the vehicle , unless one has a car that is a collectable (like a Packard or an Aston Martin) or has proven very reliable in the long run.
I have a dear acquaintance of mine who is in advertising and she has a car that’s 20 years old and is so reliable that she is loath to get rid of it. She told me that she will use it until is drops and can’t move anymore, which is what I was planning with my old car, until it was stolen by those 3 hoodlums (which the police eventually caught, we are now in the process of going to court) and wrapped around a pole. This forced me to buy a new car, Ms. Wicked, which I adore.
Although I do have to confess that there are times when one just simply wants a brand new car, in spite of the drop in value once it leaves the show room and even Wallace agreed with that, he said there are times when nothing but a brand new car will do.
Another thing, have full insurance which would also include being hit by an uninsured driver or catastrophic damage such as fire, flood, or falling trees, if you want to know who are the top quality insurance companies you can check with Consumer Reports, for their ratings, but rule of thumb for many people is this~~~go to an insurance company that also has a “brick and mortar” office, so you can deal with real people, not over a computer or over the phone. It may take some of your personal time, but the personal touch to get your claim processed is very important.
My Dear Friend Mean Kitty had that happen to her, she and her husband were traveling and were at a stop light and they were in a multiple rear end collision. Fortunately their car was drive able, so with the information from CHP, and everyone exchanging insurance information, Mean Kitty also had the added photo information of taking pictures of the entire accident to confirm that her car was not at fault.
When she got to her destination she called her insurance office to report that she was in an accident and when she would be coming into the office to do the claim since no one was injured in the accident, if there was an injury of course reporting the incident immediately even over the phone, is very important.
She was very pleased by her insurance company, they made the process of getting their vehicle repaired, the rental of another vehicle and processing their claim very painless, and it went smoothly, she did recommend that it’s best to be patient about receiving your claim especially if multiple vehicles are involved or if there maybe a dispute or investigation. But she received her claim in less than 3 months. She also said that the auto repair shop that was recommended by her insurance company made the process very easy and the car rental company also was very accommodating.
(Now I have to say that Mean Kitty had her auto insurance with State Farm and the car rental company was Enterprise, I mention these companies because they are fairly nationwide, although I’ve been told other well-known insurance companies also give excellent service, but remember the “brick and mortar” rule.)
She recommends and I do to, to keep no less than 2 disposable cameras in one’s glove compartment as well as your insurance information, by taking pictures right at the time of the accident showing the location and positions of the cars and the damage it can strengthen your claim.
She also says refresh or replace those cameras on Dec. 31 of every year, and use the ones that you’ve removed for holiday pictures. She said that if one does it at the same time that you replace your batteries in your smoke alarms as part of your check list it helps to remember these things.
Now why disposable point and shoot cameras? Well Darlings, they are there, they won’t fail if your camera cell phone is dead and it’s much easier to have the film developed especially with one hour processing. Nor do you have the worry that the pictures will be accidentally erased which could happen.
Well with this delightful and informative chat that I had with Wallace we also exchanged cards, so I could update him on my new home location, and we could plan on having dinner together with him and his wife Marsha and I with possibly Kevin or Kenneth (I do love to have several handsome men dancing in attendance)
So it seems that I have started a new venture with gathering this very practical information to share with all you Diva’s and Diva’s in training. This is all very important, even Mean Kitty has to agree about this.
Oh and why was I going to the City? Well darlings, there are a couple of stores that I love to purchase my DVD’s and music from, Rasputins just below Union Square and Virgin Records, I couldn’t take my Diva Darling, Princess, but I’m so glad that Juanita is back, she loves watching her and spoiling the little dear, although she said I made her work very easy for her because I called in Molly Maids, so Juanita tells me she is going to go through my closet to see what needs to be repaired, she is so through, sometimes I feel like I have a mother watching over me, that is why I just want to do my best for her as well.
And clothing maintenance will be another subject I will be touching upon in the future my Dears.
Until Anon Darlings, this Diva is going to treat a dear friend to lunch, and relaxation. Kisses Darlings.
