Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 135, Number 2, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 14 January 2016 — Page 4
Advance News • Thursday, January 14, 2016
Page A4
Hey you, don’t buy new
I've never bought a new car. There, I've admitted it and, more importantly, I stand by it. There are many reasons why I haven't from lack of funds to lack of opportu-
nity but there is one reason that stands above the rest: I simply don't want to. It's more than that, though. I don't say "I simply don't want to* as a means to be stubborn. Rather, I don't want to buy a new car, I mean a BRAND NEW car, because I can buy used. And if I can buy used against paying for a lot-fresh, showroom new model, I'll take that deal ten times out of nine. You should, too, and here is why... New cars depreciate. We've all heard the popular advice before that says a new car depreciates by 20 percent the moment you drive it off the lot, and there is some truth to that. While it might not be the 20,30, or 60 percent depredation of lore, it is true that brand new cars lose some of their value the moment they are signed on and paid for. The reason is simple they aren't new anymore. You see, dealers operate partially on what is called Manufacturer's Suggest Retail Price, or MSRP for short. The MSRP is the price that the manufacturer GM, Ford, Volkswagen says the vehide should be sold for, at minimum, at a dealership. But that price is for, and only for, brand-spanking-new cars whose only miles have been accumulated by test drives and transportation. Once the dotted-line is signed and the car rolls off the showroom floor, it has actual miles put on by the new owner and it becomes, in one fell swoop, a used car, and used cars are divorced from the MSRP. Congratulations, you're brand new BMW 3-series or Ford Escape is now used, and can only command the best of prices for a used version of that make and model. I also don't like risk. I understand that buying a used car from a private seller is a risk in and of itself, but that risk is calculated if you know what you are looking at. A dealernew car that is truly new to the market as in, it's being sold in its model year is untested on a large scale. There could be flaws or defects that have yet to be flushed out, and I'm not comfortable being the Guinea Pig that finds those bugs. Have you ever seen those recall notices on television that warn of fatal errors in a car? Those are almost always problems that manufacturers didn't know were in the car, and didn't find out about until enough people had bought them new, put them through their paces and come out worse on the other end. With a used car, more information is available, and anyone can look up reviews on the ol' interwebs that will report fatal flaws, errors, and general issues that should be avoided in different makes and models. In invest terms, its simple product and market research. And the more you know, the better. . To round out my diatribe against purchasing brand new cars, there is always the dealers themselves. Chi a personal level, I must say that I don't know every car dealer that has ever been. No one does. But I have known quit| a few in ijagyjgp, and my experience with them has been all but a carbon copy from one to the next. Dealers push, and they push hard. They will do nearly anything within their power to eke every red cent out of your pocket and into theirs. For instance, I once went car shopping with an ex-girlfriend. At one particular car lot, which will remain nameless here, we looked hard at a Chevy Cobalt. She liked it quite a bit, and I didn't have any objections, either. But the price of the car was just too high, so we left the lot and decided to look a little more into the privately owned market. After we left, her phone rang ad nauseum with calls from the dealer we had just spoken to and turned down. He kept calling, he kept pleading. Whenever she said sjiejust wasn't interested, he would bargain more, plead more.lAt one point, he went as far as saying that his job was at risk and that his manager had threatened his livelihood could he not get us back on the lot for a test-drive. I'm sorry, but that's the sort of negotiation I try to avoid at all cost, and always will. In short, new cars are great. But with all of the technology and research that goes into a new car these days, there simply isn't reason to buy one at full price. Trust me when I say that, if a car can't tell the difference between 50 miles on the clock and 15,000, neither will you. The only difference that will register is the price.
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The Rear Mew Mirror By David Palmer
Community
Our 2-year-old grandson Jack is currently infatuated with robots. Nothing wrong with that. I've been fascinated with robots since I was very young, and that was long before there were any robots. I grew with the famous robot stories written by Isaac Asimov, which influenced not only the robot stories that followed, but also the actual science of robotics (a word he invented). The old robot stories basically fell into a single pattern. Scientist invents robot. Robot goes berserk and kills scientist. Moral: There are some things we're not meant to know. Now why, Asimov asked, would anyone invent a dangerous robot? At least intentionally. So Asimov devised the Three Laws of Robotics. The First Law stated no robot, through action or inaction, could allow a human to come to harm. The Second Law was that robots had to obey all orders from a human except when that conflicted with the First Law. The Third Law was that robots had to protect their own existence except when that conflicted with the First and Second Law. So obviously there could be no problems with robots, right? The fun with his stories was that there was always a problem, usually traceable to human error, bad programming, or difficulty in interpreting
Real winter, real soup
Real winter has arrived and that means it is good and cold. Winter is a great time to get back to healthy eating and that usually means meal planning and cooking at home. It takes much discipline to eat healthy when eating out. I believe more of you cook with whole foods rather than processed foods, and plan to do more cooking in the winter. Cooking
means planning ahead so you have on hand the majority of the ingredients. To me the cold winter months say tasty meals of soups and stews and a must is fresh baked bread. I think soup is tasty year round, but I believe soup is at its best and more enjoyable in the cold winter months. In many parts of the world hearty soups are the mainstay of family meals. Virtually every county has a national soup which has survived over the years. Preparation may be very similar but differing ingredients reflect regional and national taste. In today's modem kitchen the Dutch oven is the soup kettle and the crockpot is also great for soup making. Tne days of soup makers making stock may be a thing of the past but if you are a cook you know that is how you get the best flavor from all kinds of meats and vegetables. Cooking meat and bones to make stock is a task that you can use your crockpot for. Once the stock is made you can remove the excess fat by chilling the stock overnight. This causes the fat to harden on the surface, allowing you to skim or lift it off before adding the other ingredients when heating. When you don't have time you can remove excess fat from soup by laying a dean paper towel oyer the top to absorb the fat. Whether we want to admit it or not we all waste a lot of food. One place you can begin to decrease waste is to save
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Robot holiday
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what it means to keep humans from harm. I highly recommend Asimov's original robot stories which can be found in his collection "I, Robot* So anyway, we gave Jack a robot pop-up book for Christmas, as well as a dancing robot toy, and one of those Ridiculous Transformer Things. The Ridiculous Transformer Thing in question was both a truck and a robot. Jack kept changing the thing back and form until he realized it was just as stupid as I always found Transformers, so he set it to the side. But the dancing robot? Ah, he couldn't get enough of it. He laughed. He danced with it. He turned little drdes and laughed some more. I laughed too, mostly because the description of the product printed on the box was so badly translated. The produd is called STUNT ROBOT, written in big letters. The box proclaims "FULL FUNCTION," whatever that means, and below it a description of what it does: "Wonderful music, colorful playing lights and one set of
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County Road Seven By Frank Ramirez
Food and Nutrition By Mary Ann Uenhart Cross
broth. The reason you want to simmer the soup rather than boil it is that boiling causes the soup to become cloudy and the ingredients to lose their shape. When adding vegetables to make soup, the most nutritious plan is to add frozen or fresh vegetables. If you must add canned, choose no salt added vegetables and tomato products. Plan to add salt-free seasonings and a dash of lemon juice or vinegar to soup just before serving as this will brighten up the flavors. Season soups gently at first and taste soup just before serving. When adding dried herbs add them at the beginning; fresh herbs should be added just before serving. You bouquet, or one to two tablespoons of tomato paste. Remember that soups make a tasty snack! It fills you up and low fat bean or vegetable soups are more nutritious than most snacks. Keep soup on hand at home and at work. If you're eating late, eat a cup of soup, it will take the edge off your hunger. Read the labels when purchasing broths and soups. Too many contain a huge amount of sodium per serving. A good rule of thumb is to try and find one that contains the same number or less mg of sodium as it does calories. Winter is the time for good hot soup.
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dancing movement. The palm will be shining and the arm will sway up and down. The Robot can rotate 360." Not only that, but you also learn: "Robot series design for the children all are fangled and iq the high quality welcome you use our products." Obviously someone's translation program is out of whack. On the back of the box are the words "SHINE LIGHT," "ROBOT," and "More unexpected fun waiting for you to discover." In smaller letters is written: "DYNAMIC MUSIC" and beneath that one it says: 'To be highly praised and appreciated by consuming public." Surprise! The bottom of the box reads "COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: CHINA." But you knew that. But despite all the horror stories you've heard about Chinese products, we are assured, in several different languages, "Tested according to International Standards." Whew, imagine my relief. Like most toys, the box is even more fun than the toy, at least for me. Considering that it cost only fifteen bucks we're certainly getting our money's worth! We had a Merry Robot Christmas. I hope you had one too. Frank Ramirez is the Senior Pastor of the Union Center Church of the Brethren.
clean vegetable pieces and peels, and mushroom stems in a container in the freezer. I suggest you avoid strongly flavored vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower, as their flavor will overpower the broth. When the container is full, simmer the vegetables in water to make a tasty