Will this activity create a new business for you?

Oh the shock, oh the Horror of it all! I’ve actually heard people say they’d leave the country. Personally, I’m beginning to think that Washington DC is making every effort to take business away from Hollywood, I mean who needs a movie to watch when the daily and nightly news is so entertaining?

Here in the Seattle area, we have something very interesting going on, it’s our Sound Transit Authority who was given far more authority via the ballot box. It’s all about rails, and building a train, a  system I’ll never use because I won’t live long enough to see it, but of course I’ll pay the full measure of taxes.

Here south of Seattle, my property taxes are far more than the monthly payments including home owners insurance were, and I’m glad I did pay off my Mortgage as it would be difficult to tender it all today as a retired guy, but it’s even higher now with ST3 passing.

Let me zoom in on what counties in and around Puget Sound are up too.  The Voters granted Authority to our Sound Transit to levy a tax on car tabs, but to the surprise of many, they have had a different way of valuing cars, and that is to claim they’re worth far more than what you paid for them in many cases. I think the worst case might be seen in three-year old luxury cars, the original owners dump them at three years, because it’s just not cool to have that old of car. Those who buy them get all that luxury at a modest price because the supply of these cars during good times is quite high.

So let’s say you bought a car that listed new at $110.000 and you paid $42,000 for it. Our transit authority was granted authority to assess value with their own formula, and that in some cases has been to use the new list price. So our value shopper goes to buy new tabs for his present car, and is ordered to pay an additional 1.1 percent of >their< valuation. In the case of our well equipped but out of style AMG Mercedes V12, that might be an additional $1500.00 or more. For those on a fixed income, there’s an additional surprise, as your property tax is now higher as well. And if you have a vacant lot that is classified as unsuitable  for building , don’t expect that they spared you the tax even though it doesn’t add to a traffic problem.

But why do I share this? Because all we need do is turn to the past to see how the public responded to a similar event where they choose to punish you more if you are the Ant, and where they plan on giving you a free ride if you are the grasshopper. And of course, if you are an illegal grasshopper, Seattle will even invite you in and allow you to pitch a tent!

So back to making money? Well maybe we touch on the British Window Tax first. Their Lords and learned men decided that a man who could afford large windows in his home need pay a far higher tax.  Soon, there were jobs, and plenty of them for those who specialized in removing big windows, and fitting small ones. As as you could imagine, their were craftsmen busy making new doors full of glass.

Seattle isn’t a creative city, almost nothing the Government does here is new, so we know the new opportunity here is NOT unique. Remember the Toyota Tacoma? It was a popular small pickup, it sold quite well here, now we need a Chevy Seattle!

The Chevy Seattle is sold as a stripper, it’s even radio delete! It’s the perfect hot rod for some, as it’s the lightest car you can buy and it saves you hours of work tossing out the heater, radio, AC, insulation, window crank motors, trim, and more. Of course it’s rear wheel drive, and a bit like the original Datsun 510.

Now don’t worry, every amenity you could dream of is at your dealer, and since there will be a decent demand for used parts, you’ll shop on ebay. So you’re thinking, how do I get a part of this action? I think there will be a segment of the population here that WILL buy pre ruined cars, cars with branded titles will cost far less to register each year, and if you take a ball peen hammer to every inch of that Mercedes, it’ll retain all of the luxury, but likely be classified as a rolling total. Tod Bjorkman is perhaps one of the better researchers I know, when I mentioned dimpling a car, Tod quickly researched the idea, and found someone who took the golf ball idea and applied it to a car claimed notable better mileage!

Now… there’s that rolling total in Rapid City, everything works fine, but there’s a gash from the front head light to the rear bumper, could you buy it and put it in the paper? allow a family headed to Seattle on vacation a small fee to drive it there? will there be a new car  lot called rolling totals? Another one called drive a dent?

all I’m suggesting is the Puget Sound Basin is going to become the home of JUNKER cars. Now don’t worry about emissions, as the car only needs pass ODB2 scan, and I’d also imagine that Seattle will become the dumping ground for cars with these problems if they can be valuated CHEAPER.

Our law makers in Olympia recently throttled back some of the insane valuations ST3 has made, but it’s still high, and Washington State itself wants a pound of your flesh when you buy a new car as well, sales tax here is nearly 10 percent, and they insist you pay the high blue book price unless you have the proper documentation.

So to close, if you are to sell cars in Seattle, I’d advise you to advertise the lower price your customer will pay for his license tabs EVERY year.  You got the idea, what will stop a used car lot from selling a car minus a lot of easily removed parts? Who needs a back seat to go to work? And does the law require you have a trunk lid and hood?

George B.