krusty the clown
Member Emeritus
i found this. i thought some of you would find it interesting since we were talking toolboxes.......
http://gozips.uakron.edu/~vlf5/vlf5_module2.pdf
http://gozips.uakron.edu/~vlf5/vlf5_module2.pdf
an artice on toolboxes
- Thread starter krusty the clown
- Start date
eschoendorff
Well-known member
Interesting... looks like a high school assignment.
ron in sc
Well-known member
I said in a previous thread that some of the people selling these boxes are asking so much, my theory anyway, because they did not buy them but bought them on time with periodic payments and have spend much in excess of the price of the box had they just bought it outright.
Stuey
Well-known member
Interesting, I really wasn't aware that mechanics sometimes had to finance their toolboxes.
nissan_crawler
Well-known member
Fedwrench
ALLIANCE MEMBER
The sad thing about this article is the fact that some mechanics don't realize what they're getting into buying that huge hot dawg cart. Unfortunately, this also applies to other large purchases like vehicles, homes, etc. $50 a week doesn't seem like much until you add it all up. Maybe that explains some of the economic problems facing the country today, no one adds it all up.
Moose-LandTran
Well-known member
i don't do any of my stuff on finance. everything on a revolving account or whatever Snap-on calls it.
i'm not sure how they've calculated the finance in that article either.
$4,500 with 22.5% interest is $5,512.50.
i'm not sure how they've calculated the finance in that article either.
$4,500 with 22.5% interest is $5,512.50.
durbancic
Active member
LOL, that article is written by someone who goes to the University of Akron, the college that I go to. Interesting how things like that happen.
-dan
-dan
Lyaec350
Well-known member
Lyaec350
Well-known member
Yea with the interest calculated as "simple interest". What the company (and just about everyone/everything else) is doing is calculating compound interest, IE once a week/month/year/whatever they recalculate your interest vs. principle. That's why credit cards have a minimum payment each month, you're basically just paying off the interest you've accrued that month and not knocking down the balance.
billymade
Well-known member
I think having these accounts with the trucks and making a payment every week is based on convenience and the service they provide; most of the guys in the shop I worked at always owed the (put your favorite tool truck company here) man money. I know when I was working in the shop all day; the last thing I wanted to do was to go to Sears after work to get a tool warranted and replaced. Being in California you also had a commute to work/home and that ate up two to four hours depending on where you lived in the Bay Area; the time you had left over would rather be spent at home and with your family. So, the convenience factor is something that is a real factor IMHO. If you not working in the industry, the cost of these tools doesn't make any sense. I think its the same idea behind the marketing of cars based on affording the monthly payment and not worrying about the total cost with interest. Many mechanics I have talked to don't really even worry so much about how much the tool cost but "getting what they needed" at the moment to get the job done and make money. I understand where they are coming from in the I "gotta have tools to make money and I don't have the money to buy tools" mentality, that keeps the tool truck industry running and it can be a vicious cycle. Many mechanics do need new tools pretty consistently for the new types of vehicles and models they have to service. I also hear people saying mechanics (oops, I should say "technicians") are not making that much any more and yet the marketing from the tech schools is there aren't enough techs and you can make a good wage as a technician at the current time. There is a balance in there somewhere but I am not convinced these techs that work for dealerships are able to have the buying power they once had; many techs that are successful seem to end up having their own shops to really make a living that they are happy with or able to support their families with. I think being a tech can be tough and making a good living period is hard; maybe the techs here can tell us what the reality is these days..... there just seems to be many people who get out of industry, for financial or physical reasons; it makes you wonder.....its got to be tough....
OP
krusty the clown
Member Emeritus
people need to realize this. thats why i don't use credit cards anymore. i just paid off my electraglide two years early. the total finance charge would have been $5500 over the life of the load. by paying just $25 more per month i saved about $4000 in interest. the new box i just ordered will be $1000 infinance charges if i just make the minimum payments. that loan will be paid off early too.......
OP
krusty the clown
Member Emeritus
eschoendorff
Well-known member
That article looks like it was written by a middleschooler.
That's what I was thinking too... except I gave the benefit of the doubt and though high school freshman. Definitely not a good example of college-level writing....
Stuey
Well-known member
Looking at it again, I have to agree.That's what I was thinking too... except I gave the benefit of the doubt and though high school freshman. Definitely not a good example of college-level writing....
The title is wrong, the "abstract" is poorly constructed, the opening sentence is "We have all been there."
Overall, the organization of the essay is linear and logical. Sadly, this work is much better than what I've seen from many "educated" folk.
Plus, who knows the context of this essay - it could have just been an informal opinion piece.