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Post by Ian.H on Sept 12, 2005 22:54:57 GMT -5
VAT (Value Added Tax.. which actually accounts for ~85% of the price of our fuel) is 17.5% for everything else and depending on where you live isn't cheap either.. here in London right now, things are at rediculous prices. We have an NHS (National Health Service) which is "cheap".. you contribute I think something like £20 a month from your wages etc.. or there's private.. which ain't cheap (just cost me £650 at the dentist for example! lol). I'm planning on being in the states from the end of January if all goes well.. might even be able to afford to run a V8 then Regards, Ian
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Post by mrodgers on Sept 13, 2005 7:25:13 GMT -5
Talkin about taxes, how about used cars in the UK? Here, cars are taxed everytime they are sold. And now it doesn't matter what you paid for a used car, you get taxed on book value. I can have a car worth $5000, sell it to you for $10 and you will be charged with $300 in taxes. Then there is Federal tax, State tax, local tax, school tax, property tax, sales tax, gas tax, I think I spend more money on tax than I do on the stuff actually purchased. Phone bills?? Local service is $12, long distance calls usually is $30 and the rest of my $80 bill is taxes and surcharges. Same with satalite TV service. About 30% of that is taxes. Electric bills? There are taxes and surcharges there too. It would probably be cut in half for me if taxes and surcharges were eliminated. I work for an automotive manufacturer making energy absorbers (bumpers) for GM, Toyota, Mazda, Subaru, Mercedes, and BMW as well as others. We sell the energy absorbers to say GM for $12. Call and price a replacement bumper for your car. From GM it will be in excess of $200. Hmm, what is that, 1600% markup? So if that translates to the entire car, it cost GM $1500 to build your $25000 car? It's ridiculous.
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Post by Al Heeley on Sept 13, 2005 7:58:58 GMT -5
And there's me thinking Bush was accepting massive party funding from GM for continuing to promote huge SUV sales instead of putting funding into developing decent public transport. How cynical of me.
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Post by Bunta on Sept 13, 2005 17:58:02 GMT -5
I work for an automotive manufacturer making energy absorbers (bumpers) for GM, Toyota, Mazda, Subaru, Mercedes, and BMW as well as others. We sell the energy absorbers to say GM for $12. Call and price a replacement bumper for your car. From GM it will be in excess of $200. Hmm, what is that, 1600% markup? So if that translates to the entire car, it cost GM $1500 to build your $25000 car? It's ridiculous. The cost of new cars and new parts is indeed rediculous, but it isn't as black and white as you make it sound in your post. After the manufacturer had purchased the energy absorber they need to pay for transport of the goods to their warehouse and/or factory. They need to pay their storemen to unload the trucks, they need a building to store the parts, they need to supply facilities, staff, wages. If the energy abosrber is going to be fitted to a new car at the assembly line then it incurs extra costs as it is handled once more, from warehouse to factory and people are paid again. The energy absorber by now has cost much more than the purchase price the manufacturer paid and it isn't even on the car yet. Even when it has been fitted it still isn't over yet, the cost of transporting the car to the dealer is factored in and now that the car is there we have the dealership's overheads to consider. Adding to all this the fact that every pair of hands along the way has made a profit from the enrgy absorber (including your company who paid even less than their selling price to produce it) it is not so surprising to see a seemingly inflated price. Prices still are rediculous and not representitive of real value, but at least some of the mark-up is justified.
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Post by mrodgers on Sept 20, 2005 8:14:15 GMT -5
Ah, yes Bunta, that's true, there is much more money involved in getting that bumper on the car. But for this it actually costs us more to produce it than we sell it to GM for. We are trying to get into interior parts and the "bumpers" are just currently keeping our foot in the automotive manufaturer's doors. Most of our profit sales comes from the raw material production. I believe now if you drive a Pontiac Bonneville, your door panels are from the plant I work for. It's been a while since I've dealt with our finished product as I'm now in the R&D department with new material trial production. Soon you all will be sitting on the stuff I've helped to develop as we are now trying to produce automotive seating. Maybe all you Harley Davidson riders will also be planting your you know what on our products as well. We have a fantastic foam product for motorcycle seating.
Can this be any more off topic here? LOL.
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Post by Bunta on Sept 20, 2005 8:27:44 GMT -5
Speaking of graphics cards, we really could do with some rain at our place, several of my prize Cycads are looking rather set-back this season and water restrictions prevent easy care for my beauties.
Gale force winds didn't help the situation and added to my woes as I watched the swimming pool fill with small leaves cascading down from the Jacaranda mimosifolia across the street. It took several hours to scoop and vacuum them out. I could have been racing.
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Post by Al Heeley on Sept 20, 2005 8:48:50 GMT -5
Complaining about having to clean your own swimming pool is like complaining about having to clean your Aston Martin (to an Englishman...) = No pity!
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Post by Bunta on Sept 20, 2005 10:46:40 GMT -5
Heh, the humble swimming pool is a curse in disguise. For every 10 minutes you spend swimming in it you spend 4 hours cleaning the bloody thing. You spend a great deal of your time and money providing a luxury for your neighbours and friends to exploit. Gimme a cold shower and a cold beer any day.
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Newbie
New Member
I Love LFSTweak :)
Posts: 7
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Post by Newbie on Mar 23, 2006 18:43:25 GMT -5
You can get a used ATI 9800 Pro, it's a great card, i'm running 1280x1024 resolution and everything maxed in my Catalyst Controller and it's not even overclocked. She's a beauty and she runs very quick. I also have a cooler on it. An Arctic VGA Cooler. They're one of the best!! ;D
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