I began working at a Ford dealership in Dallas when I was 15. I started in the make ready department: washing cars, installing hubcaps, and installing mirrors on trucks. It was also my job to make sure the lot looked good and all the vehicles were lined up straight. I worked daily in the summer, but when school started again I worked Saturdays and Monday-Friday evenings from 4 to 9 PM.
When I graduated high school, I attended Northwood University to get an associates degree in automotive marketing. I went to class from 8 to Noon, drove to the dealership and worked 1 PM to 9 PM daily and all day Saturdays.
I got my degree in a little less than two years, and when I graduated, the owner of the dealership took me to lunch and told me he wanted me to be his used car manager. I was thrilled, of course. One of my duties as used car manager was to appraise and put a value on all potential trade-ins. Salespeople would drive up to my office that was on the far side of the property, have an appraisal form filled out, and I had to come up with a number value.
This was the most difficult part of the job. People would want to trade in all sorts of things, motorcycles, boats, even tractors. No matter what it was, I had to come up with a value. If I overvalued the vehicle, we’d lose money when we sold it. If I undervalued it, I could cost the dealership the sale of a new vehicle.
The Camper
The Long, Long Trailer
Best Price: $10.27
Buy New $7.97
(as of 04:45 EST – Details)
It was around 9:30 AM, seems like it was mid-week, in the summer of 1979, when I looked up and “the camper” was pulling up. I will never forget it. It was an overhead camper mounted to the chassis of a single cab one-ton Ford truck. It was tall, it was…