We've bought 2 and sold 1 car on Ebay. The first Ebay car had passed one the seller's state inspection, but failed our state's more stringent one. We put it back up on Ebay with a detailed list of all the work it needed and ended up selling it to a shadetree mechanic in the original seller's state for a little more than we had paid. The 2nd car was a early 70's Mercedes coupe (which is just the type of car you should buy on Ebay). The seller was less than 10 miles away, but we would have never known about the car without Ebay. We saw and drove it first and then won the auction. Whay we've learned- The thing about Ebay now it that new car dealers are also putting their used inventory there. I would only buy from an individual selling their own car or from a new car dealership. Avoid the "dealers" who just go to wholesale auctions, clean the cars up a little, and resell them. There are tons of them in FL and TX. Bidding can be misleading. Early on we noticed shill bidding (where the seller has agents act on their behalf to drive up the bidding) on a few sellers auctions. We turned them in, BTW and they were booted, but it's easy to get a new ID and re register. Buy the car on Ebay, even if you see it in person. That way you get a little bit of buyer's protection, as well as, the opportunity to leave feedback. Verify the title is completely clear. I would avoid buying a car from an individual who still owes money on it. It's a hassle and prone to disaster. Seller needs to have the tiltle in hand at the time of purchase.

No great words of wisdom for you, but a couple of thoughts. For my older boys we bought the older one a subaru wrx and middle one a used saab 9-3. While they both have been amazingly trouble free, when they do need work the things that are wrong need to go the dealer and it's been expensive. In particular with the Saab - they don't sell them anymore so parts are pricey and hard to come by - some impossible. That said, son #3 now has his temps and I've decided he can only buy American or Honda or Toyota. Looking at a several year old Ford Escape with AWD - not real sexy, but safe and functional. I personally love a new car, and have leased my last two vehicles. I drive them three years and take them back! My DH is a drive to the ground guy, actually takes pride in how many miles he can get out of a car. I believe BMW includes all the maintenance on their cars so you have to factor in those fees you'll also have to pay on a different car that probably will need some work. I'd keep the BMW, cancel the collision insurance on the Jeep since it's so old, and buy the girls a decent enough car that it will last at least 6 years. I think the 2010+ Fords are all good quality, and reasonably priced. I like the Ford Fusion. I also am a huge fan of Honda Accords and Civics. You should be able to find a fairly decent one for under $10,000. Goodluck, teen drivers are not for the faint of heart.

Chisue, How large is your 'burb? I just checked Yahoo! Real Estate & they are showing 7 total foreclosures in my zipcode...5 are just Lis Pendens, there is 1 REO, & the last is a Lis Pendens on dirt. Our market has stopped moving but prices just haven't budged to any significant degree. Guess we've got a bunch of tough old cougars living in these parts, or something. They don't seem to realize (or care) that we're having a real estate crisis! lol :) DH & I yesterday looked at one of the most prime pieces of real estate in Mystic. It's for rent. Can you imagine? Anyway, it great...a circa 1790 cape right on the river. The owner's attitude seems to be that if they can't rent the place then it can just sit empty because they're not going to lower the amount they feel it's worth to sell in today's climate. Whatever. For no other reason than I was feeling nasty yesterday morning I told the realtor they were asking too much for rent ($3,500 + all utilities + gardener + pool maintenance). Just ten minutes ago, she phoned & said, "If you think it's too much make an offer!" Geesh. "OK, I'll give them $600/month for the joint...feeling generous today so I'll pick-up the utilities!" I sent the realtor back to the owners to ask if they'd consider either an option or a first right of refusal. I doubt they will. Your 38 foreclosures of $1M+ homes sounds like a lot compared to here?? /tricia

Timely discussion for me... I am in a major dispute with Raymour & Flanigan - big furniture and mattress chain in the northeast. I am 60, the hips are getting sore, my old mattress was old so I decided to buy new. Went to all the "mattress" chains, hoping not to spend more than $600ish. Went to Raymour and I walked out with a $1300 mattress. Almost immediately the mattress started to shift each night so that when I woke in the AM I had to be carefull not to fall of the edge on my bum (which I had done a few times). I thought maybe it was the risers, so I took those out. Thought maybe the sheets were too large. I Bought about 5 different styles of sheets - no change. So they send a service guy and he tells me I need to buy something to put between the boxspring and mattress. Told him I needed to talk with someone higher up, quickly. Regional office calls, they said all twins will shift. Said maybe I was to "big" for a twin, even after I explained I had been sleeping on a twin for over 20 years. If fact I gave my old mattress to my adult boy and he has been sleeping on it just fine. My main argument of course, was that if "all twins will shift" as she stated, I should have been told this at point of sale. So now I am talking to people on the corporate level. Waiting to see what they say. Will keep you informed. What I will say is that you really should listen to your friends as to what they do or don't like about their beds. Do research online, and when you do go to choose don't just lay on the bed for 5 min and say "okay, this is great" - and look at this like buying a car. Awful but necessary. BTW they were also trying to sell me on the gel bed. Too new on the market for me.