Sweepstakes
Since I had a bunch of stamps laying around, I decided to enter the Auto Zone Muscle Car Madness Sweepstakes --- 15 times. The prize? A fabulous, brand new, 2005 Ford Mustang.
I rarely enter drawings for cars, even if it is a beloved Mustang. Usually, such drawings are scams for timeshare companies who just want your home phone number so they can sucker you in with a sales pitch. But since Auto Zone is more interested in selling me motor oil than a condo Lake Tawokoni, I decided to fill out some of the slips.
I'm probably not the only person who's entering this contest multiple times, yet I'm likely one of the only people who read the entry rules on the back. "Enter as often as you like, but each entry must be mailed seperately, hand written" and so on. Got it.
So what happens if I win? I get a Mustang, worth the MSRP (meaning sticker price) of $21,500 at my nearest Ford dealer. So that fire breathing V-8 GT Mustang on the contest display is not an option --- they cost $25,500, MSRP. You get a base model Mustang in other words, with few options and a V-6 engine. Muscle car, not so much, but new car anyways.
The Mustang is free right? Not really. You're responsible for taxes, title, license and destination charges. For a $21,500 car, that's about $4,500. $4,500 is about what I owe on the used Mustang I'm currently driving. That means I'd have to sell my current car just to handle the new, almost free one. Still, a good deal.
Why not sell it and pocket the dough free and clear? Tempting. But if I had say $16,000 free and clear after taxes, you know what I'd do with it? I don't have any debts to pay off. So I'd use it to buy a new Mustang. I've never owned a new car. So I'm back to where I started.
One of my co-workers won a new Lexus last year in a similar sweepstakes. He and his wife kept it, even though Holmes had to sell his paid off Honda to pay the taxes. Kind of sucks for him because his wife got the Lexus and he has to drive a mini-van because they have a couple of kids. But he said he got to pick out the car and color.
Hmmm. It's still a good problem to have. I'd go with a white Mustang with black cloth interior. And Karen wouldn't even interfere. She doesn't even like riding in the Mustang I have now.
I rarely enter drawings for cars, even if it is a beloved Mustang. Usually, such drawings are scams for timeshare companies who just want your home phone number so they can sucker you in with a sales pitch. But since Auto Zone is more interested in selling me motor oil than a condo Lake Tawokoni, I decided to fill out some of the slips.
I'm probably not the only person who's entering this contest multiple times, yet I'm likely one of the only people who read the entry rules on the back. "Enter as often as you like, but each entry must be mailed seperately, hand written" and so on. Got it.
So what happens if I win? I get a Mustang, worth the MSRP (meaning sticker price) of $21,500 at my nearest Ford dealer. So that fire breathing V-8 GT Mustang on the contest display is not an option --- they cost $25,500, MSRP. You get a base model Mustang in other words, with few options and a V-6 engine. Muscle car, not so much, but new car anyways.
The Mustang is free right? Not really. You're responsible for taxes, title, license and destination charges. For a $21,500 car, that's about $4,500. $4,500 is about what I owe on the used Mustang I'm currently driving. That means I'd have to sell my current car just to handle the new, almost free one. Still, a good deal.
Why not sell it and pocket the dough free and clear? Tempting. But if I had say $16,000 free and clear after taxes, you know what I'd do with it? I don't have any debts to pay off. So I'd use it to buy a new Mustang. I've never owned a new car. So I'm back to where I started.
One of my co-workers won a new Lexus last year in a similar sweepstakes. He and his wife kept it, even though Holmes had to sell his paid off Honda to pay the taxes. Kind of sucks for him because his wife got the Lexus and he has to drive a mini-van because they have a couple of kids. But he said he got to pick out the car and color.
Hmmm. It's still a good problem to have. I'd go with a white Mustang with black cloth interior. And Karen wouldn't even interfere. She doesn't even like riding in the Mustang I have now.
posted by john clarke at 10:12 AM
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