All Bombed Out
I've been writing mostly about the partying, but remember, we're all actually down here for business. Well, at least I was. As I said before, things started off slower then expected for newcomers Max and Chatty Patty. We practically went out every night. But I did my best to teach these two the hustle.
Now let's recap their business budgets. Mr. Cuckold, or Cucks for short, had departed Massachusetts with a total life-roll of $2,300. Pretty speculative, but he backed himself into a corner. Snap-Chatty Patty on the other hand wasn't much further ahead with his $3,000 starting capital. Those figures dipped over the course of their first week in town. If you remember, Max was buying $100 crack-whores. He obviously had to feed himself. Eating out wasn't cheap, so the downstairs 7/11 quickly became his grub go-to. He rarely paid for drinks because Papi Perfecto was present most nights we went out. So he occasionally kicked up for a Blue Moon or two. As for SCP, similar results, minus the crack-whores. But he had much more of a spending habit, he liked to be pampered. He would get up after a night of drinking and head out for a massage. Sometimes a full-body wax or even a mani/pedi. These luxuries of life can add up quite quickly.
So the following week rolls around and they both realize it's time to purchase a vehicle. It's what you need to do to make money as an independent contractor. The adjusted bankroll update was Max-$1,800 and SCP-$1,500. No need to worry because there is still a large pool of cars within their price point. Plus we had multiple auctions to choose from. After scouting the auctions on Monday and Tuesday they both were still empty handed. Max had trouble gauging what a car would go for. He basically needed to keep his bidding capped at $1,400. Once you add in the roughly $200 auction fee and the $150 rep fee, he would be at his limit. He always got his heart set on one car, thinking it was going to go for a grand. After waiting the 2 hours for the car to come through the block, his heart would be broken when a 2004 Acura RSX went for $2k plus. I would warn him ahead of time, but he would just hope that nobody else would bid. Even if that was the case, he ignored the fact that the wholesaler doesn't have to sell just because you have the winning bid.
SCP was a bit more auto savvy, he loved being at the auction and really picked up quick. He acted like a pro outside the block as the cars were coming in. He would rush up to a car he spotted, give it a walk around, drop to the ground to check the under-body, then give the driver the "pop the hood" motion. He had all the bases covered, appear like he was going to bid, then never pull the trigger. But he made sure to give his intel/advice on the upcoming vehicle to everyone else around him. He had $1,500 to his name at the time, but wanted to steer clear of maxing that out. Sushi, designer underwear, and teeth whitening isn't cheap. He did finally make a stand at the Wednesday morning auction when a 2004 Hyundai Accent with low miles came through. For some reason this car didn't draw much action and the opening bid was dropped to $500. He took the safety off and pulled the trigger. After all fees, he was the new owner of a beautiful Hyundai for the low cost of $750. Max was still car-less and a bit jealous as SCP was posting his ad on Craigslist after a light detail. He had it listed for $1,750, looking to make an even band off it.
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(SCP got Papi to join him on a beauty excursion)
It was now Friday morning and Max was determined to make a purchase. It was going on 2 weeks and he hadn't made a dollar yet. He had also missed on a bunch of great buys all week that I had pointed out to him. He just couldn't get his head around the idea of buying a car he personally doesn't like. We hit the auction that morning and he spotted a clean loaded 2005 Jetta. I gave him the thumbs up and said I would bid up to $1,400 on it. Only thing was, Max had been bleeding his roll all week on Gummi-worms, Red Bulls, and Hot Fries at the 7/11. So the $1,400 we spoke about at the beginning of the week was cutting it very close for him. We opened the bidding at $1,000. As another bidder took $1,100 I looked at Max. He looked nervous, but gave me the go ahead. I motioned to secure the $1,200 bid. It looked almost like we had it when last second a guy says "Screw it, $1,300". Now Max looked sick, I kept nudging him to give me the go ahead for $1,400. This is a fast paced environment, because before he could make his mind up "SOLD!" Now he looked defeated. Oh well, I went on about my business.
About an hour later Max comes rushing up to me with a sale slip. He won a bid on his own. He seen a similar Jetta in the lane and wasn't letting this one go. He actually won the bid with $1,400. Not sure if he just opened at that, but he was now the proud owner of a clean 2006 Jetta. The excitement was all over his face. "Things happen for a reason!" was the wisdom he preached. Missing out on that car earlier got him a model one year newer. After all fees he was dead broke once he kicked up the $1,750. He made sure to stuff his pockets with the complimentary granola bars the auction sets out for dealers. Times were going to be tough until he makes the sale on this car. But, it was the weekend and he had high expectations.
Once we had his gate-pass, he anxiously wanted me to come check out his first purchase. As soon as I get to the driver-side door, "WTF", he bought a standard.(He owns a standard Jetta back home) One of the many bits of advice I gave him was to stay away from standards. I knew he loved standards, but this man is putting all his eggs in one basket. He sees me buy a standard here and there, but he doesn't have a dozen or more cars for sale. He just lost 95% of the customer market by not getting an automatic. That didn't deter him though. I started the car, engine sounded good, car was clean and loaded. I then realized he ignored the first rule I gave him about buying a car. In Florida, the A/C is an almighty basic driver need. You have to make sure the car has a functioning A/C or you're going to have to get it fixed. He was still in good spirits and figured he could tinker with it once he drove it back to the shop.
After he got done giving the car the works, he took photos and asked me for a recommended selling price. I told him to start at $3,400 and lower it accordingly. He was busto, but could taste a $1,500 pay-day on the horizon. Of course I had to keep him fed until he sold his car. But hey, that's what friends are for.
The cars Ramon and I had were selling no problem. It was bit discouraging to these guys when nobody was making offers on theirs. They both started to drop their price. I didn't have to be at the lot that much because we had Tone selling our cars for us. So Papi and I spent most days either having lunch and drinks at the strip club, or just running errands. Max and SCP were just desperately sitting in the office praying for a customer.
It was the middle of the following week and I showed up to bull**** with everyone. Tone, Max, SCP, and I were all standing outside when SCP noticed a "sick" truck drive by. "Look, that trucks all decked out!". At this point Tone was now familiar with SCP's constant babbling about every "sick" car he sees. So Tone starts to do impressions of SCP which are hysterical. "Dude that's a GTR, the quarter mile is no joke", "Holy Fk bro, look at that Malibu, it's all tricked out!", "You see those fenders, that **** is custom as Fk!". Now I know this is one of those you had to be there things. But I promise you, this would become one of the best ongoing jokes we had. We're all laughing and Tone keeps going. It got to the point where he wasn't even talking about cars. Just praising random things in view. "Yo, look across the street, that stop sign is all bombed out!" It eventually died down, but we all found the most joy in the "All bombed out" line.
Later that day, I took Max out to a BBQ joint for dinner. I was looking at SCP's gem on Craigslist, seeing what the price had dropped to. That's when I thought it would be funny to call him on my Florida phone and pretend to be a potential customer. He didn't know that number, so I just had to use a different voice. I went with the old Asian guy voice. Kind of like the one you get when you call for Chinese take-out. I was pretty decent at it due to my experience on the baccarat tables. So anyway, he has no clue when he picks up. I ask different questions about the car, and let him now I'm really interested. I scheduled a time to come look at it and said I lived nearby. This won't sound as funny being written. But before I hung up, using a great Asian voice, "Ooo, I have one more question, is it, is it, is it all bombed outtt??" He found it funny even though I was torturing him on this junk-box he couldn't sell.
Being as hilarious as I found it, I couldn't stop there. I gave Ramon's wife SCP's phone number, and gave her the run down of the call she needed to place. It all played out perfect too. Max, SCP, and I we're all back at the apartment playing cards in the living room that evening. His work cell rings and he gets a bit of cheer on his face. He puts it on speaker just to rub it in Max's face that he is getting action on his car. She talks to him for 5 minutes about the car all while he is giving us the "I got it sold" look. Winking and grinning. Then she said she just wanted to make sure she had all the specs right before she comes out for a test-drive. "It's a 2004 right? Automatic?" Etc.. Then it came, "And it is all bombed out right??" His facial expression was priceless as Max and I were rolling. Poor kid, only inquiries on his car were trolls from me.
I loved the abuse I was putting him trough with this. But I knew the calls weren't going to work anymore. SCP is too sharp to fall for that again. I had to take it to the next level. After some mild brainstorming, I had a game-plan. The next day while they were at the dealership, I stopped at the gas station that is only a minute or two walk away. I found a guy I suspected of being on tough times. I then propositioned him with a gig that pays $25. Once he heard how simple it was, he was on board. He took a break from loitering, and walked over to the dealership. He was interested in the red Hyundai Accent. Took it for a test drive, didn't haggle the asking price, and made it clear he had the cash on hand to make the buy on the spot. I then pull in to make sure I get my moneys worth. This guy even makes SCP waste all his time printing out all the sale documents. The buyer is motivated and says "Just show me where to sign". SCP hands him a pen, and the guy looks like he is about to sign. But then he sits upright in the chair. "Are you sure it's all bombed out?". That unleashed an uproar of laughter from everyone, Tone, Max, Me, even this guy was laughing at SCP. I hope this comes across at least a bit funny, because it was hilarious.
After that we hit Publix for some grinders for lunch. SCP needed to blow off some steam. Started talking about going out that night. I declined, but Tone was interested. So they ended up hitting a hood bar.
I was sleeping when I heard the stereo on all of sudden. It was maybe 3am, so I got up to see what was going on. Tone was was drunk and high on yayo, mumbling about SCP being a sellout. Apparently the plan was to run a train on a girl they met at the bar. But SCP didn't feel comfortable with that idea. She was getting naked and looking to have sex right in the living room. Max was getting his voyeurism on from the comfort of his air mattress. But I guess SCP decided to take her into the bathroom for some alone time. Tone wasn't happy and just kept saying that SCP must have a little dick. I had no knowledge to chime in, so I just encouraged him to not let SCP back out of the train arrangement. SCP ended up getting his nut off, and Tone left with the girl to a hotel. He showed us naked pics of her from that night the next day at work. We all gave SCP a bunch of abuse for cock-blocking.
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Last edited by fidstar-poker; 12-21-2018 at 05:30 PM.
Reason: <broken video link removed at the request of OP>