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apple-masher t1_irnrwwz wrote

you'll need to do a Carfax or something similar for any car you buy that cheaply.

A lot of the too-good-to-be-true cars around here have salvage titles, which means they were in a collision, or maybe a flood, and then repaired. Those cars are risky, because they tend to have invisible damage that doesn't become a problem until later. hairline cracks in the frame, electrical problems, etc...Some dishonest car flippers will just do the minimum repair work to make it look good and get the engine running.

I've seen a lot of those for sale around here lately, both at dealerships, and on facebook marketplace. I saw one that looked like a great deal, until I found out it had been totaled 3 times! by 3 different owners!

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[deleted] OP t1_irns8p3 wrote

Wow!! The odd thing is since I live in Cambridge, I don't get to see many dealerships like this, and even in Dorchester (one of the less affluent neighbourhoods in Boston), I wasn't able to find cars with these prices.

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albalfa t1_irnu0wn wrote

They're not giving anything away here 40 miles to your West. Hope you find your car at your price, but Spag (and Duddie) died a long time ago...

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New-Vegetable-1274 t1_iroxmrr wrote

Wow, Spag and Duddie, I thought I was the only old timer on Worc Reddit. Found a packed away Spag's canvas tote in a closet and got all teared up. I had family that worked there and worked there to the bitter end. The pay was not much better than anywhere else but he took care of his employees, there are so many stories of his generosity and many kindnesses.

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albalfa t1_irpslfj wrote

> I thought I was the only old timer on Worc Reddit

We are kindreds!

> Found a packed away Spag's canvas tote in a closet and got all teared up

A couple years ago in a thread here I posted some pics of a couple things from Spags I still had kicking around the garage and basement. Was pretty cool! Then someone asked if I was a hoarder 🤣 because of a drill bit and some zip ties.

I still remember the wear of the concrete floor just inside the (one-way) entrance door opposite the garden center. The smell as you entered the store and turned right up the "ramp" (where all the lighting was displayed) or went straight-ish down towards the toys, being in line in your car driving through the garden shop area to get loaded up with the fertilizer you just bought, the sound of the woman on the PA system calling out for "Bucky, Bucky to Door 10 please. Bucky... Door 10."

Christ it sounds like I'm 80 years old!

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New-Vegetable-1274 t1_irs1ijs wrote

I haven't lived in Worcester in decades but still have a soft spot for it, it made me who I am. I'm an old main south kid. One of the things that startled me about entering the "golden years" is the way people, places and things disappear like they never existed. The Spag's legend is all that's left and in another generation it too will disappear. Still the Spag's unique retail blueprint should be archived in the annals of enterprise.

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[deleted] OP t1_irnuk5v wrote

Who is Spag and Duddie? When I went to Worcester to meet the mothers side of my family (my mother, who still lives in Vietnam, has two older sisters and two brothers in law in the Worcester area), I saw the prices at Affordable Auto Exchange being much cheaper than the competition, so that is why I am here to ask.

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albalfa t1_irnuy5d wrote

Sorry-It was an obscure reference to getting deals in Worcester. I hope my tone didn’t come across wrong, I wasn’t trying to be nasty—only lamenting that it’s so hard to get a good deal on a car right now.

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[deleted] OP t1_irnwav0 wrote

Ok. Since I don't live in Worcester, I don't know any of the terms.

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