Total and complete waste of money. Car came out just as dirty as it went in, except for the added soap, which now must be washed off at another car wash. So much for the "ultimate" wash. Worse than one-star!

What was initially an overall decent experience with Wallace Cadillac of Stuart has now turned sour. What could have been a somewhat solid deal has deteriorated into a 1-star mess.

Searching high and low for a decent deal on a Cadillac XT-4, I found one online at Wallace, about an hour south of my home in Vero Beach. Dealing first with Kayla, then Charles in sales, to Nick in finance - the purchase package was competitive, and the salesman wasn't pushy. I told them I wanted the car straight up - no extras. Charles delivered a sales order with none of the fluff that is typical of a new vehicle purchase. Especially, for the inexperienced purchaser.

Drove to the dealership on September 11th and advised that I had about 40 minutes to close the already credit approved deal through GM Financial. Having initially miscalculated travel time in picking up my kids from school, I was in a time crunch. Credit was already approved, and I cleared the fraud alert on file with the credit reporting agencies. All I had to do was sign and drive.

40 minutes became 50 minutes. 50 minutes became 60 minutes. Only after calling my kids school to advise that I would be late and thereafter advising Charles that I was "leaving in 5 minutes" if the deal was not completed immediately, was I brought into finance.

Nick was polite and didn't push any already rejected products or warranties. It did take another 25 minutes, though, to complete the deal. Thereafter, Charles - the salesman - chased me down as I was exiting the parking lot to execute a final form completing the sale.

Over the next month, I patiently awaited the welcome and payment instructions from GM Financial. As a purchaser who quickly establishes an online portal and automatic payments, I also quickly make the first payment to reduce overall interest. With that said, I never heard from GM Financial. No welcome - no request for payment. Two calls to GM Financial were for naught - I was not in their system, and neither was the Cadillac XT-4 loan.

Several calls and voicemail messages to both Charles and Nick were ignored. One e-mail to Charles was responded to indicating that the finance package may have been held up due to the Columbus Day holiday. A full month following the vehicle purchase. Another call to GM Financial was made with no luck.

49 days after purchasing the Cadillac XT-4, I received a call from Nick in finance at Wallace Cadillac. He advised that the initial loan approval from GM Financial had expired and that the finance company would call to again validate identity due to the fraud alert on my credit report. The loan - although previously fully approved - was never submitted to GM Financial for funding.

Following the call from Nick, I started to receive alerts from the credit reporting agencies of numerous credit inquiries. Credit report inquiries that were not authorized as I had previously been approved through GM Financial for a loan.

That's all - that's all I have to report about my experience with Wallace Cadillac of Stuart.

Alan's Bicycle Center was fast, efficient, economical, and polite.

Brought my two-seat tandem bicycle in for repair at 8:40 in the morning - 20 minutes before opening time - and was out the door within the hour with two new tubes and two new tires.

As the owner of a seldom used tandem, I brought the bike in for new tubes and ended up needing two new tires as well. Dry rot will do that to you.

Final price was fair and economical. Service was fast and polite.

Visited the Chipotle Mexican Grill while at the Empire State Building. It's all about location, location, location.

Typical Chipotle fare included a long line, slow - but polite - service, and average food. I ordered the steak tacos while my children enjoyed the chicken bowl and the kids guacamole meal.

The soda machine was broken and ice water was not available. Dining room tables needed to be cleaned.

The least expensive place to eat on the block, Chipotle was dinner while awaiting the ESB tour.