January 20th, 2009 by Hal Moses
Often motorists get sticker shock or experience buyer’s remorse after buying a new car. However, you can avoid this by considering the expenses that you will encounter in the future.
According to experts, most consumers anticipate the price of the purchase, registration and taxes. However, many people forget to factor in the price of insurance and new car warranties. Fortunately, by doing your homework you can get good deals on insurance and an auto warranty.
To control car costs drivers should consider these tips. First of all, decide before you get to the dealership the amount of money that you can spend. Also, decide on what type of car will suit your needs. It is also beneficial to get quotes from several dealers, because then you are in the position to negotiate. Finally, check insurance and auto warranty prices on the vehicle that you want to purchase.
You don’t have to go broke purchasing a new car. But, be smart and consider all of the costs involved. It isn’t just the purchase price that you will be paying.
January 17th, 2009 by Hal Moses
Car dealers have haggled with car shoppers for years. This practice has allowed salesmen to con buyers into buying cars and new car warranties, using all kinds of negotiating strategies. But car dealers have paid for it by being known as untrustworthy.
Some dealers are changing their old ways by dumping haggling. The eighth largest chain of dealers in America, Lithia Automotive Group, announced that they are going to make all 108 of their stores haggle-free within three years.
Toyota’s Scion has implemented a policy for no negotiation from its onset four years ago. This has prompted dealers who sell Toyota vehicles to apply the one-price approach.
And all over the country, independent dealers who carry various brands of domestic and foreign vehicles are teaching their employees to sell cars like the rest of the retail world. In other words, cars come with a price tag and a smile from the salesperson.
This no-haggle method will make buying a car a more pleasant experience for consumers. Now that people can look up a car’s base price online, they don’t have patience for haggling. In addition, people are able to compare the prices of new car warranties online.
January 16th, 2009 by Hal Moses
The 111th Congress is just a week old, and they have already proposed legislation that will affect the car world. The House and Senate have both proposed new legislation hoping to get vehicles that are fuel-inefficient off of roads. This program, which is called “Cash for Clunkers†would provide owners of old gas-guzzlers cash. For example, a 1999 Ford Explorer would get between $2,500-$4,500 so they could buy a new vehicle.
So, what is the catch here? First of all, the car would have to be a model year 2004 or earlier, and get 18mpg or less. Also, the car must be drivable and it had to have been registered for the last 120 days or more.
The tricky part, however, is that after you get the reimbursement slip, you must buy a used or new vehicle that has a fuel economy rating that exceeds the CAFÉ target set for its vehicle class by 25%.
This bill can be helpful for many people, especially if you are interested in buying a new car that gets good gas mileage. Just keep in mind that you will have other expenses to consider, such as new car warranties and maintenance costs.
January 10th, 2009 by Hal Moses
For all of you people out there who are fans of the Patriots- the vehicle, not team-here are some additional reasons that you should love your crossover. In an omission that is rare, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety decided to revise the frontal crash-test rating of the 2008 Jeep Patriot to Good, which is the highest rating that is acceptable. Russ Rader, who is a IIHS spokesman, claimed that there was a missing wire in a crash-test dummy’s leg that caused the Patriot to get an Acceptable rating, but when the wire was in the correct place, the Patriot received an improved rating of Good.
The side crash-test rating for the 2008 Patriot was also Good with the optional side curtain airbags. These airbags are now standard for the 2009 model. Ratings for rear crash-tests were only Acceptable, which is why the Patriot didn’t become the Top Safety Pick.
Consumers are becoming more and more concerned with automobile safety. They are protecting themselves by purchasing new car warranties, and researching car safety features and crash test results.
January 10th, 2009 by Hal Moses
The EPA is the arm of the government that is responsible for testing fuel economy, and its results are now posted on the stickers on new vehicles. This is a different rating than the government’s CAFÉ numbers, which you might have heard about in Washington.
The real numbers by the EPA are predicted to go up an average of 0.2 mpg for 2009, compared to last year, the EPA claims, which will be about 20.8 mpg.
The final statistics won’t be in until the early part of 2009, but according to the EPA, these predictions demonstrate the fourth rise in a row in the average fuel efficiency of light trucks and cars. In fact, trucks have actually had the largest impact of all. Although their market share has gone down from 52% in 2004, to 48% in 2008, overall, their fuel-efficiency has gone up.
The figure of 20.8 mpg is the largest since the year 1993, and the EPA is predicting that the final number is going to be even higher because people have shifted to smaller cars. Consumers are trying to protect their wallets by purchasing more fuel-efficient vehicles and new car warranties.
January 10th, 2009 by Hal Moses
Anyone who has been to the 2009 Los Angeles auto show would be impressed by the 2010 Mazda3’s redesign. Mazda is setting the bar high with the incredible designs of both the Mazda3 and Mazda6. It is blazing a trail for its lineup to look sophisticated and uniform, without appearing to be identical and boring. Mazda has succeeded in making their vehicles radical with taillights, front grilles, headlights, and rear ends that sport a new look, and take the midsize sedan in a new direction.
Mazda uses similar lines on the hood, similar contours of the fender, and similar headlight assemblies to give the Mazda3 an upscale look, while keeping an appearance that is individual when looking at the entirety of the car.
Additional information about this vehicle, such as MSRP and new car warranties, is not yet available. However, consumers are excited about the Mazda3 and can’t wait for it to hit showrooms.
January 9th, 2009 by Hal Moses
It isn’t surprising that Ford’s aiming the new 2010 Mercury Milan and Ford Fusion hybrids straight at the Toyota Camry Hybrid, but what is attention getting is Ford claiming that its sedan hybrids will outdo the city mileage of the Camry Hybrid by 5 mpg. That would make the Milan and Fusion hybrids’ rating at 38 mpg. Although there wasn’t a number provided for highway mileage, Ford claims that it beats the Camry Hybrid in this area as well. The Camry Hybrid currently gets 34 mpg/highway.
The complete reveal of the Milan and Fusion hybrids is going to wait until the Los Angeles auto show, however Ford just disclosed a few tidbits today about the new sedans.
The Milan and Fusion hybrids will be the first hybrid technology use, besides the Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute and Mercury Mariner hybrids. Battery technology has undergone a big improvement since the launch of Ford’s compact SUV hybrids.
Consumers are anxious for new hybrid technology and want to save money on such things as gas, new car warranties, and auto loans. In this poor economy, people are looking for all of the financial relief they can get, including hybrid technology.
January 7th, 2009 by Hal Moses
Ford Motor Co. recently made a promise that its new compact and sub-compact cars, which are due in 2010, will exceed the industry average in quality.
According to Bennie Fowler, the Ford VP of Global Quality, the carmaker will maintain its “things gone wrong†at approximately 800 for every 1,000 cars. This would be around 500 below the average for the industry. “Things gone wrong†is a yearly compilation of difficulties that car owners have in their first 90 days of owning a car.
To achieve the 800 goal, Ford will be using virtual reality tools that will allow 70% of problems to be reduced before vehicles are even built. In addition, an “army†of hourly workers will be trained to detect problems before a car will ever get to the showroom.
Ford’s commitment fuels the current battles between Ford and GM to shift their product lines to small, fuel-efficient cars. Consumers have begun to abandon trucks and SUVs and instead purchase small cars with new car warranties that will save them money at the pump.
January 7th, 2009 by Hal Moses
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a recall has been issued by Nissan for 242,720 Pathfinders, Xterras and Frontiers for model years 2005-2009. The recall is due to a crash sensor that causes the airbag to deploy in an accident. This recall is mainly aimed at cars that are sold in climates with cold weather, in which road salt causes the crash sensor to corrode. The warning light for the airbag may become illuminated.
Nissan says they will replace sensors that are faulty and put new ones in, and all vehicle owners will receive a 10-year extended warranty for the crash sensors. Nissan urges people to look for the warning light regardless. This recall is the second one Nissan has had in the last three months that involves an airbag sensor. Nissan owners can call Nissan at 800-647-7261.
It is important for car owners to protect themselves by purchasing new car warranties, since you never know when your car will fail.
January 6th, 2009 by Hal Moses
In NYC the top taxicab lobby didn’t take lightly Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s attempt at making the taxi fleet hybrids. After the announcement that NYC would require taxi companies to gradually phase out the V-8 Crown Victoria, which is a gas-guzzler, for hybrid vehicles that are much more expensive, the Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade started its campaign designed to fight back.
Last week it won a victory because Paul Crotty, who is a federal judge, ruled that the federal government’s laws about fuel economy pre-empt and city or state regulations.
Obviously, Mayor Bloomberg wasn’t pleased, claiming that “Archaic Washington regulations†should not keep cities from taking matters, such as efficiency and pollution reduction into their own hands. Certainly, consumers are taking steps to reduce their car costs by purchasing hybrids with new car warranties.
The ruling is peculiar considering the nation has moved away from gas-guzzlers, but it is likely that the decision won’t hold.
Often motorists get sticker shock or experience buyer’s remorse after buying a new car. However, you can avoid this by considering the expenses that you will encounter in the future.
