Consumers have been more concerned than ever about saving money on their vehicles.  They are doing everything from purchasing small, fuel-efficient cars, to purchasing an auto warranty to ensure they don’t pay unnecessary repair expenses.  But are they willing to skip the amenities that come in new cars, such as air conditioning, an automatic transmission, and power locks and windows, to save money?  And are stripped cars even available?

The truth is that it can be hard to find a car stripped with crank windows and a manual transmission.

According to JATO Dynamics, 89% of vehicles sold in America last year came standard with automatic transmissions, which is up from 85% in 2003.  Also, power locks came standard on 87% of cars sold, compared to 80% in 2003.

The vehicles that offer these features as optional tend to be on small cars, yet economy-car buyers usually pick convenience and comfort over cost if given a choice.

For example, the cheapest model by Toyota is the Yaris, which begins at $11,550 for a base model hatchback with air-conditioning.  However, approximately 80% of Yaris buyers choose to pay an extra $900 for an automatic, and about 60% opt for a power windows and locks package, which costs an extra $1,680.

It appears that features, such as air conditioning and automatic transmissions are necessities that most people aren’t willing to live without, just like new car warranties.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners recently performed a study to determine what the best and worst states are in the country for auto insurance.  According to the study, you are paying the highest insurance premiums if you live in the Northeast.

New Jersey proved to be the most expensive state.  On average, premiums in New Jersey are over $1,300 yearly.  The capital of our nation, Washington D.C. was the second highest, with average yearly premiums of $1,185.  New York was third highest with $1,110 being the average premium.

Revealed in the study was that urban driving, high salaries, and a lot of traffic are responsible for elevated costs in those states.  In addition, liability insurance premium costs are higher in the Northeast.

Midwestern and Northern states proved to have the lowest insurance premium costs.  The overall lowest was Idaho with costs at $530 per year.  The next lowest was Maine at $560 a year, and North Dakota was $570 per year.

According to this study, your location is a key factor in determining your car insurance costs.  Today, consumers are paying more than they ever have for their vehicles.  These costs include insurance, new car warranties, and maintenance costs.

With the poor economy, motorists are looking a little more closely at used cars.  The National Automobile Dealers Association reports that last year the average cost of a used vehicle was around $15,000, while it was $29,000 for new vehicles.

While you want to purchase a pre-owned car that has a solid reputation for dependability, it’s even more beneficial to purchase a used vehicle that consumers find less popular, because it has already depreciated rapidly.

Many people believe that the best new vehicles make the best used vehicles, which is true in general.  However, often these cars depreciate at a slower rate, which makes them popular as new vehicles, but means they cost more as used vehicles.

According to Kelly Blue Book, the vehicle brands that depreciate the slowest are Mini, Scion, Volkswagen, BMW, and Honda.

Instead of purchasing those models, consider other brands that have high reliability scores, but depreciate more quickly and can save you thousands of dollars.  Domestic brands are good to consider, such as Dodge, Ford, and Chevrolet.  These will get you a bargain.

If you want to save money by buying a used car, consider depreciation. You can get a good bargain by buying reliable, more rapidly depreciating models, and buy used car warranties to give you peace of mind.

Brake pad vibrations that result in a high-pitched noise are the cause of brake squeal.  When pads don’t have proper insulation from the caliper, vibration occurs.  The factory will equip brake pads with insulator shims, clips, and even a silicone backing that allows the pad to stay glued to the caliper.  This helps to prevent vibrations.

Often times when brake pads become too hard brake squeal occurs.  The hard and smooth surfaces then rub together to produce a noise equivalent to nails on the blackboard.  When this occurs, it is necessary to resurface the rotors and replace brake pads.  This will eliminate the squealing.

You should also have your rotors resurfaced when you have your brakes done.  Not doing this will result in squealing.  When replacing brake pads, the rotor refinishing should be done with a non-directional finish.  This will make sure that brake pads are broken in properly.

Act immediately if brake squeal occurs.  Take your car to a highly trained technician to make sure that your brakes are treated appropriately.  And, make sure you have used car warranties to cover repairs performed.  After all, you don’t want to end up paying unnecessary costs.

The DuPont Global Color Popularity Report found that White and White Pearl are the favorite car color choices in America, with 16% and 4% of the market share.  This is the second year in a row that white has been the #1 choice.

Black and silver tied for second place at 17% each.

Trends for North America also highlight the trend for global convergence.  This means that the colors that Americans like the best are similar to the ones that motorists in Russia and Brazil like, and vice versa.

Leading in Europe, however, is black, and silver takes the lead in the Russian car market.  Asia likes silver cars the best and India likes white.

According to the report, blue is now the “new green” when thinking of cars that represent the “preservation of nature.”

At this point it doesn’t really matter what color cars people are buying, as long as they are purchasing new cars with new car warranties.  Unfortunately, this year many people chose to hold onto their current cars and buy used car warranties.

The reliability ratings for Ford had a significant jump, which makes it the most reliable American carmaker, according to Consumer Reports, which just released its ratings. Other than a few of Ford’s pickup trucks, Ford’s reliability is comparable to that of the Japanese carmakers that are the best.

Other carmakers that received the highest ratings went to the usual winners, including Toyota, Honda, and Nissan.  Toyota received below-average ratings last year for the V-6 Camry and Tundra, however now all of the 42 Toyota, Lexus, and Scion models had ratings that were average or above.  After several years of experiencing trouble, Nissan’s Armada and Titan and Infiniti’s QX56 had improved ratings, which now are average.  Kia and Hyundai also got rankings equal with the best Japanese carmakers, with Kia making a 12 spot jump in one year.

American carmakers need to make improvements in reliability so consumers will purchase American made cars, and Ford has now achieved this.  Consumers are very concerned with safety and reliability and are purchasing cars with the best ratings.  Motorists are also protecting themselves by purchasing new and used car warranties.

There is nothing worse than getting your car repaired and hearing, “It isn’t covered under your auto warranty.”  Often, motorists are confused because they assume that certain repairs are covered.  Drivers need a little education to understand more about their new car warranties.

People need to understand that an auto warranty isn’t an entitlement, but an agreement you make with the car manufacturer.  Your responsibility is to fulfill specific maintenance requirements that the manufacturer sets.  After doing your part, the manufacturer must perform repairs resulting from a defect or a failed part.

So, what parts are covered?  The auto manufacturer must cover the parts that it makes.  For example, transmissions, engines, steering, suspension, computers, instruments, chassis wiring, and other parts that they manufacture are covered.  Maintenance items and wearable items aren’t covered under new car warranties.  For example, filters, hoses, belts, brakes and tires aren’t covered.

What about the parts not made by the manufacturer of the car?  Items such as stereo systems and conversion components have a warranty through their manufacturers.  These can be found in paper work you received with the purchase of the car.

The best thing that you can do to avoid misunderstandings about new car warranties is to educate yourself.  Make sure that you do your homework and read all of the fine print in your auto warranty.

Tribal has launched a new site that provides customers with a true life-like car shopping experience without ever leaving their homes.  Volkswagen.co.uk allows people to virtually sit in and walk around new cars.  Tribal created this web site because customers often feel that buying a new car can be confusing.

Research shows that people who want to purchase a new vehicle do most of their research on the Internet.  This means that trips to showrooms are cut in half.  Volkswagen responded to this by giving buyers a virtual experience from the comfort of their own homes.

The site features a car configurator that is very sophisticated.  It has 3D models of the new Volkswagen range.  Visitors are able to change every option that alters the appearance of the vehicle.  This lets people create the car of their choice.

In the future, people who visit the site will have the ability to book test drives by accessing the booking systems of retailers.  In addition, they will be able to see the availability of models at specific retailers.

Volkswagen has responded to customers needs by allowing people to shop for a vehicle from the comfort of their own homes.  Also convenient, is that customers can purchase new car warranties online from a wide range of providers.  An auto warranty is a smart way to protect your new investment.

Luckily, as of now, not all of the economic news is tragic.

According to economists from Comerica Bank, vehicles have currently become more affordable than has been seen in 28 years.  So, the last time vehicle shoppers’ purchases made up this small of a piece of his or her income, fuel prices were higher than ever and comedians were telling jokes about how old presidential candidates were.

Comerica says that the average cost of a light vehicle currently is $27,704, including new car warranties, and the average amount of money that people spent on a vehicle fell $700 this quarter, to approximately $23,900.  Motorists have been keeping their payments down by stretching out how much time they will take to pay it off, which is currently more than 62 months.

Incentives have started the trend, which continue to get better as dealers try to get rid of inventory (they especially look appealing if you want to purchase an SUV or truck), but for the most part, motorists have just begun to want less-expensive models.

If you want to buy a cheap, used vehicle, you might want to check out an auto auction website.  A good place to start is Car-Auction.com.  This website features cars that have been seized by the government.  Motorists can select the type and model of car that they would like to purchase, and also the price.  You will receive results within seconds.  The convenience of this website is key.  It’s so much easier than going to an automobile auction.  Just make sure to follow these tips.

The hardest part about an auto auction website is finding a quality vehicle that you want to purchase.  A lot of people will purchase a car that looks good on the outside, yet this is a big mistake.  You need to get additional information about the vehicle.

Getting a history report on the car is essential before making an agreement.  You should get the cars VIN in order to do a search through an agency, such as Carfax.  Also important is getting a professional inspection on the vehicle.

An online auction site is a wonderful place to search for a used vehicle.  However, you need to be careful.  Do your homework to protect yourself. Also, make sure you buy used car warranties for peace of mind.