by: Craig Rowe
With gas prices sky high most individuals who drive are interested in ways they can make their car more fuel efficient and save as much money as possible. While there are no fuel saving tips that will keep your car full of gas without filling up, there are some tips that really can help you save money on fuel over the long run. All of these tips focus on making your car more fuel efficient.
Fuel Efficiency Tip #1 Drive When You Crank Up This might seem obvious, but as soon as you crank up your car you should drive off. However, many people crank up and leave the car idling for a while. Instead of this, when you crank up drive off and only keep your car running when it is absolutely necessary.
Fuel Efficiency Tip #2 Don’t Ride the Break Many drivers hit the break more often than is necessary. Additionally there are quite a few drivers that slow down for a braking car when they could easily switch lanes. Not riding the break can increase your fuel efficiency by up to 30%, so this is a great tip you should follow.
Fuel Efficiency Tip #3 Turn Off Your Car If you are going to be stopping for more than 10 minutes you should switch off your car to keep fuel efficiency at its peak and not burn more gas than is necessary.
Fuel Efficiency Tip #4 Don’t Turn Off Your Car If you are only stopping for a brief moment or less than 5 minutes then don’t turn off your car because the amount of gas used to crank up is more than you would burn in that short period of time.
Fuel Efficiency Tip #5 Inflate Tires Properly Too many drivers never think of their tires, unless one goes flat. However, having tires that are properly inflated can save fuel and make your car more fuel efficient, saving you money. Because of this, you should check your tire pressure on a regular basis.
While gas prices don’t seem like they will be dipping considerably in the next few months every tip to help you make your car more fuel efficient is helpful. So, follow the above fuel tips and you will see that over time your car really is more fuel efficient.
For more information please visit www.honostreview.com
Friday, November 21, 2008
4 Tips To Saving A Bundle At Your Next Car Auction
by: Chris Fox
Many of us have been at the car dealership and have been drained by a salesperson during price negotiations for the purchase of a new car. Most people give in too easily or do not negotiate at all to avoid the dreadful act. This only means more money in the car dealers’ pocket, while you are out of several thousand dollars! Yes, they make that much in profit per car.
This article unveils the dealer’s selling tactics and how you can get around them. But before we dive into the new car buying tips, we need to understand what makes up the dealer’s profits.
In addition to the MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price), which is the dealer’s cost for the car plus an additional 20-25% profit, a dealer also gets financial incentives from the manufacturer when a new car is sold. This is called Holdback.
Depending on the car, dealers can make hundreds on each car through holdbacks. Dealers also get additional incentives and bonuses on selling a car before the end of the month and/or quarter.
A shrewd dealer can make several thousand on a new car even by selling it at invoice price. This is how new car buying can become tricky for the consumer.
Ready to learn how not to put a dent in your wallet on your next car purchase? Here are four tips to get you started. Each one is a dealer tactic to watch out for.
1. The Guilt Trip As you may have noticed, every desk in a dealership has photos of the salesperson’s family, instead of photos of cars. Midway in the negotiation, the sales person will bring them up and make it look like his little commission check can hardly pay for his daughters college and little Bradley’s braces. A seasoned salesperson will soon have you feeling guilty for driving the price down and hurting his commission. Watch out not to fall for this tactic, since you already know about holdbacks and incentive programs from manufacturers.
2. Wearing You Down Come prepared to spend half a day at the dealership or pay whatever the dealer asks for. Car Dealers are trained to delay and tire you out to the point where you give in and accept their price just to get out of there. After you make your offer, sales people typically claim they would have to run it by their manager. You may then have to re-start negotiating with the manager, who is also a seasoned salesperson. This dance goes on for a while until you give in. Remember, there are multiple dealerships in a city, so they need you more than you need them. Demand to speak to the manager after a certain time period or threaten to leave. Because you are devoting a lot of time to bargain with the dealer, they know you are a serious buyer, so they will not let you leave. The earlier you can speak with the manager, the faster you can leave.
3. The Test Drive We all enjoy a good test drive and look forward to it. Although it is essential to test drive a car before you buy it, remember to not show your absolute love for the car to the salesperson. Their goal is to get you emotionally attached to the car, so it becomes a must have for you. I have learned it the hard way. To hide your emotional tears from the salesperson, mention the features of a competing car in the same class, like the new shape, light, leg room, resale value etc. This will make the salesperson a little vulnerable.
4. Monthly Payments This one is to confuse you. Dealers will start talking about monthly payments rather than the total price of the car. They will start by asking how much you are willing to pay per month and how much of a down payment you are willing to pay. Since people don’t want to look like they cannot afford a certain car, they will usually give a higher number. Big Mistake! You have left little room for negotiation when this happens. Always steer the conversation to the total price of the car and do NOT mention any trade-ins at this point. Only after the total price of the vehicle is completely negotiated then talk about interest, monthly payment and trade-ins.
General Rule;
As a general rule, remember to only focus and negotiate on the Total Price of the vehicle. Everything else is pretty much the car dealer’s trough. If the above new car buying tips seem like a lot of hassle, yet you still want to get the best price in town, there are some websites that do this for you. www.autoauctionbids.com for example is a great website for this because you can collect price quotes from multiple local dealers for a particular car as well as its competing car models (like Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Ford Taurus) and compare them. The website then allows you to send back the lowest quotes received for each car make to all participating dealers in your area through the website itself. Dealers view this price and continue to submit new lower prices over a 3 day period. By putting local car dealers in such a price competition allows you to avoid the dreadful face to face negotiation and yet gets you the lowest price in town for up to 3 competing car makes. The best part about AutoAuctionBids.com is that it is absolutely free for you and there is no obligation to buy after the new car auction is over.
For more information please visit www.honostreview.com
Many of us have been at the car dealership and have been drained by a salesperson during price negotiations for the purchase of a new car. Most people give in too easily or do not negotiate at all to avoid the dreadful act. This only means more money in the car dealers’ pocket, while you are out of several thousand dollars! Yes, they make that much in profit per car.
This article unveils the dealer’s selling tactics and how you can get around them. But before we dive into the new car buying tips, we need to understand what makes up the dealer’s profits.
In addition to the MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price), which is the dealer’s cost for the car plus an additional 20-25% profit, a dealer also gets financial incentives from the manufacturer when a new car is sold. This is called Holdback.
Depending on the car, dealers can make hundreds on each car through holdbacks. Dealers also get additional incentives and bonuses on selling a car before the end of the month and/or quarter.
A shrewd dealer can make several thousand on a new car even by selling it at invoice price. This is how new car buying can become tricky for the consumer.
Ready to learn how not to put a dent in your wallet on your next car purchase? Here are four tips to get you started. Each one is a dealer tactic to watch out for.
1. The Guilt Trip As you may have noticed, every desk in a dealership has photos of the salesperson’s family, instead of photos of cars. Midway in the negotiation, the sales person will bring them up and make it look like his little commission check can hardly pay for his daughters college and little Bradley’s braces. A seasoned salesperson will soon have you feeling guilty for driving the price down and hurting his commission. Watch out not to fall for this tactic, since you already know about holdbacks and incentive programs from manufacturers.
2. Wearing You Down Come prepared to spend half a day at the dealership or pay whatever the dealer asks for. Car Dealers are trained to delay and tire you out to the point where you give in and accept their price just to get out of there. After you make your offer, sales people typically claim they would have to run it by their manager. You may then have to re-start negotiating with the manager, who is also a seasoned salesperson. This dance goes on for a while until you give in. Remember, there are multiple dealerships in a city, so they need you more than you need them. Demand to speak to the manager after a certain time period or threaten to leave. Because you are devoting a lot of time to bargain with the dealer, they know you are a serious buyer, so they will not let you leave. The earlier you can speak with the manager, the faster you can leave.
3. The Test Drive We all enjoy a good test drive and look forward to it. Although it is essential to test drive a car before you buy it, remember to not show your absolute love for the car to the salesperson. Their goal is to get you emotionally attached to the car, so it becomes a must have for you. I have learned it the hard way. To hide your emotional tears from the salesperson, mention the features of a competing car in the same class, like the new shape, light, leg room, resale value etc. This will make the salesperson a little vulnerable.
4. Monthly Payments This one is to confuse you. Dealers will start talking about monthly payments rather than the total price of the car. They will start by asking how much you are willing to pay per month and how much of a down payment you are willing to pay. Since people don’t want to look like they cannot afford a certain car, they will usually give a higher number. Big Mistake! You have left little room for negotiation when this happens. Always steer the conversation to the total price of the car and do NOT mention any trade-ins at this point. Only after the total price of the vehicle is completely negotiated then talk about interest, monthly payment and trade-ins.
General Rule;
As a general rule, remember to only focus and negotiate on the Total Price of the vehicle. Everything else is pretty much the car dealer’s trough. If the above new car buying tips seem like a lot of hassle, yet you still want to get the best price in town, there are some websites that do this for you. www.autoauctionbids.com for example is a great website for this because you can collect price quotes from multiple local dealers for a particular car as well as its competing car models (like Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Ford Taurus) and compare them. The website then allows you to send back the lowest quotes received for each car make to all participating dealers in your area through the website itself. Dealers view this price and continue to submit new lower prices over a 3 day period. By putting local car dealers in such a price competition allows you to avoid the dreadful face to face negotiation and yet gets you the lowest price in town for up to 3 competing car makes. The best part about AutoAuctionBids.com is that it is absolutely free for you and there is no obligation to buy after the new car auction is over.
For more information please visit www.honostreview.com
5 Things You Should Know Before Buying a Car Cover
by: John Mancini
If you own a collector car, the purchase of a quality car cover can be an important investment. Before making this purchase, there should be ample consideration given to the quality of the car cover itself. Follow these tips while searching for the perfect cover for your perfect car.
1- While looking for a car cover for your vehicle, keep in mind that quality is a factor in this purchase. The better the quality, the better the cover will protect your investment. Look for a cover that is made specifically for your type of car. Many car cover manufacturers offer a variety of pre-made covers for most types of cars. The cover does not need to be custom made for your vehicle, just made for your specific kind of car.
2- If purchase price is not an issue, then it be might be wise to consider a custom-made car cover. This will ensure that the cover doesn't blow away in a strong wind, will have elastic in all the right spots, can have extra layers of protection built in. The custom cover can even be made in a color to match your car or with some custom embroidery that is just for you.
3- The material that the cover is made from is important also. It needs to be breathable, if the cover holds in moisture it will have dire consequences on your paint. The cover is not supposed to be waterproof, it should, however, dry out quickly after a rain, so that the rain spots are minimal on the paint finish.
4- A cover that has several layers of padding is best for the protection of your vehicle. These added layers will protect your car against such tragedies as limbs falling from trees, the neighbors' cats, stray baseballs and the like.
5- Before you place the perfect cover that you have found on your car, make sure it is clean. A dirty car will be scratched and scuffed no matter what quality cover you put on it. However, having a clean car to start with will help to ensure a well-protected car through the long months in storage.
For more information please visit www.honostreview.com
If you own a collector car, the purchase of a quality car cover can be an important investment. Before making this purchase, there should be ample consideration given to the quality of the car cover itself. Follow these tips while searching for the perfect cover for your perfect car.
1- While looking for a car cover for your vehicle, keep in mind that quality is a factor in this purchase. The better the quality, the better the cover will protect your investment. Look for a cover that is made specifically for your type of car. Many car cover manufacturers offer a variety of pre-made covers for most types of cars. The cover does not need to be custom made for your vehicle, just made for your specific kind of car.
2- If purchase price is not an issue, then it be might be wise to consider a custom-made car cover. This will ensure that the cover doesn't blow away in a strong wind, will have elastic in all the right spots, can have extra layers of protection built in. The custom cover can even be made in a color to match your car or with some custom embroidery that is just for you.
3- The material that the cover is made from is important also. It needs to be breathable, if the cover holds in moisture it will have dire consequences on your paint. The cover is not supposed to be waterproof, it should, however, dry out quickly after a rain, so that the rain spots are minimal on the paint finish.
4- A cover that has several layers of padding is best for the protection of your vehicle. These added layers will protect your car against such tragedies as limbs falling from trees, the neighbors' cats, stray baseballs and the like.
5- Before you place the perfect cover that you have found on your car, make sure it is clean. A dirty car will be scratched and scuffed no matter what quality cover you put on it. However, having a clean car to start with will help to ensure a well-protected car through the long months in storage.
For more information please visit www.honostreview.com
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