Auto Repair Advice

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It just occured to me when shopping for new tires for my wife’s Envoy that there is more to think about when buying a new car than the upfront cost of the vehicle.

Like buying a copier or printer, it’s the consumables that end up saving or costing you money in the long run. Some manufacturers will actually almost give away printers to sell you overpriced ink cartridges for years to come.

On a vehicle your consumables are brakes, tires and filters. Let’s look at the tires today and the choices you can make at the dealership when picking out a new car.

Tires: Probably the most expensive of the three consumables, tires will end up costing you $300 - $800 for a set of four depending on the size and type. High performance tires with a higher speed rating will cost more and so will larger diameter rim sizes. The popular trend is to have a lot of wheel showing and little tire sidewall. In the case of my wife’s Envoy GM put 17″ chrome wheels with 65 series tires on it. The cheapest tire available for my wife’s car was over $125 at my local tire store. A good set of Michelin’s were over $180 per tire. It’s a SUV, not a sports car, and a good 15″ tire would be fine. Checking tire prices at tirerack.com shows a $20 - $40 price difference between a 15″ and 17″ tire. So the next time you are at the dealer looking for a new car, consider the fact that those huge shiny wheels will cost a pretty penny when having to replace the tires mounted to them.

Kevin Schappell

If you don’t understand depreciation, it will come back to haunt you when you buy a new car. Depreciation is simply the decrease in value over the lifetime of your car.

As soon as you drive a car off the dealer’s lot it starts to lose value. While you can not stop depreciation of a new car, you can reduce it with some diligent research.

In general a used car loses 15-20% of it’s value each year. New car’s can lose as much as 20 - 25% in the first year. This significant drop in value is why many people find themselves in trouble after a year or two and owe more on their vehicle than what it is worth. Generally trading-in the vehicle only results in being in a worse situation (often called being upside down in your vehicle) This very scenario is why I recommend when buying any car you put at least 25% down to protect yourself in the future.

So what can you do? R-E-S-E-A-R-C-H ! Check the major sites like www.kbb.com www.edmunds.com and www.nadaguides.com for reports on the best resale values. If you must buy a new car, stick to one who’s value will drop the least in the next few years. In 2007 some of the best resale values are in the Acura TSX, Honda Civic, Pontiac Solstice and the BMW 5 series.

If you have decided to buy a used car, congratulations, you will avoid that first year hit to value. It’s a balancing act between age and reliability. Buy the oldest car with the best reliability and you will save the most money in the long run. With longer factory warranties being offered, used vehicles are becoming a better deal.

Smart Wheels, Hot Deals: Buying, Leasing and Insuring the Best Car for the Least Money Readers learn the details they need to immerse themselves in the decision-making process:

* Should you buy or lease a new car?
* Is there any logical way to choose between buying a new car and a used one?
* How do these choices affect the kind and amount of insurance you need? The auto industry has moved significantly online, and smart consumers have to do more research and analysis by themselves whether or not they end up buying their cars online or through a traditional dealer. The upside? The average consumer can make a better deal than ever before; the downside is that the buyer has to learn more detail and jargon. For example, two-year leases are called “crackhead deals” and lawsuit-proof black holes of premium dollars’ are the off-shore minimum-coverage insurance companies.
Customer Review: A must-read before you buy a car
This practical guide to buying, financing and insuring a car (new or used) comes in compact format, so you can bring it along as you go car-shopping. It gives comprehensive coverage on negotiating on a deal, choosing the right financing alternatives, shopping for insurance, and even has a chapter on selling your car. While price negotiation coverage is not as deep as that in the excellent “What Car Dealers Don’t Want You to Know,” this book explains clearly the myriad terms used by the car industry, terms that are designed to confuse you into paying more than necessary.

Armed with this book, you’ll be able to better understand how to get the best deal for the car you want as well as gain the confidence to do it. Highly recommended.
Customer Review: Provides readers with all of the background information
From the consumer’s perspective, the new and used automobile marketplace has changed dramatically in recent months. Smart Wheels/Hot Deals: A Guide To The Best Car For The Right Money provides readers with all of the background information and bargaining tools they need to make smart, dollar-wise decisions about acquiring any car or truck for their personal or professional use. The topics covered including making a deal for a new car; buying versus leasing; finding the right used car; negotiating over a used car; how auto insurance works; shopping for auto insurance; making an auto insurance claim; warranties and service contracts; managing repairs; dealing with a lemon; sell a car; and getting out of a lease. If you are considering the purchase of a new or used vehicle, begin with a careful reading of Smart Wheels/Hot Deals to save money, time, and aggravation.

Secrets of buying & selling collector cars Customer Review: Hobby, Love, and Profit!
This book elaborates on the idea that you can profit from buying and selling collectible cars! Information on sources, how to use the phone, deductible costs, which cars appreciate fastest, and preparing for a sale. Highly recommended for all in this field!

Chapters:

Objectives

Which Cars are Best Bets?

Is Design Important?

How to Become an Expert

How Much to Restore

Market Avenues

Buying a Collector Car

On-Going Maintenance and Records

Are Cars Going to Become Obsolete?

The World’s Easiest Pocket Guide to Buying Your First Car Leading financial expert Larry Burkett presents more “World’s Easiest Pocket Guides” covering key issues preparing young adults to make practical life decisions. Filled with bite-sized chunks of trustworthy advice and guidance, this guide covers buying a card. While this may seem so simple to adults, it can be terribly overwhelming to young people. Get the students and young adults in your life started out in the right direction!

If you have been thinking about owning a classic car, and want to know what you are in for, this book will help you learn what it takes to own a classic car.  Yes, they are not as reliable as a new car, but properly cared for, they can be an enjoyable alternative to monthly car payments and cookie cutter new cars.  There is nothing cooler than a 60’s muscle car cruising down the street, unless you are the one driving it !  I have always enjoyed classic cars, and think they should be driven.  I had a 1969 Lincoln Continental which I drove on a regular basis.  I had to do a little maintenance, but in the end, the parts were cheap and I was left with a reliable car, with TONS of style.  If you are into old cars take a look at this book…

The Classic Car Book : The Essential Guide to Buying,Owning,Enjoying and Maintaining a Classic

Real U Guide to Buying Your First Car (Real U) The Real U Guide to Buying Your First Car is packed with advice for first-time buyers, steering them through the tricky process of choosing a decent used car or finding an affordable new one, arranging financing, deciding about optional equipment, shopping around for the best deal in auto insurance, and more.

Whether you’re 16 years old or 26, buying your first car should be a thrill and an experience that you’ll remember for many years to come. But what if you can’t afford the car of your dreams? Or you face soaring interest rates? Or find yourself signing a contract full of hidden charges? This guide has all the right answers, including tips on:

How to sniff out a lemon
Sales pitches to avoid
Why you want to stay out of a car dealership’s back room
The truth about leasing
The pros and cons of buying new or used

Don’t get burned on the first big purchase you make. Find out how to get the best financing, how to avoid the latest scams tactics, whether to buy extended warranties, how to negotiate the best price, and more. Includes a quiz every first time buyer should take: “Are You a Savvy Buyer or a Sucker?”

HOW TO MAKE CAR BUYING ENJOYABLE / While Protecting Your Investment The purpose for writing this book is to educate consumers on how to protect themselves when making a purchase for automobiles and other major purchases. How to negotiate finance rates, as well as price. The reader will have the benefit of my 34-years in the retail business as a top professional and General Sales Manager.

Don’t Get Taken Every Time: The Insider’s Guide to Buying or Leasing Your Next Car or Truck Customer Review: A must read
Everyone in the US buys a car at some point. Whether it’s a new or used car this book tells you how to buy a car the right way. Think of it as an investment. Spend a little for this book, save a huge amount when buying a car.

It’s hard to say enough about this book. Highly, highly recommended.
Customer Review: Don’t Buy A Car Without Reading This Book!
An incisive look at a dog-eat-dog business. Helps the car buyer through the major pitfalls of purchasing a new or used car which, unfortunately, exist at just about every stop in the car dealership.

For car buyers willing to do their homework, there is no reason to get ripped off. Sutton shows you how to arm yourself with some common-sense tactics that almost anyone can use.

An amusing sidebar for me was, after reading Sutton’s book, was having several salespeople AND managers ask me if I was a former car lot manager. I just smiled inscrutibly and answered that I had ‘contacts’ in the business.