Monthly Archives: January 2010

Deciding Whether To Buy Or Lease Your Next Automobile

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Buying a car is a huge purchase, usually second only to buying a house. With most new cars and trucks costing $20,000 to $30,000, before you shop, you should definitely do a little homework. One of the most frequently asked questions by those interested in buying a new car is whether to buy or lease, here are some tips.

What is Leasing?
Before you decide whether or not to lease a new car, it is important to understand what the term “lease” means. Leasing is when one rents a new car (or sometimes a used car) for a long period of time. Most leases are offered for periods of 2 to 4 years. It should also be noted that in some cases (e.g. luxury vehicles) a six month lease can be available. Instead of buying a car, you in effect rent the vehicle, which at the end of the lease must be returned or in many instances you can purchase the vehicle at a special price from the dealer.

The Advantages of Leasing a Car
The biggest advantage of leasing a car is that in most cases your monthly payment for the vehicle will be less than buying it. When you buy a vehicle, your bank loan reflects the entire purchase price, plus tax. When you lease a vehicle, your monthly payments only reflect the amount or value of the vehicle that you use. For instance, if you lease a $20,000 car for three years, the dealership will charge you the value of the vehicle for those three years. Since most vehicles lose about 50% of their worth in the first three years, your monthly payments over three years will usually only reflect that $10,000 that you used of the vehicle, making your payments substantially lower than if you purchased the car with a three year loan- your payments for those three years would be twice as much.

Another advantage to leasing is that in many cases, your lease payments can be fully or partially tax deductible. For instance, if you use the vehicle for business you should be able to deduct some of the costs of owning the car each year when you file your taxes. It is important to note that you should talk to an accountant before leasing to see exactly what your tax deductions can be (if any).

Disadvantages to Leasing a Car
While leasing might sound like a great idea, it is definitely not for everyone. One of the biggest reasons most customers do not lease their car is that at the end of the lease, they do not own it. Leasing a car is temporary, after the leasing period is over, you will need to give back your vehicle. For many customers, paying large car payments month after month and having nothing to show for it at the end of the lease agreement is definitely not a good deal. If you are the type of person that likes to drive a new car every couple of years, then leasing might be attractive, but for those that want their own car for five years or more, forget about the leasing option.

Another disadvantage to leasing a car is that there can be many hidden fees involved with leasing, for instance, most leases have a small mileage allowance. For instance, if you lease a car, expect an allowance of about 12,000 miles per year, anything more and you will have to pay a penalty. If you drive 15,000 or 20,000 miles a year, you may have to pay $.10, $.15 or even $.25 extra per mile. In addition, when you return your vehicle, you may also have to pay fees for wear and tear, dents, any accessories such as radios you have installed in the vehicle, etc.

While leasing can be attractive for many car shoppers, it is not for everyone, make sure you do your homework to determine whether or not leasing is for you.

Buying An Automotive Extended Service Contract

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Should You Buy An Automotive Extended Service Contract?

The decision to purchase an extended service contract or mechanical break down policy as they are sometimes called is a decision that has many variables. Depending on the age of the vehicle, the usage, how long do you plan on keeping the vehicle for are just a few questions that need to be considered.

If you look online, some of these so called guru’s who write scam pieces will tell you-Don’t Buy-it’s a scam. I whole heartily disagree with their opinions, I question if they have real world knowledge and experience to begin with. If they did, then I firmly believe their opinion would be other wise.

The scam comes when you are charged outrageous and inflated prices for an extended service contract, they are not cheap to begin with, but those who exasperate the cost are the ones who are taking advantage of unsuspecting consumers. Or perhaps even requiring you to purchase as a condition of buying the vehicle, you should never be forced to buy under any circumstances.

With automotive repair labor rates ranging easily up to $100.00 per hour or more, it doesn’t take a huge repair to cost you major bucks, and with the electronics and technologies of today’s automobiles, parts prices are equally as expensive.

During my 26 years in the automotive service industry, I can recall countless and numerous times where customers wished that they had purchased, and those that did were glad they made such a sound financial decision.

Consider the following examples of repair cost:

Air Conditioner Repairs can easily cost $1500.00 for compressor replacements.
Transmission Overhaul or Replacements–$3000.00
Water Pump replacements–$600.00
Power Steering Pumps and Steering Gears–$600-$2000.00

However, don’t be mislead into believing a mechanical break down policy covers every nut and bolt on the vehicle, there are variables and different kinds of policies as well. Some cover seals and gaskets, wear and tear items, consequential damages etc and others don’t. Be aware of what it does and does not cover before buying, this will save you a lot of grief in the event you have a mechanical failure.

It is a major decision, and one that requires weighing the advantages and disadvantages.
My personal and professional opinion is that if you are going to use the vehicle on a daily basis, you plan on keeping for 2 years or more after the original factory warranty has expired, then you should purchase the extra protection.

It is after all, like an insurance policy, you hope that you don’t have to use it, but it will give you some peace of mind in the event that you have to have an expensive repair.

Exploiting Car Covers Can Protect Your Pride And Joy!

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In this highly competitive world, we get anything just in seconds.  We usually tend to purchase many lovely and expensive products and due to lack of maintenance, we lose it in a short span.  After spending lot of amount, how do we feel if we do not know anything or taking care about its protection?  Yes obviously bad.  Am here explaining you how quality or standard fitted car covers will protect your car from pollution or weather calamities.  We often see the most expensive car is sitting under the tree or in open place day after day, without any car covers.  Leaving your car outside is like just similar to the money you left for the airstream or blustery weather to waft away.

Am sure you would agree with me buying a car is a big investment, right! So why can’t we protect it properly after investing hugely.  For protecting your car, you need to buy car covers that are available in varied colors, sizes and its types.  Usually you may see 3 different car covers such as general, form-fit and Porsche covers.  Don’t get confused much, am going to provide you the hyperlinks, just enter into the website and purchase through online wherein you can confidently buy the desired car covers one that suits exactly your requirements based on your car.

Form-fit covers embraces to protect the painting of your car while you are away and its inner layer is made with super soft material and the outer layer is with polyester.  Whereas Porsche covers are of customized one and it exactly comes in specified requirements for protecting the top, interior and exterior of your car. The car has to be maintained in all aspects keeping it trim polished to avoid it from chinking, when you placed the car in the sun.  So always purchase the best standard quality car covers and protect your price and joy.

Car troubles? Go online!

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The one way in which I could keep myself updated on the latest information on anything was the internet. Though I knew this fact, I still didn’t consider it when my car began to give me trouble and I was suggested to get it tuned. I did not have a car advisor and so I ended up going to service agents who didn’t really know all that well about how to aid me in keeping my car in good shape. Then one day I was just surfing online and I entered this website that was all about cars and how to take care of a man’s most loved toy. They had a range of articles to help me in understanding my car’s needs and had really great information on car tuning and the range of areas their articles handled was simply astounding. They had information about all the car parts that a regular guy simply wouldn’t know about and this site had increased my knowledge of cars about threefold than before. I did not ever have to worry about my car again as I knew that with this website on my side, I could keep my car in the best possible shape.

How To Get The Best Rates On Automobile Insurance In New Jersey

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Driving without automobile insurance in New Jersey is against the law. Not only that, if you’re caught it’s extremely expensive and time-consuming.

Rather than risk the time and expense associated with driving illegally without insurance, why not find a way instead to get the best rates on automobile insurance in New Jersey and sleep well at night?

Fortunately there are several quick and easy things you can do that will help to keep the cost of your automobile insurance down where you can more easily afford it.

Did you know that if you can keep your car in a garage at night that you can save on your automobile insurance each and every month?

Did you know that if you purchase a simple steering wheel “club” you can also save money from many insurance companies?

Did you know that many people are now using public transportation as much as possible and only using their cars for emergencies and special occasions? If you can keep your driving under 500 miles a month your insurance company should give you a Low Mileage Discount on your insurance.

Probably the most important thing you can do if you’re serious about keeping your automobile insurance rates their lowest is simply to always drive safely and legally. All it takes is one speeding ticket or one ticket for any moving violation and your insurance rates will head straight up.

If you are convicted of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) or of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) you can kiss the whole idea of low automobile insurance rates good-bye – and if you receive a second DWI or DUI conviction you’ll be dogpaddling in the deep end of the high-risk insurance pool with no assurance that you can find automobile insurance at any price.

Newer drivers under 25 are automatically placed in a high-risk insurance category. You can help keep your rates under control by staying in school and keeping your grades up. Maintaining a “B” grade average will earn you a 5% Good Student Discount.

If you already own other insurance policies, such as a life insurance policy or a homeowner’s policy or a health insurance policy you can save a fair amount on your automobile insurance if all of your policies are purchased from the same insurance company.

Also, if you’ve had an automobile policy with the same company for at least 5 years it’s time for you to ask your agent to give you a Long Term Policy Discount on your premium every month.

Then, of course, there’s your deductible. The higher your deductible the lower your insurance premium is going to be. But be careful when you set your deductible because the amount you set represents the cash you will have to take out of your own pocket anytime you have a claim.

Now it’s time to take what you’ve learned in this article and put together an automobile insurance policy that will save you money from day one – and then we’re going to go one better and jump online where we’re going to find the very best deal on your automobile insurance.

Find at least 3 websites that are dedicated to finding you the very best price possible on automobile insurance here in New Jersey and then compare the cost of your dream policy on at least 3 different comparison websites.

By making your price comparisons on at least 3 different websites you can feel confident that you will be seeing the prices of all the different car insurance companies operating in New Jersey.

Now all you have to do is pick the best price and you’re done! You’ve now gotten the best rates on automobile insurance in New Jersey and you’re guaranteed to save as much money as possible month after month. Congratulations!