Is It Time To Reconsider Your Automotive Insurance Policy?

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Americans are a busy group of people, and once we take care of something, such as purchasing automotive insurance, we tend to forget about it and move on to the next task. However, purchasing an automotive insurance policy only to neglect it could end up costing you more money in the long run, or even leaving you unprotected. There are times in our lives when we need to stop and evaluate our current automotive insurance policies.

Reconsider your automotive insurance policy when you get married. When two people get married, they can get an automotive insurance policy together, thus spending less money and possibly even getting additional discounts.

Reconsider your automotive insurance policy if you purchase a new car. If you’ve borrowed money from a lender to purchase your new car, chances are your lender will require you to purchase full coverage insurance. Even if your lender doesn’t, your state most likely will. If your automotive insurance policy only covers liability because you own one of your cars, or the car you traded in, you need to increase the coverage of your automotive insurance policy.

Reconsider your automotive insurance policy if you relocate. If you currently live in a quaint little country town that sees very little wrongdoing aside from the occasional cow-tipping, you probably don’t have a very high amount of automotive insurance. However, if you’re moving to a larger city with a higher crime rate, your car will be more at risk and you should make sure you add the extra coverage.

Reconsider your automotive insurance policy if you’re getting on in years. Most insurance companies offer discounts to policyholders who are a certain age ? usually 55 years old. If this is you, give your agent a call and find out about discounts you may qualify for.

Remember, certain tasks are worth completing and forgetting. Taking out the trash is one of them; purchasing automotive insurance is not.

Automobile Financing – Know Your Options

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You’ve found the car that makes your heart race by 120 beats per minute. Now only one thing stands between you and the car of your dreams: financing the purchase. In a perfect world, you’d pay the full price in cash without blinking. But if you’re like the seven out of ten car and truck buyers who don’t live in a perfect world, chances are you’d be paying for your car through one of several financing schemes.

Understanding the basics of each car financing option is key to choosing the automobile financing strategy that best suits your situation. Here is an overview of auto financing options that may be available to you.

Auto Loans from Lending Institutions

You can get a car loan from a bank, credit union, or other lending institutions. The car that you purchase will serve as collateral for the auto loan. This means that the lender can repossess your vehicle if you default on the car loan. Auto loans are a popular car financing option because they generally offer reasonable interest rates and are relatively easy to get.

Two factors are likely to affect the total cost of the car loan. One is the term or duration of the loan. Generally, the longer the term of the loan, the lower your monthly installment will be. But you’ll end up paying more towards interest and this will increase the total cost of the auto loan. If you can afford it, get a short-term loan. Your monthly installment will be higher, but you’ll be paying less money over all. The second factor that may affect the total cost of your car loan is your credit rating. Creditors with less-than-stellar credit history are usually charged a higher interest rate because of the elevated credit risk.

Dealer Financing

Like traditional auto loans, dealer financing is reasonably easy to get. Most dealerships have relationships with numerous lending institutions, so they can arrange car loans even for car buyers with blemished credit histories. To compete with traditional bank loans, many dealerships offer zero percent or very low interest on dealer loans. However, such loans are available to car buyers with stellar credit ratings. Consumer experts advise car buyers to get pre-approved on an auto loan from a bank or credit union before approaching the dealership for possible financing. By getting loan pre-approval from another lending institution, a car buyer gets the upper hand when bargaining for a lower rate on a dealer loan.

Home Equity Loans and Home Equity Lines of Credit

If you own a home and have accumulated substantial equity on your property, then you may consider getting a home equity loan or a home equity line of credit. Home equity loans are fixed or adjustable rate loans that you repay over a predetermined period. Home equity lines of credit are open-ended, adjustable-rate revolving loans with a maximum credit limit based on the equity of your home. Home equity loans tend to have lower interest rates than credit cards and other types of personal loans. Interest payments on home equity loans may also be tax-deductible up to a certain extent. Home equity loans and home equity lines of credit use your home as collateral, so make sure you are financially capable of paying the monthly installments if you don’t want run the risk of losing your home.

Credit Cards

A credit card advance or credit card draft from your credit card company can help you drive your dream car home. Like home equity lines of credit, credit card advances or credit card drafts are revolving lines of credit with variable interest rates. To entice existing customers to avail themselves of credit card drafts, credit card companies waive cash-advance fees, guarantee low rates during the initial period of the loan, or offer high credit limits. However, because credit card drafts are unsecured, they generally have higher interest rates than home equity loans, traditional auto loans or dealer loans. Financing your auto purchase through credit cards could also leave you vulnerable to hefty penalty charges if you make a late payment or exceed your credit limit.

You may copy this article and place it on your own website, as long as you do not change it and include this resource box including the live link to the Credit Repair Advice site.

Chery Automobiles: China’s Auto War Begins

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China is laying plans at this very moment to begin shipment of passenger vehicles to the North American market by mid 2007. Chinese automobile manufacturer, Chery, yes read that again?the company sounds strangely like Chevy, is looking at bringing not just one, but a whole fleet of low cost production vehicles to our shores. Proposed prices will astound you and could potentially bring the U.S. auto market to its knees. Don’t think for even one moment that Japanese and Korean automakers will be immune from this flood of low cost cars. Chery vehicles have been designed ? some say stolen ? from current Asian models and will compete directly against the likes of Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Hyundai. China’s long awaited war with the US ? at one time expected to begin with a Red Army attack on Taiwan — may be fought on an economic front instead.

Chery, a state-owned car producer formed in China’s eastern Anhui Province, is currently building a number of cars in China including the QQ ? a compact car strangely similar to the Daewoo Spark GM' Korean division, as well as several sedans and a compact SUV. Indeed, recent charges made by Toyota, GM, and Honda have all alleged that Chery mimicked or outright stole designs from at least one of each automaker’s vehicles including the Honda CR-V. For the record, the Toyota case was rejected, Honda is still attempting to work out a solution with their case, and GM recently dropped its suit after the Chinese automaker agreed not to sell their cars in the US under the Chery name which GM has stated is too close to the Chevy name. Chinese courts have also ruled that the Daewoo Spark design was not registered in China, so GM dropped its suit.

At present, the Chery vehicle line up includes the tiny QQ; a compact SUV built jointly with Mitsubishi called the Tiggo; and three sedans: the Oriental Son, the Flagcloud, and the Windcloud. Recently, Chery unveiled a newly designed crossover vehicle along the lines of the Chrysler Pacifica. With an introductory MSRP of under $20,000 the Chery crossover will seat up to seven passengers and come equipped with both four and six cylinder engines. As you might guess the Chery crossover, if equipped similarly to the Pacifica, could be priced some ten thousand dollars less than the Chrysler model.

Current prices on the other models have not yet been set, but published reports this past summer indicated that a basic Chery could retail for as low as $6995 in the US, which would be some three thousand dollars less than the next lowest priced car, the Chevy Aveo from GM's Daewoo unit. Of course, this particular pricing strategy has raised all sorts of alarms within the automobile industry, chiefly how to counter a flood of low cost cars invading the U.S. market. As some have pointed out, much like Hyundai’s introduction to the North America market during the 1980s, the Chinese cars are expected to initially have only a limited appeal primarily due to expected low quality levels. Still, it only took Hyundai less than one decade to begin to produce cars which consistently matched the quality levels of many American and Asian models. So, it could be just a matter of a few years before Chinese cars receive the positive press now given to many other Asian automakers, resulting in a sharp surge in sales.

While the Chery dealer network within the US has yet to be established, it is under development; a limited version of the dealer network is expected to be in place by Summer 2007 when the first Chinese vehicles arrive. A rapid expansion of this same network across the US and Canada has been planned over the ensuing years and although the Chery name will not be used in the US, you can expect that whatever name is selected these cars will impact the way many Americans buy their cars from that point forward. Oh, by the way, two other Chinese automakers — Shuanghuan Automobile Manufacturing, LTD and Geely Automotive — are also expected to export cars to the North American market soon after Chery makes its debut.

While it is too early to say, the opening of the lucrative North American automobile market to cheap Chinese vehicles could possibly shake the American economy in ways never anticipated. I, for one, shudder to think just how all of this might unfold.

How To Get Cheap Automobile Insurance Online In West Virginia

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Every driver in West Virginia is required by law to buy automobile insurance. Still, there’s nothing that says you can’t get cheap automobile insurance online in West Virginia and save money every month.

There’s no trick to finding websites that allow you to compare the prices of automobile insurance among several different insurance companies in West Virginia. The real trick is in knowing how to fill out the form on each site so that you will increase your odds of finding the very lowest price possible for the automobile insurance you need.

The good news is that there are several different things you can do that will save you money on your auto insurance every month even before you look online to find the very best deal possible.

Let’s start with something fairly simple. If you can park your car in a garage at night you’ll save money on your insurance every month.

If you pay your premium automatically out of your checking account you’ll also save money month after month.

If you keep your driving record clean – that means no speeding tickets, no moving violations of any kind, and definitely no convictions for DUI or DWI – then you will also save a great deal on your automobile insurance every month.

If you can drive less you’ll save money. Many people are looking to public transportation for a lot of their “driving” needs, allowing them to leave their car parked most of the time. If you can reduce your driving to fewer than 500 miles per month you just may qualify for a Low Mileage Discount that could save you plenty.

Similarly, if you can carpool to work you can reduce your insurance costs. A portion of your premium is based on the number of times that you drive back and forth to work every month. If you can reduce the number of times you make that commute then your cost for automobile insurance will drop.

If you retire or if you stop making your daily commute for any other reason let your agent know. Not driving in rush hour traffic every day will save you quite a bit on your insurance.

See if you can find group automobile insurance. Sometimes group auto insurance is offered through your place of employment, but you can also find low-cost group auto insurance through clubs or organizations or associations that you belong to. If family or friends belong to any group or club that offers its members group auto insurance ask if you can join.

Don’t insure older vehicles with little or no Kelly Blue Book value for comprehensive or collision. Doing so is a waste of your money. You would be better off canceling your comprehensive and collision and putting the savings toward a new car.

If you have health insurance that is separate from your auto policy you may be able to save money by not purchasing Personal Injury Protection insurance or by reducing the amount of your coverage. Talk to your agent about how this works.

Don’t make small claims. If you are claim-free for at least six months ask if you qualify for a Good Driver Discount.

Increase your deductible. Obviously you must weigh this option carefully since you will be required to pay your deductible out of your own purse or pocket any time you file a claim. Don’t agree to pay more than you think you can actually afford.

Buy your automobile insurance online. You can save money virtually every time by buying your auto insurance online. However, do not fall into the trap of relying on the price comparisons of just 1 website. If you’re serious about getting the cheapest automobile insurance possible, use the information you have picked up from this article and fill out the form on at least 3 different websites.

Also – and this very important – fill out the form on all 3 websites exactly the same way. By filling out all 3 forms with the exact same information you guarantee that you are comparing the same automobile policy across all three websites and this will insure that you get the very best deal possible.

Now simply choose the lowest price you find from all 3 sites and you’re done! You now know everything you need to know about how to get cheap automobile insurance online in West Virginia.