Wednesday, February 14, 2007

How Not to Sell Your Car -- The 7 Deadly Sins

Deadly Sin 1 -- Not doing research

This is the actual source of much of the difficulty with selling your own car. Research is the reason the car dealer has the advantage. He knows his business. The private seller usually has little to do with car prices until they want to sell their car. The main benefit of research is that you will know a realistic price that you can charge for your vehicle. This means that you will most likely sell it more quickly and easily. A dealer sets his price by charging whatever the market will bear. Proper research will allow you to quickly estimate the market for your vehicle in a private sale.

Deadly Sin 2 -- Listening to unfounded advice

This follows on a little bit from No. 1. There's often financial pressure at the time of selling a car - which leads others around the seller to give their opinions as to the price or the desperation to sell. It is often given with the best intentions. If someone is giving you advice as to the value of your car you shouldn't necessarily ignore it but it is best to do your own assessment. If you do your own quality research you will find that you are less likely to be concerned about doomsayers.

Deadly Sin 3 -- Not preparing your car for sale

It is amazing, but some people will try to sell a car with a full ashtray of cigarette butts. At the very minimum you should vacuum the car and give it a wash. If you really want to maximise your price putting some time into the presentation of the vehicle is essential. The best way to approach this is to imagine you are the buyer. See yourself viewing the car for the first time. What impression does it give you? Now make a list of things that you can inexpensively fix or handle and attend to them. Properly detailing your car is highly recommended.

Deadly Sin 4 -- Trying to hide known faults from a buyer

Well it's fairly clear that this is dishonest and should not be done. Some states actually have laws which hold you liable if it is found that you sold a car with known faults. A used car may have some faults. The best way to handle this situation is to know exactly what the fault is and how much it will cost to fix it. You can then reflect that in the price you ask for the vehicle. The principle is to repair only what will be paid back in the sale price.

Deadly Sin 5 -- Selling to a professional buyer

There are people that make their living buying cars at bargain prices. For this reason you should learn to recognize them. They will make you a very low offer. The best way to protect yourself is to do the research step thoroughly and be prepared to say no. They are basically trading off the fact that most people don't really know the market and are sometimes just desperate to sell.

Deadly Sin 6 -- Not doing your paperwork

You absolutely must complete all the DMV or vehicle authority paperwork to fully transfer the title. Otherwise you may receive parking tickets or other nasties from the other party.

Deadly Sin 7 -- Letting yourself be bullied by tyre-kickers

Many buyers will make a list of all the things they have found wrong with the car and then tell you the price that all this costs to repair. Don't assume that their figures are correct because they appear to be an expert. It is often the case that if they are truly an expert they know how to get the repair done themselves for a much cheaper price. You will find that two of these experts have two totally different ideas about the price. As you can see, it gets back to research again -- if you have priced your car correctly -- you won't be overly disturbed by tyre-kickers.

Graeme Sprigge is the webmaster of SellMyCarForCash.Com, a website dedicated to enlightening you on how to get the most for your car in a private sale. The site is is constantly expanding and includes more great articles, some of which are available for reprinting in your ezine. There is a lack of unbiased information on the net in this are so this site aims to fill the gap.

For more cool articles, cool car selling tips, car finance tips visit http://www.sellmycarforcash.com

Copyright 2005 Graeme Sprigge. Please feel free to pass this article on to your friends, or use it in your ezine or newsletter. It's a shareware article.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Graeme_Sprigge

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

How to Properly Repair Chips and Deep Scratches on Your Car

We all have received them on our cars – rock chips, door dings, bumper scrapes, etc… They can come from a rock thrown up from a truck on the highway, or its as easy as a parking lot ding from someone in a hurry or even an errant grocery cart. Most of these are unavoidable. They can happen even if you park far away from stores and regardless of the measures you take to protect your car. Not only do they detract from your cars beauty, but they can also make your car susceptible to rust and the environment. Here’s how to fix these paint chips, nicks and deep scratches and protect your car from rust.

Its not worth going to a auto paint and body store for chips and scratches. They will charge 10 times more for repairs you can easily do yourself. The first step is to locate the chips and scratches and see how deep they are. If they don’t go all the way through the paint you can buff them out. Using a cloth terry towel apply a small amount of scratch remover or cleaner wax. Rub in a circular motion over the chip or scratch and buff when dry. If this removes the chip or scratch after a couple of applications, great, then just follow with a good wax or polish. If you see white primer or metal in the nick or scratch scratch remover or cleaner wax will not work well.

Some cars have paint that is lacquer based and others have paint that is enamel based. The following tip works wonders on cars with lacquer based paint only. Get a clean rag and apply a small amount of lacquer thinner to it. Take this and rub lightly on and around the scratch, nick or chip. The lacquer thinner will actually start to move the paint around and cover the affected spot. This even works on larger scrapes. This treatment is not recommended on cars with custom paint jobs and may not work on all cars with lacquer based paints.

For those with enamel paint or scratches and chips where the above treatment didn’t work, then you have to touch up the blemish in your paint. First, you need to get the paint code so you can correctly match the paint for your car. This is located inside your door jam or on some Hondas inside the glove box. Take this paint code to your dealer and get a small bottle of touch up paint. The touch up paint will come in a small bottle with a brush applicator. Instead of using the brush, as it will apply too broadly and make your touch up of the chip or scratch really stand out, we recommend using a toothpick for better paint placement.

First clean the area of the chip or scratch. Then follow the directions on the touch up paint bottle. Usually it is mix thoroughly for 5 minutes (metallic paints may require more agitation). Then using the toothpick place the paint directly in the chip or scratch. When done allow to dry for several days before waxing or polishing (some cars have a clear cote which you would then apply in the same fashion to the affected area). By touching up the paint you have sealed the area from the environment and greatly reduced the chances of rust setting in and affecting your sheet metal. Rust is like cancer for your car and very difficult to stop once it starts, so it is better to be proactive and prevent it with proper car care and treatment and quickly identifying and repairing paint chips, nicks and scratches. For more great free info on automotive repair, treatments and headlight cleaning and restoration, please visit the link below.

David Maillie specializes in automotive safety products and information. He holds numerous patents and awards for his patented headlight cleaner and restorer. For more information, tips, safety and money saving products for your auto please visit http://www.mdwholesale.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Maillie

Friday, February 09, 2007

The New Truck From Honda: Ridgeline




The Honda Ridgeline is Honda’s new pickup truck on the market. It uses Honda's unibody large vehicle platform, shared with the Acura MDX and Honda Odyssey. It is powered by an all aluminum 255 hp 3.5 L V6 coupled to a 5-speed automatic transmission with all wheel drive capable of towing 5000 lbs. The Ridgeline will be the first pickup truck with a fully-independent suspension.

Some of the more innovative features of the Ridgeline are its tailgate, which can fold down or hinge to the side, and an 8.5 cubic foot “In-Bed Trunk" below the truck bed. The bed is integrated with the body, similar to the Chevrolet Avalanche. The Ridgeline comes with anti-lock brakes and side-curtain airbags as standard equipment.

The bed is 49.5” x 60” with the tailgate up. With the tailgate down, you get 49.5” x 79”. And remember, the tailgate also swings to the side so you can easily access the in-bed trunk. The tailgate is designed to support 300 lbs. While driving. The steel reinforced composite bed resists dents and corrosion. Another neat feature were ample tie downs in the beds and several cargo lights.

Standard towing features include prewiring 4 pin and 7 pin, along with a brake controller. Heavy duty radiator, power steering cooler, and transmission cooler keep things cool when the work begins. Huge 4 wheel disk brakes help stop quicker with the aid of the Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD). All the dealer has to do is install the hitch and harness.

The 8” ground clearance works well with the 4 wheel independent suspension. Yes, all 4 wheels. Unheard of in a truck, but this is a Honda. They wanted their truck to instill confidence in the corners and a stable, responsive feel while maintaining ride quality. The closed box frame and unit body construction means this truck is tough and ready to work.

Traction control is standard along with a locking rear differential for extremely low traction conditions. It can stay locked with a push of a button up to 18 mph. Along with traction control, you get stability control called Vehicle Stability Assist. This corrects your cornering problems before they even become a problem.

The tires come with tire pressure monitoring systems which will be standard in all vehicles very soon (government mandate). Air bags are all around in front, side, and side curtain. It will only deploy what is necessary depending on the type of accident. These safety features along with ABS braking make this one of the safest trucks on the road.

There are three trim levels starting with the RT, RTS and the luxury RTL. You can get heated leather seats and a moonroof. These amenities were only thought to be available in cars. This truck also has available navigation system, homelink, and a hidden in dash cd changer.

The 22 gallon tank is ample for the 16 MPG city and 21 MPG highway EPA mileage estimates. The six color combinations come with 3 interior choices. Options include a bed extender, tail light “garnish”, chrome bumper trim, 17” wheels, body side protectors, roof rack, fender flares, running boards and a towing package mentioned above. I’ve also seen hard tonneau cover-locking for the bed, and in-bed trunk dividers. There’s a larger brush guard for the front bumper available for you off roaders.

All in all, looks to be a pretty good and well thought out truck from Honda. Check out my pictures of the Honda Ridgeline at the car show on my website.

Stuart Simpsonhttp://www.hondalinks.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stuart_Simpson

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Will Advancing Technology And Gas Prices Make Sports Cars Go Away?



There are many sports car lovers who are afraid that they will soon go the way of the dinosaur because of high fuel prices and the advances in performance technology that is enabling family sedans to compete with sports cars in quickness. While it does seem that there has been somewhat of a decline in sports cars along with increased sales of SUVs some of the current developments tell me that the vehicles we love are not going to be around in large numbers but they will still be around.



Back in the day, muscle cars ruled in the performance realm and regular sedans and trucks couldn't keep up. SUVs didn't even exist. Now with the innovations in design and engine performance and the light weight materials being used automakers are getting superior results out of smaller engines. In addition normal production vehicles now handle as good as a race car.

Some of the other issues that are causing the decline in the numbers of sports cars seen on the road include comfort and affordability. Sports cars in the truest sense are not built for comfort, they are built for speed and long road trips are no fun. The larger cars of today that still offer a sporty ride give you the best of both worlds. As far as the affordability issue goes, it is quite simple most families are just unable to afford the expense of having a car just for fun. People these days have to make use of their cars on a daily basis as it has become cost prohibitive to keep one around just as a hobby or weekend car.

In the beginning cars were used as sport, for racing across country in rallies and contests. It wasn't until much later that they became mainstream everyday drivers.

Some good news for the high end sports car market is that there are several companies that are beginning production of hybrid or electric sports cars. Some of the top companies like Toyota, Honda, Mazda, and Mitsubishi are working on bringing them to the open market.

The most promising one that I have seen as a true sports car in terms of performance and the fact that it is a two seater is the new totally electric roadster from Tesla Motors, a company backed by the founders of Google and Paypal. The car does 0 to 60 in less than 4 seconds and it runs on laptop batteries!

Gregg Hall is an author and internet marketing consultant living in Navarre Florida. Find more about cars and car polish at http://www.ultimatepolish.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gregg_Hall