Friday, June 20, 2008

Make Your Car More Green

With your latest visit to the pump and the spending on gas, might have more than ever before, made you consider going ‘Green’ with your car. Talking in terms of the environment, automobiles contribute nearly 20% of all greenhouse gases emitted into the air. One of the best ways to reduce your contribution to this would be to handle your car in an ecologically friendly manner. This does not mean that focus shifts from the best way to offset carbon footprint, that is, by planting trees. You can make your car more ‘Green’ by following the guidelines given below.

1. Buy a Hybrid Car or Green Car

By far, the most effective way to reduce your carbon footprint is to go in for buy a more environment friendly car. There are ‘hybrids’ easily available even in sedans, SUV, and luxury vehicles. In case your budget does not allow you to buy a hybrid car right away, select a car with exceptional gas mileage for almost similar results.

2. How You Drive

The fuel consumption and emissions your car gives off are considerably increased when you either accelerate or stop abruptly. Within the city, rather than driving aggressively, drive smoothly at a steady speed limit if you wish to cut down your gas bill. Moreover, avoid frequent short trips to the store; it is much better to take care of all your shopping tasks in a single trip.

3. Keep Your Car in Shape

Tune ups of your car done on a regular basis help in more than one ways - your car uses less gas, produces less greenhouse gases, and also prevents future problems. According to estimation, if every American’s vehicle tires were appropriately inflated to the right level, there can be a yearly saving of three billion gallons of gas!

4. You Don't Need a Car for Everything

If you have to make short trips, prefer taking your bike or simply walk down. Most people are in the habit of just getting into their cars and going off, without even considering the other ways they can travel. A backpack can be quite useful for carrying many store items a bike. An electric scooter can also help you reach places quite fast.

5. Drive Half Way

However, for some trips walking or taking your bike may not be the solution. You can try driving your car to get on mass transit, or driving your car up to a parking and then going on your bike. At times, rather than getting held up in the bumper to bumper traffic situation, especially during rush hours, it is better to drive until the traffic gets thick, and then go on your bike to reach quicker.

6. Use Less AC

A windshield protector should be used for reducing the heat in your car, thereby requiring a lesser use of the air conditioner as well. Moreover, using the AC on low is also an effective way of saving gas. Additionally, you can keep your car cooler by parking it in shade.

7. Use the Web

The web is your easiest contact with the big wide world – giving you the opportunity of video conferences, emails, and online purchase. Without using your car, you can have a video chat, which is much similar to a face to face meeting.

8. Go without a Car

If you decide to go without your car, you can easily do it. With a slight change in your mindset, you would be surprised how effortlessly you can go without a car. A bike or mass transit, as a means of transportation, can help you in getting around. If possible, look for accommodation closer to your workplace or the stores, so that you can save on the expenses of going in your car each and every time!

How The Dream Car Is Going Cheap

Many types of car brands are thriving in the car industry in the present times, like - Ferrari, Lamborghini, Chevrolet, Toyota and Honda. A lot of people want to lay their hands on one of these cars, as the apparent indispensable use of vehicles is that they are our main means of transportation for our day to day use. However, the truth in the matter is that not many people can manage to pay for buying such expensive cars, so it is much better to go in for cheaper and more affordable cars that are easily available.

In fact, it is a good idea to consider the option of availing ‘easy on the pocket’ cars from the dealers of used cars. In reality, it is a more sensible option to spend less money on the kind of car that you feel can best suit your requirements. By far, it is the best way to buy used cars and, as such, this is undeniably a preference that most people can often hope for.
If this be the best option for you, a vital point to be kept in mind for buying your dream car is to select the right car dealer who can be trusted. In big cities, there are countless car dealers who specialize in used cars or branded second-hand models. For a good purchase, make certain that you have a dependable and upright car dealer – one who can manage the specifications you desire for your car. Surely, you would not want to spend money on a dreadfully poor service. Making use of your credit cards will be quite wasteful, if you have not done your homework beforehand, and this can often mean problems galore later.
Checking the dealer can be doubly advantageous as you will also get the opportunity to select from a range of cars they make accessible for you. Many of the car dealers offer second-hand or used cars, which are in fact in a fairly good shape and also function quite well at a lower value - nearly half of the original price or may be even less. Finally, you might get a hold of your car at the best bargain ever, once you have picked the right car you need after appropriate coordination with your dealer.
Checking of car background and warranty are the other main areas to take note of. Verification documents are a part of every car. In case your dealer is a legit one, you will almost never experience any difficulties with your car. A good way to check is through the registration papers. This can be done either on-line or by personally going to the office where the car that you intend buying is registered. It would be good for you if your dealer can provide the warranty. This way you will get a guarantee or an assurance that if, later on after using the car for quite some time, anything goes wrong with it, you can go back and describe the problem to your dealer, who will solve the problem you may be facing.

Buy Repossessed Vehicles With a Smile

Probably you are aware that, at a fraction of their market price, you can get repossessed vehicles for sale. Such vehicles can be a good buy if you know the place to find these sales, the way to get the best bargain and take care against a scam.

Cars repossessed by banks or confiscated by the police are the usual sources of repossessed vehicles for sale. A third party is given the work of repossessing and storing these vehicles, and also of holding auctions or sales for disposing off such cars. Hence, being able to locate these auctions or sale locations is the first task at hand.

These auctions were not extensively publicized simply because that can be a very profitable type of business. Quite a few people engaged in the auctions were those directly from the trade, mostly buying these cars at fairly low prices and then selling them at a higher margin after some necessary doing up.

It is advantageous that some online databases provide the required information. Such services give you a chance to search for repossessed vehicles for sale both within the state as well as nationally. There are also great deals on trucks and SUVs.

Before you intend buying a repossessed car, keep a few points in mind. First of all, test the condition of the vehicle. It may or may not be properly maintained, as the vehicles come from different sources. In fact, it is a good idea to bring along somebody who can help you in examining the vehicle before you actually buy it. Secondly, read the fine prints carefully before signing on the dotted line to be sure about what you are buying. At times, there may be some hidden costs, lapsed warranty or information - like damages – which may not be covered by the written guarantees.

A lot of time and effort can be saved by looking up online inventory of repossessed vehicles for sale, so as to locate the source and buy directly.

It is not an easy job buying a vehicle. It is even more difficult buying a vehicle that is reasonably priced and functions properly as well. It is only in the rarest of cases that people planning to buy a repossessed vehicle may reflect on buying a pre-owned car or truck. An affordable way to buy the car of your choice at a bargain price is buying a repossessed vehicle from an auction. However, you need to be cautious as lack of proper preparation can cost you dearly. To avoid any disappointment, consider the following tips before buying repossessed vehicles for sale.

Conduct proper research on the vehicles you plan purchasing at the auction. Keep a note of the problems a particular make or model may be having time and again. Before you plan going to the auction, do your homework. If you can identify the most common problems, you can definitely save your time as well as money.

If you are not well-versed with the mechanics of the vehicle, consult a mechanic. This can also help you save greatly at the auction. Moreover, to identify the possible vehicles you may be interested in, use the buddy system.

Best Deal To Get Cheap Cars?

A lot of people feel that the best way of buying economical and good cars is going in for repo vehicles. To a great extent, this is correct because repo vehicles are mostly sold at 90 to 10 percent of their actual value in the market. Still, like it is with any other deal, the picture is not as rosy as it appears in the first instance. Though it is fairly easy to buy cheaper cars from repossessed car sales, there are quite a few drawbacks related to such a deal. If you have some guidance about how to go in for repo vehicles, you might just be able to strike a good bargain.
There are two main sources repo vehicles come from. The first source is repo cars sold by banks, owing to default by the owner, either on the car loan or on lease payments. The second source is cars confiscated by police either for smuggling or driving offences. Whatever the source, the supply of repossessed vehicles is a never-ending thing in most of the countries.

There are many factors due to which these cars practically cost so less. First of all, a lot of money is required for storing and maintaining these vehicles so as to make them worthy of a sale. Hence, it is definitely more sensible for banks or the government to dispose them off at the earliest possible. The second factor is the repo vehicles market itself – which is not much publicized, and as and when there is an auction on these vehicles, the people present there are generally those within the trade because of the profitable nature of this business. Thirdly, the buyers most consider these sales or auctions to be mere scams, and are hence doubtful about the deals. So, to make the best out of these sales, you need to put in extra attempts and exercise caution.

Before you can buy a repo car in a satisfactory condition, conduct a complete check of the vehicle, which at times may require some doing up, obviously because of the miscellany of sources of these cars and profiles of earlier car owners. In fact, companies that deal with these cars mostly recondition them before putting them for resale, thereby increasing the cost of the cars. Before you make the final commitment, consider having an expert to help you examine the condition of the car in general. Moreover, read the prints carefully before you move on to sign the dotted line. It is better to verify beforehand things like - hidden costs, lapsed warranty, accidents or damages not covered by the warranty.

With technology at hand, make use of it – look for online databases to direct you to the source of these sales or auctions. This way you can deal directly with the sellers, rather than having to go through agents, which will lead to extra expenses in the name of commissions.

Take Advantage of Auto Gas

How can I improve my gas mileage? This is the question arising in the minds of most people for quite some time. When they go to fill up their vehicles each time, most people complain that the price of gas has increased; but, most of them just accept it quietly as they can do nothing about it. The only option left is to find ways to increase gas mileage, with the ever increasing price of oil, and with hardly any signs of a drop in the price of gas at the pumps.

The question that comes up again is - how can I improve my gas mileage? In what ways can low gas mileage be achieved, given the present driving conditions? With some research, you can come up with a few effortless ways to increase gas mileage merely by improving your driving technique. These are small things, with some common sense, that need to be taken note of like - learning about the optimal speed for gas mileage, and getting your car and its engine serviced in time; but these little things together can combine to give you some real improvement in gas mileage.

One of the other ways to improve gas mileage is the proper way of driving while climbing a hill - avoid staying in a high gear for long as it not only puts a strain on your engine, but also uses more gas. If possible, try to build up sufficient speed before reaching the hill; this can help you gain the momentum to climb the hill at a steady speed, without the need to change down that can affect the engine. Do not go downhill in neutral or with the ignition switched off, thinking that you will save on gas. This can be quite dangerous as you do not have full control of the car; moreover, it is also unlawful and hardly any fuel is actually saved this way.

Changing the gears at the right time can also improve gas mileage of your vehicle with a manual gearbox. Try to change gear ideally between 2000 and 3000 rpm - the engine speed at which most cars run proficiently - accelerating softly and smoothly. In the case of an automatic gearbox, it will sense for itself when to change gear economically, if you drive keeping the lever in the ‘drive’ position. Since the ‘kick-down position also increases gas consumption, if you have to override the gearbox manually, it is better to select the low or intermediate position.

These simple methods can be of immense help to you for increasing gas mileage; soon you should be able to notice a drop in your gas consumption, thereby saving a few dollars at the gas stations. Along with these ways to increase gas mileage, there is something that could give even better gas mileage improvements - the new HHO gas mileage devices! They help you cut your gas bill nearly 40%, so some more research needs to be done on them too.