Archive for the 'Buying a Car' Category

New York Times: How Long to Recoup Hybrid/SFE Trim Level Costs?

Published on April 24, 2012 in Buying a Car and Industry Status. 0 Comments Tags: 150, 1500, 2011, 2013, article, Chevrolet, Cruze, EB, Eco, EcoBoost, economy, F, F-150, Ford, fuel, Hybrid, Hyundai, Kia, level, MPG, MPGs, New, NYT, Optima, package, pickup, Prius, Ram, recoup, Sonata, times, Toyota, trim, truck, York.

Many of you are have seen hybrid versions of cars, or even hybrid-specific models like the Toyota Prius, which combine electric motors with gas engines to get huge gains in fuel economy. Now there’s a new player in the fuel economy wars: the SFE, or Super Fuel Economy. It’s a Ford acronym, but I’ll be using it to describe any non-hybrid which uses aerodynamic modifications, special transmission or tires to eke out a few extra MPGs. The New York Times even posted a comparison on their site, so continue reading for that and my thoughts on it.

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What do you look for in a car?

Published on July 7, 2010 in Buying a Car, Tips and Under the Hood (In Depth). 0 Comments Tags: adaptive, automatic, buy, Buying, car, cooled, deal, feature, GPS, headlights, heated, look, nav, navigation, option, radio, rain, satellite, seating, wipers.

There are a lot of things to think about when buying a car, and most people focus on the different aspects of the “deal.” This includes the monthly payment, how much they want to finance, how much money they want or can afford to put down on it, or what the best finance rate they can get is. I’m here to talk about some of the other things to look for, such as driving dynamics and the myriad of options available on today’s technology-laden automobiles.

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Test Drives in the 21st Century

Published on May 3, 2010 in Buying a Car. 0 Comments Tags: bluetooth, iPod, MP3, phone, Sirius, SYNC, Tech, Technology, Test Drive, traffic, weather, XM.

SYNC Home Screen

When asked for advice on test driving a new car, most people will reply that you should take it on the highway, sit in some traffic, drive over some bumps, and of course play with the radio. They’re basically telling you to test the car out on a variety of road surfaces and traffic conditions, to make sure it’s comfortable and drives the way you want it to. Given the sophisticated electronics in today’s automobiles, let’s add another few things to the list:

Review the window sticker, looking for any tech-related items
Go through each of those items and test them as much as you can
Make sure to ask the salesperson about each of the tech features on the car, and make sure he or she shows you how they work

Click past the jump for the why and the how.

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GM offers Toyota, Lexus buyers Incentives

Published on January 27, 2010 in Buying a Car, Manufacturer Update and Recalls. 0 Comments Tags: GM, incentives, Lexus, Toyota.

Automotive News is reporting that GM has announced incentives for current Toyota and Lexus owners, in a bid to lure buyers away from the Japanese automaker. The deal is simple: if you own or lease a Toyota or Lexus vehicle, you get financing, cash back or free payments.

It will be interesting to see how many sales GM gets out of the deal, but any sales they get will be beneficial.

Here’s how it breaks down:

Toyota/Lexus Lessees: GM will waive 3 monthly payments, up to $1,000.

Financing buyers: 0% financing for 60 months.

Cash buyers: $1,000 cash back.

by John Suit

Source: Automotive News

KBB Releases its 2010 Best Resale Value Awards

Published on December 3, 2009 in Buying a Car, General, Industry Update and Predictions. 0 Comments Tags: 2010, award, best, KBB, resale, value.

Every year since 2003, Kelly Blue Book has released the names of cars they predict will have the best resale value after 5 years of ownership. KBB has just released this year’s winners, and Toyota took top honors this year as the Top Brand, with its Lexus division winning Top Luxury Brand. Toyota may have trouble staying on the top in resale, if its current recall has anything to do with it.

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Buying a Car, the Easy way; Step 5

Published on October 23, 2009 in Buying a Car and Tips. 0 Comments Tags: Buying, Buying a Car, cars, Financing, Negotiation.

Step 5: Buy the Car!

After all the research, test drives, narrowing down, you’re left with one car. You know you want it, now to buy it! This involves going to the dealership, picking out the exact car you want, negotiating, financing, and signing on the dotted line. We’ll cover each of those in turn. This step sounds like it’s one of the easier ones, but it is the most complex, so I have broken it into several sections, to ease the pain of digesting the whole car-purchasing process in one fell swoop.

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Archive for the 'Buying a Car' Category