Published on
July 7, 2010 in
Buying a Car, Tips and Under the Hood (In Depth).
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.
Continue reading ‘What do you look for in a car?’
Published on
May 3, 2010 in
Buying a Car.
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.
Continue reading ‘Test Drives in the 21st Century’
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
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.
Continue reading ‘KBB Releases its 2010 Best Resale Value Awards’
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.
Continue reading ‘Buying a Car, the Easy way; Step 5′
Step 4: Narrow down the Short List to your favorite car
Using your list of nonnegotiable features, your Short List and test drive memories (as well as notes), take the time to consciously narrow down the cars you test drove, from the original Short List you started with, down to the one you want to buy. When you put it on paper, in the form of a Pro/Con list, it usually makes this step very easy. If you’re having trouble eliminating a car, or figuring out which of two cars you prefer, take another test drive of each. Remember, buying a car is not a decision you want to rush. Think of the little things, like how difficult it could be to clean (if you’re a do-it-yourselfer), or how wide it is (if you have a narrower garage). Picture yourself driving it during your normal rounds, and whether or not a particular car would work well for such uses. Again, a sports car which only seats two isn’t going to have enough cargo space to haul enough groceries for your family of four, and on the flip side, an SUV with 68 sq ft. of cargo room might fit all the groceries, the whole family, your dog, and luggage for a week, but it may not fit in your garage.
By John Suit
