Used Cars to Walk Away From!
When you are in the market for a used car, you are usually doing so to save money. Sadly, not all the vehicles that have been produced in the last decade or so are up to current standards. Consumer Reports is a trusted resource that reviews and researches products so that consumers can make informed decisions. If you want to pick up a used car from Ford Richmond, you are probably going to get a great deal. Ford’s overall quality has significantly improved over the last decade and they don’t have any blaringly obvious models you should avoid. However, some of the vehicles from Chevrolet Minneapolis over the years haven’t been as great.
Consumer Reports looked at vehicle reliability for vehicles that were produced from 1999 through 2008. The vehicles from Dodge Reading all got decent reviews with the exception of the all-wheel drive versions of the Grand Caravan. You will want to stay away from the Chevy Blazer, Uplander, and Venture, all three of which are no longer in production. The smaller trucks that offered four-wheel drive like the S-10 and Colorado also weren’t rated very high in terms of reliability. General Motors had a few other models on the list, ranging from the Buick Rendezvous to the Saturn Relay to the Pontiac Aztek, G6, and Montana.
Import brands weren’t exempt from criticism. While Volkswagen is usually known for producing high quality vehicles, that reputation might be based on more recent data. The V6 versions of the Passat and Jetta haven’t held up over time, nor has the Cabrio or Toureg. Surprisingly enough, as much heat as Kia has taken for being a less expensive and less quality version of Honda and Toyota, only the Kia Sedona made the list of used cars to avoid.
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Bentley Recall.
There are recalls on a daily basis, and that should be evident by the last few years. Most recalls have to do with optional features and technological parts of the car that go bad. Think of the wiring mechanisms in the vehicles at Toyota Wichita, and some cars are recalled for even smaller reasons. The latest recall to hit the press has to do with the hood ornament on a handful of Bentley vehicles. Apparently, the decorative item can become corroded and won’t retract in the event of an accident like it is supposed to. The hood ornaments on the cars from BMW Los Angeles are small and flush with the hood of the vehicle.
Over time, hood ornaments are falling out of fashion. Think of all the cars at Ford Lancaster, and then try to think of a model with a decorative item protruding from the hood. There really aren’t any that come to mind, and car makers are putting more of their efforts and attention into the quality of the vehicle. While a hood ornament might look nice, it really does not serve a purpose and you run the risk of it falling off or coming loose in a minor accident, both of which will leave you with an unsightly blemish on the front of your vehicle.
There are 596 Bentley vehicles in the U.S. that will be affected by the recall. The Arnage, Azure, and Brookland vehicles for the model years 2007 through 2009 are part of the recall by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Owners are able to have the “flying B” replaced at no cost by Volkswagen AG, the parent company of Bentley. The main concern about the safety has to do with pedestrian accidents. During a collision between a pedestrian and the vehicle, the hood ornament would pose greater risk of injury because it is becoming corroded and not retracting like it is designed to do.
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Bluetooth Aftermarket Alternatives.
When you drive off the lot in your new car from Ford Minneapolis, chances are that it is equipped with the popular SYNC technology. This means you get to pair up your phone and music and not have to worry about taking your hands off the wheel for anything. There are tons of new laws going into effect on a pretty consistent basis regarding the use of cell phones in cars. And with all the options on the cars from Chevrolet Chicago there really is no excuse for talking on your cell phone while driving. Bluetooth is included on most non-base model cars and is usually an option as well.
For drivers who have an older car from Used Trucks Seattle, there are ways for you to be a safer driver as well. Aftermarket options have been available for a few years now, but with increasing knowledge and improved technology, some of the newer options are better than ever. You have the option of dropping your car off and having it hardwired for the Bluetooth technology. There are also aftermarket sets that use speakerphones and receptors in the car to mimic the voice activated controls you will find in a Bluetooth equipped car. Lastly, some of the portable navigation systems also have Bluetooth features so you can be an even safer driver.
One of the best units on the market right now is going to cost you $300, but the noise cancellation technology of the Parrot MKi9200 makes it worth the money. This hardwired option will require professional installation unless you feel confident playing around with electrical systems in your vehicle. Once you sync the unit with your phone, it will retrieve your phone book and allow you to voice dial. Plus, it comes with a 2.4-inch color screen so you can easily see what you are controlling, whether it is your phone or your music storage.
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Sunshine Laws and Your State
Sunshine laws require that your local government to act in an open and transparent fashion. This is really a confusing issue to many local governments and many times consumers will be met with resistance. I personally am meeting resistance with the Camden County Georgia School Board and will probably have to exercise my rights under State law to get them to provide me with the requested information.
If you are facing issues with your local government or public body you have many rights in almost all States. One thing you want to do is to follow the procedures that are outlined by the law if you meet any resistance when requesting information or access to meetings by governing boards. Remember that our government is here to serve us and it is not an inverse relationship.
Just like what I am facing with the Camden County School Board you to may be met with resistance but if you stay the course they will have to provide you with the information requested.
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Avoid a Long-Term Loan.
Are you familiar with the term “upside down”? Hopefully you are not. However, many Americans find out once the finance people check their information out at Cheyenne Used Cars that they are indeed upside down in their current auto loan. What this means is that despite all the monthly payments you have been making on that vehicle from Pittsburgh Kia or wherever it is you bought the car from, you still owe a lot. In fact, you owe more on the car loan than the car is even worth!
So how does someone even get upside down in their car loan? Well, consumers are opting to go with long term car loans, sometimes as long as eight years! The main, and only, advantage to taking out a loan like this is that your monthly payment is going to be significantly lower. Buyers should hope that when they go to Denver Ford the salesman explains all of this information to them before signing them up for an 84 month term loan with only 4.99% APR. Sure, your monthly payment is going to be affordable but do the math and figure out how much you will be paying for that vehicle after you add up all the interest. Let’s say you are going to buy an inexpensive car for $15,000; at the end of the 84 months you will have paid $17,800 for that car!
Buyers can do a few things to help themselves out financially before buying a car. Make sure you have a down payment! If you don’t have any money saved, then take a couple of months to save up some cash. You will thank yourself in the end. A down payment of 5% is better than nothing, but 20% is what is suggested. Don’t let the salesmen talk you into a longer term loan. It might be tempting to only be paying $225 per month, but you are going to be paying that for seven years and will likely be upside down in your loan the whole time you are paying it off.
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F-150 Possible Recall.
If you turn on your TV or look at the newspaper headlines every now and again, chances are you have seen some news blurb about an automotive recall. They are becoming so frequent that your children could have an alphabet song created about the recent influx of recalls. Sometimes they are for valid reasons and Cleveland Chevrolet has been associated with a few recalls this year. No one can deny that the first word that pops into your mind when you hear “recall” is likely “Toyota.” That investigation is a sad situation all around and it is still consuming lots of time. Luckily for Alexandria Hyundai and other auto brands, Toyota is being the guinea pig in long, drawn out recall investigations rather than other brands.
Ford Motor Company has been winning lots of safety awards for their 2010 line up of vehicles. Consumers are really impressed with the overwhelming quality and features that is apparent in all of their vehicles. A blast from the past, the 1997-2001 Ford F-150 trucks may shake things up a little bit. The current investigation could possibly result in 1.4 million trucks being recalled because of rust and corrosion that is on the fuel tank straps. The cars at Oakville VW have also received several safety awards this year.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) currently has an investigation in progress about whether or not Ford should issue a recall. Typically, recalls are not put into place for vehicles that are more than ten years old. However, there have been 32 complaints so far from owners and 28 of the complaints registered have actually had the straps break. This can be a very dangerous situation that could result in a fire. As of yet, no one has been injured due to the faulty fuel tank straps. Six of the owners who filed complaints reported that fuel did leak from the tank when it fell. If there is a recall put into place, Ford is not required to pay for the repairs because after the vehicle is ten years old, it is the responsiblity of the owner, not the manufacturer.
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Fair Wages for GM’s CEO?
Don’t we all wish we could bring home $9 million per year? It is probably safe to say people would be more than comfortable if they brought home more than $100,000 per year, let alone in the millions like the CEO of Hartford Hyundai does. It can be difficult to find out exactly how much the CEOs of auto manufacturers make annually, and Chrysler CEO wages aren’t publicly released; willing to bet the employees of Birmingham Dodge Chrysler make a mere fraction of the CEO wage. Well, General Motors has announced that their new CEO, Daniel Akerson, will be bringing home $9 million this year.
That may seem like a lot, but the CEO of Ford Motor Company, Alan Mulally, makes $17.9 million per year. They have a great line up of vehicles which can be found at San Antonio Ford, but does one man really need to earn that much money? It might make it seem better if you consider that his actual paycheck is only $1.7 million per year and the remainder of his pay package comes from two types of stock. Akerson will get $5.3 million worth of stock every year for three years at the end of September 2011. Additionally, he will begin receiving $2 million worth of restricted long-term stock in 2012.
General Motors has appointed four CEOs since 2009, and Akerson replaces Ed Whitacre. Both men joined the board in July of 2009, but when GM announced their plans for the initial public stock offer, Whitacre decided he should resign. Akerson is receiving the same pay package that Whitacre was set to earn. It is considerably less than the CEO from 2001, Rick Wagoner. Wagoner was asked to step down by the Obama administration at the beginning of 2009, but he still brought home $14.9 million in 2008. Perhaps that is why the U.S. Government owns 61% of General Motors?
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Traffic Fatalities Decrease!
It may be shocking to hear, but the total amount of people killed in a motor vehicle collision is the lowest its been in 60 years! This data is cumulative for 2009 and the current year statistics have not been compiled yet. One of the main reasons the road is a safer place has to do with auto makers like Peoria Chevrolet. The safety technology of vehicles has greatly increased over the past decade. Even the cars at Bethlehem Kia that used to offer air bags as an option now come standard with a long list of safety features.
In 2009, there were 38,808 people killed in motor vehicle crashes. That is still a high number, but it is 10% lower than 2008, and the lowest number in 60 years. St. Louis Nissan offers some great and affordable safe car choices for drivers. These numbers are even more impressive when you take into consideration that there are more drivers on the road and that Americans probably drove more in 2009 than they did in 2008. Even though the economy isn’t perfect yet, people are returning to their ways of life and taking family vacations and road trips again. Part of that could be that gas prices have stabilized, even during this current summer they didn’t skyrocket like we might have guessed.
To paint an even clearer picture of how impressive these numbers are, there were 33,186 people killed in America in 1950 from motor vehicle accidents. There were about 62 million people driving around 50 million cars. In the present day, there are 250 million cars on the road and 210 million drivers, but only 5,000 more deaths! Based on the ratio of increased drivers, we would expect to see a lot more car fatalities. Factors that go into this are better and stricter driving laws; drunk driving, seat belt offenses, and red light cameras. So, Americans can pat themselves on the back for being more cautious drivers, and auto manufacturers can be proud that they make safer vehicles.
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Leasing: A Waste of Money!
For some drivers, purchasing a new car can be more of a need rather than a desire. You have to have a car in most areas to make having a job practical, and it turns into this vicious cycle. We all wish we could walk into Birmingham Jaguar Dealers and lay down a wad of cash, but the fact of the matter is, many of us will never be able to do that in our lifetimes. As you visit places that are a little more affordable than Shreveport Mercedes-Benz Dealers, you will be approached with some amazing incentives that will make you want to purchase right away. But, there might be one catch: it is a lease.
So why is leasing not a great option for someone who is on a tight budget and fell in love with a little commuter car from Memphis Ford Dealers? Well, the lease rates may seem incredibly low at the time of purchase, but when your three year term is over, then what will you do? Your option is to take out a loan to pay off the residual value, and it is near impossible to accurately predict residual value from three years away. Dealers will make a guess for you, but a lot can happen in three years; the auto brand might not even be in existence anymore! Or your other option is to turn the car back in to the dealership and either lease or purchase another vehicle.
Leasing makes sense if you must have a brand new vehicle all the time. Perhaps part of your business is impressing clients, and that is certainly easier in a new car rather than an old clunker. But for most of us, leasing is pretty frivolous and all you are doing is continually renting a car. After all the money you spend, you will still never have the title to a car!
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Soul and Sorento Recalls!
Recall does not have to be a four letter word! Think of how many auto brands face a new recall everyday. While not all of them make the headlines, it is amazing to see how many recalls are put into place on a daily basis by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Many of the recalls are voluntary and initiated by the auto maker; no one wants to be responsible for accidents that could happen. Now that Longview Honda Dealers have gotten over their later Element recall, it appears to be Kia’s turn.
It was announced last week that 56,000 of the Kia vehicles will be recalled from the United States as well as South Korea. Typical to most recalls, there are more than one model being recalled; the Kia Soul and the Kia Sorento. Just recently the Ford Windstar from Denver Ford Dealers and other locations was recalled. And consumers are all too aware of the recalls that have plagued dealerships like Seattle Toyota Dealers, although the acceleration problem is starting to seem like driver error rather than vehicle error!
The main reason for the recall has to do with a wiring harness from Johnson Controls. The lighting harness wasn’t soldered correctly, so there is the chance of the electrical components shorting out. As of yet, there have been no reported accidents nor injuries. Kia has known about this problem since June and announced the recall on August 23, 2010. There will be 23,792 Kia Soul cars recalled from the 2010 model year. Additionally, there will be 11,213 of the Kia Sorento models recalled from the 2011 production year. The Kia Soul is also under investigation for possible steering problems, but this has yet to become an actual problem. Kia and the NHTSA are investigating the issue after the Hyundai Sonata was affected. Drivers will be contacted with further instructions to get their cars repaired.
