Archive for the ‘Car Loans’ Category

My Car Must Be Worth At Least Double Your Offer!

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November 10th, 2011

How you can more for your used car

It’s time to change my car. It’s 6 years old and looks it and I need something new and shiny in my life. The car has to go.

The used car market

There are always people buying and selling cars. It’s one of the main games in our auto-crazy world. Sometimes the market favors the buyer and sometimes the seller.

If you are selling your used car, the market is currently putting you in the driver’s seat when you sit down at the negotiating table. The New York Times reports that the value of used cars two to five years old has gone up as much as 20% in just one year. A fuel efficient compact car that would have fetched $8,800 in 2010 is now catching bids of as much as $10,500, but those prices are dependent on a variety of factors. Read on to learn what you can do to make sure your used car is ready to catch the highest offer.

Clean It

This is an obvious action, but do it: Spend the $150 to have it professionally detailed so it looks like it did when you first purchased it.

Make It Look Like His or Hers

A prospective buyer wants the car to look like his or hers, not yours. Remove all of those personal knick knacks that add a little bit of you to your vehicle.

Fix the Body

Small dents probably won’t be too expensive to fix and you’ll probably get a large portion of the money back when you sell it. The difference between “excellent” and “good” is substantial when somebody is assigning value to your car.

Maintenance

Before you sell it, make sure all maintenance is up to date and have the dates of when the work was completed. Don’t get it all done the day you take it to the dealer to sell. You want to show the prospective buyer that you have taken care of your car.

Disclose

Have any repair or maintenance receipts ready to show the prospective buyer. People are naturally skeptical when purchasing a car, so revealing what has gone wrong with it goes a long way in establishing trust. Remember that your buyer can find a used car anywhere. A potential buyer’s experience with you will be a large factor in his or her decision to purchase.

Be Realistic

If you go to one of the trusted sites that gives you a value for your car, know that these are estimates. Be willing to take a little less and feel like you got a fair deal, but know your bottom line and stick to it. The less you’re willing to deal, the longer you’ll have to hold on to your car.

The Bottom Line

Used car prices are up, but only for those who have taken care of their car. If you’re planning to sell your car soon, do it now. Experts say that prices are up but they won’t stay that way for long.

Tags: Buying a used car, Car dealers, Selling a car, Used cars
Posted in Business, Car Loans, Economy, Employment, Finance, Personal / Internet | No Comments »

Have car will travel!

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July 2nd, 2011

What about the price of gas? Here’s how to deal with it
Even though gas prices are unpredictable, up one day and down the next, we still pile into our cars as the most economical means for visiting family and friends. But for many, it is an expense we cannot afford and we must learn to cut the costs of traveling. Here are some suggestions:

Tune your car
This is a matter of proper maintenance. Keeping tires properly inflated, using the recommended grade of gasoline and replacing clogged air filters can easily increase fuel efficiency by 10 percent or more, according to some fuel-economy sites like www.fueleconomy.gov. A tune-up will likely save you even more in gas: Just fixing a faulty oxygen sensor, for example, could improve your mileage by as much as 40 percent!

Slow it down
According to www.fueleconomy.gov, for every five miles per hour you drive over the rate of 60 miles per hour, you’re essentially paying almost 25 cents more for each gallon of gas. That’s how dramatically gas mileage decreases beyond standard speed limits of 55-60 mph. That’s also not factoring in the cost of the speeding tickets you’re more likely to get at high speeds. To the same end, aggressive driving, rapid acceleration, fast cornering, and sudden breaking can lower your gas mileage by as much as a third.

Breaking bad driving habits
To help break those bad driving habits, try keeping a full cup of cold water in the cup holder on your dashboard. Your goal is to drive so smoothly that you never spill a drop.

Rent it
Depending on the condition and fuel efficiency of your family car, you may want to consider renting a car to use for your holiday travels. Most rentals now come with unlimited miles, so if you plan to drive very far in a short period of time, it may pay to leave your car parked at home and pick up a more fuel-efficient rental instead.

Bring it with you
The old-fashioned ice chest has become the fashionable travel accessory of the new economy. When you drive on your holiday travels, it’s easy to pack one along and save some big bucks. Also, by shopping carefully for sodas, snack foods, and sandwich-making supplies before leaving home, you can probably save 80 percent of what you’d spend at vending machines and other roadside stops. Plus, the fastest food of all is just an arm’s length away in the ice chest.

Catch the Chinatown express
Traveling the Eastern Seaboard? Even if you have your own set of wheels, you can’t beat the so-called “Chinatown buses.” (For info, Google “Chinatown bus”—with the quotation marks around the phrase.) These independently operated bus lines run between the Chinatown areas of major cities, including Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. The buses are even sprouting up on the West Coast and Midwest. Comfortable with air conditioning, restrooms, and even wireless service, the buses are clean, on time, fast, fun, and dirt cheap; sometimes as little as $35 round-trip from Washington, D.C., to New York City. Think about it!

Tags: Driving costs, Motoring costs, Travel costs, Visiting family
Posted in Car Loans, Economy, Finance, Money, Personal / Internet | No Comments »

Getting The Best Car Loan Rates Doesn’t Have To Be Difficult

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May 27th, 2011

6 Things to know to get the best car loan rates
Just follow some simple rules in order to make sure you don’t get ripped off. Here are 6 things to keep in mind the next time you’re in the market for a car loan in order to ensure you get the best deal possible:

Get the loan somewhere else
First of all, you need to go somewhere other than the dealer if you want the best car loan rates. The dealer is happy to give you the loan right there because they want to get the commission, however they rarely have a bargain rate available. Expect to pay anywhere from 1-3 points extra just for the privilege of getting your car loan at the same place you buy your car. If you go to a bank instead, you can be pre-approved and get the best rate possible.

Bargain
Just like when you go to the dealership and you bargain for the best possible deal you can get on your car purchase, you should also be bargaining for the best possible car loan rate you can lay your hands on. Often, you can save several percentage points on your car loan if you simply ask for a better deal. Don’t be afraid to walk away either. Tell them you have other options and that you are looking for their very best rates.

Shop for a loan over a 2 week period
Every time you apply for a loan, your credit gets dinged a little bit. If you apply too many times, then your credit will go down further and your car loan rates will be much higher. However, if you apply for all the various options over a two week period, it will count as if it were a single inquiry thus saving your credit and allowing you to get the maximum possible deal available.

Check your credit report
Speaking of your credit, it goes without saying that if you want the best possible deal available on your car loan, then you need to ensure that you know what your credit report has to say about you. Be sure to check out the current information and be prepared to challenge inaccuracies in your report if you find them. Of course, that’s good advice regardless of whether you are shopping for a new car or not.

Focus on the whole loan
Too many people get caught up in trying to figure out how much they’ll have to pay each month for their car loan. That’s a big mistake. Ultimately, you could end up spending more money than necessary that way. Instead, focus on the grand total that you’ll have paid out at the end of the loan term so that you know you’re not getting ripped off.

Don’t take conditional financing
Finally, be sure that the loan amount and rates you’ve been offered have been locked in if you want to ensure you’ll get the best car loan rates available. Otherwise, the numbers could change later on and you could end up stuck paying a lot more than you originally expected when the terms get changed.

Tags: Bank loans, Car financing, Car loan, Dealers’ loans
Posted in Advance Cash Loan, Car Loans, Economy, Employment, Finance, Loans, Money, Personal / Internet | No Comments »