Buy a used engine, not a new car!

By: Ronnie Tanner

Today, people everyday are purchasing either a new or used car to replace an older one that may have had previous problems with the engine. Buying a used engine is a great alternative to getting into a new car note but it can be risky business if you don't know what to look for. One of the things that makes it so risky is the fact that there is no legal requirement to maintain the engine to any standard, or to keep any kind of accurate log.

So the first thing to look for some kind of service record on the engine or a Car-Fax statement showing the mileage as listed by the DMV. If it's not there, the engine might not be what you think you are getting. I see at least one engine every month that was bought used and was misrepresented as being much fresher than what it actually was. Nearly every such case, the buyer was told that the engine had just been "rebuilt", or that it has only been "broken in." In actuality the engine had over 100K miles and had been sitting in the rain for 2 years rusted up solid.

"Rebuilt" is a relative term, and should not be relied on as an indication of quality unless there is a detailed service record describing exactly what was done with the engine and when it was done. The service records that get sent back with one of my rebuilds is usually about 2 - 3 pages single spaced, and every little detail of the engine service is in there. Without that kind of records, "rebuilt" could mean new seals and gaskets, or it could mean new crank, pistons, bearings, seals, and gaskets. That is a big difference.

Just be sure to find out if paperwork comes with a rebuilt engine and find out who did the rebuild and see if that is a reputable company.

Something else to consider when buying a used or rebuilt engine:

The age in years of the engine: If the engine is 10 years old make sure you don't get a quote as if it had 20,000 miles on it as this is highly unlikely. Consider the number of years old x 12K miles per year. Also, find out how long its been sitting, compression tests if possible and a car-fax certification on the VIN. If the engine has not been ran in a while be sure to ask them to start before sending it. Even on an engine that is ran, if it's not ran a few miles per year, there is too much down time and pistons can lock up etc.

Additionally do a check up of the company you are buying from. I'm not suggesting going on a witch hunt to see if they have every had a complaint but maybe check the Better Business Bureau to see if they have a satisfactory record. This just means that though they get complaints (what business doesn't) they handle them according to BBB standards which, by the way, are fairly stringent. You just can't go around selling junk engines and get away with it for long.

Overall buying a used engine is definitely the way to go before you replace your car unless the cost of the engine is more than the value of the car if sold. That is where I suggest you to purchase something new.

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Ronnie Tanner has been in the used engine industry now for over 5 years specializing in the sale of Chevy Engines, Ford Engines and Used Honda Engines.

The Skinny on Exhaust

By: Spool

So let’s imagine that you and your significant other just finished a bottle of wine... Now take a look at the bottle and let’s imagine that the more part under the skinny neck (you not the bigger part) is the motor of an engine. Now you see all that air stored in the bottom part of the bottle, that’s engine exhaust. Well what are you waiting for, take all that air that the engine has and push out the thin little neck. That is what the engine is trying to do every time one revolution of the engine goes through and then your engine is idling at 2,000 rpm. Yes that is revolutions per minute.
I was trying to get a point across and I don’t know if I did. For every one revolution your engine goes through, it takes air and fuel, ignites it and the left over, carbon dioxide, is expelled. So as a professional in the field of performance accessories, I can say: A stock exhaust is not made for optimal performance. Well you can’t really blame the automobile producers. They have to worry about noise and pollution (which are mandatory by laws); cost of producing millions of each individual component, the list is endless.
So the answer is a better performing exhaust by a reputable company. Now let’s say that you take that bottle of wine we were talking about previously and put an imaginary performance "muffler" at the end. Well you got the exhaust sounding pretty good, but there is still bottle neck (no pun intended) in the process. You can expect to get a couple of HP (horsepower) on to your auto or truck but without widening up all of the exhaust, you really won’t get a measurable increase in power. At least not one you will feel when you mash down on the gas, not that we do that in public streets Mr. Police.
Now this is really a small portion of performance and in particular exhaust systems. In reality we can write full books on these and there are. So if you want to dig deeper into this you should get a hold of a reputable performance oriented shop and ask, ask, ask. Especially since everyone has their own opinion. At Spool Motorsports.com we are always happy to answer questions, give advice and sell you the best products for your auto or truck... just give us a shout.

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Spool Motorsports.com specilizes in auto accessories and performance products. We are here to help you in all aspects of the automotive performance and accessories industry. Come join us on: www.spoolmotorsports.com

Finding Value in Low Cost Car Insurance

By: Jon A

If you are like most people, you hate paying more for car insurance, even if it is classified as low cost car insurance, then you have to. In fact, no matter what product or service it is, you don't want to pay more for it.

Now keep in mind there is a fine line between the value of your time and finding the best deal, and only you can make that determination. You could potentially spend months or even years trying to analyze the last nickel's worth of premium charges on your insurance quote, but at what cost? Your time should not be considered free, because there are other things you probably could and should be doing.

The very first thing you need to do is shop around. Just because you have been with the same brand name agency for a number of years has no bearing on it. It could be that they have been overcharging you for a number of years because you do very little if any comparison shopping. And the comparison shopping is something you should do on a regular basis, probably about once a year. Just because you found the best deal two or three years ago does not mean that it is still the best deal in today's world.

The next thing you need to do is find out what is mandatory in your state and what is optional. This is for state mandated coverages as well as coverage that you want to have, or may be required by your finance company. For example, your state may require that you carry at least $250,000 in liability coverage, so if a particular policy does not have that much coverage, find out what the cost of that policy is if you bump it up to at least that number, and then compare again. As another example, if your car is not paid off in full, your finance company almost certainly requires that you carry collision insurance coverage on it.

There are many more places you need to look in order to make sure that you are really comparing apples to apples when you are comparing car insurance quotes. For example, if one policy has a liability coverage up to $300,000 and another one has that same coverage up to $30,000, guess which one will be cheaper and why?

Speaking of collision coverage, this is probably one of the most expensive type of coverage you can get, but it can be worth it if you are in an accident or even a relatively minor fender bender. But one of the things that drastically affects how much this will cost you is your deductible. This defines the amount of money that you will need to pay out of your pocket if you make a claim for collision. The overall cost of the insurance policy may be up to three times as much if you elect to go with a $100 collision deductible rather than a $500 deductible.

Lastly, do not be afraid to shop online. There are many quality car insurance companies that quote policies low cost car insurance online and they can be quite aggressively priced. But the bottom line is to be sure to shop around, because if you aren't, chances are good that you are throwing money out the window on your car insurance.

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For more insights and additional information about finding Low Cost Car Insurance as well as getting a very competitive online quote, please visit our web site at www.tips-for-car-insurance.com

When you want to buy a new car - part II

By: Mayra Langon

How Much Money Should I Offer the Dealer?
When you go into a dealership, you want to know all of the pricing and costs of the car that you are planning to buy.

You should know the manufacturer’s cost and the dealer’s cost. You need to calculate the cost that the dealer paid for the car and then make a reasonable offer to him if you want to get somewhere. You should also know that the dealer’s price is not the invoice price from the factory. You should know that the dealer’s cost is much lower than the factory’s cost.

In order to make a fair offer to a dealership, you need to learn to read a factory invoice. Here is what you can expect to find on the factory invoice.

- Base model of the car on it.
- All of the options packages.
- Destination charge.
- Holdback and dealer flooring help

DO NOT confuse the invoice with the MSRP window sticker because they are not the same. Contrary to popular belief, dealers don’t have to tell you the invoice on any car. This often gives the dealer leverage over you. They can offer you one dollar over the invoice. You should know that there are hidden factory incentives in the invoice price that lowers the cost of the car for the dealership. It’s no bargain for you. If a dealership is very quick to show you the invoice, you should be aware that they are fully aware that they will be making money on that car off of you and they can settle at a lower price for the car. Knowing this before you walk into a dealership can be your best negotiating strategy.

Knowing this information can let you make them the same offer. If you offer a few dollars over the factory invoice (which is the actual worth of the car) then you can open your bid and let them know how much profit they can make off of your offer.

Dealers are always going to try and tell you that they paid more for the cars than they actually did so that they can make a higher profit off of the sale.

Salesmen often try and make you feel guilty by telling you “I’m losing my shirt off of this deal”. In truth, they are in the business to make money. They are not going to sell to you if they aren't making a profit. They are trying to get you to agree to a higher price. If you go in armed with all the right information, they can't trick you.

To calculate what your offer should be to the dealership, you should get the factory invoice price (don’t forget to include the options in this price), and add 5% to that amount. That is how you should calculate your offer the dealership.

When I mention the options, I mean the ones that you can’t avoid. Some cars come equipped with a CD, sun roof etc. and these are fees that you can’t avoid paying so sure to account for these at the beginning.

You should also be sure to account for any buyer rebates as well in calculating your offer. So in the end your offer should be calculated like this:

Dealer Cost Plus 5% Minus Buyer Rebates = YOUR OFFER

If you are unwilling to pay more than your opening offer, let the salesman know that your offer stands firm and he can take it or leave it.

In the end you will get what you want on your own terms. Here is an example for you.

You are hoping to buy a Toyota Camry. You do your research and find that the invoice price is $19,922; MSRP is $22,385. The dealer may offer you the car for $22,000, and shows you the invoice.

You learned by researching that there is a $500 factory to dealer incentive; and a $447 holdback on the MSRP (2%).

Based on the above calculations, the dealer’s real cost is $19,922 (invoice) minus $500 (incentive) minus $447 (holdback) = $18,957. This is far below the factory invoice number.

Now, if you add the 5% for your offer to that price, which will up the car price to $20,379 due to the addition of $455 for the destination charge that is always present, you will see that based on the offer that the dealership offered, you just saved yourself $3410. This may seem complicated but if your use a pre-designed spreadsheet from CarsDirect.com or AutoUSA.com, the program does all the calculations for you.

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When you want to buy a new car - part I

By: Mayra Langon

The first thing that you should know when you want to buy a new car is that both you and the dealer are looking to get the better end of the deal.

If you don’t learn anything else from this article you will learn how to walk away from the deal with both sides being satisfied. A good deal is a win-win situation for both parties. Most of the time it is the buyer that leaves unsatisfied.

If you are looking to buy a car you should begin with these tips.

- You should purchase your new car at or around Christmas time because with everybody buying their Christmas gifts. Car sales are down and it forces dealerships to up their sales strategies Salesmen are more willing to haggle down to your prices to close the deal.

- You can also get a good deal from July to October because that is the time of year when dealerships are trying to get rid of their old inventory to make way for next years models.

- Purchasing a car online is becoming very popular. Watch for good rebates and incentives online and shop around. Print out your information from the best quotes and bring it to the dealer that you are most willing to work with. Bringing in lower quotes from another company might be your best bet in getting a good deal.


Dealerships scam
It's a good idea to bring a copy of your credit score to the dealership with you. It can lower your interest rates on your car loan. Your car dealer should not know more about you than you do.

You can avoid a common scam that dealerships pull. You will often hear that your financing fell through and that you have to respond by paying more money on your loan. Don’t believe it. It’s another reason for you to get a copy of your credit score.

Another common scam by dealership salesmen is for them to tell you that they have found you a lower rate, but that they want you to re-sign your loan papers. Usually, that is a downright lie. Once they pull up your financing information, they have the upper hand if you don’t know the details about your credit information. You can get a copy of your credit information free online at Annual Credit Report.

Don’t bring in a car for trade in if you still owe money on it. The dealership rarely pays the rest of the loan on time which will result in you having to pay a great deal of late fees to the bank. If you do decide to bring a car in that you owe money on, get it in writing from the dealership that they will pay the balance on the car within 10 days and/or they will pay the late fees if they fail to pay the car off in a timely manner.

Sometimes a dealership may not have all of your options and must order the car directly from the dealer ship. If this happens they will often ask you to pay $500-$1000 for a deposit on the car. Try not to pay more than $500 and be sure to pay with a credit card. Sometimes the dealership will tell you that there was a price increase on the vehicle and will want more money. If you pay with a credit card you have room to dispute the amount being taken from you. If you pay by check, you can just consider the money gone.

You should never buy a car when you are in desperate need. A dealer will see that and take advantage of your situation. You should never wait until an old car is dead before searching for a new car. Give yourself time to shop around for the right car and get the best deal possible. Desperation often clouds your judgment.

Be prepared to walk away! If the salesman won't negotiate with you, walk away. Many times this will cause him to become more open to your offer. Remember, there are many more places for you to buy. He is at the mercy of the people who drive onto his lot. He is more desperate for a sale than you are for a car. If you can't find a happy medium, just leave.

What You Should Never Do
There are many things that you don’t want to see a dealership do to you as a buyer, but there are some things that you should not do as well, if you don’t want to alienate the dealer.

Here is a list of “don’ts” that you should abide by if you are really looking to get a good deal.

- Don’t try to pull one over on the dealer by lying about the condition of your trade in vehicle. It is just a lie that you can’t get away with, and could cause many cost increases later.

- Don’t bother looking for a car if you have had a recent bankruptcy because you will not get approved anyway.

- Don’t give the dealership a deposit and then try to take it back for no reason. Make sure you have researched the car before making an offer. You can also lose money on the return as they are sure to have a fee for this.

- Don’t bother lying about your debt load and credit rating. You know they have to check it anyway.

- Don’t offer any money for a car unless you already know the dealer cost because you are setting yourself up to get ripped off.

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