A Quick Car Buying Survivors Guide

Car dealerships are just like any other business in that they are responsible for generating an operating profit. And like any other businesses there are those that attempt to do so upfront and straight forward and... those that are... well... less than straightforward.

Without a doubt the best chance that you have to avoid contributing exorbitant amounts to a car dealer’s gross profit is for you to get your research and financing in line prior to ever setting foot on the dealership. And quite frankly, for the vast majority who has some sort of access to the World Wide Web, there is no excuse not to get yourself up to speed.

Once you are ready to go... go slowly. When it comes to putting together your deal at the car dealership, speed is not your ally. Car dealers and sales people are in-depth at putting deals together at a rapid pace... and ringing up big profit numbers... stay calm, deliberate, and focused.

Don’t crank up the negotiations on your first trip to a dealership. Take some time to familiarize yourself with the people and the surroundings. Get a feel for what type of person your potential sales person is. Remember, this is about your comfort level... not theirs.

Don’t go for the ‘Spot Delivery’. A spot delivery is when the dealer allows you to take the car ‘as yours’ before they have definitively procured your financing. This can be exceptionally devastating if you have traded in your car to them only to find out a couple days later that the dealer either hasn’t been able to get you financed or can only get you financed at a very high interest rate. Don’t put yourself in this position.

Know your budget before you go shopping... and stick to it. Don’t tell or otherwise give the sales person any idea of what your budget is. They don’t need to know this. And never shop and buy your car by negotiating a monthly payment; you’ll pay more than you needed.

Don’t proceed if you are not comfortable with any of the proceedings. Without you, there is no deal. You have the ultimate VETO power, so use it if you feel hurried, confused, or otherwise uncomfortable at all.

And finally, and this is a very important point to remember, the selling price of the new car isn’t where the dealer makes the most profit.

The financing and the trade-in (when they resell your old car) are two additional profit departments for the dealership. Also, all those add-on’s and warranties that the dealership will offer you the opportunity to purchase also include a rather large profit margin for the dealer.

Car dealerships are sales centers. They are in business to not only sell you a car but anything else they can possibly offer and entice you with as well. Do your research on the car you are thinking about, the financing options available to you outside the dealership, and know the market value of your trade (if applicable)... then take your time to find the best deal you can putting all these together.

A Luxury Car For You

Luxury car is a term that is widely used, but does anyone truly know what it means? When it comes to cars, luxury is in the eye of the beholder. What a car dealer's ad touts as luxury may be different from what a car rental agency categorizes as a luxury car, and both may conflict with your personal perception of what a luxury car is.

In economics, a luxury item is one that is in higher demand among people with higher incomes. A luxury car is a status symbol, and status varies depending upon the socioeconomic or demographic group to which is applies.

A luxury car may simply mean a high-priced car. A luxurious car may not necessarily be considered a luxury automobile. For example, because of its high price, a Hummer is often considered a luxury car, even though the original Hummers are heavy duty military trucks without emphasis on comfort.

A luxury car may also simply be an automobile made by a manufacture known for making luxury automobiles, even if the specific vehicle is less expensive than its usual models. For example, all models of Mercedes and Jaguars are considered to fall into this category, even the least expensive versions.

Most people would agree that an automobile costing more than $100,000 would be considered a luxury automobile. Almost all cars made by Rolls Royce and Bentley, for example, fall into that price range. Exclusivity is on of the few agreed characteristics of a luxury vehicle.

Typically, luxury automobiles enhance comfort and operation. Leather, adjustable, heated seats are an example of luxury appurtenances. High-performance vehicles such as sports cars, for example Corvettes and Vipers, are prestige autos, but not everyone would call them luxury vehicles. An automobile may be luxurious by virtue of its amenities and its comfort level without being expensive, even though to most people a luxury means something they really can't afford.

A Car Finance Broker Can Get You The Cheapest Deal Possible

When it comes to getting the cheapest deal possible for financing your new car then you simply have to go with a car finance broker. A broker has the expertise of knowing where to look online in order to get the cheapest quotes possible along with the best incentives and added extras.

While you could go online yourself and search for the cheapest deal possible, it is very rare that you will have the knowledge of where the best deals are and how to get them. A specialist broker knows the ins and outs of the car finance sector and will have lenders in mind from past experience; they will also know what to look for when it comes to car finance and the places you should avoid looking for insurance.

When it comes to financing for your car then without a doubt the best option is to go for a car loan. You can opt to take the finance through a dealership, but this is often the most expensive way of taking a loan to pay for your car. The dealer might throw in incentives to get you to take the finance through them, but even with these in mind it is usually at a much higher rate of interest than letting a specialist broker find you a car loan deal.

If you want the cheapest deal possible then go online with a broker. While in some cases you will have to pay for the brokers fees, it often does save you a great deal of money and it certainly saves you time and the stress of having to search through the many lenders yourself. Along with the best rate of interest the broker can find, they will also take into account any extras that the lender has to offer. And, of course, if you want the added security of knowing exactly how much the repayment will be each month then simply ask the broker to look for a fixed rate car loan for you.

A/C Charging Scale

When repairing and refilling an air conditioning system, getting the exact amount of coolant in the system right is essential if you want it to work properly. This is where A/C charging scales come into their own. These handy tools work in conjunction with your AC coolant recycling equipment to refill the AC system properly and get it completely correct.

The more accuracy that you can work with when adding the coolant to an AC system, the better it will work, and the less likely it is for anything to go seriously wrong with it in the near future. A/C charging scales are designed to provide a pre determined amount of coolant such as Freon into the system in order to get the system filled up as efficiently as possible.

An A/C charging scale is a tool that is designed to help you to get the right amount of coolant prepared for loading the AC. In general, an air conditioning system will be rated to contain a specific amount of refrigerant in order to work correctly. This is done by weight rather than volume, as this can vary greatly dependent on temperature.

When the refrigerant has been purified correctly, it can be weighed using an A/C charging scale to gauge the correct amount. Then it can be injected back into the air conditioning at the correct pressure to make it work correctly.

There are a number of important EPA guidelines to consider whenever you deal with CFC coolants such as Freon. These chemicals are very volatile, and have been linked with doing serious damage to the ozone layer. This important part of the atmosphere is the main protection for the planet from ultra violet radiation from the sun. The ozone layer protects our lives, and since the 1980s, when concerns about the effect of CFCs on the ozone layer first became important, governments around the world have put in place specific guidelines designed to limit the amount of CFC gases that are released.


A number of manufacturers produce a wide range of different A/C charging Scales to suit all different sized jobs. There are a number of factors to consider when choosing the right equipment for your workshop in order to ensure that it is compatible with the kind of work you want to carry out. Things to look out for are the ability to measure accurately over a wide range of different volumes and the simplest operation possible.

Features that you should expect as standard on an A/C charging scale to make it as simple to use as possible include factors like auto zero on the scales, the capacity to take relatively large weights of 110oz or more, and maintain an the highest levels of accuracy to get the perfect levels coolant to fill the AC properly.

Manufacturers like Infinicon offer high tech solutions that will allow you to effortlessly get the quantities right in advance of loading them into the AC system, while at the other end of the spectrum there are a number of different and more simple systems available from well known and highly respected tool makers such as Robinair that are much more straightforward.

Whether you opt for a standard measuring pressure system that will connect to a complete range of AC systems and inject the coolant directly from the tool, or alternatively opt for an A/C charging scale that lets you measure out the correct amount of CFC coolant in a separate vessel, you will still have to keep to the relevant guidelines and ensure that you only use the correct amount of coolant to prevent the unnecessary and uncontrolled release of this potentially dangerous substance.

A Basic Overview Of Fuel Cell Technology

Are you tired of high priced gasoline for your car? Or perhaps worried about the environment? For years, scientists have being working on an energy alternative that holds promises to change the way we live by changing the source of fuel for some of our most basic energy-using engines. This new technology in progress is called a fuel cell. A fuel cell supplies a DC (direct current) voltage that can be used to power motors, lights, or any number of electrical appliances.

The technical name for a fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device. A fuel cell converts the chemicals hydrogen and oxygen into water, and in the process it produces electricity. Other electrochemical devices that are in use these days and for many decades is the well-known battery. The distinguishing difference between a simple battery and a fuel cell is that all the chemicals are stored inside the battery. The battery in turn converts those chemicals into electricity but in due course it "goes dead" as the chemicals are used up and at times you can either throw it away or recharge it.

Then again with a fuel cell, chemicals continually flow into the cell so as long as there is a flow of chemicals into the cell; the electricity flows out of the fuel cell. Combustion engines the gasoline engine burn fuels and batteries converted chemical energy back into electrical energy when needed. However, fuel cells should do both tasks more efficiently.

Simply put the construction and materials in a fuel cell release electrons from the hydrogen gas creating electricity and the waste product after the electricity is used to power an electrical device is water, formed with the negative hydrogen and the oxygen.This reaction in a single fuel cell produces only about 0.7 volts. To get this voltage up to a reasonable level, several separate fuel cells must be combined to form a fuel-cell stack.

However one major problem with using hydrogen is that it is cannot be stored easily for consumer use. Among the other alternatives, it could be natural gas, propane, and methanol gas. The main objective of using fuel cell technology is pollution reduction. Fuel cell is also very efficient; 80% of the fuel use in these cells is converted into usable energy as compared to only 20% for a gasoline powered engine and about 30% overall for a battery powered electric vehicle.

Evidently there is no question that the fuel cell holds greater promise for the future. However, the fuel cell technology must still gather all the pieces of finding the right 'fuel' source that is both easy to store and deliver to the consumer, efficiency of the vehicle using fuel cells, and the cost for the total package.

2008 New Car Release Strategy

Why do automobile manufactures release new models at all times of the year?

People shopping for cars today, face the same decisions they did in years past, 2-door or 4-door, car, truck, van, or SUV. The idea of buying versus leasing is now on the table once again. The idea of buying a car in the middle of 2007 and having to decide between a 2007 and a 2008 muddies the water. Some of these vehicles will be all-new models, others radically different, while still others with only slight alterations.

Manufacturers are using the release of the new 2008 products as more of a strategy than in years previous years. They realize they have the power to create targeted traffic at given points of the selling season with these new releases. They no longer have to share the same pie with every other automaker. The traditional introduction of the models in early October created to much competition between the manufacturers. All the automakers were introducing their new lineup at the same time and sharing the spotlight with all the other automakers. A model can be deemed a 2008 so long as it goes on sale after January 1st of the current year.

Consumers are split relatively evenly between the bargain of the left over model and the idea of having the latest and greatest. There is certainly a price to be paid for stepping up into a new 2008 model. Many consumers opt to pay more for the 2008 because the 2007 does not seem quite so new anymore. While the bargain hunters can save even more during the buzz of the newly released models.

This is a win-win for the dealerships. The manufacturers need to assist the dealers in moving out the 2007 products (heavier incentives) and the profits for the dealers can be significantly higher on the fresh 2008 products.

More and more new models for 2008 are being produced monthly.

2007 Hyundai Cars: What's New For 2007

(1) The 2007 Hyundai Sonata

The 2007 Sonata is the smaller of Hyundaiís two midsize sedans. It comes in three models: a) The Sonata Limited trim is the top-line model and has a 235-hp V6 and 5-speed automatic as well as heated front seats, automatic climate control and fine leather upholstery. b) The Sonata SE also has a 235-hp V6 and 5-speed automatic. c) The Sonata GLS has 162-hp 4-cylinders and a choice of either 4-speed automatic or 5-speed manual transmission. All models are equipped with ABS and traction/antiskid control as well as front-side and curtain-side airbags.

While the old version reminded many car patrons of a Jaguar in terms of style, the 2007 version looks even better, with a front lamp that resembles an Audi and a backside that looks like an Accord. The thin roof pillars and the driver's upright position also contribute to its esthetic value. The 2007 Sonata is also bigger, sharper and more technologically advanced version than the 2006 model. Overall, the Sonata's advantage over other cars of its class such as the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Nissan Altima is that it combines comfort, spaciousness, sophisticated design and reliable performance as well as a reasonable price.

(2) The Hyundai Accent

The new, completely re-designed 3-door Hyundai Accent hatchback is a welcome addition to the 4-door sedan introduced in 2006. Compared to the sedan, the Accent is a sportier ride in terms of both appearance and performance. It also boasts of side-curtain airbags, which are a rare feature in vehicles of this size and price range.

The 2007 Accent has superb handling, an attractive Euro style hatch and a strong safety kit. Sold in GE and SE trims, the Accent looks small on the outside but is surprisingly roomy inside, both front and rear. Its excellent fuel economy makes it an ideal choice for urban drivers, especially in places where gas costs as much as $6/gallon. Many have commented that the Accent 3-door 2007 model is even more attractive than the 4-door 2006 Accent sedan unveiled last year. The 2007 model brings back memories of the 3-door Honda Civic CX hatch from the mid-nineties or the Opel Corsa from General Motors which is so popular these days in Europe.

(3) The Hyundai Elantra

Many automotive industry observers consider the 2007 Hyundai Elantra a worthy challenger to the subcompact sedan field, which features the likes of the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Nissan Sentra. It is competitive in terms of safety, spaciousness and overall driving experience and may have a slight advantage in value and warranty coverage. However, its conservative styling needs to catch up with the rest in this field.

The 2007 Elantra has airbags galore both in the front seat-mounted and roof-mounted side curtains, and that's for both front and rear seats. It also has antilock brakes and four-wheel-disc brakes that are far better than the disc brakes in front and drum brakes at the rear of its competitors.

(4) The Hyundai Tiburon

The Tiburon has been restyled for 2007 and now features lower-placed headlamps, a hallmark of the more mainstream Japanese models, as well as revised taillights and chrome exhaust tips. It also has a new sheetmetal frame with a more wedge-like, mainstream look that is a far cry from the odd-looking and curvy Tiburon model first introduced in the US in 1997.

The handling of the top-of-the-line Tiburon SE has likewise been streamlined to make it smoother and more appealing to enthusiasts.

(5) The Hyundai Santa Fe

With a car's unibody construction instead of a regular truck's traditional body-on-frame construction, the Hyundai Santa Fe is more like a "crossover SUV." The 2007 version has been completely redesigned and is now bigger and better, boasts of more power, bigger legroom and a more sophisticated style.

Unlike last year's model, the 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe blends naturally into the suburbs. Its brand-new third-row seating allows the 2007 Santa Fe to accommodate up to seven passengers. It also offers improved fuel economy and power, whether itís the GLS, SE or Limited trims.

(6) The Hyundai Azera

This year's Azera has benefitted from minor changes in the interior details to increase its aesthetic value. It is actually a carryover from last year's model and features the standard 3.8-liter, V6, 263-horsepower engine and 5-speed automatic transmission with overdrive. This 4-door, 5-passenger family sedan is available in 4 trims, ranging from the SE to the Limited XM.

(7) The Hyundai Tucson

The Tucson is another of Hyundai's highly-regarded cars for 2007, especially since the 2006 Tucson captured the prestigious J.D. Power and Associates award for "Highest Ranked Multi-Activity Vehicle in Initial Quality" despite being only in its second year of production.

Based on a study of over 63,000 new car owners, the Tucson, on the average, outperformed its competitors in the Multi-Activity Vehicle (MAV) segment in six of eight categories. Overall, Tucson recorded scores that were 23 percent better than the category average. It also received high marks for its safety technology, electronic stability control, curtain airbags and for offering a choice between front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive.

(8) The Hyundai Entourage

In terms of standard safety features, the Hyundai Entourage is head and shoulders above the other minivans available in the market today It is no surprise that the 2007 Entourage garnered the Insurance Institute for Highway Safetyís highest and best crash test rating ever for a minivans.

Among the Entourage's safety and comfort features are six airbags, standard ABS, standard Electronic Stability Control and standard active head restraints. In addition, the Entourage boasts of lots of space to spare, including seating for seven and huge cargo space.