| Buying a used car? don't skip these tips | | Posted Wednesday, January 25, 2006 4:44:31 PM by Alex Molin | 
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A new car is what we all dream of, but not too many of us can afford that. The solution is to buy a used car.
Sounds wonderful and simple, but actually it is not. There are some things you need to be aware of when buying a used car.
If you are buying a used car it doesn’t mean you have to buy a wreck, although many people will try to sell you their wrecked car when they find out you are an inexperienced used car buyer.
Here's the most important thing you need to check for, when buying from a dealer:
Buyers Guide sticker
- Used car dealers are required by the FTC to stick on the side window a Buyer's Guide sticker.
- This sticker will tell you if there’s a service contract available, if there’s a warranty on that car and what kind of warranty they offer?
Used cars warranties:
- Used cars usually are covered by implied warranties under state law.
- If the manufacturer's warranty is still in effect on the used car, you may have to pay a fee to obtain coverage, making it a service contract.
- If the dealer absorbs the cost of the manufacturer's fee, the coverage is considered a warranty.
- If you buy a used car with Implied Warranties that means the seller stands behind the product.
- There are 2 kinds of implied warranties:
- A "warranty of merchantability": the seller promises the product will do what it is supposed to do. If the car doesn't run, implied-warranties law says that the dealer must fix it (unless it was sold "as is") so that the buyer gets a working car.
- A "warranty of fitness for a particular purpose": applies when you buy a vehicle on a dealer's advice that it is suitable for a certain use, like hauling a trailer.
- If you buy a used car “As Is” – that means there is No Warranty and you will be responsible for all repairs from the moment you purchased it.
- If you buy a used car “As Is” – at lease buy a dealer-service contract. This will guarantee that within 90 days of buying the used car, state law "implied warranties" may give you additional rights.
“AS IS” sales are very problematic as you can see, therefore some states prohibit these kind of sales for all used cars. Other states have used car "lemon laws" under which a consumer can receive a refund or replacement if the vehicle is seriously defective. | ... |
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| | | GM: Warranty for Some Used Cars | | Posted Tuesday, February 06, 2007 12:48:20 PM by Blog57 Team | | General Motors Corp. announced Friday that, effective March 5, it will start including a fully transferable five-year, 100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty on all 2002-06 GM Certified Used Vehicles sold by its U.S. dealers. The automaker also said it will add Cars.com to its online vehicle-listing program, effectively doubling the number of GM Certified Used Vehicles listed for sale on the Internet. Troy Clarke, president of GM's North American operations, made the announcements Friday at the National Automobile Dealers Association's 90th Convention and Exposition in Las Vegas. The powertrain warranty covers more than 900 components related to the engine, transmission, transfer case (if applicable) and final drive assemblies on all GM Certified Used Vehicles from Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, Oldsmobile and Pontiac sold in the United States.... | |
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| | | Robot cars rev up for the city | | Posted Wednesday, November 15, 2006 2:50:01 AM by Blog57 Team | | A car that can drive itself is the fantasy of any designated driver, but the dream of owning a vehicle that does all the driving while you sit back and relax is one step closer to reality, as in-car artificial intelligence being developed by a team at Stanford University is ready to be used on city streets in the ultimate test of robot cars. Winning the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Grand Challenge last year with a car called Stanley, Sebastian Thrun and his team at the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory developed a form of robotics that went beyond being purely reactive. Rather than simply processing data and reacting accordingly, the in-car A.I. could evaluate data in milliseconds and decide whether it was correct or not. Many of the early prototypes of robot-controlled cars were literally stopped in their tracks because of faulty information - mistaking tumbleweed for a rock for example.... | |
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| | | John cars seized | | Posted Friday, November 10, 2006 2:51:02 PM by Blog57 Team | | For the first time under new provincial legislation, two cars used by men allegedly trolling for hookers have been seized by police. With a female undercover officer posing as a prostitute, Calgary police conducted a recent sting operation in Forest Lawn and nabbed four suspects and seized two cars, said Staff Sgt. Barry Balerud. The charged guys have been recommended for alternative measures and theyll have to apply to the province to get their vehicles back, Balerud said of last Thursday nights sting. Balerud said a 1991 Honda Accord and 1994 Buick were seized and taken to an impound lot. If convicted, the men wont get their cars back until theyve successfully completed the provinces alternative measures program which can consist of community service, donating to a womens shelter or registering for john school.... | |
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| | | Cars: New or Used? | | Posted Thursday, November 09, 2006 12:55:32 PM by Blog57 Team | | Since a car loses much of its value in its first few years, it can make a lot of sense to stick to buying just used cars. In an ideal world, buying used cars will save you a lot of money. But, of course, the world is not ideal. If you're not too savvy about cars and their inner workings, you might get taken advantage of. Used cars are riskier than new ones. You never know the car's full past history. It might be a lemon disguised as a peach. Still, for some people, buying used cars is the way to go. Here are some questions to ask yourself, to see whether you're among this group: Am I a skilled negotiator? Am I good at determining the real value of things? Do I enjoy shopping for vehicles and scouring car lots? Am I mechanically inclined, or do I have access to someone handy with cars? Am I patient? The more "yes" answers you have, the more suited you are to used vehicles.... | |
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| | | Used cars: news in brief | | Posted Sunday, November 05, 2006 6:49:03 PM by Blog57 Team | | The sun was shining on the clever CC-style Volkswagen Eos (image) during its auction debut at a Manheim event in Bristol. Six of the models were on offer at the dealer-only affair, but bargain-priced used examples are still some way off; they averaged 96.8 per cent of their list price. XENON headlamps are a turn-off! The expensive option is less than popular with used buyers, according to trade experts. The bulbs – which can cost hundreds to replace – put off motorists wary of the potential for expensive repairs. ANYONE who has ever tried to buy a good-quality example of an Eighties hot hatch will know how difficult it is to find a straight, unmolested model. However, we couldn’t help noticing a rare Renault 5 GT Turbo, with only 40,000 miles on the clock, on the list of entries at an H&H Classic Car Auctions sale.... | |
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| | | Pakistanis Used U.S. Intel in Air Raid | | Posted Wednesday, November 01, 2006 2:49:44 AM by Blog57 Team | | Pakistan's army spokesman said Tuesday that the military used intelligence from U.S.-led coalition forces in a helicopter attack that left 80 people dead. Thousands of angry tribesmen decried both governments over the killings and threatened to launch a wave of suicide attacks against Pakistani troops. Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan, the chief army spokesman, told The Associated Press that American forces did not take part in Monday's attack on a religious school, or madrassa, that Pakistan called a front for an al-Qaida training camp. But he said his government received intelligence as part of long-standing cooperation with the U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan to battle terrorists operating along the porous border between the countries. "Intelligence sharing was definitely there, but to say they (the coalition) have carried out the operation, that is absolutely wrong," Sultan said.... | |
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| | | Fire destroys cars, boats used in movies, on TV | | Posted Friday, October 27, 2006 10:50:04 AM by Blog57 Team | | MIAMI - Chase scenes typically convert expensive cars and boats into fireballs in Hollywood films - but not this time. Cars, motorcycles and boats used in "Miami Vice," "2 Fast, 2 Furious" and "CSI: Miami" were destroyed Tuesday in a warehouse fire, authorities said. The warehouse and most of its contents burned about 8 a.m. Tuesday. Firefighters think the blaze started in a trash bin and spread to the warehouse. .... | |
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| | | Two cars with Ministry of Home Affairs stickers go missing | | Posted Sunday, October 22, 2006 6:48:51 PM by Blog57 Team | | Two cars, with Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) stickers, have gone missing on the eve of Diwali, triggering a scare among the security agencies who fear that these vehicles could be used by terrorists to carry out strikes. A Maruti car bearing registration number DL-4CG-4911 and a Mahindra Bolero with registration number DL-2CM-7361, both belonging to two senior Home Ministry officials, were stolen over the last two days from separate places in the capital, police sources said today. Delhi Police and other security agencies are concerned as both the vehicles carry security-cleared Ministry of Home Affairs stickers, which gives them access to almost all sensitive places in the capital. The Maruti car went missing from outside Lodhi Garden in south Delhi when the official was taking an early-morning stroll in the park yesterday.... | |
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| | | DWP urged to sell its 74 electric cars to private buyers | | Posted Wednesday, October 18, 2006 6:48:06 AM by Blog57 Team | | To ensure the survival of 74 electric cars, advocates are pushing the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to sell its electric RAV4s to the public instead of returning the leased vehicles to Toyota. While some DWP officials have balked at getting into used-car sales, a Colorado activist plans to offer $1.85 million for all the electric vehicles if the utility can make a deal with Toyota. "Any cars the public owns and uses are much more likely to be used to educate the public on the benefits of electric cars," said Paul Scott, a founder of Plug In America and DontCrush.com, which is dedicated to preserving the few remaining electric vehicles on the road. "It's more important from a political and awareness viewpoint that these cars stay in the public's hands." Automakers no longer make electric cars, and most companies recalled and crushed them.... | |
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| | | House set to back tax cuts on used cars | | Posted Saturday, October 14, 2006 12:48:04 PM by Blog57 Team | | LOWER tax rates on new and second-hand cars are expected to be approved by Parliament at the end of the month, opening up the car market on the island and bringing it into line with the rest of the continent. Under the threat of massive fines from the EU for discriminating against used car importers by charging unjustifiably high registration taxes that ignore the depreciation of the vehicles value, the new rates will make buying a car in Cyprus considerably cheaper. According to yesterdays Phileleftheros newspaper, the reductions are as follows: a car with an engine capacity up to 1650cc will be taxed at 40 cents per cc (down 10 cents), 1650cc-2500cc will have a tax rate of 2.50 per cc, while 2500cc and above will be taxed at 4.50 per cc, compared to 8 currently for vehicles over 2650cc.... | |
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