3 Common Mistakes to Avoid When New Car Shopping

With the economy rebounding faster than ever and gas prices not too far behind, it's more likely than ever that You, the random car-consumer in America, are thinking about buying a new car. And with more people than ever thinking about doing so (Ford sold twice as many Focus sedans this February as it did last year), it's ever so critical that you avoid the mistakes of other, less well-informed vehicle shoppers. Mistakes like:
1. Just showing up at a car lot. First of all, this is the 21st century and we have the internet now, so there's no reason that anyone reading this article should make this mistake. Use the net to search for bargains before you even leave the house. Don't be afraid to expand your search to neighboring cities or even states; eBay Motors has made it easy to buy a car anywhere in the U.S. no matter where you live (unless it's Alaska or Hawaii, but that's different). Even if you ultimately end up going down to the dealership after that, at least you know the price that the dealer should be asking for the car you're looking for.
2. Know how much your car is worth. This year's used car market is hotter than asphalt in August. A perfect storm of sorts (last year's Japanese tsunami, a rebounding economy, and far fewer people with the cash to buy a new car) has created a shortage of used cars that has resulted in rising prices for several years now. Not that any car dealer is obligated to tell you that if you mention you want to trade-in your current vehicle, however. Quite the opposite. They're not obligated to give away any information you don't have already. So show up knowing how much your car is worth, and if they don't come close enough, sell it yourself. Seriously, sell it yourself-it's not that hard (see the internet, above).
3. Shop around for financing. Next to just showing up and buying the first car they see, the mistake pre-owned vehicle customers make most often is not looking for a good deal on their car loan. When you consider that, on average, interest charges are 12% of the cost of a new car, it puts it in perspective how important a good rate really is. So look around, and don't just bite the first bait the car salesman gives you.

Car Finance for First-Time Car Buyers

Buying a brand new car is always a big step. They say that after a house, a car is the second most expensive investment you will make. It is important to be aware of how to secure a car finance solution to make the process easier.
Most lending institutions offering car finance solutions use three Cs to evaluate your application. Knowing this will improve your chances of successfully getting a loan. The three Cs are as follows.
Collateral
This refers to the vehicle under consideration for the loan. Most lending institutions have policies and guidelines regarding how much they can and are willing to lend you for a particular vehicle. For example, one firm may give you more if you are getting a certain make from an automaker.
Capacity
Lending institutions use this term to refer to your ability to repay the debt. Some of the things they take into consideration include the length of your employment, gross monthly or annual income, and your current debt and assets. This and the following parameter are essentially a lifestyle check to find out if you are worthy of a loan.
Most firms will grant a loan only to those who are working under a current employer for a year or more. You improve your chances of securing financing if you have a steady income and receive pay by the hour. Self-employment usually makes it slightly more difficult to obtain one. The figure they use for gross monthly income usually ranges from $1500 to $2500.
Note that lenders may also calculate for your debt to income ratio before approving your application for a car finance solution. To do this, they divide the sum of your monthly liabilities and obligations (including rent, insurance, and utilities, among others) by your gross monthly income. The ratio must be in the range of 30% for conservative loans and up to 65% for aggressive loans.
Character
This refers to your credit history and is the most significant determinant in the approval of your loan. Lenders usually dig into every aspect of your credit report. They review everything from your payment history on revolving and installment accounts, to your tax payments, and a range of other considerations.
It will help to do an initial review of your credit report. You are entitled to a free copy of this once a year from the three national consumer-reporting companies. The three companies are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You can order a copy by visiting a central website, calling a toll-free number, or via a mailing address - all free of charge.
Calculate how much you can afford before being attached to and committing to a vehicle. A number of loan companies offer free auto finance calculator on their websites. All you have to do is fill out the form with the necessary information and the automated system will determine how much you can afford.
An auto finance calculator is extremely useful, as it will give you a realistic projection of how much you will have to pay per month. It will help you know whether the car you are dreaming of is out of your league or not. After determining this, you can decide whether you can stick to your dream vehicle or start considering something a little less pricy.

Fuel Economics: Petrol Vs Diesel

Many car buyers have got themselves tangled up in false economic arguments when trying to choose between a petrol or a diesel engine when buying a new or used car. The correct choice is very much dependent on your specific circumstances and driving style. You need to carefully and thoroughly analyse your real car usage to get a clear understanding of what your needs will be.
For this article, we are not considering hybrid or purely electric cars, because it complicates things massively and will be the subject of a separate article later on, but let's consider a straightforward example of diesel vs. petrol.
The Volkswagen Golf has long been considered the benchmark for mid-size hatchbacks, and is available in a range of petrol and diesel engines with identical specifications. This makes it a good example to compare the engines. For this example, we will compare the 1.4 TSI 122hp petrol engine with the 2.0 TDI 140hp diesel engine. In the real world, these engines give comparable overall performance. We will compare manual gearboxes and assume the customer has paid full retail price. Servicing and maintenance costs are broadly comparable between the two models, so the difference will really come down to the engines.
We will use the official urban and combined fuel economy figures as provided by the government (extra-urban figures are usually useless), and assume the buyer keeps the car for three years, covering 10,000 miles per year. Resale value is provided by WhatCar? Magazine. Fuel prices are provided by petrolprices.com as of today (5 March 2012). We have to assume that fuel and registration costs stay at 2012 prices for the next 3 years (if only!) and that insurance costs are broadly similar for each car (which they should be).
Petrol:

• Golf Match 1.4 TSI 122hp - £19,100
• Value after 3 years - £7,640 (40% of new car price)
• Fuel economy, urban - 34.4 mpg
• Fuel economy, combined - 45.6 mpg
• Road tax (first year included in new car price) - £130/year

Diesel:

• Golf Match 2.0 TDI 140hp - £21,090
• Value after 3 years - £9,491 (45% of new car price)
• Fuel economy, urban - 46.3 mpg
• Fuel economy, combined - 58.9 mpg
• Road tax (first year included in new car price) - £95/year

So the diesel car is more expensive by nearly £2,000 when new, but should be worth about £1,800 more after three years. It costs less to register (£35/year at present, so not a lot in it) and should use less fuel on average.
Total cost of buying and running each car for three years (excluding insurance, servicing and maintenance) are as follows:
Petrol:

• Using Urban fuel economy figures - £17,335
• Using Combined fuel economy figures - £15,964

Diesel:

• Using Urban fuel economy figures - £16,293
• Using Combined fuel economy figures - £15,300

So the diesel Golf is £347/year cheaper to run using the urban figures, and £221/year cheaper to run using the combined figures. In the overall of a £20,000 car, this is hardly a significant difference, and doesn't take into account individual driving circumstances. The government fuel economy tests are not really representative of real-world driving, and very few drivers ever match the official figures. Below I will detail the differences in the way a petrol engine drives compared to a diesel engine.
What can be said for certain is that the higher your annual mileage, the better the diesel becomes. The above calculation is based on 10,000 miles per year, which is considered average. If your mileage is higher than that, the diesel car's advantage is greater. If your mileage is lower, the figures become even closer.
The above example is also very specific to that car and those two engines. If you are looking at a different car, then you need to use the relevant figures for the engines available for that model.
What is most important of all is properly considering how you will really use the car for as long as you own it, but here is a very general breakdown of the generic differences between petrol and diesel engines:

• A petrol engine usually produces more power than a comparable diesel, making it more responsive at very low revs, so pulling away from rest at the lights or at a T-junction is usually quicker in a petrol engine. A diesel engine will have to work harder and therefore use more fuel to keep up.


• A diesel engine usually has more torque than a petrol engine, making it better at carrying heavy loads. So a diesel engine maintains its performance and economy much better when you load up a car with a full load of passengers and a bootful of luggage, whereas a petrol engine will struggle noticeably in comparison, losing performance and using more fuel.


• A diesel engines tends to be more economical in steady-state driving, such as on a motorway, when the engine is at its optimal point and cruising along comfortably. A petrol engine will have to work harder to maintain its momentum and will use more fuel.


• Stop-start town driving is inefficient for any kind of engine, so there is much less difference in fuel economy between a petrol and diesel engine around town. Especially if you have to work the diesel engine harder under acceleration.


• A petrol engine produces fewer overall emissions per litre of fuel burned than a diesel engine. But a diesel engine will usually use fewer litres, so be may more eco-friendly for a given distance (internationally measured in grams per kilometre - g/km). But that's assuming optimal conditions, because...


• Short journeys are very inefficient for any kind of engine, as cold engines use more fuel and pollute a lot more than warm engines. This applies to both petrol and diesel engines, and means neither engine approaches anywhere near its 'official' fuel economy figures. A journey has to last at least 10-15 minutes before the fuel economy starts to hit its best figure, and prior to that both engines are using lots of fuel.


• Diesel-engined cars tend to cost more than petrol-engine cars when new. However, their resale value is usually better (this is very dependent on fuel prices at the time, so is only ever a prediction of what will happen in the future).


• The sound of a diesel engine is still off-putting to some people, although they are much more refined than they used to be.

So we need to take all of the above into account when deciding whether to go for a petrol or diesel car. Also, if you're going to buy a used car, there may be very little difference in price between a petrol car and a diesel car. But the overall message is to carefully evaluate how you are going to use the car before laying down your hard-earned money.

Stuart Masson is The Car Expert, a London-based independent and impartial expert for anyone looking to buy a new or used car.
Originally from Australia, Stuart has had a passion for cars and the automotive industry for nearly thirty years, and has spent the last seven years working in the automotive retail industry, both in Australia and in London.
Stuart has combined his extensive knowledge of all things car-related with his own experience of selling cars and delivering high levels of customer satisfaction to bring a unique and personal consultation service to the car buyers of London. The Car Expert offers specific and tailored advice for anyone looking for a new or used car in London.

Transit Bus Buying Guide

A transit bus is typically used by the public for travelling short distances. It is also known as the city bus or public bus. The transit bus is regularly used by commuters for traveling. The bus plies short distances with a number of pre-defined stops where it lets in or lets out passengers. It may also be used for transporting passengers over short distances for leisure activities. Thus the transit bus is quite different from long distance buses, shuttle buses or private hire buses and coaches. In some cases, transit buses are also used to operate limited stops or non-stop service routes during peak times.
Some of the defining features of a transit bus are as follows:

• Built with low floor
• Little to no luggage space
• Bucket seats or benches are provided for passengers. There are no head rests
• There is sufficient standing space for a legally defined number of passengers
• Displays destination through headsigns or rollsigns

In addition to the above, the transit bus also contains equipment that verifies whether fare has been taken. To facilitate easy and quick responses, the bus is also fitted with a pull cord. Recent innovations have made the transit bus savvier. Many of them are fitted with passenger information equipment, advertising or entertaining systems and multimedia. Passengers are given other comforts like heating, cooling and so on. In some of the more competitive routes, market leaders spare no effort in making the interior of the bus as attractive as comfortable as that as a private car.
If one is considering the purchase of a transit bus, it is important to keep the above features in mind. Typically, transit buses are built to suit third-party specifications that have been put down by the authorities. New transit buses are generally purchased every time a new route is contracted.
Transit buses could be single decker or double decker. Selection is basically done depending on the area of operation in keeping with regulations regarding the same. Also, transit buses are allowed to have two or three doors, depending on the local policies regarding the bus. In routes that are not in high demand, minibuses may also be used to ply as transit buses. This is a low cost method of operating transit buses.
When buying a transit bus, it is necessary to keep the route requirements in mind. A large, double decker bus may be in order provided the number of passengers justifies the same. If the number of passengers is small, a smaller bus would suffice. Since the transit bus will be carrying passengers of all ages, safety must be a top priority. Since this is a competitive industry, it is necessary to ensure comfort too.

Understanding Why We Buy Cars?

The majority of people prefer to replace their cars after using it for some time, mainly because of wear and tear. With the passage of time, the car requires repairs more often. Because of this, its efficiency goes down and it becomes a liability and may cause inconvenience occasionally. Its beauty and value in the market will also go down. The owners of these cars try to sell them in the market at a reasonable price. The advertisements saying, "We Buy Cars" can be found by the buyers all over the internet. However, people are not sure about the dependability of advertisement like "We Buy Cars." This is because of prevalent crimes on the internet, as internet trade is similar to any other trade, so both honest and the dishonest traders exist everywhere. This should not dissuade you from approaching them or other car buyers, as it is a genuine and legitimate business. Genuine car buyer companies can be trusted, and you can negotiate with them for the sale of your car.
Many of us are not clear as to why someone would buy junk cars. Or how one could make a good profit in such a business? The selling and buying of used cars have become a big industry and is making a good profit on the investments made. Besides profit, there are other reasons for dealing with junk cars. The main reason for this is to use these junk cars for recycling. Big scrap yards have been developed by many companies, where recyclable parts are separated. Here the scrap vehicles bought are sold as whole or in parts and scraps. The vehicles are melted down to their original metals that are required by the industries. This way, it is ensured that there is no wastage of resources, and the same is provided cheaper to those who need it. This also protects the environment from pollution.a
More energy is used for processing raw materials in production of metals like iron and steel. Recycling scrap is the best way of reducing the amount of energy utilized. Junk cars not in use are dumped in the backyard or any other usable space. There are many people willing to sell their junk cars, but are not sure how to go about it. Metals take a very long period to disintegrate. Besides this, many components of metals are non-biodegradable. It implies that once mixed with the soil, these might never disintegrate fully. This makes the soil infertile over a period of time. It is thus clear that besides taking space, these vehicles have an adverse effect on the environment. When junk car buying companies purchase such cars, the non-biodegradable and biodegradable parts are separated so that these can be used again.
There was a need to have companies that could pay people for their wrecked cars and automobiles. Soon it was realized that even damaged or wrecked cars could get some money to the owners, rather than writing them off or donating them. Many individuals as well as dealers are willing to purchase your car, no matter what its condition. Rather than rotting these vehicles in your back yard, it would be appropriate to sell them while they are able to attract some potential customers. If they are kept in yard for too long, their condition will deteriorate further affecting their aesthetic appearance, and further losing their market value. It is thus advisable to sell it and get some money in return, before it is too late and use the money to buy a new car or for other important expenses.