Apr 21
adminCar Check Amount Of Time, Bad News, Blue Smoke, Burning Oil, Buying, Buying A Used Car, Car Brakes, Car Services, Car Vehicle, Check, Exhaust Pipe, Exhaust Smoke, Four, Gasoline, History Check, Important, Important Things, Owners Manuals, Press Brakes, Reputable Dealer, Service Books, Things, used, Vehicle History, Vin Number, White Smoke
If you want to save time and frustration when buying a used car then then read on. There are dozens of things that you could check when you’re looking at used cars, but that would take far more time than most of us have. in this article there are four things listed that you must check when buying a used car, vehicle history, exhaust smoke, brakes and interior. This will only take a small amount of time and give you a good idea as to what kind of car you’re about to buy.
1. Vehicle History
This is actually one of the easiest things to check when buying a used car. Services like the constantly advertised, Carfax, exist to make this as easy as possible. Any decent, reputable dealer will be able to provide a vehicle history. Ask for service books and owners manuals as well. If they don’t give you the information, then you should probably walk away.
You can run your own history check with the VIN number. In either case, what you’re looking for is a car that hasn’t been in any accidents or needed major work done.
2. Exhaust Smoke
You need to have the dealer start the car up for you while you watch the exhaust pipe. What you want to happen is for there to be maybe a little white steam coming out of the car. You shouldn’t get smoke out of the exhaust, unless you’re looking at a diesel, in which case a little black smoke initially is acceptable. White smoke is usually an indicator of engine problems. Blue smoke means the car is burning oil, which is very bad news. Black smoke means there is something wrong with the way the car is burning gasoline. In any event, if the car smokes, you don’t want to buy it.
3. Brakes
Another one of the crucial things to check on a used car is the brakes.
You’re going to need to take the car on a test drive to check this one. What you want to do is to take the car to an area without traffic, then go around 30 mph and press down hard on the brakes. You don’t want to do this hard enough to slide, but you do want a quick deceleration. If the brakes vibrate or make any strange noises, they need replaced. If there are any problems with the brakes, you should probably walk away; although these are easily repaired, they usually indicate a car that hasn’t been properly maintained.
4. Interior
As far as things to check when purchasing a used car go, this one that doesn’t get as much thought as it should. What you are looking for here is a disparity between the interior of the car and the mileage. If the car has low mileage and a really beat up interior, this is a sign of either poor maintenance or odometer fraud. On the other hand, if it has high miles and a like new interior, this can be a sign the car was owned by somebody who really took care of it.
Check these four things, vehicle history, exhaust smoke, brakes and interior, when buying a used ca. It will give you a good picture of the quality of the car you’re buying, and this will save you big money.
Jun 08
adminArticles Actuaries, Ambulance Crews, Auto Insurance, Bad News, Firefighters, Health Insurance, Insurance Companies, Insurance Company, Insurance Quotes, Insurer, Loyalty, Premiums, Probability, Right Direction, Risk Assessment, Safe Car, Time Of Day, Unfortunate Accidents, Vehicle Insurance, Wonks
The main thing to understand about discounts is the thinking behind them. The insurance companies want to encourage you to act in ways that favor them. If you are contrary and do the opposite, you will probably cost them money so your premium rates will be higher. Let’s take a few examples and see how it works. Obviously the point of insurance is that, if you have one of those unfortunate accidents or someone steals your vehicle, you get to claim money from the insurance company. From the insurer’s point of view, this is bad news. It wants to be able to treat all your cash as profit. The more it has to pay out, the more it should raise premiums. Except, at some point, you throw up your hands and say, “We’re not going to pay that.” So a balance has to be struck. The insurer wants all the safe drivers like you, and aims to discourage all the drivers with bad records – they are the ones who get the really big premium hikes. Although loyalty bonuses go some way in the right direction, there are more ways in which the insurer can save money. It all starts with the make and model of vehicle you are driving.
Risk assessment is done by the actuaries. These are the math wonks who collect details of every accident reported in the US. This is not just the data from claims on vehicle insurance. This is every incident reported to the police, attended by the firefighters or ambulance crews, or dealt with through claims on health insurance. Put all this together and the actuaries can tell you the probability of an accident in any make and model of vehicle, given its color, whether it was fitted with any additional features, who it was driven by, the time of day or night, whether the driver and passengers were badly injured, so on. Yes, it’s that detailed. Turning this around, if you drive a vehicle that’s statistically unlikely to be involved in an accident or stolen, your premium will be lower than average. Put a safe driver in a safe car and the chances of the insurer having to pay out are small and the profit is higher. Everyone is happy. So how do you find out which are the safest vehicles with the lowest premium rates? Well, you start with http://www.safercar.gov/, a site run by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This allows you to get the safety ratings from all the tests carried out by the NHTSA. There’s a guide published at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/Vehicle%20Safety/Articles/Associated%20Files/2009_Insurance_Costs_Comparison.pdf which is also helpful. Finally, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety publishes its own list of safe vehicles at http://www.iihs.org/ratings/
The safer the vehicle you drive, the greater the discount on the premium rate. So when you are filling out the questionnaire for those auto insurance quotes, aim to have a safe vehicle. If you vehicle is not safe and you cannot afford to change it, try to upgrade it by fitting safety features. Look at the questions asked in the questionnaire and talk to insurance agents to find out what features save the most money. Similarly, fit better locks and any systems making your vehicle more difficult to steal. Anything you can do to reduce the risk of a claim will be reflected in low rates in the auto insurance quotes you receive.
Jul 30
adminStudent Loan Adjustable Rate Loans, Bad News, Borrowers, Duration, Economy, Fixed Rate Loan, Fixed Rate Loans, Fixed Rate Student Loans, High Interest Rates, Inexperience, Infinite Number, Interest Rate, Loan Repayment, Macroeconomic Trends, Predatory Lenders, Risky Loans, Saving Money, Subprime Crisis, Teaser Rates, Unwelcome Surprise
If you’ve been paying any attention at all to the headlines of early 2008, you’ve undoubtedly been bombarded with bad news about the economy. The United States is being hit hard by a crisis in credit and housing, precipitated largely by the subprime crisis. To avoid becoming a victim of risky loans or lenders when you finance your education, you should choose fixed rate student loans.
There are a seemingly infinite number of lenders out there who exist only to make loans to students. This might be discouraging, but if you get overwhelmed, you won’t be able to make the best decision for yourself. With a little work, you can find a respectable lender who will not try to take advantage of you.
Students are a key demographic for predatory lenders, who try to take advantage of inexperience. One way these lenders exploit students is by offering adjustable rate student loans. These seem very appealing on paper: the lender offers you a loan at an incredibly low rate, making the rates offered by fixed rate lenders seem unfair.
But the “adjustable” in adjustable rate loans means that the interest rate can change, and most of the time, that rate can go up. Even if you think you’re saving money initially, remember to think long-term.
By choosing a fixed rate loan, you can avoid many of the problems associated with adjustable rate loans. Fixed rate loans promise you one certain rate that you will pay for the duration of the loan, which can help protect you in many ways. With a fixed rate loan, you are less likely to be negatively affected by macroeconomic trends. You will also never get an unexpected, unwelcome surprise on your monthly bills.
Have you ever wondered why it takes so long to pay off loans? It’s often because of high interest rates. In fact, a little research into loan repayment will show you that many borrowers get sucked into the trap of low “teaser” rates that eventually skyrocket. Then, they are stuck with huge bills just to pay off the interest – never even touching their initial loan. As interest rates climb higher, the problem only gets worse.
You have worked hard to earn your education, and you should not have to spend the rest of your life worrying about how to pay for it. A good education can be expensive, but it’s valuable, and you shouldn’t let the fear of predatory lenders keep you from getting a loan.
As long as you get a fixed rate student loan and stick to a responsible payment schedule, you’ll be on your way to a great credit score and financial success.
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