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Archive for September, 2009

The No Hassle Guide To Buying Budget Used Cars

So you are looking to buy a budget used car? The first step to consider is whether or not you have a car to trade in the first place as there are a number of different approaches that you can pursue to get the best deal. If you already have a car then you can seek out dealers who may possibly give you a good tradein value for your existing car and offset the cost of buying a new one. In practice this doesn’t tend to happen very often. Dealers will want to give you the lowest price possible for your existing car and sell you a new one at the highest price possible! Not a good twosome if you are looking to get the best deal. So in practice if you are looking to buy budget used cars then you are better off looking at the private market.

A good place to start with this is to determine the book value of the car which you wish to buy. It’s impossible to know whether or not you are getting a good deal unless you know what the cost of the car should be. A good way to gauge this is to go online and take a look at something called the Kelly Blue Book. This is an offline publication but has now become available online and gives you a good market indication of how much your budget used car is worth. Where this comes in if you are looking to buy a car is that essentially it tells you what is a good price to pay for it!

Okay. So you have had a look on line at the Kelly blue book and have got a price in mind. The next step is to go to your local magazine seller and get copies of all the different car selling magazines. Good ones of these include magazines such as Auto Trader Exchange and Mart etc but these may vary depending on your location. Either way you get my point. Grab a handful of car magazines that actually sell cars! Then go to the section in the magazine that deals with the car you are looking for. Then before you do anything else take a look at the prices conditions and locations of all the different cars that fit your requirements. In this way it acts as a double check on the Kelly Blue Book price and tells you what people are actually asking for their cars in the real world.

Only now are you ready to look for budget used cars! You know the type of car that you are looking for you know the condition that you will accept and you have a good idea about what price you should be paying. Now it’s time to actually find some of the ads and take a look at some cars. At this stage if you are not technically minded it can be a good idea to get a mechanically minded friend to come along with you. Because a bargain car is only a bargain if nothing goes wrong with it! This would be the ideal scenario.

However if you don’t have such a friend then another option is to get a feel for what you require by visiting a car auction. This is not so that you will bid at the car auction rather so that you can get a feel for the condition of the cars and also talk to other people who are mechanically minded and hopefully strike up a conversation about the kind of things that you should be looking out for with the particular type of car you are seeking. Certain cars for example have specific problems such as dodgy brakes dodgy boot clips etc and it’s a good idea to find those things out before you go out looking for your own budget used car. Armed with that knowledge you are finally ready to get that dream mobile! And I discuss some of the strategies to go about that in the links below.

About the writer:  For more information about Auto Parts and other Car Buying resources. Visit http://www.autopartsadvice.com where you can also learn about Performance Brake Disc Kits

The New And Improved Volvo V70

The Volvo V70 is the leader in the estate car segment and this due to the perfect balance of power refinement and safety that it brings to the industry. While that may be the case there are still ways to improve such a great car. And that fact is what Volvo has proven to the world by developing an allnew Volvo V70 that the company hopes will strengthen their hold on top of the leader board in the said segment.

They have done it by improving the performance of the Volvo V70 and by increasing the number of safety features which has become their strongest selling point. The design is also improved to catch the attention of younger buyers and putting to rest their reputation as makers of boxy cars.

The thirdgeneration Volvo V70 received improvements both inside and out. The design of the new V70 is characterized by a sloping tailgate which sloops more compared to the previous V70. The wagon also gets its rear lights from the Volvo C30 which is the companys first entry to the compact car segment. Cargo space is also improved over its predecessor increasing the space by 55 liters. The Volvo V70 also promises to be the most flexible vehicle in its class with much thanks to its 40/20/40 rear seat split configuration. The car is roomier than the previous Volvo V70 and it is evident in the 48mm increase in the legroom for rear seat passengers. The front seats are also improved shown by the driver seat now being electronically adjustable.

Other features include a sliding load floor which makes cargo loading convenient especially for loading heavy objects. A power tailgate is also optional; this tailgate can be closed easily by a push of a button. Its height is also adjustable to suit the height of the driver who is usually in charge of loading the cargoes. Buyers can also opt to go for the leather seats with heating and cooling features. For the optimum audio experience a highend digital audio system is also available which is MP3 compatible and has an output of a whooping 910 watts. The car can also come with laminated glass windows depending on the customers choice.

The newest version of the Volvo V70 comes with a wide choice of powerplants. A 3.0 liter T6 sixcylinder engine comes with an allwheel drive configuration. This souped up engine can produce as much as 285 horsepower and can power the vehicle up to speeds of 155 miles per hour and can accelerate the car from a standstill to 60 miles per hour in just 7.2 seconds. Another engine choice is the 3.2 liter naturally aspirated sixcylinder engine that packs 238 horsepower. A 2.5 liter fivecylinder engine is also among the choices and this powerplant can produce 200 horsepower. The latter will also be offered with the FlexiFuel technology which runs on E85. The cleaner engine will produce 145 horsepower. Diesel engines are also available two of them to be precise and both with a displacement of 2.4 liters. Also these two engines come with particulate filter for cleaner emissions.

Transmissions available are a sixspeed manual gearbox for the 2.4D D5 and the 2.5T engines while for the rest they are equipped with sixspeed Geartronic auto/sequentialshift transmission. All of which facilitates the smooth transfer of power from the engine to the wheels through high performance drivetrain parts like the Volvo clutch disc.

And since this car is a Volvo you can expect that the car will be loaded with the best and the latest in safety technology. Safety features of the car includes a worlds first an integrated child booster seat cushion that can be adjusted.

About the writer:  Glady Reign is a 32 year old is a consultant for an automotive firm based in Detroit Mi. she is a native of the motor city and grew up around cars hence her expertise in the automotive field.

The Most Important Hybrid Car Information

When picking out a hybrid car many customers seem to overlook all the hybrid car information that they should be looking at. Granted many cars manufactured at present hybrid or not really do sell on their looks and just how comfortable they ride. But buying hybrid cars are slowly changing car shopper habits.

Mileage

When you think about a hybrid car or when you choose one it all boils down to one thing: mileage. What shoppers didn’t know in the past is that mileage means everything. It dictates how far a car can go on a gallon of gas and even tells you a little something about the gas that is being used and how much emissions a car makes. When you go out shopping for a hybrid car this is probably the first thing you will have to keep an eye on through a quick scan of a hybrid’s EPA rating.

Features

Now since hybrid cars are essentially cars of the future you might want to look at every square inch of it as well. These new cars are not just designed to look great and save gas. It’s their technological features that should be taken to consideration.

The Engine First of all the hybrid engine is something that everyone should marvel about. Many hybrid vehicles actually use two engines and this is important hybrid information for anybody in the market for a hybrid vehicle. One engine runs on gas and it provides juice for a separate electrical engine that will help power a hybrid.

The Battery Another great technological feature is that as a hybrid runs along on the road the gas engine and the movement of the vehicle help to charge special battery cells that power the electrical engine. This is a great way to conserve energy and it does not take a lot of fuel to run a hybrid either. Lastly a stop start feature that is gaining recognition in the motorist world is something that was first seen in hybrid vehicles. Basically this technology allows a car to shut down almost completely when it is on stand still which means no gas is being used when one is stuck in traffic. The car starts up and moves again when the accelerator is pressed again.

The Advantages

There are so many advantages to consider when using a hybrid car. Current manifestations of these vehicles definitely dispel the idea that hybrid cars are too small and too unattractive to be seen driving around in.

Looks Take the Toyota Prius as an example. It is one of the leading hybrid vehicles that not only boast of one most fuelefficient technologies but it looks good as well. Its sleek body has been the inspiration for many other car manufacturers looking into getting into the hybrid car craze but trying to make their cars look good as well. Some midSUV range vehicles are also now getting into the hybrid engine craze and this is a perfect idea for those who want to make a change but still want to own a car that’s large and commanding.

Hybrid cars are definitely worth looking into if you are looking to buying something new for your everyday usage. Know what to look at first and remember to ask all the important hybrid car information such as what technology it uses and what mileage particular models can achieve to the gallon.

About the writer:  Find the best hybrid car information that will help you decide. Make your online hybrid car comparison now!