Imagine the car of your dreams on the car dealer’s showroom floor when a salesman comes up to you and says, “I can get you into that car and have you drive it away for just $320 a month!” The offer sounds fantastic, the monthly payment is manageable, and you can have the car today! What’s not to like about this? Evidently many Americans agree with this philosophy of cheap monthly payments to the tune of 40% of all new car loans financed in the second half of this year.

But if you have ever heard the saying that “there is no free lunch” this is especially true for car loans with low monthly payments. Although you may pay less from month-to-month, you also have to consider that you’ll be paying off your loan on an extended payment schedule in exchange for the low payment plan.

As an example, if you bought a mobile phone for only $10 a month, this initially sounds like a good deal. But if you found out that the payments last 7 years, that $600 phone would have cost you $840 at the end. (No phone company does this...so far.) So even if a car dealership spends hours with you in trying to get you a suitable loan, the low payments aren’t what you should be focusing on as much as how long the loan schedule is and what sort of interest you’ll pay on the life of the loan. More...

Getting rid of your damaged car may not be as difficult as you think if you understand what your options are. If the damage isn’t extensive, you can always repair it and sell it. If you were involved in a car accident and you received a claim check from your insurance company, you can use this against the costs of fixing the car. But if your car is wrecked or damaged so much that it isn’t drivable, this presents a different set challenges.

If you are planning on selling it to private parties, one thing to consider is whether your car is a popular model or not. If you own a damaged Toyota Camry or Honda Accord, you’ll be getting a lot more money for your vehicle when compared to a Ford Fiesta, for instance. But it will be a while before anyone takes you up on your offer. You may get phone calls from car salvage companies or junk yards that will offer you very low bids for your car.

If you own a popular model car, you may want to consider selling it off in pieces, otherwise known as “parting it out.” It may surprise you that parting your car out will get you considerably more money than selling it whole. But selling the car piecemeal can take a long time and will require you to be diligent in advertising your car and fielding questions from potential buyers. To some, the extra money gained by selling the car off in parts isn’t worth the time and the trouble. More...

Businesses that buy used cars via the Internet or online have been around for awhile. These firms make selling your car easier than if you walked into a car dealer for trade-in value. But if you do decide to go the dealership route be prepared to have your car seriously undervalued. You won’t get anywhere near Kelley Blue Book figures because the prices listed there are the numbers you’ll see when selling to private parties.

The second reason why you won’t get top dollar at the car dealership is a matter of economics. The people there have to offer you less than Blue Book value because they need to resell it on their lot for a profit. If they buy your trade in at full “retail” price, they won’t make enough money to justify the trade in purchase.

It may be more convenient for you to buy a new car and trade in your old one at the dealership for a one stop shopping experience, but you may sacrifice hundreds or even thousands of dollars on the value of your used car. But if you are seriously considering an online business that buys cars, you should know a few things before you do it. More...

In part one of Favorite Scams That Car Dealers Use On Customers we unearthed several tactics that car salespeople use on their customers in order to squeeze more money and profits out of them. We found out that some dishonest dealers try offering you a ridiculously low price for your trade in order to maximize their resale value at the car dealership.

The second one is trying to get its customers to strike a deal based upon the MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) instead of the factory invoice or dealer’s invoice, which is the true value of the car being sold. If you know how much the dealer paid for the car, you can haggle over the price more effectively.

A tip is to just walk away if you find that the car dealer is trying one of these tactics on you. It demonstrates that the dealer doesn’t have your best interests in mind and is only concerned with making a large profit. These dealers may seem to care about you when you are in the car lot, but if you purchase from them, it may amaze you at how quickly they forget about you once you drive the car away. Here are some other things to watch out for. More...

Being a car salesperson is a tough job not only because it’s hard to sell cars, but because the overall impression for people in these jobs is very low. How low, you ask? According to a recent Gallop poll conducted in 2014, among the least trusted individuals in various professions were car salespeople and members of congress. The politicians were at the bottom of the barrel, while car salespeople were next to last.

Why such a low rating for car salespeople? The truth of the matter is that this reputation is earned, to a great degree, by dishonest or pushy sales people. This image of the crooked car salesperson is further strengthened through personal experiences from everyday car shoppers; they don’t like the way they are manipulated and pressured by car dealership sales staff.

This bad reputation doesn’t mean all car dealers are dishonest, but enough of them are to give car salesmen the status as one of the least trusted professionals in the job market. One of the reasons for this are the scams they use to trick customers into buying a car or to squeeze more profits out of the deal. If you can spot some of these, you may save yourself a lot of money and trouble. Here are two of them. More...

In Part I of How To Avoid Common Car Buying Mistakes, we covered things such as not going for a test drive and not having the courage to get up and walk away from a bad deal. In part II we’ll cover some more ground in keeping you out of trouble when you go to the car dealership.

If you’re looking for a good price, one of the things you want to avoid doing is to negotiate a deal from the MSRP. There is a reason why it’s called the manufacturer’s SUGGESTED retail price. The price you see on the sticker is only a guideline for the sale price and in no way is it written in stone.

Some people make the mistake of thinking that this is the retail price. The car salesman would love to make a deal from this starting point because the actual dealer cost for the car is much lower. They can afford to “give” you $1000 off the MSRP when in reality they’re not really giving anything away at all. If you’re shopping for a deal, start with the dealer’s invoice price or factory invoice as a place to begin pricing talks. More...

Visiting your local car dealership can be exciting and distressing all at the same time. You feel excited because you are in the hunt for a new or used car and can hardly wait to buy one. But you can also feel distressed because you dread having to hammer out a good deal, which could take up your whole day.

But there are some things that you can do to minimize the stress and anxiety of car buying if you just follow a few easy tips. The first one is to know what model car you want. Although this may sound too basic, the truth of the matter is that many car shoppers go to a dealer without any clue as to what they want.

Being unprepared puts you at the mercy of the car salespeople and they will take advantage of the situation by upselling you to a more expensive car or features that you don’t really need. It’s great for them because they get a commission on what they can sell to you, but bad because you’ll be paying more for a car that isn’t suitable. So be prepared and do your car homework. More...

 If you were expecting to see tips on getting discounts or coupons for car repairs and maintenance, sorry, you won't find it here in this article. But what you will find out are strategies to keep your car in top shape and what not to do to your car.

 Some of these tips may surprise you and some may seem so basic that you’ll wonder if it is really worth the effort, but the short answer to this question is a definite “yes.” One thing you can do immediately is to just read through your car manual. We know, it’s not exactly quick reading, but at least go over the manual to familiarize yourself with the car and its maintenance schedule. More...

One of the most interesting feature in some cars are keyless ignitions. You don’t need a key to unlock or start your car; all you need is a special electronic key fob transmitter that sends a unique code to the electronic ignition receiver. Once the code is confirmed, the door unlocks and you can start the car with a push of a button.

All of this happens without any keys. The only requirement is that you have the key fob transmitter on your person. When you get within a certain distance of the car, it will unlock. Some more advanced cars actually start as you approach. More...

Nobody wants or likes to get a moving violation, but sometimes things happen and you are pulled over by an officer of the law or the Highway Patrol. You may not be able to prevent the ticket, but there are some things you can do to put you and the officer at ease.

If you see the red and blue flashing lights in your rear-view mirror, pull over safely to the side of the road, or take the next available freeway exit. You are most vulnerable at this time because you are nervous or upset, so pay attention to the traffic around you to avoid getting into an accident.

As you pull over to the side of the road, the officer will stop the patrol car behind you and check your license plate number with the on-board computer to see if there are any problems associated with the vehicle. After the patrol-person comes to your window, roll it down and keep both hands visible to show the officer you have nothing to hide. More...