CarSeekBlog

The ever-useful Lifehacker offered up a post on June 23 entitled “Car Dealer Tricks to Avoid.” In addition to pointing to the original piece by Car and Driver, the post also directs readers to Lifehacker advice on top ten negotiating tips and traffic tip myths.

The Car and Driver article specifically addresses:

- Juggling the Foursquare
- Profiting from Rebates
- Inflating Payments
- Fees and Extras
- Interest Rate Bumping
- Altering the Bill of Sale
- Ransoming Your Check
- Eavesdropping
- Lying About Your Credit Score
- Misplacing Trade-in Keys

Just because the industry is hurting — to the point of practically giving cars away on some lots — doesn’t mean that a car salesman is going to change his stripes. Protect yourself before you hit the dealership by knowing all the sly tricks these guys can and do pull to get more of your money. And remember, you can walk away at any time. (Don’t bother to look over your shoulder. The salesman will be right there and probably with a much better attitude toward making a reasonable deal than he had two minutes before.)

Filed under: General by Shorty
No Comments »

Devotees of Saab will be pleased to learn (via a report from Reuters) that Baard Eker, the Norwegian designer poised to swoop in and save the brand by getting investors in Norway and the U.S. to pony up the bucks, has hopes of rejuvenating the “soul and spirit” of the Swedish automaker. In fact, he wants to lead a creative rejuvenation of the whole auto industry. Modest guy, that Eker, but considering he’s 49 percent owner of the supercar company, Koenigsegg Automotive AB, he’s used to thinking outside the box.

Quoted in the Reuters report, Eker said, “Saab has to refine their quality level, their soul and spirit and we believe that this is something we can help with.” The most oft-leveled criticism fired in GM’s direction in recent weeks is that the once monolithic Detroit giant fell victim to a stale corporate culture that simply believed it was too big to need to be innovative and competitive. They were wrong. So, can a company that makes a few dozen $1 million two-seat roadsters a year take over a company (Saab) that produces about 100,000 units a year and make a success of it? Well, given the rapidly changing automotive playing field, not just in the U.S. but around the world, why not?

Eker is talking greater creativity and more environmental responsibility. Those are powerful words these days as consumers are demanding smaller, but sharper looking cars, rides that save both their pocket book and the environment but that don’t humiliate them in a stylistic sense. That’s left the Detroit big boys scratching their heads about what to build. The time is ripe for smaller, sharper, more specialized companies to snap up brands on the auction block and redefine the game.

“The auto industry survivors will be much more dependent on bringing something new to the table in terms of technology and environmental thinking” after the immediate industry crisis ends, Eker said. “Rising to such opportunities is one of our strengths.” As consumers, let’s just hope he can make good on that promise at something under $1 million a pop.

Filed under: In the News by Shorty
No Comments »

Well, assuming it makes it through the Senate, you folks stuck behind the wheel of a gas guzzler may have a chance to get up to $4,500 federal money on a trade-in for something more efficient (car or truck) via the CARS Act. The goal of the program is to get automotive sales moving to fight the recession again as well as to do something for the environment.

Pete Lawson, vice president for government affairs at Ford, was quoted in coverage by Automotive News, “This timely, targeted and temporary program will put money directly in the hands of consumers and work to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.” The measure passed in the House by a vote of 298 to 119.

Right now, your most fuel efficient choices would be:

1. 2009 Toyota Prius (48 city, 45 highway)

2. 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid (40 city, 45 highway)

3. 2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid (35 city, 35 highway)

4. 2009 Mercury Mariner Hybrid (34 city, 31 highway)

5. 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid (34 city, 31 highway)

6. 2009 Mazda Tribute Hybrid (34 city, 31 highway)

7. 2009 Smart ForTwo (33 city, 41 highway)

8. 2009 Toyota Camry Hybrid (33 city, 34 highway)

9. 2009 Volkswagen Jetta (30 city, 41 highway)

10. 2009 Volkswagen Jetta Sport (29 city, 40 highway)

11. 2009 Toyota Yaris (29 city, 36 highway)

12. 2009 Mini Cooper (28 city, 37 highway)

13. 2009 Mini Cooper Clubman (28 city, 37 highway)

14. 2009 Honda Fit (28 city, 35 highway)

Filed under: General by Shorty
No Comments »

As if Fiat picking up Chrysler and a Chinese company buying Hummer weren’t enough to convince Americans that their automotive landscape has been forever changed in this recession, let’s talk Tata. Yeah, you know, the Indian outfit that now owns Land Rover and Jaguar? Well, they also make the Nano, the world’s least expensive car, which starts at $2,500 — and in three years, it’s coming to the United States.

Customer deliveries begin in India next month and company chairman Ratan Tata is already talking American — optimistically parring the timetable down to maybe two years and six months. (A version of the Nano will appear in Europe in 2011.) In addition, the automaker is working on alternative fuels vehicles, including diesel, biofuel, and electric powerplants.

The Nano is a four-seater that returns 65 mpg and in appearance is reminiscent of the Smart ForTwo. India’s cheap labor pool has helped to keep the price low, although protests over the proposed site of a manufacturing plant delayed the car’s debut. A lottery system will be used to select the first 100,000 owners.

Yesterday, while caught in traffic, I was looking at the cars around me and in addition to spotting one of the Smart cars now on Fort Worth’s streets (there’s a dealership in Dallas), I noticed three Honda Fits. Although dwarfed by the still prevalent SUVs and my own Odyssey minivan, I couldn’t help but look at these trim, efficient small cars as pioneers. A year from now, I have a feeling they will be in the majority in the traffic jam and the SUVs will look more and more like the dinosaurs they are rapidly becoming.

Filed under: Buying Trends, Chrysler, ForTwo, GM by Shorty
No Comments »

U.S. News and World Report has an interesting story by Rick Newman called “How Buying a Car is Going to Change.” Newman points out, rightly, that given the situation at Chrysler and GM and the fall-out experienced by their competitors, it’s a buyer’s market — but one with a likely end-of-year expiration date.

Automakers are cutting production, which will bring inventories down and send prices back up. Also, reducing the number of dealerships will reduce the level of competitiveness that has traditionally driven deal making in the industry. New federal policies regarding mileage and emissions are also apt to be felt as sticker shock because someone has to pay for the required technologies to make those things happen.

The article cross references two other interesting pieces, “5 Reasons to Buy an American Car” and “6 Cars That Signal the Future of Driving.” (Both also by Newman.)

Collectively these three pieces offer a nice mini re-education for the American car buyer. Pretty much all the “conventional wisdom” is changing as the industry remakes itself out of necessity and by government mandate. Highly recommended reading for all car shoppers.

Filed under: Buying Trends by Shorty
No Comments »