How to Maintain the Value of Your Car

Did you know the value of a new car depreciates the minute you drive it off the dealership lot? However there are some steps you can take to help maintain the value of your vehicle. That way you'll get back as much as possible when you're ready to buy a new one. This article from AOL Autos gives you can use to keep your car's depreciation to a minimum:

1. Keep your service records
Service records are the best way for you to show a potential buyer you've taken care of the car's mechanical components. Without service records, it's difficult to prove that you've changed the oil on time and that you've met factory service requirements. Most sellers will claim they cared for a vehicle properly, but actual records can give you an advantage. Records can be computerized or they can be put into a booklet in the car's glove box. If your dealer or mechanic uses a computerized system, make sure to get printouts of all maintenance performed. 

2. Avoid dents and scratches
Dents and scratches can happen when you're parking, when you open your door or even when you place an object on your car. Cosmetic imperfections are expensive to repair, and can be a huge turn-off to potential buyers. Luckily, by washing your car regularly and taking extra care to avoid contact with other objects, you can keep your car looking like the day it left the factory. 

3. Keep the interior clean
The appearance and smell of the interior can also impact the attractiveness of your car to a potential buyer. Most people wouldn't want to buy a car with foul odors or food stains. To keep your interior fresh, avoid smoking, eating and drinking in your car. If you do eat or drink, throw away the empty food and beverage containers immediately, and clean spills with the proper cleaning solutions. 

4. Don't curb your wheels
Parallel parking can be a risky proposition if your car has alloy wheels. If you get too close to the curb, the edges of the wheels can get scratched or bent. Many buyers of higher-end vehicles pay close attention to the condition of the wheels, and will walk away if damage is readily visible. While it's best to avoid damaging your wheels in the first place, professional wheel repair shops can refinish damaged wheels for much less than the replacement cost. 

5. Polish faded headlights
After years of sun exposure, your car's plastic headlight lenses will fade and turn yellow. While the rest of your car might look terrific, the yellow headlights will reveal the vehicle's true age. Luckily, faded headlights can be polished by most auto detailers. Polishing the headlight lenses doesn't take long, and shouldn't be very expensive. Buyers will appreciate the difference when they compare your car to other cars of the same age.

Click the link to read the full article from AOL Autos: http://aol.it/1kLKqB0

What Type of Car Insurance is Right for You?

If you are going to own a car in the United States, you are required to get auto insurance. However getting auto insurance isn’t as clear cut as having it or not. There are a variety of options provided by insurance companies. It can be difficult to decide which type of coverage is the best for you.

There are many factors that need to be considered when buying auto insurance, such as your car, your driving habits, and your budget. To help you decide which type of insurance best suits you, we have put together a list of some of the more common types of insurance and what they cover. 

Liability Insurance

Liability insurance  is a part of minimum insurance covered required by most states. If you are in a car accident that is deemed to be your fault, liability insurance will cover the costs of any damage to cars and other property, as well as resulting medical bills of others involved in the accident. The insurance company will only pay the amount of your coverage’s upper limit. If any of the damage and medical expenses exceed the limit of your coverage, you will be responsible for paying out of pocket. This is why it is generally a good a idea to buy more liability insurance than just the minimum requirement.

Comprehensive Insurance

While liability insurance covers car accidents specifically, comprehensive insurance covers many other damages your car may face, such as a cracked windshield, animal collisions, vandalism or theft. If you only have the minimum liability coverage your insurance will not cover any of these damages. Comprehensive insurance is not required by law, but it is still extremely beneficial to have because the prices of unpredictable damage to your car won’t have to come directly from your own pocket.

Collision Insurance

Collision insurance, like liability insurance, is covers you in the event of a car accident. But unlike liability insurance, collision insurance is specifically for your covered vehicle and is not required by law. This type of coverage will pay for any damages sustained to your vehicle if it is hit by another car or object. Collision insurance will also cover the value of your car if it is totaled. Coverage ensures that you will have enough money to repair your own vehicle if it is damaged in an accident. 

Gap Insurance

Gap insurance is very beneficial if you are still making payments on your vehicle. If your vehicle is totaled in an accident gap insurance will cover the cost of your remaining payments. This option is great if you owe more on your car than you would be able to quickly pay off. By covering the remaining cost of the totaled car,you will be left room to buy a new vehicle to replace the one you lost.

Personal Injury Protection

Personal injury protection is a type of insurance you can add to your plan that will cover any medical bills you may have from an accident, no matter who is at fault. This coverage can give you peace of mind knowing that you would not have to pay for a huge hospital bill if you ever were to get into an accident. If you have good health insurance this type of coverage is not necessary, but for others without or with very little health coverage, personal injury protection can help you breathe a little easier. 

Spring Cleaning for Your Car

Spring is in the air! Pretty soon we'll be driving with the windows down and worrying about snow and ice will seem like a thing of the past. You want to make sure the gunk and grime of winter is gone from your car. Use these tips from Fox News in order to make your car spotless for springtime.

1. Wash the underbodyWintertime driving will coat the bottom of your car with salt, sand and other grime that can cause corrosion. Corrosion can lead to rust problems, which can make your car much harder to resell or even dangerous to drive. 

Spend a few extra dollars for the undercarriage power wash at the local car wash or spray the car's bottom with your own hose. If possible, use a car jack to raise the vehicle for a more thorough cleaning, advises Bill Kropelnicki, president and owner of Rambling River Repair in Farmington, Minn. There's no need to use soap or any other cleaner. 

While you're at it, open the hood and wipe down the engine with a soft mitt and soapy water. And remove all the leaves and debris that can find their way into the car, says Cliff Weathers, deputy autos editor for Consumer Reports. And remove any crusty white residue off the battery with a toothbrush, baking soda and water. The residue — caused by corrosion — can eventually prevent your car from starting. The cleaning also helps prepare the battery for the stress of warmer temperatures. 

2. Scrub inside and out
Salt and sand can damage the car's paint. Give your car a thorough cleaning and wax it with a paste or liquid wax, Weathers said. He cautions that sprays don't clean as well.
Scrub the bottoms of doors, which can get coated with grime, Kropelnicki says. He also urges car owners to clean the window channels, Also apply a silicone spray, which repels dirt and lubricates the surfaces so the windows will operate smoothly, he says. 

Use a steam cleaner — you can rent one for $20 at Home Depot — or apply a rug-cleaning spray to remove all the salt from the car's inside. Salt can break down some fabrics and cause rips or tears when feet grind against them. 

And don't forget to take bags of salt and ice scrapers out of the trunk. 

3. Replace wiper blades
Wiper blades get a workout during the winter months. Weathers advises changing them each spring and fall.

4. Check tires
Some garages recommend a wheel alignment — which can cost around $80 — or a tire rotation as part of your spring maintenance. Weathers doesn't think it's necessary as long as you're following the car's regular maintenance schedule and doing normal winter driving. 

Check your tire pressure. Cold weather can cause tires to be underinflated and the onset of warm weather can overinflate them. Also, visually inspect your tires to make sure they're wearing evenly and have plenty of tread for the rainy spring weather ahead. 

Driving on properly inflated tires can save you money. It can cost anywhere from $50 to $250 to replace a blown tire, depending on the kind of tire you need. 

5. Check your fluids
Winter weather can deplete some fluids — especially windshield wiper fluid — more quickly, so top them off yourself if they're too low. A service station will also do the job for $25 or so. You should change your oil around every 5,000 miles regardless of season, Weathers says. Brake and transmission fluids should be checked as well.

Click the link to read the full article from Fox News: http://tinyurl.com/oolyc9y

Sharing the Road With Trucks

Driving on the highway alongside and 18-wheeler can be intimidating. But sharing the road is something we have to do. Staying out of a trucker's blind spots and staying patient are just a few ways you can avoid getting into a dangerous situation with a truck on the road.

Make sure you're taking the proper precautions when driving alongside a truck with these tips from Edmunds.com.

1) Riding in a trucker's blind spots. Trucks have large blind spots to the right and rear of the vehicle. Smaller blind spots exist on the right front corner and mid-left side of the truck. The worst thing a driver can do is chug along in the trucker's blind spot, where he cannot be seen. If you're going to pass a truck, do it and get it over with. Don't sit alongside with the cruise control set 1 mph faster than the truck is traveling. 

2) Cut-offs. Don't try to sneak into a small gap in traffic ahead of a truck. Don't get in front of a truck and then brake to make a turn. Trucks take as much as three times the distance to stop as the average passenger car, and you're only risking your own life by cutting a truck off and then slowing down in front of it. 

3) Impatience while reversing. Motorists need to understand that it takes time and concentration to back a 48-foot trailer up without hitting anything. Sometimes a truck driver needs to make several attempts to reverse into tight quarters. Keep your cool and let the trucker do his or her job. 

4) Don't play policeman. Don't try to make a truck driver conform to a bureaucrat's idea of what is right and wrong on the highway. As an example, Taylor cited the way truck drivers handle hilly terrain on the highway. A fully loaded truck slows way down going up a hill. On the way down the other side of the hill, a fully loaded truck gathers speed quickly. Truckers like to use that speed to help the truck up the next hill. Do not sit in the passing lane going the speed limit. Let the truck driver pass, and let the Highway Patrol worry about citing the trucker for breaking the law. 

5) No assistance in lane changes or merges. It's not easy to get a 22-foot tractor and 48-foot trailer into traffic easily. If a trucker has his turn signal blinking, leave room for the truck to merge or change lanes. Indicate your willingness to allow the truck in by flashing your lights.

Click the link to read the full article from Edmunds.com: http://edmu.in/1dF9S6w

The Worst Things Your Auto Mechanic Can Tell You

Some car issues are easier fixes than others. But then there are those mechanical problems that every car-owner dreads, the fixes that make you consider buying a new vehicle because it might just be more worthwhile than paying the price for such an expensive repair.

Cars.com has compiled a list of the top 10 worst things your mechanic can tell you is wrong with your car. If you ever have one of these problems you might just want to consider stopping in to see us for your next vehicle.

Image from freedigitalphotos.net

1. Seized Engine Due to Lack of Oil
"The reason your engine stopped running is that it's now a melted mass of amalgamated metals. What used to be aluminum pistons, steel cylinder walls and an iron crankshaft is now a 900-pound garden sculpture. The Smithsonian wants to put it on display." 

Cost: $3,000 for a used engine, up to $10,000 for a remanufactured engine. 

The lowdown: A "seized" engine means that your lubrication failed (that is, you had insufficient oil or oil pressure), and the expensive moving parts of your engine scraped each other into a heated glob of useless scrap metal. Unfortunately, there's no way to fix a seized engine. Instead, the engine needs to be replaced with a used or remanufactured engine. What happens to your old engine? A recycler will finish the melting job, and the engine will be transformed into thousands of tiny Bic lighters.

2. Hydrolocked Engine
"That 4-foot-deep puddle that you tried to cross? You sucked some of it into your engine's cylinders." 

Cost: $3,000 to $10,000 

The lowdown: There are certain places water shouldn't be — like inside your iPhone, on your original Matisse watercolor or inside your engine's cylinders. Normally, your engine's cylinder contains air and droplets of fuel. The air is compressible, so when the piston squeezes everything, the pressure just goes up. Water is not compressible, so when the piston tries to squeeze the water, the piston loses. Then all the expensive parts that are attached to the piston get bent or broken. Just like your bank account. 

3. Overheated Engine 

"When you saw the paint on your hood was starting to blister, did that give you any kind of hint that you might have been overheating?" 

Cost: $100 to $10,000 

The lowdown: If you catch an engine overheating early enough and take action, you can get by cheaply. It could be a leaky hose, a stuck thermostat or a loose clamp.  If your car overheats badly, or frequently, you can do serious damage. The most common results of frequent or severe overheating are a blown head gasket, a cracked head or a cracked block. Those are, respectively, expensive, really expensive, and you may wind up saying, "I guess I won't be retiring for another year." 

4. Transmission Failure 

"Did you notice when you put your car in Drive, it doesn't move? We figured out why." 

Cost: $300 to $5,000 

The lowdown: The good news is that your engine is still running. The bad news? It's no longer connected to the wheels. Transmissions can fail for a number of reasons. These days, it's not uncommon for electronically controlled automatic transmissions to have problems related to software or solenoids. Those are not disasters and can be fixed for relatively little money. When the transmission's internal components start to disintegrate (like when your mechanic removes the transmission drain plug and chunks of metal fall out) due to old age, overheating the transmission or animalistic driving tendencies, it's time to tap the home-equity line of credit. 

5. Cracked Head, Blown Head Gasket or Cracked Block
"That stuff blowing out of your tailpipe isn't just water. It's antifreeze." 

Cost: $1,000 to $4,000 

The lowdown: There are a few places you should never see antifreeze: falling from the sky, in your cereal bowl or coming out your tailpipe. The engine's cooling system is a closed system, meaning that the coolant circulates from the engine's cooling passages to the radiator, the heater core and back again. It should never leave that loop. If it's somehow getting into the oil passages or the cylinders (and, from there, out the tailpipe) something has gone terribly wrong. Your head gasket has cracked, your head itself has cracked or, worst of all, your block has cracked. These problems are often the result of overheating (see No. 3). 

6. Broken Timing Belt
"Look in your glove box. If you open the shrink-wrapped booklet that says Owner's Manual, you'll see you should have changed your timing belt 20,000 miles ago." 

Cost: $1,500 to $3,500 

The lowdown: There are two kinds of engines: interference engines and non-interference engines. Or, as we refer to the interference engines in the trade, motor wreckers.
An interference engine is actually a more modern engine design, where the valves open wider and into the path of the upcoming piston. This lets the engine breathe better, giving it more power and better fuel efficiency. It all works fine as long as your timing works fine — when the valves are open, the piston is down, and when the piston comes up, the valves are closed and out of the way. If your timing belt breaks or jumps a notch on an interference engine, the piston smashes the valves, and you need a valve job ... at least. That's why it's crucial to change the timing belt at the recommended interval, before it gets anywhere near the point of breaking. 

On a non-interference engine, a broken timing belt will leave you stranded, but it won't crush your valves. You can ignore the timing belt change on one of those engines if you don't mind getting stuck. On an interference engine, you're rolling the dice on a large boat payment for your mechanic. 

7. Transmission Fluid in the Brake Fluid Reservoir 

"That was the brake fluid reservoir, to which you added transmission fluid." 

Cost: $800 to $2,000 

The lowdown: If you catch this mistake before you actually get back in the car and step on the brakes, and have the car towed to your mechanic, you may get by with just a new master cylinder. But once a petroleum-based product, like transmission fluid or motor oil, is pushed through the brake system, pretty much everything has to be replaced. The oils attack rubber seals, and everything except the metal brake lines has rubber seals. Once you've used the brakes and sent this stuff through the brake lines, grab your credit card and check your credit limit! 

8. Fried Computer  

"You hooked up the jumper cables backward." 

Cost: $1,500 to $100,000, in the event plastic surgery is required. 

The lowdown: In lots of cars, there's some type of protective circuitry in the event that you accidently reverse polarity when hooking up jumper cables. However, that's by no means true for all cars. If your car is one of the unlucky ones, you might be looking at having to buy a new computer for your car, and maybe a few new wiring harnesses, too. Even worse, you may incur so many confounding electrical problems that the best thing you could hope for is ... fire. Even if your car is OK, you might blow up one of the batteries in the two cars. If that happens, you might need to buy yourself a new face, too. 

9. Worn Clutch 

"That smell that's been following you around for miles? It's your clutch burning up." 

Cost: $1,000 to $2,500 

The lowdown: The operation of the clutch is based on friction. It's a tricky business to apply that friction slowly enough so that A) your engine doesn't stall and B) your passengers don't get whiplash. At the same time, you have to apply the friction quickly enough so you don't "sand down" the clutch and end up with no friction material left. When you continually let out the clutch too slowly, while giving the engine lots of gas, you're essentially wearing out the friction part of the clutch. Like a piece of sandpaper, a smooth clutch with no grabby surface can't do its job. If you're doing a bang-up job of it, you can actually start to smell the clutch burning as you wear it down. How quickly can you do this? We actually have a friend who did exactly this and destroyed a clutch in as little as 20 miles. No kidding! You know that $1,200 you saved by buying a manual transmission instead of an automatic? You're about to spend it on your first clutch replacement. 

10. Catastrophe at the Repair Shop
Cost: $0 if your mechanic has insurance; $25,000 if not. 

The lowdown: You know how you'll occasionally break a glass at home or drop a fork down the garbage disposal? Well, these kinds of little accidents happen. In the repair business, a tiny moment of carelessness can lead to something much more exciting, such as a car falling off the lift or catching fire. These are exciting moments for mechanics. And once they're over — and everyone is present, accounted for and still fully limbed — we feel a moment of euphoria to still be alive. 

Unfortunately, that's usually the moment we choose to call the customer and share this good news. "Good news! You're car fell off the lift, but nobody was underneath it!" For some reason, this isn't always received as good news. Fortunately, reputable repair shops have Bonehead Insurance for such calamities. You may be able to go out and buy that new Accord you've had your eye on. Remember: It's only a car. Cars can be replaced. People can't. At least that's what we keep telling our customers.

Click the link to read the full article from Cars.com: http://bit.ly/NuSEm1

Tips for Saving Money on Tires

Knowing when to replace your tires is an important part of being a car owner. Overall vehicle safety is affected by tires that are in bad condition. But everyone knows that replacing tires is expensive, and is not always a task that can be done with ease financially.

This article from AOL Autos gives drivers tips on how they can save some green when it comes time to replace your tires. Now you'll have a safe car and your wallet won't be empty.

1. Determine if it's time for replacement 

To determine whether you even need new tires, do some simple checks on your current set. First, take a penny and place the edge into the groove of each tire. Insert the edge of the penny into the tread upside down, with the top of good ol' Honest Abe's noggin going in first. If the top of Lincoln's head is covered by tread, that means you still have an acceptable and safe amount of tread. Do this test at various points around the perimeter of the tire. If the top of Lincoln's head is visible at any point around the tire, it's time to go tire shopping. You can see an example of how to do this test here. 

Check to make sure the edges of the tires don't show excessive wear, and that the tire pressure is correct. Your owner's manual should have the recommended tire pressure, and most gas stations have an air compressor with a tire gauge in the event that you need to fill them. 

2. Don't replace all four tires unless unless absolutely necessary 

The front tires of a car will often wear out faster than the rear tires. This is especially true if you don't often rotate the tires during your vehicle's life. If your local tire shop insists that you need a new set, inquire about the condition of the rear tires before agreeing to the whole thing. Replacing four tires costs twice as much, and your rear pair could still have thousands of miles of life left. 

If you do buy two tires instead of four, it's better to put the new tires on the back, rotating the older ones to the front position. The newer tires will help the car remain stable if you need to swerve out of an emergency situation. Do not buy one tire at a time. If a single tire is damaged, always get another new one for the other side of the car. 

3. Big brands are not always the best value 

Most people can name two or three tire brands from advertisements and marketing campaigns. The big brands typically produce quality tires, but there are many lesser-known brands that are just as good. The lesser-known brands can save over 50 percent compared with the name brands, and can deliver the same tire life and level of comfort.
You can get recommendations on different brands from a site like Tire Rack. 

4. Get an alignment 

Getting an alignment every time you install new tires is crucial to extending the life of the tires. When your wheels are properly aligned, the tires will wear evenly as they were designed to do. If you install new tires and you wheels are out of alignment, the uneven wear can cause you to need a new set of tires prematurely.

Click the link to read the full article from AOL Autos: http://aol.it/1l1760F

In-Car Entertainment is Going Mobile

Remember when you were a kid and family road trips consisted of "I Spy Games", singing, and asking "Are we there yet?" to pass the time. That's not the case for families these days. According to Kicking Tires many traveling families now rely on mobile devices to keep children, as well as adults occupied on long trips.

A new online survey by research firm Harris Interactive on behalf the manufacturers of the Scout GPS personal navigator polled 2,044 adults last month and found that personal electronics now overwhelmingly dominate in passing the doldrums of family holiday car travel. Only 27 percent of parents said old-school-style games and sing-alongs helped fill the hours on their trips. The most popular distraction for kids is video games, with 54 percent of parents saying so — including 36 percent of parents with kids age 2 or younger, and 62 percent with kids ages 3 to 5. Meanwhile, 46 percent say their youngsters watch movies, and 30 percent say they text or access the internet on mobile devices. 

But the kids aren't the only ones with their noses in their smartphones and tablets. Researchers report that 62 percent of adults who own mobile devices check email during holiday road trips (13 percent say they check "constantly," defined as every 10 minutes). Moreover, 72 percent of respondents say they're using their mobile devices to take road-trip photos or videos — one-third, constantly — while 41 percent report posting or uploading photos to social-media sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter while in the car. Nearly a quarter post three to 10 photos on the road, while 3 percent admit to "oversharing."

When listening to music on the move, 27 percent said they favored songs downloaded onto a mobile device, 18 percent preferred streaming music services such as Pandora and Spotify via mobile device, and 18 percent opt for satellite radio. Still, more traditional choices remain highly popular, including AM/FM radio (69 percent) and CDs (39 percent).
In addition to the way we keep ourselves entertained, GPS navigation also has revolutionized how holiday road-trippers find their way. How much have things changed? Remember stopping at the gas station to ask for directions? In 2013, 10 percent of people say they've never in their life stopped for directions — and that percentage doubles for 18- to 34-year-olds.

Click the link to read the full article from Kicking Tires: http://bit.ly/Jt3YNg