My Autos

3 Places not to go when you sell a car
Car dealershipsMainly because of their industry, car salesmen have a bad reputation in general. Sure, there are some car salesmen out there who are great people, contribute to charity, good with children, but bottom line; they still sell cars for a living. Point being, if someone wants to sell a car and they go to a dealership they will have to interact with a salesman whose one goal is to sell them a car. They don’t care that you want to sell a car, all they care about is the new vehicle they want you to buy. Particularly this coming year of 2007, it has been predicted that used car sales will rise as new car sales decline. This means that those car salesmen at dealerships will be chasing their customers with added desperation trying to defeat those projections. Do yourself a favor when you want to sell a car and avoid the headache and potential purchase that comes along with a dealership. The local newspaperWhile it may seem simple to place an ad in your local rag and deal with individual buyers yourself, beware of the many issues that may arise from this avenue. To begin with you are forced to reveal your contact information, which lets face it, in this day and age can be a bad idea. Not to mention that you are forced to meet with strangers (always do it in a crowded public place), and allow them to test drive your vehicle. This poses a liability problem to your insurance carrier, and could be a personal liability for obvious reasons. In addition to close contact with strangers, there is also the issue of haggling, selling and convincing reluctant potential buyers, not to mention people who aren’t serious about buying wasting your time. Another serious issue is payment fraud. Selling a big ticket item isn’t something to be taken lightly and almost any type of payment you take can be fraudulent. If you must sell a car yourself be sure to only accept cashiers checks made out to you, and as an added step you should meet the buyer at the bank the check is drawn off of and never turn over the keys until you have negotiated the check and have cash (or another cashiers check you purchased) in your hand. A high visibility parking lotMany people simply buy a ‘For Sale’ sign and slap it in a window of the vehicle they want to get rid of. Quite frankly, driving with a for sale sign in the window isn’t a good way to advertise, talk about dealing with strangers. No one wants people yelling offers to them at stoplights, and while moving there is no way to make the copy large enough for passing vehicles to see. Many people will take their car and its ‘For Sale’ sign and put it in a parking lot with high visibility and lots of traffic. Beyond the obvious angry business owners and parking violations, this is another method of selling that requires your contact information becoming public knowledge. Not only can that incur unwanted attention, but it also gives that angry business owner or code enforcement officer a quick and easy way to track you down. There is a solutionIt may seem hopeless when you want to sell a car, there are flaws with almost any method you use. However, the newest and perhaps the most easy alternative lies in your computer. The internet offers any number of websites that make selling your car a snap. Not only do most of them come to you, but many offer cash to sellers. Utilizing affiliates within the industries helps them to eliminate your footwork and get you a reasonable price. <b>About the Author:</b> My name is Paige Filler and I'm a creative writer with a love of all things that go vroom. I do my homework to bring thought and innovation into everything I write about the auto industry. You can find more of my stuff at <a href="http://www.cash4usedcars.com/" target="blank">Cash 4 Used Cars</a>, and <a href="http://blog.cash4usedcars.com/" target="blank"> this blog.</a>
Source: www.ArticlePros.com

A Woman's Guide to Basic Tire Care
Women certainly are not helpless. But sometimes we are a little overwhelmed working a 40-hour week, taking care of the children, cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry. The car is just another added burden when there isn’t a man around to tinker with it. For the woman who finds herself in this situation, this is a short primer on routine tire care that will extend the life of your tires and hopefully make your life a little bit easier. Check Tire Pressure Regularly: Tire pressure should be checked whenever you suspect a problem or at a minimum, seasonally. Symptoms of improper tire pressure include excess wear and squeeling when going around a corner (for under-inflated tires) and reduced traction (for over-inflated tires). Even the temperature can affect your tire pressure. Check your owner’s manual to find where they’ve posted the proper tire pressure (usually on one of the doors) and be sure to keep it at that level. An improperly inflated tire not only wears quicker, it can also be dangerous when stopping and can cause tread separation. You can purchase a tire-pressure gauge at your local auto parts store, use a gauge at the gas station or ask your tire dealer to check it for you. Have Your Tires Rotated: Tires should be rotated every 5000 - 6000 miles. For various reasons, all four tires on a car do not wear the same. The purpose of the tire rotation is to allow for even wear and an extended life for your tires. Some manufacturers recommend “cross-rotation” (moving the right-front tire to the left-rear, etc.). Check your owner’s manual for it’s recommendations. Have your tire dealer rotate your tires regularly. Check Your Wheel Alignment: If you’ve hit a pothole or scraped your tire on a curb, your wheels may have been thrown out of alignment. Symptoms of wheels that are out of alignment are excessive wear (one tire may wear more than the others) and steering problems. You may notice that your car veers to the side when you’re on a straight road or the car doesn’t steer properly in a turn. Unless you notice any of these symptons, you should have your alignment checked annually. Have Your Wheels Balanced at the Same Time They’re Rotated: An improperly balanced wheel will cause a vibration at higher speeds (50-70 MPH) which is noticable in the steering wheel (if a front tire is out of balance) or in the seat (if a rear tire is out of balance). It will also increase wear of shock absorbers, struts and suspensions. If you notice any of these symptoms, you should have your tire dealer take a look. He will need to locate the heavier part of the tire and attach a lead weight opposite it to counter-balance it. Unless you notice any of these symptoms, you should have your wheels balanced every time you have them rotated (every 5000 - 6000 miles). Debbie Pettitt Everything Tires http://everythingtires.com Debbie Pettitt is webmaster for Everything Tires. For additional articles and information regarding tires, visit http://everythingtires.com.
Source: www.ArticlePros.com