Buyer Beware!

The following article Buyer Beware! was originally published to http://onlineusedmotorcycles.com/

Well the news says that this will be a record year for sales in both the automotive and motorcycle industry. However not everyone buys brand new. So how do you know exactly what you are buying? I'm not talking about the year, make and model and what options it had from the factory, but what condition is that car or bike in and what has it been through? That's what we will cover in this article - When buying a used vehicle you need to make sure that it hasn't been through a rough life, i.e. bad accidents, floods or even possibly stolen and resold and even flood damage. While some of this can be pretty obvious on motorcycles, it may not be with a car. There are two things you can do to make sure you are really getting what you are paying for. This first, when it comes to cars, is to go ahead and take it to your local mechanic to make sure that it is okay mechanically. A good mechanic can look at the fluids and belts and a few other things to make sure the vehicle has been well maintained. In some cases they may even be able to tell if the vehicle has been in an accident. That of course is a real big concern, which brings us to the other way to protect yourself. Vehicle History Reports - there are a lot of people that have used these before in the past, and there are a lot of people who haven't. While sometimes people are okay and don't have problems after purchasing a vehicle, there are other times when people could have saved themselves a lot of money and a lot of headaches by just getting a report. It really is cheap insurance. While it may be pretty easy to tell if a motorcycle has been dropped, it may not be so easy with a car. This is probably one of the best features about a vehicle history report. It's not always so easy to tell if a car has been in a bad wreck or not. There are important parts to a car that make it safe when you are involved in an accident like the crumple zones and air bags. A lot of time if it has been wrecked and crumple zones have not been repaired correctly or not repaired at all can cause 1 - the car not to "crumple" or give way when involved in an accident and cause more harm to the occupants and 2 - if involved in an accident again the vehicle suffers more damage than it should have. If you order a report on a car and it comes back that it was involved in an accident with heavy damage it may be better to just find another vehicle. Another factor that has become of more importance as of late is flood cars. Cars now days are very sophisticated and have a lot of on board computers, which actually do more and control more than the computers on the space shuttle did. When a vehicle is submerged these computers take on water. They may seem to work fine for some time, but as time goes by these computers corrode and their connections don't work, causing all kinds of problems from check engine lights all the way to safety restraint lights coming on. In most states if the check engine light is on you won't be able to get an inspection done in order to renew your "tag" or registration for the vehicle. Also, on most cars if the air bag light is on, the air bag system is not functioning at all and leaves you more susceptible to being hurt in a crash. Most vehicle history reports report both of these concerns as well as others. However, not all reports are created equal, and with some you get just as much information for less money. We are not big fans of Carfax. We feel they are over priced. They have to charge a lot of money for their service to be able to pay for all of those ads that you see on tv with their cute little car fox. The brand that we prefer more is from KNW Autobody. We find that their reports are more reasonably priced, and in most situations give the same information. Keep in mind that the information they give is from what they collect from insurance companies and other government agencies. KNWAutobody.com Car History Reports seems to have a nice balance of both and serve not only cars, but motorcycles as well. Sometimes one report will have something that another report won't. For that reason we always suggest that if you don't know how to really look over a vehicle before purchasing it, take it to your local mechanic and have him do a once over to make sure everything is on the up and up. We also found a vehicle that gives a little more info on the service - Happy Motoring!

Car Sales For 2016

Car Sales For 2016 See more on: http://onlineusedmotorcycles.com/

Well here it is, 2016, another year has litteraly flown by. 2015 was a good year for auto and bike makers alike and 2016 looks as though it will also and has the potential to be even a better year, at least for car makers. As outlined in an article by MarketWatch.com and an article written by Gautham Nagesh, 2016 looks to be a record setting year for automakers -

Sales of cars and light trucks in the U.S. likely set a record for 2015 at around 17.5 million vehicles, leading to the question of whether auto makers this year might eclipse the 18 million vehicle mark. Economic signs point to 2016 being the healthiest domestic auto industry in decades thanks to an improving labor market and low interest rates greasing U.S. demand. Cheap gasoline also is spurring sales of more profitable trucks and sport-utility vehicles, while the average cost of a vehicle sold is rising enough to offset rising sales incentives. The strong fundamentals buffer concern about what the Federal Reserve might do to interest rates in coming months. Lending terms remain favorable, prompting AutoNation Inc. Chief Executive Mike Jackson to say "the auto industry does not need a free lunch on interest rates." Still, a significant rate increase would have tough consequences for industry profits, said Mark Wakefield, head of the automotive practice at consultants AlixPartners LLP. He estimates if new-car loan rates eventually increase to 4% from 3%, consumers would spend roughly $1,000 less at the dealership. For now, consumers hit the showroom acting as if they just got a raise, Mr. Wakefield said. He says low gasoline prices are putting enough money in car buyers' pockets that they are beginning to alter spending decisions on bigger ticket items.

Read the full article here Also, you can actually find some really great deals today - Jan. 1st 2016 according to a recent post in USAToday.com written by Chris Woodyard  That is if you are ready right now to take the plunge on buying a new toy for yourself or maybe a family vehicle.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="534"] (Photo: Getty Images)[/caption] Attention procrastinators: If you've been putting off buying a new car and want to celebrate the new year with a snazzy set of wheels, Friday could be your day. A major auto-buying website is predicting that is the day that auto dealers around the country will be offering their deep discounts of the year. New Year's Day will have let buyers reap an average discount of 8.6% off the retail, or sticker, price of a car, says TrueCar.com. The following day, Saturday, the discount falls to 7.8% and on Sunday, 7.3%, says TrueCar.com based on an analysis of 2010 to 2014 data from car-buying transactions from its website. Friday, the first day of 2016, will be counted as part of a long weekend by most automakers, who will throw in end-of-the-year discounts, says Stacey Doyle, a senior auto industry analyst for TrueCar. "For this year, New Year's Day is the day you might watch the Rose Parade and go purchase a new vehicle," Doyle says.

Continue Reading Here So there you have it. If you have been waiting to buy a new car, now is the time. In our next post we will cover more about what is happening with and in the wonderful world of motorcycles!

How an Ohio Woman's Car Ended Up Vertical on a Utility Pole

Wow! Check this out! I always wondered if this was possible

An Ohio woman's distracted driving landed her car up a utility pole. 

The 30-year-old woman was driving in a residential area in Youngstown, Ohio, just after 1 p.m. on Thursday, the Youngstown Police Department told ABC News. She turned around to give her 1-year-old child a snack, which police were told was a cookie, and when she turned back around, her car had scaled a utility pole, according to Youngstown Lt. William Ross. 

“She was more interested in giving her child the food than paying attention to her driving,” Ross said. “She turned back around and her car was driving up a guide wire to a utility pole.” 

Read the full article here:  http://abcnews.go.com/US/ohio-womans-car-ended-vertical-utility-pole/story?id=35716787

Check out this other Blogspot for more on crazy wrecks:  http://accidentscollection.blogspot.com