Beware of hurricane damaged vehicles

Nearly a half million cars were destroyed by two of this past season’s biggest hurricanes, Katrina and Rita. Some of these cars may not have received much apparent damage but they were totaled nevertheless because of water, mud, and debris which flooded engine bays and the interior. Damaged cars are supposed to make their way to the junkyard for scrap, unfortunately some unscrupulous parties are gaining a hold of the vehicle titles and turning around and selling damaged cars to the public. Should you be concerned? Absolutely! Read on to learn more about this problem and what you can do to avoid being stuck with a vehicle that is certain to be a lemon.

Let me just say this: it is not illegal for weekend mechanics to buy a salvaged vehicle, repair it, and sell it to you. What they must disclose to you is this: you are buying a salvaged vehicle. This is where most of the problems begin: the dishonest purveyors are not sharing this information.

Only 22 states require that the titles of flood damaged vehicles [which were totaled by insurers] be stamped with that information. So, if you live in any one of the 28 other states, be extremely cautious about buying any used car [check your local laws to see which group you belong to].

One organization is doing its part to help fight the problem. The National Insurance Crime Bureau [NICB] this past summer and fall sent teams to flood damaged areas in affected states to work with local police authorities. What the teams did was try to catalog all of the flood damaged vehicles and enter that information in a database, which is accessible online. Because of their diligence, nearly 200,000 car identification numbers are now available for car buyers to search at nicb. org

Car shoppers should always invest in obtaining a car history report from an independent company, such as Car Fax, as a back up source to verify information about a vehicle. Although the information supplied by these types of companies isn’t always 100% accurate, it can usually reveal whether a car has been salvaged, rebuilt, is a lemon, or has been flood damaged. Some guarantee their information so check the individual contract/agreement before you use their services to see what recourse you would have in the event a lemon sneaks by them and you purchase one.

So, how can we know for sure that there will be problems? Well, if Hurricane Floyd is a measuring stick then the potential for fraud is huge. In 1999, nearly 80,000 cars were damaged by Floyd and taken off of the roads due to storm damage. About half of that number were repaired and resold, many to unsuspecting consumers.

You don’t have to be a victim, so get informed. If a car is priced well below book value that can be a big clue that a problem exists, however don’t rely on price, instead do some research first before buying your next used car.

Biodiesel fuel

Biodiesel fuel is becoming more and more popular, which is no wonder, the soaring gas prices and the growing environmental awareness brings society to a point where it needs to consider its energy consumption carefully. With the rising price of gasoline and the prospect of even higher prices, it’s becoming evident that most people need to start looking for an alternative fuel source.

Most of the people around never heard of biodiesel fuel. It’s a fuel that is made from vegetable oil. The vegetable oil is run through a bio diesel processor and within hours you have a batch of bio diesel fuel that you can use in your vehicle.

Bio diesel is the new energy star, the name is a general one for a variety of ester-based oxygenated fuels made from soybean oil or other vegetable oils or animal fats. It is produced by mixing oils with alcohol or petroleum diesel fuel. The organic oil is most often obtained from soybeans. Some people even try to make Bio diesel at home, but this is not something I would recommend to everyone, you should really need to know what you are doing when you try and make your own fuel.

The beautiful thing about Bio diesel is that you can run it on most cars, without any pricy motor or engine modifications, its something that saves money all around, so the advantages are clear, however you will need to learn this subject seriously before you start using or making bio diesel. If you are considering trying this process you’ll want to do a bit of research in order to be completely informed. The Internet of course has many sites devoted to biodiesel and its advantages.

You can also find companies that will sell and ship you a kit that you can begin using immediately to make the fuel. The bio diesel kit is often referred to as SVO, and is perfect for most drivers to use, these kits provide you with the tools to build a device that will do the work for you, and prepare the bio diesel before it gets to the engine. The Bio Diesel kits usually include a heating device, thermostat and special rubber hoses that are not effected by the oils involved in the process. Water heater processors help recovering excess methanol that is created during the chemical reaction that creates biodiesel. This cuts the cost per gallon for diesel even further.

The price of the bio diesel fuel kit varies significantly so you will want to research the pros and cons of the kit before buying and installing it, you should also make sure that your car is adaptable for use of this new fuel system and that your car maker allows the use of it, no one wants to discover that he is not covered for damages because he installed a bio diesel fuel kit, so make absolutely sure that your car guarantee covers this option and that your car maker allows the use biodiesel.

Keep your truck bed clean

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It was bound to happen. You lend your truck to a “friend” who says they have a couple of pieces of furniture to move and it comes back to you with scratches in the bed area of your truck. It wouldn’t have been so bad had they apologized, but now you have to deal with unsightly scratches that can only make your truck’s value deteriorate quicker. Had you thought about it, you would have stuck a bed liner in your truck ahead of time to prevent the problem from happening in the first place.

The above account actually happened to me as I was trying to help a young couple out with a good deed. I was warned in advance by a friend that the couple would take advantage of me and he was, unfortunately, correct. Let’s just say that it was a bitter lesson learned.

Twenty years have passed and I no longer have that old F-150. My current people mover is an SUV, so I have no open area to deal with. Yet, I likely will have a pickup truck again in the near future and I have looked closely at some of the products available to owners today, particularly bed liners.

Advances in technology have brought new products on the market that either did not exist a few years ago or were too expensive for the average driver. Some of the bed liners you can purchase include:

Spray on liners. That’s right; you can have super-thick polyurethane sprayed right into the bed of your truck. At one quarter inch thick, you can receive protection from scratches or fluid and it is completely air tight. One manufacturer says this about their product, “It's scratch-resistant, slip-resistant, and really easy to clean.”

Roll on liners. Similar to spray on liners, are roll on liners. Everything that I have read about roll on liners means a lot of work for the person who does the job, which typically is the truck’s owner. After sweeping and cleaning the bed free of all debris, you will then need to sand the entire truck bed as well as the sides before applying the rubberized coating. The sanding forces the coating to adhere to the bed area and I must tell you that between the sanding, masking tape, rubbing alcohol, newspapers, and particle masks, this is one smelly and messy job!

Installed liners. Okay, I am biased. If it were up to me, this is the product I would purchase. Option number one is too expensive; option number two is too messy; while the third option -– an installed liner -- makes the most sense to me. Still, you need to be careful in this area too as some bed liners are certainly better made than others. Look for those liners that are scratch and dent resistant, waterproof, chemical proof, stain resistant, and durable, i. e. not subject to cracking, chipping, or fading.

In all, a bed liner makes perfect sense for any truck, particularly if you can put one in that covers the sides and the wheel wells. All the decent ones I have seen are nicely padded and can easily be cleaned. Learn all about the product you want before making a decision to buy.

Guides for perfect car dealerships

Have you considered buying a used car? There are fair and not-so-fair deals lurking around but for most of us, we are not just looking for something fair, we are looking for something great!

The Internet will equip you with valuable details about unbiased car reviews and ratings, including price ratings, specifications and reasonable, yet honest, reviews, including photos of used cars.

Comparison shops furnish and maintain databases as well where they keep price listings for used cars with their respective merchandisers across the net.

Private Seller Listings: Great Deals for Real

Great deals may not always turn out great in some circumstances. Unwise selection and choice of car dealers could lead you to wasting your money.

In fact in 2004 alone, it was recorded that half of those who bought their own cars in the US have considered purchasing used cars rather than brand new ones. A great deal of the population is becoming more and more open to buying used cars due to their maintenance flexibility and overall cost.

This information should give you more reason to research on which car dealerships are offering the most sought after secondhand cars on the net.

While used cars are getting more popular today it is practical and wise to look for specs which includes conditioning requirements, vehicle history and real pricing report and comprehensive range of values for used cars and possible trade-ins and leasing.

Look for Reviews

A good car dealership offers accurate and honest advice and reviews for prospective car buyers. Reviews provide clients with information regarding the nature of the product and its relative condition.

Others even provide true-cost-to-own values in order to better prepare you for the cost of the transaction. Many even dispense alluring incentives and rebates for sale buyers and those who opt for deduction on certain payment methods for easy money transactions.

The majority of dealer networks across the internet provide search listings to better approximate your location and needs. Search listings would provide you a roster detailing the latest used car models on sale together with their descriptions, vehicle condition, history reports and cosmetic essentials and requirements.

Although most accept trade-ins, some assess additional charges for appraisal, and the value-assessment might fall lower than you expected. Used cars may range from $15,000 + to $30,000 + for a good one. Some would even drop below $20,000 but requires a considerable amount of reconditioning.