Car Buying Pt. 2: Trading Time & Finance

So you have that old jalopy lying around, the car's barely running, the shocks squeak, and the transmission slips more than a 4 year-old on ice. What to do? Sell it yourself or drive it to the local car lot in hopes of fetching maximum dollar. If you opt for the latter, you can be rest assured that even the most immaculate of trades will lose money. My IS 300, that I could have potentially traded, would have only netted me $8000 tops for trade-in value at the dealership. I am in the position that if I sold it myself I'd get about the same as what I owe for the car. There is nothing worse than driving off a new car from the lot knowing that it will lose 20%-30% of its value, and what's even worse is that more and more people opt to trade in a car knowing they are upside-down (owe more than the car's worth) on the loan which means that it will take that much longer to be at a break-even point. Well the 20 minutes you spend listing the car yourself on Auto Trader or Craigslist, could save you thousands and put you in a better position when negotiating at the dealership. Think of it, sure you have to spend time meeting prospective buyers and answering their questions, avoiding scams, and the occasional low-ball offer without seeing the car (I never understood this one, but I got at least 2 such phone calls). Does 2-3 weeks of this equal $2000 or more and put more leverage in your favor? Sure it does and patience and perseverance always payoff!

Once you've gotten rid of your car, the next option is to obtain financing. If your credit is decent enough you could even arrange this step prior to getting rid of our ride. Your local credit union, your personal bank, Capital One, and Lending Tree are all great sources for obtaining financing. If you opt for the latter two you can even get financed while in your underwear. Either way, arranging financing before sitting down for dealer negotiations puts the buyer in power. Being in power feels great! But before you go to the dealership with check or cash in hand make sure you do this...

Next blog: The Price is Right?

Old Itch

I've got the itch to buy something old. I've been perusing Auto Trader, saw a few promising leads on eBay for a Karmann Ghia. I first stumbled upon these unique Volkswagens back in high school when the original plan was to find a reliable car for my sister, when the search turned into a personal quest, and the local paper yielded a one-of-kind example with a flat 6 stuffed in the back where the once mousy, air-cooled VW motor resided. The car was a perfect example of a wolf in sheep's clothing. The engine was sourced from a Chevrolet Corvair and had more than 3 times the power of the stock engine and at least that many multiples in the torque department.

Photo source: harrisburg.craigslist.org

The car was a blast to drive and in spite of the extra heft of the engine, it still handled well. Get aggressive on the gas and the clutch let you know it's doing double-duty with the smell which was a mix of burnt marshmallows and formaldehyde. Driving the car in the rain made for fun fishtailing and careful application of the clutch mixed with moderation of the brakes and inputs of counter-steering helped to keep this in check. The car is still in the family, but is about 15 years past due on a complete overhaul and restoration. As with most garage projects, it wasn't perfect to begin with and perhaps I could pay my brother visit to convince him that I can resurrect this fine car.

More to follow...

3-D Rd.

U23D is the theme today. The local IMAX theatre featured this excellent execution of a three-dimensional, sonic experience. The experience is well worth trying to beat the cut-off for a ticket release which for Bono and the boys would take only a few minutes, and unless you’re lucky enough to win the tickets from the local radio station, those tickets will guarantee you nosebleed status where everyone is reduced to G.I. Joe figure-sized icons and not the early large examples.

Photo from sacbee.com

What does U23D have to do with an automotive blog? Well nothing really until you experience the virtual concert. The opening song was “Vertigo” and this song has all the right mix of guitar riffs, fast beats, and lyrical genius to qualify it as a good song to blast while you’re attacking a curvy mountain road which brings us to our next topic…

Top 5 roads with the right mix of scenery and curves:
Being a California native this list is slightly slanted, but these are all stretches of pavement I’ve personally experienced:
5. California State Route 1, Shoreline Highway, between Jenner and Fort Ross State Historic Park- this stretch of road is about 5 miles long but there are enough switchbacks and coastal cliffs with spectacular views of the Pacific to make it on this prestigious list, plus this small section of road that redefines the term “hairpin”:

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4. Grizzly Peak Blvd, Orinda, CA- this windy stretch of road with the intimidating name (there have been no grizzly sightings in the Berkeley Hills since the 1860’s, no worries) bypasses the Caldecott Tunnel and affords some excellent views of Berkeley and the San Francisco Bay below.
3. Waimea Canyon Road, Kauai, Hawaii- this island gem descends down from one the wettest places on earth, Mount Wai’ale’ale, the road cuts through the midst of a huge 3000' deep canyon dubbed by Mark Twain as the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific”. Of course the road descends down to the shoreline affording great views of the canyon and the Pacific.
2. California State Route 330 (City Creek Road), San Bernardino Mountains- curves, breathtaking views , and a relatively high speed limit (55 MPH on most of the road) makes this 6% grade a fun road for canyon carving and also a great workout for those brakes.
1. South Grade Road, Palomar Mountain, California- this masterpiece nestled in the mountains north of San Diego redefines what a mountain road should be. There are plenty of twists and turns to make it worthy of a mystery novel. On a clear day there are views of the Pacific and with the great weather of the Southern California affords almost year-round enjoyment of this ultimate of mountain passes.

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Anyone have any other stretches of road to share?

Little Repair Shop of Horrors

In my short life I've heard one too many stories of people getting screwed by dealers and repair shops. In a recent experience a former coworker of mine took her car to the dealership to have her tire replaced. Total cost of repair was in the neighborhood of $300! I've had family members also report of similar fates when faced with dealers trying to up sell them on a tire replacement when they came in for a simple oil change. Personally, I've had my share of terrible service like the time I took my car in for a fender bender and the simple 5-day repair ended up taking twice as long. This facility was a recommended shop by my insurer and is not one I'd send my enemies to.



Can one avoid these nightmares disguised as businesses? Here are some simple rules of thumb:

1. Dealers thrive on lack of knowledge and will take any opportunity to sell you something you don't necessarily need. This overall theme spans from the showroom to the finance department and into the repair shop, and any hint of unpreparedness will guarantee an opportunity for them to pounce on you like a field mouse being swiped up by a barn owl. Bottom line: don't fall for their tricks and do your homework before stepping onto the car lot.
2. Car repair shops also rely on lack of expertise and will also take advantage of you when you're not looking. Avoid shops that look untidy or if the person running the establishment gives you the creeps. Bad vibes = bad repairs and huge headaches!
3. Get an educated opinion before you take your vehicle in for repair. If you know someone that knows enough about cars, let them look at the problem if it's not too much of a problem. Call them if you're stranded even. An easily-remedied dilemma such as a dead battery is simple to fix and can avoid having to be towed to a shop in the first place.
4. Do research before taking a car into the shop. If that check engine light came on it's usually an emissions related failure and some models are notorious for common problems. Go to forums such as Edmunds for some insight into your car's troubles. The fix could require only 5 minutes worth of labor, some basic hand tools, and could save you hundreds!

5. Get a recommendation before leaving for the shop. I know I shared my insurance horror story up above, but in spite of the delayed service, the repair was still done to my satisfaction. I took my Jeep to have a transmission rebuilt at a local shop and was fully satisfied with the experience, the maintenance tech even showed me the part that had failed, and I have since recommended this shop others and have not once received a call with bad news or someone cursing me.

Any of you have any horror stories to share?

Intro to Car Point

I'm a self-confessed car nut. It started when I was 4 years old and spent much of my time sketching cars on a desk my father built from solid pine, sweat, and laquer so thick you could of swore there was a sheet of glass covering the piece of furniture. I've read about cars since I was 12 (that was about the same age I actually started to enjoy reading, as long as it wasn't of the assigned variety). Does all of this make me an expert? Not exactly, but like a sports buff who can spit out the ERA stats of the Yankees back in '81, I can tell you the performance numbers of almost every Porsche built since the brand's beginning. I don't work in the industry so my views aren't overly jaded, although I do have biases based on experience and observations while sitting in gridlock along the 91 freeway (a notoriously gridlocked freeway here in Southern California).

As for this blog, my purpose is to educate, test, rant, rave, enlighten, repair, explain, discuss, break, install, damage, and not all necessarily in that order, about the car itself, products used to fuel it, fill it, clean it, repair it, and outright improve it. Stay tuned...