askthemercedesmechanic.com

In the early morning when the temperature is still cold or cool the fuel in the underground tanks at the service station is more condensed (shrunk), and the fuel in your tank is also more condensed from cooling down over night while your vehicle was parked. So your tank has more room when you fill up and the fuel you put in is taking up less room, and therefore you get the most fuel for your dollar. As you can well imagine the service stations are aware of this and some have actually installed inline heaters on their pumps to try and eliminate this advantage to the consumer. However these inline heaters do little in the cooler or colder temperatures of the early morning. Avoid purchasing fuel in the heat of the day if you can for obvious reasons, but also because those inline heaters tend to further expand the fuel in the heat and that results in you getting less fuel for your money.Another good tip when gassing up is to make sure you never fill your tank to the brim that extra dollar or two of fuel will do far more harm than good. Filling your tank to the brim or topping it off causes the excess fuel to go into your expansion canister and flood it, which will defeat the expansion factor and result in a noticeable reduction in fuel mileage. The other problem with over filling your tank is that most new vehicles have electronic gauges that work with a piece of metal attached to the float arm which slides across the metal contacts of the sending unit indicating how much fuel is in the tank. Topping off your tank can push this contact beyond its limits, resulting in damage to the sending unit and inaccurate readings on your fuel gauge. If you continue to over fill your tank eventually the fuel gauge will stop working completely.Buy your fuel form a station that is consistently busy as their underground tanks are filled with fresh gasoline on a regular basis. A slower moving station will have fuel that has been sitting for a long period of time and this can lead to the fuel becoming contaminated. Contaminated gasoline is less powerful than fresh gas and will result in a loss of fuel mileage. You should also stay away from the independent and cheapest stations. These stations get their fuel from the supplier of the week and cheap fuel usually means contaminated, watered down, or below average fuel all of which results in poor mileage, not to mention what it might be doing to your engine?Don’t buy fuel when the tanker truck is at the station filling the underground tanks, because as he is filling the tanks it’s stirring up years of dirt, sludge, and condensation from the bottom of the tank which will end up in your tank. These contaminates will not only cause a loss in fuel mileage but, over time can seriously gum up your engine. Another good habit to get into is to fill your tank before it drops below the quarter tank mark so you’re not sucking up the sediment from your own tank.Most vehicles these days recommend using regular grade gasoline. Using high grade fuel such as premium won’t result in better fuel mileage if your vehicles octane requirements don’t call for it. To find out what your vehicles octane requirements are look in the owner’s manual it should be listed in there.When it comes to motor oil it is recommended that you use high quality oil that matches the manufacturers suggest grade. This can directly result in a one to two percent increase in fuel mileage.Finally there are hundreds of fuel and oil additives out there most of which don’t do a whole lot and usually cost more than they are saving you. However we’ve researched a number of them and compiled a list of the ones that actually worked. We included in our study cost, savings, will it harm the engine, company background and availability.

You could end up spending hundreds, even thousands, of dollars over the lifetime of your loan.Once you’ve found the car you want, it’s time to sit down with your sales rep to negotiate the terms of your contract. After a little back and forth on price, figuring out your interest rate, and calculating your monthly payment, you’re ready to sign on the dotted line, right?  Not so fast.When you read the fine print you may find that additional fees and charges have found their way into your contract – including add-ons you didn’t necessarily ask for.  Most car buyers are so focused on getting the best interest rate and negotiating the most affordable monthly payment that they’re unconcerned with the fine print of the contract. By the time they get to the step where they review and sign the paperwork, if the sales rep is throwing industry terms at them that they don’t fully understand, they’re becoming exhausted from the entire process and just want to get it over with.Here are a few insider tips to make sure you don’t regret signing those papers.1.) Read the Fine Print
While this seems pretty obvious and self-explanatory, it’s amazing how trusting the consumer can be. Honestly, the last time you bought a car, did you read and fully understand the contract before you signed it? Probably not. Most people don’t.Some unscrupulous car dealerships are betting on that. Because most people don’t read the fine print, some sales reps can slide in additional, undisclosed charges or extras with huge mark-ups to their profit.  Also, make sure there are no blank spaces on your finance contract that can be filled in later – wherever there are blank spaces, write in “$0″ or “N/A.”2.) Typical Extras
Most of us are familiar with learning about the standard features of an automobile and then figuring out which additional features we are willing to pay extra for, but here are some extras to look out for when reviewing your contract:• Rust proofing
• Extended warranty
• Fabric protector
• Car alarm (including Lojack, a device police use to find your car if you report it stolen)
• Paint sealant
• Credit life insurance
• GAP
• Window etchingThe value of such extras depends on individual customer needs and situations. If the sales rep attempts to tell you that some or all of these extras are standard for every vehicle on the lot, ask to order your car from the factory, or suggest the dealership trade with another dealer that hasn’t pre-packaged their vehicles.  Extra products can add thousands to the negotiated price of the vehicle. Most products fill a customer need that when priced and disclosed correctly and can add real value to the whole transaction.The problems with extras occur in two areas. First, when the sales rep doesn’t spend the time necessary to determine which products fit the specific needs of the customer. Rather than suggest specific extras individually priced, the sales rep lumps all the products together and pushes you to buy them as a package.   Second, unscrupulous sales reps can add thousands of dollars to the amount financed for these products, but not disclose the price increase until the last possible moment, when the financing contracts are being signed. 3.) Documentation and Administration FeesFederal, state, and local governments are pushing more and more of their regulatory cost onto the local dealerships. In an effort to offset some of these fees and services dealers are required to perform, most add, a documentation or administration fee to the total cost of the transaction. Depending on state and local regulations, fee adding $100 to $150 seem reasonable and cover most of these additional items. These services include:• Duplicate Title Fees
• Notice of Security Interest (to perfect lien)
• 30-day Permits
• Federal terrorist matching data bases
• Federal information privacy requirements
• State vehicle id verification
• Highway Patrol Inspections for out-of-state titles
• Registering leases at customer’s county of residence
• Carfax
• FedEx charges/Shipping charges
• Additional title addendums
• Truth in lending record retention
Some dealers have taken up the practice of marking up documentation and administrative fees and are now charging as high as $300 to $500 per sale. A few are even higher. The charge for most of these fees seems to be more based on getting a customer to pay extra after the customer has finished negotiating, not the average amount it cost to get most deals through various state and federal regulations, as implied.
4.) Ask for a Menu System Disclosure The best disclosure method I’ve seen in years involved using a menu system. On a separate sheet of paper the rep produces a document that includes:
1.) The negotiated price of the vehicle or trade difference
2.) The additional price of suggested extras (these can be shown as various option packages that may save money when bought in combination and as individually priced options)
3.) New totals initialed by both partiesThis procedure makes sure that any suggested extras are properly explained and disclosed. It also allows the customer time to consider each item separate from the longer and potentially confusing finance documents. The final numbers from the menu should get carried over directly to the finance document.
5.) Other CostsWhen buying a car, remember that there are other “hidden” costs (or, costs that aren’t usually considered), that go beyond the dealership.  During the lifetime of your vehicle, you’re going to have to pay for registration and tags, taxes, insurance, oil changes and fuel every year, and periodically pay for maintenance and repairs. Older models (cars more than 3-5 years old) may cost less up front, but you will likely need to factor more maintenance and repair costs into your budget than if you bought a newer model. While new models need fewer repairs and maintenance work, you will have to pay more up front.  Your wallet does not have to go through the ringer the next time you decide to visit a new or used car dealer. You can protect yourself from blindly signing into an unfavorable car deal by doing your homework, going to a car dealership with a good reputation, being prepared, asking questions, and double checking behind your sales rep.

Of course we all want to save money on our bills, but sometimes it seems that everything is still expensive, especially when it comes to cars and insuring them. They can sometimes be a millstone around your neck. However it is possible to make savings when it comes to buying car insurance and one of the best ways to make savings on your premiums is to shop around.You can get someone else (ie your insurance broker) to shop around on your behalf or you can have a look online. Buying online can not only save you a huge amount of money but it will also save you a whole lot of time and leg work. Almost all online insurers can give you an almost instant quote which you are then able to consider and compare with other online companies’. Some sites will also give you a comparison table on their site which even saves you the trouble of searching yourself. Of course you should always double check this information to make sure it is right and currently up to date as you can often find that once you fill in a full application, the premium can vary quite dramatically. One of the most common reasons why people don’t make savings on their car insurance is because they simply don’t shop around. Along with this they fail to gain as much knowledge on the subject as they possibly can.Understanding which policy you would be better taking also goes a long way to helping you save on your car insurance. For example there are two main types of insurance, third party, fire and theft, and fully comprehensive. The type of policy most suited for your needs should be taken into account but also bear in mind that fully comp, while covering you for more, will be the most costly.There are many ways in which you can lower the cost further. If you have had advanced driving lessons then this should be stated - the safer you are regarded by the company then the lower the cost of your premium. Your age and sex also plays an important factor in how much you pay for your car insurance. There are specialist websites that cater just for the young driver or say for the female driver and by going with one of these you can save yourself money on the cost of insurance.Fitting better anti theft devices on your car can also save you money as can offering to pay a higher excess fee.

There are many ways in which you can make savings on your car insurance, the best, not to mention the quickest way to make sure you get the cheapest car insurance is to shop around for your insurance. You can do this yourself by going online or by getting a specialist insurance broker to do the legwork for you. Things to bear in mind include combining your car and home insurance. There are companies who can offer savings by you taking both policies together. Sometimes you can make savings of around 40% on your car insurance simply by combining the two.The safety features that are installed on your car can help bring your premium down. Simply by having top notch alarms and window etchings, you can attract huge savings. Your postcode can make all the difference between the price you are quoted for your premium as certain areas and their postcodes are deemed as high risk crime areas and as such you pose a greater risk just by living in an area such as this.Younger drivers will normally pay a higher price for their car insurance, due to their inexperience on their road and statistics that say they are more likely to be involved in an accident. Women drivers - despite the man jokes about their driving - are classed as safer drivers and there are specialist sites aimed particularly with these people in mind who can offer discounted premiums. If there is more than one driver and two or more cars in the family then you can get a great deal on your insurance by taking a package for two or more drivers. This can save you a whole lot on your insurance, which of course benefits the whole family of drivers.One mistake that the majority of people make is to stay with their insurance company year after year and not even consider changing. People who don’t look around when it comes to renewing their insurance could be paying around 30% more than they should be for the same level of cover. So when it comes to purchasing your car insurance don’t become complacent! By putting a little time and effort in to shopping around - or getting your broker to do it for you – can save you hundreds of dollars on your insurance.

Some love the fact that they cut speeding down while others say they are nothing but a way of invading your privacy. Regardless of the fact, if you are caught speeding then the simple answer is there isn’t much you can do about it. You could of course go to Court and argue the fact, but if they caught you on film, then generally the camera doesn’t lie. This of course means that in addition to the fine you originally got, you now have to pay Court costs too. While speed cameras are undoubtedly put there to safeguard the driver and the public by cutting down and clamping down on those who habitually speed, we all speed at sometime or another even if this is as little as going just a few miles over the limit. These are the people who generally get the letter through their letterbox, the one timers, not that there is an excuse for any speeding no matter how small.However the average person can receive between 3 and 6 points on their license from speeding and when it comes to renewing their car insurance, this can make a huge difference to the amount they have to pay. Whether speeding is on the increase or not, one fact remains, that by April this year it was estimated that around 1.3 million drivers had on average around 9 points on their licence.Points on your licence do make a difference to the premium that you pay and in order to get the cheapest insurance your licence should be clean. In order to get the best possible deal on car insurance, drive safely, keep within the speed limits and shop around for the right deal.

First it must be stressed and overly emphasized that you have to follow the rules exactly. If you do not follow the Canadian and American rules for importing and exporting a vehicle you may well have very expensive auto, truck or S.U.V. south of the border that you cannot import or drive into

Being provided with a company car is a great ‘perk’ of employment, and depending on which position an individual holds, can be utilized either on a part-time or full-time basis. Some of the jobs that offer a company car include the following:1. Many upper-management, specifically, executive management positions, include the use of a company car, particularly those directly working for an automotive manufacturer or closely related to the industry. In these instances, it’s the perfect way to increase their advertising as more of their cars are seen on the road. Another reason that is that, just as in some communities ‘keeping up with the Jones’ is a means of determining resident status in the neighborhood, members of the upper-Escalon of corporations are provided with company vehicles because they also need to ‘keep up appearances’. A newer or luxury car represents success and in business, that’s very important, especially in regard to their competitors.2. Jobs that require an employee to travel frequently often times provide the use of a company car. Corporations realize that it’s not entirely fair to expect an employee who has to travel on regular basis, such as in the case of a sales or marketing position, to have to utilize their own vehicle. The company acknowledges the fact that these types of employees are required to travel frequently as part of their job and shouldn’t have to bear the expense of maintenance and or fuel costs, in addition to wear on their personal vehicle, so they provide the individual with the use of a ‘company’ car.3. Car dealerships usually provide their salesmen with the use of a company car. Along the same lines of an auto-industry executive, this is an excellent way for the dealership to advertise their vehicles and hopefully attract new customers. Additionally, if a salesperson is driving and is happy with the performance of the particular car they’ve been given to utilize, they’ll have an advantage and the added benefit of first-hand knowledge about the vehicle when it comes time to make a sale.4. Messengers and the sometimes affectionately referred to ‘gophers’ in a business environment are usually given use of a company vehicle, though mainly only during work-hours. These employees have to deliver and pick packages and drop off projects at printing, customer and other facilities in addition to any other off-site tasks the company requests of them such as running out for office supplies, food, etc.5. A personal assistant who works directly for one individual whether in an office or private environment will be given the use of a company car because these types of positions require extensive traveling time on behalf of the employer’s personal, as well as business, needs.6. Federal and other-high ranking officials in the securities field are often times provided with a company vehicle because many of their duties require traveling to other counties, towns and even states.7. Some miscellaneous service and labor positions such as construction, landscaping, plumbing companies, etc. give their employees the use of a company vehicle because there is usually a need to get a very early start, respond to emergency calls and also in lieu of the need to travel extensively to different locals on a regular basis as part of the business’ services.Keep in mind that if you are applying for a position that requires travel, whether frequent or infrequent, you can always try to negotiate for a company car during the interview process.

When you look at history for any type of pricing structure, you can always see that there’s a particular pattern. Whether its food or gas, the price tends to increase due to inflation and other factors including supply and demand. As you’ve probably realized by now, the gas sector has taken a huge hit raising its prices over the past five years.Whether you like it or not, high gas prices are here to stay and the government doesn’t want to do anything about it. Every time you hear a project where someone runs a car on water, you’ll wait a few months and the project and you’ll never hear about the person again. While car companies like Honda and

Let’s face it, taking your car in for repair is not one of our favorite things to do. Usually there are large sums of money to be spent and often there is doubt in our minds as to the honesty of the mechanic doing the repair work. As a retired workshop owner/operator I can sympathize with people that have been taken for a ride by unscrupulous operators but I am here to tell you that there is something that we can do to minimize our chances of falling victim to these money hungry people.The first and most important tip I can give you is to seek recommendations from people that you know before taking your car in for repair. Word of mouth is a very powerful advertising medium and it works both ways, most people will take pleasure in telling you who to avoid if they have had a bad experience with someone in particular. Ask around your workplace, talk to family members, even your neighbors may be able to shed some light on who will look after your car well and not charge an arm and a leg for it.Be wary of auto repair workshops that advertise cheap oil changes with a safety check of your vehicle thrown in for free. Sure there is honest mechanics out there that are genuinely concerned for your safety and don’t want to see you driving an unsafe car but there is also some out there that use this tactic to first get you to bring your car to them and then do their best to find thousands of dollars worth of work that just has to be done before you drive the car from the shop. Think about it, in business do you think you would be wise offering something for free if there wasn’t anything in it for you? Even if it is a vehicle safety check that takes half an hour at the most to complete.The third tip I can give you is to be aware of what parts are being used on your vehicle and the markup that comes with those parts. Many workshops will insist on using genuine parts only, that is parts from the manufacturer of your particular vehicle. Unless your car is still under the factory warrantee there is no real reason not to use aftermarket parts when they are available. The aftermarket part is usually a lot cheaper and more often than not the warrantee on these parts equals or exceeds the genuine part warrantee anyway.Spare part markup is another area where we can stand to save ourselves some money. When a mechanic buys a part there is a recommended retail price that goes with that part. However that is only a recommended price and if the dishonest mechanic can get away with charging more you can bet your life they will. Before agreeing to having the repair carried out ask your mechanic what markup they charge on their parts and if they are honest they will have no trouble answering your question.So there you have just a few ways that we can help protect ourselves from car repair scams. I wish I could say that all workshop owners are honest but I can tell you hardly a day went by that we weren’t listening to customers complaining about the price and the service they received from certain mechanics. It is a shame that these people don’t realize that they are shooting themselves in the foot when ripping people off as the word soon gets around and as I said word of mouth is a very powerful advertising tool, both in a positive way and a negative way.

One of the most important considerations you should never overlook when buying a new or used vehicle is its safety features. Safety has become more important to everyone in recent years; let’s face it we spend a lot of time in our cars and with our families so car safety should outrank any cosmetic preferences. Now there are very specific government and auto industry standards to keep you and your family safe so let’s take a look at what to look for.One of the best car safety indicators of overall safety is the government crash test rating. All new vehicles will have these ratings readily available and it is a great place to begin understanding what you new car safety rating is. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA which you can find at www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ is your first stop. The NHTSA uses two methods of crash testing in determining the safety of the vehicle, full frontal impact and side impact. The NHTSA uses a five star rating scale, the higher the number of stars the safer the vehicle is, the lower the number of stars the more dangerous the vehicle. You can find an outline of these car safety ratings and grades at www.safercars.gov.The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is another great resource to help with learning about your car safety rating as well. The IIHS is a research group which conducts crash tests as well but more for the insurance industry. The one important difference about their frontal crash testing is that they use a more realistic offset testing method. Instead of crashing head on, which is extremely rare in frontal accidents, the crash test runs the vehicle into a deformable barrier meant to simulate another vehicle moving at 40 M.P.H. and the barrier only covering the portion of the vehicle in front of the driver. Most head on accidents are usually offset somewhat which usually results in worse damage due to torque and structural weakness. The IISH car safety tests cover this and help us understand the reality of a true head on collision. The IISH scores or ratings in their tests are rated by Good, Acceptable, Marginal, or Poor.Now that you have a better idea of what your car safety rating is, you will also want to know what type of air bag system the vehicle has. All new vehicles are only mandated by law to have dual front airbags but many manufacturers realizing the important of safety have begun to offer side and rear airbags as well which is even more important in multi passenger vehicles like vans and SUVs. The side curtain airbags that drop down from the headliner offer greater head protection from the side and are highly recommended. Some vehicles now even have weight sensors as well that disable the airbag if a person below a certain weight is sitting there. This improvement came about from the first airbags that injured shorter people in the front seat due to headshots and airbag release pressure. You will start to see these improved safety sensors more and more from new vehicles.Another very important consideration is the rollover rate of the vehicle as well. Vehicles with a higher profile are more likely to turn over. SUVs are up to three times more likely to roll over than passenger vehicles. The majority of all SUV fatalities have been due to rollover. Most SUVs come with options of

or

giving owners a false sense of security. Drivers of these vehicles think that because they have these options are invincible and push the envelope then expect the vehicle to perform whatever situations drivers put them in. Unfortunately, although they might have better traction in adverse weather and road conditions, these vehicles have more of a possibility of tipping when sharp cornering is attempted.Antilock brakes have been around awhile and are a proven safety device, which is why insurance companies give you a discount if your vehicle has them; we highly recommended that you buy a vehicle with ABS. Although many who use ABS the first time hate the feeling of not stopping like they used to, ABS does prevent the wheels from locking up during a hard stop, something that can cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle. ABS almost always provides shorter stops, but, even more importantly, the system helps keep the vehicle straight and allows the driver to maneuver during a panic stop.Obviously child safety is what most of us really care about first off and for good reason. If you do have infants always make sure you look for a new technology called LATCH which stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children. This universal system was designed to make it easier and safer to attach car seats due to the fact that many car seats are incompatible with the vehicle’s safety belts. You’ll also find more and more automobile manufacturers are adding build in car seats to ensure even more safety for our children which you might see this prominently in Mini Vans right now.One more thing I’d like to touch on is the power features in a car. You should be sure that if the vehicle has power windows and door locks, which is basically a standard feature on most models now, it also has disabling locks that you can control to keep children from accidentally opening doors and windows and creating unwanted chances for injury.