Advance Auto Zone

Everyone buys a car at some time during their life. Many buyers feel they get ripped off every time. How can one get a great deal while still buying a car you can be happy with. Lots of articles tell how to get a great deal. This article reveals how not to buy a car. Sometimes it’s not what you do, but what you don’t do that cost you more money.

What not to do when buying a car.

1. Wait until your car dies before shopping. Buying in a panic is a bad idea. It’s easier to overlook something important.

2. Buy in a hurry. Even if your old car is still running, some buy too quickly. This is not a race. Research the car you want and what suits your needs. This is easy today with the internet. You can research each vehicle you’re interested in and even buy online.

3. Ignore your credit score. Some car salesmen try to convince you you cannot qualify for their best rates. Check your credit score beforehand. Knowing your credit score will keep the car dealer from forcing unfair interest rates on you. Be sure your rate is final. Some dealers try to raise rates later, by calling and telling the buyer they did not “qualify” for the interest rate discussed.

4. Depend on the dealer alone to provide your car loan. Have a loan set up if the car company can not or will not offer you a better loan than your credit union or bank. Know your options.

5. Believe whatever the salesperson tells you. Big mistake. He or she is there to make money for themselves and their company. You can test their honesty by comparing something about the car they tell you, with what you discovered in your research.

6. Combine an old loan with a new one. Some car companies offer people with remaining loan payments a chance to combine loans. This is a bad idea. Along the same line, never negotiate the trade in value of your old car while negotiating for the new car. Keeping the two separate, prevents the sales person from sneaking in unnecessary costs and fees. It limits confusion.

7. Buying without driving. Be sure to test drive your “future” car, preferably with a friend who owns that car first, so you can find out any special oddities. If the car salesman wants to go on your test drive, say “No Thanks”. It’s hard to check the car out with a constant sales pitch in your ear.

8. Go alone. If you are uncomfortable with negotiations take someone with you who can assist you or give your support. Also, don’t take someone with you that will give the salesperson information about you. The salesperson will use whatever they know about you to get a better deal for the dealership.

9. Mix the car costs with loan costs. Tell the salesman you want the “total cash price” of the car. Salespeople may try to add additional fees in a loan discussion. If they must give only the price of the car, they can not easily add other fees and charges to your total cost. Be sure the salesperson does not add any additional costs in the paperwork either. Read the paperwork. Don’t assume anything. Total price should mean total price.

Certain cautions and preparations will ensure you make the best decisions and get the best deal when buying a car. A car is an important purchase; do it right.

L. C. Peterson is a writer and web marketing consultant with over 400 manuscripts published. For additional cautions and tips in buying a car check out buyingacartoday.com buyingacartoday.com. The author’s personal web site is lcpeterson.com lcpeterson.com.

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For areas of traffic construction, construction sites or even just home improvement, having proper lighting is crucial for safety, most of all, but also for accurate work. There are many types of lights for every job, here is an overview of traffic, construction and home safety work lights.

Traffic Safety Lights

Whether you’re project is near the street or if you’re doing construction on or near a road, traffic safety lights will be an important part of your project. Common types of safety lights include barricade lights, strobe lights, dome lights or warning lights. It’s important to provide a barrier between the street and any sidewalks or paths and your work site. Placing barricade or work lights around the area to mark it is one way to make sure that no one accidentally walks into your work area and hurts themselves. Work lights usually come in amber, red or orange and in the flashing or strobe varieties. Barricade lights are the most effective for warning a person or vehicle of a construction area ahead, as barricade lights can be seen from a good distance away. Some traffic safety lights come in solar varieties, so that no wiring or extra hookup is needed to set them up. Many traffic safety lights use LED lights, which stands for “light emitting diode”, LED lights tend to remain brighter, for longer periods of time and thus saves on maintenance costs as well.

Construction and Home Improvement Work Lights

While you may or may not be working on your home improvement projects at night, there’s still a myriad of home projects for which you would need lighting. First, when working in an area of poor or no light, such as a basement, attic or a crawl space in your home. In addition, working under sinks, in cabinets or in dark garages. No matter whether you’re painting, sanding, repairing, laying floor, staining or whatever the project may be, you will need good lighting. A work light will fit the job. These lights are usually portable and come in wattage anywhere from 150 to 500 watts and up. A rectangular light box is placed in a low profile coated metal stand. Some work lights can be placed on a taller stand and just about all work lights are completely adjustable in terms of angle of light. These work lights are portable and can be easily carried from room to room. One disadvantage of this type of work light is that the light will be very hot after it’s been on for a long amount of time, this can cause minor burns if not careful. Though most companies provide some sort of barrier between the light casing and the handle, the light can still be very hot to the touch.

No matter the project, proper lighting is crucial and should be a priority for your own safety and accuracy.

Lydia Quinn writes for Brandon Safety Lights, a leading provider of barricade lights, barricade light accessories and traffic safety supplies. Visit us at: brandonsafetylights.com/ brandonsafetylights.com/

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In spite of reported over-all declining sales in SUVs, Jeep has seen its two largest entries into this Auto segment enjoying surprising results for the month of October 2005. As reported in the article “Topic: Big trouble for big SUVs: Sales and prices of used-utes continue to slide” in an edition of the Automotive News, “Prices are falling, and they are falling fast,” Webb says.

Sales of new large SUVs plummeted 48.1 percent in September from a year ago. For the first nine months of 2005, those sales were 15.5 percent below the same period last year.

Daimler-Chrysler reported that sales of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the newly available 2006 Jeep Commander were surprisingly strong during October 2005. Reported sales of the Grand Cherokee were 14,298 Grand Cherokees sold, a 6% increase from October 2004, and it was reported that there were 3,241 units for the Commander sold in October 2005. This sales figure was achieved in spite of the fact that the Commander was still being distributed to dealers during the month.

Why has Jeep been able to go against the tide? Maybe its because they are staying in touch with their past while offering improved technology and more features. This can be seen with Jeep’s latest introduction to their family, the Commander. The Commander is Jeep’s answer to the Ford Expedition, Chevy Tahoe, Cadillac Escalades, and Toyota Sequoias. In body style the Commander is a bit of a throwback, recalling the boxy design of the once popular Willys Station Wagon, the Jeep Wagoneer, and the more recent Cherokee. While Jeep returned to its roots in the body style, it has added quite a few new features and options. The more basic additions are a 3rd row of seating and stadium styled seating (each row is slightly elevated above the row in front of it), which offers a good view for all seats. Some outstanding features include All-Speed Traction Control System (TCS), BeltAlert, Digressive Load Limiting Seat Belt Retractors, Electronic Roll Mitigation, Electronic Stability Program (ESP), Emergency Brake Assist, Enhanced Accident Response System, Parksense Rear Back-up Detection System, and the Tire Pressure Monitor and Warning Signal.

Many of the new technology systems are designed to improve vehicle handling and safety. ESP enhances driver control and helps manage directional stability under various driving conditions. When the system picks up a noticeable difference between the vehicle’s direction and the driver’s intended track, ESP offers selective braking and throttle control to place the vehicle back onto the driver’s intended path. The Electronic Roll Mitigation system monitors the vehicle’s roll attitude and lateral pressures to determine rollover potential. When necessary it will reduce engine torque along with a burst of braking applied to the appropriate wheel to assist in stabilizing the vehicle. In other words, it monitors, anticipates, and takes the necessary steps to help avoid rollovers. TCS improves mobility and helps to prevent wheel slippage when accelerating on slick driving surfaces. This system utilizes throttle control as well as the brake application of older traction systems. This state-of-the-art technology provides a more smooth and controlled response over past systems. Other available options are third seat comfort controls, a DVD entertainment system for the back, power sun-roof and Command-View skylights above the second row, digital read-out for tire pressure, alarm system, a hands-free communication system, a DVD navigation system, and Daimler-Chrysler’s patented SmartBeam headlamp system. An offroad package is also available that includes a steel transfer case skid plate, fuel tank skid plate, and all-terrain tires.

What about the engine? You can choose between two V-8 choices and a 3.7 liter V-6. An option sure to gain the automotive enthusiast’s attention, is the powerful 5.7 liter V-8 Hemi with Daimler-Chrysler’s Multi-Displacement System (MDS) option. MDS turns off unnecessary cylinders (up to 4) for maximizing fuel efficiency when the additional power is not needed. This system is said to boost fuel economy up to 20%! With MDS you have the power when you want it, but enjoy better fuel economy when you don’t.

There’s no mistaking it, the Commander is feature loaded and that’s probably why its been received warmly in the marketplace while other SUVs are taking a pounding. It’s not a complete love affair, however. The Commander already has its critics. In his article “2006 Jeep Commander” on www.autoblog.com, Dave Thomas states, “The Jeep Commander has to be one of the most unappealing vehicles, as far as appearance, we’ve seem in this site’s ten months of existence. In recent times, only the Pontiac Aztec has been uglier.” Later on he says, “I’m sorry DCX, this is the first misstep you’ve made since the 300.” While I agree with him that the Commander is boxy, I do not agree that it’s ugly. Beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder. To me, a l ong-time Jeep enthusiast, the Commander brings back memories of past Jeeps I mentioned earlier and this look should play well with other Jeep enthusiasts looking for an SUV. Further, the feature loaded Commander looks like it is priced to sell with a basic dealer MSRP of $27,290.00.

Volvo made the boxy look sexy with safety as its core feature, and who is to say that Daimler-Chrysler cannot do the same. The early vote says that this boxy-looking vehicle with its outstanding features is winning people over. Americans want safety on the road, and as long as gas prices do not go absolutely crazy again, it looks like demand will hold up well for this new feature packed SUV.

Al Carl is a resident of Kentucky, a Jeep enthusiast, and an Internet Services Manager for one of the leading xtremeterrain.com Jeep parts and Jeep accessories retailers in the country, xtremeterrain.com XtremeTerrain.com. In his spare time (or when he’s screwing off at work) he likes to stay up on the latest developments with the Jeep models.

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