Question: How much money should a dealership be making on a lease?

Queen of the Road: For new car dealerships the profits on a lease is still in money made on the price of the car.  What leases do is essentially let consumers buy a block of a car’s time.  In most instances the leases are 12, 24, 36, 39, 42 or even 48 months with 36 being the most common.  However, for the new car dealership the lease transaction is still a sale.  This is why many dealerships will tell consumers they “cannot” reduce the price of the MSRP because the car is  being leased.
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The decision-making process on whether to lease or buy a car has been altered by automakers’ scaling back their leasing operations under pressure from high gas prices, making leases less available and much more expensive in many cases. Here are some points to consider about leasing:

PROS

New Car Frequently: You won’t have to drive the car for more than two to four years, depending on the length of the lease (36 months is typical).

No Money Down: Leases require little or no down payment, although you can make one in order to lower your monthly bill.
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Question From Harsha: How to find a good mechanic?

I am looking to buy a used 2006 ML350 from a private party. As this is the huge investment, I wanted to make sure all well with this SUV. How to find a good mechanic who can check this vehicle and give me an honest report. Please suggest on how to find.

Queen of the Road: Hi Harsha. 

Give these a shot: www.Angieslist.com and www.MechanicRatingz.com Independent inspections usually run from $75 to $100. It’s the best $100 bucks you’ll ever spend on a car. Here’s how to spot a shady mechanic…
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Question: Why should I sell my car on my own as opposed to trading it in at the dealership?

Queen of the Road: Hi there. Welcome to AutoBragBlog! Several reasons to sell your car instead of trading in…

1.) Dealerships will majority of the time offer you a price that’s below what you’re car is valued for. Dealershps make alot of their profit by flipping cars. They’ll offer to buy it for less than wholesale value, then turn around and sell it for 12-14% over wholesale (which is the minimum %).
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A potential car buyer got more than he bargained for Monday afternoon when he was attacked, beaten and robbed by the presumed seller, police said. The victim, 26, drove to meet with the seller, whom he had met through Craigslist. He met the seller in a grocery store parking lot. The victim asked to take the car on a test drive and the seller agreed, so long as the victim handed over his driver’s license.
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Indications of why you should pass on a certain used car…

1. SERVICE RECORD: If a car doesn’t have a service record you might think thats a good thing, no service record means nothing has went wrong with the car.  Truth is all cars need service; oil changes, flushing the radiator, inspections, tune-ups, and if there is no service record chances are these things weren’t done and the car is not in the best shape. 
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Never plead guilty or no contest, especially if it’s your first ticket. If you have a clean driving record, your chances of keeping it off your record are much better
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High gas prices mean low demand for gas guzzlers, new or used.  You And the last thing a used-car dealer needs from you is another big SUV sitting unsold on his lot. So here’s a few tips on selling your SUV.

Sell to individuals, not dealers: It is harder to get the price you want with dealers, of course, since they need to resell the vehicle at a profit. ”

Leave on bells and whistles: While SUV owners are sometimes advised to take off the rooftop carrier to remove some weight–and be able to advertise better mileage–this could be counterproductive. Any extras that could attract a buyer should be left as they are. People want it as stocked as you can get it.
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It is quite common for people buying a new car to trade in their old car. Many times the happy customer drives away into the sunset and forgets all about this tiny detail only to get a very rude awakening a few weeks later. They suddenly find out that their new car dealer did not pay off their car loan in a couple of days as promised.

Legally when the bank calls, the loan is still in your name and you are therefore still liable and responsible.
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What To Consistently Check Up On

1. ENGINE COOLANT AND ANTIFREEZE
How Often: Check twice yearly, once before summer and again before winter; change if coolant has brown tint or rust bits.
Pay Now: Free to check; up to $5 to top off with correct mix of water and coolant or antifreeze. If you don’t use the right coolant for your car, you could damage your engine.
Or Pay Later: Without coolant, you can damage the water pump ($50 to $100) and possibly your engine.
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Whether you are buying new, used, or trying to make the most out of your current wheels, these money-saving car tips are designed to keep your car budget out of the red.

Always remember a car is a depreciating asset. No matter how cool the ride, the moment you drive a vehicle off the lot it looses 20% of its value and just continues to go down.

Treat your car like you treat your skin. If you give life to this object, chances are you’ll treat it better. Keep your car out of the sun (heat can evaporate gas as well as warp leather). Wash it when it needs it and learn to perform routine maintenance.
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Before you commit your business to a shop, check the local Better Business Bureau and government consumer-affairs offices for complaints against it. Better safe than sorry!

1. That minor fender bender will be a major expense.
A survey of repair shops in the Washington, D.C., area by Consumers’ Checkbook, a consumer-information group, shows that replacing a fender on a 1998 Buick LeSabre can cost as much as $982. A new front bumper on a 2006 Mercedes-Benz E-Class can go as high as $1,350.
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Don’t want to deal with the hassle of selling you car?  Donate it and get a tax deduction! Sounds easy, right? Not really…  Read the following to understand the risks if you go about the wrong way.

1. Avoid Middlemen. Numerous for-profit intermediary organizations advertise aggressively on TV, billboards and elsewhere, offering to help you donate your vehicle to charity. Here’s the catch: These organizations typically keep about 50% to 90% of the vehicle’s value for themselves, and the charities don’t get what they could have gotten.
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The word “lemon” probably will cross your lips long before the vehicle is actually a candidate for a manufacturer buyback

Strange rattles, a faulty interior light, a malfunctioning compact-disc player or a balky heater don’t add up to a lemon. If the brakes don’t work as they should, the car won’t start when the temperature dips, the accelerator pedal repeatedly sticks, the reverse gear malfunctions or the car has no power to reach highway speeds, you may have a case if the problem can’t be fixed.

What’s a Lemon?
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Always visit dmv.org before going to the DMV.

1.  Why does everything take four visits and roughly three hours of standing in line to a DMV prolem fixed. The problem? Everything from not bringing enough or the right forms of ID to having his records confused with those of another driver of the same name. Making sense of the DMV is an $11.5 million business for DMV.org, an unofficial guide to state rules and peccadilloes.
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If fuel is warm when it’s delivered to a station, it’ll still be warm when it’s sold a few hours later.

Some people say it’s better to buy your gasoline first thing in the morning, rather than in the heat of the day. That’s because gasoline, like all liquids, expands when heated. The basic facts are correct, but the advice is not. Gasoline does expand and contract a little depending on its temperature. When gasoline rises from 60 to 75 degrees F, for instance, it increases in volume by 1% while the energy content remains the same.
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Buyers of second-hand cars have to follow two pointers to ensure that they do not purchase carnapped vehicles. The buyers should know the original duplicate invoice and the original owner of the vehicle they are buying.

The original duplicate invoice is an official document given by the dealer, who sold the brand new car, to the original owner. The original duplicate invoice contains all information including the name of the selling dealer, name of the original owner, owner’s address, serial and engine numbers and the original amount the first owner paid to buy the vehicle.
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The seesaw of gas and vehicle prices

For the past few weeks, dealerships across the country had begun to feel the heat with their large vehicle inventory. Gas prices had soared to $4.70 in some areas of the United States with oil nearing $150 per barrel. Incentives on SUVs and large trucks had shot through the roof. Today, however, Ford announced a hike in SUV and truck lease pricing to make their most profitable vehicles unattractive to new car lesees.
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Even if you have checked out some confessions of a car salesman and carefully studied the evil “four-square” technique, there are still some things you could say that tell a salesman you are a soft target.

1. I love, love, love this car
Even if you fall in love with a car, maintain your composure and don’t let the salesman realize it. It is easy for salesmen to manipulate you when they know that you will do almost anything to own the car.
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Toyota considers using American base for exporting to Middle East and Asia

Increasingly sluggish SUV sales, rising material costs and the strengthening Yen are all reasons for why Toyota plans to begin shipping automobiles manufactured in the United States to the Middle East. The credit crunch coupled with increasing oil prices has forced many Americans to move away from giant, gas-guzzling SUVs into more energy efficient sedans. Today oil reached a new high of over $129 a barrel with no immediate slowdown in sight.
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