Manly Auto

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Leasing VS Buying Part 3

Some people compare buying or leasing a car to a savings account. It's easy to see why.

When you buy a car, you can think of it like this: you are putting money in a savings account that declines in value. You will never get out of it as much as you put into it. Part of every payment you make will disappear into depreciation and finance charges. When the loan is paid off, what you have to show is what is left over after interest and depreciation are through with it. Therefore, it can be said that a car is a terrible investment. But then, most people don't buy cars as an investment.

Leasing is similar to buying but there is not savings account (no equity.) You will pay for what you use and won't have to put anything into a savings. At the end of the lease you will own nothing - you won't have a car to show. But you also won't own the depreciated part of the car that a buyer would have to deal with. The amount that a car depreciates is gone no matter whether you lease or buy.

When you lease a vehicle, you can use the money you save every month and put it into a savings account or mutual funds that will increase in value. Experts encourage this, but the majority of people will use that extra money for things like bills and groceries.

You will build ownership equity when you buy but you will not when you lease. Buyers receive equity because they pay higher monthly payments, essentially purchasing the loan. Part of those payments goes towards the equity. On the other hand, leasing will give you lower payments every month but no equity.

You should be away that it can be more complicated to lease than to buy. You need to make sure that you read all the fine print so that you will know exactly what is going on with your lease.

Another thing that you should keep in mind is that while you can buy your car at the end of the lease, you will actually be paying more than if you simply bought the car outright. This is because fees that are added in often make it more expensive. For some though, this may be the very best option that they have, and the only way that they will be able to get a newer vehicle.

Let Manly Automotive Group help you in your new and previously owned vehicle choices today stop by our website today and drive away knowing that you made the right choice with us! Manly Auto http://www.manlyauto.com can also can be found on Twitter https://twitter.com/ManlyAuto and Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Santa-Rosa-CA/Manly-Auto-Group/103413126362572?v=wall&__a=3& stop on over and visit us!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Leasing VS Buying Part 2

For some people, leasing saves a good deal of money.

Let's take a car that costs $20,000. The estimated resale value of the car is $13,000 after a period of 24 months.

If you buy the car, you will have to pay the entire $20,000, finance charges, and fee. If you decide to sell the car later, then you won't be able to sell it, or trade it, for more than $13,000. That's $7,000 that you are not going to see.

Now let's lease the car. You will pay any possible fees and finance charges. However, you will only pay for the difference between the cost of the car and the resale value, or the depreciation cost. That means that you will pay just $7,000 to lease the car. This gives you lower monthly payments, which can be extremely beneficial for those who need lower payments.

If you want to keep the car, then at the end of your lease you will be able to buy it for the resale value of just $13,000. For some, this works out a lot better than buying the car right off.

So how are the payments different?

There are two parts to a lease payment: a finance charge and a depreciation charge. The finance charge is the money that the lease company finances for you to drive the car. Essentially, you are borrowing the money that your leasing company used to buy the car from the car dealer. The depreciation charge is what you pay to the leasing company and compensates them for the value that the car loses while you are driving it.

Loan payments also have two parts: the finance charge and the principal charge. The finance charge is the interest that you pay on the loan while the principal charge pays off the full price of the vehicle you are buying.

Some people consider part of the principal charge as a depreciation charge like you would get if you leased the car. This is because all vehicles lose value whether they are bought or leased, and they lose value at the same rate. This money is essentially lost because you will never get it back, even if you should sell your car later because the car has lost value.

What's left of the principal payment will go toward equity. Once depreciation has taken hold, equity is what remains of the car's original value when the loan ends. This is your resale value. The longer you drive and own your car, the lower the equity you will have. Once you have driven the car so long that the engine has worn out and the tires are falling off, you will only have scrap value. You will never get back the full amount that you paid for your car.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Leasing VS Buying Part 1

When you are hunting for a new car, one of the biggest questions you may have is whether you should buy or lease the car. There is no one answer to this question that will suit everyone. Everyone's situation is different, and the decesion of whether to buy or lease a vehicle depends on your individual situation and preferences.

Buying and leasing a car as two ways of financing an automobile. You can lease a brand new car or a used one, depending on what you are wanting. A lease finances the use of a car while a loan finances the purchasing of a car. Both methods are good ones, and there are benefits and disadvantages to both of them.

While you need to consider the financial differences, you should also consider what is important to you. Do you want a new vehicle every two or three years? Would you rather have higher monthly payments but have some ownership in your car? Do you actually want to own your car or do you want to trade up? These are important considerations.

Buying and leasing are very different things. When you buy a car you will pay for the car's entire cost, no matter how many miles you may drive. You usually make a down payment and also pay sales tax which you can sometimes roll into your loan. You also pay an interest rate which is determined by your loan company and is based on your credit. Your first payment is made right after your sign your contract. Later on, you can sell or trade your car for the depreciated resale value.

When you lease a car, you only pay a portion of the cost. You are paying for the time you use the car. This is not the same as renting. You don't have to make a down payment when you lease but you will pay sales tax on the monthly payments, at least in most states. You also have to consider the money factor, which is a financial rate similar to the interest rate that a loan has. You might have to pay fees and a security deposit that you wouldn't have to pay if you were buying. Your first payment is made when you sign the contract for the month ahead. When the lease is finished, you can buy the car for the depreciated resale value or return it for another car.

Tomorrow we'll take a look at how lease and loan payments are different and we'll finish out the rest of the week talking about GAP coverage, benefits of leasing and buying, and other useful information.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Change the Oil to Prolong the Life of Your Car

Everyone has heard that it is important to change the oil in your car but many people don't realize exactly why the oil needs to be changed. Changing the oil helps to lengthen the life of your engine and can save you money in repair costs because your car will not be breaking down.

To change the oil and the oil filter - something that many people tend to forget when they do an oil change - you drain out the old oil and put in fresh, new oil. You can find many brands of oil to use, such as Castrol or Valvoline. You can do the oil change at a professional's garage or you can do the oil change yourself. You will need something to catch the oil you drain, a rag to clean your hands, and a quart of new oil.

So why should you change the oil in your car? Oil is a lubricant for your engine and it keeps parts from rubbing together. This makes your engine last longer because the rubbing can cause serious wear on your engine, resulting in a shortened life span and possibly repair bills. Oil also can neutralize acids that are in your engine. Additives in the oil keep the acids from damaging your engine; after a time, the oil loses those additives and can't neutralize the acids. Impurities such as dust, water, and combustion byproducts are kept in suspension by oil. When the oil is saturated with these impurities, the oil cannot protect your engine and the impurities begin to cause corrosion.

So when should you change your oil? You should check the oil level in your car every few hundred miles. To do this, simply pull out the dipstick and if it says you are low or at the minimum level, add oil until it says full but no more than a quart. The recommendations vary as to whether you should change your oil every 3,000 miles or every 10,000 but most of the time if you change your oil every 5,000 miles you will be able to make optimum use of your engine.

When to change your oil depends on how you drive as well. If you drive on dirt roads, drive fast, start and stop abruptly, carry heavy loads or have a jam packed car or have an old, oil burning engine then you should change your oil more frequently. This will allow you to drive the way that you normally do without incurring huge repair bills.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Tire Rotation

Did you know that you should have your tires rotated regularly? When you rotate your tires they will definitely last much longer and in the end will save you more expenses that can occur because of the wear and tear that is happening to them.Your front tires should be rotated so that they will at last at least every 10,000 to 20,000 miles and that your rear tires should be rotated so that they will last at least every 50,000 to 80,000 miles.

The reason tires need to be rotated is so the tires will even out their wear and when done in the right way they will all be worn out at the same time. When you rotate your tires it is a good chance for you to also have your brakes inspected. Brakes are just as important if not more so to be checked on a regular basis.

Your car tires should be rotated at a minimum of every 6,000 to 7,500 miles. When you get your tires rotated it insures that your tires will be properly inflated and that a physical inspection will be happening as well. It just makes practical sense as well to do them both at the same time.

Different tire manufacturers suggest in different ways what is the correct way to have your tires rotated. Tires should be rotated in a straight forward and a straight back or another option can be if you criss cross the fronts and or the backs before you do rotate them. It really matters as to how the wear and tear is occurring on the pattern of your particular tire.

A big reason that for shocks and struts to wear out faster is because tires can tend to do what is called scalloping and it causes a whining noise or a humming noise when your tires reach the higher speeds. By rotating the tires it changes the direction of the rotation and then it evens out the wear and you won’t experience those noises.

If you have an alignment problem you need to get that fixed right away because this is causing your tires to wear down faster then it should. When your tire begins a wear pattern it is going to continue with that pattern until it wears itself out or you throw it away. It is never a good idea to just put one new tire at a time on your car and also make sure that you are also checking on that spare tire in your trunk area at least once a year to make sure it is showing no wear and is properly inflated, there is nothing worse then having a flat tire because you failed to have your tires rotated or replaced and they wore themselves down and are now sitting on the side of the road with a flat! So if you have not had those tires rotated you might want to schedule that appointment with your auto shop today!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

The Hydrogen Car for a Greener Tomorrow

You may not have heard about Hydrogen Cars but they are available not for purchase but for lease however right now you can only have the chance to do so in the State of California thanks to Honda’s FCX model. Hydrogen vehicles do not use gasoline and they do not add pollutants to the air. What they do add to the air is steam and not the exhaust fumes.

It is the hope of car manufacturers that these Hydrogen cars to have these fuel efficient vehicles on the market in the next 30 years. The technology for Hydrogen cars have been around since the early 19^th century. Many of the auto manufacturers have already made concept cars that are Hydrogen fueled.

The Fuel Cell is what makes the Hydrogen car possible to drive by converting hydrogen into electricity that gives off only heat and water. However there are many problems that they are running into that need to be resolved before they will actually be put on the market. Many are asking where will people get the hydrogen and how expensive will these hydrogen cars be along with many other questions. Many are asking whether or not hydrogen vehicles will really be as non polluting as everyone is making them out to be.

Hydrogen cars manufacturing is not so different then making the typical vehicles of today. Hydrogen cars and electric cars have the same thing in common when it comes to creating electricity with the same type of electrical system.

The biggest problem everyone is facing is how we will actually end up producing the hydrogen to power these vehicles. Even though hydrogen is the most abundant of elements it is also the lightest of the elements. It is actually very difficult to contain hydrogen because it floats off the surface of the planet almost immediately. What hydrogen that is actually on our surface comes in the form of water molecules and that we definitely have a lot of water on the surface our planet.

Nearly 150 years ago Sir William Grove discovered how to pull hydrogen from water by using electrolysis. When this is done an electric current will run through the water which breaks it down. The process is a slow one but since we have so much water on our planet it could definitely be done on a large scale production.

There are experts that are suggesting that there is a possibility to produce hydrogen by building small hydrogen plants and these then can be put into the average person’s garage so that there would be no need to create local fueling stations. Others suggest that electrolysis could be put directly in the cars themselves however this would be a more costly venture as well as the fact that this particular process would require a battery that would need to be re-charged every so often.

Right now these fuel celled concept cars are just a dream to many but it goes to show you that people are continually striving to reduce the pollutants that are being created today which only means for a cleaner planet tomorrow.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Automatic Transmission versus Manual Transmission

Everyone has their favorite when it comes to driving a car that has automatic transmission versus manual transmission. Many try as they might give up on learning how to drive the manual transmission cars because they get frustrated with the car dying on them all the time. While those that learned from the very beginning on a manual transmission car wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Cars that have an automatic transmission are simple to operate because the person driving only uses the shift bar for the steering wheel assembly which also could be located between the two front seats. The driver simply shifts from the park indicator to the drive notch and off they go. The car will shift itself automatically as needed into the higher gears as the car moves faster.

With a manual transmission the car not only needs to be driven with two feet by they must also move the clutch before they attempt to shift gears manually. A drive also will need to disengage the clutch slowly so that the car will move forward. When the car starts to move at a faster speed a driver then has to repeat this process until they are at the proper gear for the speed they are driving at.

Manual transmission driving might take a lot of a person in city driving situations but when there is an open road there is far less need for the use of the clutch. When using the manual stick shift driving option a driver does have more control but they will have more difficulty if they need to stop on top of a hill because the car will want to roll backwards as the driver takes their foot off the brake.

As far as the difference for power when it comes to a five speed manual transmission there is more of a rapid acceleration then there would be with an automatic transmission. A drive controls the gear changes with a stick shift where a driver with automatic will be able to have sufficient enough power on its own for the new gear it moves into. Many times automatic shifting to a higher gear to quickly will stop any full throttle acceleration.

The down side for automatic cars is that they do use more fuel then a manual car. The reason for this is that it takes more power to operate a car that has automatic transmission and that they require more complex servicing then a manual car would need. Also if an automatic car battery goes dead it won’t move and a manual stick shift car can be pushed in order to get it started.

Having a manual shifting car does have less of a resale value but the other side of the coin is that they normally cost a little less then the automatic cars.

Those people that learned how to drive a manual transmission car from the very beginning wouldn’t trade their manual shifting car driving for anything but as well those that have only learned how to drive an automatic would not think to bother to try to learn to drive a manual transmission car. It is definitely is a personal choice but either way both choices have positive sides as well as negative sides.

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