Autosanity|Just another WordPress weblog

I’ve now joined the “shopping for a car” crowd  because of a new driver in the family - read about it here. I figured that since we mostly drive older American Iron with lots of miles (1994 Taurus Wagon, 123,000 miles and a 1998 Ford Windstar with 127,000 miles), I’d better be on the lookout in case one of these senior citizens decides to turn into a boat anchor with air conditioning. Plus, with three drivers in the family, it would be convenient to have another vehicle available for my daughter to use.

Looking through Craigslist the other day, I spied a 2002 Ford Focus Wagon (with 5-speed, no less) for $5,000. The photo showed a decent looking car with 72,000 miles, silver w/gray interior and the ad said “Handles AWESOME in the snow.” I was only mildly suspicious that the car had been advertised for over a week and not snapped up. So I set up an appointment to see the car that day. And here’s what I found.

1. I Rang the doorbell & the lady who answered seemed mildly irritated that a potential customer had actually driven out to SEE the car. Muttered something about her children. But, she did offer a key and told my wife & I to take it for a test drive, after some initial chit-chat.
2. Before we drove off, she ran around to the driver’s side rear door and removed her husband’s dirty baseball cleats & socks. This was not as appetizing as you would think.
3. Sat down and went to adjust the driver’s outside mirror. Wait - it’s not there, just a hunk of plastic & wires where a mirror USED to be. She said her husband knocked it off in a snowstorm by hitting a plastic road barrier. “I thought it was AWESOME in the snow,” I said. No reply was offered. The passenger mirror was also damaged - missing the front cover. But the glass was still there.
4. Both front seats were filthy, and the passenger seat had upholstery damage. “Sorry for it being so dirty, I didn’t expect anybody to see it today,” the lady said. I thought, Really? It’s advertised on the internet for millions to see. I suppose she really doesn’t WANT to sell the car.
5. Carpets, mats and dash were filthy as well.
6. I reached for the little lever to adjust the steering column (the one on the bottom) and, guess what? It’s gone, broken off. I Can feel the ragged edges of the part of lever that is still there, but there will not be any steering column adjustments today. The wheel sits way up - must be to clear a big belly, I thought. I feel like I’m getting ready to drive a bus. The woman professes no knowledge about this defect. We shut the doors and start the engine.
7. The car drove fine and we went a few miles up and down the highway. No surprises here - surprise!
8. After we got back, there were more discoveries. There obviously were child car seats on the back seats at one time because the upholstery was trashed - fabric worn down in the shape of two car seat bottoms. Note: When my wife and I hauled car seats in the back seat of our cars, we put a towel on the seat FIRST, then strapped the car seat in. Voila - no damage. That didn’t happen here. Both front seat backs were pretty heavily damaged where the children (in their car seats) had kicked them. Repeatedly.
9. How in the world could a headliner get so dirty? From front to back, black, grimy marks stained the fake mousehair. Kinda like chalk markings on a sidewalk. Maybe the children fixed cars after preschool and didn’t have a handi-wipe.
10. Cigarette burns on the passenger seat and a general “smoky” smell. The woman’s husband used to smoke, but he quit. Not soon enough.
11. Windshield broken. The woman offered to have that replaced next week.
12. One side of the fabric on the cargo bay (behind the seats) was worn down almost bare.

Needless to say, my wife and I were ready to let this one go and bid the lady adieu. There was some talk of a lowball offer, but in the end, we decided that these defects would be too hard to live with. Days later, the car is still for sale. I guess lots of others thought as we did.

It’s too bad that such a nice car was rendered a mess by careless and sloppy behavior. But, the preparation for sale, or lack thereof, turned out to be a great lesson for “What Not To Do When Selling Your Car.”

Well, it happened yesterday. My daughter got her drivers license - passed with a 97, too. On one hand, I’m thrilled for her as I remember the freedom that little card can bring. I’m also scared to death, as I’m fully aware of facts like the following:

• Auto accidents are the major cause of teenage deaths
• 16 year olds crash more than any other age group
• 24% of teen drivers killed in 2003 had a blood alcohol level of .08 or better
• Two-thirds of those killed were not wearing seatbelts

It helps that I know my daughter - very responsible, good grades in school and I know firsthand that her driving skills are definitely above-average. But, for some added “insurance” my wife and I decided to get her additional training so she wouldn’t be hitting the road as I did over 30 years ago (at 15 and 9 months old), after mostly putting around in parking lots).

We chose MasterDrive mainly because of the positive recommendations we got from other parents. They have a good program that, in conjunction with Colorado Law, will let a teen begin the program at 14-1/2 and be eligible for a learner’s permit at 15, once they have passed the written portion of the test. Part of the training (which costs about $800) is a two-day, closed course classroom/driving school. Kids bring a car and they drive around a course that really lets them feel how a car reacts to certain situations - skids, panic stops, etc. After passing the written portion of the test, the DMV will issue a permit to the young driver and three options for driver training are given. If conditions are satisfied, then they can get a license at 16.

1. 20 hours of training from a permanent business plus an additional 30 hours of parent-supervised training
2. 50 hours of training by parent or legal guardian
3. 6 hours of instruction given by an instructor employed by a state-approved driver training course plus an additional 44 hours of parent-supervised driving.

We chose option #1because we felt that the additional driving experience will be a big factor in her ability to handle situations that come up in traffic.

So now I smile, pray & cross my fingers as she motors out the driveway.

If you haven’t already figured this out, I’m naturally very suspicious of products that claim to “increase gas mileage” by installing a “device” on your car that performs some kind of black magic that we mortal humans are not to understand - just send in that $49.95 and keep your fingers crossed. Of course, there is no scientific background for most of these devices, and I’ve reviewed a couple of them in detail right here, including the “run your car on water” scams. Imagine my surprise when I read about a device that can actually help you save at the gas pump - not by modifying your car, but by “modifying” you, er, ahem, meaning helping you change your driving habits to get more mpg from your car.

The Scangauge II is basically a small computer that connects to your car’s OBD II computer (relax - complete instructions are included and the connection is a plug-in) and acts as a readout for the car’s main computer. The real beauty of this device is that it merely displays information that your car’s computer already processes without modifying anything at all. ScanGauge will display;

• Fuel Economy
• Fuel Rate
• Battery Voltage
• Coolant Temperature
• Engine Speed
• Vehicle Speed
• Many more trip and diagnostic functions

You can instantaneously see your gas mileage and vary your driving habits as you go - creating new, better habits while you save. You can also input the cost of gasoline and ScanGauge will calculate the cost as you drive

See the ScanGauge at Amazon for more details and the best price.

In my humble opinion, the ScanGauge is about the only device that actually has the ability to save you money at the gas pump - by helping you create good driving habits, and not by modifying your car in any way.

Think of the “this” like so: What are the three rules in selling real estate? Location, location, location.  For cars it’s clean, cleaner, cleanest! That’s right - nobody likes a dirty car. Even though you’ve gotten used to the filthy carpets and fogged windows, a prospective customer (or a dealer for trade-in) would probably be offended by your dirt and could look elsewhere. Maybe even lowball you on the price. While you can’t do much if your car is old and tired, you can get rid of the dirt. Here are a few hints that could get a higher price for the old gal for just a few hours’ investment.

Wash the exterior.

Duh! This one’s a no-brainer but you’d be surprised at how people ignore this one completely. At the very minimum, take it to a do-it-yourself carwash and use the soap, rinse and hot wax. Squirt inside the wheelwells and clean  all that brake residue off the wheels. Use a chamois to dry the body and prevent spots on the windows. Use a tire cleaner to make the tires gleam.

Clean the interior.

First, clean out all of the trash from the car (and from under the seats). Then, remove the floor mats and lay them on the sidewalk or driveway. Put some mild household detergent in a bucket and find something with bristles and proceed to scrub the mats. Rinse thoroughly and leave out to dry. Vacuum the floors and seats. Vacuum anywhere there is loose dirt. Then, get a spray bottle of mild household cleaner and spray all dirty surfaces, scrub until clean. Do clean the steering wheel, dashboard and armrests. If you have a hot-water carper cleaner, clean the carpet. If not, fill a bucket with warm water and mild detergent and scrub away. Make sure the windows are cracked open a bit overnight to make sure the interior dries. Clean all of the windows on the inside. Hint: I like the foamy window cleaner and old newspaper instead of paper towels. Leave no streaks.

There - that wasn’t so tough. Probably only took you a couple hours and now the car looks great. I’d better let you go - your first lookee-loo is ringing the doorbell!

This is something I’ve been preaching for years and now some other smart souls out there are finally catching on.

Now that gas is $4.00 + per gallon in most areas of the country, people in droves are trying to buy hybrid cars (mostly Honda Civic and Toyota Prius) to save at the gas pump. But, Toyota and Honda can’t keep up with demand and now there’s a 6-month waiting list for the Prius. Plus, I’m sure now that a huge demand exists, the dealers who are lucky enough to have a couple in stock will be trying to get as high a price as they can.  I’ve seen a Prius on Craigslist priced at $29,000 - and that ad soon disappeared! Was it sold for anywhere near that amount? Did the buyers realize they could’ve bought a year-old luxury Avalon for $23,000 and driven for six years before their costs equaled that of a Prius*? I’m not saying that hybrid cars are bad - I’m just stating that the facts show they’re a lousy way to save money!

Heck - I’d even take it a few steps further - buy some Detroit iron from the late ’90’s (Buick, Olds, Ford) for about $4,000, drive the wheels off for a few years and make a big dent in your kid’s college education with the savings!

The moral of the story? Consider the TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP when making a purchase like this.

*Avalon @ 23 mpg driven 12,000 miles/year = $2088 fuel cost/year ($4.00/gal)

*Prius @ 44 mpg driven 12,000 miles/year = $1092 fuel cost/year ($4.00/gal)

Prius @ $29,000 - Avalon @ $23,000 = $6,000

With all of the gloom and doom that passes for “news” reports these days, I can understand why a family would seriously consider canceling the annual vacation. Gas prices outta sight, unemployment worse than the great depression and everybody’s house is now worth a dollar ninety-five. But, is the country ready to go to hades in a handbasket, or are our friends in the professional news business creating overblown hype to sell the news? Before you blow that vacation, consider the these facts (Image courtesy Britannica.com);

1. 94.5% of Americans (of those who want to work) have a job. People are still buying gas-sucking SUVs and humongous diesel pickups, although not in record numbers, but they’re still buying. Remember, during the actual Great Depression (1929 – 1939), only 75% of the country was employed. And that other 25% really wanted a job – any job. Those people built roads and picked vegetables - by hand. We’re a little more picky nowadays – we import a “man” for those jobs.

2. Food prices are up, but, contrary to popular belief, no one is starving in the USA. You may be eating out less (or eating at cheaper places), but Americans are still maxing out their daily caloric intake. Stroll through a Wal-Mart on Sunday afternoon if you don’t believe me.

3. Gas costs 33% more than it did last year. The big news was how fast it rose from $3.00 to $4.00 (and more in some places). So, did you calculate exactly how much extra you’d pay for gas if you drove to the vacation destination? Let’s do some quick math. If you drive 1,200 miles round trip to Wally World for 7 days (and 5 nights) of unparalleled bliss, it will run you $220 for gas if your car gets 22 mpg. How much would it have cost you last year with gas at $3.00/gallon? About $165. Cancel a vacation for a lousy $55? You could save that much by giving up that Starbuck’s double sugar and cream frappucino for only 13.75 days! Give up smoking for 18 days! Eat only beans & rice for two weeks and you’ll have at least a hundred extra bucks in your pocket!

Life’s too short for all this whining and crying. These are the good old days – let’s enjoy them before it’s really too late.

Here’s something interesting - China, like many Asian nations, subsidizes fuel costs for its citizens to the tune of about $60 per barrel of oil. I didn’t know that. Read the full story here. After June 19, 2008 - tonight - China will raise gas and diesel prices 18%, and cars are lined up at gas stations for one final cheap fill-up.

Even the turbocharged Chinese economy is having problems giving away reduced-cost gas. The subsidies are causing unrestrained increases in fuel consumption, as the Chinese government still must buy oil on the free market at today’s rate of $130+/barrel, diverting money from other programs such as recovery efforts from the recent earthquake. Not to mention the havoc that these subsidies are wreaking on world oil prices. It will be interesting to see how the price of oil moves as China cuts these subsidies.

Even costing 18% more, Chinese gasoline is an incredible bargain, but sooner or later Chinese citizens will be forced to pay market prices for energy as their incredible economic growth slows, as these energy subsidies are making their incredible economic growth unsustainable in the future. What straw will break the Chinese camel’s back? More national emergencies or slowing world consumption of cheap Chinese goods? Either way, China may be in for one heckuva shock someday soon as reality sets in and its citizenry are forced to pay the same price for fuel as most of the rest of the world does.

Did you know that today is the third annual “Dump the Pump Day?” In honor of skyrocketing gas prices, commuters all across the country are encouraged to use public transportation instead of personal vehicles. With skyrocketing gas prices, ridership is up 15% - 40% in cities like Chicago, Miami and Boston. Most public transportation is subsidized by your tax dollars so if you can ride the bus or subway a few days a week, you can put some of your tax dollars back in your pocket!

If using public transportation is out of the question for you, there are some things you can do to save a few bucks at the gas pumps, maybe start your own “Pass the Pump”program.

• Carpool. Is it possible that you and a co-worker (or co-workers) could commute at least once a week to work or school? Even Dagwood Bumstead carpools!
• Work from home. Does your employer have a “work at home policy?” Even one or two days a week could save you tons per year. If no official policy, it might be worth asking if you’re a trusted, productive employee.
• Commute during non-peak times. If you’re part of the 8-5 crowd, can you change your work hours to 7 - 3 or 9 - 6? By steering clear of peak rush hour traffic, you’ll get better gas mileage by not spending your time idling in traffic. And, if your city times traffic lights, the reduced off-peak traffic might be light enough to minimize stop-and-go traffic patterns which are real mpg killers.
• Bring lunch, coffee and snacks to work. Do you hop in your car each day to grab a latte from Starbucks or a burger for lunch? These little trips could be costing you more than you know. Try brown-bagging it and packing a thermos a few times a week.

A company called HYMOTION will modify your Prius Hybrid to give you up to 100 miles per gallon for 40 or so miles (meaning mostly battery propulsion).  Hymotion will remove the Prius’ standard battery pack and replace it with an  A123 HYMOTION L5 Plug In Module. All this (and more) for the low, low price of $9995 plus a $400 destination charge. Basically, your Prius will sprout a plug-in on its tail and get super efficient batteries so you can recharge from your home, and turn the car into a complete electric for short periods.

Some of the high points of the conversion;

• Turns your HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle) into a PHEV (Plug-in HEV)
• Rechargeable Nanophosphate lithium ion battery that is safer and delivers higher levels of energy than the standard Prius battery
• Uses standard 120 VAC power grid to recharge
• Provides 5kWhr of rechargeable energy
• Provides frequent periods of all-electric driving

I have to ask the question - will you ever recoup the $10,394? My educated guess is no. $10,000 will take you 50,000 miles in a non-hybrid car that gets 20 miles per gallon, with gas at $4.00/gallon. But, I’m sure that you’ll feel good about yourself by lightening your wallet.  I figure that if you’ve got the cash to burn, it’s probably a better investment than spending $7,300 for a 1996 Geo Metro!

And, the batteries only come with a 3 year warranty, so will you be spending another 10 grand in 3 years just to keep the thrill of going all-electric for 40 miles per day?

Unfortunately, if you live in fly-over country (meaning most anything but East & West coast real estate) you may have some difficulty getting the apparatus installed. Installers are located in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle in the West, and Washington D.C. and Boston in the East. Electric car lovers in Minneapolis can get the fix too, but no where else. Don’t fret if you can’t go all electric just yet - Chevy is set to release the super-hybrid Volt by the end of 2010.