Autosanity|Just another WordPress weblog

Many of us may have seen the advertisements vowing to show you how to  “Run Your Car on Water,” for a fee, of course.  We all know that water will not propel your car - as gas prices keep rising, this is one of the latest in internet money-scheming ideas.

I’ve written a couple of articles giving more detail to the supposed mechanics of the system and why I believe it to be a true scam (click here) (click here) so I won’t go into the gory details again. I’d like to use this editorial page to warn readers about this scam, and to point out, once again that any money spent on these kits (or information) will be wasted. I’ve been following another interesting blog on the subject - one of the very few who is willing to tell the truth - take a look here.

This is another public service announcement here at Autosanity.com. Thanks for listening.

Ok - just one more car-search story, only because I think the point is very important, short & sweet. ALWAYS be honest and candid when selling your car. If you’re not 110% brutally forthright in communication with your potential customers, you’ll damage the the developing seller/buyer relationship, creating distrust that can easily make a no-sale. And, don’t insult your potential buyer’s intelligence (give them SOME credit - they’re looking at your car, aren’t they?) by using disingenuous tactics to drum up interest in a decidedly ho-hum vehicle.

For example, I emailed a seller on Craigslist about a Ford Taurus sedan that looked like it would fit the bill. No phone number was included, so I asked for contact information - a phone number. The car was local and to see it, I would need to get in touch with the owner. And here was the reply:

“I’ve received several offers so far - I’ll be showing the vehicle tonight and tomorrow night to a couple potential buyers - pending the outcomes - I’d be happy to show you the car.  I’ll let you know ASAP

One more looking-for-a-car story and hopefully the last one (or one of the last) you’ll see for a while. The theme may be familiar, but the lesson here is worth illustrating. It was so obvious that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I really hope that my family can decide on a car here shortly. But until then, I’ve just got to tell another sad story of what NOT to do when trying to sell your car.

We looked at a super nice Mercury Sable this weekend. Now, I understand that a Sable (twin to a Ford Taurus) might not be considered a really desirable set of wheels, but it fits our needs and a  nice example can be obtained rather cheaply. Judging from prior experience, they seem to be screwed together fairly well and we should get lots of quality usage over the years. The gas mileage is good for a larger car, the trunk is positively cavernous, and in this age of three-ton yee-haw monster trucks roaming the highways, some extra heft (your car) can be a good thing. Plus, since it isn’t a highly sought after Japanese brand, a shopper can be a little more relaxed when seeking this Detroit iron.

This Sable, owned by the proverbial little old lady, was immaculate - a real creampuff. Good color, the right options and obviously very well cared for. When my wife and I arrived at the address to see the car, it was sandwiched in the driveway between a couple of other cars. My first thought was that it was going to be a pain to get the car out for a test-drive. We met the owner and her son-in-law and proceeded to participate in some polite chit-chat - yes, she was the original owner, all service performed strictly to Ford’s direction, no accidents, yada, yada. Popped the trunk, all four doors, looked at the engine twice and listened to it run. Yawn, - nice, but when are we going to get to the meat and potatoes here - how does it run on the road? I could see we were going nowhere quick when the son-in-law started talking about his roof repair over the weekend, so I mentioned something about taking it for a test-drive. “We canceled the insurance on it, so you could take it up and down the cul-de-sac, if you want to,” stated the son-in-law. “But that’s it.” The cul-de-sac was a couple hundred feet long, at best. I couldn’t believe my ears - “That wouldn’t tell me much - we need to get it up to 60mph, make sure the trans shifts, etc. I blurted out.” I don’t think I got a direct answer. The owner said “I’d really like to sell it,” as I think she realized the mistake. Her son-in-law was completely clueless as he kept jabbering about something I quickly forgot. The fact of the matter: Nobody is going to fork over the cash without a thorough test drive. We then politely bid goodbye and drove home.

This is a very simple proposition - if you’re selling a car, make it VERY available and accessable for examination, test-drive and all. Keeping insurance on the car for an extra month or two is pretty cheap compared to a no-sale. Even the over-priced, rough Mercedes station wagon was parked outside, on the street, ready for take-off. We didn’t even have to ask for the keys - the owner shoved the keys in my face and said “take it for a drive.” What the people with the Sable didn’t know, if we COULD have taken it for a drive, if all was satisfactory, we were ready to talk dollars right there. We may be back towards the end of the month - that’s when the license plates expire.

As many of my readers know, I have a teenage driver in the family now. Mary has an after-school job and my wife (and myself, mostly) think that it would be a good idea to have a third car available to her, mostly for the  convenience. Something cheap, older and mid-size, as I’m not part of the pay-anything-for-a-small-car-crowd quite yet. And, surprisingly, some of the mid-size cars we’ve been looking at get pretty good gas mileage (up to 25 highway) and top out at around $3000. So, we’ve been looking, mostly on craigslist for something that would fit the need. Here’s what we’ve seen so far;

• 1984 Mercedes Diesel Wagon. This was my find - I’ve always dreamed of sitting behind the big steering wheel and watching that three-pointed star lead the way. Admittedly, this one was always a longshot just because of the advanced age and built-in quirky-ness of an older car.  Not really interested in the biodiesel stuff, I thought it would be cool to have a turbo-diesel, and if it came in a wagon - even better! It turned out that this one was pretty rough (needed most interior electrics repaired), wouldn’t shut off when the key was turned off, had no records and the owner was asking a premium for the car. Definitely a non-contender when we discovered the a/c didn’t work. Me: This is Colorado, we don’t need air conditioning here! Still, it did drive like a dream, plenty of power (surprise) and it’s built like a tank. It’s still for sale, and if the price comes down, I could be persuaded. I’ll keep you informed.
• Various small sedans and wagons. I’ve already written about the Ford Focus Wagon - ’nuff said. I’ve been pretty unimpressed with over-priced, bottom-feeder Saturns, Geo Metros and super high-mileage Japanese cars (those with 200k+ on the odometer) that are in our price range. My theory on the state of the small car market today - like most any “rush” of the last few years, stock market (2001), housing (2006), this fad will peter out too. Either gas prices will retreat a little, when the US decides to drill for some oil, or folks will just get used to the higher prices for gas and go on with life. Either way, I figure, that in the long run, these super-premium prices for small cars can’t go on forever. What comes up, must go down. And, most important, the financials behind a purchase must make economic sense - panic buying never works out over time.
• Plain-Jane mid-sized sedans or wagons. We’ve been pretty happy with our Ford products (Taurus Wagon, 123,000 miles, Windstar Van, 130,000 miles) so we’ve neen looking for something similar - With about 100k miles - or less. The wagon is getting 20 mpg in town, reliability has been good (knock on wood), and the supply of replacements is looking good. Note: 20 mpg may not sound fantastic, but a smaller car with an automatic transmission that gets 25 mpg in town is selling for a big premium - in the $2k range. You can still buy a lot of gas for $2k. I think that if we find a creampuff in this category that’s priced right, we may have a new set of wheels before long.

Of course, any car we buy will be all CASH - never a payment. And it’s got to be a really good deal. They’re out there - if you’re not desperate and are willing to look around a bit. Stay tuned.

I thought that extended warranties would be a great topic after I heard that a young couple had just purchased their first new car, a Toyota Corolla, and bought an extended warranty from the dealership.  I’ll tell you right now - I think that extended warranties on ANY car, new or used, is a terrible idea. And, in this case, an extended warranty on a new Toyota Corolla? When you look up “bulletproof” in Webster’s dictionary - you’ll see a picture of a Corolla. I mean, practically speaking, this is one of the last cars on the planet that could, even remotely, benefit from any extra “protection.”

I came across a great article from Lucy Lazarony of Bankrate.com discussing the dangers of wasting money on such frivolity that should be read before you get anywhere near a car dealership. I’ll add a few thoughts of my own (naturally) on the subject that I hope will convince you to not waste any money on an extended warranty.

• High pressure sales due to huge profit margins. Dealers often markup these warranties by 100% or more. And, for this profit, the dealer only has to push a few more pieces of paper - no effort here, unlike undercoating, window tinting and “Scotch-guarding” the interior. So, the incentive to push extended warranties is huge. Meaning that you may be under intense pressure to get the warranty. Just say NO.

• Most newer cars already have some warranty. If the car you’re buying is less than 3 years old, check with the manufacturer (go to their website directly) to see if you can transfer the warranty to your name. Remember, if you buy a warranty advertised as “8 years and 80,000 miles,” the factory warranty will ALWAYS be the primary protection for the vehicle. In this case, if the factory warranty is for 3 years or 36,000 miles, then that amount of time and mileage is wasted with an extended warranty. By law, all fuel and emissions -related hardware are warranted for 100,000 miles.

• Statistics show that most problems will show up within 60,000 miles. For many cars sold today, the factory warranty will cover the majority of problems that show up before 60,000 miles. It’s a bit like gambling, but when you buy the extended warranty, the odds that you ever get your money’s worth are stacked so highly against you - much worst than your odds in Vegas.

• Was it abuse, or just normal wear and tear? This is the type of problem I read about most frequently concerning the extended warranty. Don’t fool yourself into believing that a warranty will jump right in and repair your vehicle immediately after a problem. On the contrary - these companies have a HUGE incentive in finding ways to NOT fix your car. There will be some kind of an investigation, mechanic’s opinions, etc. to deal with. And, if the decision is not one you like, your car will be sitting, dead and/or in pieces while you fight things out. Often, the grief in using a warranty far outweighs any possibility that you actually will get your car back on the road, unless you pay for it yourself.

So, take that money that you would have spent on a warranty ($399 - $2500) and use it to get that car paid off, get rid of some high-interest rate credit cards, or start a Roth 401k for a happy retirement!

With all of the flooding in the Midwest this spring and summer, the used car market is bound to be awash (no pun intended) in used cars for sale that have seen some high water. It was estimated that 200,000 cars were damaged during hurricaine Katrina, and many of those were fraudulently “reclaimed” and sold back to the public. It’s interesting to note that many of the Katrina cars found a new home in Bolivia - car registrations went up by 11% right after Kartina in that South American Country.

A flooded car is a bad deal.

As a used car shopper today, you must be extra vigilant (especially those in those states that had all the flooding) to make sure that you don’t wind up owning a waterlogged vehicle. The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) offers a free VIN (vehicle identity number) check to see if the vehicle you’re looking at has been recorded as water damaged. Of course, many cars never get reported as having been flood damaged, so it is the buyer’s duty to be certain that the vehicle of interest is as sound as possible.

Here are some clues to look for.

• Gravel or sand in the car - especially in places feet could never reach. Place your hand up under the dashboard (careful as there could be sharp steel up there) and feel for sand or silt. Most sellers would never clean up here, and if the car was flooded, there surely would be something left here by flowing water.
• Electrical problems with the car. If the car is pretty recent, it would be strange to have one or more electrical maladies present. Maybe an electric window, mirror or seat adjuster has quit. It could be chance, however if there are more than one non-working electric items, be suspicious.
• Is the car priced way below its KBB value? Unless it has some other obvious defects, or it is a particularly un-wanted type of vehicle, then a way-too-low price could be a clue here.
• Too much air freshener used. Are there 6 green air freshener “trees” hanging about the interior? Does it smell heavy with perfume inside? The seller could be trying to cover up a musty smell that is caused by water damage. The best way to find the real odor of a car is to leave the windows up on a hot day, then hop inside when it’s good and hot. You’ll also be able to tell if they’ve tried to cover up nicotine smells, too.
• Is the car from a flood-ravaged state? Duh - this one may be obvious but sometimes a buyer won’t put two and two together until it’s too late.

Always be a cautious buyer and do your due dilligence before you hand over your cash.

Like it or not, oil (and gasoline), coal and natural gas will be in our future for as far out as we can see. No, we haven’t reached “peak oil“,  as the doomsayers like to think. New reserves are being located around the world, with potential supplies increasing, proving “experts” wrong at every turn. If we just had the guts and the leadership in the US to allow US oil companies to extract the oil that is rightfully ours. The Chinese have no such problem - they’re 50 miles off our southern coasts sucking up oil that we should be taking.

Alternate Technologies

Sure, we would all love to have a car that we could fill with water and drive to work. Or one that we’d plug in at night, and by morning would be charged up and ready to go shopping. Or, top off the fuel cell family cruiser down at the local hydrogen fueling station for the trip to grandma’s. Here’s the reality - the water car is a fraud (at least with conventional technology), battery technology won’t really give the range for modern commuter needs, and the hydrogen fuel cell car costs at least a million dollars a copy, so far. As one or more of these technologies becomes viable down the road, it will take some time to become mainstream. Remember, with the advent of the automobile a century ago, horses were still in use some thirty years after most people were driving cars.

Power For A Nation

Coal fired power plants will be with us for a long time - note that “environmentalists” over the last few decades have effectively prevented any new US nuclear plants from being built. Even if we started today, attempting to meet the energy needs of a modern and productive society with anything but coal will take decades. Energy-wise, short-sighted policies aimed mainly at appeasing the environmental lobby has cost the US dearly. France has learned well. After the energy shocks of the early 1970’s, France embarked on a nuclear power plant program and today derives 76% of its electricity from the splitting of the atom. The US? A paltry 20%.

How about wind and solar power? Although these technologies can be quite successful in certain locations, don’t expect them to fill a large portion of our future energy needs (about 1% by 2025) - and the technology is still developing.

For now, the future is here, if we just have the courage and vision to make it happen.