Car Tuning,Car Finance,Auto Loans

Archive for February, 2007

Refinancing and Car Finance – Is it Worth It?

No doubt you have heard of refinancing your mortgage. It has become all the rage, but now you can also refinance your car loan.

You stand to save several hundred dollars over the term of the loan.

My take on it is go for it. Competition is healthy and it will keep the finance companies on their toes providing better service for all. There’s just one thing to be careful of online:

Just make sure you go with a reputable company. There are car finance companies on line these days such as E-loan or Capital 1, which are proving themselves worthy adversaries to the standard brick-and-mortar loan companies.

It’s not hard to see why? Simply apply from the convenience of your home rather than trudge all the way into some downtown office and line-up in a queue.

It’s even better than on the phone, because you can send your application in and forget it. Before you blink you have an approval or not. If you don’t, then you can simply find another one.

You can start off with a higher interest rate if you have bad credit and then refinance to a better rate later on.

Be sure to read all the terms and conditions and check with your accountant or financial advisor before making financial decisions.

Car lease finance is a great option for anyone who needs a car for employees or business use, or who lacks the finances to make an upfront payment on purchasing a car for their business.

Many however fail to see the point of car lease finance and point out that all that money is essentially ‘wasted’ as they have nothing to show for it at the end of the loan. Of course everyone hires cars when going on holiday and this makes a lot of sense as a way to get around the area you’re visiting and avoid understanding public transport systems in a foreign language. Leasing a car rather than owning one however is a different matter, and one that not everyone fully understands as after a significant amount of time they could likely have almost purchased the car themselves. However this is a rather short sighted view, as a car lease finance saves a lot of money in other ways too.

With a car lease finance you save yourself money on tax, on insurance (if it’s a good loan) and on depreciation. If you don’t have much capital to invest in a new car, then chances are you’d likely buy an old car with a lot of miles. That means that you can expect to pay for a car that has been well used in the past. Add to this tax and insurance (often you do pay insurance, but it’s provided by the car lease finance company and included as one payment for a cheaper price) and you’re looking at up to six months before your leased car has really made a dent in what you would pay for a new car – not counting the cost of the car itself even – and of course none of this money has anything to ’show for it’ at the end either.

This becomes particularly important when you only need the car for a short period of time. If you just need the vehicle for a few months, then you’ll find that buying a car of your own, even second hand, is much more expensive and a lot more hassle and really isn’t worth it if you intend to sell or scrap the car at the end of the same time period.

A car lease finance has another bonus too – in that by saving money on not buying the car or paying for the insurance you’ll be able to choose a far nicer and newer vehicle than you otherwise would be able to. Drive around in a Mercedes and you’ll get a lot of looks, and no one will need to know it’s not yours. Of course if you want to cut the price even more you can hire an older car and pay less.

Looking for the best deal on your car lease finance then is important and there are a lot of things you need to consider before you sign a contract. First of all make sure that as stated above you won’t be paying any bills yourself. Good car lease finance companies will cover you on the insurance or provide it themselves for a cheaper price and should obviously cover tax and servicing. Of course you will likely also want to look into the exact vehicles they have on offer, and if you’re going to be using the car for an extended period of time you will want to have a test drive to ensure you like it – just as you would with a car you owned.

Of course you also need to look into rates and premiums, so check the competition and look at price comparison websites before you make a decision. Many of these allow you to enter your details and then bring up the best option for you to ensure that you get a deal that suits you and your budget.

If you want the best out of your vehicle in terms of fuel efficiency, follow these simple guidelines and notice an immediate increase in mileage or MPG (Miles per Gallon) of your car.

Drive at recommended speeds – Driving at a constant recommended speed means less slamming of the brakes and fewer press/release sessions with the throttle (accelerator). This is the key to fuel efficiency. Remember that fuel consumption is more in both cases whether you are accelerating at low-speeds using low gears or at high-speeds using high gears. The key to peak mileage is to keep the vehicle speed constant at top gear by driving within a speed range of 28 m/hr (45 km/hr) to 38 m/hr (60 km/hr) in the city and around 55 m/hr (90 km/hr) on the highway.

Maintain tire pressure between recommended levels – Under-inflated tires can decrease the mileage of your vehicle by as much as 5% in a month. That is a telling figure considering the amount of fuel you can waste just because the tires on your car don’t have the correct pressure. Less pressure in tires means increased rolling resistance and increased traction resulting in more power requirement and load on the engine to propel the vehicle at the cost of more fuel. Check tire pressure at least once a month and maintain it within recommended limits for the best mileage.

Service your vehicle at regular intervals – Plan your car servicing as per the usage and the drive conditions and do it after regular intervals to maintain a well-tuned machine. Engine oil changing and tuning, minor repairs, greasing and cleaning of major parts of the vehicle can drastically improve the fuel efficiency. A well maintained car engine means less consumption of fuel, better performance and fewer emissions.

Limit the use or Air Conditioner – Use the car air conditioner sparingly since it uses fuel to cool your car-cabin. Switch it off when it is not needed. In case you drive in hot conditions, make sure you service the air conditioner regularly to keep it in peak condition. You can avoid using the air conditioner by always parking your vehicle in shade.

Plan your trip and Car-Pool – No other option compares to this one in terms of fuel efficiency. You definitely save fuel when you drive less. If you plan your trip before setting off and drive to destinations along the shortest possible routes, you can save both fuel and time.

Car-Pooling is modern man’s answer to fuel crisis and deteriorating environment. If you have a group of people who travel the same route as you do around the same time of the day using their own vehicle, you can all combine and travel in a single vehicle everyday instead of using individual means of transport. Usually the vehicles are shared on a rotational basis.

This way we can reduce the number of vehicles on the road at one time, save fuel and do a bit for the environment as well. Now you know that increased car mileage is just 5 steps away.