Car Tuning,Car Finance,Auto Loans

Archive for May, 2007

It may seem like everything is on sale at the major retail stores all the time, but really that’s not the case. The retailers still know that seasonal sales can be money makers for them when promoted and executed properly. Therefore, the wise shopper will do well to anticipate the annual seasonal sales and plan their purchases accordingly. The following seasonal sale calendar will help you to take advantage of the buying and selling cycle.

January
Everyone knows about the after-Christmas sales on boxed cards, candies and decorations. This is also a good time to look for clearances on popular Christmas season gift items, especially winter clothing. New Year’s resolutions usually include plans to exercise more regularly and to manage weight gains, so you can bet that retailers will run sales on these items. This is also a month when people look for ways to organize their storage of many items.

Typical Seasonal Sales This Month: White sales on linens, bedding, and towels. Storage containers and organizers. Workout, sports gear, and weight loss equipment. Winter apparel. Planners, calendars, office supplies. Toys and games on clearance. Dishes, appliances, computers, electronics.

Typical Major Purchases This Month: Appliances, furniture, computers, TVs.

February
Presidents Day and Valentine’s Day are mid-month events that give retailers excellent reasons to advertise flowers, candy, jewelry, and electronics.

Typical Seasonal Sales This Month: Valentine candy and gifts. Jewelry. Fireplace items and heaters. Perfumes.

Typical Major Purchases This Month: Used cars, electronics, floor coverings, housewares, snow blowers.

March
With the season changing people usually start looking at new spring clothing fashions. It’s also time to do some serious thinking about gardening. Easter often falls during this month.

Typical Seasonal Sales This Month: Winter clothing on closeout. Spring fashion clothing promotions. Gardening supplies. Closeouts on ski and skate equipment. Shoes. Easter clothing, toys, and candy. Luggage.

Typical Major Purchases This Month: Laundry appliances, ski equipment, storm windows, snow blowers, computers, TVs.

April
Easter often falls during this month. National Garden month occurs in April.

Typical Seasonal Sales This Month: Easter chocolates and other candies. Easter and spring dresses and shoes. Men’s suits and ties. Lawn and garden equipment. Home improvement items, wallpaper and paint.

Typical Major Purchases This Month: Lawn equipment, swing sets, swimming pools, vacations to Europe.

May
Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, and Cinco de Mayo fall during May. This is also a time to look for shoulder season travel bargains.

Typical Seasonal Sales This Month: Gardening supplies and home maintenance supplies. New summer clothes. Jewelry, watches, handbags, lingerie, and other gifts for mom. Outdoor barbeque items. Bug sprays, sunscreens. Auto maintenance.

Typical Major Purchases This Month: Tires, appliances, outdoor patio furniture, seasonal travel.

June
Father’s Day and National Safety Month fall during June. Hot weather brings concerns for service work on air conditioning units. Camping and outdoor sports are popular during the next few months.

Typical Seasonal Sales This Month: Building materials and lumber. Insect repellant and sunscreen. Outdoor lawn games. Patio furniture. Summer clothing, dresses. Father’s Day gifts. Outdoor barbeque items.

Typical Major Purchases This Month: TVs, air conditioners, refrigerators, computers, electronics.

July
The 4th of July holiday occurs. This is a big month for family vacations. Look for clearances on summer clothing and early sales on back-to-school items.

Typical Seasonal Sales This Month: Bathing suits and sportswear. Summer sports gear. Shoes, hiking boots, and summer clothes. Lawn mower clearances. Radios and stereo equipment.

Typical Major Purchases This Month: Floor coverings, air conditioners, used cars, vacation travel.

August
There should be large back-to-school promotions this month. Look for clearances on summer sporting goods and camping equipment.

Typical Seasonal Sales This Month: Barbeque and patio furniture clearances. Summer sporting goods. Pre-season ski equipment sales. Back-to-school supplies. Lawn and garden clearances. School clothes and backpacks. Laptop computers and printers for school. White sale items, linens and towels.

Typical Major Purchases This Month: Air conditioners, new cars, furniture, vacation travel.

September
This is the month for Labor Day sales and post Labor Day sales. Stores will be doing final clearances of summer goods and promoting early bargains in winter goods. Many new car models are introduced causing clearances of the current model year new cars.

Typical Seasonal Sales This Month: Back-to-school clearances. Clearance sales on all summer sporting goods, lawn and garden, patio and pool, clothing and shoes. Bicycles, paints, rugs, carpeting. Ski equipment.

Typical Major Purchases This Month: New cars, computers.

October
Halloween parties and sales occur this month. It is also a month to look for shoulder season travel bargains. Most stores begin stocking Holiday season decorations and gifts before Halloween now.

Typical Seasonal Sales This Month: Halloween candy and costumes. Fall and winter clothing. Fishing gear. Closeouts on school supplies and school clothes. Smoke detectors, fire extinguishers as this is Fire Prevention Month.

Typical Major Purchases This Month: New cars, houses, appliances, travel bargains.

November
Veterans Day and Thanksgiving occur this month. The Holiday Season starts immediately after Halloween and officially starts after Thanksgiving. This is also a good travel shoulder season. It’s wise to shop the pre-Thanksgiving and post-Thanksgiving sales for Christmas gift items.

Typical Seasonal Sales This Month: Winter coats, boots, and gloves. Quilts and blankets. Room heaters. Thanksgiving food, turkeys, etc. Furnace services. Car tuning and car antifreeze services.

Typical Major Purchases This Month: Travel bargains, new cars, used cars, appliances. Christmas gift shopping.

December
Holiday Season is in full swing. If retailers are greatly overstocked look for last minute bargains just before Christmas. Look for post-Christmas sales.

Typical Seasonal Sales This Month: Christmas gifts, cards, wrapping. Holiday lights and decorations. Party foods and baking. Winter clothing. Bicycles. Toys. Perfumes. Calendars and yearly planners. Candles.

Typical Major Purchases This Month: Appliances, TVs, computers, travel bargains early in the month.

The wise shopper will target many of their purchases by using the seasonal sales calendar. Be sure to stock up for a reasonable period whenever these seasonal sales opportunities arise.

In the past, applications for a car loan with poor credit, bankruptcy, bad credit, slow credit or even no credit would be a hard find. But now, try to search poor credit car finance over the internet and you’ll see companies that willingly take care of you and provide you with a loan in no time. But if you qualify for a poor credit car finance, did your really hit the jackpot?

Yes we can all agree, to anyone who needs a car loan and needs it now, any loan would be a heaven-sent. But no one cannot deny that loan taken with poor credit standing places a great stress at your financial status and ability to pay debt. If you think that getting approved with poor credit status is a big opportunity, then think again. Okay, you can own a car but can you pay for the monthly dues? How much is your car really costing you if you pay under poor credit car finance?

Different companies that specialize in poor credit car loans have a wide margin on the interest rate given to applicants with not-so-perfect credit score. The lowest can be 10% but it can go as high as 25% or even 30%, depending on how bad the credit score is. The bottom line is, interest rate is stiffly higher than what your credit-worthy counterparts pay. Are you going to pay a higher cost? Sure you are.

But that does not end there. There are opportunistic car dealers that even give higher APR on top of the rate that your creditor gives. This makes the car much more expensive than it really is. The unfortunate part of this is that, since most poor credit score holders lack the confidence to question this obvious scam in the making, all they can do is keep their lips close. After all, they should be thankful enough that someone has allowed them to borrow money and own a car. What happens here is even if they know that they will pay much higher mortgage on the car, they allow this practice to happen.

So, if you want to know how much your car is really costing you if you apply for poor credit car loan, consider these two factors.

Needless to say, they are pretty hefty.

How can you make sure that you get a good car loan and avoid paying more than what you should?

Get an accurate credit report and credit score. If you realize that you have a poor credit, then skip the car and fix your credit first. Here’s the thing; if you cannot even pay your credit card and utility bills on time, why would you add another financial burden?

If there are inconsistencies on your credit score, report and have it fixed immediately. Payoff higher APR cards before applying for car loan; payoff your credit card bills on time.

If you still want to apply for a loan even if you still have a poor credit rating, then get pre-approved first. Shop around for the best deal. As was mentioned, rates vary from dealer to dealer, and bank to bank. If you look around, you increase your chances of finding one that can give you the best deal.

Understand how poor credit car loan works. Understand the difference between rate and points. Know the company very well. Get reviews and feedbacks from current and previous borrowers of the company. A reputable lender gives you better chances of getting approved and paying the mortgage easily.

Do not rush to take home a car. Research the actual value of the car so that when you are on the car dealer, you avoid getting ripped-off by the salesman. Have an accurate credit report on hand so that when the dealer tries lie and claim that you have a lower credit score than you actually have, you can always block him with a copy of yours.

All in all, you can only feel the effects of the actual cost of the car when you start making payments. But it doesn’t mean that you have to wait for this to happen. You can avoid paying too much and start living financially stable.