Car buying can be a very intimidating process for anyone. But for most women it can be especially daunting. Many women feel obligated to take a boyfriend, husband, or father with them to the dealership in order to get a fair deal. Look over these negotiating tips we found to feel more confident!
Negotiating Tips for Women
1.Be Empowered! Negotiating is simple if you follow the EPR™ steps. Anyone can do it.
2.Educate Yourself.Research cars online and figure out what you want and can afford.
3.Wait to Negotiate. Feel free to shop around and do a few test drives, but avoid the impulse buy and do not negotiate anything while you are at the dealership!
4.Avoid Temptation. Don’t get lured in by incentives, gifts, or even sweets (dealers love leaving donuts and brownies around the showroom). Keep a calm head and wait until you are home to negotiate. When dealers give you a total price, they’ll be forced to include any applicable rebates to beat their competitors, and you can go out and buy as many brownies as you want with all the money you save.
5.Turn the Other Cheek. If you are talked down to, patronized, ignored, or treated poorly, don’t get mad, just walk away. They just lost any hope of a commission!
6.You are Not Obligated. Do not feel obligated to buy from the salesman who showed you around. You can always ask him to beat your best price later after you get a good price online.
You don’t have to actually buy a car online, only negotiate and settle on a price. You’ll still have a chance to go to the dealership, kick the tires, and take it for a spin before signing. Whether you are a seasoned negotiator or uncomfortable talking to strangers, we’ll help you negotiate a fantastic car price!
I heard on the news the other day that the driver allegedly responsible for a semi driver’s death last month was drunk. According to news reports he was served 10 beers at a Fort Worth bar. By now, even a gin-soaked barfly knows that mixing drinking with driving conjures up a potentially lethal brew. Responsible drinkers long have had two options for getting home safely – asking a sober friend to drive or hailing a taxi cab. But a company called Be My Designated Driver is offering tipplers in nearly two dozen cities a third alternative: Turning your own car into an “instant taxi” by hiring a designated driver to chauffeur you around for the night.
In the search for good drivers, BeMyDD only hires candidates who have spotless driving records. Many of the drivers have commercial driver’s licenses and a history of working as limousine drivers. Drivers with DUIs or more than four points on their record and registered sex offenders are among those who do not make the cut. If you find a driver with a winning smile or an especially light touch on the accelerator, you can request that person when you make your next reservation.
The service, known as BeMyDD, was born out of the frustration the twenty-somethings and their friends experienced when trying to get home responsibly after a night at the bars. They’d always have to do the coin toss for who’s going to be the designated driver, or who looks the most sober, and that’s a scary game to play.
Enter BeMyDD. After paying a $25 annual membership fee, you are eligible to use the company’s Personal Driver Service and reserve a designated driver in advance to drive you around town in your own car. The designated driver – clad in shirt and tie – waits in the car while you and your friends carouse. The service costs anywhere from $12.50 to $15 an hour, depending on location. There is a three-hour minimum, but no mileage limits. Cars can be filled with as many people as there are seatbelts in the car.
If you forget to pre-plan before getting tipsy, there’s no problem. Just call BeMyDD and activate the “Pickup Service.” A team of two drivers will arrive to take both you and your car to the destination of your choice. There is a $25 flat fee for the service, with an additional charge of $2.95 for the first 10 miles, plus $1.50 for each additional mile.
There’s no word on whether BeMyDD throws in two free aspirin to help cure the next morning’s hangover. Hahaha.
Originally, the company targeted drivers their own age – recently out of college and still in prime pub-crawling mode. Surprisingly, the company’s founders say much of the interest has come from customers who are 30 years old and above – people with something to lose who don’t want to risk the damage to their finances and their reputations that a DUI often brings. It promotes itself as generally being less expensive and more convenient than a taxi service, and I imagine it’s a lot cheaper than the legal fees and fines associated with a DUI.
Customers are urged to ask about the company’s insurance coverage and to find out under which circumstances BeMyDD would accept liability in the event of an accident caused by one of the company’s drivers.Of course, every time you turn your keys over to someone else, you’re putting your car – and your auto insurance – on the line. Remember the old saw: Insurance follows the car, not the driver. So if there’s an accident, the claim will fall on your policy. BeMyDD insures all its drivers and carries an umbrella policy for extra liability coverage. If an accident occurs and exhausts the car owner’s insurance coverage, BeMyDD will cover the rest.
BeMyDD services are not limited to bar-hoppers. The company offers a “Peace of Mind” plan designed for weddings and other special events. And the service can be used for other purposes, such as making sure an elderly parent gets to a doctor’s appointment safely and on time.
It is now available in major cities such as Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Miami and Washington, D.C. and it hopes to have BeMyDD in all 50 states by the end of the year.
The Texas sun can be particularly dangerous if you are driving towards it. Thousands of accidents every year happen due to people being temporarily blinded by direct sunlight. It’s happened to all of us, you take that turn, or hit the top of a hill and suddenly you can’t see anything by the sun glaring straight into your eyes.
There are ways to reduce the glare of the sun on your car and to become a safer driver. While wearing sunglasses and using your sun visors are the first line of defense, the sun can still wreak havok on your ability to see the road. One of the main problems is that the glare will hit any dirt and grime on your windows, giving you many small blind spots. Using a water beader, such as Rain X, will help keep your windshield clean.
Also, be more proactive and anticipate where the sun will be before turning. This will let you get your visor in an optimal position to block the sun. Also, when driving try to keep plenty of space between your car and the one in front of you. If the sun is impairing your vision, this will give you more time to read and react to what is happening in front of you.
If you are looking for any sort of top wind shield tint, or other accessories to help fight road glare, be sure to let me know, and I’ll be sure to help.
If you are ever in an accident, you may appreciate your cars air bags. All new cars are equipped with multiple air bag systems in order to keep drivers and passengers safe in the event of a crash. But how do you know whether or not your are absolutely safe in the event of an air bag deployment?
While air bags significantly reduce injuries and fatalities in auto accidents they may also cause harm if safety measures are not used. An air bag deploys when a car is hit by the use of exploding gas, and they may result in burns to the body during deployment. I found a great article at howstuffworks.com that explains how to address air bag safety concerns.
It didn’t take long to learn that the force of an airbag can hurt those who are too close to it. Researchers have determined that the risk zone for driver airbags is the first 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 cm) of inflation. So, placing yourself 10 inches (25 cm) from your driver airbag gives you a clear margin of safety. Measure this distance from the center of the steering wheel to your breastbone. If you currently sit less than 10 inches away, you can adjust your driving position in the following ways:
Move your seat to the rear as far as possible while still reaching the pedals comfortably.
Slightly recline the back of your seat. Although car designs vary, most drivers can achieve the 10-inch distance even with the driver seat all the way forward by slightly reclining the back of the seat. If reclining the seat makes it hard to see the road, you can raise yourself up by using your car’s seat-raising system (not all cars have this!) or a firm, non-slippery cushion to achieve the same effect.
Point the airbag toward your chest, instead of your head and neck, by tilting your steering wheel downward (this only works if your steering wheel is adjustable).
The rules are different for children. An airbag can seriously injure or even kill an unbuckled child who is sitting too close to it or is thrown toward the dash during emergency braking. Experts agree that the following safety points are important:
Children 12 and under should ride buckled up in a properly installed, age-appropriate car seat in the rear seat.
Infants in rear-facing child seats (under one year old and weighing less than 20 pounds / 10 kg) should never ride in the front seat of a car that has a passenger-side airbag.
If a child over one year old must ride in the front seat with a passenger-side airbag, he or she should be in a front-facing child safety seat, a booster seat or a properly fitting lap/shoulder belt, and the seat should be moved as far back as possible.
The best way to use your air bags is with a seat belt, so make sure that you are buckled up as well. Also, take your car to a mechanic so they can run tests on your air bag systems to ensure that they are still properly working and will deploy. Feel free to drop by if you have any questions about your air bags.
It doesn’t matter how large or small the load you’re towing is, if you aren’t doing it correctly and safely then you are putting yourself and other in danger while driving. Whether you own a truck or SUV, or a smaller vehicle with a tow hitch, learning how to properly tow will make life on the road easier for you and everyone else.
You may think that one you have your hitch secure then driving should be easy. Just remember that your car or truck will behave differently when you are towing, and its best to learn how your vehicle will handle and move before driving like you normally would. I found a great article from etrailer.com with a great list of dos and don’ts if you plan on towing.
The addition of a trailer adds weight and length to the tow vehicle. More weight means more time to speed up and more importantly, slow down. Overall handling is also affected. When towing, allow for extra time when switching lanes, stopping and passing other vehicles. To assist in slowing down, trailer brakes are a very good option. The extra length can also cause problems on turns. Because the trailer does not follow the exact path as the vehicle on turns, remember to swing out wider when traveling around bends and corners.
To conserve fuel when towing, travel at moderate speeds. Faster speeds increase wind resistance, reduce gas mileage, and place added strain on the vehicle and trailer. When traveling over large hills or down gravel roads, use a lower gear to ease transmission and engine operation. Shifting out of overdrive and into a lower gear may also improve vehicle gas mileage.
Be extra cautious of potholes and other large bumps. Riding over one can damage the tow vehicle, trailer hitch and/or trailer. When pulling a trailer take your time and be careful.
If for some reason (a gust of wind, a downgrade, a pass by a larger vehicle, etc.) the trailer does begin to sway, the driver needs to assess the situation to determine the proper course of action. Here is a list of Do’s and Don’ts to think about.
Do’s – Good Towing Practice
Gradually reduce speed
Steady the steering wheel – sudden turns can cause more sway
Apply only the trailer brakes to help reduce trailer sway
Don’ts – NOT Good Towing Practice
Do Not slam on the brakes – jackknifing could occur
Do Not attempt to steer out of a sway situation
Do Not increase speed – Trailer sway increases in faster speeds
Do Not tow a trailer that continues to sway
Look at reloading the trailer or perhaps adding a sway control or a weight distribution system with sway control
If you have any questions regarding your vehicles ability to tow, and weight capacity be sure to drop by and let me know and I’ll be glad to help.
A lot of things in cars today are run by an on-board computer system, but other things such as lights, belts, and other electrical devices still rely on fuses to operate. What fuses do is run an electrical current through a correct amp amount to the devices. Like a lightbulb, the fuses can sometimes burn out and leave crucial parts of your car rendered useless. The good news when this happens is that it is a relatively inexpensive fix. But how do you know what to do from there?
I found a great video of how to replace a broken fuse and other things to look out for when doing it. If you know it’s a fuse problem, be sure to save some money by fixing it yourself, but if you are uneasy or the problem conitnues, be sure to take your car to a certified mechanic.
One of the parts of your car that needs to be monitored and replaced are your shocks. While there is no set mileage or time frame when you should plan on getting new shocks, you should know when to replace them. The shocks are what help you gain better control while driving, and you will notice that they are going out if your car is losing control and stability. The danger with bad shocks is that they can cause you to lose control of your vehicle, or may cause too much car body movement that it puts you at risk of rolling.
For more insight of what to feel for when wondering if you need to get your shocks changed, I found an article from howstuffworks.com that gives some great information.
Mileage
Generally speaking, a set of shocks can last around 50,000 to 60,000 miles, though this is by no means an absolute figure. Some shocks may last for only 30,000 or 40,000 miles, while others may still be functioning after 100,000 miles. Factors that affect this include how the car is driven and the conditions it is driven in. A car used predominantly for freeway commuting will have less wear on the shocks than one driven in stop-and-go traffic and on potholed surface streets. Likewise, if a car is driven off road frequently or on dirt roads or even rough roads, the shocks will experience more wear.
Performance Improvement
Another reason you may want to replace your shocks is if you want better performance from your car. As originally equipped, cars and trucks usually have relatively compliant suspensions. By installing a set of high-performance shocks, you will improve the handling and sometimes even the ride quality.
Lack of Use
If an older car sits for a long time without being used, the shocks can sometimes freeze up and stop functioning. If you are going to start driving a car regularly that has been sitting unused for many years, you might have to install new shocks.
Remember to monitor how your car feels when you drive to see if you need to get new shocks. You can also test them out by rocking the side of the car from the outside and seeing how much movement is created and how long the rocking keeps going when you stop pushing. The firmer the car feels the better the shocks are, and the better your car will drive. If you have any questions about shock car and maintenance, be sure to let me know and I’ll be happy to help.
When driving down the road, one of the most unnerving sights you can see is when you glance at your speed and notice that your check engine light has come on. The problem usually lies in the unknown of what has caused it to light up. It can be anything from something small like your gas cap isn’t screw tight enough, or a larger problem that may result in costly repairs. The light is made to come on whenever the cars computer systems find something wrong happening. Sometimes it may go off on its own and then may even show up again.
If your check engine light does come on, it is very important to find out why as soon as possible. The best way to do this is to take your car to an auto parts store such as Auto Zone or O’Reilly’s and ask if they can check your cars OBD-2 system. This is a diagnostic computer that is usually near your driver’s side door. The machine will show a cade which can then be checked to find out what the problem may be. It can be things like a routine mileage check to a catalytic converter problem. It’s usually free to get it checked at the store by one of the employees and can help you decide your next course of action.
The most important thing that you can do is take it to a mechanic as soon as you can to avoid further damage or having a break down on the road. Be sure to drive safely and leave any comments with any check engine light issues you have faced.
At least once every year “Old Man Winter” brings North Texas treacherous ice, sleet and snow. For those of us not used to navigating ice and snow covered roads this is the most dangerous driving time of the year. Even those of us that have been raised in the Northern and Midwest states could take a few minutes and reflect upon some good safety tips and make sure we keep our precious cargo safe.
Check you fluids – It is very important to have a well supplied anti-freeeze resorvoir in cold weather. Wiper fluid is also often consumed in large quantities, and don’t just use water or it will freeze on you.
Tires and Brakes - A good set of well tread tires can be the difference of being in the ditch or safely on the asphalt. Pressure must be kept up as well, since cold weather promotes flatter tires. Anti-lock brakes are the best for winter, but you should always have good brake pads for icey stops.
Wipers- Nothing beats a set of maintained wipers in a blizzard or sleet storm. Rain-X is also a valid choice for extreme climate conditions.
Battery and Engine – Good clean battery posts and a good charged battery are a must when starting in cold weather. Engine tune-ups and regular oil changes also are a must for reliable winter travel.
Here is a great video clip from CBS News about what kind or readiness is needed for save driving in wintery conditions:
As you can see, there are a few other key points to remember. That includes planning your winter trek.
Stay home if you can, as there is no substitite for safety
Know your route – research road closures and delays
Have plenty of fuel – this will provide much needed warmth
Have a well stocked safety kit – flashlights, jumper cables, water, etc
Cell phone - communications are important when stranded
Drive safely – keep plenty of space between you and cars or obstacles
Just follow these Easy Solutions and you can stay safe during these winter months! Come visit us with questions and feel free to share your driving experiences.
This year Subaru is banking on our love of dogs. This great marketing strategy has produced some super cute “Dog Tested” commercials. Starring in these pet friendly ads are Zelda, a golden retriever mix, and Olive, a Shar Pei mix. Here is a little sample of these two canines in action.
How funny is that! Just like a cat to pull a stunt like that! For a look at all of the “Dog Tested” Subaru commercials visit Subaru’s YouTube channel. Always remember that pet safety is very important, and while these videos are fun – you should always keep your pet secure and safe while driving. For an Easy Solution to driving with your pet visit Pet Auto Safety’s website.
We’d love to hear from you about your favorite pet places, or you can feel free to come into Hiley Subaru and take your pet for a test drive in person!
Car buying can be a very intimidating process for anyone. But for most women it can be especially daunting. Many women feel obligated to take a boyfriend, husband, or father with them to the dealership in order to get a fair deal. Look over these negotiating tips we found to feel more confident!
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