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Lots of people turn to cars under $1000 bucks looking save a buck or two. Here is a quick guide on how to make some cash (that you can use to buy more rusty boxes on wheels of course)

Plain and simple part cars out.

Step 1. Buy a car. This is pretty much the most crucial step. If you are actually doing this to make money and not just salvaging that blown up buick sitting in your driveway than you need to find a car that people want to buy parts for. eBay is pretty much your friend here and my suggested avenue for selling most parts. In the past I have watched people make money from a variety of cars (my roommate used to finance his workshop with parted out cars) One in particular was a 1994 Honda Accord. Thats right you don’t need to buy a 1939 Alfa Romeo (although that would be sweet) or anything super rare to get good money for parts.

Often times finding a car that is pretty common can be a good thing but be sure to check eBay for the prices certain parts are going for before hand and let that be your guide in making your purchase. Now when it comes to buying the car usually the ones that don’t run will be your best deals and you may even get a freebie if your lucky. (few people want dead cars in their driveway) Obviously the less you pay the more you profit.

Step 2. Tear it apart. The key here is research and time management. Everybody wants to pull the engine and trans etc., but often times it may not even be worth it. Check out eBay or where ever you plan on selling and ask yourself is what these parts are selling for worth my time? Would I actually want to crate and ship this? Is anybody actually bidding on this crap? All good questions that need answers. Honestly it tends to be the nickel and dime parts that can really make you some money. Shifters, speedometers, sensors, mirrors, sun-visors, etc. these parts take seconds to remove and if they are in good shape people are often willing to pay a pretty penny for them, because the only other option for parts like these tends to be the dealers who charge an arm and a leg.

Step 3. Sell The Parts. Once you have determined what you want to sell and pulled the stuff off its time to start selling. I like eBay but swap meets, forums, and other sources may work better for you. If you have done your research you know where to find the people who see value in the parts you have pulled.

Step 4. Scrap the rest. Always factor in that you can prolly get $100-$300 bucks for the rest of the pile at the scrap yard. Usually you will want to haul it there yourself and will probably need to pull the tires and gas tank. I would even consider it a good rule of thumb to try and not pay more for the car than you can scrap it for. This helps you avoid any kind of loss.

And there you have it. Four easy steps to make some quick money and make your neighbors hate you.

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Source by Brian Ostrowiak

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Market Overview

The car rental industry is a multi-billion dollar sector of the US economy. The US segment of the industry averages about $18.5 billion in revenue a year. Today, there are approximately 1.9 million rental vehicles that service the US segment of the market. In addition, there are many rental agencies besides the industry leaders that subdivide the total revenue, namely Dollar Thrifty, Budget and Vanguard. Unlike other mature service industries, the rental car industry is highly consolidated which naturally puts potential new comers at a cost-disadvantage since they face high input costs with reduced possibility of economies of scale. Moreover, most of the profit is generated by a few firms including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis. For the fiscal year of 2004, Enterprise generated $7.4 billion in total revenue. Hertz came in second position with about $5.2 billion and Avis with $2.97 in revenue.

Level of Integration

The rental car industry faces a completely different environment than it did five years ago. According to Business Travel News, vehicles are being rented until they have accumulated 20,000 to 30,000 miles until they are relegated to the used car industry whereas the turn-around mileage was 12,000 to 15,000 miles five years ago. Because of slow industry growth and narrow profit margin, there is no imminent threat to backward integration within the industry. In fact, among the industry players only Hertz is vertically integrated through Ford.

Scope of Competition

There are many factors that shape the competitive landscape of the car rental industry. Competition comes from two main sources throughout the chain. On the vacation consumer’s end of the spectrum, competition is fierce not only because the market is saturated and well guarded by industry leader Enterprise, but competitors operate at a cost disadvantage along with smaller market shares since Enterprise has established a network of dealers over 90 percent the leisure segment. On the corporate segment, on the other hand, competition is very strong at the airports since that segment is under tight supervision by Hertz. Because the industry underwent a massive economic downfall in recent years, it has upgraded the scale of competition within most of the companies that survived. Competitively speaking, the rental car industry is a war-zone as most rental agencies including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis among the major players engage in a battle of the fittest.

Growth

Over the past five years, most firms have been working towards enhancing their fleet sizes and increasing the level of profitability. Enterprise currently the company with the largest fleet in the US has added 75,000 vehicles to its fleet since 2002 which help increase its number of facilities to 170 at the airports. Hertz, on the other hand, has added 25,000 vehicles and broadened its international presence in 150 counties as opposed to 140 in 2002. In addition, Avis has increased its fleet from 210,000 in 2002 to 220,000 despite recent economic adversities. Over the years following the economic downturn, although most companies throughout the industry were struggling, Enterprise among the industry leaders had been growing steadily. For example, annual sales reached $6.3 in 2001, $6.5 in 2002, $6.9 in 2003 and $7.4 billion in 2004 which translated into a growth rate of 7.2 percent a year for the past four years. Since 2002, the industry has started to regain its footing in the sector as overall sales grew from $17.9 billion to $18.2 billion in 2003. According to industry analysts, the better days of the rental car industry have yet to come. Over the course of the next several years, the industry is expected to experience accelerated growth valued at $20.89 billion each year following 2008 “which equates to a CAGR of 2.7 % [increase] in the 2003-2008 period.”

Distribution

Over the past few years the rental car industry has made a great deal of progress to facilitate it distribution processes. Today, there are approximately 19,000 rental locations yielding about 1.9 million rental cars in the US. Because of the increasingly abundant number of car rental locations in the US, strategic and tactical approaches are taken into account in order to insure proper distribution throughout the industry. Distribution takes place within two interrelated segments. On the corporate market, the cars are distributed to airports and hotel surroundings. On the leisure segment, on the other hand, cars are distributed to agency owned facilities that are conveniently located within most major roads and metropolitan areas.

In the past, managers of rental car companies used to rely on gut-feelings or intuitive guesses to make decisions about how many cars to have in a particular fleet or the utilization level and performance standards of keeping certain cars in one fleet. With that methodology, it was very difficult to maintain a level of balance that would satisfy consumer demand and the desired level of profitability. The distribution process is fairly simple throughout the industry. To begin with, managers must determine the number of cars that must be on inventory on a daily basis. Because a very noticeable problem arises when too many or not enough cars are available, most car rental companies including Hertz, Enterprise and Avis, use a “pool” which is a group of independent rental facilities that share a fleet of vehicles. Basically, with the pools in place, rental locations operate more efficiently since they reduce the risk of low inventory if not eliminate rental car shortages.

Market Segmentation

Most companies throughout the chain make a profit based of the type of cars that are rented. The rental cars are categorized into economy, compact, intermediate, premium and luxury. Among the five categories, the economy sector yields the most profit. For instance, the economy segment by itself is responsible for 37.7 percent of the total market revenue in 2004. In addition, the compact segment accounted for 32.3 percent of overall revenue. The rest of the other categories covers the remaining 30 percent for the US segment.

Historical Levels of Profitability

The overall profitability of the car rental industry has been shrinking in recent years. Over the past five years, the industry has been struggling just like the rest of the travel industry. In fact, between the years 2001 and 2003 the US market has experienced a moderate reduction in the level of profitability. Specifically, revenue fell from $19.4 billion in 2000 to $18.2 billion in 2001. Subsequently, the overall industry revenue eroded further to $17.9 billion in 2002; an amount that is minimally higher than $17.7 billion which is the overall revenue for the year 1999. In 2003, the industry experienced a barely noticeable increase which brought profit to $18.2 billion. As a result of the economic downturn in recent years, some of the smaller players that were highly dependent on the airline industry have done a great deal of strategy realignments as a way of preparing their companies to cope with eventual economic adversities that may surround the industry. For the year 2004, on the other hand, the economic situation of most firms have gradually improved throughout the industry since most rental agencies have returned far greater profits relative to the anterior years. For instance, Enterprise realized revenues of $7.4 billion; Hertz returned revenues of $5.2 billion and Avis with $2.9 billion in revenue for the fiscal year of 2004. According to industry analysts, the rental car industry is expected to experience steady growth of 2.6 percent in revenue over the next several years which translates into an increase in profit.

Competitive Rivalry Among Sellers

There are many factors that drive competition within the car rental industry. Over the past few years, broadening fleet sizes and increasing profitability has been the focus of most companies within the car rental industry. Enterprise, Hertz and Avis among the leaders have been growing both in sales and fleet sizes. In addition, competition intensifies as firms are constantly trying to improve their current conditions and offer more to consumers. Enterprise has nearly doubled its fleet size since 1993 to approximately 600,000 cars today. Because the industry operates on such narrow profit margins, price competition is not a factor; however, most companies are actively involved in creating values and providing a range of amenities from technological gadgets to even free rental to satisfy customers. Hertz, for example, integrates its Never-Lost GPS system within its cars. Enterprise, on the other hand, uses sophisticated yield management software to manage its fleets.

Finally, Avis uses its OnStar and Skynet system to better serve the consumer base and offers free weekend rental if a customer rents a car for five consecutive days Moreover, the consumer base of the rental car industry has relatively low to no switching cost. Conversely, rental agencies face high fixed operating costs including property rental, insurance and maintenance. Consequently, rental agencies are sensitively pricing there rental cars just to recover operating costs and adequately meet their customers demands. Furthermore, because the industry experienced slow growth in recent years due to economic stagnation that resulted in a massive decline in both corporate travel and the leisure sector, most companies including the industry leaders are aggressively trying to reposition their firms by gradually lessening the dependency level on the airline industry and regaining their footing in the leisure competitive arena.

The Potential Entry of new Competitors

Entering the car rental industry puts new comers at a serious disadvantage. Over the past few years following the economic downturn of 2001, most major rental companies have started increasing their market shares in the vacation sector of the industry as a way of insuring stability and lowering the level of dependency between the airline and the car rental industry. While this trend has engendered long term success for the existing firms, it has heightened the competitive landscape for new comers. Because of the severity of competition, existing firms such as Enterprise, Hertz and Avis carefully monitor their competitive radars to anticipate Sharpe retaliatory strikes against new entrants. Another barrier to entry is created because of the saturation level of the industry.

For example, Enterprise has taken the first mover advantage with its 6000 facilities by saturating the leisure segment thereby placing not only high restrictions on the most common distribution channels, but also high resource requirements for new firms. Today, Enterprise has a rental location within 15 miles of 90 percent of the US population. Because of the network of dealers Enterprise has established around the nation, it has become relatively stable, more recession proof and most importantly, less reliant on the airline industry compared to its competitors. Hertz, on the other hand, is utilizing the full spectrum of its 7200 stores to secure its position in the marketplace. Basically, the emergence of most of the industry leaders into the leisure market not only drives rivalry, but also it varies directly with the level of complexity of entering the car rental industry.

The Threat of Substitute

There are many substitutes available for the car rental industry. From a technological standpoint, renting a car to go the distance for a meeting is a less attractive alternative as opposed to video conferencing, virtual teams and collaboration software with which a company can immediately setup a meeting with its employees from anywhere around the world at a cheaper cost. In addition, there are other alternatives including taking a cab which is a satisfactory substitute relative to quality and switching cost, but it may not be as attractively priced as a rental car for the course of a day or more. While public transportation is the most cost efficient of the alternatives, it is more costly in terms of the process and time it takes to reach one’s destination. Finally, because flying offers convenience, speed and performance, it is a very enticing substitute; however, it is an unattractive alternative in terms of price relative to renting a car. On the business segment, car rental agencies have more protection against substitutes since many companies have implemented travel policies that establish the parameters of when renting a car or using a substitute is the best course of action.

According to Tracy Esch, an Advantage director of marketing operations, her company rents cars up to a 200-mile trip before considering an alternative. Basically, the threat of substitute is reasonably low in the car rental industry since the effects the substitute products have do not pose a significant threat of profit erosion throughout the industry.

The Bargaining Power of Suppliers

Supplier power is low in the car rental industry. Because of the availability of substitutes and the level of competition, suppliers do not have a great deal of influence in the terms and conditions of supplying the rental cars. Because the rental cars are usually purchased in bulk, rental car agents have significant influence over the terms of the sale since they possess the ability to play one supplier against another to lower the sales price. Another factor that reduces supplier power is the absence of switching cost. That is, buyers are not affected from purchasing from one supplier over another and most importantly, changing to different supplier’s products is barely noticeable and does not affect consumer’s rental choices.

The Bargaining Power of Buyers

While the leisure sector has little or no power, the business segment possesses a significant amount of influence in the car rental industry. An interesting trend that is currently underway throughout the industry is forcing car rental companies to adapt to the needs of corporate travelers. This trend significantly reduces supplier power or the rental firms’ power and increases corporate buyer power since the business segment is excruciatingly price sensitive, well informed about the industry’s price structure, purchase in larger quantities and they use the internet to force lower prices. Vacation buyers, on the other hand, have less influence over the rental terms. Because vacationers are usually less price sensitive, purchase in lesser amounts or purchase more infrequently, they have weak bargaining power.

Five Forces

Today the car rental industry is facing a completely different environment than it did five years ago. Competitively speaking, the revolution of the five forces around the car rental industry exerts some strong economic pressure that has significantly tarnished the competitive attractiveness of the industry. As a result of the economic downturn in recent years, many companies went under namely Budget and the Vanguard Group because their business infrastructure succumbed to the untenability of the competitive environment. Today, very few firms including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis return a slightly above-average revenue compared to the rest of the industry. Realistically speaking, the car rental sector is not a very attractive industry because of the level of competition, the barriers to entry and the competitive pressure from the substitute firms.

Strategic Group Mapping

As a moderately concentrated sector, there is a clear hierarchy in the car rental industry. From an economic standpoint, disparities exist from a number of dimensions including revenue, fleet size and the market size each firm holds in the market place. For instance, Enterprise dominates the industry with a fleet size of approximately 600,000 vehicles along with its market size and its level of profitability. Hertz comes in second position with its number of market shares and fleet volume. In addition, Avis ranks third on the map. Avis is among one of the companies that is having issues recovering its revenue margins from prior to the economic downturn. For instance, in 2000 Avis returned revenues of approximately $4.23 billion. Over the course of the next several years following 2000, the revenue of Avis has been significantly lower than that of 2000. As a way of reducing uncertainty most companies are gradually lessening the level of dependency on the airline industry and emerging the leisure market. This trend may not be in the best interest of Hertz since its business strategy is intricately linked to the airports.

Key Success Factors

There are many key success factors that drive profitability throughout the car rental industry. Capacity utilization is one of the factors that determines success in the industry. Because rental firms experience loss of revenue when there are either too few or too many cars sitting in their lots, it is of paramount importance to efficiently manage the fleets. This success factor represents a big strength for the industry since it lowers if not completely eliminates the possibly of running short on rental cars. Efficient distribution is another factor that keeps the industry profitable. Despite the positive relationship between fleet sizes and the level of profitability, firms are constantly growing their fleet sizes because of the competitive forces that surround the industry. In addition, convenience is one of the crucial attributes by which consumers select rental firms. That is, car rental consumers are more prone to renting cars from firms that have convenient rental and drop off locations. Another key success factor that is common among competing firms is the integration of technology in their business processes. Through technology, for instance, the car rental companies create ways to meet consumer demand by making renting a car a very agreeable ordeal by adding the convenience of online rental among other alternatives. Furthermore, firms have integrated navigation systems along with roadside assistance to offer customers the piece of mind when renting cars.

Industry Attractiveness

There are many factors that impact the attractiveness of the car rental industry. Because the industry is moderately concentrated, it puts new market entrants at a disadvantage. That is, its low concentration represents a natural barrier to entering the industry as it allows existing firm to anticipate sharp retaliations against new entrants. Because of the risks associated with entering the industry among other factors, it is not a very attractive sector of the marketplace. From a competitive standpoint, the leisure market is 90 percent saturated because of the active efforts of Enterprise to dominate this sector of the market. On the other hand, the airport terminals are heavily guarded by Hertz. Realistically speaking, entry in the industry offers low profitability relative to the costs and risks associated. For most consumers, the main determining factors of choosing one company over another are price and convenience. Because of this reason, rental firms are very circumspect about setting their rates and that generally force even the industry major players in the position of offering more to the consumers for less just to remain competitive. Hertz, for example, offers wireless internet to its customers just to add more convenience to their travel plans. Avis on the other hand, offers free weekend specials if a customer rents a car for five consecutive weekdays. Based on the impact of the five forces, the car rental sector is not a very attractive industry to potential new market entrants.

Conclusion

The rental car industry is in a state of recovery. Although it may seem like the industry is performing well financially, it is nonetheless gradually regaining its footing relative to its actual economic position within the last five years. As a way of insuring profitability, besides seeking market shares and stability, most companies throughout the chain have a common goal that deals with lowering the level of dependency on the airline industry and moving toward the leisure segment. This state of motion has engendered some fierce competition among industry competitors as they attempt to defend their market shares. From a futuristic perspective, the better days of the car rental industry have yet to come. As the level of profitability increases, I believe that most of the industry leaders including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis will be bounded by the economic and competitive barriers of mobility of their strategic groups and new comers will have a better chance of infiltrating and realizing success in the car rental industry.

Sources

“Passenger Car Rental.” Encyclopedia of Global Industries. Dec. 2004. Gale group. 02 Feb 2005. http://galenet.galegroup.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu/servlet/BCRC.

“Car & Truck Rental.” Hoover’s AB&D Company. Jan. 2005 . Hoovers. 04 Feb 2005. http://premium.hoovers.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu/subscribe/ind/factsheet.xhtm. “

Rental car foes war on each other’s turf.” The Associate Press. Fall 2004. The Enquirer. 08 March 2005. http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/10/11/biz_rentalcars111.html.

“United States – Car Rental.” Data Monitor Industry Market Research. Nov. 2004. Gale. 12 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu/sessions?products=BNI.

“A synthesis of tactical fleet planning models for the car rental industry.” IIE Transactions. Sept. 2003. Gale. 12 March 2005. [http://www.fleet-central.com/arn/01stat3.cfm].

“Corporate travel plans moving to Web.” Crain’s Chicago Business. Apr. 2001. ProQuest. 12 March 2005. http://www.proquest.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.

“Tracy Esch.” “Car rental market leaders make rebound .” Business Travel News. May 2002. Gale. 12 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.

“Avis Equips Rental Car with Satcomms 1999.” Newsbytes News Network. Oct. 1999. Gale. 12 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.

“Car Rental In the United States.” Data Monitor Industry Market Research. Nov. 2004 . Gale. 13 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.

“Global – Car Rental.” Data Monitor Industry Market Research. Nov. 2004 . Gale. 13 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.

“Corporate and Travel Trends.” Travel Trade Gazette. Nov. 2003 . ProQuest. 14 March 2005. http://www.proquest.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.

“Car rental market leaders make rebound.” Business Travel News. May. 2002 . Gale. 14 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.

“Car rental market leaders make rebound.” Business Travel News. May. 2002 . Gale. 14 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.

“Ovation Travel.” Wall Street Transcript. May. 2002 . LexisNexis. 14 March 2004. http://www.lexisnexis.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu/cis.

“Avis Offers New Deal for Free Weekends.” Newswire. Feb. 2004 . LexisNexis. 15 March 2004. http://www.lexisnexis.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu/cis.

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Source by Rodrigue Monestime

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All vehicles in the US are required to be registered, by law, before being driven through public spaces. This needs to be renewed on a yearly basis and those who break the law are subject to a fine and possibly imprisonment.

The registering of a vehicle basically means that in return for paying a fee you are now free to drive the automobile on public roads. It is provided only if you have insurance for the vehicle and is based on several factors including the year, make and model of the car.

The actual process of obtaining registration may differ in each state. However, the most common documents that will have to be produced at the time of registration are the title to the car, proof of insurance and a bill of sale. Many states will refuse to register a automobile without these being supplied by the current owner of the automobile.

When you purchase an automobile, you become legally responsible for the payment of any monies owed on the vehicle, as well as associated fees and charges. This is why anyone selling a car privately is suggested to consumers to record the transaction with an auto bill of sale form. This will provide proof that the vehicle has been transferred to a new owner and that the new owner is now responsible for any of the above fees and charges.

Although the process of registering your vehicle may seem expensive and troublesome, it is however a necessary part of car ownership and will protect you against various types of fraud associated with your automobile.

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Source by T Potter

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Out of 194 independent states of the world, only 52 countries follow a system of RHD vehicles. The system proposes to drive on the left hand side of the road for which the vehicles required are RHD or in other words right hand steering mounted vehicles. There are no specific reasons attached to it but this is how the system has actually differentiated the two class of people preference. The major drawback being faced by vehicle buyers is that the biggest producer of vehicle i.e. Japan, only produces Right Hand Drive vehicles.

It is quite common these days that things which are shorter in supply are highly demanded. Likewise, land cruisers from Japan are one of the highly demanded vehicles all over the world. It is not that people want to drive a right handed land cruiser but the preference is given to a Japanese brand. Besides right hand drive Toyota there is a huge demand of other right hand drive vehicles all over the world, which is intact since ages only because of the reliability of the Japanese Brand. On the other hand, many countries only permit left hand drive vehicles on the road and have strict laws and policies for RHD vehicles. These countries include USA, Canada, UAE, South American states and many others. Therefore, in order to satisfy the impulsive demand of right hand drive Toyotas and other right hand drive Japanese vehicles, technology is now allowing a Japanese vehicle admirer to get the vehicles changed into a LHD.

The conversion of a RHD vehicle into a left hand driven vehicle offers plentiful benefits keeping other things constant. First of all, the vehicles get into that particular country’s traffic law compliance and secondly the driver does not have to get worried with the changed driver seat. Make a note that before going ahead with the steering mount transplantation many risks and a lot of money has to be brought into consideration. This not only satisfies the excessive demand for vehicles but it also promotes imports of that particular country. Buying an originally left handed vehicle may be expensive as that vehicle has to be imported from North America, Korea or Singapore whereas people seeking quality Japanese vehicles, can quench their hunt by converting a second hand or any other make into a left hand drive vehicles within less than a few days.

Many countries have banned the imports on Japanese vehicles i.e. vehicles. The reasons being common above all the restriction and ban policies is that the RHD vehicles are not made environment friendly and they are expected to cause more damage to the surroundings. Especially Canada has real strict policies on not only driving a but also importing one. Therefore the steering turning process has made it a lot easier for the government as well as for the natives of such countries.

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Source by George W Thomas

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Why Choose a Nissan?

When it comes to a wide array of makes and models to choose from… Nissan has it all.

Nissan offers something for everyone. Just in the car line, there’s the Maxima, the Versa Hatchback and Sedan, the Cube, the Sentra, the Altima, and the Altima Coupe and Hybrid. The gas mileage for all Nissan vehicles ranges from 17 – 38 mpg on the highway, and 12 – 33 mpg in the city.

There’s also a price range for everyone. You can buy a Versa Sedan for approximately $10,000. By the way, the Versa features the highest horsepower and most passenger room in its class. However, if you want a car that will make heads turn, you can get the GT-R Sports car for around $90,000. Nissan used racing technology to help engineer this aerodynamic car. Standard on the GT-R is a 530-hp 3.8 – liter V6 engine, along with a dual-clutch 6-speed transmission. This car won the 2011 ALG Residual Value award for best luxury sports car.

Also in the Sports Car line, is the 370Z Coupe, and the 370Z Roadster. The Kelley Blue Book awarded the Nissan Z the 2010 Best Resale Value Award, and Popular Science gave it their Best of What’s New in the same year.

Nissan was ahead of the game when they introduced their Brake Override Technology, which was designed for emergency stop situations. It has been standard on all Nissans since 2005. All vehicles may be required by our government to come with this same technology in the near future. Also, all Nissan cars have Bluetooth Hands-free Phone technology that is linked in to the vehicle’s audio system, which makes for a safer trip wherever you go. Standard on some cars is the Intelligent Key with Push Button Ignition.

Of course, there’s also the LEAF, which some may say, is in a class of its own. As you probably know, the LEAF is 100% electric, which means zero emissions. In addition, the overall safety rating is terrific…5 stars. If you know you want a LEAF, you can go on-line to the Nissan website and reserve one now, if you live in one of the following states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Washington D.C.

To round out their line, Nissan has some great trucks and Crossovers. The trucks include the Frontier, the Titan, and also their NV Lineup. The Crossovers, which include Minivans and SUV’s, are also very impressive with the Juke, the Rogue, the Murano, the Murano CrossCabriolet, the Xterra, the Pathfinder, the Armada, and the Quest.

Why wouldn’t you choose a Nissan?

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Source by Andrew John Wang

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How would you like to get a great, almost new car for a very reasonable price? It is becoming more and more common for ordinary consumers, even those with bad credit, to be able to purchase a nearly new car at a very economical price. How, do they do that? They simply buy a car from one of the many car auctions that are cropping up all over the country.

So now people that are in need of a newer car have the choice of buying and owning a superb, expensive auto while not paying much at all by attending one of these auto auctions. This makes the dream on owning an almost new vehicle a reality for many consumers that become the highest bidder at one of these auctions.

Instead of paying an inflated amount to your neighborhood car dealer, you can buy direct from a source that sells cars at reasonable pricing. Yes, auto dealers do have to make a living so they offer you a price which includes large markups that must be passed on. Obviously these markups are going to increase the price you must pay and this makes the car expensive to purchase.

The majority of these auto auctions are organized by insurance companies, lenders, banks and government agencies, both local and federal. The vehicles are usually brought into a very large, central area from different parts of a state, or even from many states. The most numerous amount of cars are the ones that have been seized by the bank for the failure of the owner to make timely payments. There are also many vehicles of all kinds that have been seized by assorted government agencies from people who owe back taxes or have been put in jail for drug charges.

The preponderance of these vehicles are normally in excellent condition and may even include brand new models with a still valid warranty period. The auction will try to raise as much as possible so the lenders can be reimbursed for the defaulted amounts.

Did You Know?

There are auctions where only used cars are sold and then there are others where a large number of products, including new and used cars are being sold.

These auctions are affordable seeing that the selling amount of the vehicle is decided by the purchaser who wins the bidding session. The price of the car is exempt from any sort of supplementary amounts that were additional when the auto was initially bought from the dealer. The bidding in this variety of auction starts from a low price and depending on how many people in the crowd are interested in the car, you potentially can pick up a really,

Many of these auto auctions are advertised on the net so you can get an idea of what’s coming up in your area of the country. The easiest and most convenient way to find these auto auctions is to look for a car auction directory. There are huge databases and announcement boards of vehicle auctions, both current and in the future. This way you may be able to find an auction near your home and check out the cars in person.

Without exception, you need to do your homework on the type of vehicle you’re seeking, peruse the blue book prices for the cars you may want, make a listing and go for it! Who knows, you could acquire a brand new Hummer or Harley Davidson for half or less than it’s original market price!

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Source by Patrick Morgan

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The Salvation Army comes into possession of vehicles through donations. Sometimes these are vehicle that the owners no longer have any need, for any number of reasons and are in reasonably good condition. Sometimes they are vehicles that are damaged or mechanically unsound and the previous owners have elected not to repair them, sell or trade them. They have decided to donate the vehicle to get a tax deduction for charitable contribution.

In the state in which I live a vehicle cannot be sold to the public if that vehicle does not pass smog and safety standards. When the Salvation Army gets a vehicle that does not pass smog, they sell that vehicle to a dealer who will either repair the vehicle to meet smog and safety standards or will resell the car to a wholesaler.

Tip#1 Most used car buyers are aware that when buying a used vehicle they are going to have to make an investment into the car to get it into excellent operating condition. Before buying a used car you should first drive the vehicle, both on the street and on the freeway. Make sure that you like the way the car drives, that it accelerates well and stops well. Check the car for any visible damage. Check both under the hood and inside the trunk. If the car has been in an accident, telltale signs sometimes show up in those places. Look for mismatched paint on the exterior of the vehicle. If a car has been repaired with Bondo, leave it on the lot.

If you have a mechanic that you trust, have them inspect the vehicle before your purchase. They will usually charge you a small fee to do this, but it will be worth it. You will know what needs to be done to the vehicle to get it into excellent running condition and the approximate cost of the repairs. He can also put the car on a rack and check it for frame damage.

Tip#2 When you visit the lot for the first time take a pad and pen with you. Make a note of the mileage and the VIN number (Vehicle Identification Number). You will need the VIN number to run a Carfax report. There is a small charge for these, but it is worth the small fee to make sure the vehicle has not been in a flood and water damaged.

High mileage cars are worthless to a dealer because they cannot get the car financed. These are the cars that you see advertised “As Is, All Cash, No Warranty” If you are looking at a car that has a lot of miles,subtract the model year from the current year and divide that number into the miles, IE. 2011-1998= 13 years 13/100,000=7693 miles per year. The average mileage is between 10,000 and 15,000 miles so,this vehicle should show less wear and tear mechanically and in the interior. Keep in mind that vehicles have been known to remain useful with good maintenance for 300,000 to 400,000 miles, but this is not usual.

Tip#3 The cars sold by the Salvation Army will have an asking price. These prices are negotiable within reason. Many times the vehicle age will be older than what you will find in Kelly Blue Book. Pricing for cars older than 20 years can be found online at NADAguides.com priced as classic cars. If you’ve followed my suggestions and feel comfortable that the car will serve you well, negotiate in good faith for a price that is worth it to you. Remember this will not have any commercially marketable value, so its price is your best offer.

Following these tips will take some of the uncertainty out of buying a used vehicle from the Salvation Army. Good Luck.

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Source by Wayne A Douglas

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Like any other Small Utility Vehicle, Toyota Highlander packs in a lot of space. It is therefore a comfortable vehicle for people with large families or more than 2-3 children. The Hybrid version of Toyota Highlander has people extremely interested in buying this vehicle for its economical performance.

Toyota is the first automobile manufacturer to introduce both types of vehicles, sedan and SUVs in the market. Typically like any other Hybrid car the Toyota Highlander gives a lot more mileage than an average SUV would give per gallon of gas.

This SUV gives a less noisy ride like the other Hybrid cars combined with 4 wheel drive and a higher height ride. This SUV is powered by new version of Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive. Therefore, the SUVs engine is 3.3 liter V6 engine combined with a high torque electric drive motor generator.

This new motor/generator operates at a high speed and gives more power to the engine. This combines with the engine produces power up to 3500 pounds. Due to this the Toyota Highlander Hybrid SUV is rated as SULEV (Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle).

The Toyota Highlander Hybrid SUV averages up to 27.6 miles per gallon on gas.

The tank capacity therefore will give you 600 miles per fill-up of gas.

Like the other Toyota manufactured vehicles, this vehicle also has similar utilities provided to it including the navigational system which remains optional in this model also.

For people who like to go for long distance travels using their SUVs, this car also provides with a facility to put a sunroof. This is an added feature not existing in any other Toyota automobiles.

Due to the high demand for this vehicle, the chances that you would get price cuts are less. Though there might not be a long waiting list, if wanting to buy from the readily available Toyota Highlander Hybrid SUVs there is limited choice.

This 7 passenger hybrid SUV therefore is quite a steal, from fuel economy, to ecological welfare, this SUV passes all the tests that anyone might require from their SUV. The Toyota Highlander Hybrid SUV also has the Bluetooth and a large music system features that a generation next vehicle will possess.

So, if interested in an SUV you can surely check out the Toyota Highlander Hybrid SUV. It is priced and designed for better economy usage than any other car.

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Source by Ujwala Bapat

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It was more than a philosophical matter for Toyota Motor because of the money involved. The company, while comfortably in the black, could ill afford to pursue a misguided vanity project. But some argued it stood to lose more from staying out of the luxury market than by jumping in when its most loyal customers – baby boomers – were moving into their peak earning years and would soon be looking to buy more expensive cars. Toyota Motor wanted a high-end product line to prevent these loyal customers from defecting to other brands. The idea was to build a gilded bridge between the compact-car buyers of today and the luxury-car buyers of tomorrow. What’s more, it also needed to safeguard its revenue in an era of increased U.S. import barriers, to stay neck-and-neck with Japanese rivals who were planning their own luxury lines, and to keep its engineers motivated with new challenges.

At home, it sold the stately Century, a boat of a car with a 5.0-liter V-12 engine, used to chauffeur Japanese CEOs and cabinet ministers around the crowded streets of Tokyo. The often empty front passenger seat on this and other Japanese luxury cars was built with a removable cushion so that the back-seat passenger could stretch his legs through to the front seat. But at the equivalent of US$125,000, the car was deemed too expensive to compete in the mass luxury market in the U.S. Besides, Toyota Motor needed to update its export line-up with a car-lover’s car designed primarily to be driven by its owner, not a stately limousine to be driven around in.

Most significantly, Toyota Motor sensed opportunity. Present manufacturers of high end vehicles had risen and gone beyond the needs of the brand new era of car purchasers. Hence, Eiji Toyoda presented the strategy to penetrate towards the high end market. 6 years along with 50 percent of a billion dollars later, the initial Lexus was born. To Toyoda, it was not a matter of cost, only a matter of time. In his words: “For us, this was not only a tremendous challenge and a dream to fulfill but also an inevitable decision.” Yet even the most zealous proponents of a Japanese luxury-car program in the early 1980s could scarcely imagine what Toyota Motor would unleash upon unsuspecting rivals a decade later.

The company’s luxury division, the Lexus brand, has grown from a car enthusiast’s afterthought into the leading luxury brand in the U.S. It usurped Cadillac for that title in 2000 and has kept it ever since. In its debut year in 1989, sales of the untested brand’s two models – the flagship LS and entry-level ES sedans – totaled just 16,302 cars. Two years later it became the best-selling luxury import in the U.S. and had added a third model, the SC coupe. Today, just over two decades since the brand debuted, millions of vehicles sporting the Lexus L are being driven on the roads of America, a testimony not only to the brand’s popularity but also the durability of its cars. Indeed, it is not uncommon to see a vintage 1990 model year LS 400 or ES 300. Today, Lexus has expanded from the first two pioneer models to an industry-leading fleet of nearly a dozen different cars and SUBs, three of which have been added within the past two years.

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Source by Ken Li

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In the United States, three Toyota facilities are currently celebrating the company’s milestones in the country. Included in their celebration is the 20th year anniversary of the company’s first wholly owned US facility. This first wholly owned facility in the US for the Toyota Motor Corporation is the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (or also popularly known as TMMK). Along with that, two other Toyota facilities are celebrating a decade of operations. These two other facilities are the Toyota Motor Manufacturing West Virginia (TMMWV) and the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana (TMMI).

So who are celebrating with these three Toyota facilities? Sure enough, the local officials in their respective areas would be joining in the whole celebration. Team members in their respective communities would be also there to be part of the celebrations. TMMK would be celebrating with Georgetown, Kentucky, TMMI with Princeton, Indiana, and TMMWV with Buffalo West Virginia. These facilities would be celebrating over the next couple of days.

All in all, these three Toyota facilities have around 13,000 people employed. They also do represent around $8.8 billion in investment. After all, these plants build various Toyota vehicles and engines that are sold in the automobile market. The TMMK builds the Camry, Avalon, Solara, and some engines. TMMI builds the Tundra, Sequoia, and Sienna. And as per the TMMWV, this plant produces engines and transmission systems for the Corolla, Matrix, Camry, Sienna, and Lexus RX350.

Seiichi Sudo, the president of Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing (TEMA) in Toyota’s North America operations, “The success of TMMK’s team members and suppliers certainly paved the way for expansion throughout North American over the last 20 years.” Indeed, each of these plants’ anniversaries is worth celebrating.

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Source by Mark Clarkson