http://articles.autopartsplusmore.com/rss.xml A blog about autopartsplusmore.com daily 365 1901-01-01T00:00+00:00 http://articles.autopartsplusmore.com/?a=36724 <p>Date: December 3, 2006<br />One of the leading Bahraini Establishments, Mannai Motors, has signed an agreement with Solidarity.</p><p>This agreement will make Mannai Motors an authorized service center, equipped with the lastest and most advanced modern Automotive equipment and enable them to service all Solidarity Motor Takaful policyholders.</p><p>For more news on <a href="http://www.autopartsplusmore.com/">Auto Parts</a> visit <a href="http://www.autopartsplusmore.com/">http://www.autopartsplusmore.com</a><br /></p> 2006-12-05T16:47-05:00 http://articles.autopartsplusmore.com/?a=36660 <p>Date: November 30, 2006</p><p>A car parts supplier in Knowsley could have their industrial action disrupted for the production of Jaguar and Land Rover models at the Halewood car plant.</p><p>Workers have rejected cost-cutting management proposal and are preparing to vote over possible industrial action.&nbsp; Key figures of the TGWU and Amicus unions are meeting for further talks.</p><p>If the workers vote for the action, production could affect Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Toyota and Honda within weeks of the action taking place.</p><p>For more news on <a href="http://www.autopartsplusmore.com/">Auto Parts</a> visit <a href="http://www.autopartsplusmore.com/">http://www.autopartsplusmore.com</a></p> 2006-11-30T10:42-05:00 http://articles.autopartsplusmore.com/?a=34877 <p>by Gregg Hall</p><p>If you plan to use your truck like a car, desiring quick, quiet acceleration and rarely ever haul a heavy load and don't plan to it for a long time,you may want a gasoline engine. Gas engines run smoother, fuel is easier to find, and gas engines <br />start easier in cold weather.<br /><br />If you plan to use your truck for towing, value good fuel economy and plan to put plenty of miles on it, you may want a diesel. The price to buy a diesel truck is really high, although they can offer you a lot in return.<br /><br />Below, you'll find the leading vehicle manufacturers<br />and what they offer you.<br /><br />Dodge<br /><br />The 2500 and 3500 Dodge Ram Heavy Duty trucks are the newest 3/4 and 1 ton trucks on the road. Back in 2002, the Ram didn't have enough power with the 245 HP 9.5L. Dodge promised more powerful engines for the 2500/3500 platform and they delivered on that promise.<br /><br />The new base engine is the 5.7L gasoline V-8 that's not only the most powerful engine of the group at 345 HP but also revives the well known and historical Hemi name. <br /><br />Ford<br /><br />Ford helped push the 3/4 ton and 1 ton truck market to where it is today when it introduced it's international engineered power stroke diesel back in 1994. Before 1994, these diesels were poorly built and no match for the big gasoline engines.<br /><br />From 1994 to 2002, over 70% of super duty Fords were sold with the optional 7.3L V-8 diesel engine. This engine helped to put Ford among the leaders in diesel trucks, as they had more than they needed to dominate the market.<br /><br />Chevrolet/GMC<br /><br />The GM 2500/3500 twins Silverado HD and Sierra HD both come standard with GM's 6.0L gas engine V-8. This engine is ideal for 3/4 ton trucks where towing isn't a concern. The upgrades start with the 8.1L gas V-8 that's based on Chevrolet's venerable big block engine.<br /><br />Over the years, diesel trucks have proven to be effecient with mileage, great for towing, and easy on maintenance. Unlike gas engines, diesel engines do not have spark plugs, which means you won't need to get them tuned up near as much as gasoline engines. <br /><br />For those who like to haul heavy loads on a frequent basis, diesel is the way to go. You can get quite a few miles per gallon, and diesel trucks are built to go 250,000 miles or more before the engine needs to be rebuit,making them a purchase that is more than worth your money.</p><h3 class="popup">About the Author </h3><p>Gregg Hall is a consultant for online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida. Get your <a href="http://www.autopartsplusmore.com/">truck parts</a> at http://www.autopartsplusmore.com</p> 2006-06-27T09:43-04:00 http://articles.autopartsplusmore.com/?a=34876 <p>by Gregg Hall</p><p>Many people rush into selling their car or trading their car before taking the time to really make sure that they do it right and get the most money out of the transaction. Here are a few pointers to keep in mind when selling or trading your car.<br /><br />Before you put your car up for sale:<br /><br />* Be sure to do some research first. Prospective buyers may try to give you less money for your car than it is actually worth. This happens all the time, I know I used to drive around looking for bargains!<br /><br />* Know your car's value, which is the standard market price you can expect it to be worth if you sold it privately. This is commonly called the blue book value. To find your car's blue book value, you can buy a blue book for used vehicles at most bookstores or visit http://www.kbb.com. <br /><br />* Have your car detailed and make sure any major mechanical problems have been repaired. Prospective buyers will be willing to pay more for cars that are in better condition. <br /><br />* Have your records in order. This shows prospective buyers that you have taken care of your car and are prepared. <br /><br />* Be ready to negotiate. Most buyers will start out with a low offer on principle. If they see that you have done your homework and are knowledgeable about your car, however, they may be willing to raise their offer.<br /><br />Before you trade your car in for a newer vehicle:<br /><br />* Be sure to do some research first. The dealership may try to give you less money for your car than it is actually worth. <br /><br />* Know your car's value, which is the standard market price you can expect it to be worth. This is commonly called the blue book value. To find your car's blue book value, you can buy a blue book for used vehicles at most bookstores or visit http://www.kbb.com. <br /><br />* Have your car detailed and make sure any major mechanical problems have been repaired. Dealers will be willing to offer more for cars that are in better condition. <br /><br />* Have your records in order. This shows the dealer that you have taken care of your car and are prepared. <br /><br />* Be ready to negotiate. Most dealers will start out with a low offer on principle. If they see that you have done your homework and are knowledgeable about your car, however, they may be willing to raise their offer.</p><h3 class="popup">About the Author </h3><p>Gregg Hall is a consultant for online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida. Get your <a href="http://www.autopartsplusmore.com/">car parts</a> at http://www.autopartsplusmore.com</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> 2006-06-27T09:40-04:00 http://articles.autopartsplusmore.com/?a=34875 <p>by Gregg Hall</p><p>In order to ensure you get the best price for your car, follow these steps:<br /><br /><br />1.Shop around for auto financing before going to the dealer. Get pre-approved for a loan. This is one of the biggest mistakes people make in their haste to buy a new car. Take the time to get pre-approved; you will get a better rate and a better deal.<br /><br />2.Compare APRs from local banks, thrifts, and credit unions, websites, and newspapers. Again, there is a lot of competition amongst lenders for your business.<br /><br />3.Order a copy of your credit report and correct any errors a few months before shopping for a car. This one takes a little more planning, but should be done anyway.<br /><br />4.Make the largest down payment that you can. Beware of a low down payment or long repayment plans. The more you borrow and the longer you take to pay the loan, the more interest you pay and the more your car will cost you in the end. Additionally, if you have to sell your car in the first few years, you could owe the lender more than the car is worth. This is a HUGE trap that car dealers have gotten into. They wonder why their sales are hurting. They have been putting people into these long term loans and financing negative equity so long that now people will have to be buried in their cars!!<br /><br />5.Consider paying for the tags, title search, and taxes separately, rather than financing them. This can reduce the amount of interest that you will pay. Financing those items is just plain dumb, enough said.<br /><br />6.If you are going to apply for a loan at the dealership, make sure you first negotiate the best price on the car. Beware of dealers who insist on asking you how much you can afford every month. These dealers might be interested in making you stretch out the term of the loan to make the loan sound more affordable. However, by extending the length of the loan, your total cost will increase. This is a BIG trick at dealerships, never negotiate based on payments.<br /><br />7.Be aware of penalties. Some lenders might charge you for paying off your loan early. Many states have laws against this now, be sure to check the laws in your state.<br /><br />8.If you need to give the dealer a deposit, make sure you know whether you will get the money back if you change your mind. It is best to get this in writing. Be careful of this and only do it if you really want the vehicle, don&rsquo;t fall for the &ldquo;deposit before negotiation&rdquo; trick.<br /><br />9.Service contracts, credit insurance, extended warranties, and other options are not required and can be costly over the term of the loan. All of these things are almost pure profit to the dealer, don&rsquo;t buy them.</p><h3 class="popup">About the Author </h3><p>Gregg Hall is a consultant for online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida. Get your <a href="http://www.autopartsplusmore.com/">car parts</a> at http://www.autopartsplusmore.com</p> 2006-06-27T09:29-04:00 http://articles.autopartsplusmore.com/?a=34874 <p>by Gregg Hall</p><p>There are many important differences to consider when you are deciding whether to get a loan to purchase a car or lease a car from a dealership. Some of the considerations are whether it is business or personal, how many miles you will drive and how long you intend to keep the vehicle.<br /><br />With a conventional loan the car belongs to the bank that gave you the loan until you have paid off the loan. Then, the car becomes yours. If you are the type that keeps a car forever this is probably for you.<br /><br />With a lease you are essentially renting the car from the dealership. The lease is like a rental agreement. You make monthly payments to the dealership. But the car does not belong to you. When the lease ends, you have to return the car to the dealership.<br /><br />Now let&rsquo;s look at some other considerations and comparisons between a lease and a regular loan.<br /><br />Wear and tear:<br /><br />No additional costs for wear and tear in your loan agreement.<br />Most leases charge you extra money for any damage they find at the end of the lease that goes beyond &quot;normal wear and tear.&quot;<br /><br />Monthly payments:<br /><br />Payments are higher with a loan; however, at the end of the loan, you own the car.<br />Payments are lower with a lease. This is because you are not purchasing the car; the dealership still owns it. Once your lease ends, you turn the car back in and the dealership can sell it or lease it to another customer. You may decide to purchase the car at the end of the lease; however, the total cost ends up being more than it would have been if you bought the car instead of leasing it.<br /><br />Mileage:<br /><br />No mileage restrictions with a loan.<br />Leases restrict the number of miles you can drive the car each year. If you exceed the mileage allowed, you have to pay the dealer for each mile over the limit, in accordance with your lease. For example, a dealer may charge you 15 cents for every mile that you drive over 24,000 miles in 2 years. If you drive the car an additional 3,000 miles, you would owe the dealer $450 for those miles.<br /><br />Auto insurance rates:<br /><br />May cost more during the loan than it will after the loan is paid, because the lender may require more coverage, but usually still less expensive than auto insurance for leased cars.<br />Usually costs more if you lease a car than it does if you buy. Most car leases require you to carry higher levels of coverage than purchase agreements do. Some insurance carriers may also calculate leasing to be higher risk than purchasing.</p><h3 class="popup">About the Author </h3><p>Gregg Hall is a consultant for online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida. Get your <a href="http://www.autopartsplusmore.com/">car parts</a> at http://www.autopartsplusmore.com</p> 2006-06-27T09:24-04:00 http://articles.autopartsplusmore.com/?a=34873 <p>by Gregg Hall</p><p>If you have been longing to have a vacation at the Caribbean, you better wake up and plan at spending your dream vacation at the US Virgin Islands. Come and see for yourself the beauty and rich culture of the exceptional islands of St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, and Water Island. The US Virgin Islands, often referred as the American Paradise, remain as one of the most sought after destinations in the world. The US Virgin Islands where turquoise-blue waters, teeming with marine life, and white-powdery-sand shores, are always visited by vacationers.<br /><br />These islands offer a wide variety of exciting activities to their visitors. The beautiful beaches, amazing shopping centers, premier accommodations, and a rich culture and history are not to be missed. In addition, many historical places, plantation ruins, old buildings and magnificent views from the hills are all worth your time. St. Thomas has multitude of activities which will make your stay even more memorable like the breathtaking views from Mountain Top, Drake&rsquo;s Seat, and Paradise Point. Overwhelm yourself with the numerous festival held in Frederiksted and Christiansted throughout the year. Or, have camping at the campground of the US Virgin Islands National Park.<br /><br />These beautiful tourist sites are accessible through, jeep, taxi, bus, vans, or by walking only. US Virgin Islands car rental is a very popular, easy and fun way to get around on your own in the island. You just have to remember always that you have to drive on the left. The US Virgin Islands is the only part of the states that drives on the left-side of the road. For you to enjoy your pace as you explore the island, the speed limit is 20 mph if you are in town, and 35 mph anywhere else.<br />Virgin Island car rentals are located right at the airport, where arrangement can be made if you want to be picked up right at the airport or at your hotel. If your destination is to the island of St. John, you can always pick your rented car at St. Thomas and take it by ferry for free. But, there are car rentals in St. John, you might as well make your reservations there than in any other place to save you time.<br /><br />Exploring the islands is best done by renting a car or jeep. If you would like to explore the island at your free time, and at your own pace the best way to do it is by having your own mode of transportation. Virgin Island car rentals are available at the airport, hotels, resorts, and in the main towns<br /><br />Average prices in the US Virgin Island car rental ranges from $38 - $70 per day. Depending on season or time of year the prices may vary. Vans and trucks are available. Special packages and discounts are always available, so it is likely for you to get lower prices.<br /><br />Renting a car will allow you to see and enjoy the island at your own pace. Many agencies are available for you to pick. Virgin Island car rentals have a variety of vehicles, jeeps, and cars which can accommodate up to 8 or more passengers. It is practical to hire a car if you plan to spend several days on the islands.</p><h3 class="popup">About the Author </h3><p>Gregg Hall is a consultant for online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida. Get your <a href="http://www.autopartsplusmore.com/">car parts</a> at http://www.autopartsplusmore.com</p> 2006-06-27T09:20-04:00 http://articles.autopartsplusmore.com/?a=34872 <p>by Gregg Hall</p><p>Every single day there are tens of thousands of cars for sale on eBay which makes the eBay motors division the most profitable department within eBay. There millions of cars sold online every year and eBay is getting a big portion of it.<br /><br />There is large numbers of people making a living just taking cars on consignment and placing them on eBay. Some of these people have never even seen the car they are selling! This is a great business, usually the only risk is your auction fee and some shrewd consigners even get the car owners to pay for that.<br /><br />As with most other online businesses, the biggest issue to deal with is gaining the trust of potential buyers. This can be a little difficult for someone just starting to do business on eBay. But, you can hardly blame the buyers who are spending thousands of dollars on a vehicle they have never physically seen.<br /><br />eBay in their infinite wisdom has set up escrow services to help alleviate these fears. This definitely seems to help when the buyer knows that the money is going to be kept by a third party until the transaction is completed smoothly. The escrow service of choice is Escrow.com. The way thee system works is the buyer gets two days to inspect the vehicle, if everything is okay he notifies the escrow company and they release the funds to the selling party. If the transaction goes south, the buyer returns the item and the escrow company returns the buyer&rsquo;s money. <br /><br />The online vehicle sales business has become so large that Escrow.com has even opened a division that only deals with vehicle sales. They even offer an inspection service which at this time is $125, not too bad for the piece of mind it affords.<br /><br />Through Escrow.com the buyer can also deposit his payment with them and negotiate a period of up to 30 days to have the vehicle completely looked over. This time period must be agreed upon by both parties before the transaction is consummated. If the buyer doesn&rsquo;t contact the Escrow Company by the end of the agreed upon period then it is assumed the transaction is valid and the money is distributed to the seller.<br /><br />Another value added service that has been implemented recently is worldwide shipping. Escrow.com will ship vehicles almost anywhere in the world, well except for Cuba. LOL. They will also get a vehicle history report like CarFax that tells the history of the vehicle and whether it has ever had major damage, been stolen, or even if it has been a vehicle for hire.<br /><br />With all the positives offered here it would be wise to utilize the aforementioned company for any vehicle transactions online.</p><h3 class="popup">About the Author </h3><p>Gregg Hall is a consultant for online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida. Get your <a href="http://www.autopartsplusmore.com/">car parts</a> at http://www.autopartsplusmore.com</p><p> </p> 2006-06-27T01:12-04:00 http://articles.autopartsplusmore.com/?a=34779 <p>by Gregg Hall</p><p>Hybrid cars definitely help fight the pollution problem by reducing emissions.<br /><br />Hybrid cars combine a gasoline engine with a battery-powered electric motor. The electric motor kicks in at certain because of this hybrid engine gets significantly better gas mileage than a conventional gas engine. <br /><br />Hybrids consume less gas and produce less pollution per mile than conventional gasoline engines. Hybrid cars have been on the market in the United States since 1999, but more and more are being developed and introduced each year. <br /><br />The hybrid engine currently sold in the Honda Civic Hybrid gets 10 to 15 miles more per gallon than a regular gas engine in the same car. The hybrid engine of the Prius, made by Toyota, produces 90 percent fewer harmful emissions than a comparable gasoline engine. No doubt about it, these cars are good for the environment! <br /><br />Hybrids are more expensive. Just like with any new technology, you will pay for the privilege of being a pioneer. The hybrid cars on the market today cost as much as $6000 more per car than comparable cars with conventional gas engines. <br /><br />This means that the amount of money you save, or don&rsquo;t save, by buying a hybrid is very much dependent on gasoline prices and also depends upon how long you intend to keep the vehicle. <br /><br />If you are the type person who trades every two years you may very well not benefit from the savings. If gas is priced at $1.80 per gallon (we wish), it could take the average driver (15,000 miles per year) between 10 and 15 years to amortize the $3500 increase in the initial price. <br /><br />If gas prices stay the way they are at the time of this writing in October, 2005 you will realize savings much more quickly.<br /><br />The Federal government is still offering tax breaks to buyers of hybrid cars through 2006. The amount of the tax break you are able to claim depends on the year in which you file and the tax bracket you&rsquo;re in. Some individual states also offer tax breaks for hybrid buyers. So maybe being an environmentalist has its tax advantages.</p><h3 class="popup">About the Author </h3><p>Gregg Hall has been in the automotive industry for <br />over 20 years including owning and managing several <br />dealerships. Ge the <a href="http://www.autopartsplusmore.com/">auto parts</a> you need</p> 2006-06-18T17:52-04:00