Can I Keep My New Car from Rusting?

Car rust is caused when the metal is exposed to moisture over time. Keeping your new car waxed will help protect it from rusting since the wax forms a barrier between the metal and the moisture.

It is also important to keep moisture off your car. So, after you wash it, make sure the car and the undercarriage are completely dry before you put it in a garage. The undercarriage will dry simply by leaving the car outside for awhile.

You should also put mud flaps on your car to keep mud and other debris from collecting in the wheel wells. They will also protect your car from the dings caused by stones kicking up. Those dings will expose the metal to the elements and create an excellent place for rust to begin. If you do have any dings or small scratches on your car, you should address them before any rust begins. Some polishing compound and a little touch up paint will usually take care of them.

If you live in an area where it snows, you know how fast road salt will eat through the wax, paint and metal on your new car and accelerate the formation of rust. That is why it is very important to give your car a good coat of wax before the snow comes. During the winter, you only need to wash your car when the air temperature is above. Road salt is only active at temperatures above freezing, so you do not need to wash your car when it is very cold out. Besides, if you do wash your car when it is very cold outside, your door locks and power windows are likely to freeze. Of course, if you park your car in a garage, you will want to gauge when to wash your car by the temperature in the garage. When you do finally wash your car, you should pay special attention to cleaning the wheel hubs, wheel wells and undercarriage as these are the places where the road salt tends to stick.

You should also consider putting rubber mats on the floor of your new car during the winter months. These rubber mats will keep the salty water from melting snow from seeping into the carpets and rusting your floor boards.

Keeping your new car from rusting will take a little time. That time spend will be worth it by helping to maintain the appearance and value of your inverstment.

Why Are Used Car Prices Are So High?

If you are currently in the market for a good quality used car, you are probably experiencing something that is usually only associated with new cars, namely Sticker Shock. So, what is causing the price of used cars to be so high? There are a lot of reasons for it, but they all basically boil down to the law of supply and demand. When the supply of an item is low or the demand for it is high, the price will go up. Currently, the supply for used cars is very low and the demand for them is very high, so both are regret ably happening. The demand for used cars is way up because many people who would normally only buy a new car are now in the market for a used car. Concerns about our economy are steering those people away from buying large ticket items, like a new car.
The supply of used cars in the market has dwindled for a lot of reasons. One of those reasons is the government’s Cash for Clunkers program. That was the program that was operated last year and was supposed to stimulate the sale of new cars and thus our economy. Under the Cash for Clunkers program, people were encouraged to trade in their running car that got poor gas mileage and purchase a new energy efficient car. They were given a voucher of up to $4500 to use towards the purchase of the new car. About 700,000 cars were traded in under the Cash for Clunkers program. Since those vehicles were ones that ran, they would normally have gone straight into the used car market. Instead, under the rules of the program all of the Cash for Clunkers cars were destroyed. As a result almost 700,000 running car did not go into the used car market.
Another reason for the shortage in the number of available used cars is that a lot of motorists are choosing to keep their current used cars rather than trading them in for a new or newer one. In addition, there is an extreme lack of cars entering the market from rental car agencies and companies that provide fleet cars to their employees. Under normal circumstances, those institutions would trade their vehicles in for new ones every year or two. At this time, those companies are holding onto those vehicles longer due to our lackluster economy.
Other thing adding to the high price of used cars is the difficultly for people to obtain a loan to purchase a new car. People who are not able to get a loan to buy a new car, are forced to look for a less expensive car, namely a used car. Unfortunately there are not enough quality used cars to go around.
When the economy begins to sufficiently improve, banks will be more willing to lend money to buy new cars and the sale of new cars will begin to increase. When that finally happens, the supply of used cars will increase because of the trade-ins and the price of those used cars will finally start to come down. Until that time comes, the price of used cars will remain high.

How do I Winterize My Car?

Now that Fall is here, it will not be long before the temperatures get cold and the snow starts. That makes this a good time to get your car ready for winter. Here are some tips for winterizing your car;

1.   Check the tires and the spare. If your tires are worn, you should replace them. Worn tires do not provide much traction and do not handle well on wet or icy roads. The same is true for high performance tires. If you have those tires, you should consider putting snow tires on your car. You should also check the air pressure in your tires. Cold air makes the air in tires contract and that contraction may make the tires too low.

2.  Check the battery. Very cold temperatures can drastically reduce the power of your battery. You should have the battery tested at a certified repair shop. Also, check the posts and connections on your battery to make sure they are free of debris.

3.  Change the oil in the car. Before you change it, check the owner’s manual to see if the manufacturer recommends a thinner oil be used in your car during the winter months.

4.  Check the belts and hoses. If any of them show signs of wear, they should be replaced. Winter is not the time you want to be stranded because a belt or hoses broke.

5.  Check the mixture of antifreeze. Ideally, there should be equal parts of antifreeze and water. Most auto parts stores sell inexpensive testers.

6.  Check the brakes, lights, heater and defroster and make any necessary repairs.

7.  Replace the wiper blades and fill the wiper fluid reservoir.

8.  Check the 4WD on your car, if applicable. It should engage properly.

In addition to the above, there are several items you should put in your car in preparation for the cold and snow.  Here is a list;

1.  An emergency road kit including a blanket, flashlight, flares, etc.

2.  A first aid kit.

3.  A tool kit and jumper cables.

4.  A snow brush, ice scraper, shovel, etc.

5.  A bag of sand or non-clumping car litter.

6.  Some extra clothes such as warm socks, a hat, gloves, boots, etc.

7.  A small supply of water and food such as hard candy, nuts, energy bars, etc.

When the weather does turn cold remember to keep your gas tank full. This will prevent moisture from freezing the gas lines in your car. It is also a good idea to keep your cell phone charged in case you get stuck and to keep an aerosol de-icer with you in case the door locks on your car freeze.

How do I Keep My Car from Rusting?

Rust is caused when metal, particularly steel and iron, are exposed to moisture for an extended period of time. While it is important to keep your car clean, it is more important to keep it waxed. The wax forms a barrier between the metal and the moisture. After you wash your car, make sure it and the undercarriage are dry before you put it in a garage. The undercarriage will dry simply by leaving the car outside for awhile.

Putting mud flaps on your car will keep med and other debris from collecting in the wheel wells. They will also protect your car from the dings caused by stones kicking up. Those dings expose the metal to the elements and create an excellent place for rust to begin.

If you do find any dings or small scratches on your car, you should address those immediately before they start to rust. You can usually take care of them with some polishing compound and a little touch up paint.

If you live in an area where it snows, you know how quickly road salt can east through the wax, paint and metal on your car and accelerate the formation of rust. That is why it is imperative that you give your car a good coat of wax before the snow comes. During the winter, you will only need to wash your car when the air temperature is above freezing or 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Road salt is not active at temperatures below freezing, so you do not need to wash your car when it is cold out. Besides, if you do wash your car when it is very cold, your door locks and power windows are much more likely to freeze on you. Of course, if you park your car in a garage, you will want to use the temperature inside the garage to determine when to wash your car. When you do wash your car, you should pay particular attention to cleaning the wheel hubs, wheel wells and undercarriage as these are the places where the road salt tends to stick.

It is also a good idea to put rubber mats on the floor of your car during the winter months. These mats keep the salty water from melted snow from seeping into the carpets and rusting your floor boards.

Keeping your car from rusting can be a little time consuming. It will be worth it by helping to maintain the appearance and the value of your car.

Why are Used Car Prices so High?

If you are in the market for a good used car, you are probably experiencing something that is usually only associated with new cars, namely Sticker Shock. So, what is causing the price of used cars to be so high? There are many reasons for it, but they all basically boil down to the law of supply and demand. When the supply is low or the demand is high, the price will go up. Currently, the supply for used cars is very and the demand is very high, so both are happening. The demand for used cars in up because many people who would normally buy a new car are now in the market for a used car. Concerns about our economy are steering people away from large ticket items, like a new car.

The supply of used cars in the market has dwindled for many reasons. One of those reasons is the government’s recent Cash for Clunkers program. This was the program that was supposed to stimulate new car sales and thus our economy. Under that program, people were given vouchers of up to $4500 to use towards the purchase of a new more energy efficient car when they traded in their used less fuel efficient car that ran. About 700,000 cars were traded in under the Cash for Clunkers program. Since those vehicles were ones that ran, they would normally have gone straight into the used car market. Instead, under the rules of the program all of the Cash for Clunkers cars were destroyed. The result was a 700,000 drain on the used car market.

Another reason for the shrinkage in the number of available used cars is that many motorists are choosing to keep their used cars rather than trading them in for a new or newer one.  In addition, there is an extreme lack of cars entering the market from rental car agencies and companies that provide fleet cars to their employees. Those institutions normally trade their vehicles in for new ones every year or two. At this time, those companies are holding onto those vehicles longer due to our lackluster economy.

When the economy begins to sufficiently improve the sale of new cars will finally increase. When that happens, the supply of used cars will increase correspondently and the price of those used cars will start to come down. Until that time comes, the price of used cars will remain high.