We know we need it; it is required, after all. We just hope we never have to use it. Purchasing auto insurance may seem like the difficult part of the process, with all the legalese and fine print; however, if you actually ever need your auto insurance, you’re going to have to file an auto insurance claim. This can be the trickier part, if you aren’t prepared.

Below is some advice for filing an auto insurance claim. Although it’s best to brush up on this advice before you actually need to file an auto insurance claim, you may want to jot this advice down for future reference.

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You really should know how much auto insurance you have before you’re involved in an accident; however, if you don’t, find out how much liability coverage you have. Liability coverage is the amount of money you have available to pay for the damages caused by an accident in which you are at fault. The liability insurance can cover vehicle repairs and hospital expenses for the other party, for example.

You also need to know the amount of your deductible for your collision auto insurance coverage, and your comprehensive auto insurance coverage if you have it. Simply put, this is the amount you have to pay before your auto insurance kicks in.

Contact Your Insurance Company

Contact your insurance company, and provide them with your name and address, as well as those of the involved parties, everything pertinent to the accident (date, time, location, damages, etc.), and the names and addresses of any witnesses. Your insurance company will advise you on what further steps to take, and then they will take it from there.

Keep Records

In the meantime, keep records of all paperwork, including repair receipts and hospital visits. Your insurance company may request this documentation later.

Being prepared before an accident will make the process after the accident much smoother.

What if there will come a time when you have to sell your Harley-Davidson? You do this maybe because you want to buy another, newer model or would like to buy a much older, harder to find one. You can come up with unlimited reasons why you have to sell your Harley-Davidson of course. But with all these, have you asked yourself: “Is my Harley-Davidson ready for sale?”

If your answer is “maybe”, “I don’t know”, or a definite “no”, follow some tips below and you will surely get your Harley-Davidson sold in no time…

Do the aesthetics.

If you are a buyer, you simply would like to buy a Harley-Davidson motorcycle that looks great. Since the exterior is the very first thing that a costumer would look at when buying a Harley-Davidson or any vehicle for that matter, you should pay attention to it before anything else. You can look on the weak spots of your Harley and make changes on it. Dents should be removed. Rusts should not be in any visual. Dusts should not sit on corners. In short, your motorcycle must be clean on the outside. It will not only give your potential buyer the impression that you maintain your Harley very well, it will also increase the value of it.

Do the inside.

Some riders buy Harley-Davidson for its sound and engine performance. So, you have to keep the sound as Harley as possible. If you can, maintain the original sound of your Harley. Sell your motorcycle by promoting the sound and the engine. In other words, if you have a great Harley sound, you are one step closer to the sale.

The price.

The price of your Harley-Davidson would either depend on its current market value or on how well you maintain it. Set the price which is very attractive to buyers but not necessarily cheap. Price should always be reasonable.

The receipts.

If you happen to do some changes or replaces some parts that have to be replaced, you should compile all the receipts of these and present them to the buyer. Receipts are your supporting documents when you sell your vehicle to the potential buyer.

Remember that when you follow all these, you get increase your chances of landing at the best sale possible. Though these would help, you have to remember that working to achieve it relies on you and you alone.

We are back with part three of the series, Questions to Ask When Buying a Used Car. In part two, we covered the questions about the drive train, service history, and accident history. In this part we are getting right down into the finer details of what questions to ask when you are interviewing used car sellers over the phone before you travel out to see their car for sale.

It’s worthwhile to ask the seller how much rust their car has. Let’s talk about rust. Even a car that is only a few years old can have a little rusty spot or two. An older automobile that is for example 10 or 15 years old can potentially have anywhere between no rust at all and a serious cancer condition. No one likes a rusty car, but it’s obvious that the less there is the better.

It is always interesting to ask about rust over the phone with a used car because everyone has a different perception about how much rust their car has. It is difficult to quantify, and it’s all relative. Some people have told me that their car is very rusty, and when I went to see it I found that it had almost no rust at all by my standards! The opposite scenario is more typical.

The answers to the rust question are often misleading, but ask anyway and write down their responses. If you do go out to look at the car later, you can learn more about the seller by referring to your notes. Speaking of notes, it’s a really good idea to take careful notes when car shopping over the phone. It is possible to gather so much information in a relatively short period of time, that if you don’t record what you’ve learned in a systematic way, you will end up with confusing, incomplete, or just downright incorrect data.

I like to take a blank sheet of paper and begin each entry with the year, make, model, price, and phone number from the ad while I am dialing. That means I am writing about that vehicle before I even have the person on the line. From there I just add the details and then make a line across and call another one. After several calls have been made, it’s easy to look back and see which ones look the best. Take your notes with you on your actual visit and compare what the seller has told you with your sheet to see if they were being straight with you over the phone.

Ask the sellers if there are any problems that they are aware of with their car? Again make notes on their answers. It’s okay to spend a little time on this one. You can subtly remind them that it’s important to be truthful here by telling them what you want the car for and why you are concerned about its future reliability. Ask them if this car needs anything in order to be safe to drive right now, in the near future, and in the distant future.

You should always ask them what they have done in terms of maintenance or repairs to the car lately, and if they have the receipts to prove the work. If they have no receipts, then be very skeptical of the maintenance history. No service records usually mean incomplete maintenance which spells trouble for any used vehicle later in life.

That wraps up part three. In part four, I’ll cover some more specifics including expensive-to-replace critical-car-components! Thanks for reading.