The traditional car buying experience is often seen as an overwhelming task. But thanks to the Web, customers can save time and enter a dealership precisely knowing what they want to buy.

How many times have you started the process by visiting different car dealerships? Purchasing a new or used car is a significant investment and you will hopefully be keeping your vehicle for awhile. You likely have certain features and options in mind, which will help narrow the scope of which models you will consider. But because you want to find the best car to meet your needs, the process can be intense and arduous.

Many car companies and dealerships are posting their inventory online so you can search for a car to best suit your needs. If you begin with the website as your first step, when you walk into the dealership, you have a narrowed list of vehicles that have the features you want, in your price range and you don’t have to waste a lot of time driving around from one dealership to another.

There are three different types of auto retail sites available for car buyers and each has its own unique advantages.

The Coast-to-Coast Dealer’s Website

When browsing online for your car, one of your primary concerns may be selection. CarMax is an online car dealership with a large inventory, located in several states across the country.

When you visit the site, you enter the make, model, price range and other details for the type of car you want. You are asked to enter your zip code, and then given a list of available vehicles at locations near your zip code. You can compare models, pricing, features, mileage, and other details.

If you aren’t sure what type of car you want, this is a good option to check out as many cars as possible in your price range.

The Local Dealership’s Website

The local dealership is probably the best option if customer service, in addition to selection, is important to you. The difference is similar to shopping at a large retailer versus the small specialty shop owned by a local family known for their contributions in the community. But whereas that small specialty shop may not have an inventory comparable to the big guys, the local dealership may not only offer a comparable selection of cars, but services that you won’t find at the larger auto retailers.

Conklin Cars is a new and used car dealer with several locations in Kansas. When working with a dealership that has several locations, you have the advantage of a large inventory, and working with specialists at each location. Customers who have visited the Salina car dealer site, for example, can also visit the company’s Newton car dealership and Hutchinson auto dealer sites online or in person to compare models, features and pricing.

But in addition to searching for cars based on brand, make, model, new, used, and even “building” the car you want, customers can also send questions to the dealerships’ parts and service technicians. Rather than running all over town to try and find the right part your car needs, or taking the car to a mechanic that may not be familiar with your car, you’ve got both covered at one location. This works well because it gives you a one-stop-shop option for not only purchasing your car, but care and maintenance after purchase.

Other notable advantages of using a local dealership include better, low-pressure sales and customer service, in addition to unique services. At Conklin Cars, sales reps are trained to create relationships with customers for any of their car buying or car service needs. For example, customers can rent a vehicle from Conklin Cars, a unique feature of this local dealership not found at many auto retailers.

Brand Name Shopping

If you have a particular brand in mind, visiting the company’s main site is probably your best option. A manufacturer’s website will offer a comprehensive look at all of the company’s offerings. Saturn, for example, is known for its low-pressure, no-haggle pricing. Like most automotive brands, the site is quite comprehensive with a photo gallery of different models, pricing, features and other valuable information to help you make an educated decision on which one of their vehicles will best suit your lifestyle.

Modern technology has created an opportunity for the car buyer to save much time, effort and stress when shopping. Depending on whether you want a vast inventory, a local resource capable of providing all of your car service needs, or you’re focused on one particular brand, beginning the car buying process online is a smart move. If you know your budget and enter the dealership with a clear decision on which cars you want to see, you’ve got the hardest part of the car-buying process covered, and all that will be left to do is make a decision and go through the paperwork.

Used car prices are elusive, despite numerous attempts to harness them. We’ve all heard of Retail, Private Party and Trade-in values. But do these “help” in determining a vehicle’s real value? When we turn to the web for prices, it gets even more elusive. One web site places a retail value on a car at $18,000. Another puts it at $21,000. What should we believe?

If sellers are looking to get the highest price for the car they’re selling, and the buyer wants to get the best deal possible, is there such thing as a fair used car price for both parties?

The answer is yes, but both parties have to be on the same page.

We’ll call this “page” Fair Market Value.

That being said, how do we interpret the market to determine fair market value? Since most sellers and buyers are going to try to interpret the market to his or her advantage, let’s even the playing field.

One of the most profound remarks I’ve heard to establish a better playing field for used car pricing comes from industry expert and owner of Medway Imports, Barry Roth. He states:

“To find market value, you need to take all the pricing data you find for a particular vehicle and throw out the high and low prices. What’s left in the middle is where you’ll find a fair market value.”

While this doesn’t address the used car pricing problem entirely, it does remove the unrealistic numbers that many clutch to like the drowning to a life preserver. It moves folks to more reasonable prices according to the market.

A lot of time is spent on popular web sites (for better or worse) to “help” determine used car pricing. But one should also follow and watch the market to see what cars are being advertised and sold for—if they’re being sold at all.

Used car prices are also determined via auction pricing, and industry used car guides such as Black Book and the NADA Official Used Car Guide.

Importantly, even these books don’t settle the used car pricing debate. Here’s a publisher’s note on the inside cover of the latest NADA guide.

It states:

The vehicle values in the N.A.D.A OFFICIAL USED CAR GUIDE,® are developed by N.A.D.A’s editors based on many sources of information. These include reports of actual transactions throughout each area for which the guide is published.

The values in this guide assume a vehicle is clean. Appropriate deductions should be made for reconditioning costs incurred to put the vehicle in a salable condition. An exceptionally clean vehicle or one that bears a guarantee, warranty, or manufacturer certification should bring a premium price.

Please read your guide carefully when determining the value of optional equipment. N.A.D.A.’s editors believe that most optional equipment has little or no value on older cars. This is especially true of options that cost relatively little when new and which deteriorate with age or use. Only the more popular vehicle options are listed in the guide. Unless otherwise stated, all vehicles are assumed to be equipped with automatic transmission, air conditioning, compact disc player (and/or AM/FM stereo cassette,) power steering, rear window defroster, and tilt steering wheel. For other standard options, please review each vehicle’s listing.

As you can see, even the most respected used car pricing guide “assumes” quite a bit, leaning heavily on the “opinions” of its editors to determine “appropriate deductions” and thus the ultimate value of a particular car.

So where does this leave car buyers and car sellers? After both parties throw out the high and low prices, it leaves them in the middle of the market. This is where they’ll each get a fair shake(assuming vehicles are “clean”). Finding and picking a good or “clean” car is another story.

Eighty percent of car buyers are using the Internet to research cars and used car prices. For vehicle research, the Internet’s great! For vehicle prices, the Internet sucks! It sucks because the prices do not reflect reality for the buyer or the seller. Web sites that place values on vehicles have created more confusion than ever.

“My car’s worth $25,800.” “I looked up used car prices on the web and my vehicle’s worth twenty grand.” I hear quotes like these everyday. I wish, for the customer’s sake, that the values are real. By “real” I mean a viable number according to market value.

As hard as it is to accept, even for me as a dealer, what we think a car is worth, and what it’s actually worth according to “market value” is often drastically different.

To find a vehicle’s value the context must first be discussed. What’s context?

Context includes, but is not limited to:

1) Vehicle condition: mileage, maintenance, 1-owner…etc 2) Desirability: new model, special editions, just plain cool… 3) Seasonality: plow trucks, convertibles, 4-wheel drive…etc 4) The Economy: factory incentives, gas prices, hybrids, SUVs 5) Location: Beverly Hills versus the Bronx

Now, each of the above context variables could easily have several sub categories. For example…

Vehicle condition is extremely relative. One person may think there vehicle is perfect, someone else states it needs $1000 worth of work.

Desirability is also relative. A bunch of very cool bells and whistles may not add any value, or it may add $1000’s.

Seasonality is relative. A convertible in the summer has more value than one during a Chicago winter. A plow truck in June will have significantly less value than in November in the northeast.

Economic recessions, exorbitant gas prices, combined with manufacturer incentives can shift new and used car prices all over the map.

Location has a major effect on used car prices. A convertible in California is worth more than one located in Canada.

To summarize, context funnels down to market value. Web sites such as Edmunds, NADA, and Kelley have drastically missed this mark, creating a host misinformation. To be fair, these are great research sites, but they can not be the final say on price.

Stating that a vehicle is worth a certain amount of money based on a web site’s data does not take the above factors into account. It’s a value based on misinformation.

These web sites have created an aura of trust when in actuality, the values are mythical. The market is the real indicator of vehicle worth—for better or worse.

What should one do? Buyers and sellers would be wise to follow the market. Check out autotrader.com, cars.com, and/or *ebaymotors.com and watch what vehicles are being advertised and sold for. While these sites are not the final word either, they’re much more accurate than web sites leaning heavily on opinion and averages.

Note: eBay used car pricing is generally wholesale. In other words, it would not be accurate to compare a wholesale-priced eBay car (which may need a significant amount of reconditioning) to a retail-priced vehicle in showroom and/or perfect working condition.

In the end, and this come straight from industry expert, Barry Roth, “Take the highest price and the lowest price you find on the Internet and throw them out. The remaining numbers in the middle is where one should wade. But don’t forget value. Price is one thing—value is the real key to a great car”

For more on used car values visit www.medwayimports.com/

Environmental issues have never been higher on the agenda than today and with this has come concerted pressure on the motorist. Deemed as one of the most highly polluting sources of pollution, the question has now fallen on how to shift people away from their cars. Initiated by the Stern Review, a number of additional schemes have either been introduced or are currently being planned, leading to the question of what does the future hold for the motorist?

The Stern Review stated one overriding conclusion, that the world must act now on climate change or face devastating consequences. Unfortunately it also appears that this action is going to lead to devastating consequences for motorists. Various proposals in the Stern Review were suggested, including introducing a fuel-price stabilizer, meaning when fuel prices they will never be able to fall again, and per mile road charging.

Taking a deeper look into each proposal uncovers fundamental flaws. Artificially setting prices has never made economic sense and furthermore, the fuel price stabilizer would simply have the effect of desensitizing people from changes in the fuel price. Consider a huge rise in fuel prices which subsequently fall but this fall is not reflected in the price. People become used to this new higher price and when they see that it stays at this level for many months they become used to it, never lowering their consumption, even if fuel prices then begin to gradually rise.

Then there’s per mile road charging. As it stands people are charged on a per mile basis – the further one drives the more fuel they use and the more they pay. Is this not a ploy to generate even more revenue and prepare for a time when cars no longer run on fuel? If everyone was to suddenly switch to electric cars the government would lose a vital source of revenue. Per mile road charging could fill in the shortfall, brought in under the umbrella of concern for the environment.

A couple of new road charges have been brought in. The first, to be introduced in Richmond-upon-Thames, is that homeowners will be charged a fee to park their vehicle outside their homes, the value of the charge depending on the type of car they own. Residents’ parking restrictions, initially introduced to help homeowners park outside their homes, are suddenly being turned against the very people they were meant to help.

The London Congestion charge has already risen to £8 a day from its original £5 a day, and proposals were unveiled recently to charge so-called “gas-guzzlers” £25 a day to drive into Central London. An extortionate amount by anyone’s standards.

However, something has to be done to protect the environment so what’s wrong with making a start and pricing polluting motorists and vehicles off the road? It’s certainly hard to argue against the fact that some cars do pollute large amounts of greenhouse gases and they should be discouraged. But isn’t the real fact to emerge from all this that the car driver is simply an easy target? Infrastructure is already in place whereby large additional taxes can be introduced whilst many people have little choice but to use their car, meaning that the revenue generated from these taxation schemes will be significant. Even the Stern Review undermines its argument against the motorist by producing figures showing that transport is responsible for 14% of all the emissions of greenhouse gases in the UK. Transport that includes car travel, lorries, buses, trains, ships and aircrafts. In addition, the argument is that economic growth will suffer if we fail to act now. This simply neglects the effect of imposing huge taxes on motorists, seriously inhibiting people’s ability to travel to work and help the economy, and this is all without even mentioning a certain rapidly growing country – China.

Many argue that dealership prices are 4 to 6 times higher than local shops. This is farfetched. That would mean that $100 at a local shop would be $400 to $600 at a dealership. Dealerships aren’t run by the sharpest businessmen, but this kind of pricing discrepancy would put dealers out of business, fast. The sources calculating such pricing gaps are never quoted, so I am not sure from where such data comes, but let’s look at what’s really going on.

First, 98 % of ALL service centers are overcharging. This includes dealerships, local shops and franchises. Stating that dealerships charge four to six times higher unfairly singles out this portion of the industry. We need to watch out for every type of service facility. While it’s always easier to focus on the big, faceless name of a dealership, it’s unwise. Your local mechanic who you pass in the grocery store is just as likely to rip you off.

Surprisingly, in many respects, a dealership is often less expensive. To be clear, I am not siding with dealerships. Again, no matter what type of facility one services a vehicle, some type of price-gouging will occur. Having said that, here are some common myths about dealership prices.

MYTH 1: The parts are more money.

This is not true. Dealers, for the most part, stick to MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price) guidelines. Guidelines, as abused as they are, are better than none. Local shops have no guidelines. They can charge whatever they want.

We’ve all been taught that aftermarket parts are less expensive than factory/MSRP parts—this is not true. A frequent “case in point” is air filter prices. Below is a sample from one of many actual invoices:

Dealership/MSRP Price: $17.00 (factory fiber filter) Local Shop/Aftermarket Price: $32.00 (aftermarket paper filter)

Tip…always compare you’re aftermarket part price against MSRP, you’ll be surprised just how much your local garage is charging you for inferior parts.

MYTH 2: The labor “time” is higher.

Actually, many dealers follow manufacturer recommendations and industry standard multipliers. In other words, they’re not just shooting from the hip. The labor time (i.e., how long it takes to repair something—1, 2, 3 hours…etc.) may be lower than the resulting times from the labor price-gouging tricks practiced by your local garage.

This is not to say that dealers don’t practice labor tricks—they’re the masters! It is to say that they are more inclined to follow suggested guidelines.

MYTH 3:

Dealers always rip people off.

In the automotive service industry, every type of service center rips you off, dealers are no exception.

The most exciting high performance American sports car in history is returning in a new form. After a 40-year absence, Carroll Shelby and the Ford Special Vehicle Team (SVT) have joined forces once again. The ultimate goal was to produce an undisputed reincarnation of the classic and most sought after Shelby Mustangs from the Sixties. The achieved goal far surpassed any expectations, including Shelby’s. Combining the awesome tradition of past Shelby Cobras with modern aerodynamics and performance, this beauty can be touted as no less than an instant performance classic. As anyone who knows Mustangs will tell you, anything with Shelby’s name on it requires a look under the hood and a quick check on the performance statistics. As a living legend in racing circles, Shelby knows more than anyone about big-block performance and eye-catching, heart-racing design: Not only was he the designer of the original Mustang Shelby GT500 classic, he was also the senior advisor on the special team that developed the 550 horsepower Ford GT.

The 2007 Shelby Mustang delivers over 450 horsepower, some, including Shelby himself, say as much as 475 horsepower. With a cast iron block, supercharged at 8.5 pounds per square inch of boost, the 2007 Shelby is the most stalwart production Mustang ever built. In comparison with the wildly popular 1967 Shelby GT500, the 2007 version produces nearly 100 more horsepower with nearly 100 less cubic inches. Besides delivering extraordinary power, it produces more than twice the fuel economy and 300 times less emissions. Four valves per cylinder and a double overhead cam means optimum efficiency in air and fuel ignition. The electronic fuel injection system is a top quality returnless and sequential force feeder. The cast-aluminum intake manifold compliments the equilibrium of the air/fuel system with an air-to-water inter-cooler. Just as the original Shelby GT500 was the next level up to big-block power from the GT350, the new Shelby Cobra GT500 is a giant leap up from the 4.6-liter engine used in the previous generation Cobras. Ford’s 5.4-liter “MOD” (short for modular) V-8 delivers unrivaled and exceptional power. The 32-valve engine and screw-type supercharger delivers the ultimate in performance driving experience.

This super-car is standard equipped with a six-speed performance gearbox that helps deliver an evenly distributed torque curve and optimum power via precise gearing ratio. The heavy-duty transmission is more than adequate to handle the enormous power transfer to the rubber on the road. It has been tested and proven in track competition as well as day-to-day street driving. In the 2005 Mustang FR500C, this racing chassis and suspension rose to the occasion by clinching the Grand-Am Cup series. Needless to say, this makes the 2007 Mustang Shelby Cobra GT500 the best handling high performance vehicle on the road today.

The upgraded chassis and suspension features improvements in many components including shocks, stabilizer bars and spring rates. The independent front suspension boasts genuine MacPherson struts and reverse type lower control arms. It also boasts large 34-mm tubular stabilizers. The three-link solid axle rear suspension is equipped with a Panhard rod for precise rear axle action with coil springs and a 24-mm solid stabilizer bar. The brakes are some of the largest ever designed for a performance vehicle. They feature four wheel power discs: Brembo 14-inch vented, crossed drilled with four-piston calipers up front and thirteen inch vented, crossed drilled with two piston calipers on the back wheels. This combination has set itself apart from the rest of the field as great power requires great control. The 2007 Shelby Cobra features very large wheels: 19 by 9 1/2 inch machined aluminum, which accommodate P255/45R19 racing performance tires.

The Cobra emblems and LeMans racing stripes are Shelby’s signature touches. The gauge face arrangement, console layout and the rest of the interior design creates waves of nostalgia that sweep over the driver. Again, tradition meets modern technology as the light-emitting diode (LED) instrument panel can be adjusted through the MyColor™ color-configurable instrument panel to create more than 125 unique color options for personalized gauges. The tachometer stands out as at least as important as the speedometer. All in all, the design creates a very strong connection with the performance enthusiast whatever age they may be.

Early forecasts of the demand for the 2007 Shelby Mustangs are astonishing. A high profile production car of this pedigree should undoubtedly be priced far out of the reach of most enthusiasts. Thankfully, this is not the case. The MSRP is predicted to be under $40,000. One of the best ways to make sure you will be driving a new Cobra is to plan early. Find out which dealers will be offering Shelby’s new creation, and when it will happen. I can guarantee you the showrooms will be packed wall-to-wall for this one.

The best way to plan for the unveiling is to get on the Internet and visit car finder services (http://www.carfinderservice.com/model/2007-Ford-Shelby-Cobra) These kinds of services can absolutely guarantee you will get your Shelby Mustang at the most rock bottom pricing possible. You can input a description of what you are looking for with your zip code. A trusted in-network dealer will then contact you personally to talk about your request and how to fulfill it. They can also answer any questions you might have. If it is not available locally, you will receive a call offering you information on where the vehicle matching your request is available.

The 2007 Shelby Mustang GT500 is here. It has made a dramatic and grand entrance into the American performance vehicle scene and it arrives with the earmark of royalty and dominance which is rightfully its place. The bar has been set very high with this one. It is, indeed, the new benchmark of excellence.

GTES announced today that it has released the latest update to the SHERLOC Hosted Location Services, adding support for the SVR-200 GPS tracking device.

The SVR-200 combines a high-performance SiRFstar GPS engine with wireless linking via the ReFLEX two-way data network, and provides extremely competitive pricing for both the hardware and the airtime services.

“In discussions with our customers we identified a number of applications requiring a lower-cost hardware platform combined with reduced operating costs,” stated GTES Vice-President of Marketing and Business Development Mark Pocock.

“We believe that the SVR-200 price point will attract both consumer and business operators who want to enjoy the security and efficiency benefits of on-demand vehicle tracking, but had considered previously available solutions too expensive to justify.”

The SVR-200 is a 12-24V vehicle tracking device which supports scheduled or on-demand location reporting, geofences, background tracking, speed and motion alerts, external I/O connectivity, and is available with service plans for the US or Canada.

When used in combination the SHERLOC, web-based tracking service, the SVR-200 provides the means for subscribers to determine the current location of the vehicle either on-demand or on a regularly scheduled basis.

Alerts can be sent to a cell-phone or email account, notifying subscribers when the vehicle speed exceeds a programmable threshold, enters or exits a defined geographic area, or is stopped for more than a configurable length of time.

Visibility of the vehicle location and behavior increases security, reduces operating costs, and improves the efficiency of fleet management.

“We’re pleased to add the SVR-200 to the suite of tracking solutions we offer,” stated GTES President Russ Allen. “SHERLOCâ„¢ is already gaining strong acceptance in the security industry.

“With the unique combination of performance and value afforded by the SVR-200, we are looking forward to addressing the vehicle tracking needs of even our most cost sensitive customers.”

For more information on the SVR-200 or SHERLOCâ„¢ please contact Brooks Marsden, VP of Sales, at 770-754-1666 or refer to our website at www.sherlocgps.com. [PRWEB]