Archive for the ‘Cars’ Category

Car Auctions

Thursday, June 9th, 2011

American car auction sales are booming! Today, you can find new and used vehicles. Many people prefer to purchase a new vehicle from a car auction because they believe they’re saving money.

Before you attend a car auction, so some research on the vehicles you’re interested in. Find out what the blue book value is on the vehicle and make that your starting point. Look at all of the features and even look up consumer reports.

Most auctions operate Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Dealers are given a private auction date on one of those days. The public can attend as well, just not on the same day. Often, the cars are lined up outside of the facility and you can look them over more closely before they go before the auctioneer.

Here are some suggestions:
Do your research before going.
Get there early so you can look over the car in the parking lot.
Check for smoke out of the exhaust and oil leaking.

Once they start moving through the line, your time will be limited. As people are bidding, others are looking at the engine, and for body dents. The entire process takes no more than 5 minutes and the highest bidder always wins.

Buying a vehicle at a car auction does not mean you’ll have a car in good condition. There are many risks to purchasing a car this way. You are not allowed to take the car for a ride before you pay for it, so the ride home is when you find out if there is an underline problem.
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Car and Truck Alternators

Monday, June 6th, 2011

Has your vehicle’s alternator failed? Are you absolutely certain that it isn’t your battery or starter? Determining which part has failed is essential toward avoiding unnecessarily replacing something that hasn’t failed, like your battery. Let’s take a look at some steps you can take to determine that your alternator, in fact, has bit the dust.

If you own an alternator testing machine, you can test to see whether your car’s alternator is charging correctly. For most people this isn’t practical as few motorists own such an expensive piece of equipment. For everyone else, there is a practical way for you to easily check to see if your alternator is working properly:

  • Connect a volt meter to your car’s battery
  • Start your car
  • Observe the voltage output on the volt meter so that you can make an accurate determination.If there is an increase in voltage when you start your car, then your alternator is more than likely working just fine. Likely, you battery is the culprit; check the battery itself and the connections to make a final determination.

    If there is no increase in voltage, you are likely looking at having to replace your alternator.
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  • Campervan Holidays in Cape Town

    Saturday, June 4th, 2011

    Cape Town is vast and beautiful land, rich in indigenous flora, untamed wildlife and a vast array of geographical climates and landscapes.

    Whether you’re enjoying the Mediterranean climate of Cape Town’s coastline or wandering through banana plantations in the balmy KwaZulu Natal; exploring bushman paintings in the caves of the Cedarburg or throwing snowballs on the slopes of the Drakesnberg; paddle skiing off the West Coast among dolphins or sleeping under the stars in the semi-arid Karoo, – the land will amaze you with its spectacular diversity.

    This is an ideal country to explore at your own pace, as you may wish to linger a day or two longer at one location, or leave other places sooner than you first anticipated. Package tours have their place, but tend to limit you to a region – and someone else’s agenda. Self-drive holidays are a better option, but if you plan on a road trip, overnighting at hotels and other accommodation places en route, you may also find yourself limited or even without a bed for the night if you don’t plan meticulously ahead.

    If you’re looking for real, old fashioned adventure – be it on your own, Jack Kerouac-style, with a partner for romance on the road, or a family vacation that will live on in your children’s memories for years, consider a Campervan holiday in South Africa.

    There are around 800 registered camp and caravan sites across the country, which allow Campervans or Motorhomes as they are also called to make use of their facilities. You can go all the way from Mpumalanga to Muizenberg with no two nights spent in the same place, or take things slower, driving along the quieter roads such as Rout 62 and stopping along the way to smell the daisies, photograph the sunsets and drink the moer-coffee brewed the way the true South African farmer prefers.

    Eat simple, traditional meals over the fire – braai (BBQ) is the number one option for on-the-road mealtimes. Fridges and other kitchen appliances make food preparation a lot simpler than tent camping. However if you feel like sprucing up and enjoying the local cuisine en route, the Campervan is a home-from-home with plenty of room for extra clothing and even an ironing board.
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    Caliber-ated to Replace the Neon

    Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

    The Dodge Caliber actually started out as a concept car during the 2005 Geneva Motor Show. It has been exquisitely designed so as to fill in the void left by most vehicles. It also is marketed towards no particular target area for it is generally meant for the US market as well as the international market.

    Remarking on the concept vehicle, Trevor Creed, the Chrysler Group’s senior vice president for design, states, “With its bold styling and clever packaging, Caliber is pure Dodge. This concept is a new slant on one of the world’s most competitive segments. The Dodge Caliber concept brings emotion to the C-segment sea of sameness and strongly hints at the future direction of Dodge in the global car market.”

    Now, making its way to the market is the 2007 Dodge Caliber. It is due to come out in the middle of this year. Dodge says that this vehicle is the effective replacement of the bland and monotonous Dodge Neon. The Dodge Caliber has been made to be a bold sport utility vehicle minivan crossover. It holds a confident and breezy side glass. Its platform is actually the very same one that the upcoming new generation of Mitsubishi Lancers would be using. Its engine is a gas engine that is from the Mitsubishi and Chrysler joint ventures. This SUV minivan crossover features Chrysler’s first continuously variable transmission, or also known as the CVT. The CVT has been specially designed so as to increase performance and fuel efficiency at the same time. Talk about hitting two birds with one stone. The Dodge Caliber holds five doors.
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