Sunday, August 02, 2009

Cash For Clunkers Beware The Financing

Those trading in thier paid off cars for a new vehicle under the Cash For Clunkers program should be wary of new car fever. This can cause a normally sane person to go bonkers trading in a paid off vehicle for one on hock with payments for five years. If you are going to finance a vehicle you should at least be smart about it, look for the lowest interest rate with incentives and put a large down payment down. Never lease a car and do not finance your cash for clunkers purchase if you have a ton of credit card debt. Piling on more debt will not help you gain freedom. So enjoy your new car but if you are financing your clunker be as smart as possible.

Saturday, August 01, 2009

Cash For Clunkers Re-Opened

CARS Back on the Road

The CAR Allowance Rebate System (CARS) is still operating.
Consumers can still take advantage of the government program and receive a $3,500 or $4,500 discount for their trade-in vehicle when purchasing or leasing a new vehicle.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Baltimore Ravens Schedule 2009

Did you ever find yourself wondering who the Baltimore Ravens play or what time the game is? Ever forget if it's a home or away game? I found a site that tracks the Baltimore Ravens Schedule for 2009 / 2010 and it's a quick way to get exactly what day the Ravens play, who their opponent is and whether the game is home or away. The site also quotes the game time in Eastern time catering to the timezone of the Baltimore Ravens fans. I find quick to view sites like this easier than wading through the official Baltimore Ravens site for simple information like a schedule.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Wipe Your BlackBerry Prior To Activation

If your IT shop is like ours we activate alot of BlackBerry smart phones. We also have our share of problems activating a BlackBerry. Lucky for us most of these center around performing the proper voodoo dance required to get the darn thing activated. Here is what has worked well for us and you will want to wipe your blackberry to start. So to do a wipe blackberry you'll want to go into your options, and look for the wipe blackberry option. Then pull the battery after wiping the blackberry and wait 30 seconds. Then try your activation with a clean blackberry and it should now succeed.

The Seattle Seahawks 2009 Schedule Is Out

Hooray! The 2009 Seattle Seahawks Schedule has been released and i'm ready for another season of NFL Football. Qwest Field is an awesome stadium to catch a Seahawks game. According to the Seattle Seahawks schedule the Chicago Bears come to Qwest Field September 27 2009 to get stomped by our Seahawks. I hope that they bring their A game as I want to get my moneys worth watching the show. Rumor has it that this is the year to go beyond the playoffs and right into the super bowl.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Cash For Clunkers Will Put More Clunkers On The Road

Think the Cash For Clunkers program will put more fuel efficient cars on the road? Think again. Under the Cash For Clunkers rules you must turn over your car to the dealer who gives you $4500 for it. So really unless you have a fairly crappy car you could likley get more than $4500 with a private sale. The folks who actually drive cars worth less than $4500 are not out buying new cars so even with a $4500 voucher they are likley to opt for the used car probably saving well over $4500 by taking advantage of someone elses depreciation loss. The only persons who really benefit are truck owners who will trade into a new truck. Though wise truck owners would also purchase used and not new as trucks don't change much from model year to model year. The Cash For Clunkers bill should be been called the auto dealer welfare act because when you do the math and analyze who can actualy use the program under the Cash For Clunkers Rules you'll find that the only benefit falls to the dealers for the small percentage of folks that actually dump their paid off beater for 5-6 years of car payments. More likley however folks not knowing the rules of the Clunker Bill will show up and be disappointed that they cannot trade their car in without taking a loss then decided to go the traditional route of a true trade in or private sale and purchase of a new or 1-2 year old car of their choosing regardless of gas milage. So dealers win by the program generating foot traffic. Most consumers lose because they will most likley finance the cars roping off a chunk of monthly cash flow due to car fever.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

CARS Car Allowance Rebate System

Introducing the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS)
More Details!


What is the Car Allowance Rebate System?
CARS is a new program from the government that will help you pay for a new, more fuel efficient car or truck from participating dealers when a less fuel efficient car or truck is traded in. Government officials have often referred to this legislation as, "Cash for Clunkers." Or The Clunker Bill

How does CARS work?
Determine if you qualify by visiting http://cars.gov/ or Fueleconomy.gov

Does my trade-in vehicle qualify?
The qualification of the new vehicle and the incentive amount depend upon the kind of vehicle you want to purchase, it's mpg compared to your trade-in vehicle, and in some circumstances depends on the kind of vehicle you are trading in. In addition the purchase vehicle must be new (meaning the legal title has not been transferred to anyone) and must have an MSRP of $45,000 or less.

Does the vehicle I want qualify?
The qualification of the new vehicle and the incentive amount depends upon the type of the purchased vehicle and the difference in fuel economy in regards to the new vehicle and that in which was traded in. These requirements differ from those of work trucks.

Some of the Chrysler Group vehicles that may qualify:
• Chrysler: PT Cruiser, Sebring Sedan/Convertible, Town & Country, Aspen
• Dodge: Caliber, Avenger, Journey, Nitro (2WD), Grand Caravan, Dakota, Ram LD/HD
• Jeep: Compass, Patriot, Liberty (2WD), Grand Cherokee (2WD), Commander
Contact Us for More Details and See How We Can Save You Money!
Luther Brookdale Chrysler Jeep Dodge
763.535.5200

Chrysler Ups The Ante On The Clunker Bill

Not to be satisfied with the clunker bill passed by the government. Chrysler is now offering an additional $4500 off the price of new vehicles. The Chrysler Cash For Clunkers special offer effectively doubles the savings a customer of Chrysler would get over Ford Chevrolet or one of the many imports. A savings of $8500 or $9500 may have those who wouldn't consider buying a new car thinking of that new Chrysler minivan or smaller model that gets great MPG. This is smart as there is only a small pool of car buyers with the recession on so leveraging the government Cash For Clunkers program to sweeten their own deal could easily result in increased sales for Chrysler LLC.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Car Dealers Shouldn't Use Audio On The Web

As if car salesmen aren't annoying enough, I keep running across websites for car dealers where a salesman starts talking when you visit the site. If your sound is turned up from maybe a game etc it is REALLY annoying. Recently I found a Ft Pierce Toyota dealer whose website I wanted to check out. I hit the Bev Smith website and BLAH BLAH BLAH I get this guy telling me about Bev Smith Toyota and I have to scramble to get my volume turned done. I'd love to see the research that says that using audio on websites for advertising purposes is a good thing. Lucky this Ft Pierce Toyota dealer has an excellent reputation so it's customers will likley let the annoying sales guy slide. For those who just want the address or phone number however it's quite annoying.