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Mercedes-Benz New Roadster Special Editions

August 31st, 2010

Mercedes-Benz is now offering special editions of the SL and SLK, both of which feature a stylish interior with numerous sophisticated highlights. The standard designo magno night black matt paint finish accentuates the exclusive, sporty appearance of the SL Night Edition, while the special designo graphite paint finish makes the SLK Grand Edition a real eye-catcher. Both of these new special models combine the advantages of a roadster with those of a coupé, and are both thoroughbred sports cars and comfortable everyday cars.

“These exciting new additions to the model range will be offered in limited numbers. These roadsters will give sporty drivers, who have a preference for individuality, the opportunity of exclusivity,” says Eckart Mayer, Divisional Manager, Mercedes-Benz Cars.

Masterpieces to dream of: the theme for the two new special editions of the Mercedes-Benz SL and SLK sports car series. The special designo magno night black paint finish specially developed exclusively for the SL Night Edition is particularly effective with the dramatic design of the SL. 19-inch AMG five-spoke light-alloy wheels in a two-tone, high-gloss finish, silver-painted front brake callipers with the Mercedes-Benz logo and darkened headlamps/tail lights accentuate the exclusive status of these special models. A badge on the front wings identifies the Night Edition.

Black nappa leather and shining chrome trim provide striking contrasts in the interior, with numerous fine details interacting to produce an intriguing effect. The newly designed seats have arrow-shaped seams and silver-coloured contrasting features. The sports steering wheel, shift lever and roof lining are in black. The trim strip of the draught-stop has a high-gloss finish complemented by the silver-coloured vents of the AIRSCARF® system, which bathes the driver in warm air when the soft top is down in cool ambient temperatures. If you want to find out more on the new roadsters, go to the Cargo Motors website.


Improve Battery Life for Solar Powered Cars

August 26th, 2010

Solar powered cars will get here eventually. In the 1990’s, emissions laws were being enforced throughout the United States. Many colleges and universities began looking at the possibility of solar powered cars. The finding were that the solar collectors for the cars to run were too large to be put into the vehicles. Development continues on the solar collections to make it possible. For those skeptical, don’t be surprised if it doesn’t all come together in the near future. There are many organizations throughout the world working on doing just that.

You know as well as I do that all the batteries you ever buy are going to fail and have to be replaced, even if it’s a ssolar powered car. Replacement batteries are big business and you can save a little money sometimes but for the most part batteries are expensive. So would you be interested in some tips, tricks and techniques to improve battery life and save money.


Get Protected with the Polaris RZR Windshield

August 24th, 2010

You don’t tip-toe through life. In fact, trudging down any path just isn’t your idea of a good time. You prefer to zoom forward, searching for the next thrill over the horizon. And you use your Polaris RZR to get you where you need to go. In your Polaris RZR, no path is too steep or rugged to traverse. In your Polaris RZR, you can go anywhere.

But as you speed over the landscape, you want the wind running through your hair, not blasting in your face. Luckily for you, this kind of All-Terrain Vehicle has one feature that other competitors do not have: a top-of-the-line Polaris RZR windshield.

Riding in your Polaris RZR, you’ll never have to worry what could fly up in your path because your vehicle has the Polaris RZR windshield. Bugs are no longer a problem. Dirt in one’s eyes is a thing of the past. Nothing can get through your RZR windshield, nothing except the glimpse of the road ahead of you.

Polaris riders don’t need to settle on just one kind of windshield for their RZR. Some buyers might want their vehicles completely covered in the front with a full windshield. Other Polaris owners might choose to purchase tilting windshields, two-part windshields, or half windshields for their rides. Overall, Polaris owners will have a wide variety of windshields at their disposal when they search for the types that are best for their unique RZR experiences.

Regardless of which style of windshield a Polaris owner will choose for his vehicle, he can be sure that his rides will be safe, no matter what type of terrain he zooms over in his RZR. Made of durable polycarbonate and attached to the RZR frame with stainless steel components, the windshields are the best means of protection against anything that Nature throws at an RZR’s rider. And if he is looking for the best protection against the sun during his adventure-seeking out on the trail, the RZR’s rider has one less thing to worry about: his windshield will provide a strong barrier against harmful UV rays.

Taking an exhilarating ride on your Polaris RZR does not mean that you have to sacrifice comfort or safety when on your constant quest for adventure. Protected by the Polaris RZR windshield, you can focus on what matters the most: the ride. For more info on Polaris RZR Parts.


Auto Pricing Guide

August 21st, 2010

Buying a car is not the most pleasurable or fun activity we go to. There are plenty of other purchases that are more fun, but finding the car is probably more important than most, if not all, other purchases. Unlike other goods and services, auto pricing is highly variable, and this can work in your favor. In fact, understanding that auto pricing is not fixed is the key to getting the deal you want on your next car or truck.

Auto pricing can change, and this is clearly in the favor of you, the consumer. The easiest way to get the best auto pricing is through research. With the Internet, it has never been easier to compare different sale prices. Just as you might with appliances, you can now “shop around” for the best auto pricing. Check with other dealerships for their most recent pricing. The more informed that you are about the cars you are looking for, the more likely that you’ll get a great deal.

From here, you’d take your information about auto pricing to a dealership and bargain. Now, you’ll have to be comfortable and confident to do this. Odds are, the dealer that you are dealing with negotiates auto pricing more often than you do. After all, that is his or her job. If you can keep your composure, stay focused and firm, you can knock off some serious dollars on your next car purchase.

A more advanced move when dealing with dealerships in regards to auto pricing is to exploit the “match any offer” promotion that invariably all dealerships offer. In other words, have the dealerships bid against each other. Here is how you would go through this process. Find two or more dealerships that offer the car you are interested in purchasing and have them both submit a price. Take the lowest offer to the other dealership, whether physically, or, if you’re more comfortable, with a fax or e-mail. Ask them if they can beat that. When they do, take that bid to the first dealership. Repeat. This process allowed my cousin to take nearly $7000 off the sticker price of a brand new car last spring. Auto pricing can be controlled by you, the customer.

Buying a car is a stressful activity, but it doesn’t have to be. Remember that you are in control of auto pricing, not the manufacturers or the dealerships. With a little work, research, and manipulation, you can get the car you’ve always wanted.

The author has been writing articles online for 4 years now. Come visit his latest site CPA Instruments bonus that discusses CPA Instruments by Ritoban C.


KIA and Magna Powertrain launced the new Dynamax™ All-Wheel-Drive (AWD) system

August 16th, 2010

KIA Motors Corporation and Magna Powertrain, part of Magna International Inc., officially launched the new Dynamax™ All-Wheel-Drive (AWD) system for the all-new Kia Sportage. “The new Dynamax AWD system represents a significant technical advance that will bring real benefits to our customers,” commented Soon-Nam Lee, Director of Overseas Marketing, Kia Motors Corporation. Kia’s new Sportage compact SUV is the first of several vehicles destined to feature Magna Powertrain’s innovative, continuous and fully active AWD coupling system called Dynamax. Dynamax continuously monitors driving conditions and anticipates AWD system requirements, compared to other AWD systems which can only react to conditions after they occur. Read more on the Dynamax™ All-Wheel-Drive (AWD) system on the KIA Motors Menlyn website.


Choosing a car based on Latch

August 6th, 2010

When my wife and I were ready to have our first baby, we decided we needed a new reliable car. The best feature of any baby safe car is the latch system. These are basically strong latching loops that are bolted into the seats securely so you can clip the car seat to them. No more relying on seat belts that can snap of be improperly used. The best car seat I found was the Britax Duo line of seats.

Now for the car we decided on a 4 cylinder Saturn Vue with a vti transmission. We figured this would be easu on gas with a claimed 22 mpg. Well it gets 16mpg and thats as good as it gets with a tailwind. It is noisey, parts have fallen off and Saturn would never do anything about it. There is no wonder they went out of business.


Beyond the Backyard Barbecue – Create Your Own Outdoor Kitchen Grilling Space

July 28th, 2010

Today’s outdoor kitchen grills come complete with built in grills that include stovetop style burners, roasting spits, and griddles; bar and service centers with sinks and refrigerators; storage space for cooking gear and dishes; counters for prep work; even built in lighting and stereo systems. Patio umbrellas, custom designed awnings or arbors protect cooking and food prep areas. Outdoor carpets and special rubber chef’s mats cover the “floor” for standing comfortably while cooking. Outdoor fireplaces, patio heaters, and fire pits provide warmth on cool days and evenings. “Exterior decorating” includes wall art and sculpture, and weather resistant outdoor dining sets, couches, and ottomans complete the comfy indoor feel.

Read More About Grills For An Outdoor Kitchen


San Diego Auto Insurance Tips

July 28th, 2010

More and more people are looking to trim down their expenses these days. However, one expense that cannot be neglected is that of San Diego auto insurance. If you live in Southern California you know premiums for Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego auto insurance have been shooting up over a period of time. People are therefore looking for ways to keep them low and save some money. How can they do that?

There are a number of ways that a person can use to keep their premiums low. Most people start by making an attempt to find lower quotes for the insurance they want. However, this could be a difficult task when you look at all the requirements that insurers may demand, before you are offered lower premiums. Insurers take a number of factors into consideration before an offer is made. You would do well to consider these factors before you send out your application for a quote.

If you are looking to lower your premiums, consider the following points and make them available to the insurer. These points will definitely help you get lower quotes on the premiums you may have to pay. For one, do you have a safe parking space for your vehicle? Parking your vehicle on the road leaves t open to attacks by outside elements. However, if you have a storage place for the vehicle, you will get better offers from the San Diego insurers.

What is the mileage you intend to use the vehicle for ever year? Give the insurers an estimate about this. If you can show them that you intend to clock lesser mileage, you will stand to benefit. Insurers understand that you also make use of public transport and will use the vehicle only for basic needs. Finally do not forget to attend a safe driving course and provide the insurance company with the certification provided. This will show them that you understand the importance of safe driving and will not be a hazard on the road.

Give the San Diego insurance company every point that shows you in positive light. This is one way of getting them to offer you good prices.


Know Your Car Window Deflectors

July 26th, 2010

Weather always plays a spoil sport through wet and miserable situations. This will tend to the air inside the car stale quickly. This can be controlled well through side window deflectors. These deflectors are also known as vent visors too. Mainly window deflectors will create a pocket of air between the top of the window and the deflector. This pocket will work as a low pressure area and successful in suctioning the stale air from car interior.

Window deflectors create another advantage to roll down the windows to little height during any kind of weather situations. Fresh air can be enjoyed well though it is raining or snowing. Sometimes every car will creep up heat inside while parked and this can be prevented through window deflectors successfully. These window deflectors are made of indestructible high impact acrylic. These are lightly tinted in reducing the sun glare. Installation of window deflectors is quite easy, simple and quick.


Banks determine the way we buy cars after the recession according to the CEO of Associated Motor Holdings

July 15th, 2010

The banks have recently slowly started to extend more loans to consumers who have used the recent spate of low interest rate to clear their debt and establish a more solid financial foundation. Used car financing registrations increased with an average of 16% in the first two months of 2010, which was almost double that compared to the new car market. And with zero inflation in the new car market buyers are choosing “nearly new” over brand new. The largest demand has been in the R50 000 to R150 000 segment, where consumers are finding that used cars offer better value than new cars. In this segment the monthly repayments take up a large part of the family budget and consumers are looking for the best value they can find. Used cars offer them a change to own a car with more power, more space, more accessories and more luxury than the choices offered to them in the same price bracket on new car dealers’ floor. Read the full article on the KIA Menlyn website.


Make Your Auto Loan Payment Schedule Work Hard For You

July 2nd, 2010

An auto loan payment schedule is the term used to describe the regularity with which you make repayments on your car loan or vehicle finance. Depending upon the loan you have, you may be able to request payments are taken at different intervals. This can be useful if you want the payments to fall in line with when you are paid. The regularity with which you make payments may also impact upon the interest you have to pay on the loan depending upon how this is calculated, which could influence a decision about how regularly to make a car loan repayment. By calculating the repayment amounts, you can make an informed decision about what loan schedule works for you and will fit well with your budget and present financial situation.

What is a loan payment schedule?

A payment schedule on your car loan indicates the regularity with which you will make any payments and what those payments will be. The same rule applies to insurance premiums. If you live in a no-fault state, you will pay your no fault insurance premium on a regular basis. If you live in a non no-fault state, you will pay your premiums the same. Coming back to auto loans though, as a general rule, those payments can be made once a week, every two weeks or monthly. Depending upon the lender you have taken the loan with, you may be able to negotiate other time frames for your repayment schedule also.

Selecting an auto payment schedule

In order to choose a loan payment schedule there are several things you may consider. Firstly, you might want to weigh up whether a monthly payment works well for you, or whether once every two weeks would be better. If you consider the regularity with which you are paid, this may help you to make a decision. It is also worthwhile considering the impact that the payment schedule has on your loan. Depending upon how often interest is calculated, the more regularly you make repayments, the less you will have to pay. If you are unsure about how this will impact your loan, it could be worth speaking to an accountant or the lending officer you deal with when taking out the loan to clarify this.

Calculate schedule payments

If you are trying to determine how much you think you might wish to borrow, then a loan calculator could help. This is a useful tool for estimating the loan repayments you’ll have to make at different intervals. The calculations are based upon loan criteria such as how much is borrowed, the loan duration and the interest rate. Calculating repayments is a good idea if you want to stick to a budget and feel confident that you can make the loan payments without any difficulty.

In order to stay on top of your loan and have a solution that works for you, it is worthwhile budgeting sensibly for your particular circumstances. You can do this by selecting an auto loan payment schedule that fits your individual needs. Take the time to use a financial calculator and speak with the lender or an accountant to ensure that the loan schedule works most cost effectively for your situation.


KIA Motors: The power to surprise.

June 16th, 2010

KIA Motors has the ‘Power to Surprise’. Their strive for automotive excellence means that they place the emphasis on quality, safety, convenience and producing environmentally friendly vehicles. Each of their 32 500 employees across our 14 manufacturing plants in nine countries is committed to this philosophy. They are Korea’s oldest car manufacturer, having been founded in 1944, but have spread their vehicles since then; internationally they have a presence in 160 countries. KIA Motors is one of the official automotive sponsors of the FIFA World Cups from 2007-2014. Locally they have 80 servicing dealers across Southern Africa and have at least R45 million worth of parts available at any time should it be required. More proof that KIA Motors is committed to building exceptional vehicles.


Legends from the past or the predecessors of our modern Mercedes-Benz vehicles

June 15th, 2010

In 1886 Karl Benz advertised the first motor car in the world with the slogan “A replacement for the horse”. This Patent Motor Car was powered by a single-cylinder petrol engine and owed much of its design to the bycicle. As Benz had yet to find a satisfactory steering solution the Patent Motor Car, with a top speed of 16km/h, was designed as a three-wheel vehicle with a wheel at the front to steer. In 1889 Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach presented the ‘Daimler motorised Quadricycle’ at the World Exhibition in Paris. This vehicle featured innovations that shaped the future development of the automobile including a two-cylinder motor, a four-speed gear drive and front wheel steering. The Daimler motorised Quadricycle boasted 1.1 kW and a top speed of 18km/h.In 1894, the first mass-produced car called ‘Benz motorised Velocipede’ features a 1.1 kW engine, a weight of about 280kg and a top speed of 20 km/h. By 1897 the basic Velomodel was complemented by a luxury version with an additional child seat, called the ‘VeloComfortable’. By 1901, the Benz & Cie. company sold 1200 “Velos” in its different variants which made it the largest car manufacturer in the world at that time. Another giant leap was achieved with the ‘Mercedes Simplex 40 hp’ in 1902. It was the first vehicle to bear the Mercedes brand name and it was seen even then as the world’s first modern automobile. The vehicle was powered by a four-cylinder, 29 kW strong engine, reaching a top speed of 80 km/h. The oldest original Mercedes still in existence today is the Simplex 40hp housed in the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. Read more on current day Mercedes-Benz cars and Mercedes-Benz Monthly Special Packages.


Trained experts for your automobiles

June 12th, 2010

Are you looking for the best auto part for your car in Pin conning.
Then Auto Parts Pin conning is the right choice is the best choice
for your automotive needs. Its the subsidiary of Napa online- who
is one of the largest stockist of auto parts in the country with
about 4 million quality components.

Auto part manufacturing these days have increased in number to
meet the overwhelming requirement of automobiles. So there is a huge chance of low quality products that hits the market. These products can be a threat to the life of the vehicle and can also make the vehicles to breakdown. Napa has trained experts who can identify the cause of the issue and suggest the best product with great quality. Also they are among the very few who provide a national level warranty to all the products.


British Classic Cars

May 26th, 2010

Truly the British have designed, marketed, and sold some wonderful classic cars over the decades. Many of these are highly prized and sought out by collectors the world over today. Among three of the most iconic and successful such British classic cars were the MGB, the Classic Mini, and the Triumph automobiles.

The MGB arose as a replacement for the 1950’s era MGA. Designed and ready for production by the early part of 1961, the BMC manufacturers knew that in order for the new automobile to be a success, it would have to sell well in America. In order to achieve this American appeal, the new MGB was designed with a monocoque construction, and included improved features like winding up windows. The LHD Roadster, its first incarnation, rolled off the assembly line on May 22, 1962. By 1967, a few significant changes had been made to the design, including most especially a GT model, which was once called by Autocar “perhaps the prettiest Sports Coupe” which was ever designed by the BMC. Some 1975 new American safety regulations saw the addition of characteristic rubber bumpers and the increasing of the height at which the car rode. A particularly impressive limited edition version of the car was created in 1977 as MG honored Queen Elizabeth II’s silver jubilee. In the nineteen years that the MGB was marketed, 512, 112 individual cars were created and sold, a figure that remains the greatest quantity of a single design of sports car manufactured anywhere on earth in car making history. MG did not brag in vain when they once claimed in a 1970’s era advertising campaign that the MGB is “The Great British Sports Car.”


The Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabriolet – Four Seasons – Four Passengers

May 22nd, 2010

The highly appealing Cabriolet is the latest addition to the successful Mercedes-Benz E-Class line-up. All-year-round suitability was right at the top of the developers’ list of priorities. The soft top can be opened and closed fully automatically within 20 seconds –even when driving at speeds of up to 40 km/h.The E 350 Cabriolet is powered by the proven V6 engine, this six-cylinder power plant develops 200 kW and provides a peak torque of 350 Nm from 3 000 r/min. The powerful E500 with a V8 engine develops 285 kW and reaches a peak torque of 530 Nm. The seven-speed automatic transmission comes as standard on both models. The V6 engine takes 6.9 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h, whilst the V8 engine takes 5,3 seconds. CO2 emissions are kept to a 229 g/km for the E350 and 257 g/km for the E500.A world-first: the AIRCAP®automatic draught-stop, which can be activated at the push of a button, greatly reduces turbulence and noise level in the interior of the new Mercedes E-Class Cabriolet. AIRCAP®consists of two components: a wind deflector that can be extended by around six centimetres with a net in the windscreen frame and a draught-stop between the rear seats.
The Cabriolet Comfort package includes AIRCAP®with AIRSCARF®. This patented system functions like an invisible scarf, which warms the occupants’ head and neck areas through warm air outlets in the head restraints of the front seats. The Mercedes engineers have modified this unique innovation specifically for the E-Class Cabriolet: in this model, an adjustment wheel pivots the outlet nozzle upwards and downwards by a total of 36 degrees over and above the head restraint height adjustment range, meaning that the driver and front passenger can enjoy the unique neck-level heating regardless of how short or tall they are.Thanks to its acoustic soft top, fitted as standard, even the closed E-Class Cabriolet has one of the quietest interiors in the segment for four-seater premium cabriolets with a fabric roof. The soft top is of course waterproof and windproof. Plus it can be put through an automatic car wash without any hesitation. With a total thickness of 23.5 mm, the fabric soft top offers excellent thermal insulation, meaning that the E-Class Cabriolet is also ideal for use in winter. The new Cabriolet offers the wealth of safety innovations one would expect from a Mercedes model. Highlights include roll-over protection, the A-pillars reinforced by two additional tubes and the plug-in B-pillars. This new model is also the first Mercedes cabriolet to feature head bags. With seven airbags fitted as standard, belt tensioners and belt force limiters for all seats, not to mention crash-responsive head restraints for the driver and front passenger, the new E-Class Cabriolet offers the most extensive safety equipment package in this vehicle category. For more information or to view the new E-Class Cabriolet contact your closest Mercedes-Benz East Rand dealer.


GPS Car Locator Can Save Your Life

May 20th, 2010

Everybody wants to have safe place to live in but whether we like it or not the world is not that safe anymore. This is simple fact of life that we should accept. Almost everyday we hear news that cars are stolen, vehicles break down, or you get lost to a place.
In these scenarios, GPS car locator is the answer. The GPS car locator offers a touch button technology and will know exactly where is your location when got lost or you car broke down. When you car is stolen, you can use your cell phone to track where your car is.
GPS car locator can be installed anywhere in your car and can look as normal as it is. There is also another type of device that can installed to prevent from thieves.
To know more about this product, read GPS car locator on how this product save your life.


Cycling Uphill with a Bicycle Motor Pulling for You

May 13th, 2010

New York City; a place that is so clogged with traffic gridlock, that almost anything, even a Segway would be preferable to a street-hogging car (or a limo). Half a world away in Shanghai, China, hip 50-year-old corporate-types, sick of their three-hour commutes in second gear, hop on to something that’s even better than a Segway – a battery-powered bicycle, built for long-distance commutes – and speed silently away, the wind in their hair, all dressed up in a suit ready for the executive grind. New York hasn’t yet decided whether to officially allow the battery-powered bicycle motor on its streets; but not all places in America are hanging back; California, with its world-leading environmental awareness laws, certainly loves it. And so do most countries in Europe.

Transportation plans in any country are long-term, complicated, and involve the government. Electric bikes somehow seem to have stormed in, completely oblivious of all the existing interests established in the car, and public transportation. They give you a cheap, effortless, maintenance-free transportation experience that the government seems to have had no part of. The electric bicycle motor, first came up in China, surprisingly, back in the 90s. China has traditionally been a country of bicycles; and the cheap battery bicycle that costs around $500, seemed to them to be a natural step up, an aspirational and practical product.

A billion population, most of whom need bicycles, is a godsend to every industry involved; as China’s bicycling industry began to switch to the bicycle motor, their industry matured, and pretty soon, the rest of the world began to look to China for this original and imaginative innovative way out of their pollution problems. When they first began to show up in Europe, these flashy scooterette-like machines really shook the market up. People found remarkable how the silent bicycle motor made rides seem almost as if they were gliding on air. In a city like San Francisco, with all its slopes and inclines, an electric bicycle just becomes the great road equalizer. And it is just as popular with manufacturers and bicycle retailers. Typically, when a shop sells a bicycle, that is the last he hears of the customer, for a good long time. A bicycle motor however, is powered by a battery, that needs replacement from time to time. All the better to make a service charge off.

The Netherlands and France have always been bicycle country; and in the last two years alone, these have taken over traditional bicycle sales. Back home, the bicycle designer Gary Fisher, is selling a great made-in-Wisconsin design at Best Buy across California and Oregon. Baby boomers with discretionary income, are really welcoming this innovation. In the US, they don’t resemble the snappy scooterette design seen in the rest of the world. They really do look like bicycles, and the bicycle motor kicks in only when going uphill or into a headwind. They can go at about 15 miles an hour, and can sometimes go as far as 50 miles before they need to recharge. But still, most states, like New York, haven’t actually legalized them. They don’t quite know what to make of these.

They are non-polluting, but the lead in the batteries are rarely safely disposed of; they can’t put them on the bicycle path in the cities, and they can’t put the street where they would be too slow. When the government in China tried banning them from the bike paths, there was such an outcry, that they had to allow them back. But more and more people get caught in accidents involving people irresponsibly revving up their bicycle motor, for extra fun. But the surprising thing is, the New York doesn’t actually seem to be giving people any traffic tickets for driving these non-permitted vehicles.

The author has been writing online for 4 years. Come visit his latest site www.TurboTrafficSystemBonus.com that reviews Turbo Traffic System free traffic formula.


The New Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabriolet is about airstream and not mainstream

April 30th, 2010

The magnificent New Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabriolet and its advanced soft top offers both outstanding noise reduction as well as a remarkable new feature that allows the soft top to be operated from outside the vehicle at the touch of a button. The technologically advanced soft top can also be opened and closed at driving speeds of up to 40km/h. Discover the best in open top driving. For more information visit Mercedes-Benz East Rand.


Dealing with the New Trend in High Car Rental Prices

April 25th, 2010

It’s the strangest thing wherever you see – industries in recession are trying to get more customers by paring their prices – take your pick – hotel rates, airplanes and cruises – everyone is open to negotiating for discounts. Everyone that is, except car rental companies. When they find a recession and people unable to afford their services, their first thought seems to be, “Let’s raise our car rental prices! That’ll teach them to come to us.” Last year in spring, putting your name down for a hatchback to rent for seven days, booked a week in advance, on average, would set you back about $350 – and that’s nearly twice what was the previous year. In the very next month in June, prices rose a further $10. No one seems to understand what on earth is going on. With the economy tanking, and people losing jobs, how come it doesn’t seem to get to the car rental industry?

The answer is, that the car rental industry has been preparing for this eventuality, and has been downsizing for a while now. They’ve been selling their fleets on the used car market; if there aren’t enough cars available to rent around the country, of course that drives the prices up, a situation that suits these guys just fine. And they aren’t buying new cars either; for all the money you’re paying, you’re usually getting a car that has about 40,000 miles on the clock. And you’re getting a car that’s about a year old on average (it used to be that they were no more than six months to nine months old).

This introduces a little lopsidedness in your travel plans. In the airline industry and the hotel industry, where it isn’t so easy to put on or shed capacity, they are stuck with so many vacant seats and free rooms that they have to let them go at rock-bottom prices. You could waltz into the airport about 20 minutes before your flight and still get a great bargain – or into a hotel after you get off the flight and ask at the desk for a room, and still not have them stick it to you. The following morning when you need that rental car, you had better have thought about it and made your reservation about a month earlier, if you don’t want your hotel and flight savings wiped out and then some. If you get a car at all, that is. Any holiday that turns up – take Independence Day – if you don’t have your reservation in by May, you’ll probably not even get a car, no matter what car rental prices you’re willing to pay.

So if this is how they do business, where do we go looking for alternatives? One good way would be, to make it to town from the airport on your own (maybe using that free transfer they offer at the hotel) and then rent a car in the city. Right away, that could save you something like 40%. The longer you need to keep the car, the bigger your savings will be. And further, what with everyone hankering for a fuel-efficient compact or subcompact, or maybe even a Prius, the demand for larger sedans is not what it used to be. So curiously, the larger the car your rent, the cheaper it’s going to be. And while you’re at it, why not pick a little car rental agency over the national chains like Hertz or Thrifty? In fact, if you pick a site like Priceline, they will show you the price you need to pay first (and have you pay for it), and only then give you the name of your rental agency. If you don’t mind renting from an agency thatisn’t big time, you’ll get a really favorable car rental prices.

One of the best ways though, is to use virtual coupons for the lowest possible car rental prices. Try googling for coupon codes and see what you get. You can go to CouponWinner too; or use your airline’s rental car partnership- you’ll probably save 20% on your car rental prices.

Come visit author’s latest site www.HardCashHijack.org that reviews Hard Cash Hijack by Mike Auton and Chris X.