With Valentines Day behind us it's not too soon to begin thinking about Mother's Day. One place to look for useful ideas is from the driver's seat of the car, especially if Mom spends a lot of time behind the wheel.
Her vehicle is her home away from home and gifts that enhance her enjoyment of that second home are likely to be appreciated, suggests Rich White, spokesperson for the Car Care Council. "We tend to gravitate toward gifts like jewelry, a framed photo or flowers," he says. "But why not break from the traditional and dress up her car? Maybe she's always wanted a sun roof or has admired someone's wood grained dash trim. Her wish could come true, with the help of your local auto specialty shop."
White suggests that, beyond the obvious gifts such as a car phone or floor mats, Mom might appreciate having her damaged steering wheel replaced with one that's stylish, possibly leather covered. Her sun-damaged and faded padded dash could be repaired, replaced or recovered to upgrade the interior.
"Security devices such as a remote keyless entry or alarm systems are popular add-ons," says White, "as are custom wheels or wheel covers. Women usually are interested in safety and appearance accessories, as opposed to those which are performance related. Gifts can be inexpensive, too. Those net shopping bags, for example, that hook on back of the driver's seat, are great gift items."
Right on the heels of Mother's Day, of course, is Father's Day, with additional categories of gifts to consider: special tools, a bug deflector, running boards or stereo equipment, to mention a few. "Gifts for the car generally are well received and", adds White, "the variety of innovative products never stops growing."
For more ideas and prices visit your auto supply store or specialty shop listed in the classified phone directory.
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Friday, July 20, 2007
Botox For Your Car?
America's growing obsession with younger looking faces evidenced by the Botox craze, is inspiring car owners to prolong the appearance of their automobiles as well. Four billion dollars were spent last year in the United States on enhancements to keep the interior and exterior of vehicles looking like new, according to the Car Care Council.
"As consumers spend more time in their vehicles and drive more miles each year, they are placing more importance on comfort, luxury and appearance," said Rich White, spokesperson for the council.
Many consumers don't realize that just as they can buy new carpet for their home or refinish and repair furniture, they can also rejuvenate their second largest investment, the automobile. Automotive upholstery and interior repair shops, known as trim shops, can fix a drooping headliner, replace worn carpeting, repair torn upholstery and replace a weathered convertible top.
"Home owners don't sell their house because someone put a hole in the wall. But too often vehicle owners will trade in a vehicle that is paid off just to get a new 'look'. Repair and restoration is a very cost-effective alternative to buying a new car and taking on a new car payment," White said.
While leather is still the most popular upscale option for a vehicle's interior, where age shows first, innovative fabrics offer many more customization, repair and restoration options for the average car owner. Today's modern trim shop can replace original materials like seat or door panels to an imperceptible condition.
The council advises that, if you want to preserve the new look and feel of your faithful car, truck, SUV or minivan, search for trim and upholstery shops in the phone book or on the Internet, which specialize in repairing and enhancing interior as well as exterior features of automobiles.
"As consumers spend more time in their vehicles and drive more miles each year, they are placing more importance on comfort, luxury and appearance," said Rich White, spokesperson for the council.
Many consumers don't realize that just as they can buy new carpet for their home or refinish and repair furniture, they can also rejuvenate their second largest investment, the automobile. Automotive upholstery and interior repair shops, known as trim shops, can fix a drooping headliner, replace worn carpeting, repair torn upholstery and replace a weathered convertible top.
"Home owners don't sell their house because someone put a hole in the wall. But too often vehicle owners will trade in a vehicle that is paid off just to get a new 'look'. Repair and restoration is a very cost-effective alternative to buying a new car and taking on a new car payment," White said.
While leather is still the most popular upscale option for a vehicle's interior, where age shows first, innovative fabrics offer many more customization, repair and restoration options for the average car owner. Today's modern trim shop can replace original materials like seat or door panels to an imperceptible condition.
The council advises that, if you want to preserve the new look and feel of your faithful car, truck, SUV or minivan, search for trim and upholstery shops in the phone book or on the Internet, which specialize in repairing and enhancing interior as well as exterior features of automobiles.
Tips for getting the best insurance quote
Now that you have bought your dream car, it is time for getting proper insurance coverage to your car. And insurance for your car is a major purchase just the same way as the car itself.
What is the best deal in auto insurance?Like the car itself, the car insurance needs to be thoroughly researched and compared between quotes offered by several car insurance companies. Only then you will be able to strike the best deal. Best deal means you get all the required coverage for a price that is reasonable and fair.
First try to understand what influences the insurance priceThe insurance rates are determined on the basis of the following factors:
Risk factor is the foremost criteria to determine individual rates.
Risk factor relates to the chances of an individual’s meeting with an accident. On the basis of the assumption that people with higher stakes make more responsible drivers, a certain class of drivers are offered lower rates than the others.
If you are over twenty five years of age, married and have children and are in any responsible career, then you are likely to grab the lowest car insurance rate.
Even if you are younger, your chances of securing a lower rate are high, if you have successfully completed a pass plus course
The locality of the driver is another determinant factor in insurance rate.
The people residing in the rural area will have better rate because of the reason that the cases of accidents are rarer in these areas.
Contrastingly, daily commuters through the crowded roads at the rush hour are charged with much higher rate.
You can also obtain lower insurance rates if you happen to drive a car that has the highest manufacturer’s safety rating.
So how can you grab the best offer from your position? Here are the possible ways:
Don’t go by the first quote you receive; Shop around to know who is offering what and make a comparison among them.
The Internet provides the best solution for getting several insurance quotes in a short time. Here you will get to compare the prices offered by several insurance companies with just a click of the mouse.
Also take into account the testimonials of your friends relating to a particular company; their experience can give you the proper account of the process, customer service and efficiency of the company to settle a claim.
However, before comparing prices, just check which risk group you belong to and expect accordingly. You are entitled to get a better rate if you are a married man having children than a teenage driver driving a sports car.
What is the best deal in auto insurance?Like the car itself, the car insurance needs to be thoroughly researched and compared between quotes offered by several car insurance companies. Only then you will be able to strike the best deal. Best deal means you get all the required coverage for a price that is reasonable and fair.
First try to understand what influences the insurance priceThe insurance rates are determined on the basis of the following factors:
Risk factor is the foremost criteria to determine individual rates.
Risk factor relates to the chances of an individual’s meeting with an accident. On the basis of the assumption that people with higher stakes make more responsible drivers, a certain class of drivers are offered lower rates than the others.
If you are over twenty five years of age, married and have children and are in any responsible career, then you are likely to grab the lowest car insurance rate.
Even if you are younger, your chances of securing a lower rate are high, if you have successfully completed a pass plus course
The locality of the driver is another determinant factor in insurance rate.
The people residing in the rural area will have better rate because of the reason that the cases of accidents are rarer in these areas.
Contrastingly, daily commuters through the crowded roads at the rush hour are charged with much higher rate.
You can also obtain lower insurance rates if you happen to drive a car that has the highest manufacturer’s safety rating.
So how can you grab the best offer from your position? Here are the possible ways:
Don’t go by the first quote you receive; Shop around to know who is offering what and make a comparison among them.
The Internet provides the best solution for getting several insurance quotes in a short time. Here you will get to compare the prices offered by several insurance companies with just a click of the mouse.
Also take into account the testimonials of your friends relating to a particular company; their experience can give you the proper account of the process, customer service and efficiency of the company to settle a claim.
However, before comparing prices, just check which risk group you belong to and expect accordingly. You are entitled to get a better rate if you are a married man having children than a teenage driver driving a sports car.
Quick Cleaning Tips for Your Car
Get the Showroom Shine within Minutes
Your poor car! How much it has to put up with - the dirt, the grit, the lashing of storm, the assault of snow and what not! The result? Even the most expensive car on the road starts lacking luster within a year.
As the common idea goes: it requires a long session with a sponge and bucket to get your car spanking clean. But few of us have that time to invest on a regular basis.
What if you can get the desired sheen without needing to devote so much of your precious time?
Well, our quick cleaning tips are aimed to do just that; it teaches you the secret of keeping the car shiny without needing you get stressed over it!
Target the different parts of the car separately
Attack the grime of interior and outside of your car with different approaches; use different products to clean different parts of the car such as windscreen or car tyre.
Dealing with the interior
The commonest problem suffered by your car’s interior is spillage—from your coke can, from your kid’s ice-cream cone, from your wife’s make up and so on.
Together they can create enough blotches to give your car upholstery a worn-out look.
But you can fight against them…how?
A good preventive solution is to use the coating of a product like Armor All. This coating helps you to easily wipe out the spots as soon as they appear.
If the upholstery is made of leather, apply warm water mixed with mild soap and sponge the streaks with it.
Getting rid of the blemishes from fabric is a real challenge: but we have the solution for it too. Just stir in some baking soda in warm water; now apply this liquid over the spot and wait for half an hour. After that soak the area with a dye-free towel to get rid of that stain.
One point to remember: avoid using silicon based products as they are prone to create a greasy effect.
Dealing with the exterior
Use a very soft sponge which you should wipe the car body in a circular motion. This prepares your car to get a pre-wash.
In pre washing stage avoid foam-creating pre wash product or those that come with built in polish. This locks in the dirt under the layers of the wax and makes your job tougher.
Now is the time for final wash. At this stage, first clean up the body and then move on to the tyres and bumpers, the dirtiest parts of your car!
For windows use glass cleaners specially made for the car and not house glass cleaners. White vinegars make a very good home-remedy to eliminate the blurry look from your windshields.
Polish it up
To give the quickest possible polish to your car, follow these steps:
Give the car a jet wash.
Now apply the polish when the body is wet and rub.
Rinse off with another jet wash and rub the body with a soft sponge.
Also use a chamois leather to wipe off the damp polish residues.
Get the help of some reliable car cleaning products popular in UK:
Autoglym products are equally suited to the professional users, as well as the family car owners.
And here you go with the cleanest car: let your car dazzle your neighbours with it’s newly acquired showroom glamour!
Your poor car! How much it has to put up with - the dirt, the grit, the lashing of storm, the assault of snow and what not! The result? Even the most expensive car on the road starts lacking luster within a year.
As the common idea goes: it requires a long session with a sponge and bucket to get your car spanking clean. But few of us have that time to invest on a regular basis.
What if you can get the desired sheen without needing to devote so much of your precious time?
Well, our quick cleaning tips are aimed to do just that; it teaches you the secret of keeping the car shiny without needing you get stressed over it!
Target the different parts of the car separately
Attack the grime of interior and outside of your car with different approaches; use different products to clean different parts of the car such as windscreen or car tyre.
Dealing with the interior
The commonest problem suffered by your car’s interior is spillage—from your coke can, from your kid’s ice-cream cone, from your wife’s make up and so on.
Together they can create enough blotches to give your car upholstery a worn-out look.
But you can fight against them…how?
A good preventive solution is to use the coating of a product like Armor All. This coating helps you to easily wipe out the spots as soon as they appear.
If the upholstery is made of leather, apply warm water mixed with mild soap and sponge the streaks with it.
Getting rid of the blemishes from fabric is a real challenge: but we have the solution for it too. Just stir in some baking soda in warm water; now apply this liquid over the spot and wait for half an hour. After that soak the area with a dye-free towel to get rid of that stain.
One point to remember: avoid using silicon based products as they are prone to create a greasy effect.
Dealing with the exterior
Use a very soft sponge which you should wipe the car body in a circular motion. This prepares your car to get a pre-wash.
In pre washing stage avoid foam-creating pre wash product or those that come with built in polish. This locks in the dirt under the layers of the wax and makes your job tougher.
Now is the time for final wash. At this stage, first clean up the body and then move on to the tyres and bumpers, the dirtiest parts of your car!
For windows use glass cleaners specially made for the car and not house glass cleaners. White vinegars make a very good home-remedy to eliminate the blurry look from your windshields.
Polish it up
To give the quickest possible polish to your car, follow these steps:
Give the car a jet wash.
Now apply the polish when the body is wet and rub.
Rinse off with another jet wash and rub the body with a soft sponge.
Also use a chamois leather to wipe off the damp polish residues.
Get the help of some reliable car cleaning products popular in UK:
Autoglym products are equally suited to the professional users, as well as the family car owners.
And here you go with the cleanest car: let your car dazzle your neighbours with it’s newly acquired showroom glamour!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Secured Car Finance – burden less loan for buying dream car
When you are buying car through a loan, you must ensure that the loan is never a repayment burden on your income and overall finances so that you enjoy a burden less car driving. Secured car finance is considered as a sure shot way of taking a loan at low rate of interest and that goes a long way in saving money as well. Secured car finance can be availed for buying a new or used car of any make and model. Even bad credit borrowers are at ease in taking secured car finance. Secured car finance is given against the borrower’s home or any valued property pledge as collateral. Even the very car you are buying can be put as collateral. The lender will take the car deal paper in possession and will return after you have paid the loan back fully. Till that time you can of course enjoy driving your car. The advantage of secured car finance is its lower interest rate. If your credit history is excellent or good the rate can be reduced. Lower interest rate reduces your monthly payment for the loan installments substantially so that you are at complete ease in repaying the loan in time. Another advantage of secured car finance is that you can borrow greater amount for buying a new car. The loan amount depends on value of property put as collateral. However you would not be approved a loan that is more than the market value of the car you are buying. Also note that secured car finance is a short term loan. You are supposed to return it in 5 to7 years as lenders would not like to take risk. The car may loose its value in longer duration. Do not worry if you have late payments, payment defaults, arrears or county court judgments. Despite a blemish credit history a lender will approve secured car finance as you have cut lender’s risks by offering your property as collateral. Make sure to compare lenders so that you avail secured car finance at competitive rate. Search internet well for a suitable lender and clear the loan installments regularly for improving credit history.
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