No matter how much money you make in this world, driving around a SUV at times can be a rough spot because no one likes to pull up to the gas pump every other day to fill up the tank.  Watching the numbers go around and around can get disturbing because it seems like it’s never going to end.  Why do people like SUVs?  Is it because of all the room or is it because they like to be higher off the ground?  The world will never know but remember this, when it comes time to sell your SUV, there will always be someone out there that wants to buy it and I’ll show you how to sell it.

Get the value of the SUV – The first step you’re going to want to take is to grab the value of the car.  The best place to check the market value of the SUV is on KBB.  This website is the website that most people use when they want to get a fair market value of their car.  Most of the times, you’ll get an asking price that’s very close to this value.

Take LOTS of pictures – The more pictures you take, the better the chances you’re going to sell the vehicle.  Potential buyers love to see every angle of the car along with pictures of the inside.  My word of advice is to take 4 pictures of the outside and try to grab every angle of the inside.  The more pictures, the more callers you’re going to get.

Sell on Craigslist first – Before you start selling your car on every magazine and newspaper known to man, start off small and sell on Craigslist for free.  If you’re unfamiliar with Craigslist, it’s a free classified service that caters to your city.  The best way to do this is to look for your city and post all of your information and pictures.  A word of advice to you is to make sure you just ask potential buyers to e-mail you for a number.  If you put your number on an ad, you may receive unwanted calls.

Jump to premium – I would try Craigslist for a week and if you don’t get any calls from their service, I would jump to AutoTrader.com.  For a few bucks, you can do an unlimited listing and it works wonders because you’re going to reach a more targeted audience.  This is the only paid service that I recommend to anyone looking to sell a car.   I’ve sold all 4 of my cars on AutoTrader.com within 2 weeks each time.  If you want to skip Craigslist and go straight to paying, there’s nothing wrong with that but it’s always nice to not pay a fee if you don’t have to.

Make the ad catchy – If you’ve listed your SUV on both services and you’re having troubles selling it, you may want to look over your ad.  Make sure you have a catchy headline.  If you have a headline such as “Ford Explorer”, it’s not as catchy as “Ford Explorer – Low Miles – You’d Think it’s New!!”  These headlines work wonders on Craigslist.  If you have great features, make sure you highlight these as well.  If it has a sunroof, list it!  I think you get the clue by now.

These are just a few tips you can take.  If you drive your SUV a lot, make sure you place a sign in the window or if you live near a busy street, place the car close to the road with a sign in it, you never know who’s going to be interested.  When gas prices are high, a SUV is going to be tough to sell, so you may have to bite the bullet and take a loss if you really want to sell it but if you can implement some of the tips mentioned above, you shouldn’t have a problem selling your SUV at all.

Have you started thinking about buying another car?  Whether your old one died or you need another car for the family there are some tips you consider when looking.  Buying a vehicle is the next most expensive thing other than a house usually.  Therefore it is important to be wise and take your time on this.  Look around, get ideas, and be patient. To make sure the used car you’re looking at is in good condition, take a look at the list below for tips:

• First take a look at the body.  Always make sure to look for differences in paint.  Usually when there is a difference in the paint it was repainted because of an accident.  Depending on how severe the accident was, it could cost you big bucks.  Also look for any dings, scratches, and dents and ask how they got there.
• Open the doors, trunk and hood.  Watch out for squeaks, this could mean that it was in an accident and doesn’t open as well.  Make sure they open smoothly.  If they don’t question why.
• Check the fluids.  Check to make sure the oil and other fluids are clean.  If they are that’s a good sign that the person took care of it. 
• Test drive.  Now test drive the car for at least 10 minutes.  Listen for certain noises, and make sure everything works properly.  Be sure to run it on the highway and in the city.
• Check the breaks.  Make sure during your test drive you stop and go, don’t be afraid to test the breaks that’s an important part. 
• Test the inside.  Make sure air/heat, radio, CD player, lights both inside and out, speedometer, wipers, and everything are working. 
• Check transmission fluid.  Make sure that when you test it that it is a red color and not discolored.  Be sure to check out the transmission well, it is a very expensive part of the car.
• Check the tires.  Be sure to check the wear on the cars tires.  If they are worn ask how long they’ve used them.  If it wasn’t very long they may have ran the car into the ground.  Be sure to ask and take a good look!
• Lastly ask for a Carfax report.  This will give you details on any major accidents.

As you can see there is a lot to look into when buying a car.  All of these checks may take time but it is worth it.  Make sure all of the tips listed above are checked.  If you are suspicious of anything keep looking!

If you own a car in today’s world, I’m sure you’ve had a dead battery or you’ve needed a jump start before.  Since most people, believe it or not don’t know how to jump start their car, it’s not as hard as it seems!  Be sure to print this little guide out and place it in your glove box just in case you ever run into any type of car troubles.  A quick jump start can solve a lot of battery problems!

Here’s the supplies you’ll need -

• Jumper cables (can be purchased at any auto store)
• Another car that can give you a boost

Step 1 – The first thing you’re going to want to do is make sure that both cars are facing each other hood to hood.  Try and get as close to each other as possible since most jumper cables don’t spread out that far.  Have one person guide you to the other car.  Once you get close, make sure all the cars are shut off and apply your parking brake just to be safe.  If you’re in a dangerous area or the side of the road, make sure your hazard lights are on.

Step 2 – The next step will be to grab the jumper cables.  You’re going to want to take one end and take it to the dead vehicle.  You’re going to want to apply the black cable to the negative side on the car battery.  You’re going to want to take the red side and apply it to the positive side.  The easiest way to remember this is by a little trick my mom taught me.  Remember that negro is black in Spanish, so negro = negative.  This is how I always remember it!

Step 3 – You’re going to want to repeat step 2 but apply this same technique to the running car.  Red to the positive side and black to the negative side.  Make sure that the cables aren’t lying on anything underneath the hood.   You’ll want to make the wires as free as possible.  When applying the jumper cables to the battery, make sure that you apply them to the medal brackets on the battery casing.  This will ensure that the energy gets to the battery properly.

Step 4 – Now it’s time to start your car.  Go to the car and start it up and let it idle.  Depending on the battery on the dead car, it may take a while.  If the battery is dead because lights were left on, it should start up fairly quick.  If it’s an older battery, it may take a while. 

Step 5 – After a few minutes, go to the dead car and see if it starts up.  If it starts up, we’re on the right path.   If it doesn’t start up, you’ll want to call a tow truck because you may do more damage than good.  If the car does start up, make sure you sit there for a few minutes and make sure everything runs properly.  Sometimes, cars will start up and with just shut off 2 minutes later for no apparent reason.

Step 6 – Once you know the dead car is running, proceed to take off the jumper cables.  Make sure you don’t let the ends touch each other because this will cause a pretty big spark.  Once all the cables are off the cars, shut the hoods and put the cables away.

Jump starting a car isn’t that hard, it just requires a few minutes and 99% of the time, this will cause a dead battery problem.   As I mentioned above, if it takes more than 10 minutes to start, call a tow truck instead of risking your starter.

Buying a used car is can be tricky sometimes because you have no idea where the car has been in the past.  Since there are so many tools out there that potentially show you, it’s always hard to determine which report is accurate and which report is just filled with garbage.  A car history report is usually the best way to go when you’re looking to get more information on a used car in the past.  Here’s what you’ll get on a car history report –

How many owners?  – You can find out how many owners have owned this car.  This is great to see where it has been.  It will show you exactly where the car was sold (state wise) and the owner’s name.  If it’s been through a lot of owners, this may raise some red flags.

VIN accident check – You’ll get access to a report of all the accidents that the car have been in.  This is directly from the police departments themselves.  Whenever an accident happens, a police station will have to report the VIN.  The only downfall to this is that if the owner never reports an accident, it won’t show up on the report.

Mileage check – A big scam among used cars salespeople is to rollback the odometer.  While this is sometimes to keep track of, a car history report will show mileage reports.  Mileage reports are usually generated from oil change services, dealerships, and other institutions that deal with automotive related services.

Accurate VIN report – If you have the VIN (vehicle identification number) handy, this will help you with your reports.  With a car history report, you’ll be able to get a very accurate report that shows you what the VIN entails.  You’ll get the make, model, the year it was made, and other details.

Lemon Law – The nice thing about a car history report is that you’re able to see if the car has been returned in the past because of the lemon law.  If you’re unfamiliar with the lemon law, the lemon law refers to particular states that protect the consumer against malfunction vehicles.

A car history report is highly recommended for those looking into purchasing a used car.  Car reports usually are fairly inexpensive and range anywhere from a few bucks to as much as twenty dollars and up.  It all depends on what kind of report you want to get.

Finding the perfect car can be a pain in the butt if you don’t know what kind of car you want or if you don’t even know what’s out there on the market.  If you think you’re alone with this one, you’re not.  Everyday, there are thousands of car buyers that wonder if they made the perfect car choice.  I’m here today to show you some tips on how you can find the right car that suits your needs.

What features do you want?

The first thing you need to do before you even shop for a car is to sit down and write down what your needs are for the vehicle.  You’re going to want to look at how far you drive, how far work is, and factors similar to that.  You’re going to want to also look at features are important to you such as power locks, windows, moon-roof, etc.  Remember, the more features you add, the more it adds up.

Write down a budget

As you write down what you want, simply put down a number you want to spend.  My word of advice is that you don’t tell the salesperson how much you want to spend because they are going to make you spend that amount.  If you know what kind of car you’re looking at, all major car manufacturers have a website where you can customize your car and get a quote.  This can help you with your budget planning process.

Do your research

Purchasing a car is a big purchase and it should take some time when it comes to research.  If you want to buy a four door car that has great gas mileage, check out all the car companies and compare them all.  It’s also best to check out consumer’s reports so that you can get a good idea on how their crash test rating, satisfaction score, etc turn out.

Always test drive

Once you find a few cars you like, call up the dealership and see if they have one available for a test drive.  Remember, always test drive your vehicle before you buy it.  Do you just buy the first pair of jeans you see in the store?  No, you usually try them on before you buy them.  You don’t want to buy the car, drive it and find out that you don’t like it.  My word of advice to you is that you test out at least 5 different cars if you don’t know what kind of car you’re looking to buy.

Don’t buy the first car

When doing your research on cars and test driving all of them, you’re probably going to fall in love with a car right away.  Don’t buy into your love for your car and buy it!  You’ll want to test drive all the cars on your list before you do so.  You may find down the road that there may be another car that fits your needs.  Buying a car should be a patient game and not a game where you need to get a car as soon as possible.