Best Small Cars for the Money

According to Forbes.com, these are the

10 Best Small Cars for the Money:

• Honda Civic
• Honda Fit
• Nissan Versa
• Toyota Yaris
• Chevy Cobalt
• Mazda 3
• Chevy Aveo
• Volkswagen Jetta
• Volkswagen Rabbit
• Nissan Sentra

Can You Still Get Car Loans?

I've been asked if car loans are available due to the recent Wall Street problems.

I've spoken to a couple of my used car buddies about this, and they all say the same thing...

"Yes, auto financing is still available!"

According to them, the recent economic problems affecting the mortgage industry has not affected the automobile finance industry. The same rules and qualifications still apply for auto financing, and loans are readily available as always.

Hurricane Ike Cars

Be careful when buying a used car in the Dallas area. There will probably be an influx of used cars coming to Dallas from the Houston / Galveston area soon. You'll want to be sure that the car you are looking at wasn't flooded at some point.

Check These Things Out to Check for Flood Damage:

• Feel under the seats and behind the dash for mud or dirt. These are hard to clean spots that might indicate possible flood damage.
• Have the windows rolled up, and let the car sit in the sun for a bit. Then smell inside the car. If you smell a musty odor, that's a possible sign of water damage.
• Check all the electronics. Electronics are particularly susceptible to water damage. Make sure the radio, all the power windows, door locks, wipers, heat and air, and other electronic components are working properly.

Best Times to Buy a Car

There are certain times of the year that are better than others when going to buy a car. These tips don't only apply to new cars, but to used cars as well.

The Best Times of the Year to Buy a Car

• End of the Model Year - Right before the new models come out, (usually September) is a great time to shop for a car. Dealers want the "old" models gone, so you can't compare prices, since the new models will undoubtedly cost more.
• Holidays - Dealerships always run sales, and offer incentives (rebates, special financing, etc.) during long holiday weekends.
• End of the Month - Salespeople at car dealerships have monthly quotas they need to fill, and of course, they need a little more money on that monthly paycheck too. The end of month is a great time shop on the used car lot.
• End of the Calendar Year - Dealerships have to pay taxes on every car on the lot as of the close of business on December 31, so doing a little post-Christmas car shopping could get you a good deal.

Worst Resale Value Used Cars

Here's BankRate.com's list of used cars that don't hold resale value, meaning when you go to trade them in a couple years, they ain't worth much:

• Lincoln Town Car
• Chevrolet Uplander
• Kia Spectra
• Suzuki Reno
• Kia Rio
• Hyundai Accent
• Suzuki Forenza
• Kia Optima
• Chevrolet Malibu Classic
• Hyundai Entourage

Used Cars with Best Resale Value

According to BankRate.com, here are the best cars in terms of resale value. They hold their values well, so when you go to sell them years down the road, you can actually get something for them.

Here they are:

• Volkswagen R32
• Jeep Wrangler
• Mini-Cooper
• Scion XB
• Honda CR-V
• Toyota RAV4
• Infiniti G35/G37
• Dodge Viper
• BMW 1 Series
• Nissan Rogue

Online Auto Financing

Did you know that you can finance your next vehicle online... before you even step foot on a car lot? And it can save you some good money too... even if you have bad credit!

It's really pretty easy...

You simply do a short credit application on the internet, and when you're approved, they'll send you a voucher and a contract that you take to the dealership with you. This way, you make the dealership compete to finance your car.

For more information, check out the page I created on my DallasAreaUsedCars.com website.

Affordable Small Cars

U.S. News and World Report released their top and bottom choices for affordable small new cars. (I had no idea U.S. News rated cars... or why!)

Anyways...

Their Top 5 Affordable Cars:

• Honda Civic
• Honda Fit
• Honda Civic Hybrid (guess they like Hondas)
• Mazda Mazda3
• Scion xB

Their Bottom 3 Affordable Small Cars:

• Chevrolet Aveo
• Suzuki Reno
• Suzuki Forenza

If you want to read their whole article,

Click Here

Cheap Auto Parts

Hey guys,
Gotta little tip for ya for finding cheap auto parts that I learned when I needed a new taillight for my wife's car. The dealership wanted a couple hundred bucks for a new one, which I didn't have. (Not exactly something I budget for.) And heck, all the good junkyards have been built over with new houses around here.

I figured I'd do a little internet research, and wow, did I make a discovery. eBay has a huge selection of auto parts, and I was able to pick up a used taillight for about $40. They have about everything you can think of, from alternators to quarterpanels, and if you're rebuilding a classic car, you'll find just about any part you're looking for there.

A couple tips if you've never bought anything on eBay before:

• read the sellers "feedback" to be sure of their business practices
• be aware of the shipping charge
• make sure they guarantee that the part fits or works

If you're looking for an auto part, click the link below, then enter what you are looking for in the search box, I think you'll be surprised at the deals you can find there.

Search for Auto Parts on eBay

Grand Prairie Ford

Saw a commercial on tv saying that Grand Prairie Ford has all their used cars for sale at $49 down (+tt&l) and pay the payments on the window. They also said that "your job is your credit," so there might be a little something affordable there for those looking for a used car.

Watch out for the number of payments though... reading the "small print" on their commercial, the $169 a month car had 75 payments. Wow, that's more than 6 years! Consider the age of the vehicle if you do something like that. Just my 2 cents.

If you've done business with Grand Prairie Ford, please reply back to this post and let folks know how you were treated there.