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Posted
May 07 2008, 10:07 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Buying a large SUV or pickup for twice-a-year trips to Home Depot or ski weekends makes little financial sense. Poster Doc Ricketts offers his take on what drivers really need when they buy their next vehicle:
First, adequate seating. This is the number of seats needed for regular use.
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Posted
Dec 23 2008, 05:59 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
What would you think of a bailout proposal that rewards people who buy new cars? That idea is the basis of several bills introduced in Congress. Car buyers would get a $10,000 incentive in one form or another to buy a new car and, in the process, heal the ailing U.S. auto industry. It's certainly not the strangest car-related stuff we've read recently. (That would be an article about a Beverly Hills physician who powered his car with biodiesel made from liposuctioned human fat.)
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Posted
Jul 31 2008, 07:06 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
"Brainy Smurf" at Pants in a Can isn't unhappy to see car leasing apparently going the way of the dinosaur. In fact, he's practically gloating. After seeing an NBC News report on the Big Three automakers' moves to discourage or totally eliminate leasing, he wrote: "Only being able to drive something that you can actually afford? "How dare they!" he added, snarkily.
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Posted
Jul 31 2009, 03:16 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The "cash for clunkers" program -- the hugely popular people's bailout that nearly ran out of money after less than a week -- will continue at least through the weekend -- and perhaps beyond that. We'll see.
The U.S. House has approved $2 billion more for the program, and the U.S. Senate will vote on the extra money next week. It's hard to imagine that senators will say no to a popular program that -- compared with what's been pumped into banks, AIG, automakers, etc. -- seems downright cheap.
David Thomas said at Kicking Tires, "With this bill's passing and the White House's assurances on Cash for Clunkers, it's likely safe to say you can go out this weekend and buy a new car through the program."
Those in the market for a new car will be happy that news of its demise was premature. But how did this near shutdown of cash for clunkers happen?
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Posted
Mar 18 2008, 04:31 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
As a smart shopper, you normally pass on those extended warranties offered by the store cashier, don't you? Well, apply the same sound judgment when you're buying a new car. So says Consumer Reports, that respected consumer-advocate publication. Why? A recent survey of more than 8,000 readers shows you'll likely spend more for the extended warranty than you'll save on repair costs. On average, those who bought warranties spent $1,000 (for 2000 and 2001 model years) and got only $700 of benefit. Rik Paul, automotive editor for Consumer Reports, said buying an extended warranty is like betting against the house. "Extended warranties sell costly 'peace of mind' for repair nightmares that probably won't occur," Paul said. Who wins here? On average, dealers collected $795 for each extended warranty they sold last year, CR says.
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Posted
Aug 10 2009, 03:06 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Truman Lewis at partner site ConsumerAffairs.com.
Many consumers say they don't like to haggle with car salesmen, but 225 General Motors dealers in California are betting they won't mind haggling online -- specifically at eBay.
The car dealers and eBay announced that new Buicks, Chevrolets, GMC trucks and Pontiac cars will be for sale on "co-branded" eBay sites, beginning Aug. 11 and lasting for at least three weeks. Besides appearing on the co-branded sites with names like gm.ebay.com, the cars will be displayed through eBay Motors, where tens of thousands of used cars change hands each year.
"With 12 million individual car shoppers visiting our site every month, eBay Motors has unique insight into how people prefer to buy their cars," said Rob Chesney, vice president of eBay Motors.
"Together with eBay Motors, GM and our dealers are reinventing the car-buying experience for our California customers," said Mark LaNeve, GM vice president of U.S. sales. "As the dealer showroom expands from the parking lot to the laptop, this makes it easier for a customer to browse available new car inventory, make an offer, buy it now, or send a message asking for more information from a dealer -- all at the customer's convenience."
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Posted
May 27 2008, 06:27 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not your enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle. -- Sun Tzu's "Art of War" In this post, I'm going to try to identify a salesperson's tools, why they work, and what you can do to defend against them whenever you're going to make a purchase.
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Posted
May 26 2008, 11:59 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
As the price of gas goes up, many people's desire to own a big honking SUV heads south. And so may be the value of that SUV sitting in your driveway. A growing number of SUV owners are finding that they owe more on their vehicles than they're now worth. And those folks are going to have a heck of a time getting rid of them at a satisfactory price.
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Posted
Sep 25 2008, 12:56 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Truman Lewis at partner blog ConsumerAffairs.com. The credit crisis and record high gas prices have teamed up to drive the world's largest Chevrolet dealer out of business. Bill Heard Enterprises is closing all 13 of its stores today, the company told its local managers on Wednesday. Insiders said the company notified the stores' general managers of the closing at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Automotive News reported. It closed a store in Arizona earlier this month.
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Posted
Feb 22 2008, 09:19 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Blunt Money's first job after graduate school paid $42,000, so what was one of the first things she did? She went shopping for a new car. "Why was I doing this?" she writes. "When it came right down to it, I didn't know. It just seemed like what people did. Get a better job? Get a better car!" It was 1999, and the car she test drove was a BMW Z3, which, she recalls, cost about $40,000 at the time. Sounds crazy, but not totally out of line with current car-buying practices. A 2007 MSN Money article said that, according to Edmunds.com, car buyers on average put a measly $2,400 down, finance $24,864, and pay $479 a month. To make matters worse, the most popular loan is for more than five years, dragging those interest payments out longer than people reasonably should. So what did Blunt Money do?
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