When you get gas

Check your oil levels each time you fill up on gas. Oil is the element of your car which prevents everything from seizing and exploding so it is a very important part of the car. Make sure you check that the levels are correct each time you fill up with fuel.

Check coolant levels regularly. The coolant tank is usually located on the driver side of the engine and is responsible for stopping your engine from overheating. Replace the coolant if it is dirty and make sure the level is always appropriate.

Each week

Each week you should check your tires for damage. Driving with damaged or bald tires is an offence and could potentially cause you to lose points from your license. More significantly than this, it is your tires which transfer the power from your car to the road. If your tires are underinflated then you are losing power and your handling capabilities will decrease. Use an air compressor to keep your tires properly inflated to ensure the best fuel efficiency. Remember to check the inflation of your spare tire regularly too because a spare tire is useless if it is too deflated to use.

Each month

Make sure that you check all of your lights each month. You should check all indicators, brake lights, head lights and internal lights at least once a month. Any broken bulbs should be changed immediately to ensure that your signalling is properly understood by other motorists.

Every 6,000 kilometres

Change your oil. The oil in your car should be changed at around 6,000 kilometres. This process involves draining the oilfrom beneaththe car so it may be worth taking the vehicle to a mechanic if you are unsure about what to do.
Rotate your tires. It is good to rotate your tires every 6,000 kilometres because they will get more worn out on one side depending on your wheel alignment. Rotating the tires will ensure that they have a longer lifespan as they will be more evenly worn.

Once a year

Check the quality of all wipers. The front and back wipers will deteriorate over time and will eventually break dangerously. Check the condition of the wipers at least once a year and replace all of the wipers at once if you notice any rubber damage.

Be safe

Always remember that safety comes first and be sure to make the effort to keep your car in good working order. If you have any doubts then seek the assistance of an expert. Always be sure to clean up any oil or fluid spills after working on your car as these could potentially cause a fire if left unattended.

Author Bio: Tom Mallet is an Australian freelance writer and journalist. He writes extensively in Australia, Canada, Europe, and the US. He’s published more than 500 articles about various topics, including Air compressor.

Why Do Cars Cost More In Australia?

-Taxes

One of the main reasons why the cars in Australia are way more expensive than the cars in other places is that Australians happens to pay much more taxes compared to the other people in different countries. Australia actually has a very small market, as they only have about a million every year for their vehicle market, while the United Stated has over 13 million every single year. Essentially, you will just get a certain discount when you buy in volume. Australia also places lots of tax on luxury cars, and they are well known for imposing lots of tax cars.

-Wages

People in Australia also get paid way more than the people in the United States, which means the cars aren’t really expensive for the people in Australia. The average Australian makes about $56,950 every year, while the average American would only make about $46,326 every year. The cars are more expensive since Australians are paid more. Surprisingly, over 50% of the people in America are actually getting paid less than $50,000, which is why their cars happens to be much cheaper than the cars in Australia.

-Quality and Reliable Cars

The cars in Australia are also very expensive because they are reliable and are also made with quality. The reason why the cars in America are cheap is that, they often aren’t very reliable. The cars in Australia really have much higher and reliable standard equipment, which is why they cost much more in Australia. Even if the cars in the United States are cheaper, they aren’t as reliable as the cars in Australia, which is why they are worth more.

So, if you were wondering why the cars in Australia cost more than most countries, then the information above must have answered those questions. Even though the dollar in the United States and Australia are pretty much the same, the two countries still have very huge differences when it comes to the cars they sell. Australia has more reliable cars and the people there also get paid more than the Americans do and so, their cars end up becoming more expensive.

Firstly, I aren’t talking about going zero emissions with an electric car although many more people are now doing this, especially in busy cities like London where electric cars do not pay the emissions tax in the centre.

Choosing Hybrid Cars?

If you were to think of a hybrid car what would you be thinking? I immediately think of the Toyota Prius I don’t know why but I do. The Toyota Prius is not the best looking car in the world and is definitely not a head turner but it can do some impressive things.

They will guarantee you over 60 miles to the gallon which on an 8.80 gallon (40 litre) tank which would give you over 500 miles to a tank is impressive, especially with the way petrol prices are rising. Some people are even using biodiesel to power their cars. This is still good for the environment.

Service Your Car

Keeping any car serviced and properly maintained is a good way to keep your emissions down if you are looking at keeping your run around rather than buying a new car. If you keep the engine tuned correctly you will also keep the optimum power for your vehicle. Basic services involve air filters, oil filters, spark plugs and changing the oil. Some people do this themselves and some opt to use a garage.

Making sure you have the right tyre pressure is a good idea too as this will help you maintain the life of your tyres. Over or under inflated tyres will have a wearing effect on different parts of your tyres so if you notice this then you should do something about it. The right tyre pressure also uses less fuel so you will be saving in the long run.

Alter Your Driving Style

Altering your driving style may also be a factor when it comes to greener driving. Accelerating and braking harshly accounts for a high amount of fuel consumption. This can be combatted with nice clean smooth acceleration and braking. This will allow you to maintain control of the vehicle better too and, with both harsh acceleration and braking, tyre wear will decrease too.

Green Cars - the Differences

So we have biodiesel, Hybrid and electric cars now-a-days. There are many differences between them all.

• Biodiesel is the name used for fatty acid alkyl esters. They use such things as: virgin vegetable oil; animal fats; algae; recycled oils. These vehicles do release more nitrous oxides than normal diesel cars.
• Plug in hybrids (PHEV) are vehicles that have additional battery power that can be used to get better fuel economy and will work on electric power alone. They do still use petrol too.
• Electric cars are generally used for local travelling as the ranges on the latest are around 100 miles. These are plugged in to charge the internal batteries. Although there are not many filling stations for electric cars there are more becoming available.

So Which is Best for You?

If you are thinking of getting rid of your car and buying a new car then ultimately it is up to you which option is best. Governments are offering incentives for people to go green such as grants and cheaper road taxes which are encouraging people to turn green. But, at the end of the day you may have had your pride and joy for a lifetime and cannot see yourself ever selling your vehicle.

Buy second-hand

A model that is only one or two years old should cost thousands less than the original price but will come with the benefits of having travelled low kilometres and still be covered by a manufacturer’s warranty. Look for demo models as well – these are vehicles car dealers have allocated for customers to test drive and quite often they have travelled very few kilometres.

Look for sales and specials

Buying a vehicle that is “drive away, no more to pay” can save you plenty of cash. It means the dealer pays the on-road costs such as registration, stamp duty and delivery fees. End-of-year runouts and superseded models are quite often good buys as well.

Do some research

Studies have shown that cars lose on average around 14% of their value in their first year and a similar amount in their second and third years. After that it can be up to 8% per year. So when considering which car to buy, it pays to do a comparison of their depreciation value. There are plenty of websites around that offer advice and figures.

Optimise the resale value

When it comes to selling your car, it’s obvious that you want the best price. So it makes sense that the vehicle is in the best condition possible. So consider these points:

• Servicing your car regularly and having the log book filled in each time is a key to realising a better price;
• Look after your car – keep it in a garage, wash it regularly and fix up any minor dents or paint scrapes sooner rather than later;
• Fix up any niggly little problems, such as rattles or broken lights. They give buyers an excuse to talk to the price down;
• Be wary of modifications – if you have lashed out and installed the latest and greatest stereo with the help of cash loans or even paid for it with folding money, the chances are you won’t get what it cost you back when you sell the car. The same goes for exterior modifications such as spoilers and alloy wheels;
• Consider selling your car privately, where it is likely to get a higher price than trading it in at a dealer.

Author Bio: Tom Mallet is an Australian freelance writer and journalist. He writes extensively in Australia, Canada, Europe, and the US. He’s published more than 500 articles about various topics, including car insurance and cash loans. ]]> http://www.air-pirates.org/how-to-beat-depreciation/feed/ http://www.air-pirates.org/what-does-the-future-hold-for-the-modern-car/ http://www.air-pirates.org/what-does-the-future-hold-for-the-modern-car/#comments Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:23:47 +0000 Admin http://www.air-pirates.org/?p=553 The technology that goes into vehicles has changed a lot over the last 20-30 years and we have seen massive improvements such as the shift from cassette player to digital radios and CD players capable of housing six or more CDs at a time! Other changes include a massive shift towards making the vehicles safer than ever and of course the big move into the eco-friendly market.

So where is the shift going to be in the next ten or so years?

Green, Green, Green!

The market is still very much heading in the direction of making cars as eco-friendly as possible. The problem at the moment is that electric vehicles run at incredibly slow speeds and you have to charge them up on a regular basis. They are great for the city dweller but rubbish for someone that needs to drive across the country on business all of the time. There are a couple of vehicles out there that use both petroleum and electricity (Hybrid cars) they are still in need of some work before the masses start to think about them. The shift on these vehicles is only going to be pushed further and you should expect to see more and more of them appearing on roads.

Flying?

Those of you that expected the cars from Back to the Future Part II to start appearing on the roads will be disappointed to hear that this isn’t likely to happen anytime soon. The fact is that implementing cars like this isn’t impossible but it would have a massive impact on the airline industry (an industry that already took a massive hit in the last recession). A lot of governments make a lot of money from the travel companies and it doesn’t make sense for them to do it. You would also have the problem of hundreds of cars flying to the same destination and trying to land, an air traffic control nightmare! I really wish that my car leasing car had the ability to fly!

Autonomous Cars

Although having a car do all of the work for you might sound like a ridiculous idea if you look into this in more detail you will see that a vehicle has already been created. The idea, funded by Google has already produced a car that can work without any need for human operation. The car simply needs to be told where to go and will take anyone within to the destination. Due to the fact the car has sensors in the front and back you will find that crashing is impossible! Imagine if you could get a fast lease car to drive itself!

What do you think will be coming in the near future for car owners?

• £25 savings enough to convince almost a quarter of drivers to switch policies

Moneysupermarket.com, the leading price comparison website in the UK has found that almost a quarter (around 22 per cent) of drivers in the UK would be willing to switch insurance policies for as small a saving as £25.

It was also found in the research that £78 would be the tipping point for 25 per cent of drivers, since most of them would remarkably prefer not to shop around for the cheapest car insurance at Moneysupermarket when renewal date arrives.

Image courtesy of Mukumbura via flickr creative commons

The average saving that would sway most drivers was found to be £54.33, which sits below the national average for 18-34-year-olds, who wouldn’t switch unless they could save more than £61.77. Over 55s, on the other hand, would be tempted by £50.33 as a saving on their premiums. In London, drivers would not be happy until they could save at least £71.88 on their insurance, but drivers in the south west would settle for £43.04.

Moneysupermarket conducted the research to compare its results to the average saving a driver in the UK can make with today’s prices; the total currently sits at a staggering £348 per policy.

The car insurance expert at MoneySupermarket.com, Pete Harrison, added his thoughts on the matter: “British motorists are really feeling the financial strain and are desperately looking for ways to cut costs, so its unsurprising our research has found one in five drivers are only looking for savings of £25 on their car insurance premiums to justify the move to a better value premium.

“Those drivers who are unconvinced of the merits of shopping around, and automatically renew their car insurance, could achieve above and beyond their desired saving by taking the time to scour the market. The average saving to be made by searching the car insurance market online at MoneySupermarket is £348, so motorists could in fact save themselves £293 more, certainly a welcome surprise to those who doubt the savings that can be made.”

Moneysupermarket also found that only 2 per cent of drivers would switch to get better customer service, 7 per cent would switch to be eligible for cash back offers, vouchers and extra cover and approximately 70 per cent, as expected, would switch if a significant saving was available on their premiums.

Pete Harrison added: “With motoring costs continuing to rise, and the price of car insurance making up a high percentage of that cost, it makes sense that getting a cheaper deal is the main motivation for drivers to switch their car insurance.

“Drivers can help to mitigate these costs by getting online and comparing policies to see what prices are on offer, It only takes a few minutes, so consumers should do their research to find the best deal for their situation and make the switch to start saving.”