31st May 2008

Current Auto Loan Rates: The Facts as They Are

I have written before that the most important thing to consider when applying for an auto loan is the current auto loan rates. These loan rates are responsible for determining how much you are going to end up paying for the car. So the most important thing you have to me in the look-out for is low car loan rates. In this article I’m going to talk to you about the current auto loan rates and give you some extra tips on the best places to look for low loan rates.

First off, you should know that there a 4 main different kinds of auto loan rates:

• 36 month car loan

• 48 month car loan

• 60 month car loan

• 72 month car loan

Each of them have different loan rates that fluctuate between 6.5% and 14%, sometimes climbing up to the 15% or 16%. The actual rate depends on you location and if you want a new auto loan or a used car loan, but the general rule of thumb is the lower number of months for the auto loan, the lower the car loan rate. Of course if you want a used car loan you should expect slightly higher loan rates than for new cars.

I’ve learned that depending on where you apply for your auto loan, you can expect to find lower or higher rates. I won’t talk about it in-depth but you can anticipate lower auto loan rates from credit unions and higher – but safer – rates from the auto dealers.

Auto Loan Rates Different Locations

If you are part of a credit union, you’ll be able to opt for larger auto loans with lower auto loan rates. You should check your union and compare the auto rates with your local bank to see which one is better. The other place, auto dealers, can offer you auto loans with a slightly higher loan rate but are much safer. When I say safer I’m saying that the whole loan process faster and approval rates are much higher.

But don’t worry if you’re not a member of a credit union or only find high auto loan rates with your auto dealers. There is another kind of auto loan you can apply for called a home equity auto loan. By placing your house as a collateral, you’ll be securing your auto loan no matter what. Always remember to research for the current auto loan rates until you have nowhere else to look for

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31st May 2008

Bad Credit Auto Loan: Keeping Bad Credit History Aside

Bad credit auto loan is in style since decade and many lenders offer a range of cheap yet competitive secured and unsecured loans. With an estimated one in six people having a terrible credit history in the UK, lenders have specially developed a loan package for people of such background. Bad credit auto loan is gaining popularity nowadays because it provides solution for those having dubious credit record.

If your credit record is less than perfect then getting a loan from high street lender can be difficult. A bad credit history can result from defaults on payment, bankruptcy, previous mortgage arrears, county court judgements (CCJ) or through difficult financial situation caused by redundancy or breakdown of a relationship. Bad credit auto loan can be obtained despite your horrible credit scores.

Bad credit auto loan can be secured and unsecured loans. A secured bad credit auto loan is secured against your property by offering collateral. The advantage of bad credit auto loan is that borrowers have to pay less interest rate as compared to unsecured bad credit auto loan interest rates. Payment duration ranges from five years to thirty years. So, it is convenient for the borrowers to pay off the loan early.

Unsecured bad credit auto loan is not secured against any property. Interest rates of bad credit auto loan are on higher side. Loan process is fast and simple. Since bad credit auto loan is a short term loan, it is ideal for car financing.

However, choice is yours, whether you borrow secured bad credit auto loan or unsecured bad credit auto loan, the motto is to get the best deal.

The author is a business writer specializing in finance and credit products and has written authoritative articles on the finance industry. He has done his masters in Business Administration and is currently assisting E-secured-Loans as a finance specialist.

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27th May 2008

Car Hire - A Guide To Driving In Romania

For many years the communist rule of Nicolae Ceausescu left Romania in a state of extreme repression and poverty, which thankfully led to a revolt where his powers where removed and he was subsequently executed in December 1989.

Since then Romania has been gradually improving, both politically and in terms of the overall standard of living. Tourism is a growing area which has greatly helped the country’s economy.

The country is probably best known for Transylvania, which lures tourists in with images of haunted forests, medieval towns, castles and of course the legends of Dracula.

Romania however, has a lot more to offer visitors than medieval castles and ghostly legends- it is both rich in culture and boasts some beautiful natural diversity.

One of the main problems is that a great deal of Romania’s charm lies outside of It’s major towns and cities, this coupled with the fact that it is the largest of the Balkan states, means taking in all there is to see can be difficult.

For this reason, if you are able to, then opting to drive during your time in Romania is an excellent option - this way you can stray from the beaten track where you may find yourself passing through one of the many rustic medieval villages while exploring the mountainous regions or maybe just relax on the sandy beaches of the Black Sea’s Coast.

Unlike some other European countries, to drive in Romania you must possess an International Drivers Licence, and to rent a car you must be at least 21 years of age.

One of the main problems those unfamiliar with driving in Romania have is the presence of horse-drawn carts and free livestock that are in abundance throughout the country. Therefore caution should be exercised at all times, especially during night.

Thankfully, in most cases all UK insurance policies automatically cover the minimum of what is required when driving in Romania, this being third party, fire and theft.

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27th May 2008

Unusual Insurance Claims And Policies

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again - working in discount travel insurance you hear of some pretty bizarre policies and claims being made. But of course, travel insurance is just scratching the very surface, and in fact other areas of insurance have even more strange insurance policies - and sometimes it’s the companies and not the customers with the odd decisions!

Football Fever

At the last world cup, passions ran high, and weird insurance policies followed them. Dutch insurance company SEZ ran a policy offering companies in the Netherlands protection against staff ‘pulling sickies’ on the days surrounding big matches for the national team. The firm would pay out for the first two days of sickness, if any employee was absent from work on the days surrounding Holland’s big matches.

But it wasn’t just abroad that World Cup fever dominated the strange insurance policies. On these shores, Paul Hucker of Ipswich took out an elaborate £1,000,000 insurance policy against England going out of the competition early. British Insurance offered the £105 policy, which would pay out a seven digit sum if England were knocked out in the first round, if 5 sports commentators believed the exit was premature and if Mr Hucker could provide medical evidence indicating severe mental trauma! In the end, Mr Hucker was left disappointed - both with England and with the odd insurance policy after they went out to Portugal in the quarter finals.

Quirky Car Insurance

Car policies bring up their share of weird insurance scenarios too. For example, in Denmark, the Danish Automobile Association has two schemes to protect drivers from fines - the speeding insurance, which will cover drivers for up to four offences, of a total of £900 (£90 per year) or parking ticket insurance, which covers four tickets or £182 worth of fines for £36 per year. Unsurprisingly, the Danish Council for Traffic Security is less happy about these strange insurance policies, believing it’ll make fines less of a deterrent for some reason.

There some heart-warming scenarios behind the cynicism though - in Belgium, a car insurance premium has given one of its customers a heavily reduced rate thanks to 80 years of accident free driving! 100 year old Cyriel Delacauw still drives everyday and plans to continue for another 10 years yet - though never above 25mph!

The Winner, by a Nose

Lloyds of London made a weird insurance policy specifically for the nose - valuing it at £3,900,000! Not everyone’s nose is worth that much though, this unusual insurance package was specifically designed for wine maker Ilja Gort of Bordeaux’s Chateau de la Garde, and covers him against loss of both his nose and his sense of smell. He described his nose as “his most important asset”, pointing out that the tongue only has fiver areas of taste, in contrast to the nose which can pick up millions of different scents.

Sex Costs Insurance Companies Dear!

Not so much an unusual insurance policy, as an interesting stat. According to a poll commissioned by Ann Summers, the British cause £350,000,000 worth of damage through energetic sex per year! How does this relate to insurance? Well, who do you think foots the bill for the 10% brave enough to make odd insurance claims after breaking items?

As well as damage to items, like lamps, cases, beds and pulled down curtains, 41% of people suffered carpet burns, 33% pulled their backs and 12% twisted their ankles or wrist. Most eye wateringly of all, 10th in the list of sex injuries was broken bones… the mind boggles!

When Absent Mindedness Costs You £180,000

We’ve all been in a situation where we’ve forgotten to take something with us when we leave it somewhere, but you’d have thought with an item worth £180,000 you’d be a little more careful! Not so, Robert Napier of Wiltshire, who last month managed to leave a 17th century violin on the train back from London - where he’d just had a valuation of the antique!

Insurance company Allianz have offered a £10,000 reward for the safe return of the item - which, after a thorough search of the carriage was declared missing at the next stop.

…And this is the stuff just appears in the news. Imagine the odd insurance packages that don’t make the headlines!

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26th May 2008

Online Car Insurance Quotes

Houses are the most expensive investments that a person can make, but it has been said that the next most expensive investment is be a car. These pieces of property are so valuable and expensive that people opt to enroll them in insurance plans.

Shopping for car insurance can take some time. After all, you want to have the best insurance for you and your vehicle. It is a good thing that there are online car insurance quotes to assist people shopping for car insurance.

What Are Online Car Insurance Quotes?

The estimated amount that a person has to pay for an insurance plan for his or her car is a car insurance quote. Those car insurance quotes services that are offered on the Internet are called online car insurance quotes.

Online car insurance quotes give people an approximation of how much they might need to pay for the insurance premium on a given car. The online car insurance quote is actually based on information that the vehicle owner provides. The service or the website itself does the computations.

How Do You Obtain the Best Possible Rate for Your Car Insurance?

Car insurance can be pretty expensive. However, if your car is well equipped with safety features and works well, you may be given a much lower rate. When you access online car insurance quotes websites, you are asked to provide information like the vehicle identification number of your car, your driver’s license number, insurance policies that the car already has, and how much or how often you use your car. This detailed information can provide discounts that you might see on your online car insurance quote.

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