Car Insurance

With summer rapidly approaching, it’s time to get your vehicle in shape for hot weather travel. Take a moment to perform a few quick maintenance activities that will have you cruising the streets all summer long.

“Summer’s hot temperatures combined with low antifreeze/ coolant concentration levels in your vehicle may lead to an aggravating episode of engine failure. To prevent this, perform a cooling system inspection and, if necessary, a flush and fill,” advises Richard Courtney, director of Prestone Products Research & Development and Technical Services.

To perform a flush and fill, simply wait until the engine is cool, drain out old antifreeze/ coolant fluid and dispose of it properly. Flush out the system with water and fill with a fresh supply of antifreeze/coolant. Try Prestone® Extended Life Antifreeze/Coolant-this formula may be added to any make or model automobile or light-duty truck, foreign or domestic.

If you have recently performed a flush and fill, a top-off may be the only maintenance necessary for your cooling system. Top off with a pre-diluted formula that has the correct mix of antifreeze/coolant concentrate and water. Prestone® 50/50 Ready-to-Use Extended Life Antifreeze/ Coolant may be poured directly into the cooling system for premium quality protection.

A couple weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, I was running late. My
morning coffee didn’t wake me up like it should have, and I was
dragging. As a result, I was going to be late for church, and
as a teacher, that wasn’t going to be good!

I finally got my stuff together and ran outside to my car. It
was raining. As I put the key in the ignition, I knew something
wasn’t right. I turned the key…nothing. The car wouldn’t start.
I hoped the problem was only with the battery, so I rolled the
car onto the street, pulled my wife’s car out, and jumped the
battery. It worked!

After church was over, I took my car to a garage, where I found
out the problem was the battery, and I replaced it.

But what if the problem wasn’t the battery? What if it was some
kind of engine failure? The car was only five years old, but
there could be an engine problem at any time. Before I found
out definitively what the problem was, the only thing that ran
through my mind was dollar signs—what would this cost me if it
was an engine problem?

It turns out I didn’t have to worried at all. When I bought the
car, I could have bought a vehicle extended warranty that would
have covered engine repairs (and some other things), but I was
too cheap to do it. I decided to gamble on the car working
properly until I wanted to get rid of it, and I got lucky that
something major didn’t happen to it.

What about you? Have you considered getting a vehicle extended
warranty? For the small monthly cost, it would certainly give
you peace-of mind. Knowing that your car was covered for
repairs even that much longer will help you feel better when
your car overheats in the fourth year of your vehicle extended
warranty—especially if your original warranty expired after
three years.

Many insurance companies and dealers will offer a vehicle
extended warranty. You should look into it, and get several
free quotes to compare. Then, you can make the best decision
you can to get a vehicle extended warranty.

Europe has significant safety features for automobiles that are either standard or optional equipment for their vehicles. These features have not been introduced here in the US. Why?

Could a lack of tort reform be the culprit? It boggles the mind. This was a topic of discussion at an April 21, 2004, meeting of Advocates for Auto and Highway Safety.

What is tort reform and why does it affect car insurance? Tort reform is used by its advocates to describe a change in the United States civil justice system that will limit tort litigation and damages. By doing so, it will reduce litigation’s adverse effects on the economy.

Michael Sanders is the global director for automotive safety for DuPont Performance Materials. Some of the new technologically advanced safety features he told the board about were side curtain airbags, laminated glass, radar-based rear obstacle detection, rear view camera systems, anti-trap technology for windows, an advanced rear seat belt reminder, and pretension seatbelts. Many of these features are standard or optional equipment in Europe. The significance of this is that the market penetration of these features in Europe is deep while they have had relatively no impression here at home.

What is keeping these potentially important safety features out of the grasp of American drivers? You may be surprised to learn that the group believes our litigious society, the contingency fee system, and our court system are reasons such safety equipment is not available in the US and why most of the suppliers are in Europe. What can be done to solve the problem? Unfortunately, it will require more regulation. This seems to be a never-ending spiral of deeper and deeper red tape in order to simplify and safeguard our driving risks. An example of this is to have carefully drawn regulatory standards so that consumers cannot sue auto companies for failure to use such equipment in the past. The group felt that availability of such equipment as standard equipment (OEM) on U.S. cars is probably dependent on tort reform.

We may see a change in this arena.

The U.S. Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 shifts many large class-action lawsuits involving parties from state to federal courts. This may or may not be a good thing. Erasing the needless burden of state litigation with more bureaucratic federal litigation may subvert the constitution’s intent. This Act removes many class action lawsuits from the jurisdiction of state courts. Business groups had lobbied for the legislation, arguing that class-action lawsuits enriched trial lawyers.

The Act accomplished two key goals of tort reform advocates:

1. Reduces the likelihood that out-of-state defendants will be subject to what proponents deem are excessive verdicts, by reducing settlements that may occur in plaintiff-friendly local venues.
2. Enacts procedures for the review of coupon settlements, to reduce attorney’s fees that are deemed “excessive” relative to the benefits actually afforded class members.

The Act gives federal courts sole jurisdiction to certain class actions in which the amount in controversy exceeds $5 million, and in which any of the members of a class of plaintiffs is a citizen of a state different from any defendant, unless at least two-thirds or more of the members of all proposed plaintiff classes in the aggregate and the primary defendants are citizens of the state in which the action was originally filed.

Buying a used car? You need an extended auto warranty to protect you from expensive surprises down the road. But be careful when your dealer tries to sell you used auto extended warranty coverage. Usually, the dealer is simply reselling used auto warranties issued by a used auto warranty company, with a markup of up to $1000. You could just as easily have bought the extended warranty directly from the auto warranty company.

But overpaying for a third-party used car extended auto warranty is certainly not the worst used auto warranty deal you can get. The worst auto extended warranty deal is to buy one that isn’t issued by a third party at all.

Dealer-Issued Extended Auto Warranties Explained

Yes, some dealers actually sell extended auto warranties they’ve created themselves. These dealer-issued auto warranties typically only allow you to get service at the dealership. They either don’t cover repairs done anywhere else at all, or they only cover emergency repairs for breakdowns.

Often, a dealer-issued used auto extended warranty even restricts you to getting maintenance at the dealership only. With a captive clientele, the dealerships often charge much more than local mechanics.

There are some other big problems with a dealer-issued used auto extended warranty:

• What happens if you move far away? Answer: you’d have to buy another auto warranty.

• What if you’re driving somewhere far away when your car breaks down? Answer: if the used auto warranty doesn’t cover reimbursements for emergency service, you’re in trouble. Even if it does cover reimbursements, you’d better hope your credit card or checking account can handle the damage in the meantime.

• What if the dealership goes bankrupt? Answer: get in line behind the banks, the car manufacturer, the dealership’s vendors, and everyone else trying to get money out of the business.

• What if you just aren’t satisfied with the dealer’s work? Answer: complain very, very nicely. You can’t take your business elsewhere unless you’re willing to pay for it.

If you comparison shopped the dealer-issued extended auto warranty, you’d realize it wasn’t worth it. But most people never do a used auto extended warranties comparison. There is simply so much ignorance about auto warranties. Your best hope is to learn more.

Dealer-Issued Used Auto Warranties: Why Does Anyone Buy Them?

• Most often, the buyer simply never thought about an extended auto warranty before going to the dealership. When the salesperson explains how important extended auto warranty coverage is, the buyer just thanks him for the tip and buys it.

• The buyer doesn’t realize how expensive the warranty is. Of course, car repairs can potentially be so expensive that even an overpriced dealer-issued warranty can pay for itself several times over. Meanwhile, next to a $15,000 car, even an overpriced $2500 dealer-issued warranty seems cheap. But if you’re going to buy a warranty, why not buy a really good one?

• Many buyers mistake dealer-issued warranties for manufacturers’ warranties. In some cases, the salesperson may even try to let you think the warranty will cover repairs at any of the dealerships affiliated with that manufacturer (say, any Chrysler or Mitsubishi dealership). Of course, such warranties do exist, but they’re more common for new cars than used cars.

In short, if a used car dealer ever tries to sell you an extended auto warranty, make sure to ask flat out: will this warranty cover repairs done anywhere, or just this dealership? Double-check the warranty itself to make sure it has a third-party company’s name on it, not the dealership’s.

Better yet, why not just buy the extended warranty directly from the warranty company rather than pay the dealer hundreds of dollars of markup on it? That way, you can also research the warranty thoroughly, without pressure.

In fact, you should start investigating extended auto warranties even before you go to the dealership. You’ll certainly like the salesperson’s face when you tell him you know what the original warranty company charges for the warranty they’re trying to sell you. You’ll also know in advance how much total the car purchase really will cost you.

Don’t wait. Start looking at extended auto warranties now, before the dealerships’ salespeople ever have a chance to breathe down your neck.

Poor used car dealers. With consumers learning more and more about them from the internet, overcharging for the automobile itself isn’t as easy as it used to be. Fortunately for the poor used car dealers, they’ve found something else to gouge consumers for: extended automobile warranty coverage.

What’s wrong with extended automobile warranties? Absolutely nothing. In fact, given the expensive surprises used cars always pack under the hood, extended automobile warranty coverage is essential. The problem is that dealers overcharge, often by as much as $1,000.

It’s one of the biggest secrets of the used car industry. You can buy the same extended warranty the dealer will sell you for much less. Why? The dealer is simply buying the extended automobile warranties from a warranty company and marking the prices up.

This is no small secret. Used car dealers are making an ever larger share of their money from selling extended automobile warranties. Unfortunately, when buying an automobile, extended warranty coverage is not a high priority for most consumers. That’s especially bad considering the average person knows even less about extended automobile warranty coverage than about automobiles.
There are 4 Extremely Common Myths about Buying an Extended Warranty:

Myth 1: Extended warranties aren’t necessary. Fact: Even if a car is in mint condition (and almost no used car really is), it won’t stay that way long. Automobiles, like people, develop problems as they age. Besides, even the most thorough inspection can’t guarantee there are no problems. Often, the consumer first learns from the dealer that for a used automobile extended warranty coverage is essential. The unprepared buyer simply takes the first warranty offered.

Myth 2: Used car dealerships are the only place you can buy extended automobile warranties. Fact: used car dealerships are generally buying their used automobile warranties from somewhere else and then reselling them for a big markup. You can just buy the warranty from the company yourself.

Myth 3: Comparable extended warranties for the same automobile will cost about the same. Fact: for the same automobile, extended warranty coverage prices can vary as much as $1,000 across comparable warranties.

Myth 4: Used automobile warranties all offer essentially the same protection. Fact: there are important differences in coverage from warranty to warranty. The biggest difference is power-train-only versus bumper-to-bumper. Some warranties have extremely restrictive rules about what damage is covered. There are even a few that only pay for repairs by reimbursement rather than direct to the service provider.

In short, you’re better off not buying used automobile extended warranty coverage from a used automobile dealer. You’ll save money comparison shop among automobile warranty issuers to find the extended automobile warranty that’s the best value for all. After all, do you really want to buy any more from a used car dealer than you absolutely have to?