Review - AuctionPASS (5 Stars!)

It seems like every day I hear more and more about AuctionsPass. I remember when I was running a small dealership near Naperville, Illinois - when doing my callbacks to customers I would get about two or three "We went with AuctionPass." This was every week mind you! :) This was what led me toward the auto auction industry to begin with. You just can't compete with cars that are 1/10 the retail price.

When starting this blog I new sooner or later I would have to review this site. It is by far one the the most popular. It not only deals with vehicle auctions, but just about every type you can think of. I went with a full pass for just around 70 bucks, I wouldn't bother with the "Auction Guide" (whatever that even is). I knew I would most likely be using this site for buying other things down the road - but right now I was in search of a car.

If you read my last review or are a reader of my personal blog you may know that I have been in the market for a BMW X5 for months now. Right away after getting my order confirmation I jumped onto the site and searched the entire nation for the perfect X5. I was surprised with just how well laid out the search is. I was expecting it to be on par with my last review. I found that the search functionality of this site is very well laid out. Searching by keywords is a neat feature not found on most auction house sites as well.

I searched within my area first, that way if I was curious I could make the drive to look at the vehicle first hand. Within seconds I found a 2004 BMW X5 with 32,000 miles on it at a price so low my jaw dropped! This was it, I thought. The description, photos, and condition report all seemed spot on with what I was looking for. I grabbed the VIN and went on to CarFax to run a report. It came back as a two owner originating out of my hometown of Chicago.

Needless to say, I pulled the trigger on this one folks. This is by far the easiest car buying experience I have ever had. A day later the auction had ended with me as the high bidder. An hour after that I got an e-mail from the auction house confirming my information. They also helped me a bit with setting up the transport of my new baby.

One week after that date the gorgeous black SUV was sitting out in my driveway, parked next to my wife's rather dated Camry. Immediately she came up with the idea of maybe she could get a new car too. :) We'll see. Stay tuned! In a few weeks I'll be posting another auction site review. In the meantime check this site out, first five star rating.

AuctionsPass

PROS - Tons of vehicle listings. Also has comes with just about every other type of auction you could think of. Great customer service. Above average search. Great vehicle listing info.

CONS - Site seems to be a bit slow sometimes. Definitely not a deal break though.


Highly recommend this one folks, this is what its all about!

Rating - 5/5 cars

Review - GovernmentAuctions.Org

Occasionally I get an e-mail sent in from a reader about Government Auctions.Org. The auction house spends quite a bit in advertising so their name is pretty popular. When I first logged on to their site my first thought was why they didn't spend a bit more money on the actual design. It looked like a relic of the 1996 internet.

Don't let the appearance of the website fool you though, as this review will reveal - there is some definite potential here. A one time fee of $39.95 unlocks a plethora of car auctions. Federal, police, bankruptcy, unclaimed - just about every type of outlet is represented here.

Despite the overall look of the site, the search functions work quite well. It appears that they went with functionality over style here. One minute into a search I found 20 cars in my region that interested me. If you are a reader of my personal blog you may have noted that I am in the market for a BMW X5 for the winter. This site had 871 live Bimmer X5 auctions. 60 of those were close enough to me to where if necessary I would be more than happy to make the drive to check it out.

Each listing is accompanied by usually only one photo, but a very detailed description of the condition of the vehicle. I also found that a few actually gave information on how the car got to be up for auction - something that maybe some of you will want to know.

Overall a very user friendly and easy to navigate site - just don't expect it to look all that pretty while doing so. :) Next week I will be reviewing one of THE most popular auction sites. I will either be buying the X5 from this website or the next one. So stay tuned!

Government Auctions.Org

PROS - Hundreds of thousands of vehicles listed. Real estate and property auctions included in membership. Very user-friendly navigation and search options.

CONS - Would have liked the site to look a little bit better, but that doesn't really matter after a while.

Rating - 4/5 cars

Seven Things You Need To Know When Renting A Car

n today's society, there are a number of reasons why people rent a car. Some of the top reasons are vacations, a car they own is in the shop and renting a nicer car for a special occasion. Whatever the reason that you are considering renting a car; there are some things that you should know first.

1- It is wise to shop around when looking for to rent a car. Always find at least three rental car companies to compare, although more will be better. Be sure to ask all the companies the same questions to get the most accurate answers. Most rental car companies will have websites online to find basic information, but it is best to call as local branches may have deals that are not advertised online.

2- When you call, be sure to ask about price, vehicle availability, as well as any specials that the branch has to offer. It is worth noting here, that many of these companies will have special arrangements with hotels, airlines or even warehouse stores.

3- You will want to ask about any special instructions that are required of you while renting the car, for example, filling up the gas tank or pick up and drop off times. Not adhering to these policies can result in fees.

4- Many companies that will rent a car to you will also be willing to either deliver the car to you or pick you up and take you to your rental. This service may require a fee, but can be worth asking about if you are flying to your destination.


5- The rental company may offer you insurance to purchase, however, your personal auto insurance may be all you need in the event of an accident with a rental car. Call your auto insurance agent and ask before paying extra at the rental counter.

6- There are a number of choices that are open to you when renting a car. Each class of car will vary in price and gas mileage; consider this when making your decision. While many companies may be willing to upgrade you, this is not always the case. It is wise to choose the car you want and hope for an upgrade than to reserve less of a car and be disappointed when an upgrade is not offered.

7- Have a credit or debit card handy to reserve the rental car with, most companies will only guarantee a car with this assurance.

Review - Seize Cars.com

Seize Cars.com is a site mainly specializing in high end government seized vehicles. It is your chance to own that Range Rover or BMW you always wanted - but for less than half the price. Ahhh..the beauty of auctions.

This is an auction house which regularly broadcasts late night commercials in my area. I was happy to see that the full membership of about $70 also gave me access to real estate auctions as well. The pricing is a tad bit high - but most people will go here to try and get their hands on highly discounted exotics and luxury vehicles - so the pricing is not too far off.

It took about 5 hours for the confirmation e-mail to arrive in my inbox. Right away I noticed that while looking great, the search and browse functions of the site are a little confusing. I would have preferred to find vehicles in my area first, then narrow by manufacturer and model. This site only allows you to find the model of car you want - then search within a specified area. I got my sights set on a '97 Ferrari 355 (when in Rome, I thought!). The price was a not too shabby $67,000.00 for a gorgeous red with tan interior spider(convertible). Now, while I didn't actually have 67k to throw at a car, I pretended I did for this experiment.

After further inspection of my desired listing I noticed that there was only 5 photos of the vehicle - not enough to sway me in the buying direction even if I was a millionaire.

Overall if you are looking for an exotic car this would most likely be the place to go. I would, however, recommend seeing the car in person before forking over that much of your hard earned cash.

Seize Cars.com

PROS - Best place for exotic and high end vehicles. Good amount of listing. Great pricing. Real estate and other types of auctions included in the cost.

CONS - Lackluster search options. Mediocre vehicle information listed.

Rating - 4/5 cars

Review - Car Auction Inc.

Car Auction Inc. is a somewhat new online auction service. Upon hearing about this site from a friend - actually a friend of a friend - I went online to check it out. The main page seemed promising enough. Neat little animations and a good overall page design.

I decided to take a peak and went with their "Seasonal Auction Service" - which is their recommended mid level service. The others are "Full Access" and "Regional Access Only". They also offer a 56-day money back guarantee. Upon 39.99 I was instantly sent login information. This plan allowed me a 12-month subscription to the site.

I took a gander and started my search off for just the Midwest listed cars. I was floored when I saw the number of live auctions show up on my screen. Thousands of vehicles listed - cars, boats, motorcycles - even campers.

The search element is very well decided on this site. It is very easy to find the type of vehicle you are looking for. It then lets you drop down to make, model, year, and even trim level. I found a 2005 Mercedes-Benz C-Class with a ridiculously low price listed about 30 miles from my home.

I actually was so enthusiastic after reading the well handled description and viewing the 15+ photos of the car to actually try to make the purchase. A Benz at this price was just too hard to pass up I thought. For the next two hours I anxiously watched my computer screen for the auction to end. Unfortuantely, at literally the last second I was outbid. Darn!

Overall a very well designed site and service. Offering government seized vehicles as well as dealer trade-ins. As of this post I would recommend this site to a friend.

Car Auction Inc.

PROS - Very clean, user-friendly layout. Tremendous amount of vehicles up for grabs. Numerous types of vehicles listed.

CONS - Somewhat cumbersome bid process. Would have liked to see where the auction originated.

Rating - 3/5 cars (stars)

18 Ways To Save Money On Your Car

The upkeep of your vehicle can be quite an expense - from initial purchase to insurance to maintenance. And sometimes we get the sinking feeling that every time we need a car repair, we’re going to get taken for a ride. (pardon the pun!) Actually there are some ways to make sure you don’t get a raw deal when dealing with a local body shop.

After you get recommendations for honest mechanics, call around to check out the prices for certain jobs. It’s always smart to get a second opinion.

How about some preventative medicine? Keep your gas tank filled. This will help you avoid the gas line freezing up in cold weather. Also, driving on “fumes” allows little pieces of dirt at the bottom of your gas tank to run through the fuel lines with the last drops of gas. This debris clogs up the fuel filter and can cause carburetor damage as well.

Sometimes a problem with your car’s electrical system results from a simple blown fuse. Check to see if you have any blown fuses before investing in a tow truck!

Keep track of how much oil your car uses. A sudden change in oil consumption means you need to see a technician.

Save your brakes by having your brake fluid changed every 30,000 miles.

Check your tire pressure once a month. This simple maintenance check can add up savings at the gas pump!

Stop and go traffic causes excess wear and tear on your vehicle. Go ahead and give your car a nice twenty minute ride at 55 mph on the highway every couple weeks if you “major” in short trips.

There are other ways to save money on car expenses. Let’s look at the insurance payments.

If you’ve budgeted for possible out-of-pocket expenses in case of a car accident, you might want to consider increasing your insurance deductible to $500. This will lower the cost of your insurance.

Talk to your insurance agent. If your car is as old as the hills, you might want to drop collision coverage to save money.

Car insurance companies offer a variety of discounts. Ask your agent if the company offers reductions for driver training courses, anti-lock brakes, car alarms, air bags, mature drivers, good students or maintaining a good driving record.

Before you purchase from a dealer, ask about the dealer's return policy, get it in writing and read it carefully. Dealers are not required by law to give used car buyers a three-day right to cancel.

Visit http://www.fueleconomy.gov to find cars that are fuel efficient.

Each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.10 per gallon for gas.

In most cases, using cruise control on the highway will save gas.

Replacing a clogged air filter can improve your car's gas mileage by as much as 10 percent. This isn’t going to cost you an arm or leg either.

Do your homework when buying a car from an auction. Many vehicles that have been damaged by floods and hurricanes are going on the market. These won’t last long – leaving you with a flood of bills. Be a little concerned if the carpet looks too new, and check carefully for signs of rust.

Carfax.com shares info on inspecting a used car to make sure you get the best deal.

If you use your car for business, keep track of miles traveled so that you can use this for a tax deduction. Get more info at irs.gov.

When you consider all the ways you can save money on your current vehicle, you might be persuaded to put away the extra each month for a new car down the road!

Review - Marshal Auctions

First online auction house review.

Occasionally someone will ask me about Marshal Auctions. It is not a very common online auction house, generally focusing on government seized cars. Never the less I figured it would be a good starting point for my reviews. So, I decided to sign up for a membership and attempt to buy a vehicle from them.

They offer auction listings from all 50 states for a one time fee of 20 bucks, not bad I thought. After paying the fee I received my login information about 3 hours later. After logging in I immediately noticed that their member's area is very poorly designed. It is just plain hard to find the car your looking for. After about 45 minutes of searching I found a decently priced '97 Dodge Ram pickup in my home state of Illinois.

The auction was ending in less than an hour, though the only indication of this was a very small text at the bottom of the listing. The photos of the truck were decent. The description though was a bit lacking, a VIN number, mileage, and "Truck is in good condition, minor wear" were the only signs I had to work with.

I decided to look for a few more cars in my area - which again is very cumbersome thanks to the very unuser-friendly design of the entire site. I found four other vehicles that were decently priced, all with the same lackluster information. I don't know how they expect someone to buy the car with this apparent disregard for conditionally info.

All in all I am glad the membership was so cheap - because folks this is not a good site at all. The number of cars listed is decent(which earned them one star) but the information given on their cars is completely unsatisfactory.

Marshal Auctions

PROS - Decent amount of cars listed. Above average quality and quantity of photos.

CONS - Horribly designed site. Absence of conditional information. Hard to find the type of vehicle your looking for - let alone the model.

Rating - 2/5 cars

Why Won't My Car Start?

Have you ever had your car just "die" on you, you try to start it and it just will not start. You end up calling a tow truck and paying those big tow bills, then to make matters worse the technician at the shop tells you that it will cost hundreds of dollars to make it run again,is that true? Maybe maybe not.

I own and work as a diagnostics Tech here at Ace Automotive in Lakewood Wa and I can tell you from experience if some people knew just a little more about their cars workings they could save a whole lotta money. Say for instance you are driving at night wipers and heater ,lights and radio on you notice that the headlights keep getting dimmer and dimmer soon the vehicle "dies" and now won't start the most likely cause is the alternator has failed, not the battery because if the battery failed the alternator would still keep power to the vehicle until you turned it off then it would not restart.

You are driving for a while and the car just "shuts off" all the instrument lights come on but when you try to start it it just turns over but will not start. First it depends what kind of car this happend to if it was an import like say Honda, acura, toyota, subaru, nissan, mitubishi, the engine timing belt may have broken (if it's been more that 60,000 miles since you changed it last time) you should be able to tell if when you try to start the engine it sounds different like its just "freewheeling" faster than normal, this is bad cause most of the import cars mentioned will do expensive damage to the engine when the timing belt breaks.

If your vehicle is a domestic one Chevy, Ford, ect, be patient and wait a little bit maybe 30-45 min and try to start it if it starts hurray! But it will "die" again once it's hot enough again, be sure to tell your local tech this valuable information and ask for all parts they replace to repair your vehicle to let them know you know something about the car too.

Tips For Winter Driving

Who said all my posts had to be about car auctions? :)

With winter creeping its way around the corner(two corners actually) I figured I would give my new readers some tips on how to stay safe on the roads during that annually Christmas trip!

Winter driving can be hazardous and stressful. Wind, snow, ice and blizzard conditions increase the normal dangers of driving. There is a lot you can do before the winter driving season and during a storm to protect yourself and your family.

Before winter arrives, have your car inspected to be sure it is ready for the road conditions. You can do this yourself or take it to a qualified mechanic. Check the battery, wipers and fluid, thermostat, brakes, ignition system, antifreeze, exhaust system, lights, oil level, heater and defrosters. Make sure everything is in good working order to keep you safe throughout the cold weather.

Check your tires to be sure they are road ready. Install tires that are appropriate for the driving conditions. In moderate amounts of snow, all weather radials will do the job nicely. If you live in a climate where you experience a lot of snow, consider snow tires. These have better tread to deal with snow and ice.

Prepare an emergency kit to keep in the back of your car. This will ensure that you are prepared in the event that you get stuck in the snow. Things to include in the kit:

Ice scraper
Small broom
Small shovel
Kitty litter or a bag of sand (to give traction if you get stuck in snow or ice)
Blankets or a sleeping bag
Flashlight with batteries
Flares or warning triangles
Plastic bags
First aid kit
Tool kit
Jumper cables
Bright cloth to use as a flag
Help sign for back window
Extra hat and gloves
Food and water to sustain you if you get stuck
A book, Bible or Prayer Cards to keep you busy and calm in the event you get stuck.
Charged cell phone (always carry this, especially in the winter)

Keep your gas tank at least half full at all times. This adds weight to the car and will ensure that you won’t run out of gas in the event you get stuck.

Driving in the Snow

Pay attention to the weather forecasts and road conditions in the winter months. If the weather is bad, stay home if at all possible. If you must venture out, travel in the daylight. You are more likely to find help if you get stuck during the day. Never warm up your vehicle in the garage. This releases carbon monoxide, which is toxic and can kill you.

When driving, always wear your seatbelt. Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from the glare of the sun reflecting off the snow. Know your car and how it handles in the snow. Features like traction control and antilock brakes can be useful in bad weather conditions. Know how these work and if your car is new, practice driving it in a snow covered parking lot before venturing out on the road.

Take it slow, especially in icy conditions. Don’t tailgate and be sure to allow a safe distance between vehicles. Do everything slowly, stopping, accelerating and turning. Leave plenty of time and space to maneuver. Sliding and skidding usually happen when turning, stopping or accelerating. Going extra slow will ensure your safety.

If the visibility is low, slow down even more. Consider getting off highways and driving even slower. This will take you out of the path of large trucks that can cause accidents. Use only your low beams, as your high beams will reflect back off the snow and won’t increase your visibility. Turn on your hazard lights to be sure other drivers see you.

In the event your car gets stuck, don’t get out. Put up the hood and tie your cloth to the antennae. This will make you more visible to emergency vehicles and other drivers. Keep the windows, air grill and tail pipe clear of snow. Wrap up in blankets and huddle up with passengers to stay warm. Run the heat for fifteen minutes each hour to keep from freezing. Move your body around to stay warm.

Keeping your car clean throughout the winter is important. Salt on the roads is important for safety, but will wreak havoc on the finish. If left on for long periods, it can cause rusting. Wash your vehicle weekly to remove salt and wax to protect the paint. Salt also leaves a coating on your headlights that can impair their operation. This will make you less visible to other vehicles. New Lite Headlight Cleaner and Restorer will return the lights to like new condition.

Welcome!

Hello everyone and welcome to my new blog.

First of all let me introduce myself. My name is Jason Carpenter and for the past 14 years I have been employed in the automobile sales segment. I started out in a small, used car lot in my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. After four years there I moved to a much larger GM dealership in Hoffman Estates. I worked as a lowly salesman there for three years until I was offered the Sales Manager position.

Throughout the years I have seen mediocre deals, bad deals, but most of all - horrible deals. You see, it was my job to make absolutely sure the dealers made as much money as they possibly could. There is no "good deals" in car buying these days - just degrees of bad. I've not only watched, but helped, put young first car buyers into years of debt. I've upselled old ladies into cars that they did not need, nor really wanted. The car business has lost all morality.

I've always loved cars. When I graduated high school I attended two years of college, majoring in business. I dropped out after I realized what I really wanted to be doing was selling cars. I always thought that buying a car was an enjoyable and exciting experience growing up. I soon found out that the world had changed quite a bit.

After two years in the sales manager position at the "big dealership" I was offered a management position at a Chicago car auction house. I had just about had it with the politics and dynamics of the usual dealership so delightfully accepted this position. From the very first week at the auction block I realized one thing - that this was REALLY the only good deal in car buying.

Why doesn't everyone buy their cars from auctions? - I thought. Well, probably the same reason I never did - most people just do not have experience or the "know how" to do so. Finding a reputable car auction lot, website, or service is a challenge in and of itself. There are so many scams out there that it is hard to know whats real and what isn't. With the internet you have a doorway to hundreds of car auctions - finding a good one is the journey that I am here to help you with. Gone are your days of paying thousands more at big box dealerships. Why not pay below retail for a change? Each week I will be reviewing a car auction website or nationwide service - to make sure that you will not be "taken" again.

Feel free to shoot me in e-mail with your thoughts, thank you's, suggestions, etc. Maybe even throw in a picture of your new car! :)