vehicles
(stirwise)
—>GM's new 60-day money back guarantee (good through November 30th, 2009) on new car purchases sounds pretty straightforward—if you don't want the car for any reason (it doesn't have to be a good reason), you can bring it back. But it has a few rules that you should be aware of before your purchase, notes the Associated Press. More »
—>Update: Walmart has responded! More »
—>This Friday and Saturday, the state of California is going to hold a massive garage sale (they're actually calling it that) to try to get rid of surplus state property while also raising enough money to pay the bills for another month. If you're in Sacramento you can attend the event in person. If not, you can still take a look at the things they've posted on eBay. Who knows, maybe you'll find a cool car! More »
—>Next month, the government will start handing out credits of $3,500 or $4,500 to owners who trade in low-mpg cars for higher efficiency models under the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), popularly called the "Cash for Clunkers" program. Here are the basic things you need to know to determine whether it's worth it to you—and how to protect yourself from scammers. More »
—>Sure, if you're dissatisfied with your vehicle, you could complain to the company. You could write to Consumerist, or even start your own Web site. Or you could park it in front of the dealership that it came from, with a list of the vehicle's flaws and a warning to potential buyers plastered on in vinyl letters. A man in Colchester, England did just that. More »
—>Pat won an auction for an RV on eBay last week. He bid a little over $15,000 for a vehicle that was listed for sale by the RV company for $29,999 on other sites. Pat was worried that Nelson's RV might try to find a loophole to cancel the auction since he'd scored such a great deal, so he immediately sent his required $250 deposit to them and asked for someone at Nelson's RV to contact him. Eventually, after some run around, he got the following email—with one of the ballsiest excuses we've ever seen. More »
—>Humphrmi's 1963 Chrysler Newport has antique license plates, meaning he can't drive to or from anywhere other than car shows, shops and parades; but State Farm won't insure the car as an antique unless it gets a new coat of paint. "You have to paint the car," they said, to avoid a 33% higher premium. Does this strike anyone else as insane? More »
—>Humphrmi's 1963 Chrysler Newport has antique license plates, meaning he can't drive to or from anywhere other than car shows, shops and parades; but State Farm won't insure the car as an antique unless it gets a new coat of paint. "You have to paint the car," they said, to avoid a 33% higher premium. Does this strike anyone else as insane? More »
—>Look, we know gas is expensive, but don't save a couple bucks by topping off your U-Haul's gas tank with water. We won't pretend to care about U-Haul—not even U-Haul cares about their vehicles—but the next renter will want to bludgeon you with a rusty ice pick when their truck breaks down because you hosed the engine. More »
—>Sure, switching from a gas guzzler to a highly efficient (and probably much smaller) car is best for the environment, but it's not a realistic solution for large families or people who can't afford it. But don't let the fact that you can't buy a 40 mpg car turn you off of a trade up in efficiency anyway. A couple of economists have pointed out that "using 'miles per gallon' as a measure of fuel efficiency leads people to undervalue the benefits of replacing the most inefficient automobiles." Their point: if you're driving a gas guzzler, even a small improvement in fuel efficiency can generate significant savings. More »
—>If you own a Tacoma made between 1995 and 2000, Toyota would like to inspect it free of charge—and if the rust corrosion is severe enough, they will either repair the truck on their dime or buy it back as a vehicle in "excellent condition" no matter what state it's really in. Toyota announced this a little over a month ago and said thy would start sending letters to Tacoma owners in the weeks to come, so if you haven't received yours yet, be on the lookout for it. More »
—> We guess the sort of person who wants a luxury SUV isn't too concerned about the idea of gas approaching $3.50 a gallon in the coming months, because sales have only dropped 0.9% over the past year, reports BusinessWeek. "'For a high-dollar car, people with that level of discretionary income can absorb gas fluctuations,' says Brinley of AutoData." But it's not just the filthy rich who have SUV-fever: sales of small SUVs have increased by 22.7%. More »
