Smart tips for WINTER driving.

1. Prepare for the worst. Is your car in good working order? Check the brakes, battery, belts, filters, lights, tires, windshield wipers and fluid, anti-freeze, and gas … use gas line de-icer and try to keep the tank at least half filled. Don’t be like Nancy and me — get your winter maintenance donebeforeyou have to spend an all-nighter waiting for your car to be resurrected.

2. Don’t start your journey… until the snow and ice are cleared from your hood, lights, windows, roof, trunk, and license plates. If you can’t see, you shouldn’t be driving. And sheets of snow blowing off the hood will blind you … or the driver behind you.

3. Can you jump?Get yourself a good set of jumper cables and learn how to use them. The cheap cables in supermarkets and even auto supply houses are too lightweight to handle the heavy load of today’s cars … especially when winter cold slices the battery’s energy in half and increases the load on your engine.

As a former electrician, I suggest copper cables whose “gauge” is listed as 6 or less (the higher the number, the thinner the wire). So where can you find heavy duty cables? Sometimes at junk yards, at rock bottom prices.

4. Carry a cold weather tool kit. In addition to the personal life savers listed below, and good jumper cables, every car should have an ice scraper, a shovel, sand, salt, or cat litter for traction, a colorful flag to announce surrender to the elements, flares to warn other drivers, a motor club card, and a CB radio or cellular phone. True, there won’t be much room in your trunk, or for passengers, but trust me, it’ll be worth it.

5. A lamp to light the night. Don’t forget to have a flashlight in the glove compartment, and remember to test the batteries regularly.

On the subject of lights, if you should get stuck, you can leave your dome light on, as well as your hazard lights, while you wait for help to arrive. Both use very little power and won’t drain a battery in good working order. In fact, even a weak battery will keep those lights going for quite a while.

6. Practice. First chance you get every year, find a large, deserted icy parking lot to practice ice driving skills. If the truth be told, the older I get, the more I prefer heading to a warmer climate where ice is no problem. But rain and fog can follow you anywhere, so …

7. Take it slow. Whether you’re facing rain, fog, snow, or ice, you’re far less likely to have an accident if you’re traveling slowly. On wet roads, drive 5-10 mph slower than usual. In snow, cut your speed in half. On ice, crawl.

While driving over bridges and through shady spots, be especially alert for ice. These areas freeze earlier and stay frozen longer than the rest of the roadbed.

Slow down before you hit curves or go down hills — ideally by letting up on the gas and/or driving in low. You don’t want to make any sudden moves on slippery roads. Gradual is the watchword — whether you’re accelerating, slowing down, or braking.

8. Make yourself visible. Truckers do it. School bus drivers do it. Some new cars give you no choice but to do it. It’s time for you to do it, too. Day or night, but especially in bad weather, turning on your headlights will make your car easier to see.

9. Make THEM visible too. When they’re dirty, your headlights could be giving off only 10% of their brightness. So keep yours clean. Even normal driving causes a dirt build-up that can cut your lights’ output in half. Every time you squeegee the windshield, do the front and back lights, too.

Two other light warnings: 1) Use low beams in fog, heavy rain, or snow. Brights will reflect back into your eyes … reducing visibility. 2) Don’t forget to turn your lights off when you arrive at your destination, or a dead battery may greet you upon your return.

10. Maintain a “space cushion.”In bad weather, you need a lot of extra space between you and the car ahead. On snow or ice, you could travel three to twelve times further than usual before your car stops. For example, under the best conditions, you’ll need about 75 feet — 5 car lengths — to come to a complete stop if you’re doing 30 mph. On a snowy road at that speed, figure on at least 15 car lengths to stop (225 feet).

11. Summertime, and the skidding is easy. You don’t need winter weather to get into a skid. After a dry spell, a light drizzle brings oil to the surface, making roads slick … and cars skid on slick surfaces.

Nancy and I once got into a terrible skid, thanks to an oil slick. Fortunately, there were no other cars near us on the highway, because we had the pleasure of a 360 degree spin. We hit the guard rail twice. The car got a bit mashed, but we came away unscathed. If a car had been close behind us … this issue would be dedicated to Nancy’s memory, and maybe mine.

12. Postpone panic. On icy roads, try switching to the lowest gear you have … before you enter a curve or head down a hill. It should keep your speed in check, sans brakes. If you find yourself going into a skid, try not to panic. It won’t help. Neither will slamming on the brakes, which will just increase the danger. What to do?

Forget everything you were taught about going in the direction of the skid. That was too confusing. All you have to do is gently steer the car in the direction you want to go. It’s as simple as that. Honest.

If you have to slow down or stop on an icy patch, tap the brakes lightly — unless you have antilock brakes, in which case, you should maintain a firm, steady pressure on the brake pedal — and see tip #19.

Some day, you’ll be stuck in snow, mud, or sand

13. Freeing yourself. Try moving forward very slowly (in drive, not low … your wheels are less likely to spin). Point your front wheels straight ahead. With snow, shoveling in front and behind each wheel, as well as under the car, may help.

14. Freeing yourself, Part 2. I’ve recently read, and just tried, putting my emergency brake on slightly to reduce wheel spinning. It seems that on some cars, this will return power to both drive wheels … as if you had a vehicle with traction control. I wasn’t convinced it helped, although Nancy thought it did. Let me know what you think, and don’t forget to release the emergency brake once you’re back on the road.

15. Freeing yourself, Part 3. Next, you can try “rocking.” Here’s my method: I gently press on the accelerator as I shift from low to reverse. Do it slowly, and not for long. If you get some forward or backward momentum … great! Just keep on truckin’.

Warnings: It’s dangerous to rock a car with people trying to push. And on the subject of digging and pushing, it’s counter-productive to exert yourself so much that a heart attack stops your engine!

16. Yet more on freeing yourself. Try to get some traction by putting something like cat litter or sand under your drive wheels. Again, if you get going, don’t stop until you’re out of the muck and mire, or you may get stuck again.

No dice? There are times when your best bet is to be towed out. Although I’ve been known to jack up my car and put boards underneath the wheels, a tow is far easier, especially if you belong to a motor club.

17. Sometimes, it pays to get heavy. We have rear wheel drive, and load the trunk with weight. Given our herd of 5 stray cats (as of this writing), we go for several 50-pound bags of cat litter. They help steady the car and come in handy when we get stuck. No cats? You can use substitutes like sand or cinder blocks, or donate the cat litter to the ASPCA in the spring.

18. If you’re stranded during a snowstorm, stay in your car. The conventional wisdom says you should run the engine and heater for very short periods and always “crack” the downwind window for ventilation.

Last time Nancy and I got stuck in a snowstorm, it was about 4 AM (don’t ask). We couldn’t see, and the roads were really terrible. We decided to pull off the highway until daybreak, when the snow was expected to stop and the plows would be out. We chose to crack a window, and keep the engine on the whole time — which sure kept us warm and meant we didn’t have to wonder whether the car would start, or not.

A great source of heat is body movement. Move those arms and legs, take deep breaths, clap those hands … keep active and if you’re alone, awake. If you’re not alone, post sentinels … make sure someone is awake at all times.

Warning: Carbon monoxide (CO) can build up if the exhaust system has leaks, the tailpipe is clogged, or the vehicle is boxed in by snow drifts. CO is odorless, invisible, and deadly. You’d never know.

Closed or snow blocked windows can cut off your oxygen supply — and a car buried in snow won’t be seen by rescue crews. So keep your car as free of snow as possible.

19. Safety devices can kill. While it’s true that antilock brake systems (ABS) save lives, improper use of them may cause as many accidents as they prevent. Because some drivers don’t know how to use ABS correctly, they “pump their brakes,” just as they were taught to do in cars with the old-fashioned kind of brakes. Despite the fact that ABS may set up a nerve racking vibration when held down, that’s normal. They should be held down … not pumped.

20. A few tricks. To avoid a frozen emergency brake, park on a level surface and leave the car in gear (standard) or park (automatic). If the emergency brake is frozen, try releasing it by driving a short distance in reverse.

Got a frozen door lock? Heat the key with a match or lighter. If you use that lock de-icer stuff, don’t keep it in the glove compartment. Try to pick a spot you’ll remember in the house or garage. (Guess why.)

21. The best tip of all. Stay home (or wherever you are). Wait for the weather and roads to clear before you hit the highway. You’re unlikely to get into a car accident if you’re nowhere near a car.

Nancy and I were reminded of this yet again the other day. We set out when we should have stayed put. Will we ever learn? We’re trying — this time, at least we had the sense to turn around.

22. Dial 911. If you must get somewhere important, like the hospital, call for emergency assistance. The police are trained and equipped to brave the storm as safely as possible.

23. 4 X 4’s. I love ‘em but look out! They won’t prevent a skid on ice any better than a 2-wheel drive vehicle, and they have an annoying tendency to flip over. Drive just as carefully in your Bronco, Jeep, or Trooper as you would in a Chevy, Plymouth, or Volvo.

And finally 24. Drive sober … or don’t drive at all. You really need your wits about you when driving … winter, spring, summer, fall … day or night. For the best used cars in Conover, nc - www.villagemotors.com

Once there lived a village of creatures along the bottom of a great crystal river. The current of the river swept silently over them all–young and old, rich and poor, good and evil, the current going its own way, knowing only its own crystal self. 

Each creature in its own manner clung tightly to the twigs and rocks of the river bottom, for clinging was their way of life, and resisting the current what each had learned from birth. But one creature said at last, “I am tired of clinging. Though I cannot see it with my eyes, I trust that the current knows where it is going. I shall let go, and let it take me where it will. Clinging, I shall die of boredom.” 

The other creatures laughed and said, “Fool! Let go, and that current you worship will throw you tumbled and smashed across the rocks and you will die quicker than boredom!” But the one heeded them not, and taking a breath did let go, and at once was tumbled and smashed by the current across the rocks. 

Yet in time, as the creature refused to cling again, the current lifted him free from the bottom, and he was bruised and hurt no more. And the creatures downstream, to whom he was a stranger, cried, “See a miracle! A creature like ourselves, yet he flies! See the Messiah, come to save us all!” 

And the one carried in the current said, “I am no more Messiah than you. The river delights to lift us free, if only we dare let go. Our true work is this voyage, this adventure.” But they cried the more, “Savior!” all the while clinging to the rocks, and when they looked again he was gone, and they were left alone making legends of a Savior. 

© Richard Bach

-Buying from a Bonded Auto Dealer
 
Conover, NC - The sagging new car industry got a brief boost this summer thanks to the Obama administration’s “Cash for Clunkers” program. Consumers bought almost 700,000 new cars and trucks from late July through most of August. 
 
A post-program slump has hit some dealerships, but there are burgeoning signs of life in some sectors of the industry while many used car dealers are posting record years. Bruce Roffey of Village Motors in Conover, NC said that this year will probably be the companies best in a decade. “It’s about working smart, taking care of your customer base, and offering a better value proposition.”
 
“We have started to get little rumblings that maybe the consumer isn’t quite so flat on their back, that they have been responding to some of the incentive programs.” Rebecca Lindland, an automotive research director at IHS Global Insight, recently told Reuters.
 
For savvy consumers, there are some fantastic deals to be had on both new and used vehicles. But it’s also a good time to be cautious. Shoppers looking for that perfect car, truck or crossover need to do their homework and ensure they’re working with a legitimate dealer. In his Special Report - Eight Keys to a Better Deal (available free at VillageMotors.com),  Roffey puts twenty years of practical experiance marketing and selling used cars in Conover, North Carolina to work to help protect the retail buyer. Among the many valuable tips in his Special Report, Roffey says that finding a reputable dealership is critical.
 
One simple way to measure legitimacy is to make sure the auto dealer is professionally bonded. Dealers are required to post surety bonds with the state – these mandatory bonds ensure consumers and taxpayers are protected against financial harm in the event the dealer engages in illicit or illegal activity. 
 
Here’s a brief run-down of why he says consumers should purchase cars from adequately bonded agencies:
 
-Protection
Auto Dealer Bonds, often known as MVD bonds, ensure auto dealers comply with all applicable local and state laws.. These bonds also protect consumers against fraud – for example, if a dealer misrepresents merchandise or utilizes unethical business practices. Consumers wronged by bonded dealers can file a claim and recoup potential losses.
 
-Authority
Surety bonding companies scrutinize the financial health of dealerships before issuing bonds. In most cases, dealerships are on the hook to pay any claims filed against their bond. But there are rare times when the surety company winds up taking a loss and covering a payment for a newly bankrupt outfit. Either way, consumers have certainty that losses will be covered because of the surety company’s guarantee.
 
-Verifiable
Anyone can claim to be “licensed and bonded,” which sounds impressive and reliable. The reality is that consumers shouldn’t take anyone’s word for it. Auto dealer bonds are filed with each state’s Department of Motor Vehicles. Consumers can check with the agency to verify a dealer’s claims about proper bonding. 
Consumers should always conduct thorough due diligence before making a critical purchase like a new car or a home. Investigating the licensing and bonding of an auto dealer or real estate broker is a simple yet crucial step. To learn more about surety bonds, visitwww.suretybonds.com <http://www.suretybonds.com> .

About The Author: Bruce Roffey has spent the past 19+ years trying to  change the landscape of the car business and the bruised reputation of car salespeople all over the country. He is also the author of “Eight Keys to a Better Car Deal”. A consumer guide to buying used cars. (Downloadable free at www.VillageMotors.com.) Bruce is an active member of a Leedom and Associates Twenty Group, a gathering of the top Independant Dealers from across the country. He has participated in many automotive, finance, and compliance related courses of study and siminars, is an active member of the Carolinas Independant Auto Dealers Association, serving on the North Carolina Legislative Committee, and is a respected member of several online Professional Dealer discusion groups. Bruce is often called upon for his vast experiance and expertise in all things internet and social marketing. Bruce has lived a few hundred yards from Village Motors in Conover with his wife Angie and their two sons, Chad and Chandler, assorted dogs and cats, a bird, some fish, and a guinea pig, since 1990.

When Honesty Doesn’t Quite Cut It  

The last few years has certainly exposed us to a fundamental breakdown of trust in our society. While honesty is still alive in most American institutions, the lies and deception of these times has created an overwhelming climate of caution and mistrust. Trust takes many years of actions over words to establish. Admittedly, there is no substitute for honesty in business. But sometimes, honesty alone just isn’t enough, not the only key to good decisions. An honest doctor can make the wrong prognosis, an honest broker can make a bad investment recommendation, and an honest car dealer may not offer the best value in a used car!  

Knowledge and experience, coupled with integrity, usually results in good advice, good value. Here at Village Motors in Conover, NC we take enormous pride in not only the way we run our business with integrity, but also in the enormous value that each and every one of our customers derive from the decades of experience and knowledge that we bring to the table for you. We’ve accumulated this vast amount of knowledge and experience from selling over 30,000 cars since 1969. We’ve assisted in excess of 20,000 good folks, just like you, with top notch financing for the transportation your family needs.

We never have, and never will indulge in the fast profits that come from slick and deceptive sales promotions. We always have, and we always will, be here to serve you and your family, every day. With honesty, integrity AND experience!  

Simply put, there is no one else in the car business that can offer you the value that we do. We just have the years and years of dedication to this community, the car business, and our customers that profoundly stands above the rest. We have the cars, trucks, and SUV’s that you really want, and we have the experience to help you get the best value available for your hard earned dollar.

used cars,village motors,conover,hickory,obama

Did Obama announce the end of used cars?

In his speech about the GM bankruptcy yesterday, President Barack Obama (from the New York Times) said:

And that’s why I’m calling on Congress to pass fleet modernization legislation that can provide a credit to consumers who turn in old cars and purchase cleaner, more fuel-efficient cars. (emphasis added)

Turn in old cars. It’s long been a talking point of liberals and environmentalists that cars older than a given age should be removed from the highways. The usual mantra goes “The government should buy all cars older than X and pay the owner $750. Then the owner could go out and buy a newer, cleaner, more efficient car.” The advocates for this position either fail or refuse to understand that the owners will not be able to find a car to buy with their $750. Basic economics.

President Obama used the words “turn in” not “trade in.” He will give folks a credit - I suppose that means an income tax credit - for doing this. This sounds like the used cars will go to the government and be removed from the market. No more used cars. You either buy an expensive putt-putt new car, or you go without. It appears that he’s set out to destroy the used car market?

used cars nc conover hickory

Preaching to the Choir 

The Inevitable Rise of the Used Car Economy

I’ve been in the car business for 18 years now, and there is one thing that has always seemed abundantly clear to me. Buying new cars is for folks with excess money. As I interact with customers, clients, vendors, and other dealers, it is very clear that there are less and less people with excess money. Most folks I talk to have more month than they have money.

Once we start to really pay attention to where our money is going, which is inevitable as our purse strings tighten, our priorities shift. When things are just a little tighter, the actual cost of that couple of months of new car smell may cross your mind. When our cup is overflowing, what difference does two or  three thousand dollars make? Usually it’s  ‘only’ a few dollars extra a month. But, now that our priorities are shifting back to what’s really important, friends, family, work, church, etc. , being able to brag on that ‘Brand New’ car sounds sort of vein and out of focus.

Right now, while it is important to watch every dime, our focus is on getting the kids to school, getting to work, dependable, safe, economic transportation.  I read recently that one of the positive outcomes of harder times is that the people as a whole tend to really focus on the things that matter the most. So, like we’ve been saying for decades, the used car industry is thriving in a fairly severe economic downturn. The reason, as I see it from here, is the value proposition. It just makes good economic sense to let some other person endure that initial loss we call depreciation.  

Used cars in NC have always been the best value in the automotive marketplace.  Not only are cars for sale in NC built to last much longer these days, but the cost of ownership is less as well.  Many vehicles don’t even require a tune-up until 100,000 miles.  A used car in MA provides the public the opportunity to own more car, better equipped, than the stripped down base model new car.  So now is a great time to look into the used car market, there are some really good economics working in your favor. I’ve been arguing these points for a long time, but like they say in Washington, we are being forced to look at and evaluate where our money is actually going.

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Another Obama Used Car Up for Sale – for Way Too Much Money

Frankly, I’d rather have Barack Obama’s new ride but there are people in the world apparently willing to spend more than $100,000 on his used 2004 Chrysler 300C. It’s listed on eBay motors with a Buy It Now price of $1 million. Of course, that has resulted in some Yabo putting in a bid for $70 million.

Here’s a question that often comes up when discussing the green automotive scene: Is it more eco-friendly to keep your old car or to buy a new, more fuel efficient model? The answer is, as you may have guessed, very complicated. One way to attack the question is on carbon emissions, and this is the main tack that Scientific American has taken when analyzing the issue. According to SciAm, due to the emissions created when manufacturing vehicles, you should keep your current car as long as possible, so long as it is in decent running condition and getting reasonably good fuel mileage. Case closed?

Not so fast - while that’s not necessarily the wrong answer, let’s muddy up the waters a bit, shall we? Depending on the year of manufacture, a given car may not be equipped with many modern emissions controls that are standard on current models. Even if a car continues to pass its emissions testing, it is generally only required to meet the standards that were in place when it was new, and those requirements have gotten much more strict in the past few years.

Scrapping a car, as pointed out by SciAm, isn’t a particularly green option, though retrofitting modern emissions equipment is tough. A conversion to electric sounds like a nice option, but then you must consider where the electricity is coming from. As you can see, this is anything but a cut-and-dry answer, and it depends largely on what green aspect you consider most important.

[Source: Scientific American]

It definitely makes more sense from a green perspective to keep your old car running and well-maintained as long as you can‚ especially if it’s getting such good mileage. There are significant environmental costs to both manufacturing a new automobile and adding your old car to the ever-growing collective junk heap.

A 2004 analysis by Toyota found that as much as 28 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions generated during the lifecycle of a typical gasoline-powered car can occur during its manufacture and its transportation to the dealer; the remaining emissions occur during driving once its new owner takes possession. An earlier study by Seikei University in Japan put the pre-purchase number at 12 percent.

Regardless of which conclusion is closer to the truth, your current car has already passed its manufacture and transport stage, so going forward the relevant comparison has only to do with its remaining footprint against that of a new car’s manufacture/transport and driver’s footprint‚ not to mention the environmental impact of either disposing of your old car or selling it to a new owner who will continue to drive it. There are environmental impacts, too, even if your old car is junked, dismantled and sold for parts.

And don’t forget that the new hybrids‚ despite lower emissions and better gas mileage‚ actually have a much larger environmental impact in their manufacture, compared to non-hybrids. The batteries that store energy for the drive train are no friend to the environment‚ and having two engines under one hood increases manufacturing emissions. And all-electric vehicles are only emission-free if the outlet providing the juice is connected to a renewable energy source, not a coal-burning power plant, as is more likely.

If you want to assess your current car’s fuel efficiency or emissions, there are many services available online. The government website FuelEconomy.gov provides fuel efficiency stats for hundreds of different vehicles dating back to 1985. Websites TrackYourGasMileage.com and MPGTune.com can help you track your mileage and provide ongoing tips to improve fuel efficiency for your specific make and model vehicle. MyMileMarker.com takes it a step further, making projections about annual mileage, fuel costs and fuel efficiency based on your driving habits. If you have an iPhone, you can keep track of your car‚Äôs carbon footprint with the new “Greenmeter App” from Hunter Research and Technologies. The program uses numerous variables to make its calculations on-the-go as you drive, including weather conditions, cost of fuel, vehicle weight, and more.

If you simply must change your vehicle, be it for fuel efficiency or any other reason, one option is to simply buy a used car that gets better gas mileage than your existing one. There’s much to be said, from many environmental vantage points, about postponing replacement purchases of anything, not just cars, to keep what’s already made out of the waste stream and to delay the additional environmental costs of making something new.