Car Sharing

It’s been a used car dealers best kept secret for a long time. Repo car auctions were a place used car dealers could pickup several good used cars and/or trucks bring them back to their lot and sell them for a nice profit. While that is still the practice of some used car dealers it’s easier now for the average joe to learn the ropes, and get his/her own deal on a repo car from the auction.

Find the Information

This can be the toughest part of the entire process. Discovering where and when auctions take place, and if you can or can’t get into one is the first step. Your local town office may have information about repo car auctions in your area, also watch the news papers for notices of police or government surplus/repo auctions. These auctions will not only have cars and trucks but also other merchandise such as boats, atv’s, and other motor vehicles.

With the advent of information sharing on the Internet it’s made it even easier to locate repo auctions. There are services set up solely for this purpose of providing info on auctions in your area as well as what items will be going up for auction.

Where do the vehicles come from

There’s a variety of places cars can come from that are up for auction. More times then not they’ve been repossessed by finance companies, banks, the police and even the town or state. Most times cars and trucks at repo auctions are newer model years, with low mileage, and in good shape. Making it the perfect place for you to pick up your next new to you car.

The best way to navigate the repo car auction circuit is to use a professional service that specializes in providing consumers information on auction locations, cars available etc. Understanding how to bid on a car you may be interested in, making payment if you win, and pickup are all items that should be posed to a professional.

No question if you’re willing to do a little bit of research you’ll save a bundle buying your car from a repo auction rather then a used dealer. You could very well bid against the same person you’d buy the car from otherwise. Using a service to do your research online prior to heading out to locate an auction is ideal. You’ll be able to see what similar cars have sold for at other auctions, and sometimes even place a bid online.

D Fraser
http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/save-money-on-your-next-care-at-a-repo-car-auction-111076.html

When planning a trip, especially one that involves the use of a car, it is important to take care of all the necessities before leaving home. One of those necessities is securing short term insurance that will cover the vehicle and all the individuals who will be driving the car during the trip. 1 month car insurance provides the benefits of regular insurance such as road side service, collision, and liability coverage as well as the added benefit of covering all your travel companions who will be driving the car.

If a person is going to be traveling for a month, it is vital that they get 1 month car insurance that will cover them through the entire trip. When traveling with a group, every member who may drive the car at any time should be included on the 1 month policy. Then, if an emergency arises and someone who has not driven the vehicle for the entire trip needs to take the wheel, they will be covered to drive the car in the emergency situation.

The benefit of having roadside service included in a 1 month car insurance policy becomes very evident when a car breaks down. When traveling on vacation, people are often in locations they are unfamiliar with, if they are in a rented car they are also unfamiliar with the vehicle they are driving. If the car breaks down on the road while traveling in an unknown location it is very difficult to know who to call for assistance. Perhaps you are a long distance from the nearest town or do not know the name of any towing service in the vicinity that you are located. With roadside service on a 1 month car insurance policy you are provided with a toll free number to call and a tow truck will be immediately dispatched to aid you. This technician will be able to assist you with minor issues such as a flat tire or gas, or tow your vehicle to a reputable mechanic in the area.

Another benefit of getting a 1 month car insurance policy when you are vacationing or going on a short term trip with a group of travelers who will be sharing the driving responsibilities is that if there is an accident your established insurance rate will not be increased. By paying the premium for a 1 month car insurance policy you will not be held responsible by your established insurance company if there is an accident that involves one of the other drivers in your group. However, all of the individuals listed on the policy will be covered as drivers of the vehicle.

Robert Linley
http://www.articlesbase.com/insurance-articles/1-month-car-insurance-1247358.html

What are the chances of car sharing becoming dominant over ownership and taking over the automobile market?

Yeah, slim and none.
I don’t really see it happening any time soon, if it ever does.

The biggest problems I see with it are:
People want to own their own cars and don’t want to share them with others.

Do you know for sure what kind of vehicle you’ll get to drive, and what kind of condition that vehicle will be in when you do get it.

You have to go to where the vehicle is located, which could mean walking a few blocks or more. Most people (myself included) aren’t going to want to walk a few blocks to get to a vehicle in pouring rain, snowy or icy conditions, or when it’s just really cold outside.

If sharing between a small group of people, the vehicle may not be available when you need it (say in an emergency and it isn’t your day or time to have it, and you need to pick someone up right away).
In a bigger group, how do you know for sure you’ll be able to get a vehicle or if they’ll be out of vehicles when you need one.

Who takes care of maintenance and is responsible for taking it in to have maintenance and repairs performed? (of course, a larger share group with several cars would have a schedule and a person who’s employed for just that particular purpose, but in smaller groups, who takes responsibility).

It is a great thing for some people, but I just don’t think it will ever become dominant over owning. I think mass transit has a better chance at making it.

When commuting to work everyday, we all develop our own individual habits. For instance, when I’m stuck in traffic, I like to talk on the phone, listen to music, read the paper and eat a full course meal. But I knew that things had to change once I started car pooling —the multi-tasking had to go.

There is also something called carpool and rideshare etiquette that needs to be addressed for every individual who is considering ride sharing or car pooling. The following are a few new basic dos and don’ts…

Don’t be a driving instructor.

In other words, don’t give the driver any unsolicited driving lessons.  Shouting “look out!” and “don’t let that idiot cut you off” can be very distracting to a driver when car pooling.
Don’t be a chatter box.

If you’re car pooling or ridesharing with co-workers or friends, that is one thing – they are used to it.  But when you’re car pooling with strangers, talking too much can be very irritating, especially during the early morning hours. I remember car pooling to Brooklyn every morning and one particular passenger would talk non-stop. Even if I was pretending to be asleep to keep her from talking, she would still carry on a conversation. So, if no one else is talking, keep quiet.

Don’t eat or drink.

When ridesharing in another car pooler’s car, avoid eating.  For example, the scent of an egg muffin sandwich can be overwhelming. You also want to avoid having any unnecessary accidents such as spilling coffee or tea all over the driver’s car seat.
Be early.

When you’re late, you are causing your fellow car pooling passengers to be late as well. You should be standing by your door at least 5 to 10 minutes before the driver arrives.

Hopefully, these dos and don’ts of car pooling and ridesharing will help you have a smooth commute into work every day.  If you’re still searching for a car pooling or ride sharing group, sites such as RideshareOptimizer.com can help you connect with a car pooling group in your area.

Kent Basson
http://www.articlesbase.com/cars-articles/car-pool-ridesharing-dos-and-donts-687606.html

Running your car on water does not sound as far-fetched as it once did. With the advent of hydrogen cell technology, it seems like we’ll no longer be dependent on gasoline to fuel our cars in no time. It almost sounds too good to be true. Well, it really is a bit too good to be true; the technology just hasn’t evolved to that point yet, but there are ways out there that you can take a step in that direction.

You probably think of these vehicles when you think of running your car on water. While it is true that hydrogen cell cars exist, they are not yet perfected, still largely unavailable. The hydrogen car kit, also known as the ‘run your car on water kit’ is actually a system that turns your car into a water hybrid. This is essentially a small kit that is attached to the battery of your car and engine and uses a small amount of electricity from your car’s battery to convert the water within the device into HHO, also known as Hydroxy, Brown’s Gas, or Water-Fuel, is two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. Brown’s Gas provides a tremendous amount of energy and burns clean – its only byproduct is water.

With the cost of gas going higher every day, people are looking for any way possible to save on fuel. The hydrogen car kit is the best alternative out there. The big auto companies have yet to pick up on this technology or they at least aren’t sharing if they have. Despite this, many enterprising folks are taking the initiative, converting their own vehicles right now, and saving a lot of money. The secret to building these kits is everywhere on the Internet, all you need to do is look. You can easily find the information you need for a very affordable price (if not for free), so don’t get fooled into thinking you have to pay a lot of money for it. While you can get a mechanic to do the conversion for you, mechanics that know how to do the conversion are few and far between and will charge you $300 to do it. Alternatively, you can build the kit for about $20, put it in yourself, and you’ll be running your car on water in no time.

Conclusion

We all want to save money on gas, but far too many of us have just accepted that we just can’t go out as much as we used to. Instead of staying home to save money, convert your car into a water hybrid. Hydrogen car kits are easy to install and you can easily find a mechanic to do it for you if can’t do it yourself. Either way, these kits will double your car’s gas mileage and help you do your part for conservation. If you want to keep your driving habits, running your car on water is the way to go.

Peter Johnson
http://www.articlesbase.com/cars-articles/running-your-car-on-water-is-it-fact-or-fiction-557094.html

With congestion continuing to rise on Britain’s roads a number of solutions have been proposed, raising tax being the main one. However, every day in the UK there are over 10 million empty seats on the roads. Worse still, the vast majority of these empty seats are during the rush hour, with average occupancy for commuting only 1.2. The solution appears to be simple – car sharing. This is further supported by recent research which found that over 50% of commuters would car share on their way to work if they could find someone suitable to share with.

Car sharing has often been talked about but only ever considered to be a small scale solution, unlikely to have a significant effect on congestion levels. Again, the evidence suggests otherwise. A 25% increase in car occupancy levels would result in the number of commuting cars on the road falling by 21%. Put another way, if everyone shared a journey to work just once a week then the effect would be similar. With over 50% of people happy to try car sharing out this could be an attainable target.

So why has car sharing failed to take off in a big way? Put simply, a lack of funding. Without the money to raise awareness of car sharing and the ways to go about finding someone to share with, the concept of car sharing is always going to be doomed to being an insignificant solution.

Why hasn’t the funding been provided by the government, particularly in light of the many reports that have come out over recent years highlighting the potential of car sharing? One can only speculate but to governments the idea of car sharing isn’t so attractive. It generates no additional government revenue and is in fact likely to reduce it, particularly with the decline in fuel consumption. Compared with the prospect of continuing to dramatically increase taxes on motorists, many of whom have no choice but to use their cars, car sharing doesn’t stand a chance.

The benefits of car sharing are also often vastly underestimated. Car sharing does hugely reduce petrol consumption for the individuals involved and if promoted in a large way then congestion and pollution could be reduced significantly. Other benefits include reduced parking problems and the lower mileage done by each car means that they depreciate less rapidly.

However, one statistics that is overlooked is the impact of car sharing on road safety. The number of speeding fines handed out in the UK in 2005 reached the 2 million mark. With road safety being of such apparent importance the statistic that the likelihood of having an accident is reduced by 50% if there are two or more people in the car should make the relevant authorities sit up and take note. The way to increase road safety is to promote car sharing. The added fact that it is also makes driving cheaper for the individual, and reduces congestion and pollution, should encourage people to take car sharing seriously.

Becoming involved in car sharing is very straightforward. Liftshare.org was established in 1997 and now has over 130,000 members one million journeys registered. It’s also free to join, with a simple registration form to complete before you can register a journey and begin searching for travel companions. Whether you’re traveling to work, a festival or a sporting event car sharing is possible.

Charles Cridland
http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/car-sharing-a-neglected-solution-73181.html

During tough economic times, everyone wants to save money, including the savvy business person. In the past, many business travelers wouldn’t think twice about using their vehicle or rent a vehicle to travel into the city to meet clients. From New York City to Chicago and California, many corporate executives and business travelers are taking full advantage of car sharing these days. 

Business travelers receive huge perks from car sharing such as witnessing a considerable decrease in their travel expenses.  A traveler can enjoy all the conveniences and autonomy of a vehicle on demand with car sharing. Car sharing can be accomplished at a fraction of the cost of owning a vehicle or two. Car sharing gives the business traveler easy access to an assortment of automobiles parked in and around town; best of all, one can use the vehicle whenever he/she wants for as long as one desires. One pays for car sharing based on how much he or she drives the automobile. 

car sharing and car pooling has become so popular that even car rental companies are joining the car sharing band wagon.  One popular rental car company that offers a car sharing service estimate that each of the cars they devote to the program eliminates 14 personally owned cars.  This reduces traffic congestion and parking demand. Car sharing can save the business traveler money while he/she helps the environment. Whether one needs a vehicle for work, a weekend trip out of town, or to run errands, car sharing is a simple process that’s most effective.

Danielle K. D. works for RideshareOptimizer.com, that helps commuters form carpools. He works to help for those who want information about best rideshare websites, commuter parking lots, Instant carpooling, Ride Sharing, Park and Ride Lots. For more detail visit: www.rideshareoptimizer.com & SEO USA

Kent Basson
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/car-sharing-for-business-travelers-747268.html