We spent a good amount of time on the Car Pro Show last weekend talking about Teen Driver Safety Week. It can be a life changer for the parents as well as the child. For most parents, your child’s independence is exciting and scary at the same time.
We had a caller to the nationally syndicated show who had a son who wanted a pickup truck. While I like pickups as a first vehicle, this family was on a limited budget. I spoke to the teen on the air to try to explain why he would be better Read More
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated following its original post date.
I update this story every year in hopes that it may get into the hands of parents who leave small children or pets in the car and prevent another child or pet from suffering a horrible, slow, agonizing death.
Car Heat Stroke StatisticsAbsorb the numbers below. Each case ended with the death of a child and the planning of a funeral: Child vehicular heatstroke deaths for 2017: 42Child vehicular heatstroke deaths Read More
Imagine picking out your new or used vehicle from the comfort of your living room, having it delivered to you for a test drive, getting your trade-in evaluated, then completing all the paperwork online and having the keys delivered to your home. That’s the reality of car shopping these days - with many dealer showrooms across the country temporarily closed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. That said, people are still buying cars because the current incentives and deals are just too good for many car shoppers to pass up. Plus, transportation needs are changing during this time and some people may need vehicles whereas they did not before.
Regardless of the reason, buying a car online has never been easier or convenient. In these times, however, it’s about much more than that. It’s about safety. CarProUSA Certified dealers are sanitizing vehicles for test drives and taking other steps like completing paperwork online with home delivery to adhere to social distancing guidelines that keep you and their employees safe. Read More
I referenced this article numerous times on the Saturday CarProUSA Radio Show. The crazy-high used car market has a lot of you thinking about making a move to take advantage of that. I currently see people who thought they were upside down (negative equity) finding out they are OK, even if they checked just 30 days ago. I am seeing people jump out of leases early, or if near lease end, cashing in on their equity.
Before you visit ANY dealership, it’s always a good idea to know where you stand in your trade-in vehicle. There’s no more awkward moment for the consumer or the dealer than when the moment of truth comes…when you find out what your vehicle is worth versus the amount of money you owe on it. Read More
I am often asked about buying a used car from a private seller versus a dealership. Unbiased, I am always a fan of buying a factory certified car when available, but usually those are only a few years old and many people cannot afford them. There are also benefits to purchasing a non-certified car from a reputable new car dealership. The good ones are careful what they sell and won’t sell a used car until it has been checked over.
There are a lot of people who need to buy the nearly impossible to find $5000 used car, but there are many more who need a used car from $7500 to $12,500 and often they turn to private sellers, which is fine if you do your homework and proceed with caution. Read More
If you aren’t a fan of red light and speed cameras you wouldn’t be alone. They’ve been the subject of controversy in communities to the degree that some have stopped using them. For example, Texas banned red light cameras in 2019. On the other hand, California is currently exploring the use of speed cameras and if passed, a bill introduced in March could legalize them. (However, a previous attempt to get speed cameras in San Jose and San Francisco was defeated in Read More
We had a caller this recemtly who lost their car in a recent hail storm. It was totaled with less than 10,000 miles. He made the statement “thank goodness for GAP”. I moved on to try to help him, but it hit me that some people may not know about this terrific insurance and thought I would take the time to explain GAP insurance.
What Is GAP Insurance?
Generally, when you buy a car, you get offered the opportunity to purchase certain insurance policies when it comes time to sign your final papers. They include credit life insurance, sometimes disability insurance, an extended warranty, and GAP insurance among other optional products. Read More
It’s that time of year when thousands of people will take off the cap and gown and head out into the world. For many, a new car is on the horizon, but you could be vulnerable without doing your homework. If you are graduating you’ll want to read this information. If you know someone who is graduating, please feel free to share this:
You’ve studied hard for 4 or 8 years, possibly longer. You have sweated and fretted over exams. You pulled all-nighters trying to study for that exam you Read More
Cox Automotive is an auto industry analysis company that does an exceptional job overall. They have analyzed vehicle inventories at the end of March 2021 and there were some interesting findings, but no huge surprises.
Here is the report, republished with the permission of Cox Automotive,and you can just bet the picture will be uglier after the smoke clears on April 30.
A nice Los Angeles listener called us wanting to use my car buying system, but it was quite a distance in heavy traffic. She didn’t mind the drive to get a new car, but servicing was going to be a real problem. Besides helping people with auto advice on Car Pro Radio Show, I also recommend good dealerships from which to purchase. I handpick these, and I only have one or two dealers per brand, per market. That means that often, my listeners have to drive to get a great deal and have a good experience.
The truth is that dealers make a lot of money servicing vehicles. In fact, their service departments are way more profitable than their new vehicle departments in a huge majority of dealerships. Dealers don’t advertise their service departments often, commissions and salaries are much less than sales commissions, and overall, the expenses in a service department are much lower than on the sales side. That means that for every dollar of sales in service, or in warranty revenue, much more of the sales dollar goes to the bottom line of the dealership. Read More
We’re in the last days of April already and if by chance you can get to a CarProUSA Certified Dealer by Friday, April 30th, that would be beneficial. Dealers are always eager to put deals together on the last day.
However, if you cannot, most, if not all of the April incentives go through Monday night because the month ends on a Friday. The automakers will tally sales Monday and then make May incentive decisions.
If you follow the industry at all, you know that in terms of new vehicles, “all-elecrtric” is one of the buzzwords of the year. One after another, automakers are outlining their future electric-only plans and they aren’t wasting any time doing it. More new EV’s are already joining the segment including this first-ever 2021 VW ID.4 EV crossover, which CarProUSA Show host Jerry Reynolds reviewed earlier this month.
This has been coming up a lot lately, so I thought we should revisit the subject. I hear from people regularly who wonder if their vehicle qualifies for their state’s Lemon Law protection. This is a tough subject to cover, because every state has different laws and criteria. I want to be clear that I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on the radio, but I will try to give you generic information that could help.
Generally speaking, the Lemon Law comes into play when a particular problem cannot be fixed after repeated attempts. I have never seen cosmetic problems, or electronic accessories (like navigation or Bluetooth) come into play, it is normally something that affects the drivability of a vehicle. In most States, there is a minimum of three repair attempts for the same issue before you qualify. Read More
Incentive spending by the automakers was down across the board in the first quarter of this year, with the one exception being Subaru, that still spent by far the least amount of money per vehicle.
It is interesting to me to watch Subaru. The little car company just came off the best quarter in its history, yet spent way less than half the money in incentives as all the others. The lesson here: Build vehicles people want to buy, make them safe Read More
Not a week goes by on the Car Pro Radio Show that we don’t hear from expectant parents who need a new or larger car due to a new addition to the family. Making this decision can be stressful, but at the same time, this is one of the most important decisions you can make because you are carrying precious cargo inside. Let’s look at some of the important aspects of buying the right vehicle with some car buying tips for new families.
Planning Ahead
Obviously, you can’t know for sure, but how many total kids do you plan to have? Making a vehicle purchase for a new child or one additional baby can cause you to do this all over again if more kids come along. Discuss the total number of people you plan to have in your family and purchase accordingly or lease a vehicle to be able to get out of it sooner if needed. Read More
When I started the Car Pro Show almost 20 years ago, I had two things in mind…calling attention to the good dealers out there, and warning people about the bad ones. After 35 plus years in the auto industry and owning multiple car dealerships through the years, I got really good at being able to tell the difference between good dealers versus the evil ones. I have met some of the best and the worst in the car business. As a part-time buyer, how do you really know the good dealerships? Here are things to keep in mind when looking for a good dealership like one of those in the CarProUSA Certified Dealer network. Read More
We are getting close to putting March and the first quarter of 2021 in the history books. It is the last weekend of the month and everything ends next Wednesday, March 31st.
Here are some things to consider if you are thinking about getting a new vehicle between now and the end of the year:
The rebates and incentives are incredible right now on just about every vehicle, and this includes lease incentives. However, there is little doubt Read More
A recent CarProUSA Radio Show caller started our call saying he wanted to lease a new F-150 and was going with a famous third party lease company, not affiliated with a dealership. I sort of jumped on him, then apologized, explaining to him that this was not a good idea.
Third-Party Lease Companies I enjoy pointing out car dealer ads to my radio listeners that I find false or offensive. For one thing, people seem to enjoy the education, and it gives me satisfaction to think that maybe I can dissuade someone from doing business with a dealership that practices deception. Read More
