Welcome back to the Ask Patty blog carnival, where we have pulled
together some of the latest and greatest posts and articles out there
in the automotive world. We have some gas saving tips in time for
summer and a sort of theme around used car salesmen… interesting. So
stick around and check it out. As always, we thank our submitters!
According to the Mercury News,
“some predict $4-a-gallon gasoline by this summer. Or sooner. This
week, AAA of Northern California said the average cost of a gallon of
regular in the state was $3.48 - up 37 cents since March and up 73
cents since the first of the year.” That’s a lot more moolah coming out
of your pockets folks. Check out some of these gas saving tips.
And on to the car buying drama… from a man, no less! Check out how
Terry Stawar describes car shopping: “On the list of things I prefer to
avoid, buying a new car falls between cleaning the septic tank and
getting a root canal.” That’s not the first time we’ve heard the root
canal analogy, that’s for sure. His entire story is pretty entertaining and it’s nice to see a man talking about how much he hates car buying.
Since we are in the topic, we wanted to share with you that the Mom Loves Being at Home blog
is sharing her car purchasing woes as well. She says she even hates
thinking about a new car or even looking at them! Wow, pretty bad
experience huh? Her post sure sounds like it, though in her comments
section she assures us she finally found a great salesperson and got a
god deal!
If you saw an article called “Eight Ways To Annoy a Used Car Salesman”
you’d probably read it wouldn’t you? Yeah, us too. This article from Associated Content
gives you some great tips on car buying, of course they are sure to bug
those smarmy salespeople. Some include “Don't buy on your first trip to
the dealer” and “Test drive the car on the interstate or at least on a
55 mph highway” and even “Don't let a dealer check your credit before
you're really ready to buy” Check it out!
Now for a less professional take on the buying a used car activity, we have some ideas form Wench Wisdom.
Before she buys a car she looks up all the features that will help her
get discounted car insurance, including “safety features, number of
doors, what kind of horsepower will get charged for “sports car” rates
rather than passenger car rates, which cars have the highest likelihood
of theft.” She also includes some very helpful tips on the post.
Now to coach the dealers out there – oh yes, they read this blog too! Dealers, listen to me: The guys at The Branding Strategy
blog know a thing or two about a thing or two. They compare dealerships
and the traditional sales tactic to the Titanic, and you’re about to
hit the iceberg. Fave comment in the article: “Relationships are the
lifeblood of existing and repeat business.” Duh, we say it all the time.
Tangled Weblog
talks about how her husband’s quest for a new car was only thwarted by
the sale of his hay equipment. Oh I couldn’t make that up people. Once
they bought their new vehicle, a 427 Mustang, they experience celebrity
treatment! Someone bowed at them and they were accosted by paparazzi as
they were driving to dinner. Well, maybe that last one wasn’t quite
truthful.
Here is one to sober you up now. According to WebMD,
Young women are quickly catching up to their male counterparts when it
comes to alcohol-related fatal car crashes and other risky driving
behavior, according to a new study. University of California
researchers say young men traditionally are known as the highest risk
group for alcohol-related fatal car crashes, but over the last 10 years
there has been an alarming increase in such deadly accidents among
young female drivers.
And we’ll end this one with another happy, albeit a bit mystified, Prius owner. The Stuck in Illinois blogger
sums it up with “It's a computer phobics nightmare. This car has so
many gadgets it's a wonder one can still drive the thing sanely. You
don't actually use a key to start it. I know right? You can watch your
energy consumption and it calculates exactly what gas mileage you are
getting.”