18MPG and a hybrid? Yes its a car on planet earth and it claims to be an improvement from the non hybrid model which gives 12MPG. If you have fuel to burn, definitely get this 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid. It looks awesome, but has a big side effect on your wallet. If you can get past the MPG, check out the video by Cars.com below.

Note, you will always get the lowest quotes dealers can afford with my “Find Car Dealer Minimums” tool.

No secret that the times are tough for car dealers. The weak economy means people are not buying, the high oil prices means there is a big inventory of big ticket gas guzzlers taking up space, and the weak dollar means that imports cost a lot more than what they used to.

This means car dealers are left with making less car sales, and buying cars for a lot more money than what they used to pay for imports.

While most dealers have bit the bullet, and making less money this lean period, some have resorted to “creative” ways to make up for their losses. Unfortunately, a small percentage of these “creative” ways means sneaking some extra charges to customers just before they sign the contract.

Its important to review , and understand your contract with the dealer before you sign anything. “Bad” intentioned car dealers will start “acting up” if they notice you reading the full line contracts and asking questions. Don’t be afraid to take your time. Make sure the car is being sold to you at the right, agreed upon price, that you are paying the right amounts for any added parts or services, and that any “delivery charges” are reasonable. If you are getting a car loan, make sure your interest rate is correct, and if you are leasing a car, that the mileage allowance agreement, service agreement etc for the years is correct.

An interesting article on this can be found here.

2009 Dodge Challenger cars orders are being taken at local Dodge dealers as we speak. While the price is attractive enough (under $22k), I wonder if the 250 Horsepower, V6 mileage at 18mpg/25mpg will ultimately decide if people buy the car. What do you think?

Car dealers are buying only what they can sell. And in today’s market selling SUVs is like selling ice to eskimos.

Car dealers are not interested in buying SUVs (unless for steep discount) and my suggestion is trying to sell the SUV yourself. Craigslist.org is an excellent way to sell your gas guzzler. Of course you will have to offer a steep discount yourself, but trust me, it will be a lot less steep than what the dealer will give you.

So got a SUV to trade in? Read the article here for some guidance…

Yes, hybrid cars are marketed as heaven sent for the high gas prices and the environment, and anyone driving one is the hip person of our generation. While marketing hype sells cars, the math does not add up.

Firstly, there are plenty hybrid cars that do less than 30MPG. Just check out the mileage for cars like the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid, 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid, 2008 GMC Yukon Hybrid or the 2009 GMC Yukon Hybrid 2WD. the ridiculously low 21 MPG gives hybrids a bad name. I mean come on, there are plenty regular cars with a better MPG. Check out the full list of hybrid cars and their price and mpg here.

Also the price savings you get from driving a Hybrid car does not substantially save you much money, unless you are driving the top Hybrid performers, and the gas prices increase substantially. As an example, you save $1667 over 5 years driving a hybrid that gives you 5 MPG better performance than the regular car. Do the math for yourself with the hybrid gas savings calculator at this link.

With gas prices nearing $5/gallon, there has been lots of buzz on devices to improve your car’s gasoline consumption. There are some devices that claim to have the ability to make your car run on water.

Now before you rush to the car dealer to have your car upgraded to run on water, I highly recommend researching the details of this claim.

Unfortunately, my 20 minute research online only resulted in lots of “unreliable websites” claiming how well these devices work. Amazingly enough there is no mainstream news agency or research agency that tested these devices for us. If you are using such a device please contact me, as i would love to share the truth with everyone. My car dealer mechanic says that something like that will only ruin a car, and may not substantially improve its gas mileage. Am really scared to try it on my Lexus.

Here is what i found from legitimate source.
Wikipedia

Other search words used for this article:
water for gas
run car on water

Here is why we suck at getting the best deal at car dealers.

1) In our lives, we don’t have a chance to practice car buying, while the car dealers practice selling cars everyday.

2) We don’t know the cost price of new cars, car insurance, car extended warranties, car loans and car extras. With this apathy we don’t know a car bargain even if it stares us in the face.

3) We buy on “relationships with the car dealers”. And car dealers who can say and act the way that makes us “trust them” wins the sale. We must buy on facts. Every car dealer has his business in mind instead of making “saving you on your new car” as a priority.

4) We don’t shop around between multiple car dealers.

5) We are impatient when it comes to buying cars. We sometimes need to buy right now, instead of the best time to buy: Month ends, when there is a sale.

6) We are not flexible in considering other car makes and models in the same automobile type group.

7) We are scared to “ask” the dealer for a bigger discount if that “angers” the dealer. Many people think they are inconveniencing the dealer if they are persistent and the car dealer starts acting dis-interested in doing the deal. Remember it usually is a show.

8 ) We don’t do our homework, ie do online car shopping, car research, talking to friends who know about cars etc. Most people don’t know that a car dealer makes $1000-$3000 even if they sell the car at invoice.

9) We have too much confidence in ourselves, because we think buying cars is just like buying a shirt.

10) Many people are afraid to walk away from a bad deal ignoring their gut instinct.

What do you think? is there #11 on why we suck at getting a great car deal?

Today’s Reality

Buyers will be haunted by the ghosts of high oil prices, the dread of home mortgage payments gone wild, a poor job market and anything else “bad” you can think of when it comes to buying cars. It’s the worst market to sell cars in years!

Advise 1

Advise to car dealers is to be sensitive to car buyer’s battered buying power, and not get carried away in trying to make the maximum profits per customer. Not being sensitive to car buyer’s needs can mean car buyers going to another car dealer who is more sensitive to their needs. There are many good car dealers ready to do a honest deal.

Advise 2

Lower price cars, non gas guzzlers and base models of cars will be easier to sell and you should always have them in stock. Be ready to sell the other types of vehicles like most trucks and suvs for below invoice to reduce your inventory.

New Cars highly prized by buyers today include: 2009 Toyota Prius, 2009 Ford Edge, 2009 Mazda5, 2009 Toyota Yaris, 2009 Mini and 2009 Honda Civic.

Horoscope for anyone with a profession sign “car dealer” is times will be tough the next few months, be nice, be creative in finding new buyers, and don’t get too greedy, and you will we weather this bad weather seen across most car dealerships. Good luck!

Wow, this review of the 2009 Toyota Matrix S AWD really fries any good the car may have. The person test driving the car really makes some good observations and while I can only attest to the good quality of car you will be getting from Toyota, the fact that there are better designed cars out there, with better mileage, better design and better many other things should have you thinking what your other options could be. MissCarDealer gives this car a big thumbs down. I suggest considering a Prius or a Mini instead. Would love to hear your thoughts on this puppy. For those of you with sometime on your hands, check one out at your Toyota car dealer and let me know.

Just search for “car dealers” on YouTube and once you get past the car dealer promo videos, and news coverage of car dealers who did bad, you will see lots of other videos where customers tell you how they were duped by a car dealers. ( I don’t mean to single out car dealers, but any business that tries to take advantage of their customer needs to be aware that customers are now empowered to use the internet for word of mouth to share their experience. )

There is for instance is a Mercedes car dealer in Vancouver that quoted a customer $6500 for a repair when in fact a car repair shop did the fix for $141. (Name of this video is “Mercedes Dealer Ripoff “. There is another car video from a guy who bought a Suzuki immobilizer, but landed up getting something else. Video is called “how the car dealer cheats” etc etc.

While this does not apply to most car dealers out there who run a honest business, customers who are unfortunate enough to befall prey to unscrupulous dealers can fight back. You can usually complain to the manufacturer, tell the local news, complain to BBB or of course make your own video.

Best defense is a good offence, and in this case it means going into the car dealership knowing everything there is to know about car buying and service, and of course getting multiple quotes before paying for a service.