When you first begin the process of restoring an old antique classic car, there are a lot of different decisions that a person has to make before and during the entire process. Depending on the type of approach you decide to take, you can do all the work yourself or hire a mechanic and body shop to do all the work for you. The main thing to remember though, when choosing the garage to do the work for you is to make sure you do all your homework on the people that you are hiring to make sure that you choose someone reliable and knowledgeable in what they are doing.

One of the first things that you should ask of the shop that you are thinking of using is references. Ask them for names of some of their previous customers that you could then go to and ask questions. You will also want to verify how much their hourly rate is and get estimates on how long the job will take and what the costs of any parts that they supply are going to cost. The main thing to remember is that there are always a few black sheep garages out there that can take advantage of people that have not done their homework ahead of time. As long as you make sure that you go to a reliable shop, you should be good to go.

Another good way to find some good shops that can work on your classic car restoration is to attend some of the classic cars shows that come to your area and ask the car owners there who they use for doing their work. During this time, you may even find a car owner that does his own work that you might be able to hire to do yours as well.

It is easy to remember that the main thing to do when you are searching out a shop to help you in your new classic car restoration project is to do your research and make sure you know what you are getting into before you start your project. Knowing everything ahead of time definitely helps prevent some of the headaches down the road and makes you enjoy your classic car that much more. Once all the work is over and finished, you will enjoying driving your new creation around the town without having all the potential nightmares haunting you.

Corey Palmer is a car collector and restorer who enjoys going to car shows and showing off his own cars.

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Like most car dealers, Virginia Beach car lots are filled with dream cars that passerby’s instantly drool over. Convertibles, sports cars, SUVs, and pick-up trucks fill the lots beckoning to visitors to make a deal. However, there is more to visiting a car lot than simply finding that dream car and handing over the money. Buying can end up being an expensive use of time and money if you haven’t done the necessary homework.

Know Your Budget

Identifying your financial limit is perhaps the most important bit of information when working with car dealers. Car dealers make it easy to overspend, so know what you can afford to spend and take off an extra 10 – 20%. This way you have room to negotiate the best price without going over your comfort zone.

Learning what other Virginia used cars are selling for is another important pre-purchase step. This will provide you with a reasonable ballpark figure as well as an indication of whether that type of vehicle fits your budget. In addition, research should be done locally since vehicles are priced according to the local market. For example – when searching listings for used auto sales, Virginia Beach car sales on convertibles will have different prices than those in New York simply due to the variation in consumer demand and location.

Needs vs. Wants

The wide variety of vehicles found at Virginia Beach car dealerships can easily tempt you into looking at the wrong car. Before arriving at the lot, you need to think about the type of vehicle your lifestyle and family need. If you have a family of six who like to go camping, for instance, a small sports car could make life very interesting! You also want to consider any life changes you will be making in the near future to avoid having to resell the vehicle shortly after bringing it home.

Get to Know the Fine Print

Whether you are hunting for new or used cars, there can be hidden time bombs throughout the sales process waiting to catch you when you aren’t looking. Common sales pitches like “If you want it, you’ll have to buy it now” or “There are others coming to look at it today…” are purely designed to encourage irrational decisions. Financing and extended warranty can also be very tricky. Be sure that you completely understand every detail before signing to avoid paying out money unnecessarily. Thinking that all salespeople are out to get you is completely false, but educating yourself about some of the dangers out there today is the best way to stay protected.

The secret to buying a new or used vehicle is to be informed before you go. Understanding what you can afford and what type of vehicle you need is important to make sure you are satisfied with the car you buy. With a little bit of knowledge and money, you will be driving away in no time.

Author is a freelance copywriter. For more information on Virginia Beach Car Sales, visit http://www.beachford.com.

Before you slap down your plastic for a car with anti-lock brakes, rear parking sensors and active head restraints, you’d better make sure it comes with electronic stability control.

Just like seat belts and air bags, ESC is a revolutionary safety feature. But instead of minimizing a driver’s impact during a crash, ESC helps avoid it in the first place. It improves handling by detecting skids, then uses the car’s braking system to realign errant wheels.

It’s so important that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) required a vehicle to come equipped with ESC in order to be considered a 2008 Top Safety Pick. Among the under-$30,000 vehicles named this year: the Honda Accord EX-L Coupe, Kia Sedona EX, Hyundai Santa Fe GLS and the 2009 Subaru Forrester 2.5X.

“We’ve seen ESC reduce fatalities by as much as half in some instances,” said Russ Rader, a spokesman for the Virginia-based IIHS. “ESC is especially great at reducing the fatalities for single-car crashes.”

The organization’s picks were chosen from 2008 cars, minivans, SUVs and pickup trucks. Each vehicle underwent front-, side- and rear-crash tests, and injuries were measured on dummies in the driver’s and back seats.

Front-impact crashes are the most commonly fatal accidents, followed by side-impact crashes. While mandatory to be an IIHS Top Pick, side air bags are a standard feature on 65% of vehicles. Rear-impact crash tests generally happen at much lower speeds, resulting in more fender benders than fatalities. Collisions at slow speeds can still be a pain in the neck, though. These accidents are notorious for causing whiplash and a host of other back problems.

Designed to mimic real-world crash conditions, the IIHS front-crash tests run at 40 miles per hour, side-impact tests at 31 miles per hour and rear-crash tests at 20 miles an hour. Tests are graded with either a good, acceptable, marginal or poor rating.

“Crashes don’t really happen at 60 or 70 miles per hour,” Rader says. “Usually there’s just enough reaction time to slow down, but not much.”

This year, 34 models made the list, most offering ESC as a standard feature. While luxury makers like BMW, Audi and Mercedes dominate 2008’s Top Safety Picks, several ESC-equipped cars under $30,000 joined them.

In compiling our list, we chose cars in each of five classes–large, midsize, minivans, midsize SUVs and small SUVs. The IIHS measures eight classes, but only these five had cars with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price under $30,000.

In addition to ESC, the $28,465 Ford Taurus X SEL, a midsize SUV, comes with four-wheel anti-lock brakes, de-powered airbags, passenger airbags, head airbags and side airbags.

The Nissan Murano S, another midsize SUV, offers more. It’s got auto-dimming rear view mirrors; side, front and head air bags; rear seat head restraints; dynamic head restraints; trunk release; auto crash notify; and a tire pressure monitor.

While SUVs dominate the IIHS’s list (20 vehicles out of 34 are SUVs), Rader warns that they aren’t necessarily safer than smaller cars.

“Top Safety Picks recognize the top in their class, but it’s hard to compare,” he says. “You should, however, avoid vehicles that perform less than ‘good’ in any test.”

Nissan maxima is a car that has lost a significant amount of Jazz over the last three years. The 2007 “major facelift” if you will has corrected a number of issues brought on by the 2004 Maxima. For starters, the overall look remains the same but the lines and details are cleaner.

The interior has been thoroughly revised and includes a new dash layout, seats and materials. The changes have made the Max more attractive inside and out however the fact that only a CVT transmission is offered bothers me and points to the fact that it is no longer attracting sport-sedan buyers.

The VQ35 255 hp V6 is still a reference point when it comes to performance and refinement but the problem is that it has 15 fewer hp than the Altima. This CVT has not received the same programming as the Sentra and Altima have.

This means that the engine rpm wine to the top and stay there as long as you hold the gas pedal down. Generally speaking, the Maxima is still a very competent cruiser as steering, brakes and handling remains in the top tier of the segment.

The new Amanti does not look new but it is. The body has received a new of changes that do more to bring the look up to date as opposed. The cabin has been re-appointed but preserves much of the original Amanti’s styling. The level of equipment and comfort features is greater in the Amanti than in any other car of same or mildly higher pricing.

The powerful V6 is almost ridiculously smooth. Borrowed from the Sedona, it actually makes the Amanti feel quick. The ride is quiet and comfortable. If there is one thing the Amanti is not is sporty. Weight transfers through curves are lengthy and laborious. On a highway, the car seems to float over the tarmac. Although the car has been revisited for 2007, it still behaves much like a Cadillac from the 80s.

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One of the quickest ways to rob a car of efficient gas consumption is to neglect the tires. There are a number of different ways tires can affect your car’s fuel saving performance. Making sure you are riding on properly inflated tires is probably the easiest way to save money on gas.

According to statistics provided by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Energy Information Administration, the Possible savings of avoiding under inflated tires is between $160.00 to $640.00 per year depending upon how much you drive, how under inflated your tires may be and how many cars you have.

According to the Canadian Office of Energy Efficiency twenty-three per cent (23%) of vehicles have at least one tire under-inflated by more than 20%. Not only do under inflated tires on your vehicle hurt your fuel consumption it can also lead to poor or delayed braking, steering and acceleration. In other words, under inflated wheels can be dangerous. Under-inflated tires may squeal when stopping or cornering even at moderate speeds, particularly on warm pavement.

Operating a vehicle with just one tire under-inflated by 20% (8 psi) can reduce the life of the tire by over 9000 miles and can increase the vehicle’s fuel consumption by 4%. Tires are permeable and can lose up to 2 psi (pounds of pressure) per month. More air is lost in hot weather as the pores in the tire material expand.

When a tire is under inflated, the sides bend and flex too much. This builds up heat. As stated earlier heat can accelerate air loss. So an under inflated tire will continue to lose air at an increasing rate.

Under inflation also causes the tire to increase rolling resistance which also increases fuel consumption. In addition under inflation can cause serious damage to the tire walls and can lead to sudden failure.

To maintain proper inflation levels, measure the air pressure in your vehicle’s tires at least once a month. Measure your pressure when your tires are cold. “Cold” means that a vehicle has been stationary for at least three hours or has not been driven more than 1 mile.

If you drive your car 20,000 miles per year and your average fuel economy is 20 miles per gallon, you will use approximately 1000 gallons of gas per year. If you have only one tire under inflated by 20 percent, you will loose 4 percent of your fuel economy. Loosing 4 percent means you will buy 4 percent more fuel over the course of a year.

If you are averaging 1000 gallons of gas consumption per year, then a 4 percent increase in gas consumption will cause you to buy an extra 40 gallons of gas. At 4 dollars per gallon, 40 gallons will cost you $160.00. If you have two tires that are under inflated then you would double that and your out of pocket extra expense would be $320.00.

If you are part of a two car family you could easily be looking at an increase in your yearly fuel cost of over $600.00! When you think in terms of yearly cost, those small differences in fuel economy sure add up quickly.

Keeping your tires at the proper inflation can save you between $160.00 and $640.00 per year in gas savings. In addition maintaining the correct tire pressure can prevent conditions that could cause serious accidents Keep a pressure gauge in your car and check the tires often.

Scott Siegel will show you how to cope with high gas prices. He is the author of a 143 page manual of industry insider information on saving gas and money at the pump. Visit us to learn how you can improve gas mileage, increase fuel economy, and save money. Go to: http://www.beatthegaspump.com

When you are looking at your car, you may not think that you will have to have auto parts or even panels for your new car, but you will have to think about it so that your car can look great going down the road.

When you decide to do something with your body panels, you will need to know what you are doing and what can happen if you are not careful with your body panel planning. You will want to have a few things for your body panels before you even start and these really begin with a design so that you know what you want to go with. This can be a big thing for your auto parts and what you need. You just have to take a look at what you want.

When you start on your body panel work, you should have all of your auto parts in front of you so that you will be ready when you are done with the customizing that you will need to do to your car. This makes it so much easier when you are putting it back together and you won’t need any auto parts either.

If you are doing it yourself, you will need to know what you are going to do for your paint as well so that once you have is created, you can paint it to match your car and your cars other auto parts. This may seem like a no brainer, but many people will put the body panel on and not bother to paint it. Sometimes this is because they think that they will paint the whole car in the future. If you are not sure if you are going to paint the car in the future, I would go ahead and paint the panel so that it looks somewhat right on the car.

When you take the time to find out what you need to do with your auto parts needs, you will be more likely to have a good running and good looking car in the end. Body panels are not hard to do if you are ok with working with the auto parts that you will need as well as getting dirty under car. You may not understand that this body panel is going to make your car run better and faster in the end.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant about motorcycle gear, used motorcycle parts, and used car parts. When shopping for motorcycle gear or used parts, we recommend only the best stores: http://www.4motorcycle.info , http://www.sellusedmotorcycleparts.com , and http://www.usedcarpartsell.com .

You have to be very careful when it comes to luxury car leasing and financing in Asia. It is normal for people to only look to save money, and in terms of owning a new car, one of the most frequently asked questions is whether or not one should buy a new car or lease one. There are all kinds of experts who always advice one way or another, but the difficulty is that their recommendations pertain to both sides of that fence.

The real solution is that it depends on you and what you want to attain, as well as your car habits. For car habits, the reference goes to how often you access a new car. Do you get a fresh car once every couple of years or only after your previous one has expired? If you always require to have a late model car and is not concerned that it really never gets paid off, then leasing is probably a better choice for you.

How many miles do you typically cover over a period of one year? If you are a traveling salesman or a tech support person traveling a large geographic area, implying you drive a lot of miles on your car, then leasing is almost surely your best option.

Car leasing programs are getting more affordable these days, enabling you to denote how many miles you will operate over the course of your lease, but if it turns out to be too much higher than the standard 12,000 miles per year, you will possibly find that the price of leasing actually surpasses the cost of buying a new car.

You should always cross-examine the deal you are getting when you apply for leasing and financing of luxury cars in Asia. Be cautious to look at the interest rate, and try to bring it as low as possible.

If you possess good credit then you should be able to receive a pretty good deal on your interest rate. People having poor credit might discover it harder to locate a good finance deal, but if you are up-to-date with your payments, your credit rating will pick up and you may get the chance to refinance your car later.

There are some good tools on offer to assist you make a good choice when you apply for car finance; they are known as loan calculators, and they can be located free on many car finance websites. These loan calculators can inform you how much you will spend in interest, how much the total cost of your loan will be, and how much you will have to spend monthly.

Simply enter the data that you have concerning your situation into the calculator, such as how much you want the loan for, how long you desire to be paying it off for, and how much the interest rate is, and you can then know what the real cost of your loan is. You may be amazed at how deals that seems to be cheap sometimes end up being very costly indeed. So always be alive while leasing and financing of luxury cars in Asia.

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