Car lemon laws - you don t have to live with a sour deal

United States car lemon laws were enacted to protect consumers against buying defective, unrepairable vehicles. The major automobile manufacturers mass-produce their products, and generally the quality control is very good. However, when you connect more than a few parts together, you have a chance for a lemon.

What is a lemon car? A lemon or lemon car is an automobile that has a defect that cannot be repaired by the consumer after a reasonable number of attempts. Alternately, if the car has been in a repair garage for 30 calendar days or more for repairs on the same defect, it may also be classified as a lemon car. The term can also apply to a vehicle in which the defect negatively affects the value and safety of the vehicle. Car lemon laws vary by state, so you should consult your own state laws to determine the exact definition that applies to you.

Why is a terminally defective car called a lemon? One can only speculate why the name of a tart yellow citrus fruit came to be associated with defective cars. Lemons are very sour in taste, and traditionally sour tastes have been associated with bad luck. If something negative happens to a person, he or she might say, "It left a sour taste in my mouth." A salesperson whose big deal falls through might say, "The deal went sour." It seems plausible that the sour taste of the lemon, with its negative connotations, was used to coin the phrase "lemon car" to describe a car purchase gone sour.

Why were lemon laws needed to protect car consumers? Look at the general definitions of lemon cars shown above. Some quick math will show that a lemon car can be an extreme financial hardship. The last time you picked up your car from the repair garage, were you happy with the bill, or were you dreading it? A car with four to six (or more) attempted repairs, with all the parts and labor charges, can easily add up to thousands of dollars. If your car is stuck in a repair garage for 30 days or more, with the mechanics billing hour after hour of labor, the bill might approach the price of the car itself!

If your car meets your state's lemon car criteria, you have the right to seek a refund or replacement from the car manufacturer (not the dealer from which you bought it). You are probably entitled to be reimbursed for related costs such as towing, rental cars, and maybe even long distance calls to the manufacturer. Be absolutely sure to keep all bills and invoices related to your attempts to get your car repaired.

If you decide to proceed with a lemon law claim against the manufacturer, it is beneficial to consult with a lawyer that specializes in lemon law cases. A lawyer can help make the stressful process go more smoothly. No doubt are already stressed enough over your lemon car.

Some states have passed lemon laws to protect consumers against defective purchases of boats and even pets. Regardless of the origin of the term, lemon laws are here to protect you. The car manufacturers can hire teams of expensive lawyers, and they know you can't. Car lemon laws help to level the playing field in your favor.

If the guys at the car repair shop know you by your first name, you should consider the lemon law tips below.

Driving through the desert

It is important that you do take some time to check your vehicle before you actually go through a journey through the desert. This is because the excess heat on your vehicle could make it act up. Also, you would not want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere without any means of communicating for help to anyone.

If you are planning on driving through the desert to some location, automobile experts suggest that you inform somebody about your plans. Let them know when you are going, when you should be expected to return, as well as where is the exact location of your destination.

You should also get a full service tune up before you start on your voyage. You should also bring your car for service at least a week or two weeks before your planned trip. That way, if there are any things that need to be worked on, the personnel could start on it. While at it, have the personnel check your battery terminals for corrosion. If there are, these should be cleaned with a wire brush that has been dipped in baking soda and water. Also add distilled water to your battery if your batteries are sealed.

Go through your tires as well. Inspect for wear. Also, maintain the proper air pressure on your tires. You should know the right amount of pressure by checking your car owner’s manual. Your radiator should also be checked for leaks.

As per your coolant, check for strength in the radiator overflow reservoir. You should be able to do this using a hydrometer. Make sure that the antifreeze is clean and that it is filled up to the proper level as indicated in your car. Now, if the coolant has not yet been replaced or flushed for the last 15,000 miles, this would be the right time to do so.

The iconic hairdresser friendly 2006 honda civic coupe

Transforming an icon is never easy. However, the designers and engineers at Honda have done an outstanding job of keeping alive the spirit of Soichiro Honda with the 2006 Honda Civic coupe. When Honda first entered the American market in 1962, they manufactured motorcycles, but the manufacturer expanded to automobiles by introducing clean, economical, and reliable cars. In 1963, Honda spent $350,000 on two 90-second commercials that appeared on the Academy Awards. The ads, though deceptively simple from longtime ad agency Rubin Postaer and Associates, claimed: “You meet the nicest people on a Honda.” Within months, the company sold millions of dollars in motorcycles, but it was not until the introduction of the 1973 Honda Civic did the company achieve its first automotive breakthrough. The American made 2006 Civic is elegant, speedy, safe, and fuel efficient car averaging 40 mpg (51 mpg for the Hybrid) that happily keeps with tradition. Winner of Motor Trend magazine’s 2006 Car of the Year, the 2006 Civic offers a challenge to the Toyota Prius, as Honda’s icon reborn.

If you walk around the 2006 Civic coupe’s exterior, you can’t help but notice the aerodynamically sculpted front nose that resembles a menacing bullet train at speed, hints at where the soul of this car is at. (The car is powered by a naturally aspirated 1.8 liter i-VTEC engine.) The beautifully contoured taillights are wide and arch inwards into the trunk, suggesting an approachable, friendly disposition. Step inside the cabin and the ergonomically designed interior lives up to the hype with stylized, center mounted, backlit RPM dials. The seats are firm and immediately make you feel comfortable as a rogue navigator contemplating his or her next move. The sum purpose of the 2006 Civic coupe is to enhance driving to the fullest, enabling you to keep your eyes on the road, hands on the wheel and foot on the gas.

At the heart of 2006 Honda Civic coupe is its outstanding 140-horsepower i-VTEC engine that comes standard in all Civic DX, LX and EX models. Honda’s racing heritage is vociferously felt in i-VTEC technology that gives you more efficient acceleration across the entire RPM bandwidth, while achieving an EPA estimated fuel economy of 40 miles per gallon. However, the most practical 2006 Civic is the Hybrid, capable of achieving 49 mpg in the city, and 51 mpg on the highway without spoiling any of the fun.

The Civic showcase is the Si, offering the performance envelope of 197 horses from a naturally aspired 2.0-liter engine. The Si is only available in a 6-speed manual, with limited slip differential, and a lowered suspension.

Acceleration is only half the battle in today’s nanosecond world. How the car brakes, corners, and stops are also equally important. As a result, the 2006 Honda Civic coupe is also big on safety. All new Civic models feature side curtain airbags, front side airbags, advanced compatibility engineering™ and body structure reinforcement – to redirect energy around the passenger compartment in case of an accident. For active safety, an automatic seat belt tensioning system is in place to securely hold all occupants in case of collision, and the anti-lock, 4-wheel disk brakes (ABS) will enable you to maintain steering control during hard stops as the Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD) will even out braking forces at each wheel. With such a diverse commitment to safety, the 2006 Honda Civic has earned the 5-Star Crash Test rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

If that wasn’t enough, the new Civic further rewards your senses with a state of the art audio entertainment system. The car is pre-wired for XM® Satellite Radio, MP3 players and WMA and also has an Apple® iPod® adapter that connects directly to the car’s audio. The 160-watt AM/FM/CD 6-speaker audio system amplifies the sound in the cabin for a fantastic effect. The Si boasts a 350-watt system with subwoofer and has an added amplifier for mega bass. Simply download your favorites, plug in your music and press play.

Soichiro Honda understood the desires of the open road. He understood the language of cool, and the needs of the youthfully minded sports car enthusiast. The 2006 Honda Civic fulfils his legacy for an inexpensive road car, with superb lines, a fuel efficient engine, and sound ergonomics. If you have previously owned a Civic, the MSRP of $14,360 – $20,900 for the reinvented 2006 Honda Civic will awaken all senses. If you own a higher priced luxury car, you may be tempted to trade it in. Whether you choose the Hybrid, the Si, or the DX/LX models, you will be purchasing one of the finest, fuel efficient icons in Honda’s history.

Thoughts on a challenging custom car audio job

Could a car owner have custom car audio added to a vehicle with “lambo doors”? That question has popped into the head of a freelance writer in California. The writer has previously witnessed all of the operations involved in the process of adding custom car audio to a Jeep Cherokee. Now she has learned that car owners are being encouraged to get Lamborghini-like doors.

That freelance writer hesitates to imagine what she may next find in her driveway. In November of 2005 the writer found two young adult males using her driveway as the site for the addition of custom car audio. One of those two lads had taken a course on auto mechanics with the former instructor at Culver City High School, a school close to Sony studios. He had agreed to share his knowledge with the writer’s son. Hence, the two of them had commenced the long process required to complete a custom car audio job.

At one point the writer’s son called to his mother and invited her to come outside and to see for herself what her son and his friend were doing. What that writer saw was two car doors with the “stuffing” pulled out of them. The quest for a custom car audio system had led those two young men to place speakers in the doors of the Jeep Cherokee.

The two “stereo specialists” did not show the writer how they had wired the speakers to the power source and to the amplifier. Their failure to grant the writer a look at their wiring operations has caused that writer to now ponder on a particular question: Could a vehicle with car speakers in the doors also have “lambo doors”? In other words, could a car owner who enjoyed the sound delivered by custom car audio logically expect to add “lambo doors” to that same car?

The writer has seen pictures that show how the “lambo doors” swing upward, instead of swinging out. Wiring speakers into such doors would seem to present a real challenge. Could one have custom car audio in a car with such doors? One writer in California wants to know.

The modern day car a sophisticated high tech gadget

Little did Mr. Ford know that the little black buggy he was making back in the early 90’s would a 100 years later be as sophisticated as the cars of today. Modern day cars are extremely complicated and high tech with some having the computing power greater than the first space shuttle which carried Neil Armstrong to the Moon! Cars today incorporate the latest in silicon technology and it’s the advent of Information Technology which has really given the automobile industry a giant technological leap. As computer chips become cheaper car manufacturers find news ways of integrating them into various functions of the car. Some of the primary technological advancements which have been made in car technology over the past few years are: on board chips in MPFI cars for controlling fuel supply and combustion, safety technologies like airbags, anti lock brakes and seat belt pre tensioners, high tech CVT transmissions, navigation through GPS systems, radar gun scanners, key less entry & theft protection systems & many more. Some of the most recent technologies which have been introduced include Mercedes active safety technologies which sense when the car is about to have a crash and automatically rolls up the windows tightens the seat belts and inflates the seat cushions to protect the occupants. Then there are automatic headlights which turn on themselves when it gets dark and wipers which turn on automatically when it starts to rain. The list just goes on with seat back massagers, tv and dvd entertainment systems, in car refrigerators, telephone, laptop, sunroofs, heated seats & much much more. There are more gadgets in a car today than there were in an house in the 70’s. Even drivability and handling of a car is controlled by computers, many cars have active air suspensions, traction control systems and active four wheel drive systems.

So when we buy a car today is it just a mode of transport which we are buying? Not really, it’s a mobile relaxation spa for some, a mobile office for other or simply a lifestyle accessory for the rich. One thing is clear, technology is never constant and will continue to amaze us with faster, more sexy and more advanced cars in the future lets keep our eyes on the road.

German vehicles comparison bmw vs. mercedes

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German cars have long been recognized as some of the best engineered and most luxurious cars in the world. Two manufacturers, BMW and Mercedes, rule the roost with offerings from Audi, Porsche, and even Volkswagen getting some attention. Let’s take a look at some current offerings from these Bavarian giants and see how they are impacting the auto industry.

BMW – Give BMW credit for moving outside of the box by building a plant in South Carolina. Opened in 1994, the Spartanburg, SC plant has produced the Z3 – now Z4 – roadster as well as the X5 SAV. Seeking to become more of a world player, BMW has also purchased controlling interest in other automakers including Rolls-Royce and Rover during the 1990s. Later, BMW sold off the Rover and MG portions of Rover, but has kept the Mini brand.

BMW vehicles are well represented in the US. Coupes, sedans, convertibles, roadsters, and SUVs make up the American fleet with new cars at various stages of development being prepared for release.

Mercedes Benz – As part of the Daimler Chrysler fold, Mercedes Benz has been producing high quality automobiles for over a century. In 1998, seeking to expand its reach, Daimler Chrysler [DCX] bought out the Chrysler Corporation. Names such as Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth, Jeep, and Mopar became part of the DCX fold, although Plymouth was discontinued a few years later.

The Mercedes Benz name is synonymous with luxury vehicles and in the US the company is well represented by a host of sedans, coupes, convertibles, tall wagons, SUVs, roadsters, and other fine vehicles.

Owners of BMWs and Mercedes Benz do have some things in common: vehicle maintenance. As high end vehicles, the automakers are noted for equipping their cars with only the finest OEM parts. Well represented manufacturers used by both companies include: Bosch, Hella, Mahle, Textar, Brembo, Bilstein, Febi, SKF, and others. Most are German born and bred and are recognized the world over for producing the highest quality parts for auto manufacturers.

Replacement auto parts purchased through dealer parts departments are priced at a premium. When you take into consideration any tariffs, import fees, and third party mark ups, consumers can expect to pay a mint for each part. The growing internet wholesale market has been changing the paradigm lately as companies such as Car Parts Stuff are selling direct to consumers. The better online wholesalers have lowered costs significantly as overhead is low and they buy direct from leading manufacturers. This translates into real savings for you, the consumer.

When purchasing any parts for your luxury car, always determine that the parts you order meet or exceed OEM specifications. There are a lot of counterfeit parts on the market; shop wisely and you will get premium parts at low prices.