• Cars for Clunkers program runs until November 1st, 2009 – or until funds run out
• Car must to be less than 25 years old
• Cars must average 18MPG or less (exceptions exist for very large vehicles)
• Car must be owned, registered and insured for 12 months in owner’s name before trade in. Must provide Proof of Insurance and Registration to dealership
• Car must have a clear title, without any liens or encumbrances.
• Car must be in drivable condition
• Cars traded-in must be scrapped, meaning the car will be turned into scrap metal (worth a few hundred at most)
• Depending on trade-in, a $3,500 or $4,500 credit is applied toward purchase of new vehicle
• Cannot participate in CARS program more than once

The program has these requirements to prevent explicit abuse of the Cash For Clunkers program. Otherwise, owners could simply drive to the junkyard in Renton or Everett, buy a junk pickup truck for a hundred dollars and tow it to the dealership for a essentially a free rebate.

Having a scrapping requirement is also interesting, as it limits newer cars from participating in the program due to the immediate trade in loss. This means that the owner of a 2003 Toyota Corolla would not be inclined to participate in Cars for Clunkers as their vehicle still has a $7000 trade in value. By participating in the program, they would only receive a $3,500 to $4,500 credit plus scrap value toward the purchase of a new car.

How Much Cash Credit Do I Get for my Trade In?

If your vehicle qualifies for the Cash For Clunkers program, dealerships that participate are required to offer you an instant credit/rebate toward the purchase of a new, fuel efficient vehicle. The rebate differs depending on the type of vehicle you are purchasing and the difference in fuel economy between your trade-in and newer vehicle.

Trading in old passenger car for new passenger car:
Fuel economy improvement from 4 to 10 MPG: $3,500 credit
Fuel economy improvement over 10 MPG: $4,500 credit

Trading in old passenger car for new truck:
Fuel economy improvement from 2 to 5 MPG: $3,500 credit
Fuel economy improvement over 5 MPG: $4,500 credit

Trading in old truck to new truck:
Fuel economy improvement from 1 to 2 MPG: $3,500 credit
Fuel economy improvement over 2 MPG: $4,500 credit

While Seattle is primarily a city of passenger vehicles, the Cash for Clunkers program is a huge (some would say ridiculous) incentive for owners of old trucks or SUVs. The short of it is that if your car has a trade-in value less than $4,500, the program is an incredibly incentive to purchase a new car.

How does the Cash For Clunkers Trade Process Work with the Dealership

Though many sources mention that a voucher is required to participate, that is not true. You need no paperwork and during the trade in, the dealer handles all of the paperwork between them and the NHTSA. Provided that your trade in meets the qualifications for the Cash for Clunkers program, the $3,500 or $4,500 credit is immediately applied toward your new car.

There have been some reports coming out about dealerships (though none we’ve heard about in Seattle) telling customers that they will receive a rebate check from the NHTSA directly, the trade in needs to be held until cleared, or that there are fees or contracts to participate in the program. All of these practices are against the terms of the program and the NHTSA even asks that you report dealerships who tell you this. To repeat, the program takes no filing of paper work on the consumer side – only proof of meeting the requirements of the trade in.

However, some dealerships are wary of the Cash for Clunkers program because of the potential financial risk. It takes ten days after submitting the paperwork to the NHTSA for the dealership to know whether or not they will be credited for the trade-in. In the event they are not credited, the dealer will be out of $3,500 or $4,500 credit. This puts the onus on the dealer to correctly inspect and file the paperwork.

Most dealerships, especially those in the Seattle area, that we have talked to, are thrilled about the program – and rightly so. The Cash for Clunkers program may well be a financial stimulus program for the auto industry and a much needed rescue for domestic automakers like GM.

So, if you were thinking about trading in your old vehicle, seriously consider the Cash for Clunkers program, as it may be the best financial incentive in history to trade up for a new car. The program ran out of money within the first two weeks when it first rolled around earlier this year, so even though the program expires on the first of November, there is a good chance the program will be out of cash far before then.

Do you dread high pressure salesmen? Are you being scammed by the financing manager? Consumers all say that buying a car is worse than a visit to the dentist. Don’t have a bad experience – contact us at today sales@seattleauto.net to get you in touch with our professional auto broker who will treat you with the utmost care. Sign the papers in your own living room and have the car delivered to your door at dealer prices!

Here’s the press release from the Washington State Department of Transportation

WSDOT: Gas prices and the recession can’t take all the credit for reduced congestion
OLYMPIA – Washington drivers are spending less time stuck in traffic despite growing vehicle volumes during peak commute periods in urban areas, according to a national study released to news media today. WSDOT’s own data crunchers attribute the trend to the declining economy, but contend that smart transportation investments and operational strategies are what will keep travel times reasonable well after the economy recovers.  
The 2009 Urban Mobility Report, a national study released today by the Texas Transportation Institute, announces that congestion is declining or leveling off across the country, and attributes the cause to rising gas prices and the declining economy. WSDOT agrees that commutes are improving, but draws other conclusions as to the cause.
Puget Sound region travel trends are somewhat different than those found nationally. The TTI report draws from 2007 data. For this period, Washington’s economy was still very robust and added jobs. Our own congestion data shows continued increases in travel times for key Puget Sound corridors in 2007, although the increase is at a lesser rate than in previous years.
The data supports that congestion is improving in part because of Moving Washington, WSDOT’s program for addressing congestion. Moving Washington is a three-part strategy comprised of adding highway capacity strategically, operating the system efficiently and managing demand.
 
“We’re fighting congestion with safety improvements, construction projects, advanced freeway operations and providing transportation options,” said State Traffic Engineer Ted Trepanier. “While it is clear that many factors influence congestion, there is no question that our strategies are making a positive impact.” he said.
WSDOT analyzed on seven major Seattle-area commuting corridors in the first six months of 2008, as gas prices surged above $4 per gallon. While it’s true that Washington drivers used 63 million fewer gallons of fuel in the first six months of 2008, peak period volumes still continued to grow on these key commuter routes. The most notable changes in traffic volumes were observed on weekends and evenings as drivers reduced discretionary trips, changed destinations or cut trips to save money.
Although congestion remains heavy on several corridors, travel times on six of seven key Puget Sound corridors either improved or remained level for the first half of 2008, compared to 2007.
Four of seven major corridors saw increased traffic volumes during peak periods, yet six corridors experienced better travel times as traffic flow improved and disruptions declined. Improved travel times through some of the region’s busiest corridors suggest that WSDOT’s congestion relief strategies and their associated projects, combined with higher gas prices and rising transit ridership, had a positive effect on the performance of these corridors in the first six months of 2008.
WSDOT is currently delivering the largest capital construction program in our state’s history, including hundreds of safety and congestion relief projects funded by the 2003 and 2005 gas tax, worth $6.5 billion. As of June 30, WSDOT has completed 192 of 391 projects with an additional 83 projects currently under construction. Combined, these projects represent 70% of the total number of projects for both the Nickel and TPA programs.
WSDOT publishes an annual congestion report that provides detailed travel time and traffic delay analysis and highlights “Before and After” case studies of its safety and congestion relief projects. It measures the results from the driver’s perspective for each completed project.
In King County, WSDOT widened the freeway and improved interchanges on I-405 between Kirkland and Bothell.  This $82 million project, the first of the multi-stage Kirkland Nickel project, was completed in October 2007. Based on travel speeds before and after the project was completed, drivers’ speeds have increased by 16%, from 37 mph to 43 mph. The Tukwila to Bellevue morning commute improved by 12 minutes in part due to new WSDOT auxiliary lane on I-405, opened in early 2009.
WSDOT recently completed one of the largest construction projects ever delivered in Snohomish County, the $263.4 million I-5 Everett HOV and Freeway Expansion project. This project combined added capacity, safety and operational improvements by adding HOV lanes to demonstrate that our Moving Washington strategy can reap big benefits. Before the project began in 2005, afternoon commuters headed northbound on I-5 between 128th Street and Marine View Drive spent up to 18 minutes moving through this eight mile stretch of highway.  After crews opened the new lanes in May 2008, commuters shaved their commute to 10 minutes. Without congestion, travelers can drive through this section of I-5 in eight minutes.
In Clark County, WSDOT widened two miles of I-5 between Salmon Creek and the I-205 interchange. This $44 million project was one of several aimed at improving traffic flow in the I-5 corridor between the Main Street interchange in Vancouver and the I-205 junction.
Result: Drivers’ travel speeds have improved 19% from 42 mph to 50 mph.
For more information about Moving Washington, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/movingwashington. For our detailed annual congestion report and the most recent six-month, incremental traffic trend analysis folio go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/accountability/.

The Big Apple! Home of Broadway, the Empire State building, the New York Yankees, and the worst drivers in America.
According to a study conducted by GMAC Insurance for 2009, New Yorkers are bad at knowing the rules of the road. The study tested 5,000 drivers from all 50 states on their basic knowledge of driving laws. While New Yorkers get the distinction of being the worst, the entire Northeast region of the country gets all around bad grades. Last year’s champion of worst drivers was New Jersey, they’re just 2nd to worst now.

According to the GMAC press release
“20.1 percent of licensed Americans – amounting to roughly 41 million drivers on the road – would not pass a written drivers test exam if taken today.”

While the Northeast was bad, the Northwest came out looking great. Washington ranked 17th, Alaska 12th, Oregon8th, and Idahotied for #1. Something that area drivers can be proud of. But the big question is, will this help our daily insurance rates? Probably not. This would be a miniscule fraction of the overall complex insurance formula. Translation-You’re not getting a break on your auto insuarnce cause the insurance companies like your money.

Here’s the complete list
 

Here’s the complete list from best to worst
 
1 IDAHO
1 WISCONSIN
3 MONTANA
4 KANSAS
5 SOUTH DAKOTA
5 NEBRASKA
7 UTAH
8 WYOMING
8 IOWA
8 OREGON
8 MINNESOTA
12 ALASKA
12 NORTH DAKOTA
14 VERMONT
15 COLORADO
15 MISSOURI
17 OKLAHOMA
17 WASHINGTON
19 NEW MEXICO
20 NORTH CAROLINA
21 VIRGINIA
22 INDIANA
22 MICHIGAN
24 ARKANSAS
24 TEXAS
26 ALABAMA
26 NEVADA
28 WEST VIRGINIA
29 ILLINOIS
30 ARIZONA
31 MAINE
32 DELAWARE
33 NEW HAMPSHIRE
34 OHIO
35 KENTUCKY
36 PENNSYLVANIA
37 LOUISIANA
38 TENNESSEE
38 MISSISSIPPI
40 SOUTH CAROLINA
40 MARYLAND
42 CONNECTICUT
43 FLORIDA
44 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
45 MASSACHUSETTS
46 RHODE ISLAND
47 GEORGIA
48 CALIFORNIA
49 HAWAII
50 NEW JERSEY
51 NEW YORK

 

See the article on Yahoo

I drive around with my dog a lot. And when I say “a lot,” I mean most all of the time. So much that when I don’t take him, he looks at me with that “Where-in-the-heck-are-you-going-without-me look.”

It’s a look that bothers me, makes me feel guilty. So I talk to him and hope he understands that there are good reasons he’s being left behind – it might be 85 degrees and too hot to leave him in the truck; or I’m going to be somewhere for 10 hours, and I don’t think he’d appreciate hanging out in the back seat for that long.

His name’s Willie, and he’s a golden retriever. When I worked at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, I had the kind of job that allowed me to take my dog with me. This tradition started with my previous dog, another golden retriever named Murph.

As a sports columnist, I didn’t have to go to the office much. I wrote many of my columns from parks. The routine was pretty much the same – I’d make sure I had my laptop battery charged, and off we went – Willie swam after tennis balls in Lake Washington while I wrote and tried, sometimes unsuccessfully, to keep my keyboard from getting splashed by my dog, who always seemed to shake right next to me when he got out of the water.

I’ve had goldens now for 20 years, which means that every vehicle I’ve ever owned has the lovely smell of wet dog. You know that smell, it’s the one you can’t smell if it’s your dog. And it’s the one that grosses everyone else out, especially my wife.

I know a good way to get rid of this problem – never take a passenger with you, aside from your dog of course.

It was worse before I got a 2007 Honda Ridgeline with leather seats. That’s a must for drivers who have dogs that shed – leather seats. The vehicle I had before this, a ’93 Honda Accord, had cloth seats. They have yet to invent a vacuum with enough suction to inhale dog hair, and the heck of it is, that same dog hair that seems glued to the seats always ends up on your clothes.

Savvy drivers who cruise around with their dogs always carry one of those sticky rollers that removes hair from their clothes. Un-savvy drivers like me just try to pick the strands off my fleece sweatshirt, which never works very well, which leads to comments of: “So, I see you’ve got a dog.”

That’s right, Sherlock, I do, and boy is he spoiled. Willie spends most of his time in the backseat, but if he’s in the front seat and it’s a cold morning, I’ll turn on the seat warmer for him too.

There are advantages to driving with your dog. If I’m in a hurry or running late, I have to admit that I occasionally use the car-pool lane illegally.And when I use it, I’ll call Willie from the back seat to the front seat to give the appearance that there’s another living, breathing something in the vehicle. I picture the state patrol guy looking at us going by, and I’m assuming he can’t tell if we were two people, and thus legal, or one person and one hairy mongrel, thus illegal.

At 55 or 60 mph, can he really be certain? I tend to think not. My biggest problem is trying to keep Willie upright in a sitting position so his head is visible above the dashboard. He gets in the front seat and wants to curl up in a ball, which defeats the purpose.

I guess there are disadvantages too. He barks at every dog he sees, which wouldn’t be so bad if Seattle didn’t have so many dogs. And he doesn’t just bark, he goes nutball, barking his fool head off, as if he’d tear that dog apart if he could get out of the truck, when in fact, the opposite is what would really happen.

He’s docile, an I-mean-you-no-harm kind of dog. I’ve got proof. Two years ago my daughter

celebrated her 16^thbirthday at Buca di Beppo in Seattle. I parked in the lot across the street.  While I

was in the restaurant, a crook smashed my passenger window and took my laptop. But he left Willie alone, so I guess he was a nice crook. I’ve often wondered how Willie reacted when the window was smashed.

Did he:

-Try to defend my truck and laptop by snarling and biting the crook?

-Or did he wag his tail and wonder why the crook didn’t pet him before he ran off with my laptop.

My truck’s been damaged in other ways. The console and armrests have taken a beating from Willie’s nails – they’ve got little imprints all over them, signs of Willie-ness everywhere, sure to hurt resale value in the future.

Willie and I have gone on several long road trips – three to Cannon Beach, Ore., two to Phoenix and one to Banff. I always find a stream or a lake or some kind of body of water and let him swim along the way.

We typically stay at Super 8’s because they allow dogs for a nominal extra fee. I’ll ask for two double beds, one for him and one for me. But we’ve also stayed at motels that don’t allow dogs, which is always interesting. I’ll try to get a room a long ways from the lobby so I can smuggle him in and pray that Willie has a bark-less night.

I’m not sure why I’m so crazy about my dog that I enjoy taking him with me every day. There are drawbacks but not enough to leave Willie and those looks of his at home.

 Jim Moore is a former sports columnist for the Seattle P-I, aka The Go2Guy. He can still be found on Seattlepi.com as a freelance writer, and is also a contributing writer for Seattleauto.net.  

The Capri had an eight-track player in it, and I managed to acquire an adaptor that would allow me to play cassettes — the height of technology at the time. “Rust” could be used to describe the color of the car as well as the makeup of much of the exterior by the time I got it. Mechanically, it had seen far better days.

Still, for the year or so I managed to keep it running, I loved that car in the way you can only love your first. I washed it more often than was necessary or practical and cruised through the parking lot of my high school certain that everyone was impressed. They weren’t.

I think every teenager should start with a clunker. It’s a rite of passage, and it gives you great stories about the door you had to hold shut with bungee cords or the time your muffler fell off during your homecoming date. I had a friend whose first car wouldn’t go in reverse, and when we went places we were always hunting for places to park that wouldn’t require backing out later — otherwise as the passenger I was stuck having to push it.

I think I’ve owned nine cars since the Capri, cars of all shapes and sizes. There was the Honda Accord I drove until it had almost a quarter of a million miles, and the Jeep Wrangler I rolled in a snowstorm at Snoqualmie Pass while trying to get to a football game. There was the Datsun 510 hatchback that kept going despite all my abuse, and the Nissan Pathfinder everyone said stunk of wet dog — probably because it had a wet dog in the back seat most of the time.

For 17 years, up until the closure of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in March, I was a sportswriter. I covered baseball for the P-I, which meant a lot of time on the road and a often driving a different rental car every three days. More than a few times, I arrived in a city late at night, drove to the hotel, then the next morning walked out of the hotel and couldn’t remember which car was mine.

I got to drive a lot of different cars, and there were often surprises. I’d get into a car that had an impressive reputation and find that I didn’t like it at all. Or discover a car that was a joy to drive even though it was a make or model I would previously never have even considered buying. Sometimes I’d get a model I’d never even heard of before.

Those experiences have given me a good idea what I like and don’t like in a car, and the little things that make a car the right fit for me. In the end, that’s what matters — having a car that just feels right.

Speaking of which, does anyone know where I can find a 1979 Mercury Capri?

Dave Andriesen is a former Seattle P-I sports reporter. His stories can been seen on SeattleAuto.net as a contributing writer.

Ever since late last year, car dealers throughout the nation have been feeling the squeeze. The Big Three carmakers, GM, Ford and Chrysler, constantly made the evening news with the need for a multi-billiion dollar bailout package. Even consistently performing brands like Honda and Toyota saw sales of their veritable Accord and Camary lines slowly dropping.

Toyota, the world’s biggest automaker, announced yesterday that March sales were likely to be even worse than January and February, which had set records for 27 year-lows in car sales. Honda also announced that it would be delaying one of their new factories in Japan due to the low demand. Consumer research firm J.D. Powers came out and said that retail sales for new vehicles dropped 40 percent in the first half of March compared to last year. 

The Northwest – and specifically, the Puget Sound region – was optimistically thought to be resistant to the national downturn in the economy. Up until earlier this year, big local employers like Boeing and Microsoft were still getting brisk business and powering the local business engine. However, with recent layoffs, pay cuts and hiring freezes and falling real estate prices, it would appear that the Seattle region is inevitably tied to the national – and global – economy as a whole.

Seattle car dealers have been caught up in the mess, as almost every dealer has seen sales figures fall  - with the odd exception of Subaru, which has actually increased in sales. Ancedotal reports have been coming in from everywhere of novice but persistent negotiators coming away with great deals on new cars. Bothell resident David P. tells us that he walked onto a lot and was offered invoice pricing on a new, loaded 2009 Toyota FJ Cruiser, which included the $3,000 manufacturer rebate at the time. 

First hand accounts like these from Leonard and David are eye-opening in the world of car dealers, namely because the industry has had the notorious reputation of fleecing customers at every possible opportunity. Now that local car salesmen are willing to offer up select inventory for nothing more than holdback on the front side, it is quite indicative of not only competition among dealers, but also the urgency of closing with a buyer. Only twelve months ago, short of using an auto buyer or being an expert car negotiator, would it be possible to have a car delivered in invoice pricing.

Does this mean that Seattle dealers are getting desperate?  Yes and no. While overall sales are certainly down, dealers are still selling inventory and obviously making money on the sale – whether it be limited to holdback or some number magic on the financing side. Smart shoppers that do even a minimal amount of shopping around will generally find reasonable pricing on the vehicle they’re looking for. Certain makes and models are still in high demand or limited supply, so not all dealerships are looking to unload their inventory to the first buyer that comes by. In addition, not all consumers are born negotiators, so it’s fair to assume many buyers are paying more than they might be able to get away with. 

The overall sentiment of the local car industry is hopeful, but restrained. If you talk to most car salesmen, they’ll be optimistic and tell you things aren’t as great as last year, but still fine. Behind that optimism though, is a sea of worries of what the next few months will have in stock for the auto industry.

Numbers can be deceiving. They can be manipulated to serve a purpose by just about anyone. In terms of the Forbes story they used recent sales numbers provided by Autodata based on sales each month. They compared the number of sales from February 2008 and February 2009. But take it with a grain of salt. While individual models made gains, it wasn’t enough to save the overall losses by the company.

According to the Forbes.com story written by Hannah Elliot:

Despite the gains, individual models don’t reflect the industry at large; most of the cars with the strongest gains come from brands that lost ground last month. Audi’s A5 and S5 coupes, for instance, gained 28.6% in sales from February 2008, but the brand declined 24.4% in overall sales. Models like the Audi A3 (down 51.6% in February), Audi A6 (down 47.5% in February) and Audi A8 (down 67.5% in February) did more than their part to drag Audi down.

Similarly, the Nissan 350Z’s 33% gain couldn’t fully mitigate the brand’s 37.1% loss compared to February 2008. All told, only Kia (0.4%), Smart (28.5%) and >Subaru (1.4%) posted overall gains last month over February 2008.

Manipulation of individual numbers is a good way to avoid the doom and gloom of the overall auto industry. Take the BMW M3 convertible, according to last years sales there was only one sold in February 2008! All they had to do was sell two and it would’ve doubled their sales for 2009.

Therefore, the best thing to do is eliminate the sales that are less than 1,000 and take a look at the rest. When you do that, what’s left is a better overall picture of cars that sold better to the masses.

If you go by that method, Hyundai is making a lot of waves this year with the Genesis, Elantra, and Accent. This isn’t the first “top” list they’ve made this year. Check out these individual sales for Hyundai models in the United States from last year to this year.

Hyundai Accent
MSRP: $9,970

February 2009 sales: 4,334
February 2008 sales: 3,335
Increase: 30.0%

Hyundai Elantra
MSRP: $14,120

February 2009 sales: 8,978
February 2008 sales: 6,750
Increase: 33.0%

See the entire article and list at Forbes.com.

Before we start, we would like to give a big thanks out to Edie Hirtenstein, who is the Senior Product Manager at AutoCheck for her assistance on this article. Edie was kind enough to agree to an interview to help explain and answer questions we had about AutoCheck’s features and services.

When running a vehicle history report, each car will have certain information that includes:

• VIN Number
• Engine Type (Ex: 2.0L I4 EFI)
• Year / Make / Model / Style (2004 Toyota Camry / LE / 4DR Sedan)
• Last Recorded Odometer Reading (Ex: 45,290 miles)
• Age
• Country of Origin / Manufacture (Ex: America, Japan)
• Calculated Vehicle Owners (Ex: 3 owners)

When comparing the used car that you’re looking at against the vehicle’s history report, you want to make absolutely sure that the car’s description matches the official information. Some sellers might make an honest mistake and list their vehicle a year off, but less ethical types might “fudge” their car listing in the hopes you won’t pick up on it.

Pay close attention to the calculated vehicle owners, because that is an important aspect when assessing the quality of a car. A car that has had many owners is not ideal because it’s harder to keep track of maintenance records with multiple owners, which is important to know. You don’t want to have a timing belt go out at 100,000 miles when the last owner “claimed” that the owner before him performed the service – you want the actual records. Also, there might be reason the car as changed hands so many times, such as a stuttering engine or intermittent electrical problem that doesn’t show up readily on a test drive.

AutoCheck Vehicle Score

If you’re the type of person that bores easily by details or is daunted by the sheer amount of information involved in buying a used car, AutoCheck has made life easier. As a proprietary service, AutoCheck lists a vehicle score that rates each vehicle on an absolute score of 1 to 100. It takes into account various factors such as: age, vehicle class, number of owners, mileage, usage, title brand, mileage brand, accidents and other factors. In addition to the vehicle score, the report lists the scoring range of similar vehicles (based on year and style) as a comparison.

Example: AutoCheck Score 52. Comparison Vehicle Score 38 – 50.

The comparison score is useful, because age is the most important determinant in vehicle score. This means that the used car you’re looking at might have a seemingly low score because of it’s age, but may score better than vehicles of roughly the same age and model. In fact, the comparison represents the scoring range of the middle 50% of all similar cars, so beating the comparison score puts your vehicle into the top quarter of vehicles in the AutoCheck formula.

Reading the Full Vehicle History

The full vehicle history is the section that lists all recorded events with the car in chronological order. From being titled at the dealer lot to yearly tab renewals, every major event will (hopefully) be found in the history section.

Because there are so many different types of events, we will list both the most common events along with those that you should keep an eye out for:

Regular Events

• Vehicle Manufactured and Shipped to Dealer: Indicates when a vehicle is essentially delivered to a dealer. If a vehicle does not have this event, then the vehicle may have been imported from outside the US or be a rebuilt vehicle.
• Title: Represents a change in vehicle ownership.
• Title (Loan/lien reported): Car was purchased with a loan.
• Title (Leased vehicle): Car was leased from the dealership.
• Title (Corrected Title): Generally indicates a paperwork error on owner of the car with the DMV.
• Registration Event/Renewal: Annual tab renewal. Be careful if you don’t see a renewal each year, as that indicates the car was likely broken, was in an unreported accident or had some unknown reason for not getting renewed. Note that older cars sometimes have missing data from earlier years, so make sure a vehicle has been renewed lately.
• Odometer reading from DMV: These events indicates the last official odometer reading from the DMV. Different state DMVs have different requirements on when odometer readings are mandatory, but most will report odometers during a title transfer. Note that cars older than 10 years are not required to disclose odometer readings.
• Passed Emission Inspection: You want to see these events, as that means the car passed mandatory emissions inspections.

Cautionary Events

• Reported at Auto Auction: Many cars go to auction for legitimate reasons: expired leases, unsold cars and fleet vehicles. That said, there area cars sold at auction include are in need of fixes or repairs. These vehicles are usually fixed by the time they go onto a dealer lot, but if you find that one of the last entry of the vehicle history report lists a car going to auction, you will definitely want to have the car inspected if considering a purchase (that said, our recommendation is you always get an inspection.)
• Fleet / Rental Fleet: Fleet and rental vehicles tend to get a bad reputation because there are many stories of people renting cars and abusing them. Certain companies also have horrendous maintenance policies and essentially do minimal work on a car before taking them out of the fleet. The other way to look at it is that most rental drivers are adults that have no interest in abusing the vehicle, while the good rental companies use a scheduled maintenance for their vehicles. To each their own on these type of vehicles.
• Repossessed: Indicates a car that was taken back from the owner for failure to pay. While a repossessed car in and itself is not a bad indicator (unless you’re superstitious), but what it can imply is that if the owner could not afford car payments, then there is a good chance they could not afford maintenance on the vehicle.

Red Flag Events

• Insurance Loss An insurance loss is a nice way of saying the car has been “totaled”. This can be caused by a stolen car that was recovered too late or a vehicle that had been in a major accident. Stolen cars often suffer significant abuse and are even used in crimes, which may not be the history you wish to associate with your vehicle. Accident vehicles that are totaled are extremely dangerous and probably are followed up with a salvage or rebuilt title if still on the road.
• Collision with Another Vehicle: Even though practically every driver eventually gets into an accident according to road statistics, you still want to avoid vehicles that have been in accidents. While most accident vehicles are fixed up and run fine, there may be unseen damage in the frame or other parts of the car that are a ticking time bomb. Just remember you have many vehicles to choose from while looking for a car, so don’t ever feel committed to one vehicle.
• Salvage / Rebuilt / Rebuildable: A huge red flag. These events are caused when a car has been totaled or rebuilt from a totaled vehicle. These type of cars are often sold for cheap, but it’s definitely a buyer beware situation. You’ve been warned.
• Failed Emission Inspection: Another major warning sign, especially if recently added to the vehicle history. Vehicles that do not pass emission are not legally allowed on the road and can take thousands of dollars to fix up. If a car failed emissions then passed later, it is generally a safer bet.
• Water Damage / Storm Registration: These are specific insurance loss related events that deal with water damage to the car. This is an important distinction because water damage is a ticking time bomb, as it wreaks havoc on electrical systems.

Where Does the Information Come From

Throughout the life of a vehicle, it can pass through multiple organizations that create a paper trail. These include the DMV, auto auctions, dealers, salvage auctions, junk yards, insurance companies, towing companies, police and other independent sources. By law, these organizations are all required to supply the vehicle information when a major event happens with the vehicle. AutoCheck also claims to have access to exclusive auction information that CARFAX does not, which is one reason why car auctions may prefer AutoCheck’s services.

Sometimes, fresh information won’t show up on a vehicle history report either because it hasn’t been reported to the proper agency yet or updated in the history report. According to Edie, AutoCheck updates their databases every 48 hours with information they receive from the various state agencies and sources, so you will usually see recent information that has been reported.

Examples of Real Vehicle History Reports

Now that you’ve read this article, you should have an adequate understanding of what goes into a vehicle history report. For the truly serious buyer or the curious, we will follow-up by showing some actual vehicle reports from AutoCheck that we obtained during our How to Buy a Used Car for Under $1,000 project. In those reports, we’ll show you how to read each specific report and even read between the lines to understand a vehicle history report completely.

We would like to thank Edie Hirtenstein at AutoCheck / Experian Automotive for her help while researching this article!

If you’ve ever uttered this phrase after a car accident, chances are you weren’t happy about it. Surprisingly this happens a lot in the state of Washington.

According to the Insurance Research Council, in 2007 Washington had the 10th highest uninsured motorist rate in the entire country. The national average for uninsured motorists was at a rate of 13.8% in 2007, with the state of Washington owning a rate of 16%.

But why? According to those in the insurance industry, it comes down to jobs and the economy.

“There’s a strong correlation between the uninsured motorist and unemployment,” cites Darrin Sanger, Communications Director of the Northwest Insurance Council. “And according to the study, with national unemployment rates going up, so are uninsured rates. With all those rates going up, we can expect overall insurance rates to go up as well.”

Insurance rates are based upon stats and history generated from research studies. Insurance companies use these numbers to set what they charge in their rates. Those who drive without insurance make a significant impact on those overall rates.

“Uninsured and under insured motorists cost insured motorists over $80 million in Washington state, claims Sanger. “It’s something we all pay for.”

What’s the solution if you’re involved with someone without auto insurance and you don’t have adequate coverage?  Small claims court or cash settlements are the most likely solutions. But in any loss the NW Insurance Council encourages drivers to fill out an accident/police report, take pictures, and get information from the other drivers, and witnesses.

“Contact your insurance provider if there’s been any accident,” says Sanger. “They can tell you all you need to know about rates and how they handle uninsured motorists.”

Top 5 Uninsured Motorists States for 2007
1. New Mexico
2. Mississippi
3. Alabama
4. Oklahoma
5. Florida
*10.  Washington

To find out more about auto insurance rates check out the Northwest Insurance Council website.

You’ve seen them in parking lots of your local PCC, packed with two car seats on the east side, or in traffic around Safeco field after a Mariners game…the Subaru nation of Seattle.

The versatile AWD vehicle captures the essence of the northwest driver. Versatility, handling, and capacity are just some of the words that appeal to local drivers about Subaru.

“We have the perfect go anywhere vehicle,“ claims Jim Pernas, Subaru’s regional VP. “People can drive from downtown to the passes for skiing and not have to worry about it. We fit into their active lifestyles. People who buy Subaru engage in life.”

According to Pernas, Seattle is the number five Subaru market in the entire country, with three of the top 20 Subaru dealers in the nation as well (Carters, Chaplins, and Eastside).

“It’s been a top Subaru market since the mid 1990’s” he says.

But the real question is why? There are certainly more Civics and Camry’s on the road, other vehicles get better gas mileage, and the other larger automakers have a bigger selection, so why is a smaller car maker like Subaru taking such a large bite out of the Seattle pie? It could come down to individuality.

“The people in Seattle and the Northwest as a whole don’t follow the masses,” explains Pernas, who’s based in Portland. “We’re more rugged individuals, and our cars make a statement about our lives. It fits our lifestyle.”

But with a half dozen of these multi faceted vehicles to choose from, which one fits the Seattle driver best?

“The Outback is a mainstay in Seattle,” claims Jim Pernas, Subaru’s regional VP of sales and marketing. “Since the mid 1990’s the Outback just took off. From the first generation Outback till now it’s always been a mainstay in Seattle. Although the Forester is starting to outpace it.”
 
In fact, the sales of Forester’s in the US helped Subaru become the only major automaker to make a slight profit in 2008. While the big boys like Ford, Chevy, GM, and even Toyota have been losing billions per quarter, Subaru saw a 115% increase in Forester sales in the first month of 2009 alone. With sales numbers to prove it, maybe Seattle drivers have figured out what the rest of the country is still wondering about.

“Loyal Subaru owners feel they have the best kept secret in the car industry,” claims Pernas.

Maybe the only left to decide, is which one to buy.  Outback or Forester?

Forester 2.5X Specs

• 4-cylinder, horizontally opposed (Boxer); aluminum cylinder block and heads with forged steel cylinder liners
• 170 hp@ 6,000 rpm
• Automatic- Active All-Wheel Drive with electronically managed continuously variable
  hydraulic transfer clutch
• Brakes-Power-assisted 5-wheel disc with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) and 4-channel / 4-sensor ABS and Brake Assist
• Cargo Capacity- Rear seatbacks down: 68.3 cu. ft.
• Fuel Economy-Automatic-2.5X models: 20/26HWY

Outback 2.5i Specs

• 170hp @ 6,000 rpm (PZEV: same)
• Drive Train- Automatic- Electronically managed continuously variable hydraulic transfer clutch
• Brakes- Power-assisted 4-wheel discs with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) and
  4-channel / 4-sensor ABS
• Cargo Capacity- Rear seats down: 65.4 cu. ft.
• Fuel Economy-AWD-Automatic  2.5i 20/26 HWY

See the full specs and other models at Subaru.com

Outback vs Forester video feature coming soon.