YOU BREAK, YOU BUY!
The saying “if you break it, you buy it” is just as true with a rental car as it is with an overpriced piece of porcelain at an antique store.  If you sideswipe a parking pylon, there’s a pretty decent chance the folks who run your rental facility will know about it… whether you elect to tell them at turn-in or not.  HOWEVER – I’m not here to talk about your own mistakes and/or karmic choices.
There is NOTHING worse in life than paying for something you are not at fault for –I’ve been burned, don’t let it happen to you!  Listen, I know your flight was late, the line at the counter was cued to infinity and beyond, and you needed to be somewhere an hour ago.  But I implore you:  TAKE FIVE MINUTES TO INSPECT YOUR VEHICLE ANYWAY.
Check both inside AND out and let someone know, before you leave the lot, if you’ve found anything out of sorts.  A quick walk around and writing down any significant dings in the shell or tears in the upholstery can save you both the money they’ll want for the repair and the valuable time you’d spend dealing with the issue when they try to blame you for returning a roughed-up ride.

CHECK TWICE BEFORE SIGNING ON THE DOTTED LINE
I’m not going to advise you on whether you need supplemental insurance for your rental vehicle.  You should already know if your personal auto policy covers damage to rental cars (if you don’t, call your insurance company right now – it’s a valuable piece of information!) 
What I want to warn you AGAINST is being charged an extra insurance fee you didn’t mean to approve in the first place.  A dear colleague of mine got robbed to the tune of over a thousand dollars (!!!) last year at spring training when he didn’t realize that he was being charged an extra $15/day for insurance he didn’t need nor request for a rental he used for about two months. 
Needless to say, his company was nonplussed when he submitted the expense invoice… at least it didn’t come out of his pocket, but don’t let it come out of yours!  

BELONGINGS BELONG OUT OF SIGHT
This is simple:  you wouldn’t leave a laptop sitting out on the passenger seat of your own car, begging someone to break your window and walk off with it, right?  Well, what is more inviting to someone who breaks into cars than a piece of luggage?  It’s like a veritable “mystery grab bag” of goodies that some thieves can’t resist, so YOU MUST place your items out of sight and out of harm’s way.
In the trunk, under a seat, in the glove box – storage spots are ample in newer model vehicles and it’s up to you to take advantage of them, so that you’re not taken advantage of by someone else.

Cara Capuano has worked in television, mainly in sports, for over a decade, spending the last four years covering the Northwest Sports Scene for Fox Sports NW and before that on ESPN News. A dedicated storyteller, from time to time she’ll be lending some “female perspective” to SeattleAuto.net.

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.  

“When weather hits here in Washington it’s pure chaos,” says Cook. “Most folks don’t want to change their tires when the weather is bad, it’s easier to use AAA. We offer an all encompassing emergency service. If you’re locked out we’ll send out a locksmith, we can replace a battery if needed, we even deliver gas.”

While most Seattle drivers know AAA for jumping a dead battery or changing a tire, their services go way beyond the tow truck, as long as you know what you’re buying.

“AAA Washington is so much more than just our emergency road service,” explains Jennifer Cook, the spokesperson for AAA Washington. “We offer full leisure travel services and personal lines insurance as well. And our discount programs can save you more in a year than it actually costs to be a member.”

There are a number of money saving discounts to take advantage of. Card holding members can receive discounts all over the state and across the nation.  While most people are careful how they spend their money these days, AAA can be an untapped resource to just about any Seattle area driver.

Who Doesn’t Love a Deal?
Here are a select few discounts AAA Washington offers:

• 30% off for eye wear (Lenscrafters, Pearlevision, Sears Optical)
• 20% off Sirius Satellite Radios
• 20% off at the EMP/Science Fiction Museum
• Up to 20% on Prescription Drugs
• Pay $20.09 Jiffy Lube Signature Oil Change

Considering the low annual price on just the basic service, using AAA just once or twice a year is well worth the cost.  If members utilize the services and discounts, AAA could be worth every penny. It’s all in one shopping for your road traveling needs. Plus, you never have too many maps!

Check out the automotive section for AAA Washington

Don’t forget to take a look at some of the protection incentives from Ford and GM. These will essentially pay your monthly car payment if you lose your job. Be aware that each car maker has different rules for their plans, such as owning the vehicle for a few months before it actually kicks in.

If you don’t like the dealership experience, check out the SeattleAuto.net buying service, as we have teamed up with a customer focused auto buyer. Email cam@seattleauto.net with the make, model, year, and color you are looking for. The more specific you are the better help we can give you. We can find essentially any new/used car at a great price and you won’t have to step foot into a dealership.

Here are some great deals that will come to an end this month.

Buick, GMC,
Cadillac,Chevrolet,
HUMMER, Pontiac,
Saturn, Saab- 0%  APR financing for up to 60 months on many models.  New GM Total Confidence Plan includes payment protection, some protection against negative equity.  Expires: 4/30/09

Ford- 0 % APR  financing for up to 60 months, plus rebates up to $5000 on many 2009s, plus payment protection under new Ford Advantage Plan- Expires: 6/30/09

Toyota- Many models have 0% financing and cash back offers. However deals vary depending on region. Cash back rebates can reach up to $4000 on certain models- Expires: 4/30/09

Mazda- 0 – 0.9% APR financing for 36 months, can also be combined for cash back offers on certain models- Expires: 4/30/09

BMW- 0.9% APR financing (up to 60 months), plus no payments for 60 days on most 2009 models Expires:  5/31/09

Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep- Employee Pricing Plus Plus sale – 0 % APR financing for 36 months, plus employee pricing discounts, plus cash back offers varying by model

Volkswagen-0% APR financing (60 months) on 2009 Passat Wagon, Routan, and Toureg 3.9% APR financing on most models- Expires: 4/30/09

 

Seattle is known for it’s rolling hills and beautiful mountain ranges. But come winter, those same hills turn into steep, slippery nightmares for most drivers.

However, there’s a few tips on how even a novice driver can conquer many a Seattle hill. First, momentum is your friend when trying to go up a hill. Many drivers make the mistake of driving too slow and getting stuck. It’s understandable, because a driver’s instinct is to go slower in the snow. Once your car stops on an icy hill, there’s little chance of getting it moving again.

The trick is to try and build enough speed while approaching a hill and keeping a light but even pressure on the gas. Ideally, you want your tires to spin on the snow a little bit – but not so much that your car is just spinning on ice. Modern vehicles with traction control do much better on hills because these vehicles will automatically adjust tire spin if it detects too much slippage.

We’re going to let you in on a little known secret though – one that can turn almost any novice driver into a king of the snow hill. That trick is driving in reverse! This might sound bizarre, but the principle is based on elementary physics. By driving a car in reverse up a hill, the weight of the car is shifted to the front tires. The majority of all vehicles are front-wheel drive, which means weight is now fully on the tires delivering the power. Since traction is created as a result of friction and weight, this setup provides the maximum amount of traction for a FWD vehicle.

Those driving a rear-wheel drive vehicle have a natural advantage going up a hill since they already have the full amount of traction going up a hill. That doesn’t mean you should go out and buy a RWD car yet, because the disadvantage of a RWD configuration is a much greater loss in steering control vs a FWD car.

Check out our SeattleAuto.net video below that shows these techniques.

Disclaimer: Before you go driving up just any hill in reverse, we should warn you that this technique should only be applied as a measure of last resort and that there are probably laws against this on most public roads. While this technique may help your vehicle’s grip, you should be aware that it will only be effective on smaller hills that are not steep. Any amount of factors like ice, steepness, tire tread and driver skill will take far greater precedence than simply driving in reverse. In short – use care and attempt at your own risk!

It’s hard to imagine, especially in traffic, but a nice way to relax and unleash a little speed is getting into the car for a drive. As the population in Western Washington grows and more cars hit the road, fun driving is becoming harder to find. The days of putting down the roof, cranking the tunes, and pushing the RPM’s, is slowly becoming a thing of the past.

There are still enjoyable roads to drive in Washington state, however, timing is everything. Weather, road conditions, and time of year are all factors to consider before …hittin the road.

Highway 2 to Leavenworth

Highway 2 from Gold Bar to Leavenworth is the tourist trap. This could be the unofficial bitrthplace of chainsaw art. If you’re visiting the state of Washington in the fall or spring this drive is a must do. The trees are vibrant with orange and reds, and the scenery is a true representation of the state at its best. Why else do you think there are tour buses littering the road during those times of year?

Once you get past Monroe and Gold Bar it’s a little over an hour to Leavenworth to stop off for lunch. This may be a great day trip at certain times of year, but be wary of the busy times on weekends. It’s best to go early in the morning when no one else is on the road and so you can enjoy the ride. But be warned…if you get stuck behind a slow-poke, it WILL ruin your fun.

I-90 Thru Vantage and Highway 243

It’s hard to miss the views when going east bound on Interstate 90 when you cross the Vantage Bridge. The wide open scenery should be appreciated. While crossing Wanapum Lake and riding the banks, it feels like Big Sky country.

There are those who floor it, and then there are those who take their time and enjoy the high cliffs and occasional bald eagle. Highway 243 will wind around the water and eventually get into a unique mountainous area on the way to the Tri Cities.

The summer months can be very busy due to all the campsites and water sports, and it’s windy in the winter, but if you get it at the right time, it can be a memorable drive with a ton of Washington scenery for your digital camera.

Highway 97 between Wenatchee and Cle Elum

This drive is all about the timing. There seems to be construction year round or the passes are constantly closed. However, on a nice spring morning with no one on the road this highway can be a treat.

The scenery is better on the Wenatchee side, but you can test your car’s suspension as the road winds and climbs the hills toward Cle Elum. And maybe the state patrol knows about the popularity of this road as well, there always seems to be a vehicle pulled over for going too fast.

Highway 202 Redmond-Fall City Road

Enjoy this stretch of highway for now, because it’s slowly dying due to overpopulation. In years past, highway 202 was gorgeous and wide open. You could go from Carnation to downtown Redmond without having to stop.

Nowadays we’re seeing way more mini vans, industrial trucks, and apartments/condos being built in the area. All the extra population is making traffic worse on that stretch of highway. The scenery is still great, just more people in their cars are enjoying  as well.

At times, you can still get up to freeway type speeds on this 2 lane road and it still wouldn’t feel fast. The path itself is fairly straight, so it can be done. Just be careful when doing pushing the gas pedal, there are more cars on the road these days.