Basic Research : Getting Online Report
You want to be
a cunning consumer, a savvy seller, or a brainy
buyer, don't you? The Internet is by far the
greatest research tool ever devised. It changes
constantly — so its information remains
up-to-date. The Internet is also massive. One
of the better search engines, Northern Light,
maintains 208 million pages of data. Other engines
claim in excess of 300 million pages. And to
make this mass of information useful, several
excellent search engines can guide you to what
you're looking for intelligently and rapidly.
This chapter explores
some of the most reliable sources of objective
information about cars that you can locate online:
respected automobile critics; famous test labs
and reviewers, such as Consumer Reports and
Edmund's; government reports; and court rulings.
The information you'll gather from these sources
is invaluable when you're deciding which car
is best for you.
Reviewing
Car Publications
Advertising people sit around for weeks thinking
up the perfect phrase:
Where's the beef? Don't squeeze the Charmin,
and the now-trademarked word used by Wal-Mart,
Always. You wouldn't believe how much money
is spent on a 30-second car commercial designed
to convince you that you can not only drive
a particular SUV up Mount Everest, but that
you'll also look breathtakingly beautiful doing
it.
This advertising
is fake, and on some level, everyone knows it's
fake. It's your job to dig beneath appearances
and hype to find out as much as you can about
the real value of the auto you're thinking of
buying. To find this information, you should
look for reports, reviews, and driving tests.
Some of the best sources of objective information
are independent car publications. These sources
conduct extensive tests on automobiles, exploring
everything from turning radius to radio tuning.
Reading Consumer
Reports online
Give Consumer Reports (www.consumerreports.org)
credit for some of the very best car reviews
available anywhere. The Consumer Reports (CR)
site, includes special features such as tips
for buying a new car, a leasing quiz, a description
of their testing process and their test track,
and used car advice. However, CR's specialty
is its famous auto reports. Alas, they're not
free. But in this case, you do get what you
pay for.
For $12 ($10 per additional report requested
at the same time) you get: the invoice price
(the dealer cost); the typical sticker price
(manufacturer's suggested retail price); additional
costs of the factory-installed options; any
rebates or incentives; CR's recommendations
about what optional equipment you should purchase;
CR's safety ratings analysis; similar cars you
may want to consider; and suggestions on negotiating
the best deal for this car.
It's $12 well spent. Free price quotes are available
elsewhere online, but they don't provide some
of the additional information you get from Cr.
For $24 a year, you can look at everything CR
tests for that whole year.
Consumer's Union, the publisher of Consumer
Reports, has its own distinct Web site at www.consumer.org.
This site specializes in governmental actions,
recalls, court cases, environmental issues,
and similar topics. For instance, at the time
of this writing, a series of interesting articles
titled "The Risk of Rollover in Some Sport-Utitity
Vehicles and Consumer Union's Testing for Such
Risks" appears there. These reports are
free.
Checking Out Edmund's
Featuring the three famous magazines —
New Cars Prices & Reviews, Used Cars Prices
& Reviews, and Used Cars & Trucks Prices
& Ratings — this site also offers a
wide variety of information, including road
tests, vividly written reviews, Town Hall (online
discussion groups on all aspects of vehicle
ownership), the "deal of the month,"
and a useful New Car Buyer's Workbook (available
for $9.95; specific to the auto you're interested
in). Many people consider the Edmund's reviews
to be among the most reliable and thorough find
them at www.edmunds.com.
Pricing from Pace
The Pace Buyer's Guides have been published
since 1974. Now they're online at www.carprice.com.
You'll find free price information and other
auto data at this Web site. If pricing is your
main interest, this site is extremely comprehensive.
However, it also includes a variety of additional
information, including calculators, recalls,
rebates, insurance information, warranty information,
tips, negotiation suggestions, motorcycle information,
and other data. This is an efficient, quick,
easy-to-navigate, and valuable site. Give it
a look.
Intelligence
from IntelliChoice
Since 1987, IntelliChoice has been publishing
auto reports in the award winning The Complete
Car Cost Guide. Find it online at www.Intellichoice.com.
You'll be able to compare vehicles side by side,
and a Spanish language version is available.
You can also learn about current rebates and
incentives, try the finance calculator to plan
your purchase intelligently, find out all about
pre-owned vehicles, and much more. IntelliChoice,
an independent research firm, also announces
its IntelliChoice awards annually. The firm
projects that these vehicles will be the best
values based on factors including price, depreciation
(which can vary considerably among makes and
models), repairs, financing, and maintenance.
Historical data are used to create projections
for a five-year period.
Autos from AutoByTel
Best known as an online car-buying service,
AutoByTel is also a good source of automobile
and truck reviews. You'll likely be pleased
with the accuracy and depth of their coverage
at www.auto-reviews.com/reviews/autobytel.htm.
Finding Online Pricing
Your goal in researching pricing online should
be to come to a fair and equitable price. You
want to give the dealer and salesman a fair
profit, but you don't want to lose your shirt.
The feeling that you may end up paying too much
for a car is what can make the buying process
uncomfortable.
Luckily, you can get pretty accurate information
about how many automobiles cost online. The
more you find out about what the dealer is paying
for the car, the better prepared you are to
give the dealer a fair return on investment
that doesn't cramp your pocketbook.
Prices
and more from Kelley Blue Book
Kelley Blue Book is a venerable, respected institution
that's now available online. Here you can find
out the invoice price that the dealer pays for
each type of vehicle, along with the cost of
various options. And Kelley Blue Book serves
as a one-stop resource for automobile information
as well. From within the site, you can find
insurance quotes, vehicle reliability data,
and some of the best, most comprehensive automotive
data at www.kbb.com.
Using the Black Book
Available since 1955, the Black Book specializes
in providing "the latest wholesale prices
direct from the auction lanes." Its publishers
claim that one of its great strengths is up-to-the-minute
pricing.
Sale prices are checked at auctions daily, then
added to the Black Book database. A complicated
process is used to determine price, taking into
account such effects on an auction as weather,
current popularity of the model, quantity of
a given model that was for sale at the auction,
and other factors.
This service is
quite similar to the highly responsive price
shifts that occur on the stock market, where
values move virtually hourly.
Check out their
site at www.blackbookusa.com.
Checking
Out Car Magazines Online
Online you'll find both sites for traditional
prints magazines, such as Car and Driver, and
also Internet-only magazines. Both varieties
can be helpful when you're gathering information.
Car and Driver
At www.caranddriver.com,
you can find tests, reports, reviews, buyer's
guides, archives, lists of the 10 best cars
and 100 best roads, concept cars shows, and
various other information's from the well-known
publisher.
Motor Tren Online
Data from this publisher is yours to peruse
online at www.motortrend.com/b1/b1f.html.
Reviews, news, links and other features are
yours for the clicking. Note that this site,
and the Road and Track site, are both particularly
aimed at the enthusiast market. Some everyday
cars ignored. Also, you'll find limited information
if you're a non-subscriber.
Road
and Track
Yet another magazine publisher creates a presence
online. Find it at www.auto-reviews.com/reviews/road_and_track.htm.
Auto Week
This site offers some fast-breaking news
because it's a weekly publication. It also includes
respected reviews about driving, with consumer
commentary. Try it at www.autoweek.com.
Other
magazines online
We mention the sites of several famous car magazines,
but many more are online. Some are sites offering
electronic versions of their newsstand paper
counterparts. Others are all electronic—
no paper involved
Online-only magazines are often referred to
as zines. One such zines is AutoZine. AutoZine
(home.netvigator.com/-europa)
is an interesting site that publishes independent
reports (no ads, and, as the author says,"
.no income. In other words, I do it just for
fun."). It covers a wide variety of vehicles.
Established in September 1997, it includes photos,
ratings, reviews, specs, and additional information.
Use your favorite
search engine to locate any of the following
online magazines that interest you: Autofacts;
the Autonaut; Autopedia; All Auto Online; American
Automobile Association; Autoweek Online; CarMag;
CarSound Magazine; C.A.R.S. Unlimited; Car Talk
with Tom and Ray; Eric Anderson's Car Crazy;
Kit
Car Buyers Guide; Popular Mechanics Auto; Top
Gear Magazine; TURBO Magazine; Turbozine; Vette
Vues Magazine; WheelBase and World of Wheels.
Microsoft's
CarPoint
Launched in 1995, CarPoint is one of the oldest,
largest, and most comprehensive sources of information
about cars on the Internet. The site gets over
3 million unique visitors every month. (Uniqueness
is important because some Web sites inflate
their activity by counting every visitor, even
repeat connections.) Find CarPoint at carpoint.msn.com/home/New.asp
Go to CarPoint
to find substantial information, including
-Classifieds.
-Troubleshooting.
-Automotive reviews.
-Specs.
-Prices.
-Safety reports. You'll find ratings based on
more than 250,000 incident reports annually
from the Automotive Information System's Identifix
program.
-Reliability ratings.
-Buying services for both new and used cars
with no-haggle quotes.
-A Side-by-Side Compare feature that lets you
contrast the spec of two new or used cars.
-A payment calculator to let you figure loan
payments, total cost, interest rate, loan duration,
and down payment. CarPoint offers the current
interest rates from more than 2,700 lending
institutions.
- A power search where you type in your desired
cost and type of vehicle, and models meeting
your criteria are listed for you.
Keeping track of your car's maintenance
Also, take a look at the Personal Auto Page,
where you can track your auto's maintenance
and repairs, as well as see the current value
of your vehicle. Microsoft says that 500,000
consumers have used this feature alone. With
the Personal Auto Page, you can see when seasonal
maintenance is needed, when it's time for an
oil change, and so on. You can even request
to be sent e-mail when scheduled maintenance
is required or if any reports or recalls have
been issued relating to your vehicle. And Microsoft
says that soon you'll be able to use a pricing
utility that will automatically estimate service
and repair costs, comparing various options
for you.
Microsoft's MSN claims that CarPoint has more
than 3,500 affiliated dealers nationwide and
that hits to this site each month trigger more
than 145,000 leads, resulting in more than $600
million in car sales. That's an impressive e-commerce
activity level. CarPoint can give you data on
more than 10,000 models and boasts listings
of more than 100,000 used (or pre-owned, as
dealers prefer to call them) cars.
Try
the Exorcist 360-deqree head twist
One cool tool you can find at CarPoint is the
360-degree video. You're able to "walk
around" the outside of many new car models
and also sit inside and "twist" your
head in a complete circle, just like Linda Blair,
and see all the interior details.
100
top ten lists
Would you enjoy seeing what the experts consider
the ten best vehicles in many different categories?
Want to know which cars are most often stolen
or considered the best of the best by Consumer
Reports? CarPoint has collected 100 top ten
lists at carpoint.msn.com/Windowshopping.asp.
Among the top
ten lists you'll finds are:
- Gen Xers' Top
Ten (J.D. Power and Associates list of automotive
preferences of 20- to 34-year-olds)
- AAA Picks Its
Top Cars (the famous awards given in 12 classes)
- CarPoint's Top
Ten (the cars that were selected as CarPoint's
New-Car Buying Service 1999 Top Ten)
- IntelliChoice's
Best Overall Values (used vehicles rated Best
Overall Value by IntelliChoice, Inc.)
- Get the Most
Bangs for Your Buck (the most affordable horsepower
powerhouses)
- Top Ten Towing
Rigs (thinking of getting into hauling?)
- High Rollers'
Top Ten Cars (if money is no object)
- Consumer Reports
picks their "Best of the Best"
- Top Ten Fuel
Misers (the ten thriftiest cars)
- America's Most
Loved New Cars (in 15 categories)
- Most Popular
Foreign Cars
- America's Top
Ten Bestsellers (hint: they're trucks!)
- America's most
stolen (the cars that thieves love most)
- Car and Driver's
10 Best
- Four-Wheel-Drive
Systems
You can find these
and many more, including convertibles, muscle
cars, cars priced over $100,000, SUVs, vans,
and trucks.
AuHo?
"The Automobiles Homepage"
For discussions, archive, photos, specs, and
links to reviews (CarPoint, Edmonds) on a wide
variety of makes and models, check out AuHo?
At www.auho.com/98cars/FordExplorer.html.
Interesting, Different, and
a Couple of Downright Funky Sites
Just in case you're one of those who likes to
go off the beaten path to round out your more
conventional research, here is a handful of
intriguing suggestions that may be just what
you're looking for.
Take
the Car-O-Scope psychological test
Do you want to know if you are driving, or considering,
a car that harmonizes with your personality?
Don't fight your own character by trying to
fit into a vehicle that is just plain wrong
for you. The Car-O-Scope test promises to "help
you determine if you're driving a car that fits
your psychographic profile." Try it at:
cartalk.cars.com/Survey/Results/Psychographics
Visit
the manufacturers themselves
You can, of course, risk visiting the Web sites
of the automobile manufacturers. You'll find
a good deal of sizzle, as you might imagine,
and no biting, or even very objective, reports.
But for completeness of specifications and glamorous
color photos, nothing beats the home site of
a car's own maker. If you've already made up
your mind about the car you want to buy, look
up its manufacturer's description so you can
feel good about the great machine you're about
to own. The creators of the car do their best
to put their product on a pedestal.
Ford
Motors
See Ford products at www.fordvehicles.com.
General
Motors
General Motors has a Web site at: www.gm.com.
Try GM's Buypower feature. It includes research,
a way to specify which features you want in
a car, dealers' inventories, and allows you
to schedule a test drive and ask a dealer for
their best price (better also check out the
other sources of "best prices" as
well).
Gillet Vertigos, Solectrias,
Twikes, and 1,000 others
Do you want to visit a less mainstream site
than Ford or GM? Interested in something like
a Gillet Vertigo, a Solectria, or a Twike?
Find the Web sites, and 800 numbers, of everything
from Subaru to Steyr-Daimler-Puch at autopedia.com/html/MfgSites.html.
If you're
French...
Respected French-Canadian journalist Denis Duquet
has been writing about cars for 20 years, or
as he puts it: "Denis Duquet est chroniqueur
automobile depuis 20 ans. Professeur d'histoire
ancienne venu au journalisme automobile par
un curieux concours de circonstances, il en
a fait son unique gagne pain depuis 1982."
If you understood that, find out what else he
has to say at www.duquet.com/.
About.com
This Web site is a good source of links to other
sites for all kinds of information, discussions,
books, awards, repair histories, museums, parts,
dealers, and loads of other topics of interest
to car buyers and owners. The information at
this site itself is broader than it is deep,
but it's deepening all the time. Give it a try:
cars.about.com/autos/cars.
Car Secrets
Revealed
Car Secrets Revealed is said to be among the
most-visited automotive sites on the Internet,
and you'll find issues raised here that are
rarely covered elsewhere. Do you feel you're
getting ripped off on repairs or insurance?
Are you worried that the new car you're about
to buy may turn out to be a lemon? Automotive
consultant Corey Rudl's book may be just what
you're looking for. You can get a taste of the
book online at www.igs.net/carsecrets.
The site sells
the book, but you may want to explore other
intriguing topics here, including these teaser
descriptions the site provides of some of the
points covered:
- One thing you
must do so you'll never buy a lemon.
- Learn how every
dealer gets a secret rebates on every car they
sell…their most guarded secret is revealed.
- Which day of
the month to buy/lease gets you an extra $400
discount instantly (no, it is not the last day
of the month)?
- Are you paying
the lowest car price? No, you're not! You'll
be shown the exact dialogue you must use to
get the best deal on your new or used car. Purchase
in confidence that you have obtained the lowest
price possible.
- Discover hidden
bogus extras and double-charging tricks that
can cost you thousands... and you'll never know
it.
- The hidden truth
about government seizure auctions (you know,
drug lord cars) - can you really buy a Corvette
for $200 as they advertise?
Got a Lemon?
A lemon is a new
vehicle that has one or more serious defects,
but these defects are not found in all vehicles
of this model (therefore, there will be no recall
to correct the problem). Perhaps somebody forgot
to secure the oil pan on your brand new car,
so after a few miles the engine began to chew
itself to pieces. What can you do?
A site named Autopedia
boasts a number of valuable resources, including
a complete listing of the lemon laws by state.
If you suspect that you bought a lemon, here's
where you can begin the process of getting a
fair shake:
autopedia.com/html/HotLinks_Lemon.html
