Knowledge is Power

Auto Finance Pitfalls and Solutions

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:24:00 PDT

PITFALL #1:
Consumers generally spend far less time looking into financing than they do finding the right car at the right price. Overlooking their loan is big mistake, because financing terms play an important role in determining the overall value of the purchase.
SOLUTION #1:
Adopt the mindset that you need to take the time to shop around for your vehicle loan the same way you do for the make, model, features and price. Auto loans may not be as exciting as a sleek new car – but then, saving money never goes out of style.

PITFALL #2:
Many consumers don't know what kind of shape their credit rating is in when they apply for a loan. Credit score plays an important role in determining what kind of interest rate you will receive, so it's critical to make sure your credit report is in the best shape possible before applying for a loan.
SOLUTION #2:
Order a copy of your credit report…look for items that may stand in the way of you getting a good rate…and correct any issues or errors promptly. For example, are all of your lines of credit in good standing? Are there any signs of identity theft? The credit bureaus will tell you how to correct errors when they send you the report.

* Experian: 888-397-3742, www.experian.com
* Equifax: 800-685-1111, www.equifax.com
* TransUnion: 800-916-8800, www.transunion.com

PITFALL #3:
Many consumers are tempted to overspend once they get to the dealership.
SOLUTION #3:
Set a sensible price range for your vehicle purchase. Experts suggest that monthly car payments and related expenses should not exceed about 15 percent of your monthly net income. Bring a printout of your budget to the dealership as a reminder.

PITFALL #4:
Most consumers arrive at the dealership without having researched the current interest rates being offered in the marketplace, so they have no idea if they're being offered a competitive rate.
SOLUTION #4:
Use the Internet as a research tool to comparison shop rates. Visit Web sites of online lenders such as www.capitaloneautofinance.com, which offers competitive low interest rates. Also check out sites like www.bankrate.com for national averages, and the site of your own financial institution. However, even knowing rates doesn't guarantee consumers will receive what's posted. The consumer's credit history and dealer mark-ups are just a few of the many factors that can make a significant difference. The only sure way to know what you'll be paying for a loan is to obtain financing before visiting a dealership.

PITFALL #5:
By the time they get to the finance department, many consumers are mentally worn out – and don't read the contract in its entirety before signing on the dotted line. As a result, they may be agreeing to buy things they didn't plan on (such as an extended warranty, rust proofing, etc.).
SOLUTION #5:
Before you sign any papers or hand over any money, be sure to read every page of the paperwork to make sure you're getting the exact deal you want.

PITFALL #6:
The consumer feels rushed, pressured and confused by the dealership's staff, and is having second thoughts about completing the deal – but does so anyway.
SOLUTION #6:
Consumers who feel out of their comfort zone should walk away. The buyer, not the seller, should be the one in control of the process. Remember, the federal "cooling off" law does not apply to cars or houses (and it only applies when the salesman visits your home, not when you visit his store).

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:17:00 PDT

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Who is PRBC?

PRBC (Payment Reporting Builds Credit) is a national consumer reporting agency and credit bureau. PRBC collects, stores, scores and reports bill payment data for "permissible purposes" under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It is the first credit bureau to give consumers and small businesses a way to build a credit file to demonstrate creditworthiness without the need to go into debt.
How long have you been in business? Do you have any privacy or reliability seals?

PRBC was incorporated in March 2002 and has become a trusted resource for individuals, small businesses, and lenders. PRBC is a member of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in Annapolis, Maryland. The prbc.com website has received a BBB Online Reliability Seal and a TRUSTe Privacy Seal.

How is PRBC different from the "big three" credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion?

PRBC is the only credit bureau that allows people to enroll themselves. It's also the only bureau that lets individuals demonstrate their fiscal responsibility with information that is not reported to the "big three," such as on-time rental payments and non-debt bill payments. PRBC produces a PRBC Reportsm and Bill Payment Scoresm (BPSsm) that can be used to supplement your "big three" credit bureau reports and scores (if you have one of them). A PRBC Report and BPS can show that you have paid your bills on time for up to the past three years. PRBC maintains your bill payment history in your file for seven years but does not share your file without your permission.

Unlike other credit bureaus, PRBC does not charge you a fee to view your PRBC information at any time, nor does PRBC sell your private personal information to solicitors, telemarketers, or direct mail firms.

Don't the "Big Three" bureaus collect all of my bill payments already?

No. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion do not automatically collect your on-time payments for many of the bills you pay each month. Payments for the following bills will only be reported to the big bureaus if your payments are late or in default:
Rent
Cable
Phone
Daycare
Insurance
Electric
Natural Gas Cell Phone

With PRBC, you can document your positive payment history in a PRBC Credit File by reporting your payments for these types of bills.

Does PRBC report payments to the "Big Three" bureaus, or offer a credit repair service?

No. PRBC does not report to other bureaus and we do not offer a credit repair service or "fix" information contained in your credit files at other bureaus. PRBC is a credit bureau, similar to the "Big Three" bureaus. However, credit reports and scores from the "Big Three" bureaus do not include on-time commonly recurring bill payments such as rent, insurance, cable, phone, remittances, day care, child support, and utilities. PRBC is the only credit bureau that enables individuals to build a credit file using self-reported payment data that isn't found in traditional credit reports.

Who gets to see my PRBC Credit File?

You maintain full control over who may see your PRBC Credit File. It will never be shared with any other company without your permission. PRBC has a strict Privacy Policy and will never sell your information to solicitors or marketing firms.

Do I have to pay to create an account?

No. It's free to register and enter your account information. When you report your own payments on rental, utility, or other payment accounts, PRBC may need to verify these before thay can be included in your Credit File. PRBC charges fees for these verifications (see questions about verifications below).

If you choose to use one of our online bill pay partners and have your payments reported to PRBC automatically as you pay your bills, you will not have to pay to have those payments verified.

How often can I view my PRBC Credit File? Do I have to pay to see it?

You can view your PRBC Credit File as often as you'd like, free of charge.

What does PRBC charge me, my landlord, or my bill payment service provider to report? How does PRBC make money?

PRBC does not charge you a fee to set up a Consumer File, enter payment or account data, or to view your information at any time. PRBC does not charge landlords, billers, or lenders to report on your behalf. PRBC sells credit reports (like the Big Three) to lenders upon your consent, when you apply for housing, credit, insurance, and employment. PRBC also charges fees if you choose to have self-reported payment history verified to be included in your Credit File.

How it Works

How can I get my historical rental and other bill payments verified?

To have your historical information verified, you must first register and create your account. Once you've registered and entered your account information, make sure all of your billing and payment account details are accurate. You can then just click on "Order a Verification" under the "User Services" tab while logged in to your account.
Please note: You must have a minimum of six (6) months of payment history to order a verification.
How can I use online bill pay to build my PRBC Credit File automatically?

When you sign up with one of PRBC's partner bill pay services, your payments will be reported to PRBC automatically as you pay your bills online. Each payment you make adds to your PRBC Credit File. By paying bills on time, you'll build a positive Credit File with PRBC that you can use to qualify for a mortgage and better rates.

I already pay my bills through my bank online for free, so why should I pay to use yours?
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If your bank's bill pay service is not currently reporting your payment information to PRBC, then many of the bills you pay online are not helping you build credit. Using one of PRBC's partner bill pay services ensures your PRBC Credit File grows automatically as you pay your bills.

Building a positive PRBC Credit File and Bill Payment Score demonstrates your creditworthiness and fiscal responsibility. A PRBC Report can save you thousands of dollars on a mortgage or auto loan and hundreds of dollars on mortgage insurance.
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Do I have to order a verification AND sign up for an online bill pay service?

No. You can choose one or the other. If you want to create a PRBC Credit File and PRBC Bill Payment Score (BPS) using payments you've made in the past, then you should order a verification. If you want to start reporting your payments to PRBC going forward, sign up for a PRBC partner online bill pay service.

If you've already ordered a verification but would like to keep your Credit File current, using one of PRBC's partner online bill pay services is a simple and cost effective way to do so.
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Security

What steps does PRBC take to protect my personal information from theft or other unauthorized use?

PRBC is a "consumer reporting agency" (CRA) as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and therefore must comply with federal, as well as state laws that make sure your non-public personal information is properly protected.

PRBC has made significant investments to protect your personal information from theft and unauthorized use. Security of your personal information is the single most important consideration in the design of the PRBC service. PRBC has deployed the latest security technology and stores your personal information in ultra-secure data centers.

The PRBC Team pledges to go above and beyond the letter and the sprit of the FCRA at every opportunity possible to protect your personal information from theft and unauthorized use, as if it were our own.

Will my information be shared with other companies or sold to mailing lists?

PRBC feels strongly about protecting your privacy and will never give or sell your information to mailing lists or marketing firms. If you decide to report your own payment information that you would like to be included in a PRBC Report to share with lenders, this data will need to be verified. PRBC conducts payment verifications by obtaining your permission to contact your biller (utility, phone company, landlord, etc.). All payment verifications are conducted confidentially by FCRA-certified members of the NCRA (National Credit Reporting Association). Our verification partners are prohibited from using your personally identifiable information for any other purpose including their own marketing. Is this site encrypted? Does it have an https page?

PRBC encrypts all data transmissions using secure socket layer (SSL) technology. We will only collect personal information to the extent deemed reasonably necessary to serve our legitimate business purposes, and we will maintain advanced safeguards to ensure the security, integrity and privacy of your personal information.

PRBC is a licensee of the TRUSTe Privacy Program. TRUSTe is an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to build users' trust and confidence in the Internet by promoting the use of fair information practices. To learn more about PRBC's privacy and security policies, view our privacy policy.

Your PRBC Account

How can I tell if I am enrolled? Then what do I do?

If you can use your User Name and Password to login, you are enrolled. Then you can add payment accounts (such as your rent, mortgage, utilities, etc.) to your PRBC profile by submitting a few basic account details.

To verify historical payments that you have reported yourself, make sure you have made payments for a minimum of six (6) months. Ensure all of your billing and payment account details are accurate, and order a verification while logged in to your PRBC account. For more information regarding how to order a verification, please go to http://prbc.com/consumers/how/verification.php.

How do I change my address or personal information?

You may change or update your personal information at any time by logging in to your user account at https://prbc.com/secure/login.php. Once you log in, choose "Consumer Profile," change your information, then click "Update."

top What happens if I forget my username and/or password?

Please visit the Login Page and use the 'Forgot Username' or 'Forgot Password' feature. If all else fails, register as a new user, and reestablish access to your PRBC Bill Payment History.

Applying for a Mortgage
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I am getting ready to apply for a mortgage. How will my PRBC Credit File help me?

Depending on the rest of your credit history, an electronic record of 12 or more consecutive on-time monthly payments will help you qualify for a mortgage and/or obtain a lower interest rate. The longer you can show you've paid bills on time, the better. An electronic record of 36 consecutive (3 years) on-time monthly rent or mortgage payments generally helps the most.

If you have no credit history but meet other guidelines, you can qualify for an FHA-insured mortgage with 12 or more consecutive on-time housing payments (rent or mortgage), plus three other payment accounts or trade-lines such as phone, utilities, and cable.

Verification Questions

What is the cost for a consumer verification?

PRBC can verify payment history for up to 36 months, and you must have a minimum of six (6) months of payment history to order the verification. PRBC charges $20 to verify a rental history and $15 to verify other types of payment accounts. For example, the cost for verifying rent and 3 additional payment accounts (i.e., electric, phone, cable) is $65.

Where do I send my documentation for verification?
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Once you have completed account and payment details and ordered a verification, send your documentation to the fax number or mail address contained in your "Verification Order Receipt."

How long does it take once I order the verification?

Once all documents have been faxed to the verification processing center, the typical turnaround time is two to three business days

Financial Education Resources
Education, Inclusion, and Achievement Matter

PRBC is the first credit bureau to put consumer and small business owner education first.

PRBC is also the first credit bureau to enable PRBC Data Network users to gain equal access to prime mortgages, auto loans, other financial products, money saving, and asset building services.

Just as on-time mortgage payments are automatically counted in favor of consumers when applying for credit, the PRBC Data Network makes it possible for lenders to count on-time rental, utility, and other bill payments too.

PRBC leaves no consumer or business owner behind. What you do know financially can help you achieve your goals. To learn more, visit these highly reputable and trusted resources:

FDIC Money Smart curriculum helps individuals build financial knowledge, develop financial confidence, and use banking services effectively.

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Fannie Mae Foundation Knowing and Understanding Your Credit is a guide to learning about what credit is and why having good credit is so important. The guide also provides useful information about credit reports and credit scoring, and advice on how to improve your credit.

Freddie Mac's Credit Smart® curriculum is a multilingual financial education curriculum and consumer outreach initiative. It is designed to help consumers build and maintain better credit, make sound financial decisions, and understand the steps to successful long-term homeownership. CreditSmart increases consumers' financial understanding by teaching them life-long money management skills and showing them how to avoid costly mistakes. CreditSmart is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese.

Operation HOPE Banking on Our Future Across America, the vision of Operation HOPE founder John Bryant, will teach more than 18,000 youth in twelve major cities, with the help of 1,000 banker-teachers, the basics of a checking account, a savings account and the importance of credit and investment in their young lives.

The NeighborWorks Financial Fitness program is designed to educate you about the pitfalls of non-traditional banking outlets and how to avoid them. It can also help you learn the financial management and planning skills you need to make the most of your income, savings and assets.

The National Urban League is the nation's oldest and largest community- based movement devoted to empowering African Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream, to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights.

Coalition for Consumer Bankruptcy Debtor Education's Making Sense of Cents course is designed to help consumer debtors who have sought bankruptcy relief to improve their financial literacy skills; topics covered include credit reporting, credit scoring, common consumer scams and credit math. This three hour course is offered in New York City.

National Council of La Raza Economic Mobility is a program designed to help Hispanic families move up the economic ladder and climb out of poverty. The goal of the program is to aid Latinos in enhancing their national impact on economic and employment policy issues such as savings, asset-building, tax, and workforce policies that invest in building the skills of today's workforce.

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition Financial Literacy Campaign was designed to help bring low-to-moderate income communities, individuals, small business and minorities into the financial mainstream by helping them develop an understanding of banking practices, savings, and the importance of good credit

Getting the Best Deal: Financing & Insurance

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:27:00 PDT

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People are often surprised to hear that a dealership's financing and insurance (F&I) department, or "business office," is a profit center. Reality check No. 2: Everything dealerships sell you represents a profit opportunity. With few exceptions, the dealer is a middleman. In the case of the new car itself, you can't eliminate the middleman. Most state franchise laws prohibit manufacturers from selling directly. But you can eliminate the dealer with regard to financing and insurance if you determine that it's in your best interest.

With the widespread availability of invoice pricing, it's harder for dealers to squeeze margin out of the new-car transaction. Much of the profit has shifted to the "back end," which includes the F&I department. The F&I department is also where many buyers let their guard down and squander any good negotiating they've done for the vehicle's purchase price.

You have various options for financing a vehicle, including credit unions, banks and dealerships. In some cases, the loan you'd get from a dealer comes from the same bank you could go to yourself. Dealers play the part of loan agent in trying to get you the best rate, but they can and do add percentage points to the rates they obtain from lenders. In many cases, they split the additional profit margin with the lender, so everyone wins — except you. Though its ethics are in question and consumers have sued dealers over it, this practice isn't currently illegal. Some day regulations such as the Truth in Leasing Act may be enacted to require disclosure of loan rates.

However, since many captive financing companies offer discounted loan rates, it's possible to get the best deal by financing at the dealership. Shopping during an incentives period increases your chances for these savings.

In addition to loans and leases, dealerships often offer health, disability and other insurance plans. Some buyers appreciate the opportunity to make all their deals under one roof, but you should look into third-party sources and shop around before choosing an insurance plan.

Back-End Products and Services
The F&I manager is also responsible for selling additional products and services, which are a significant source of dealer profit. They include:
service contracts: Often referred to as extended warranties, these plans are meant to take over when the manufacturer's warranty runs out and/or cover repairs not accounted for in the manufacturer's warranty. Consider your needs carefully before purchasing a service contract for a new car. While the cost of new cars has risen, so has their reliability. The period between purchase and major scheduled service is longer than ever. And experts say the parts of a car that are most likely to break after the factory warranty expires are typically not covered by third-party service contracts, though there are exceptions, such as four-wheel-drive systems and turbochargers. If you consider a service contract, bear these issues in mind:

Some contracts have deductibles, and some do not. Amounts vary, and you may have to pay a deductible for each claim or even individually for unrelated repairs in the same claim. Get the details.
Don't assume your contract will transfer to another dealer if you move. And if it can be transferred, is there a fee?
The contract also may not transfer to another owner. An extended warranty is a nice selling point — but not if it's tied to you rather than the vehicle. Check for owner transfer fees.
Sometimes one of a car's parts or systems will be responsible for damage to another part of the car. The best example of this is a timing belt. In certain engine designs, when this part breaks it causes catastrophic (and very expensive) valve damage. A timing belt may cost $20. Which will the service plan cover? Some service contracts stipulate that the insured cannot collect for damage to a part covered by the plan if it was caused by an uncovered part, negligence or some other hard-to-define condition.
If you're financing for a longer term, say five or even six years, check the mileage limitations of the extended warranty. It's possible you could surpass the mileage limit, thereby voiding the warranty, before the financing period ends.

Service contracts represent a significant profit source for dealers, so expect the hard sell. The price and all the terms above are negotiable, and again, you can comparison shop the service plan at multiple dealerships even if you're not buying the car there.

Vehicle Service
Vehicle repair is big business. Thanks to the complexity of modern vehicles, dealer service departments are guaranteed a steady flow of business that might otherwise go to independent repair shops.

In terms of the dealership's bottom line, the service department can contribute a healthy percentage of the profit. In 2007, the National Automobile Dealers Association reported that service and parts departments made up 46 percent of total dealership operating profits. This further illustrates how the profit has skewed away from the vehicle sale and toward the products and services that follow. It also explains why dealers are sometimes willing to sell at extremely thin profit margins.

If you come in with an immaculate trade-in and meticulous maintenance and repair records, then the dealer may intuit that you're good for a few years of regular service and give you a good deal on the purchase price itself.

Consider the dealer’s reputation when buying .

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:55:00 PDT

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Used cars are sold through a variety of outlets: franchise and
independent dealers, rental car companies, leasing companies,
and used car superstores. You can even buy a used car on the
Internet. Ask friends, relatives and co-workers for recommendations.
You may want to call your local consumer protection
agency, state Attorney General (AG), and the Better Business
Bureau (BBB) to find out if any unresolved complaints are on file
about a particular dealer.
Some dealers are attracting customers with “no-haggle
prices,” “factory certified” used cars, and better warranties.
Consider the dealer’s reputation when you evaluate these ads.
Dealers are not required by law to give used car buyers a
three-day right to cancel. The right to return the car in a few days
for a refund exists only if the dealer grants this privilege to
buyers. Dealers may describe the right to cancel as a “coolingoff”
period, a money-back guarantee, or a “no questions asked”
return policy. Before you purchase from a dealer, ask about the
dealer’s return policy, get it in writing and read it carefully.
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Used Car Rule
requires dealers to post a Buyers Guide in every used car they
offer for sale. This includes light-duty vans, light-duty trucks,
demonstrators, and program cars. Demonstrators are new cars
that have not been owned, leased, or used as rentals, but have
been driven by dealer staff. Program cars are low-mileage,
current-model-year vehicles returned from short-term leases.
The Federal Trade Commission’s Used Car Rule requires dealers
to post a Buyers Guide in every used car they offer.

Buyers Guides do not have to be posted on motorcycles
and most recreational vehicles. Anyone who sells less than six
cars a year doesn’t have to post a Buyers Guide.
The Buyers Guide must tell you:
whether the vehicle is being sold “as is” or with a warranty;
what percentage of the repair costs a dealer will pay
under the warranty;
that spoken promises are difficult to enforce;
to get all promises in writing;
to keep the Buyers Guide for reference after the sale;
the major mechanical and electrical systems on the car,
including some of the major problems you should look out
for; and to ask to have the car inspected by an independent mechanic
before you buy.
When you buy a used car from a dealer, get the original
Buyers Guide that was posted in the vehicle, or a copy. The Guide
must reflect any negotiated changes in warranty coverage. It also
becomes part of your sales contract and overrides any contrary
provisions. For example, if the Buyers Guide says the car comes
with a warranty and the contract says the car is sold “as is,” the
dealer must give you the warranty described in the Guide.
As Is — No Warranty
When the dealer offers a vehicle “as is,” the box next to the
“As Is — No Warranty” disclosure on the Buyers Guide must be
checked. If the box is checked but the dealer promises to repair
the vehicle or cancel the sale if you’re not satisfied, make sure the
promise is written on the Buyers Guide. Otherwise, you may have
a hard time getting the dealer to make good on his word. Some
states, including Connecticut, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Rhode
Island, Vermont, West Virginia and the District of Columbia,
don’t allow “as is” sales for many used vehicles.
Three states — Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Washington
— require different disclosures than those on the Buyers Guide.
If the dealer fails to provide proper state disclosures, the sale is
not “as is.” To find out what disclosures are required for “as is”
sales in your state, contact your state Attorney General.
“As-Is — No Warranty” means that the dealer assumes no responsibility to fix anything
that goes wrong after the sale.

ABC 123
STATE
Implied Warranties
State laws hold dealers responsible if cars they sell don’t meet
reasonable quality standards. These obligations are called implied
warranties — unspoken, unwritten promises from the seller to the
buyer. However, dealers in most states can use the words “as is”
or “with all faults” in a written notice to buyers to eliminate
implied warranties. There is no specified time period for implied
warranties.
Warranty of Merchantability
The most common type of implied warranty is the warranty of
merchantability: The seller promises that the product offered for
sale will do what it’s supposed to. That a car will run is an
example of a warranty of merchantability. This promise applies
to the basic functions of a car. It does not cover everything that
could go wrong.
Breakdowns and other problems after the sale don’t prove the
seller breached the warranty of merchantability. A breach occurs
only if the buyer can prove that a defect existed at the time of
sale. A problem that occurs after the sale may be the result of a
defect that existed at the time of sale or not. As a result, a
dealer’s liability is judged case-by-case.
Warranty of Fitness for a Particular Purpose
A warranty of fitness for a particular purpose applies when you
buy a vehicle based on the dealer’s advice that it is suitable for a
particular use. For example, a dealer who suggests you buy a
specific vehicle for hauling a trailer in effect is promising that the
vehicle will be suitable for that purpose.
If you have a written warranty that doesn’t cover your problems,
you still may have coverage through implied warranties.
That’s because when a dealer sells a vehicle with a written warranty
or service contract, implied warranties are included automatically.
The dealer can’t delete this protection. Any limit on an
implied warranty’s time must be included on the written warranty.
In states that don’t allow “as is” sales, an “Implied Warranties
Only” disclosure is printed on the Buyers Guide in place of
the “As Is” disclosure. The box beside this disclosure will be
checked if the dealer decides to sell the car with no written
warranty.

In states that do allow “as is” sales, the “Implied Warranties
Only” disclosure should appear on the Buyers Guide if the dealer
decides to sell a vehicle with implied warranties and no written
warranty. A copy of the Buyers Guide with the “Implied Warranties
Only” disclosure is on page 13.
Dealers who offer a written warranty must complete the
warranty section of the Buyers Guide. Because terms and conditions
vary, it may be useful to compare and negotiate coverage.
Dealers may offer a full or limited warranty on all or some of
a vehicle’s systems or components. Most used car warranties are
limited and their coverage varies. A full warranty includes the
following terms and conditions:
Anyone who owns the vehicle during the warranty period is
entitled to warranty service.
Warranty service will be provided free of charge, including
such costs as removing and reinstalling a covered system.
You have the choice of a replacement or a full refund if, after
a reasonable number of tries, the dealer cannot repair the
vehicle or a covered system.
You only have to tell the dealer that warranty service is
needed in order to get it, unless the dealer can prove that it is
reasonable to require you to do more.
Implied warranties have no time limits.
If any of these statements don’t apply, the warranty is limited.
A full or limited warranty doesn’t have to cover the entire
vehicle. The dealer may specify that only certain systems are
covered. Some parts or systems may be covered by a full warranty;
others by a limited warranty.
The dealer must check the appropriate box on the Buyers Guide.

Free Vehicle History Reports

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:51:00 PDT

Image by alamosbasement via Flickr

There is much confusion about the availability of "free vehicle history reports" or "free Carfax reports." None of the vehicle history reporting services in any of the countries listed above offer the service for free. Several of the services, most notably those in the United Kingdom and the United States, sell reports to dealers and then encourage the dealers to display the reports on their Internet sites. These reports are paid for by the dealer and then offered for free to potential buyers of the vehicle.

Research used car pricing

When researching used car prices, you'll typically find three kinds of prices:

* Dealer or Retail Price is the price you should expect to pay if buying from a licensed new-car or used-car dealer — retail price. Dealer prices will always be the highest listed because of the dealership’s need to make a profit.
* Dealer Trade-in Price or wholesale price is the price you should expect to receive from a dealer if you trade in a car. This is also the price that a dealer will typically pay for a car at a dealer wholesale auction.
* Private-Party Price is the price you should expect to pay if you were buying from an individual. A private-party seller is hoping to get more money than they would with a trade-in to a dealer. A private-party buyer is hoping to pay less than the dealer retail price.

The growth of the Internet has fueled the availability of information on the prices of used cars. Whereas this information was once only available in trade publications that dealers had access to, there are now numerous sources for used car pricing. Multiple sources of used car pricing means that the prices you get from different sources often won't agree with each other. This is a result of each pricing guide receiving data from different sources and making different judgments about that data. The best way to determine a price is to cross-check prices with multiple sources and add a dose of your own good judgment to arrive at your price.

Pricing of used cars can be affected by geography; generally a convertible has a much higher demand in Florida than in New Hampshire. Similarly, pickups are often more in demand in rural than urban settings. Condition – Is the car in excellent, good or fair condition – has a major impact on pricing. Condition is based on appearances, vehicle history, mechanical condition and mileage. There is much subjectivity in how the condition of a car is evaluated so always take your time and use common sense when car shopping.

Vehicle History Report: Your Key to a Good Used Car

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:11:00 PDT

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Vehicle History Report: Your Key to a Good Used Car

You're shopping for a used car when you think you've hit pay dirt. It's a '95 import with low miles. It drives great, and the price is right. When you question the owner about the car's history, he says he bought it from a used car lot only two years ago.

You're about to write a check when you have a troubling thought: This deal seems too good to be true. Maybe something's wrong with the car that they are keeping hidden. Who owned the car before? Is there any damage or problems you should know about?

At one time there was no way to check a vehicle's history. Buyers could only go on the evidence in front of them, basing their decision on the mechanical condition of the car. But computer technology has made it possible to use the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to reveal a car's possibly checkered past.

Vehicle history reports can be ordered from a number of Internet companies. The first company to offer this service is Carfax, which, as the name suggests, began faxing used car reports as early as 1986. Now, the Fairfax, Virginia-based company accesses 4,400 different information sources and a database of more than 2 billion records to compile reports that are e-mailed almost instantaneously to customers. Users can also get a free Carfax Safety & Reliability Report that includes key make and model level information when ordering the unlimited Carfax report option.

"We literally have every car on the road in our database back to 1981," said Carfax Vice President of Marketing Scott Fredericks. He notes that 1981 was when the U.S. government accepted the VIN as a standard tracking code for a vehicle's history. "Think of the Carfax as the DNA of the car — the Carfax report never forgets."

Vehicle History Reports — A Growing Field

While Carfax seems to be the leader in this new field, there are many other companies vying for the consumer's business. Many of these companies draw on similar sources for their information and present the data in a compiled report at competitive prices. Carfax charges $29.99 for a single report, $34.99 for ten reports, and $39.99 for an unlimited number of reports for one month.

Consumer Guide has taken the process one step further. Vehicle history information is drawn from the monster database of Experian (with 1.7 billion records) and coupled with Consumer Guide's repair information.

"What we do that is unique is marry the Consumer Guide data to [vehicle history reports] on the fly," said Grant Whitmore, general manager. "We also track trouble spots for year, make and model for that vehicle." While the information doesn't pertain to that specific vehicle, it gives a buyer a general picture of the car's reliability and the replacement cost of parts, should something go wrong.

"If you are selling your car, you can buy the report and show it to the potential buyer," suggested Consumer Guide Product Manager Robin Kowalski. "This will show [consumers] there isn't some sort of wreck that they weren't aware of."

Consumer Guide launched its Vehicle History Reports February 22, 2001. Whitmore declined to give specifics about the number of reports that have been ordered but said, "It's been extremely popular."

Odometer Rollbacks

If you order a report from Carfax, your report is broken into nine categories: report summary, vehicle specifications, accident check, mileage accuracy check, lemon check, ownership check, recall check, warranty check and vehicle history details. The different pieces of the report are summarized in a table that may flag problems. Details are listed later in the report.

Most importantly, Carfax provides an independent check of a vehicle's history. While the odometer of a used car might show that it has only 55,000 miles, the Carfax might indicate that the odometer readings at key events in the car's history — emissions tests or title changes — don't match up.

For example, the report might show that a certain vehicle was smog-checked in December 1999 at 55,000 miles. But then, when a change of title was issued two months later, the odometer reading was recorded as being 45,000 miles. Obviously, there was some kind of foul play here.

The number of miles a car is driven directly affects the price of the car. Therefore, a seller has a strong incentive to rollback the odometer. Each excess mile a car is driven — over the expected yearly average of from 12,000 to 15,000 — reduces its value. Therefore, turning back an odometer 10,000 miles can increase the sale price of the car by $600.

In another situation, a person might be ready to return a lease car and be faced with paying $2,000 in mileage penalties to the dealer. A quick trip to a "spinner" — someone who turns back odometers — will save them a lot of money. In this way, dealers are defrauded, and so is the next person who buys the car.

"Folks think because [the odometer] is digital, it is harder to rollback," Fredericks said. "But it's not. Anyone with a laptop [and the right software] can plug into the car's computer under the hood and do it." He added that some estimates have shown that 40 percent of lease cars have been involved in some type of scam.

Title Washing & Curb Stoning

Another scam detected by Carfax is called title washing. This occurs when "state X might not recognize titles from state Y," Fredericks said. "People who are unscrupulous will take bad cars and move them into that state. This happens every day."

But a Carfax report tracks the car as it crosses state lines. If a car has been "branded" in another state — with a salvage title, for example — this will be revealed on the report. Salvage titles are assigned to cars that have been considered a total loss by insurance companies. However, the car might still run and be drivable. Still, having a salvage title significantly reduces the car's value.

Curb stoning occurs when a dealer has an inferior or damaged car he can't sell on his lot. He gives the car to a salesperson to sell through the classifieds, as if it were a private party sale. However, a Carfax report will show that the title recently changed hands and may reveal that it is a lemon or an otherwise branded car. Fredericks recommends being suspicious if the seller's name is different from the name on the title.

Edmunds Test-Drives Carfax

While we were writing this article, Carfax gave us an account to run a number of vehicle history reports. In many cases, reports were run on cars that were known to have salvage or lemon titles. Carfax reports caught those problems and flagged the pertinent information.

As a test case, we entered a VIN number for a '98 Corvette we knew had been branded as a lemon. Sure enough, the Carfax report clearly flagged the problem by stating: "LEMON LAW VEHICLE Repurchased by manufacturer."

In other cases, we ran reports on cars we knew little about. In one instance, the report noted a "potential odometer rollback." Looking closely at the vehicle's file, however, it appeared the source of the rollback alert was probably a clerical error at a smog inspection station. Everything else about the car's history lined up.

"One of our fundamental tenets is 'Data authenticates data,'" Fredericks said. "This means that the more data sources we collect, the more verification we receive about the vehicle's history — including odometer rollbacks."

In another case, an Edmunds employee's husband was considering buying a '95 Acura. He test-drove the car and felt it was in good mechanical condition. However, after running a Carfax report, it was discovered that the car was given a salvage title in 1996 and, several years later, a junk title (a junk vehicle is one that was reported to the DMV by an individual or a dismantler as having been dismantled). When the seller was confronted with this information, they said, "Oh yeah, I thought I told you about that."

In yet another case, an Edmunds editor ran the VIN number of a car she had owned several years ago. It was the only report that was returned listing an accident. It read, "Accident reported involving left side impact with another motor vehicle." Fredericks explained that Carfax receives information from law enforcement sources reporting accidents. If a car is totaled in an accident, a salvage title is assigned. But prospective buyers will still want to know about minor accidents. In this way, they can find out if the damage was properly repaired.

Consumer Guide's Whitmore said their reports also list accident reports, usually if they were serious enough to cause damage to the car's frame.

The Dealer's Angle

Car dealers have also found the Carfax reports valuable. In many cases, a dealership will run a report on a car that a customer brings in as a trade-in. The Carfax report allows them to protect themselves from accepting a branded car, one that would be difficult to resell. Additionally, dealers can generate Carfax reports on the vehicles they are trying to sell. In this way, shoppers don't have to take their word for the vehicle's history — the information is being provided by an independent source.

What Does the Future Hold?

With the increased speed of data communications, the amount of information about vehicles will increase in the coming years. Both Carfax and Consumer Guide hope to tap into service and repair records in the near future. Then a consumer can see if a car was maintained according to the manufacturer's requirements before purchasing it.

"We are working on [getting service records] now," Fredericks said. "That's our next big frontier."

Repossessing Cars Leads to a Hit Reality Show

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:48:00 PDT

Image via Wikipedia

"I treat people with respect. I don't cross the line until they cross the line. And you can't show any fear. The second you show fear, then you're the prey, and they're the predator. And you don't want that." — Lou Pizzaro, repo man

I've been shot at, slapped, spit on. I've been in plenty of fights. I've been pepper-sprayed. Once I was run over by a guy trying to escape with his car. I mean, you name it and I've been through it. But it's all part of my job: I'm a repo man. And if you get behind in your car payments, I'm the guy the bank is gonna send to come get your car.

It's really kind of crazy what people do for their cars. I guess it's a psychological thing: You want to keep up with the Joneses and impress the ladies. People buy all kinds of fancy speakers and rims for their car — I've seen cars with 15-, 20,000-dollar sound systems on them — then they don't make payments on the car itself!

How I Got Into Repo-ing
I'm 41, I had seven brothers and sisters, and our mom was the only parent around. We lived in the projects in the Bronx, and I was fighting all the time. We even fought for government cheese, if you can believe that. Eventually we moved to the San Fernando Valley (in Southern California).

My first job was with Continental Airlines. Then I joined the Marines, which was the best thing I've done in my life. After that, I was down in Florida and I ran into a gentleman in a gas station who told me he was a repo man. He made it sound like stealing cars, but he had a license and the police were on our side. I said, "Man, I'd love to do repos, too." He offered me a job on the spot. He picked me up exactly at midnight, and I went repossessing with him. After we finished, he told me, "Wow, you're a natural at this. Weren't you scared?"

A lot of the skills I use as a repo man are things I picked up growing up the way I did. You have to be very savvy, very street smart. I also learned a lot from when I worked for the airlines. When I have to back up with a car I'm towing, or fit through a tight space, I think back to when I was pulling $100 million 747s.

How the Repo Process Works
Banks, credit agencies, finance companies or even private parties will send repo notices to us, via fax or e-mail. We go pick up the car and take it to our shop. Whatever you put on the car legally belongs to whomever owns the car, so when we repossess a car with fancy rims and speakers, we keep everything on it. We also do a report on the owner's personal property that they may have left in the car. They have 60 days to pick up that property. In many cases, we'll just give the personal property back, especially if it's a baby seat or medicine people may need to survive.

After the car is in our control, the registered owner (RO) has 15 days to make good on the account and redeem their car, though banks sometimes give a 25-day extension. If the ROs can't make the payments, we deliver it to an auction. The bank sells it for as much as they can get, and holds the ROs liable for whatever is left on the money they owe that isn't covered by the auction.

We're also hired to do "skip tracing" — that's actually finding the car. When people get behind in the payments, they move the car around, try to hide it, so we have to find it before we can grab it. We get the information from the credit application and that has the owner's address and phone numbers. There's a 50-50 chance the car will be at the owner's address. If not, we call around to all the numbers associated with that car; usually it turns out that the owner has moved, but sometimes the car has been in an accident.

If you get behind in your payments, don't try to hide the car. The smartest thing you can do is call the loan company. They know these are hard times, and they will usually work with you to try to keep you in the car. If they send the car for repossession, we'll find it and then you'll be out a whole lot more money. (For other tips on how to avoid repossession and what to do if your car is repossessed, please see "Stay One Step Ahead of the Repo Man.")

I like doing repos on the larger equipment: tractors, planes, commercial stuff. Recently, I picked up three hot air balloons. Repos of those things have gone up, just like everything else. The biggest thing I've ever repossessed was a 657E land mover, a giant piece of construction equipment with two engines. The most expensive thing I've taken in was a Citation, a $7 million jet. But I've repossessed anything you can think of. I've even done entire companies. You get a court order, show up at the company's office with the sheriff and then you take everything there. It's kind of sad.

I Treat All People With Respect
When I'm repossessing I always begin by treating people with respect. I don't cross the line until they cross the line. But when people start threatening me, I have to be firm. And you can't show any fear. Here in L.A. County, the second you show anybody fear, you're the prey, and they're the predator. And you don't want that. Without being disrespectful, you have to show them that you're a firm guy, you're going to hold your ground. Lots of times I say, "Hey, you should have been responsible and made your payments."

Some people don't see it that way. They see me as the enemy. But they're really their own worst enemy. All we're doing is providing a service for the bank. If there were no repo men, you wouldn't be able to afford the finance rates for a car — interest rates would be 40, 50 percent, and the economy would be way worse than it is, even now.

The Stories People Tell
Everyone has a story about why they shouldn't have their car repossessed. Some people are truthful, but I can see right through you if you're BS-ing me.

Once, I was picking up a car and the woman who owned it came out all upset. She started tearing up and told me she had to take her mother to the hospital since she had gangrene on her leg. I thought she was lying. But then the door opened, and her mom came out in shorts with a leg that looked terrible. Her story was true. I felt so bad! That assignment really stuck with me. Later, that woman got back to the finance company, and while they were happy to hear from her, they also stopped sending me work 'cause I did the humane thing. That's OK. It happens.

If I'm doing a repo on a woman's car, she can tell right away that I'm a gentleman. So she'll try to get away with pushing me or insulting me. My assistant Matt, he's a really big guy, and women will often try to provoke him, hoping he'll do something that they can sue him for. One woman called the police on us, and told them that Matt had tried to fondle her. But since we had the incident on tape, the police ended up charging her for filing a false report. When people are desperate, they do desperate things.

Operation Repo the TV Show
Even though I see people at their worst, I don't have a bad view of humankind. I believe everyone makes mistakes and everyone deserves a chance. Things happen, man. I've been there, too. I'm not gonna judge you, no way. I could be right underneath you tomorrow, and I'd have to work twice as hard to get out. That's how it's always been; when I'm slapped down, I come up with another idea and I just work at it. Like the way that my show, Operation Repo came about.

I got a call from Channel 52 (a Spanish language television station) and they wanted to do a story about a day in the life of a repo man. After it was on, people kept coming up to me and saying, "Hey, you're that repo guy." It got me thinking about the possibilities. So I got some guys from my church, and we shot a bunch of footage. And it led to Operation Repo on Tru TV.

I gotta tell you, my repossession days are numbered, because right now, I'm moving on to something else. My goal is to direct more movies. I directed my first feature film, Operation Repo: The Movie last year, and I'm working on another one.

I'm really jazzed that I have all these hit shows. But I also hope they help people see that repossession agents aren't the bad guys. We're just part of a system. The problem is, we're the last part in the process. In this economy, we're the guy who takes your car. But I always just have to tell people, "You gotta do your part. You gotta be responsible and make your payments." Then you're never gonna see us.

Posted with permission.

Pros and Cons of Certified Pre-Owned Cars

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 08:32:00 PDT

Are you considering buying a certified pre-owned car?

Sometimes the only way to get a fancy luxury or high-performance sports car is to wait a few years until the price has fallen to a more realistic level, rather than pay the full sticker price plus a premium.

The uncertain state of the economy also makes certified pre-owned cars attractive.

"Buying a certified pre-owned car is a good alternative to buying a new car at a time when the customer faces the uncertainty of making a mortgage payment, much less a car payment," said Jerry Cizek, president of the Chicago Automobile Trade Association and its 500 dealer members.

Before deciding on a certified pre-owned car, keep in mind the pros and cons of such a decision:

Pro: Factory-certified pre-owned means peace of mind; with the inspection, repairs and warranty, you've saved the time and money it would have taken to find and make them yourself.

Con: Though it will save you time, you could probably get those things yourself for less money. Plus, even when a car is certified there's no guarantee it will be trouble-free, so you should still pay the money to have your mechanic inspect it. If something is found, you should be able to get the dealer to make the repair.

Pro: As with any used car, you avoid the high up-front 20-40 percent depreciation cost the original new-car buyer suffered in the first two to three years of ownership.

Con: Though you avoid new-car depreciation, you'll have to deal with the traditional used-car wear, tear and higher mileage that new-car buyers don't have to put up with.

If you decide that a certified pre-owned car is right for you, there are even more things to consider. There are different types of certified cars: ones that are certified by the factory and ones that are certified by the dealer. Understanding the differences can help you make your decision.

Factory-certified: Factory-certified cars typically represent your best deal. Factory-certified means the vehicle has been inspected, needed repairs have been made and the car has been backed by a factory warranty.

Other: A dealer-certified used car probably didn't get the multipoint inspection or the series of repairs that the factory-certified car did. Also, these cars won't have a warranty backed by the factory, so if you want a warranty you'll have to buy an extended one through the dealer or an insurance company.

Factory-certified: A factory-backed warranty means that if you buy a pre-owned Chevrolet, you have the same coverage you would if you bought a new car because any Chevrolet dealer will make the covered repair.

Other: Without the warranty that comes with a factory-certified car, you may choose to buy an extended warranty, which may require you to always return to the same dealer for service or repairs. That can be a problem if you're on vacation. Also, extended warranties often require deductible payments, not to mention exclusions for any repair considered normal wear and tear. Many also have exclusions for owner abuse — with the warranty outfit having authority to determine what constitutes wear, tear or abuse.

Factory-certified: Because the factory provides the warranty, it sends out reps on a periodic basis to ensure inspection and repairs have been made.

Other: Without a factory warranty, repairs may have been limited to things you can see on the outside, like a crinkled fender, but not inside, like an engine that's about to expire.

Factory-certified: Because of the multipoint inspection, more details will be taken care of. For instance, if the brakes have less than 60 percent life left, they have to be replaced.

Other: On a non-factory-backed car, if the brakes have less than 60 percent life left, you better hope your extended warranty covers them.

No matter which kind of used car you buy — whether it's a certified one with a factory warranty or a non-factory-backed one that you purchase an extended warranty for — make sure you know what's covered. Get a copy of the warranty terms spelling out what is and isn't covered, what — if any — deductible you must pay, and who does the repairs.
Don't settle for a sales brochure stating the "powertrain" is covered. Get a detailed explanation of what the term "powertrain" includes. It can differ.

"Always read the contract on what the warranty covers and what it doesn't," warns Steve Bernas, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan Chicago. Bernas spent years handling automotive complaints for the bureau before becoming CEO. "The big print typically gives, the little print typically takes away."

Understanding Your Credit Score

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:34:00 PDT

What does your score mean?This rating system is meant to develop a snapshot of the risk you currently represent to a lender. Several parameters in your credit file, including length of credit history, number of open accounts, loans, mortgages, public records, and others are formulated to produce a three-digit score between about 300 and 950. There are other scores used by lenders and insurance companies (some of which are developed by FICO®) such as Application and Behavior scores. These other scores take other information into account. Usually a lender will use a combination of your credit score with other factors when determining your risk. They all have the same objective, to determine the borrower's potential risk. Regardless of whether the score was generated by FICO® or a system based on FICO® parameters, they all yield an industry standard three-digit score. This score places the borrower in one of three main categories Prime, sub-prime, and shaftedPrime If your credit score is above 680, you are considered a "prime borrower" and will have no problem getting a good interest rate on your home loan, car loan, or credit card.Sub-Prime If your credit score is below 680, you are "sub prime", and will likely pay a much higher interest rate on your loan.Shafted Below 560 is the shafted score. At least that is how most lenders and credit issuers perceive it. You can still get a credit card but you will likely be hit with a security deposit or high acquisition fee. In addition to that your interest rate will likely be 22 to 23%. You can forget about most home loans and the majority of new car loans at this score. Below 560 is no place to be. You will pay much, much more in higher interest and unnecessary fees. You may even pay more for your insurance rates. A very low score can even prevent you from getting a job with many companies. If your in this catagory Click Here.How are credit scores calculated?The methods of calculating your credit score may differ slightly depending on the credit bureau. When obtaining your score from one of the Credit Bureaus it is important to understand that your score does not come directly from FICO®. It is adapted to each bureau and is given its own name: Equifax uses "Beacon", Trans Union uses "Empirica", and Experian uses "Experian/Fair Isaac." These scores are also referred to as your "Bureau Scores."Since your score is derived from your bureau data, it will change every time your reports change. However your score is calculated, it will always take into consideration many categories of information. No one piece of information or factor determines your score. As the information in your credit report changes, the importance of one or several factors may change in your score. Lenders look at many things when making a credit decision, including your income and the kind of credit you are applying for. However, your credit score does not reflect these facts as it only evaluates the information retained by the credit reporting agency

Is Credit Repair a Scam? What You Should Be Aware Of

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 16:27:00 PDT

You see the ads everywhere, online, television, radio. FAST Credit Repair! Wipe Your Credit Report Clean! Eliminate Bad Debt From Your Credit Report! Can it be true? For people with bad credit, finding an easy way to get out from under a heavy debt burden is very tempting. But the sad fact is that the "fast" credit repair offers are usually just scams, designed to take your money and result in no better credit than before.

Some of the most common tactics are:

1. Claiming to "wipe your credit report clean". This usually involves getting an employer ID, which the debtor then uses as their new social security number when applying for credit. It's easily discovered by creditors, who have access to prior addresses, employment, and other information and are not just looking at a social security number. Lenders look at a new business with no credit history and make the determination to grant credit based on the personal history of the principles so you're not any further ahead with this method.

2. Claiming to get you immediate credit no matter how bad your credit score is. This too often involves getting a business line of credit based on an employer ID and not your personal social security number. The terms of these loans can be outrageous, if you even successfully qualify many creditors still want you to see your personal credit!

3. Reducing the amount of your debt by 20, 30, 50% or more. These debt settlement companies agree to help you cut down your debt for a huge fee. While they negotiate with the lenders for new lower balances, they're collecting payments from you and holding them until the lender agrees to the new balance amount.

There is a risk with debt settlement. Lenders will often decide to pursue legal action if they believe the creditor is going to default. Hiring a debt settlement company might trigger that legal action. Until the loan is paid off at the agreed to amount the lenders have the legal option of pursuing litigation.

Another down side is that while you might have lowered your debt, the amount you're not paying will show up as a "charge off" meaning the bank didn't collect it. This is a big a black mark on your credit report as any.

Be careful when applying for "fast" credit repair programs. Most likely they'll turn out to be scams and leave you in a worse position.

7 Steps to Increase your Credit Score

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:32:00 PDT

1) Correct all inaccuracies on your credit report.
Go through your credit reports very carefully. Especially look for; late payments, charge-offs, collections or other negative items that aren’t yours, Accounts listed as “settled,” “paid derogatory,” “paid charge-off” or anything other than “current” or “paid as agreed” if you paid on time and in full, Accounts that are still listed as unpaid that were included in a bankruptcy, Negative items older than seven years (10 in the case of bankruptcy) that should have automatically fallen off your report (you must be careful with this last one, because sometimes scores actually go down when bad items fall off your report. It’s a quirk in the FICO credit-scoring software, and the potential effect of eliminating old negative items is difficult to predict in advance). Also make sure you don’t have duplicate collection notices listed. For example; if you have an account that has gone to collections, the original creditor may list the debt, as well as the collection agency. Any duplicates must be removed!

2) Make sure that your proper credit lines are posted accurately on your credit reports.In an effort to make you less desirable to their competitors, some creditors will not post your proper credit line (yes they are that sneaky)! Showing less available credit can negatively impact your credit score (which in turn gives them cause to raise your interest rate)! If you see this happening on your credit report, you have a right to complain and bring this to their attention. If you have bankruptcies that should be showing a zero balance…make sure they show a zero balance! Some creditors will not report a “bankruptcy charge-off” as a zero balance until it’s been disputed.

3) If you have any negative marks on your credit report, negotiate with the creditor/lender to remove it.If you are a long time customer and it’s something simple like a one-time late payment, a creditor will often wipe it away to keep you as a loyal customer. If you have a serious negative mark (such as a long overdue bill that has gone to collections), always negotiate a payment in exchange for removal of the negative item. Always make sure you have this agreement with them in writing. Do not pay off a bill that has gone to collections unless the creditor agrees in writing that they will remove the derogatory item from your credit report. This is important; when speaking with the creditor or collection agency about a debt that has gone to collections, do not admit that the debt is yours. Admission of debt can restart the statute of limitations, and may enable the creditor to sue you. You are also less likely to be able to negotiate a letter of deletion if you admit that this debt is yours. Simply say “I’m calling about account number ________” instead of “I’m calling about my past due debt.”

4) Pay all credit cards and any revolving credit down to below 30% of the available credit line.The scoring system wants to make sure you aren’t overextended, but at the same time, they want to see that you do indeed use your credit. 30% of the available credit line seems to be the magic “balance vs. credit line” ratio to have. For example; if you have a Credit Card with a $10,000 credit line, make sure that never more than $3000 (even if you pay your account off in full each month). If your balances are higher than 30% of the available credit line, pay them down. Here is another thing you can try; ask your long time creditors if they will raise your Credit Line without checking your FICO score or your Credit Report. Tell them that you’re shopping for a house and you can’t afford to have any hits on your credit report. Many will not but some will.

5) Do not close your old credit card accounts.Old established accounts show your history, and tell about your stability and paying habits. If you have old credit card accounts that you want to stop using, just cut up the cards or keep them in a drawer, but keep the accounts open.

6) Avoid applying for new credit.Each time you apply for new credit, your credit report gets checked. New credit cards will not help your credit score and a credit account less than one year old may hurt your credit score. Use your cards and credit as little as possible until the next credit scoring.

7) Have at least three revolving credit lines and one active (or paid) installment loan listed on your Credit Report.The scoring system wants to see that you maintain a variety of credit accounts. It also wants to see that you have 3 revolving credit lines. If you do not have three active credit cards, you might want to open some (but keep in mind that if you do, you will need to wait some time before rescoring). If you have poor credit and are not approved for a typical credit card, you might want to set up a “secured credit card” account. This means that you will have to make a deposit that is equal or more than your limit, which guarantees the bank that you will repay the loan. It’s an excellent way to establish credit. Examples of an installment loan would be a car loan, or it could be for furniture or a major appliance. In addition to the above, having a mortgage listed will bring your score even higher.

ReputationDefender Identity Management.

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Sun, 31 May 2009 12:56:00 PDT

Did you know: Most hiring managers and HR departments use search engines to research applicants? Men and women Google each other when they first begin dating? Colleagues at your company and companies you partner with look for information about you on Google and use that information to make judgements upon you? Most individuals don't realize this is the reality. At ReputationDefender, we help individuals find everything about themselves online and help them manage that information.

Get a Payment You Can Afford on Your Next Car Loan

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Sat, 23 May 2009 17:56:00 PDT

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Are you planning to purchase a new or used car, truck, SUV, van, or motorcycle? If so, you probably want to get a great vehicle with a payment that you can easily afford. Knowing the basics of automobile loans before you go shopping for a car loan can help you get a great car or other vehicle with a payment that will not strain your wallet. There are quite a few determinations to make to get the payment that fits your needs.

Two Types Of Car Loans

The first determination that you will need to make is whether you want to take out a secured or unsecured car loan. The secured loan will require you to pledge security against repayment of the loan - as in the deed to your home or other valuable property. This is called pledging collateral. The secured loan is the cheapest car loan you can get in terms of the interest that you will pay on the money that you borrow to buy your car, and usually a secured loan will have lower payments that are stretched out for a longer period of time.

The unsecured loan for buying a car is a loan that does not have any security backing it up, and therefore carries higher interest and must be paid back sooner - making your payments higher than the secured version. The secured car loan is always cheaper than the unsecured car loan, with less interest and easier to manage monthly payments.

Make A Down Payment To Lower Your Monthly Payment

If at all possible, you should make a down payment towards the purchase of your car. This not only makes the lender see you as the responsible borrower that you are, but it will also reduce the total amount that you owe on your car loan. Having a down payment will make your monthly payments lower, and will also reduce your interest rate. This can save you tons of money over the life of your car loan.

Additionally, if you want to trade your current car in when you buy your next car, your current car can be considered a down payment or be added on to the amount of down payment that you make. This can reduce the amount you owe even further.

Apply With A Cosigner

If you have a limited amount of credit history, or if your credit is not superb, you might consider applying with a cosigner when you take out your next car loan. A cosigner is simply someone who trusts that you will repay the loan, and if not, agrees to pay your payments for you. Having a cosigner reduces the risk the lender is taking when loaning you money, and thus makes your interest and thus the price of your car, less.

Online lenders offer lots of great options for buying your next car. Additionally, online lenders usually have loan payment calculators that can easily figure the amount of your payment before you take out your loan.

How To Negotiate an Extended Warranty

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Thu, 21 May 2009 23:29:00 PDT

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Begin by getting quotes from at least two sources. Call local dealerships, speak with the F&I manager and ask what they charge for the plan you choose. Don't say you are also buying a car — only an extended warranty. Different dealers may offer different quotes, but once you have a few answers, you'll know roughly what the going rate is.

Typically, salespeople are instructed to try to sell extended vehicle warranties at double the dealer's cost. If you are quoted an average price of $1,000 for the top-tier extended warranty, chances are the dealer only paid $500 for that product.

Dealers should be allowed some profit on an extended warranty, but when aiming for a reasonable price, start low and negotiate upward. In the case of a $1,000 quote, offer the dealer $650. Try to end up at least splitting the difference between the dealer's cost and his asking price (in this case $750 — 25 percent below the original quote), and remember there's no risk in starting with a lowball offer.

Here's another tip: When you're buying an extended warranty with a new car, dealers generally talk in terms of monthly payments, not the total cost for the warranty. In order to really know what you're paying, ask for an itemized cost of everything on the vehicle, including the total cost of the extended warranty.

FREE! Credit Builder

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Thu, 14 May 2009 10:06:00 PDT

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Get credit for your bill pay transactions.
•Build your payment history when you use AccountNow Bill Pay
•Demonstrate your credit worthiness when applying for housing, credit, insurance, employment, and phone
•It's simple – use AccountNow Bill Pay to pay all your bills such as rent, utilities, cable, insurance, and more
•It's FREE when you activate AccountNow Bill Pay!
This is how it works:
1.Activate AccountNow Bill Pay and add the FREE AccountNow Credit Builder service.
2.Every time you make a bill payment with AccountNow Bill Pay, we will send your bill payment information to PRBC, a national credit reporting agency.
3.Build a bill payment history to demonstrate your credit worthiness when applying for housing, credit, insurance, employment, phone, and utility hook-up by doing what you already to today - - paying your rent, electric, cable, insurance, and phone bills on time.
4.Only Bill Pay transactions will be shared with PRBC. Regular debit transactions using your AccountNow Prepaid Visa or MasterCard will not be reported to PRBC.
PRBC – Payment Reporting Builds Credit
PRBC will compile your bill payment information and create a Bill Payment ScoreSM(BPSSM). PRBC is a credit reporting agency just like Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax, but it is the first to give consumers a choice and an equal opportunity to show that they pay their bills on time.
Also, unlike the other national credit bureaus, PRBC does not charge consumers to view their own data, and does not sell mailing lists. PRBC makes money by selling credit reports for "permissible purposes" under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, with a consumer’s authorization.
You will be able to log-in to PRBC.com, create a user name and password so you can review your personal file, add account information at any time -- all at no cost.

Who may use the PRBC information:
Home loan associations like Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and Citicorp Mortgage use bill payment information as part of their decision making process for home loans.
Soon, other companies including auto loan, credit card, and insurance companies may start using Bill Payment Scores to comply with the Nation's Fair Housing and Fair Lending laws.
PRBC will only release your bill payment information with your permission to authorized PRBC subscribers who have a "permissible purpose" under the FAIR Credit Reporting Act to view it.
How can paying bills help qualify for a loan?
As an example, a consumer may be eligible for an FHA loan if that consumer can demonstrate they have 12-months of consecutive on-time bill payments that include a housing payment such as rent or a mortgage, and at least 3-other bills such as electric, cable and phone.
Credit Builder is an optional service that is made available to you at no additional cost as part of the AccountNow bill payment service. Credit Builder is only a service that provides your payment history to PRBC, a national credit reporting agency. Credit Builder does not improve or repair your credit record, credit history or credit rating. It also does not provide advice or assistance for the improvement or repair of your credit record, credit history or credit rating

From Selling Vacuum Cleaners to Selling Cars III

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Sat, 02 May 2009 21:03:00 PDT

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Most people had no idea what they should be paying for a car, except that maybe their cousin had bought the same car and they knew what he paid. And that was exactly where the dealership wanted you.

At my new dealership, I started to make some serious money — six figures — which went a long way in the Southwest . I was still pretty young and yet I was advising people on loans, looking into their finances and working with large sums of money. I have to admit I was proud of what I did and it gave me a feeling of power.

And then I made a change that doubled my income. It had to do with a new sales technique, a method called "menu selling."

The Joy of "Menu Selling"
The way I had been selling F&I products was to roll out the items one by one, pitching the advantages and features of them. It was a long, grueling process for me and the customer. Menu selling revolutionized all that.

What I did was group all the products I sold into packages and give them fancy names like the Platinum, Gold or Bronze package. If the salesman had quoted a $400 payment, I would begin my pitch by saying to the customer, "I understand your salesman quoted you a payment of $400 a month. That will take the car today. But, let me take five minutes to go through a few options, and you can choose which one works best for you."

Then I'd say, "The first option is the Platinum plan, a five-year loan at 8 percent, which has a seven-year, 70,000-mile extended warranty, which more than doubles the factory warranty. It includes life and disability insurance; it also offers paint protection and undercoating. The payment for that is $480 a month." Then I'd describe the Gold Package which would have a payment of $440, and the Bronze at $420.

Here's the funny thing: half of all customers would pick one of the plans without asking any further questions. That means I just sold three things with a five-minute spiel whereas previously it took half an hour and I wound up sounding like a broken-down vacuum cleaner salesman.

The power of menu selling is that you are asking people to choose which of three things they want. Their focus is on selecting one of the three things, not realizing that they don't have to choose any of them. Choosing one of these packages was a big mistake for some customers. But it wasn't the only mistake they'd make.

Wrong Price Point
After a few years of closing deals in the finance and insurance office, I began to realize that 90 percent of my customers made the same mistakes when buying a new car. Because of this, I realized I could make even more profit than I chose to. In a way, I had to be self-regulated — I decided what a fair profit was and consequently what my commission would be. It was often hard because it was like a baseball home-run hitter passing up a fat pitch — I knew if I wanted to I could make more money and be the hero of the dealership for the next week. But I didn't want to hurt the customer, this person I had gotten to know and whose trust I had won.

Not all F&I guys felt this way. Some went for maximum profit on all deals and applied all kinds of pressure to the poor customer to achieve this. Some F&I managers were bullies who just wouldn't take no for an answer. And they made outrageous claims to back up their sales pitches. For example, when presenting the extended warranty, they might tell their customer that the financing that was being offered required them to buy the extended warranty. This was a lie. But how was the customer to know?

It sounds really basic, but the biggest mistake customers made was not knowing the price they should be paying for the car itself. And that was exactly where the dealership wanted them. Maybe their cousin had bought the same car and they knew what he paid, but they rarely did any more research than that. As the Internet has come of age, there are all kinds of ways to research price, including Edmunds.com True Market Value ® (TMV) pricing and forums where buyers share pricing information. If a buyer knows the invoice price of the car, as well as any incentives available at the time and allows the dealer a profit above that, they can estimate what they should pay. But even today most buyers don't take the time to do this. And they overpay as a result.

Packing Payments
Another big mistake I saw customers make was agreeing to be a "monthly payment buyer." The majority of car buyers are going to finance the car (instead of paying cash) and they want a payment that will fit in their budget. The salesman knows this and works in league with the sales manager and F&I guy to leverage their power against the customer. Here's how this tag team works.

Car salesman: What kind of monthly payment are you folks looking for?
Customer: About $300 a month.
Car salesman: Up to...?
Customer: Um, well, no more than $350.
Car salesman: Well, that's kind of low for a great car like this. But I'll see what I can do. I'll be right back. (The salesman leaves and goes into the sales office to huddle with the F&I guy and the sales manager.)
Sales manager (to F&I guy): How's their credit?
F&I guy: Over 700.
Sales manager: Awesome. (To salesman): OK, tell Mr. Customer that $400 will make a deal. (The salesman returns to the customer holding the sales deal sheet with the managers' scribbling on it.)
Salesman: Good news, folks. We can make a deal today for $400 a month.

What's just happened? Well, the sales office is preparing to pack the payments. We'll say that they could actually sell the car for $300 a month but they got the customer to agree to an extra $50 on the payment. That $50 a month "bump," extended over a five-year contract, is an extra $3,000.

Now, when I got the deal in the F&I room, I knew all I needed to do was find products and services to fill up that extra $50. In a way, the customer had already bought the things I was selling. All I needed to do was justify the extra expense. This was easy since I could sell them an extended warranty, inflate the interest rate or juggle the numbers to add up to the total payment.

The Most Dreaded Phone Call
I don't want to imply that things always went smoothly in the F&I room or that the customers were easy to deal with. Sometimes married couples got into fights right in front of me — he wanted to buy the car but she didn't — and they treated me like a marriage counselor. Also, If they felt they were cheated or lied to, sometimes it escalated to a physical level. And believe me, in some cases 911 was called.

There was one type of scenario I always dreaded because it led to some horrible situations.
As I mentioned earlier, we had some customers whose credit was weak but who might still qualify for financing. However, it could easily take a few days to shop all the banks and get a solid answer. We didn't want to let this customer get away (we stood to make a lot on their financing) so we would let them drive off in the car while we continued shopping for a loan. But if we were unsuccessful, things got sticky.

We had to call the customer and tell them to bring the car back to us. If they protested, we told them that they had signed a form for "acknowledgment of conditional delivery." This was a document we always had customers sign that said if we couldn't get the car financed at the terms we agreed on, then they would bring the car back. The customer usually said, "Sure, sure, whatever" and signed it, but later they seemed to forget about this form.

The most dreaded phone call in my business was when you had to call the customer and tell them to bring the car back. The F&I guys tried to push this off on the salesman, and they pushed it back on us. Sometimes I called the customer and said something vague like, "There are a few changes we need to make to the contract so we need you to bring your paperwork and the car back to the dealership and after getting them in I would ask for an additional down payment one large enough I knew they wouldn’t have." Other times, I was more direct: "We weren't able to get the loan financed so we need you to come back so we can discuss other options."

Customers often became really emotional when they had to return the car. They had already shown the car to their friends and family and had developed an attachment to it. Now the dealership was taking it away from them. It was an unintentional form of public humiliation.

In one case, I was dealing with this young hotheaded guy who had bought a pickup truck, and we had to call him back in. I had a feeling there might be trouble so I brought my sales manager into the meeting with me. When we told this guy we were taking his truck back, he actually jumped over the desk, grabbed the sales manager by the throat and started strangling him. We had to call the police and the guy was taken away in handcuffs. It was sad because he had his little boy with him and he saw the whole thing.

10 Things Not To Do in F&I
Over the years I put together advice for my friends and family when they were going to buy a car. In most cases, my advice was simply what not to do! Here is my Top 10 list that should get you in and out of the F&I room unscathed.
1.Don't agree to be a monthly payment buyer. If you do, you'll quickly lose control of negotiations as they pack payments and hide the real cost of the car.
2.Don't buy a car without first checking pricing guides such as Edmunds.com's TMV. Print out this information and take it with you to the dealership.

4.Don't buy the extended warranty (if you really want it) for the first price they offer. Mark-up is about 100 percent, so there is plenty of room for negotiating.
5.Don't enter the F&I room unless you have independent financing or you have recently checked your credit report and investigated what your bank or credit union will offer for a rate. Otherwise, how will you know what interest rate you deserve?
6.Don't buy paint protection (it's just a glorified wax job) or fabric protection or VIN etching or LoJack (unless you have an irreplaceable collector's car). These are high-profit items for the dealership and can always be purchased somewhere else if you decide you really want them.
7.Don't pass up gap insurance if you're leasing (unless it's already in the contract).
8.Don't forget to run your monthly payment numbers using an online computer to get a rough idea of what your car payment will be.
9.Don't believe that the F&I guy is really your friend, even though he acts like it.
10.Don't believe the F&I guy if he tells you that you have to buy the extended warranty to qualify for low or no-interest financing. I've used this line a few times before. And it's not true.

Looking back, I don't have any regrets about what I did. I helped people buy cars and I got them loans that enabled them to do that. But I do feel funny about all the mistakes I saw my customers make, mistakes they made that stretched their household budgets thin and put stress on their lives and relationships. While it struck me that the F&I office is a necessary part of dealerships, it's up to car buyers to educate themselves about how to safely navigate the tricks and sales pitches they'll encounter.

Running F&I on My Own(Part III Selling Vacs to F.I.)

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 22:08:00 PDT

After only 5 days of training me , Kevin went on vacation and I was left in complete charge of all the finance work for the entire dealership. I was excited to know I could do things my way. But there was a problem that worried me, a secret that only I knew. Sure, I was good with numbers. And by now I was a pretty good salesman. I'm also pretty detail-oriented. And this was a job that definitely needed strict attention to the fine points. It wasn't unusual for a car deal to involve as many as a dozen different documents, all of which needed to be signed in multiple places in just the right way. Plus, the dealership could get really busy; sometimes we sold a dozen cars on a Saturday afternoon. A straight cash deal could be wrapped up in only 15 minutes. But other transactions, particularly leases or sub-prime deals , could take an hour or more. If you didn't get everything right it would be rejected by the lender and the DMV.

Naturally, Instead, I made endless checklists to remind me to dot all the i's and cross the t's. But as I gained experience I became more confident. I even decorated my office to make customers more comfortable. I put up pictures of the beach and some inspirational sayings — fun stuff to relax people.

The Flow of the Deal
The F&I process actually started before I even met the customer. I would be given the credit application to run while they were still negotiating with the salesman. At this point, I'd go out and take a look at the people to get a feel for them by living in the are I kind of knew based on what zip code they lived in or were they worked (like most people that work at a plant like Exxon )usually had the same mind set . That way, when I met them in the F&I room I could break the ice by making some small talk and pretty much could figure how the deal would go . For example, if I saw one of them wearing a Green Bay Packers hat, the first thing I'd say to them was, "How about those Packers?" In my time in F&I I talked about all kinds of things I had no real interest in: deer hunting, football, hockey — even cooking.

If the customer's credit score came back over 650, we wanted to make sure they bought a car as quickly as possible and got them out of there. We would tell the salesman to "spot them" — let them take delivery on the spot — before their loan was even formally approved by the bank.

On the other hand, if the customer was a "deadbeat," meaning that they had really bad credit, we knew there was no way we could sell them a car. So the two ends of the spectrum — the really good and the really bad — were easy to deal with. But the vast majority of customers fell somewhere in between, and it required a lot of work to get them financed.

Dealership Financing
I'd say that three out of four people wanted to finance their car by taking out a loan or leasing it. The dealership had access to wholesale lending rates from close to 20 different banks, called the "buy rate" and loaned this money to the customer at a few percentage points higher, which we called the "sell rate." This was a huge source of revenue for the dealership and it amounted to about 50 percent of the commissions I earned. So the incentive was high to inflate the interest rate and get the customer to agree to the loan at that rate.

Padding the interest rate was usually very easy to do because most of our customers had no idea what rate they qualified for. If I sensed that they were uninformed about their credit score, I knew I could offer them, say, two points over and they would agree to it. The customers I looked for were people who had good credit but didn't know it. Then I could say, "We ran your credit report and, well, we both know you've had a few problems. But you're nice people so here's what we're going to do for you."

A Lucrative Sales Pitch
After the loan was arranged and agreed to by the customer, I began to sell them an assortment of extra products and services. This was a grueling process but it was where a lot of my commissions came from so I had to summon my energy and give it my best shot. The biggest item for me to sell was the extended warranty or credit life and disability insurance.

Usually, I'd begin by asking, "How long do you folks plan on keeping your new car?" The answer I wanted was: "I'm going to keep it until the wheels fall off." If I heard this I knew I could easily sell them an extended warranty. But if they said they always traded in after three years I was pretty well screwed but that’s were other back end products came in . Still, most people said "Five years plus.". Although the average trade cycle is about 27 months.

I was reading an F&I magazine one day and I found a little detail that helped me make tens of thousands of dollars selling extended warranties. Here's how it worked. If the customer said they were going to keep their car a long time, I'd say, "Did you know that your new car has more computer chips in it than the first spaceship that went to the moon?" This had an amazing effect on people — they got goose bumps and leaned forward wanting to hear more.More To Follow

From Selling Vacuum Cleaners to Selling Cars Part II

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:49:00 PDT

F&I guys know that our customers are already in the "yes mode." They've just agreed to buy a car so it's our job to keep them saying yes to other things like extended warranties, fabric protection and additional alarm systems.

The office for my new job was plush to say the least . In most other dealerships where I worked the F&I room was usually in the back somewhere, away from the excitement of the showroom and the noise of the service bays. But what goes on in the F&I office is the lifeblood of the car business — deals are closed. Before you enter the finance office, a car deal has really just been a lot of talk. But in F&I, all the verbal promises are put in writing, the customer signs and the contract legally binds the buyer to make all the payments. So there's a lot of money on the line.

Kevin, the guy who ran the finance office at my new job, wasn't the stereotype of the sneaky F&I guy. He had a good sense of humor and was very relaxed with his customers — a little too relaxed, I thought. If he just pushed a little harder it seemed he could've sold a lot more products. I was anxious to finish my training and be in charge so I could do things my way. And see how much more money I could make.

In the beginning, I just sat in the back of the room while Kevin handled the customers. He usually introduced me to the people by saying, "This is Sean. I'm training him for this position. Do you mind if he sits in with us?" No one ever objected, and soon they forgot I was there. Meanwhile, I got to observe Kevins sales techniques, such as the way he started the F&I process.

Setting the Tone
Kevin would casually glance down at the contract and then look up at the people as if he was surprised and say, "Oh! So you're the folks who bought that black Suburban. Man, that's such an awesome car! You're going to have a great time taking it on vacation this summer. And the four-wheel drive is good in the snow, too." What he was doing was showing the customer that he cared about their purchase and shared their excitement, like they were on the same team.

This opening set the right tone, which was important since most of the customers we got were pretty worn out by this point. Often they had been test-driving and negotiating all afternoon and, basically, they just wanted to get the hell out of there. Dave had to get them refocused on the excitement of the new car because he was about to try to sell them a whole slew of additional things.

Most salesmen know that once a customer starts saying yes, it's easy to keep them saying yes to other things. The customers we got in the F&I room had just agreed to buy a car. So there was a good chance they would keep saying yes to other add-ons. We called this being in the "yes mode," and we tried our best to exploit it.

Here's how Kevin did it. He would start by asking the customer a question he knew they would say yes to. So he'd say, "Do you like this car?"

Obviously, they would say yes since they had just agreed to buy it.

"I bet you'll really enjoy taking this car on vacation."

Of course they said, "Yes."

So then he'd ask, "So I'm sure you'll want to buy an extended warranty to protect your investment?"

And they often said, "Yes."

Sitting in the back of that room I took a lot of notes, wrote out lists of forms that were needed and details I had to complete. Kevin taught me the tricks of the trade mainly by just letting me observe how he worked with the customers. It was a psychological game that was partly a carefully scripted technique and partly just plain old salesman's intuition.

Twitter Blog: Twitter Partners?

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 04:19:00 PDT

Twitter Blog: Twitter Partners?

From Selling Vacuum Cleaners to Selling Cars

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 18:13:00 PDT

SIn the Saturday morning sales meeting, the general manager treated this F&I guy like a hero for making so much money for the dealership. But I remember sitting there, thinking, "This isn't right but is it "

Believe me, I never set out to be an automotive finance manager. I was just looking for a good job with decent money so I could finish my education. But thanks to a few strange twists and turns, I went from selling vacuum cleaners door to door to being a used car salesman for 3 yrs to becoming an F&I manager for six years.

In that time, I made serious money while closing 6,000 new and used car sales and leases. I sat across the desk from hundreds of people as they nervously signed the contract on their first car, or upgraded to that shiny new truck or SUV they had wanted for years. I advised them on which loans to take and persuaded them to buy extended warranties, paint protection and undercoating. While doing this, I peered into the most intimate details of their finances and their lives: their salaries, savings and investments. Their mistakes were revealed to me, too: overdue bills, bounced checks, foreclosures and repossessions. In fact, I probably knew more about my customer after 15 minutes than their friends knew about them in a lifetime.

During my time on the job, I never knowingly lied to my customers but I can say that if they didnt ask well, I did make a commission on the items I sold and the loans I wrote. And the dealership made a profit, too — what I considered a fair profit.

There was this one guy called the "The Undertaker." A couple came in and wanted to use their trade-in as a down payment on a lease. They were told they were receiving an $8,000 credit for their trade-in. In actuality, they were only given $2,000. The next day, at the Saturday sales meeting, the general manager brought doughnuts, as he always did. On this day he brought a huge doughnut for The Undertaker and treated him like a hero because he had made so much money for the dealership. But I remember thinking, "This isn't right or is it "

But the real point is simple: If you don't know what to watch out for and you run into someone like The Undertaker, you can lose your shirt. If you have a complicated deal — with a trade-in, manufacturer financing and extra products — thousands of dollars are at stake. But with a little bit of knowledge and some preparation, the auto finance manager won't be able to lay a glove on you. How?

Before I get to that, I'd like to tell you a little bit about how I came to work in F&I. Then you'll have a better understanding of my world, and my advice will make a lot more sense . I began job hunting and landed a position as a vacuum cleaner salesman. I figured if I could succeed at a tough sales job like this, I could succeed at anything else I tried later to sell and I sold everything from meat to water (the old office set ups ) and encylopidas door to door. I received a few days of training and then was given a demonstration model vacuum cleaner to lug from door to door. This was in the middle of summer, in Texas, with the temperature sometimes 100+ degrees . I remember a few times that, when someone answered the door, my face was so burnt I couldn't even speak.

In my first couple of week on the job, I was actually able to make five sales, so the company gave me my own vacuum cleaner, which they told me was a huge honor. I needed a better car to carry my samples around in, so I went to the local dealership. When I picked out a car and we reached an agreement on the price, I was told that I would be sent into the F&I office. I'd never heard of this before but I assumed this was someplace where I would sign papers.

While I was waiting, I overheard some of the car salesmen talking to each other. One guy said, "I made a grand on my last sale. That was sweet."

This was music to my ears. I mean, here I was dragging this vacuum cleaner from door to door, hoping to find buyers. But at the dealership, I realized the buyers came to you! I asked the sales manager if there were any openings at the dealership and he gave me a job in the used car side of the dealership — which was where the real money was. Most people don't realize it, but the profit is much higher in used cars than in new cars.

After I'd been selling cars for awhile, I became aware that right after I sold a car my customers disappeared into the finance and insurance offices. I began to wonder what went on in the three finance offices we had in the back hallway of our dealership. The F&I guys looked like banker types to me since they always wore nice suits. A lot of them had the condescending attitude of a loan officer interviewing a person who is probably not going to qualify for the loan. More to follow on the next 6 yrs.

Disputing a ChexSystems Report

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 11:45:00 PDT

ChexSystems, like credit bureaus, is considered a Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) and governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which entitles consumers the right to repair their own credit report. A study by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG) found that one in four credit reports contain errors.
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2003 (FACTA) added new sections to the FRCA, which placed new emphasis on the accuracy of information in consumer reports. Previous to the FACTA, disputes regarding the accuracy of information in a consumer report restricted the consumer to deal only with the CRA. Under new FACTA provisions, a consumer may dispute inaccurate information directly with the information provider (person, company, or organization responsible for submitting consumer information to a CRA).
Under the FACTA amendments to the FRCA, nationwide CRAs are required to provide consumers a free copy of their credit report, upon request, once every 12 months. This includes ChexSystems.
Disputing Reports
Under the FRCA, both the CRA and the information provider (such as the institution responsible for submitting a ChexSystems report) are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information documented in a consumer’s report. Below are steps for disputing a ChexSystems report.

Step 1.Review a copy of your report. Check it thoroughly for any information which may be inaccurate. If inaccurate information is found, you will need to generate documentation that can substantiate your claim.

Step 2.Inform ChexSystems, in writing, of what information you feel is inaccurate. Include copies of the documentations verifying the credibility of your claim. In addition to your name and address, your letter should clearly, and in detail, itemize each inaccuracy, explaining why you are disputing the information and requesting that it be removed or corrected. You may want to include a copy of your report with the items in question circled or highlighted. ChexSystems contact information and a sample dispute letter are included at the bottom of this article.

Step 3.Send your letter by certified mail, along with a return recipient request. This is important for documenting what ChexSystems received. Copies of your dispute letter and enclosures should also be kept for documentation purposes.
Another way of disputing inaccurate information on your report is to dispute the matter directly with the financial institution that originally provided the information to ChexSystems. The previous steps can be used to mail a dispute to the information provider. Disputes can also be handled by phone, fax, or in person. Which ever way you choose to hand the dispute, be prepared to furnish a detailed explanation as well as any documentation verifying your claim.
ChexSystems Responsibilities
When a dispute is received by ChexSystems, they are required to investigate the items in question within 30-45 days, depending on how you obtained a copy of your report. The only reasons ChexSystems will not investigate a claim is if they consider the dispute to be frivolous. All relevant data provided by you must be forwarded to the financial institution that provided the information. Once the information provider receives notice of a dispute from ChexSystems, it must investigate, review the provided information, and report the results back to ChexSystems. If the disputed information is found to be inaccurate, the information provider must notify ChexSystems of its finding, so they can carry out the consumers request to remove or correct the reported information.
Investigated information can only be added back to your report if the information provider verifies that it is accurate and complete. If ChexSystems claims the information was verified as being inaccurate, and nothing was deleted, then you can send a Procedural Request letter. When the investigation is complete, ChexSystems must provide you with the results, in writing, and a free copy of your report if the dispute results in a change. They must also send you written notice that includes the name, address, and phone number of the information provider.
In the event that ChexSystems does not respond to you within the 30-45 days of receiving your dispute, you can take action by sending a Demand for Removal letter to ChexSystems. No response indicates that confirmation of the information may not have been conducted; therefore, the information must be removed from your report.
If an investigation does not resolve your dispute with ChexSystems, a brief written statement can be added to your report explaining your dispute.
ChexSystems Contact Information
ChexSystems, Inc.
Attn: Consumer Relations
7805 Hudson Road, Suite 100
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Sat, 18 Apr 2009 00:00:00 PDT

10 Common No Limit Hold' Em Mistakes

Part 2 on F.& I Buying a car

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:49:00 PDT

As a Finance Manager for close to 15yrs I do feel that you can get the best deal at at the dealer, but you must have some knowledge of what your doing .

You have various options for financing a vehicle, including credit unions, banks and dealerships. In some cases, the loan you'd get from a dealer comes from the same bank you could go to yourself. Dealers play the part of loan agent in trying to get you the best rate, but they can and do add percentage points to the rates they obtain from lenders. In many cases, they split the additional profit margin with the lender, so everyone wins — except you. Though its ethics are in question and consumers have sued dealers over it, this practice isn't currently illegal. Some day regulations such as the Truth in Leasing Act may be enacted to require disclosure of loan rates.

However, since many captive financing companies offer discounted loan rates, it's possible to get the best deal by financing at the dealership. Shopping during an incentives period increases your chances for these savings.

In addition to loans and leases, dealerships often offer health, disability and other insurance plans. Some buyers appreciate the opportunity to make all their deals under one roof, but you should look into third-party sources and shop around before choosing an insurance plan.

Back-End Products and Services

The F&I manager is also responsible for selling additional products and services, which are a significant source of dealer profit. They include:

Service contracts: Often referred to as extended warranties, these plans are meant to take over when the manufacturer's warranty runs out and/or cover repairs not accounted for in the manufacturer's warranty. Consider your needs carefully before purchasing a service contract for a new car. While the cost of new cars has risen, so has their reliability. The period between purchase and major scheduled service is longer than ever. And experts say the parts of a car that are most likely to break after the factory warranty expires are typically not covered by third-party service contracts, though there are exceptions, such as four-wheel-drive systems and turbochargers. If you consider a service contract, bear these issues in mind:

* Some contracts have deductibles, and some do not. Amounts vary, and you may have to pay a deductible for each claim or even individually for unrelated repairs in the same claim. Get the details.
* Don't assume your contract will transfer to another dealer if you move. And if it can be transferred, is there a fee?
* The contract also may not transfer to another owner. An extended warranty is a nice selling point — but not if it's tied to you rather than the vehicle. Check for owner transfer fees.
* Sometimes one of a car's parts or systems will be responsible for damage to another part of the car. The best example of this is a timing belt. In certain engine designs, when this part breaks it causes catastrophic (and very expensive) valve damage. A timing belt may cost $20. Which will the service plan cover? Some service contracts stipulate that the insured cannot collect for damage to a part covered by the plan if it was caused by an uncovered part, negligence or some other hard-to-define condition.
* If you're financing for a longer term, say five or even six years, check the mileage limitations of the extended warranty. It's possible you could surpass the mileage limit, thereby voiding the warranty, before the financing period ends.

Service contracts represent a significant profit source for dealers, so expect the hard sell. The price and all the terms above are negotiable, and again, you can comparison shop the service plan at multiple dealerships even if you're not buying the car there.

Rust proofing and paint protection: All new cars are built with rust-resistant galvanized steel (or aluminum or fiberglass) and treated with a rust proofing agent at the factory. Experts say dealer-applied rust proofing is unnecessary, at best. Paint "sealant" is a similar story: factory paint is sealed and durable and can be protected effectively with a coat of wax you apply yourself.

Fabric protestant: Unlike rust proofing, fabric protect ant can be applied effectively after the car is fully assembled, which means the dealer can do it — and so can you. If you take the time and have the knack for it, you can achieve the same result.

Vehicle Service

Vehicle repair is big business. Thanks to the complexity of modern vehicles, dealer service departments are guaranteed a steady flow of business that might otherwise go to independent repair shops.

In terms of the dealership's bottom line, the service department can contribute a healthy percentage of the profit. In 2007, the National Automobile DealersAssociation reported that service and parts departments made up 46 percent of total dealership operating profits. This further illustrates how the profit has skewed away from the vehicle sale and toward the products and services that follow. It also explains why dealers are sometimes willing to sell at extremely thin profit margins.

If you come in with an immaculate trade-in and meticulous maintenance and repair records, then the dealer may intuit that you're good for a few years of regular service and give you a good deal on the purchase price itself.

Trends represent our most reliable means by which to look forward

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:29:00 PDT

Trends represent our most reliable means by which to look forward.
By examining the changes around us... as well as what drives those changes... we can
begin to see the influence those changes are having and will have in the future.
Here's an example...
In the 1960's I was able to buy gasoline at retail for as little as $0.09 (9 cents) per
gallon. If you happen to live in Argentina today, you can still buy gas for well below
$0.20 (20 cents) per gallon, but the rest of the world is struggling under the burden
of ever-increasing fuel costs. As I write this, the average retail price for a gallon of
unleaded gasoline in the U.S. is $2.69.
That represents a 40-year upward trend in the price of gasoline. We can look at that
and reasonably predict that fuel prices will continue to rise.
BUT... we can also look at that trend and reasonably predict that as the price of gas
continues to rise, more research dollars will go into the development of alternative
fuels. We can see a short-term reduction in the size and weight of cars to allow for
better gas mileage. We can see a short-term increase in the use of mass
transportation systems. We can see the development of a new fuel storage and
delivery infrastructure to support alternative fuels.
And we can also predict that more and more people will be telecommuting... working
from home.
So just by looking at that one simple trend... ever-increasing fuel prices... we can part
the curtain ever so slightly and see what life will be like ten or twenty or thirty years
from now.
What other trends should we be looking at? Consider the following...
4.
Globalization.
There is a growing trend towards globalization of the world's labor force. For years
we've seen the effects of manufacturing facilities being relocated from countries and
regions where labor is more expensive to areas where labor is less expensive. The
resulting savings in production costs are often considerable and not only serve to
increase stockholder's dividends, but also allow the products to be sold for less...
thereby achieving a significant price advantage over competitive products.
Such advantages don't come without a price, however. Here's just one example.
Galesburg is a small town in central Illinois. For three generations, working at the
refrigerator factory owned by Maytag was considered the best job in the area.
Workers and managers were paid a fair wage and the benefits and security made it
that much better.
Then one day in early December the announcement came that Maytag had made the
decision to relocate their refrigerator production facilities from Galesburg to
Reynoso, Mexico.
Within the span of three minutes, over 1,600 people saw their careers vanish and
area home values plummet by an estimated 50%.
Galesburg, a sleepy little farm community with one major employer... Maytag...
couldn't possibly absorb so many unemployed people. The regular "Help Wanted"
ads for the local Wal-Mart or McDonald's only made the reality seem even more
desperate.
Over 1,000 families would have to leave their homes in Galesburg and start over
somewhere else.
5.
Decent, hard working people who woke up that morning with a good job, equity in
their home, and a comfortable retirement somewhere down the road went to bed
that night in debt... wondering how they'd be able to start over when they couldn't
even sell their home for what they owed so they could leave town in search of other
work. Their only choice would be to abandon their home, forfeit the equity they had
worked so long for, suffer through the foreclosure and bankruptcy, and begin again
at the bottom somewhere else... with no savings, damaged credit, and what little they
could protect from creditors.
Is what happened to the Maytag workers at Galesburg unique? Far from it.
Globalization has cost millions of jobs in thousands of cities.
And if you think it's only manufacturing jobs, think again.
Commercial airlines owned by American companies and operated in the United
States commonly fly their planes to the Philippines for routine maintenance.
I purchased a post card from a gift store near Lincoln's Tomb in Springfield, Illinois.
On the front was a beautiful picture of Lincoln's Tomb. On the back were the words
"Printed in Sweden".
And it's getting worse.
6.
New technologies have made it possible for companies to have many different kinds
of jobs done literally anywhere on the planet.
If you have a question concerning your checking account at Bank of America, your
phone call will be answered by someone in Pakistan.
If you get an X-ray at your local hospital, the technician who reads your X-ray is
probably in Russia.
McDonald's is experimenting with "outsourcing" the order-taking process at its
drive-thru's... that's right, when you order a hamburger and fries you could be
talking to someone sitting in India who will relay your order back to the very
building you're looking at.
Why? In each of those examples, and thousands more, the answer is always the
same... because someone somewhere else can do it for less.
How will globalization affect you and your family in the future? That depends.
If you live in an industrialized nation where labor costs are relatively high, you can
expect to see even more job losses and a reduction in wages over the coming decades.
If you are living in a country with a very low cost of labor, you could experience
short-term gains in employment opportunities and wage levels as more and more
jobs are located in your community.
Short-term gains? Yes. Why? Because there are over 1.3 billion people living in China
and they're learning to manufacture everything. They're learning to do everything.
And they get paid pennies per day. Can your local labor force match that?
7.
In fact, some workers in China get paid nothing. Not long ago the world was
introduced to a young woman who had escaped from a Chinese slave factory where
she was enslaved for six years making the strings of colored lights that you and I use
to decorate our homes during the Christmas holidays. Can your local labor force
match the cost of slave labor?
That's why Mexico is losing jobs to China.
So the facts are clear. Whether you live in a country where the cost of labor is high or
you live in a country where the cost of labor is low, either you, or your children, or
your grandchildren will see the tragedy that is being caused by globalization.
And the sinister aspect of globalization is that as more and more jobs are lost to
cheaper labor markets... local wages fall and unemployment rises... increasing the
demand for low priced goods and services... forcing more goods and services to be
provided by the cheapest labor on the planet... and eliminating even more jobs. It's a
classic self-feeding downward spiral.
Don't believe me? Just go stand outside your local Super Wal-Mart store and watch
the people going in and coming out with every kind of item imaginable. Do those
people look wealthy to you? Probably not. More than likely they're middle-class
working people who need to take advantage of Wal-Mart's low prices so they can
stretch a paycheck from this Friday to next.
Now think about this... 93% of the items on Wal-Mart's shelves are made in China.
The biggest company in America... bigger than GM or GE or AT&T... with sales in
excess of $1 billion per DAY... is nothing more than a massive outlet store for
Chinese manufacturers.
So... looking at the globalization trend, we can reasonably predict that China will
become the manufacturing center for the world, as well as the primary provider of
many services that can be outsourced as a result of technological advances.
8.
Class Polarization.
As jobs of all kinds gravitate away from high-cost labor markets toward low-cost
labor markets, many wage earners are forced into lower paying jobs.
Many of these lower paying jobs are now being outsourced (remember the drive-thru
at McDonald's) resulting in workers being forced from lower-paying jobs into
minimum wage jobs.
At the same time the upper class is becoming wealthier as a result of greater profits
due to reduced labor costs, and the gap between the "working poor" and the wealthy
continues to widen.
Not convinced? When Sam Walton died, five of his heirs became five of the ten
wealthiest people in the world... yet Wal-Mart was cited recently for hiring illegal
immigrant workers at below minimum wages.
Not convinced? Bill Gates is the richest man in the world, yet Microsoft is
outsourcing thousands of programming jobs to low-cost labor markets in other
countries.
Still not convinced? In 1980 the average salary for a corporate CEO was 40 times the
average of all salaries in the company. Today it's over 400 times the average of all
salaries in the company.
Still not convinced? Remember Galesburg? Remember what happened to 1,600
middle class workers in the blink of an eye? What do you suppose happened to
Maytag's profits when they replaced people making $12 per hour with people making
$2.85 per day? Do you think the CEO might have earned a bonus? Do you think his
stock options might have increased in value? Just one more case... out of thousands
of cases... of the middle class moving downward and the upper class moving upward.
The result is a "polarization" of the classes where the middle class is slowly
disappearing and the lower class is growing.
9.
And polarization of the classes is not restricted to incomes alone. It shows up
everywhere you look.
While there may be a few isolated exceptions, here are just a few examples...
1.) Education. Wealthy people have the best private schools for their children and
send their children to the finest private colleges.
2.) Healthcare. Did you know that TODAY there are companies who recruit the finest
doctors for their wealthy clients? These companies charge their clients a
"subscription" of thousands of dollars each year so that they and their families won't
have to wait their turn in crowded waiting rooms and schedule check-ups in advance.
Their subscription assures immediate access to the best doctors, staff, facilities, and
treatment that modern medicine has to offer.
3.) Safety. Wealthy people live in safer neighborhoods, drive safer cars, and enjoy
better police protection than poor people.
4.) Food. Wealthy people can afford better food and generally enjoy the health
benefits of better nutrition.
5.) Justice. As much as we'd like to think otherwise, the ability to hire a top-flight
attorney can often be the difference between guilty and not guilty.
6.) Government. Wealthy people can (and do) influence those who make and enforce
our laws. Poor people cannot.
Polarization of the classes... and the elimination of the middle class... is obvious and
accelerating.
Are you one of those middle-class workers struggling to make ends meet?
10.
An Aging Population.
The Baby Boomers. You've heard the term, but do you really understand what it
means?
At the end of World War II, millions of troops returned from active duty, got
married, and started families. Consequently, during the eighteen years between
1946 and 1964, over a billion people were born worldwide. They make up the largest
generation in the history of mankind.
Every significant economic trend in the past 60 years has been the direct result of the
demands of this single massive generation.
During the '50's and '60's, companies such as Gerber, Buster Brown, and Mattel
became billion dollar corporations providing baby food, children's shoes, and toys to
infant Baby Boomers.
The most successful car ever... the Ford Mustang... was introduced as the first wave
of Baby Boomers got their driver's licenses in the early '60's.
The housing boom of the '70's and ‘80’s was fueled by the Baby Boomers' demand for
new homes.
As the Baby Boomers had families the automotive industry responded with the
introduction of the mini-van in the '80's and millions of mini-vans have been
purchased every year since.
Side note: As Vice-President of Ford Motor Company, Lee Iacocca was responsible
for the development of the Ford Mustang. Years later he became the CEO of Chrysler
Corporation as it teetered on the brink of bankruptcy... and saved hundreds of
thousands of jobs by inventing the mini-van to meet the needs of the Baby Boomers
and their growing families. Coincidence? Hardly. Lee Iacocca understood the
purchasing power of the biggest generation in history and based his decisions on the
effect their demands would have on his industry.
11.
This is your chance to consider the effects that same generation will have on your
future.
Today the Baby Boomers are nearing retirement age. The older members of that
generation are now 60 years old, and the youngest are 42.
That tells us that during the next 25 years the Baby Boomers... by far the biggest
generation the world has ever seen... will leave the workforce and enter retirement.
Twenty-five years from now they will be ages 67-85.
Imagine the tremendous strain on the healthcare system that will result from so
many people aging at once. Even if every person retiring had adequate healthcare
insurance or enough money to pay for services, just having the facilities and
personnel needed to meet that challenge is a major source of concern. Experts agree
that the sheer demand for healthcare services will exceed supply very soon, and
when that happens there can be only one result... higher prices.
So what happens to all the middle-class workers who lost their retirement benefits
and healthcare coverage when their factories were closed and relocated to a foreign
country? What happens to those who were forced to take low paying or minimum
wage jobs without benefits? How will they be able to pay for life-saving medical
procedures that cost far more than they could possibly afford?
We're beginning to see the answers already. People without insurance are being
turned away. Government healthcare plans are imposing limits on hospital stays.
Company provided healthcare benefits are being reduced to control costs and the
effects on individual patients are not positive.
12.
But what about Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, the "safety net" for
America's workers?
If you've been paying attention at all, you can probably see the writing on the wall.
While no politician wants to stand up and make the hard choices, hard choices will
have to be made to save the Social Security system, if it can be saved at all.
Don't believe it? Consider this one fact and you may change your mind.
A retiree's Social Security benefits are paid from the taxes of those who are still
working. That means the program's finances are based on the relationship between
the number of workers paying taxes and the number of retirees receiving benefits.
Back in 1950, as the Baby Boom was just getting started, each retiree's benefit was
divided among 16 workers. Today, that number has dropped to 3.3 workers per
retiree. By 2025, it will reach about 2 workers per retiree... and when that
happens each working married couple will have to pay for, in addition to their own
family's expenses, all of the Social Security retirement benefits for one retiree.
How well are you positioned to compete for limited healthcare services as you and
millions of other people get older and require a greater level of care?
Can you see how our aging population will impact you and your loved ones in the
years to come?
13.
Overview.
Now step back and look at all three of those trends together and try to imagine what
affect they'll have on you and your family as the coming years unfold.
If you're an employee... if you work for someone else and rely on a paycheck to
provide for your family... your way of life is in danger. Those jobs that globalization
can't touch directly will see wages fall as a result of more displaced workers who are
willing to work for less money.
At a particular freight-handling facility I'm familiar with, employees today earn $8
per hour (NOT enough to support a family) for the exact same job that paid $15 per
hour (barely enough to support a family) five years ago.
Would it surprise anyone to see those wages drop to $6 per hour five years from now
as more and more workers lose their jobs to globalization?
What can we expect when two or three or even four incomes are not enough to
provide the basic needs of a family?
And what kind of outlook is there for a decent retirement when there are only two
workers for every retired person... and those two workers are each making $7 per
hour with no benefits?
Can a society of "working poor" shoulder the burden of caring for the retirement of
the biggest generation in history?
Or more importantly... will YOUR family be able to survive the economic pressures
of globalization, polarization of the classes, and an aging population?
14.
If you consider yourself "middle class" today, where will YOU end up when the
middle class disappears?
Will you and your family be wealthy... or living in poverty?
Will your children or grandchildren struggle to learn in overcrowded, dilapidated
schools where apathetic teachers earning minimum wage spend most of their time
trying to prevent violence?
Or will they attend expensive private schools in bright, clean new classrooms where
well-paid, highly-qualified teachers have access to everything they need to make
learning fun and exciting?
Will your children or grandchildren be forced to wait for hours in some crowded
hospital waiting room as a never-ending stream of sick and injured people file in,
only to be turned away because you lack adequate healthcare benefits?
Or will they be instantly admitted into the best medical facilities and attended to by
the best doctors and staff available anywhere?
Will your family go to bed every night to the sounds of gunshots and sirens in some
housing project in a bad part of town?
Or will they wake each morning to the sounds of songbirds in a manicured garden
outside your mansion?
Will you languish in some government-sponsored nursing home where the
attendants earn minimum wage and residents routinely die from bedsores?
Or will you cherish your "Golden Years" as you travel and enjoy time with friends
and family?
The answers to those questions depend on what YOU do TODAY.
15.
Perhaps you think I'm being overly pessimistic.
I'm not.
In fact, I'm not nearly powerful enough as a writer to be able to portray the vast
physical, emotional, and psychological differences that will exist between a life of
poverty and a life of wealth in the next few decades and beyond.
And besides, those are all "money problems".
I'd like to share with you one of my favorite sayings...
"There are two kinds of problems...
those that money will solve
and those that money won't solve."
If I were to show you such a bleak future and not offer you a way to prepare yourself,
THAT would be pessimistic, but that's not the case.
The fact is, there ARE some things you can do to prepare for the future and protect
your family from a life of poverty.
Consider this...
"My will shall shape the future.
Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man's doing but my own.
I am the force; I can clear any obstacle before me
or I can be lost in the maze.
My choice; my responsibility;
win or lose, only I hold the key to my destiny."
Elaine Maxwell
16.
Read that again. Read it carefully again and again.
Because if you believe that, you have hope. If you truly believe that you have control
over your life, over your future, then all is NOT lost and you can begin today to mold
your future according to your will.
Once you have that concept chiseled into your consciousness and branded onto your
soul, you'll find yourself in a position to do whatever is necessary to secure your
future... YOUR future... the future YOU want... rather than settle for what's handed
you.
And you'll be ready to look at a few more trends...
17.
The Internet.
Do you realize that you're living at a time of incredible change and opportunity?
Change always brings opportunity and the Internet is responsible for some of the
most incredible changes in the history of mankind.
Perhaps you've heard the 21st Century referred to as "The Information Age".
Information has always played an important role in human history, so why is it that
information is just now moving to center stage?
Two reasons... computers and the Internet.
A computer is a powerful tool used to process information. If you unplug your
computer from the Internet, you can still use it as a word processor, as a calculator,
and to perform certain other programmable functions such as to balancing your
checkbook or cataloging your collection of baseball cards.
But when you connect your computer to the Internet, it becomes something very
different.
Just as your computer is a powerful tool used to process information, you can think
of the Internet as the world's MOST powerful tool to gather, organize, archive,
and distribute information.
The Internet... and the language of the Internet... enable millions upon millions of
computers to instantly communicate with each other without regard for such
physical barriers as mountain ranges, oceans, or vast distances.
That means that people can communicate freely without regard for barriers of
time and space.
The exact same technology that's fueling globalization is opening doors for you that
you may not even be aware of yet.
18.
To fully understand that potential, you must first realize that while the power of the
Internet comes from its ability to connect people and manage information, the value
of the Internet... the potential of the Internet... comes from the sheer number of
people connected to the Internet.
If the Internet was limited to just you and your neighbor, there wouldn't be much
value in it, would there? But with over a billion people connected to the Internet,
it becomes VERY valuable.
Not only that, but it's growing faster than anything in the history of mankind. Recent
studies indicate that the Internet is growing at the rate of 7 new users every second!
So... you have the most powerful tool ever invented and you can use that amazingly
powerful new tool to communicate and share information with over a billion people
all around the world.
The question is, what will you do with it?
19.
Network Marketing.
Whether you call it Network Marketing, MLM, or Direct Sales, a business model that
allows a person to start and run a business from home with very little start-up cost,
virtually no risk whatsoever, and huge income potential is just what you and millions
of other people need... now and in the coming years.
In one form or another, Network Marketing has been around for over 60 years. It's
withstood court challenges, charlatans, legitimate business failures, media bias, and
the test of time... to emerge as what could be the ONLY remaining option for the
average person to own, operate, build, and succeed in a business of his or her own.
For the vast majority of people, traditional "brick and mortar" businesses are simply
out of reach. Most people are not in a position to sign over their house as collateral
so they can borrow tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy or open a
business... and then walk away from a career and a retirement to work 20-hour days
in a business that may or may not succeed.
Network Marketing eliminates all the risks and pitfalls associated with traditional
businesses.
To start a Network Marketing business, you don't need a huge business loan, so you
don't have to risk losing your home.
You can keep your "day job" and build your business in your spare time.
Through sponsoring, you can leverage the time, efforts, and energies of many other
people to grow your business without the headaches and expense of hiring
employees.
Because you're able to keep your expenses very low and not give up your primary
income, any additional income from your Network Marketing business can be used
to pay off debts, fund special savings accounts (such as for education or retirement),
or re-invest to make your business grow even faster.
20.
These are just a few of the many reasons why Network Marketing has become so
popular with so many people just in the past few years.
And as Network Marketing becomes more popular among consumers, it also
becomes more popular with manufacturers.
If you still associate Network Marketing with little-known companies that only sell
household cleaners, vitamins, and make-up, you're in for a big surprise. Today
hundreds of major companies utilize the Network Marketing business model to
market many or even all of their products.
In fact, if we were to look at the Network Marketing trend it wouldn't be
unreasonable to predict a time in the not too distant future when dollars are taken
from advertising and instead funneled into pay plans designed to lure Network
Marketers and their groups to use and promote products as diverse as groceries,
home mortgages, insurance, travel, medicines, and many other products.
How would you like to get paid a small percentage every time anyone in your group
of thousands buys groceries, makes a house or insurance payment, takes a vacation,
fills a prescription, or makes some other normal, everyday purchase?

Loosing their jobs and defaulting on their motgages, automakers are struggling to find potential customers.

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 13:51:00 PDT

The big 3 auto makers are starting to realize that adjustments in their normal operating procedures need to be made in order to keep up with the declining economy. While many consumers are struggling with maintaining good credit due to things like loosing their jobs and defaulting on their mortgages, automakers are struggling to find potential customers.

But one automaker is paving the way towards building consumer confidence back up by creating ways for more people to purchase their vehicles. GMAC Financial Services LLC recently announced a plan to set aside $5 billion for consumer loans over the next 60 days. They also intend to start lending to consumers whose credit scores are below 620 again in the hopes of boosting sales and moving vehicles off of the dealer lots.

Back in October GMAC had announced that they would only be accepting applications to consumers whose credit score was 700 and above. Then after receiving $5 billion in emergency federal aid late last year they rolled their requirement down to 621 and above. But recently the number of applications for financing has decreased so low that they have again decided to extend their underwriting guidelines to make it easier for people with low credit scores to purchase a new vehicle.

Consumers who are thinking about purchasing a vehicle in the near future but are concerned about their credit should first determine what kind of credit they have and if they will be able to qualify for an auto loan

Live Like a Samurai.

noreply@blogger.com (iwayloan) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 13:13:00 PDT

Honesty and Justice:
Be acutely honest throughout your dealing with all people. Believe in justice, not from other people, but from yourself. To the true Samurai, there are no shades of gray in the question of honesty and justice. There is only right and wrong.

Polite Courtesy:
Samurai have no reason to be cruel. They do not need to prove their strength. A samurai is courteous even to his enemies. Without this outward show of respect, we are nothing more than animals. A Samurai is not only respected for his strength in battle, but also by his dealing with other men. The true strength of a Samurai becomes apparent during difficult times.

Heroic Courage:
Rise up above the masses of people who are afraid to act. Hiding like a turtle in a shell is not living at all. A samurai must have heroic courage. It is living life completely, fully, wonderfully. Heroic courage is not blind, It is intelligent and strong.

Honor:
A true Samurai has only one judge of honor, and this is himself. Decisions you make and how these decisions are carried out are a reflection of whom you truly are. You cannot hide from yourself.

Compassion:
Through intense training the Samurai becomes quick and strong, he is not as other men. He develops a power that must be used for the good of all. He has compassion. He helps his fellow man at every opportunity. If an opportunity does not arise, he goes out of his way to find one.

Complete Sincerity:
When a Samurai has said he will perform an action, it is as good as done. Nothing will stop him from completing what he has said he will do. He does not have to "give his word", he does not have to "promise", speaking and doing are the same action.

Duty and Loyalty:
For the samurai, having done some "things" or said some "things", he knows he owns that "thing". He is responsible for it, and all the consequences that follow. A Samurai is immensely loyal to those in his care, to those he is responsible for. He remains fiercely true.

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Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 PDT

Yoics, Internet access (almost) anything » Downloads Software windows » Yoics for Windows
Great tool for using your pc anywere when you dont have it.

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Links for 2008-07-10 [del.icio.us]

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT

How to Keep a Relationship
Erin and Sean
Information and Knowledge is Power
Sales and leadership help with continued education in credit restoration,financial knowledge
Taking Time Building Website ..No choice
Work in progress