Fast Cars Gear

Archive for September, 2011

Buying At Police Seized Car Auctions

Are you thinking about buying at a police seized car auction? This article is designed to provide you with the details on how police car auctions work and how they can get you the best deal on car. Specifics may vary from auction to auction; however the following information includes helpful and important guidelines from which everyone can benefit.

Police car auctions are one of the best places to pick up a used car. Many people think that the only vehicles available at police car auctions are actual police cars. Well they’re right but only partially! In addition to surplus vehicles that have been used by the local police department police car auctions may also feature cars that have been seized due to asset forfeiture.

Asset forfeiture is the confiscation of assets by the police department that have been associated with a crime. The assets can be vehicles real estate or currency. A federal law passed in 1986 encourages police agencies to seize assets as a way to deny drug traffickers their profits.

What does this mean for you? Well eventually these seized vehicles end up at a police seized car auction where you can pick up a nice used car for much less than you would a private party or a dealer! The auctioneer sells the car to the highest bidder and the proceeds go to the police agency.

Police seized auto auctions take place in cities across the United States. Some are held on a regular basis as big city police departments seize many vehicles; others are held less frequently in the case of smaller police agencies. In some states cities or counties will collect all police seized vehicles and have one large annual auction.

Regardless of the frequency of the police auto auction you can usually find the event in the local newspaper or published on an online auction site that works with the police departments in your area. The advertisement or listing will give the date time and place of the auction as well as a list of the cars that will be auctioned off. They may also give a date in which interested parties are invited to inspect the cars so that they can make decisions about what to buy and how much to spend.

Inspecting cars being sold at a police seized car auction is a must! Cars sold at police seized auctions are sold “AsIs” with no warranty or guarantee. In an “AsIs” auction there is no warranty on the merchandise and the bidder is responsible for removal from the auction location. This means that the bidder must rely on their own inspection and knowledge to make bidding decisions.

In addition even though the car was seized by a police department the original financing company may still have a lien on the car. When you buy a car at a police seized auction you may have to make arrangements to pay off the finance company. You can find out what the protocol is ahead of time by checking directly with the auction company.

If you’re in the market for a good deal on a used car it’s definitely worth your time to see what’s available at your next police seized car auction.

About the writer:  Deb Weidenhamer is President of Auction Systems the Southwest’s most active auction and appraisal company. Check out our website for the next scheduled police seized car auction or call 8008018880 for more information.

Toyota Prius Hybrid Overview

Any consumer looking to purchase a hybrid vehicle knows the name Toyota Prius Hybrid and knows that it is the foremost and oldest hybrid vehicle on the market. When I say old though I don’t mean decrepit. On the contrary this particular hybrid looks as sleek as the name sounds a futuristic look that is sleek and new. This particular hybrid was the first released to the public in 1997 and has remained one of the more distinctive wellknown hybrids. An initial look at the Prius shows the car’s unique upright headlights the interestingly functional and trendy bonnet and bumpers showing just how unique the vehicle is. Even if you were to completely ignore the unique look of the vehicle though no matter how headturning it may seem the Toyota Prius is still one of the absolutely most intriguing hybrid vehicles available now.

The very history of the Toyota Prius is quite interesting. In 1994 the concerns of environmentalists on fuel emissions and pollution led the Japanese Toyota Motor Corporation to develop a car that would be stylish sophisticated and also deal with these environmental concerns. The first and immediate plan from the manufacturing team at Toyota was that of a hybrid engine. Now while it was a noble endeavour the first hybrid engine had a slew of problems and so an additional three years were given so that the design could be approved for construction and later produced for the market.

It wouldn’t be until December of 1997 that the Prius Hybrid was ready for production and the vehicle premiered to a market that was desperately seeking an ecofriendly car. In fact the major issue of the Prius had previously been issues with the battery’s longevity and now that it had been solved the current Prius hybrid cars contain batteries that are able to last around seven to ten years. Unfortunately though the hope was that with hybrid cars the batteries would be able to last much longer than they currently can in order to make the vehicle as useful as possible.

In Japan the Toyota Prius took off as an immediate hit and that prompted the company to decide that marketing the hybrid in offshore markets would be much more profitable as countries especially the U.S. were looking for ecofriendly vehicles. The problem was that while the US market wanted these ecofriendly vehicles that had boosted car sales in Japan the general population was unaware of most of the benefits that the Prius could offer. As a result the car was resigned in 2004 and this gained interest from the US market. Technically using a marketing perspective the car was a financial success as well as leading the way for other hybrid vehicles.

In the creation of the Prius Toyota created its very own treasure trove an investment that would last the company. This hybrid was a breakthrough in automotive technology and because it was so successful in the US it set the bar that other hybrids have had to compete again even amongst other Toyotas. Considering the name itself Prius which is Latin for “going before” this car certainly is a true predecessor for all other hybrids and each one of them should seek to improve off of this vehicle.

About the writer:  You might check out the full Toyota Prius Hybrid review and discuss it in the hybrid car forums.

Petrol Prices Is Now Unaffordable

Today saving money is like searching for an honest person in a dishonest city. The price for everything has increased so much that it is very difficult to survive. The number of things that a certain amount of money can buy has reduced tremendously. What everyone feels today is that they go shopping with lots of money but return with almost nothing. It really is not easy for a middle class family to live in these days of inflation. Everyone is looking for options to save money. If people get even a small idea to save money they are sure to grab it.

We are talking about a new way to save money and that too in huge percentages. A new idea for saving money comes from a very common but useful source. If you are a car owner and bother about the rising prices of petrol or natural gas there is a new technology at hand. You are at the right place; there is a perfect solution to your problem. We offer a guide which gives you a solution. It describes a technology where your car can run on water instead of petrol or natural gas

The White House as usual has denied taking the responsibility of this. According to Bushs government the developing powerhouses India and China which are pressurizing international markets for more supplies of oil are driving up the prices and hence the decline in oil reserves in recent years has increased all the more.

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Nobel Laureate Joseph Stieglitz however argues with this as he feels that this pressure on oil supplies by nations like India and China though increasing steadily has not drastically affected oil prices. Rather the hike in oil prices comes out as more pronounced only after the Iraq War. So here crops up the debate on the appropriateness of the Iraq War again. Seems like Bush has to suffer hard times for the mistake that he made in Iraq. Another argument in Peaking of oil supplies. The economics behind this does indicate the possibility of rise in oil prices with simultaneous peak in world oil supplies. Existing oil field are approaching their peaks while future sources of oil are expensive to access. Moreover the number of such oil fields is fast declining. Natural calamities like Hurricane Katrina which supposedly destroyed 109 oil platforms in the Gulf of Texas according to US official figures is also no excuse. So everything boils down to the Iraq War. Statistics show that before the Iraq War in 2001Iraq was pumping 2.5 million barrels of oil per day.

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Before the war US vice president promised the world that Iraq would return to pumping 3 million barrels per day by 2003.This never happened and also by January 2006 it recovered up to 1 million barrels. So a loss of approximately 2 million barrels everyday is what the world has experienced. No other oil producing nations among the OPEC countries; has been able to compensate for the loss and Iraqs oil pipelines continue to diminish in number as Iraqi resistance continues to destroy them.

So the present conclusion is that the world is paying a heavy price for a mistake Bush and his decision makers made. Maybe its high time we start using the known alternative resources.

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About the writer:  To find out more about using water to run your car and get a free question and answer report please visit www.RunCarOnWater.com