Free Car Reports

There are some things in life that are fun, yet stressful at the same time. One of these is purchasing a car. After all, you know this is a major acquisition, and you certainly do not want to mess it up. This means you need to have a set budget when you get started. How much can you actually afford? Well, if you are like most of us, you cannot purchase the car, truck, minivan or SUV outright. You have to make arrangements in order to make payments. Typically most car dealerships will assist you with financing. You can get idea of what the payment will be by taking a glance at the overall price. Typically you can figure on paying $100 a month for each $5,000 the car costs. So if your car costs $50,000, then expect to have a $1,000 a month car payment.

What about free car reports? This is always something to consider when acquiring a new motor vehicle. After all, you must know in detail what you are buy, hence what you are getting yourself into. It makes absolutely no sense to buy a car, pick-up or SUV without getting free car reports first. These typically apply to used vehicles, but you can get plenty of specs on new cars as well. This way you will find out if anything was recalled, or if there have been any specific warnings regarding the vehicle. The more you know, the better and safer it will be.

A few websites that can assist you with free car reports are USAA.com/AutoCircle, kbb.com, and carfax.com. More than likely you have seen Car Fax advertised on television at some point or another. This company advertises all the time nowadays. What these free car reports provide are details about each vehicle individually. This means if you are looking to buy a used Mazda Miata, then you find one at a local dealer for a good rate, you can request a free car report on that specific automobile. It will tell you everything about the car, including whether or not it has been in any accidents or had any recent repairs. These are things you need to know.

In this day and age, it makes no sense to buy a car without getting free car reports beforehand. You could be purchasing a total lemon, and not even know it. This would be horrible. After all, no one wants to spend their hard-earned cash on a vehicle that is damaged or not worth anything. Use the websites provided to check out free car reports at any time. Often dealerships will provide you with these reports if you ask for them outright. You must remember that you are likely going to have a whole new car payment, which can really add up. It would be horrible to purchase a junky vehicle, and still have to make monthly payments on it!

Consumer Reports Says Toyota, Honda Dominate Top Picks

Jui Chakravorty, writing for Reuters, reported that the Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Japan's top automakers, are dominating the influential list of the 10 best new vehicles for 2007. According to Consumer Reports magazine, which has released its top picks for new cars based on its own testing, the named Japanese automakers have several models in the lead.

For the second time in the 10-year history of the list, Consumer Reports' top picks were all Japanese. In addition, 55 of the 59 used car models recommended by the magazine were Japanese. The recommend car models' list is again dominated by Toyota and Honda units.

Detroit automakers - General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group - are all in the process of recuperation. They are currently implementing their turnaround plan to improve their ailing condition in the auto realm. Their recovery plan include the slashing of jobs, cessation of plant production, factory closures and producing stunning cars to cope with the reported distressing losses and to embrace the industry's limelight once again. Analysts said GM, Ford and Daimler will report lower monthly sales for February.

Compared to other automakers, Toyota has become a fast-growing competitor in the industry. The fact that it has surpassed Chrysler and Ford made it more promising than ever. As a fact, critics say that Toyota has the potentials to make it as the world's largest automaker anytime this year. Toyota also led the Consumer Reports top picks for 2007 and the results were actually published in the annual edition of the nonprofit magazine. The magazine did mention that the previously mentioned car maker had four vehicles in the list which were then followed by three more from smaller rival Honda.

Consumer Reports announced that Nissan's Infiniti luxury brand scored with two sedans - the M35 and G35. Mazda Motor Co.'s sporty MX-5 Miata convertible won a mention as most fun to drive. Toyota's RAV4 and Highlander Hybrid were named the best small and mid-sized sport utility vehicles. Consumer Reports also honored the Toyota Sienna as best minivan and Toyota's hybrid Prius as best "green" car for the fourth consecutive year. Honda's Civic and Accord won mention as the best sedans, while Honda's subcompact Fit was named best budget car.

"Today, vehicles have to do everything. The consumer is not willing to put up with crap anymore," said David Champion, the senior director of auto testing for Consumer Reports. "They want to have blistering performance, great fuel economy... They want it all." Toyota is famed for its quality auto parts and car technology especially its expertise in the hybrid auto production. Excellent parts like Active Brakes Direct, engines, and suspensions are just few of the things that make the automaker stand out.

Among the used cars recommended by Consumer Reports, only four models came from Detroit including three by GM -- the Buick Regal, Chevrolet Prizm and Pontiac Vibe. Ford was represented only by the Lincoln Town Car on the list of recommended used cars.

Toyota also won praise for the "nimble handling" and "comfortable ride" of its redesigned Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan, which made the list of the Consumer Reports' most impressive new models.

The Chrysler Group, on the other hand, was stripped entirely of the top honors, and Consumer Reports put four of its new vehicles - the Jeep Compass, Dodge Caliber, Dodge Nitro and Chrysler Sebring - on its list of most disappointing debuts. The automaker also had the lowest average test score of any of the major auto manufacturers based on the evaluation of the magazine's editors. Further, Daimler was also stripped with recommendations for its luxury Mercedes-Benz brand. "Most Mercedes vehicles have good ride and handling, and the company is a safety leader. But all have poor reliability," the magazine said.

Part Two: Consumer Reports List of Used Cars To Buy

This is the second part of the Consumer Reports Used Car Guide. In this article I am going to reveal the used cars that are GOOD BUYS. These reliable models have consistently performed well and above average in the COnsumer Reports road test over the past several years. These cars have many years of better-than-average Used Car Verdicts, with fewer problems than most models each year.

Here is the list of used cars that are CR GOOD BETS TO BUY

Acura Integra Acura MDX Acura RL Acura RSX Acura TL Acura TSX Buick Regal Chevrolet Prizm Honda Accord Honda Civic Honda Civic Hybrid Honda CR-V Honda Element Honda Odyssey Honda Pilot

Honda Prelude Honda S2000 Infiniti FX Infiniti G20 Infiniti G35 Infiniti I30, I35 Infiniti QX4 Lexus ES Lexus GS Lexus GX Lexus IS Lexus LS Lexus RX Lexus SC Lincoln Town Car

Mazda Millenia Mazda MX-5 Miata Mazda Protegé Mazda3 Nissan Altima Nissan Maxima Nissan Pathfinder Pontiac Vibe Scion xB Subaru Forester Subaru Impreza Subaru Impreza WRX/WRX STi Subaru Legacy Subaru Outback Toyota 4Runner Toyota Avalon Toyota Camry Toyota Camry Solara Toyota Celica Toyota Corolla Toyota Echo Toyota Highlander Toyota Land Cruiser Toyota Matrix Toyota Prius Toyota RAV4 Toyota Sequoia Toyota Sienna Toyota Tundra

Too many times, consumers don't understand the details of the cars they are buying, so I hope from this list readers can make an educated buying decision on their next purchase. Consumer Reports hands down has the most independent and expert reviews of automobiles, as it compares and rates cars in road tests, predicted reliability, owner satisfaction, safety and fuel economy. When choosing to buy a car and before visiting a dealer, make sure to read as much as possible.