Timing Is Everything When It Comes to Car Buying
Timing Is Everything When It Comes to Car BuyingYou’ve been eyeing that new car for some time now, and finally your budget gives you the green light to go for it. So should you rush right out to the dealerships in South Riding & Chantilly (20151, 20152, 20153)? Only if you want to pay more than you should.
That’s because finding the best car deal is affected by when you purchase. For the optimum bargaining position, the first thing you need to pay attention to is the time of the month. Both the dealership and its sales personnel have to meet monthly quotas. Shopping just before the month is about to end gives you more leverage because sales figures will soon be turned in for the month. A salesperson that has a slow month will be eager to make a deal to give those figures a last minute boost.
www.loudoun-insurance.comThe second time factor that affects the deal is the season of the year. In early fall, dealerships are anticipating receiving inventories of next year’s models. To make room, they put remaining inventories of the current year’s models on sale. Typically this means taking significant markdowns so they can move the merchandise, which means big savings for you. The other seasonal advantage comes at Christmas time when shoppers are busy buying gifts, not cars. The light showroom traffic makes salespersons anxious to close the deal with a serious shopper.
Even the weather comes into play when you are trying to negotiate. Bad weather is another time when a dealer’s showroom will be empty. That leaves more time for a salesperson to try and make you happy enough to leave the lot the proud owner of a new car.
www.south-riding-insurance.comOf course, timing alone isn’t enough to put you in the driver’s seat without spending a fortune. You also need to do your homework and research prices before you set foot on any showroom floor, many of which are located in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties (Chantilly, South Riding, Ashburn, Leesburg, Sterling, Aldie, Arcola (20107), Stone Ridge & Brambleton (20148)). The Internet is the best place to find the information you need. Call us at NOVA Insurance Group (
http://www.loudoun-insurance.com/ or
http://www.south-riding-insurance.com/) for competitive insurance premiums!
There are three web sites that you can use to research the dealer cost (invoice price), and the manufacturers suggested retail price (MSRP), or list price of the model you’re interested in:
1. Kelley Blue Book (
http://www.kbb.com/)
2. Edmunds (
http://www.edmunds.com/)
3. MSN Autos (
http://www.autos.msn.com/Default.aspx)
Always start your negotiations from the invoice price, not the MSRP.
You can also use Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds to find out what car buyers actually paid for the model in your region, based on your zip code, such as 20151, 20152, 20105, 20147 and 20148. When you are using these sites to research a car model, don’t forget to use the “incentives” tab to see if the manufacturer is offering purchasers any kind of rebate. You can also find a full list of rebates on MSN Autos by logging on to
http://autos.msn.com/home/rebates_all.aspx.
Labels: fairfax-auto-insurance, fairfax-car-insurance, loudoun-auto-insurance, loudoun-car-insurance, south-riding-auto-insurance, south-riding-car-insurance
Could Your Old Furnace Be Deadly?
Could Your Old Furnace Be Deadly?
An old furnace is like an old friend, and like an old friend; you know all of its quirks. You recognize that reassuring hum and know that means everything is running smoothly. You can just as easily detect the telltale sounds that something may be wrong. But problems with your furnace may not be as obvious as you might think. It could be sending up a little more than heat to permeate your home without your ever suspecting. That little "extra" might be a lethal dose of carbon monoxide. This could be happening in the older Chantilly (Fairfax County) or newer South Riding, Ashburn, Leesburg, and Brambleton (Loudoun County) properties.
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas, produced by incomplete burning of carbon-based fuels like oil. When it gets into the body, the carbon monoxide combines with chemicals in the blood and prevents the blood from delivering oxygen to cells, tissues and organs.
These body parts need oxygen to function; so prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide can cause serious health effects. After only a limited exposure, you and your family can get severe headaches, experience shortness of breath, become dizzy, mentally confused, nauseated, or feel faint. Long-term exposure can be fatal or at a minimum lead to chronic health problems. Since many of these symptoms are similar to those of the flu, you may not suspect that carbon monoxide poisoning is the cause.
What can you do to protect yourself? The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) urges consumers to have a professional inspection of all fuel-burning heating systems, including furnaces, boilers, fireplaces, water heaters, and space heaters. Your oil or gas supplier should perform this service on a yearly basis as part of your maintenance contract. If you do not have a maintenance contract, find a heating professional licensed to do this type inspection in your local telephone directory.
When they perform the inspection, ensure that they complete the following:
Check all furnace safety and operating controls for proper operation.
Check the vent for adequate draft.
Inspect combustion chambers and heat exchangers to see that they are functioning correctly.
Oil the motors, if applicable.
Inspect fan belts for wear and tension and replace them if necessary.
Examine the pilot light, if applicable.
Inspect furnace filters and change them as needed.
Check for leaks and repair them immediately.
The CPSC also recommends that the inspection include checking chimneys, flues and vents for leakage or blockage by debris, and to make sure that they are not loose or disconnected. Birds and other animals can build nests in chimneys resulting in blockages that cause deadly exhaust to enter your home.
To be safe, every home should have a carbon monoxide alarm in the hallway near bedrooms. The CPSC recommends that your alarm meet one of these standards: Canadian Standards Association 6.19-01, 2001; Underwriters Laboratories Inc. 2034, Second Edition, October 1998; or the International Approval Services 6-96, Second Edition, June 1, 1998. It's also a good idea to check the batteries in your alarm monthly and to replace them twice a year when you change your clocks in the spring and fall.
Labels: Ashburn homeowners insurance, Ashburn Property Insurance, Fairfax Homeowners insurance, Fairfax Property Insurance, South Riding homeowners insurance, South-Riding property insurance
Monitor Your Teens' Behavior When They're Behind the Wheel
Monitor Your Teens’ Behavior When They’re Behind the Wheel
Author Dorothy Parker once wrote: “The best way to keep children at home is to make the home atmosphere pleasant, and let the air out of the tires.” However, if you’re one of those people here in South Riding, (adjacent to Aldie, Arcola, Brambleton, Chantilly, Ashburn, Leesburg etc. in the counties of Loudoun & Fairfax) who insist on keeping your tires inflated, you’re probably going to have to let your teenagers borrow the car. (
http://www.south-riding-insurance.com/)
If the thought of your teen behind the wheel sends a little shiver down your spine, there are a few things you can do to relieve your uneasiness:
· Talk to your kids. Have an open and frank discussion with your teens to find out their attitudes about driving. Be sure you talk about the consequences of actions like speeding, or ignoring stop signs and stoplights. Establish ground rules, such as the number of people allowed in the car (keeping in mind any state laws about the number of unrelated teen passengers permitted in a car with a teen driver), where the car may be taken and how long your teenager is permitted to stay out with the car.
· Enroll in an emergency roadside service. Be sure that the motor club you belong to provides 24-hour emergency road service. That way, your teenager can call for help any time he or she needs it. You also can arrange with the motor club to provide service if your teen is riding in someone else’s car.
· Discuss the consequences of driving under the influence. Most parents want to believe that their teenager will never be foolish enough to drive while intoxicated. However, you need to be realistic and realize that no matter how levelheaded your teen may be, peers have a great influence. Your teen could be at a party and be coaxed into drinking alcohol. That’s why you should make it understood that driving after drinking is not acceptable, nor is it acceptable to get into a car with someone who has been drinking. Make sure you teen knows that he or she can call you at any time of the day or night, and that you will come to get them.
· Install a speed-monitoring device. This type of device is commonly referred to as a “governor.” Its purpose is to restrict fuel injection, which stops the car from being driven over a certain speed. A governor may help prevent your teenager from driving over the speed limit.
· Install a Global Positioning System (GPS). This device can help you keep track of where your teen is driving. You establish a radius of operation and the GPS will alert you if your teen has taken the car outside that radius. It also alerts you when your teenager is driving above the speed limit, or if the car is being kept out past curfew.
As your teen matures and gains experience behind the wheel, you can reconsider the need for some of these measures, such as the speed-monitoring device. In the meantime, you are helping your teen to develop safe driving habits, and giving yourself some peace of mind.
http://www.loudoun-insurance.com/Labels: Leesburg Auto Insurance, Leesburg Car Insurance, South Riding auto insurance, South Riding car insurance, Stone Ridge Auto Insurance, Stone Ridge Car Insurance
