The reasons for buying a used car keep piling on top of each other as if they’re trying to protect us from whatever is at the bottom of pile.  Well, something came out of the pile and it could make you sick… literally.  The highly coveted new car smell turns out to be an unpleasant concoction of chemicals such as arsenic, toluene, and formaldehyde that comes from the outgassing of materials used to make cars  - things you would never use at home to freshen up the smell of your bathroom.

Europe seems to be more progressive in this area, but Europe is working on an entirely different aspect - allergies to common materials.  Removing materials such as latex, chrome, and nickel is great for the allergy sensitive people, but why isn’t arsenic in this list?  Probably because we don’t talk about “arsenic allergies.”  After all, it’s a poison so I guess were all technically allergic to it. Right?

What about Toyota?  They are a progressive car manufacturer and have their environmentally friendly image to preserve.  Bill Kwong, Toyota’s Product Communications Manager, says they “strive” to meet Japans voluntary vehicle volatile organic chemical (VOC) standards set by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association by 2011.  It feels like lip service to me, but I will dedicate a blog to praising Toyota if they prove me wrong.

Max Gates, Chrysler’s Safety and Regulatory Communications Spokesperson, says the organizations that independently test cars are using, “scare tactics,” and making claims with, “no data to support any claims of risk.” Wow.  Where do I start?  First, it’s widely acknowledges by the car industry that chemicals gasses such as arsenic, toluene, and formaldehyde are in new cars.  Second, science has shown that these chemicals are harmful to our health.  Third, places like the Ecology Center have found new cars to be the, “most universally contaminated environment that we spend (our time) in.”  Does Chrysler want somebody sit in a car until they get sick to prove that it’s harmful?  Better yet, why doesn’t Chrysler spend $100K on an independent study and put this to rest ?  Lip service, lip service, lip service.

Used cars end up being a great way to reduce your exposure to the harmful chemicals in new cars.  Outgassing, a process where materials release toxic gas, is highest when the materials are new and go down significantly over time.  Buying a two year told car could be a very smart decision if you’re as concerned about these gasses as me.

Don’t be too pessimistic here.  Car manufacturers are really trying to remove these harmful gasses from new cars.  However, with car manufacturers across the globe having a hard time surviving, I’m betting that returning to profitability and developing new fuel efficient cars is a much, much, higher priority than removing chemicals from cars - especially since that most people don’t realize the smell is harmful.  Until I start seeing “Chemical Free” labels on new cars, I’ll stick to buying used cars and get my great deal through Carsala.

A friend of mine told me a story about a her mother buying a car years ago. It seems that one day in the early 1960’s, after her husband had gone out for a pack of cigarettes and never returned, she found herself a housewife with 2 small children, a house payment, no job and no car. This lady, who’s strength and polish can best be described by her parachuting at age 65 years later, picked up the phone, called every dealership in town until she found one who would meet her demands. She wasn’t trying to get a free car. All that she asked when she rang them was one simple favor:

“I have the cash to buy a car for X amount and if you will come pick me up at my house so that I can test drive a car that fits that price, I will buy the car from you.”

Believe it or not it took her about 6 dealerships before finally a nice Pontiac salesman agreed to her request. She got the car, got a job that eventually became a lifelong career and she became self sufficient enough to raise her 2 children without any assistance from her deadbeat husband.

Flash forward to 2009. At a time when the automotive industry is finding itself in a wee bit of a slump, along comes a study that reveals that car sales people may want your business but they aren’t diligent about following up with potential customers despite all of the advances made in car shopping, buying and selling (eg, the internet). Phone leads alone are considered to be the gravy of the business with high success rates and fast turn around but a lead provider and training resource for the car dealerships recently analyzed the results of 3,000 customers who placed phone calls into dealerships after seeing a car that they liked on dealership websites and found that 3/4s of all such potential calls from buyers are ignored, lost or not followed through. And email exchanges were even more likely to be lost.

Some of the findings:

• 72% of dealers did not ask for an appointment with the caller.
• 35% of dealers did not suggest alternatives if the caller’s first vehicle of interest was already sold.
• 24% of dealer voicemail systems were full or not functional, so the customer was unable leave a message.

What does this mean for buyers? Frustration. It means that after researching and finding a car that interests them, unless they walk onto the lot and do the dealership dance, they will just move along until they find a salesperson who will talk to them.

In walks Carsala.There are more fish in the sea of cars.

What most buyers forget quite quickly when they see “the car” (and they fall in love) is that cars are mass manufactured by model and trim every year and that with a good database of similar cars with similar mileage and features, so the object of their desire is obtainable. By knowing what car a buyer likes Carsala can usually find that car, negotiate a price 15% and often more off retail “value” and all a buyer has to do is sign the paperwork with the dealership. No messing around with false starts, unreturned phone calls or negotiating.

For dealers, Carsala is also good news. It means that they are being presented by solid leads who are not virtually kicking tires so the turn around from negotiation to close is fast.

I dunno but it just seems that with buyers getting frustrated with dealerships and dealers getting frustrated with buyers, Carsala is a mediator who can get every one to meet their goals.

So you’re interested in buying a fuel efficient car, but you don’t have $25 grand to throw down on a new Toyota Prius?  You probably also noticed that leasing is dead and great loans can be hard to find.  There’s good news for you.  First, buy a used car and if you’re not sure why, check out my Top 10 Reasons for Buying a Used Car.  Second, you don’t’ have to buy a hybrid to get really good gas mileage.  It’s a myth and it’s propagated by our local, state, and federal governments that do things like give out subsidies for hybrid vehicles or use taxpayer money to help car manufacturers develop hybrid technology.  What’s really important is fuel efficiency - hybrid or not.

To generate this list, Google Trends was used to figure out which high fuel efficiency cars are searched for the most frequently on the web.  Here are the results:

There are a few surprising things about this list:

• 7 out of 10 are foreign made
• Toyota snagged 3 spots on this top 10 list
• Chevrolet nabbed 2 spots on the list (who knew?)
• Chevrolet Volt would be #10, but it’s not in production until 2010
• The Geo Metro and the Geo Tracker came close to making it on this list even though they aren’t in production any longer
• Dodge, Hyundai, Isuzu, Kia, Mazda, Pontiac, Saturn, Scion, Subaru, and Volkswagen should all have something on this list, but none of their cars came even close due to either a low search volume or the complete lack of a high fuel efficiency car

Now that you’ve seen the list, go out and get the high gas mileage car of your choice and make sure you buy one that’s two years old so that you’re getting the best deal, being environmentally friendly, and saving a TON of money using Carsala!

A recent survey from the Insurance Research Counsel states that hundreds of thousands of driver have let their insurance lapse because of financial hard times. As the jobless rates climb, so will the number of people choosing to go uninsured. The story is the same, “which bill do I pay the insurance or the electric?”

The trend is bad news for everybody on the road. If you’re hit by an uninsured motorist, you may have to sue to recover costs, and many uninsured motorists have few assets. You can protect yourself by carrying uninsured-motorist coverage — almost half of states require the added coverage — but this may boost your premium.

Many of the people on the road are either uninsured or underinsured, and so you have to protect yourself. Your odds of being in an accident with an uninsured driver are substantial.

One of my clients had a down turn in his business and reduced his coverage to a bare minimum to save costs. Against my advice, he cancelled all coverages except liability. As you can probably guess, he was hit by an uninsured driver, who then fled the scene. In tough economic times, he now has substantial damage (in excess of $10,000) that he has to pay. To make matters worse, he was injured.

Motorists driving without insurance also face risks. If you are found at fault for the accident and a judgment is awarded, a court could order liens on you assets. If you don’t have attachable assets, you could be set up on a court ordered “payment plan.” Also, driving without insurance is illegal in 48 states and the District of Columbia.

It’s an ugly situation, so before you decide to let all you policies lapse, talk to you agent. There are often things that can be done to ease the financial pressure without sacrificing your long term financial future.

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Jim Seilsopour

Jim Seilsopour is an insurance agent and seasoned author in Long Beach, California. As an avid triathlete he loves his Honda Fit because he can fit his bike in it and get great MPG.

When I’m not writing a post, I am often working to keep my neighborhood a great place to live.  Good schools, safe streets, non-invasive businesses, and minimal traffic are all important.

The problem with traffic is that there really aren’t that many good options.  Stop signs and speed bumps slow people down, but that also means increased noise from cars speeding up and slowing down.  You really can’t win…. UNTIL NOW.

Enjoy the following clip about how to slow down neighborhood traffic and be sure to let me know when you implement this creative solution in your own city!