Review Our Dealership!

The internet has changed consumer shopping in so many ways. It has given consumers more information which is great! It is so easy to find what you want. One thing I personally do before I buy anything online is look at reviews of the product/service. Now the reviews will easy to find.

We are very excited to announce that customers will now be able to review us on Cars.com! We are in the process of getting set up for it so hopefully within the next week customers will be able to click on the link below, find us, and review us!

http://www.cars.com/dealers/reviews/

Of course there are other sites you can review us and other dealers. Check out our Google business page and Dealer Rater.

www.google.com Search for “Custom Car Care Decatur”. Below the map it says “Write a review” click on that.

http://www.dealerrater.com/dealer/Custom-Car-Care-review-3896/

We believe that this will make the shopping experience better and hope that customers feel the same way. We encourage all of our customers to review us on these sites. The more reviews the better.

Saving Fuel Part 3

Gas prices only continue to climb. As they do we try to provide you with as much useful information as possible. These tips have more to do with saving money than with actual miles per gallon but saving money is the goal in the end.

- Oil companies will lower fuel prices if people boycott gas stations for a day

False. This is a popular chain letter and there are a lot of Facebook groups requesting that people boycott gas stations on a certain day. The reality is that they don’t work. We would have to stop driving all together for gas prices to fall.

- Trading in your gas-guzzler for a fuel-efficient car makes economic sense.

Depends on your situation. If you still owe money on your gas guzzler it probably won’t make good economic sense to add to your debt total. The most you will probably save is a couple thousands dollars a year and that is if you go from a gas-guzzler like a Chevrolet Suburban to a Toyota Prius. You should take fuel economy into consideration when car shopping but you shouldn’t look to buy a more fuel efficient car every time gas prices rise.

- Paying cash at the pump saves you money

True. Remember that it costs the stations when you pay with a credit card. Sometimes you can get as much as 5 cents off per gallon.

- Premium grade gasoline is better than regular gasoline.

False. Premium usually costs about 30 cents per gallon more than regular gasoline. If your owner’s manual doesn’t require it than don’t use it. It will not improve your fuel economy.

Hybrid Cars: Are They Worth It?

With gas prices rising people are looking for vehicles that have good fuel economy. This has many thinking about hybrid cars. Are hybrid cars really a good investment though?

A lot of people think so but often times that is not true. I was reading about a recent study that Car Gurus did on the break even point for hybrid vehicles. On average hybrid cars cost 17% more than non hybrid cars. So how high does gas have to go before you break even on a hybrid car? $3 per gallon? $4? $5? $6? Try $7 per gallon.

$7 per gallon is just the average. So some, like the Ford Escape hybrid, break even at $2.50 per gallon, while others, like the Cadillac Escalade hybrid, require you paying $15 per gallon before you break even.

The rising gas prices mean that the demand for fuel efficient cars is going up, especially hybrids. The high demand means the cost to buy these cars increases. Most people are better off buying a non hybrid car that is still fuel efficient. Good examples are the Ford Fusion, Ford Escape, Chevrolet Equinox, and Pontiac Vibe.

Do some research before you spend the extra money on a hybrid. Sometimes they make good financial sense but not always. We listed some good websites below.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ This site lists the government's offical MPG rating for all vehicles. 

http://www.nadaguides.com/ http://www.kbb.com/ They can give you a rough idea of what a vehicle's value is.