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Tires-Tire treads wear evenly. If the tread on one of the tires is worse than the others, it indicates that the car is out of alignment in some respect, or in need of adjustments or parts.

Headlights- Do the headlights match? By this I mean is one of them yellow or pointing in the wrong direction? This could give you a clue that the car was hit on one side.

Interior – Are there little holes in the cloth upholstery on the door or seat? They are most likely cigarette burns. In a leather interior car, look at the head liner, if the color is faded or stained, it was a smoker’s car.

Inspection – When does the inspection expire? If it was just recently inspected, the car passed the states requirements for safety and emissions. A car with an expired inspection means it either failed last inspection or was never put through. It may cost an awful lot of money to make it pass.

Oil – Check the oil level and color. It should be in the full range and the color should be a transparent golden brown..

Power windows and Locks – Check to make sure they work

Keys - Make sure master key fits in both the door lock and ignition. If they don’t work in both, it could mean the steering column was replaced.

Windshield – Are there cracks or chips in it? If they are small, they could get bigger and you will need a new windshield.

CarFax – It is an independent company that details the history of the owners, inspection records and accident reports on the car.

Warranties – What does the warranty cover? More importantly, what doesn’t it cover?

Test drive – Do you fit in it? Does the seat adjust to your comfort? Can you see over the hood?

These are a few or the things to look at when you are looking for a used car. Do these things on a used car lot and the dealer will think you know exactly what is going on, even if you don’t. While you are at it, go ahead and kick a tire or two.

Not many people have sufficient on-hand resources to pay cash for a new/used car purchase. Most people HAVE to finance at least a major portion (about 80%) of any such acquisition. Most people just assume that financing through the car dealership is the simplest, easiest and most convenient way to go—and most people pay more than they need to because of that assumption!

Car dealerships rarely provide direct financing; i.e., they “partner” with a lending institution which provides funding to “qualified” buyers who apply for loans at car dealership offices. The lending institution accepts all the involved risk, while in most cases the dealerships accept a flat fee commission, a percentage of the total loan, and/or a bonus for each loan placement from their lending “partner.” This cost is paid for by the buyer through a higher loan rate. It might be simpler and easier to file for a loan at the car dealership, but please don’t assume that it doesn’t cost you for that convenience. In a small number of case, like at ThatsMyNewCar.com, financing is provided, however the dealer does not receive any fee, percentage or bonus for placing the loan. The service is provided to make the car buying experience better and more convenient for the customer.

Banks and credit unions offer direct financing to car buyers, usually at rates better than those they can offer through any “partner” car dealerships—this is because they have no fees to pay for a middleman. Deal directly with a lending institution and you can save money on your new/used car purchase. If you have a savings/checking account with a bank or credit union, they are much more likely to provide you with a car loan than any lending institution for which you are not already a customer, and you’re more likely to get a better rate or more convenient terms (or both) from them too. Most even offer lower rates if you agree to have payments automatically deducted from your account—no checks to write, no envelopes to address, and no stamps to send them in. Now that is a convenience which not only doesn’t cost you anything, it usually saves both time and money!

Try to have your financing issues addressed before you even go to a car dealership. Banks and credit unions will help you determine how much you can afford to pay, which should provide more confidence and less anxiety for when you actually go to a dealership. With loan approval issues already addressed before you set foot on a lot, if you see one that just screams “That’s My New Car” to you, you’ll be in a position to close the deal right then and there, and to drive it home without further delay. Now that could be a convenience derived from adequate preparation and forethought!

The first time I went on a big car lot to buy a car, was with my girlfriend at the time (now my wife). The salesperson met us outside our car as if he was going to valet it. I asked him if I could park there, and he responded jokingly “only if I wanted to buy a car”. He immediately asked what kind of car I was looking for. My response was, “the car is for her, she is making the decision”. I mistakenly thought that was direct and sufficient enough, but apparently I was wrong. The next few questions were directed at me, as if he hadn’t heard my response to the first question. To which I answered “the car is for her, she is making the decision”, about six times I think. I thought maybe he was hard of hearing, but after hanging out for a few minutes with him, I found that wasn’t the case. She finally settled on a car in the price range she was looking for and he ran to get the keys, which of course he handed to me. I got in to drive, the salesman sat in the passenger seat and my girlfriend sat in the back. He was asking me about the power, the torque, and the handling. About a ½ mile down the road, I pulled over to let her drive. The salesman nearly had a heart attack when I got out. “I told you a number of times that the car was for her, I am letting the decision maker drive, so she can make her decision” I told him. I was expecting the same question about the power and torque directed to her, but they never came, just questions about the fabric interior and the color of the car. It was as if he took a sales course about generalizing what each gender wants in a car. When we got back to the car lot, we followed him inside to work out the numbers and financing. Then the games started. We were young, but not stupid. He was writing numbers all over the place on a sheet of paper that he folded in fours. He wanted to know a payment I was comfortable with. I just pointed at my girlfriend. She answered $200, to which he responded “$200 up to what”. “201” I remember her saying, I knew there was a reason I liked her. For the next 20 minutes, we were being manipulated into thinking that the car we drove may not be there tomorrow, and her payment of $223/mo. with what I thought was a sizable down payment, would get her the car tonight. Unlike most car buyers, she was not an emotional buyer. She decided the monthly payment was too much higher than her budget, and said “no thank you”. We got up to leave and the look on his face was as if we just punched him in the stomach. He had one last ditched effort to keep us as clients. When that was rebuked, he blocked the door and said, “When you come back to buy this car, ask for me, because I don’t do this for fun, I do this to feed my family”. I hope his family can start garden, because the whole experience made us want to go home and shower and not deal with people like that anymore. If you ask any woman who has gone on a lot herself, you will be amazed at the comments they get. This one took the cake: “Did your husband give you his wallet to shop for a car tonight?” The reason I am now a used car salesman, is because there is nobody else stepping up and treating people like they should be treated when buying a car. There is way to many games and manipulations going on and people are buying cars for way too much with financing that is burring them, because some unscrupulous car dealer tricked them into it.

This was the era of Smokey and the Bandit movies. Good oleboy Burt Reynolds drove a black Trans Am in the movie andeveryone and his uncle all of a sudden wanted one. Ofcourse, by that time the ones they were selling were watereddown versions with no where near the power of the originalones.

Since we're not sure of the statute of limitations, let'sjust say that any stories are assumed to start "Once Upon ATime".

One of our favorite stories is when we were getting ontoSunrise Highway late one evening and a Camaro rolled up nextto us and started revving his engine, well you can imaginethe rest. Here was a poor soul who had not a clue of whatwas in store. Since we do not believe in street racing, itwas a good thing we were both going onto the entrance ramp.Once we were satisfied that no one was on the parkway atthat time of night, we let the Beast Out To Play. We neverdid see any more then his fading headlights.

One of the funniest moments was when we lived in upstate NYand my husband went to the store to pick something up andthis guy in a Mustang 2 pulled up next to him and my husbandhad some fun (hey, we are all entitled sometimes). As Chucktells it: You see at that time a local car dealer wasrunning a TV spot featuring a Mustang 2 just destroying aTrans Am. So this gentleman pulls up next to me, gunning hisengine for all he's worth. The light changes, he chirps histires and flashes me a big grin as he takes off. Well, Iidle away from the light, give it just enough gas in firstto pull even with him, then drop the hammer, lighting upboth tires, throw second, light them up again and then easeoff. Drive down the road to the store.

When I come out of the store this guy has finally got thereand is waiting for me and says,"but the commercial saysMustangs will beat the pants off the Trans Am." I veryblithely replied, "Not this Trans Am!"

They don't make them like this anymore. It's sad when youthink about it! Those of us who lived and grew up in the eraof the muscle cars, street rods, Saturday night cruisenights were very, very lucky. I feel sorry for the youth oftoday that they missed out on all of this.

So what happened to that great 455 Trans Am, unfortunatelythe harsh upstate NY winters aren't kind to cars and rusttook the Trans Am from us. However, we did replace it - witha customized 1973 Vette, which we drove cross country toCalifornia, but that's a whole nother story!

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In fact, during the era I grew up in women were looked uponin a very different light. If you deviated from the norm youwere labeled as a "tomboy". However, there were many, likemyself who loved to drive, work on cars and got a lot ofsatisfaction in doing so. Just because we did however,didn't mean we weren't women, girls, ladies, whatever youwish to be called.

Many of us so called "tomboys" were the product of beingfirst born girls with dads who wanted the prodigal sonfirst, but got a daughter instead. My dad and I watchedsports together, baseball, football, basketball. In fact, mydad was the neighborhood dad (those who grew up when I didwill understand) and played with all the kids in theneighborhood. We would have touch football games, kickball,baseball, t-ball and even badminton and volleyball games.

I developed an avid interest in cars, because my dad workedfor Rolls Royce and was always bringing some great carshome. He brought home Joe Namath's Jaguar, a Silver CloudRolls Royce (owned by one of the builders in the area I grewup) . In fact I got to drive it, which was a thrill to saythe least.

Cars had character back then, you could tell them apart.While my dad for years drove a Ford Station wagon (forbusiness), he also owned Dodge's and some Chevy's. My motherloved the Mustang and got one in 1965. I liked them bigger,so my first car was a 1962 Chevy Belair (2 door). Inicknamed her "The Black Beauty" she was a great car.

My dad showed me how to change my oil and filter, and totake care of my car. We also worked on the brakes and muchmore together. I would spend a whole day, cleaning, washingand waxing that car. It was the perfect car for my "leadfoot". I can't count the number of cars that would pull upnext to me, and reeve up their engines thinking "It's agirl, she'll never beat me off the line"! Well, how wrongthey were. I can count on one hand those that took me offthe line!

I hung around with a group of friends, mostly guys, but somegirls also. The cars were varied, Mustangs, Vettes,Chargers, Chevelle's and a multitude of street cars. We allloved cars and driving them, and especially driving them totheir limits. Which we did! Did us girls always beat theguys, nah, but it was sure fun when we did!

So remember, next time you come up next to a lady driver,"Girls like them Fast and Furious Too!

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Like many of my generation, we normally got cars for ourgraduation. I was lucky, as my dad worked for Rolls Royceand the head mechanic there, Johnny T was selling thisfantastic car. Now this wasn't just any 1962 Chevy Belair.Since Johnny T was an avid fisherman and didn't want to ruinthe upholstery he covered the cloth upholstery with a bluevinyl one. Johnny also put in all the instrumentation neededon the inside of the car, oil and temp gauge, and tach. Healso installed a blinker system, so the blinkers were on thehood. The final coupe de grace was putting Rolls Royce seatbelts in the car. Since Johnny was a great mechanic and ofcourse, did all his own work, when he sold us the car heincluded extra tires and all the materials to keep thebrakes up to par for many years to come.

I can remember my first drive in the car. I pulled out of mydrive way and drove over to the park a couple blocks away,too, of course, show it off to all my friends.

I cleaned the Black Beauty every weekend from top to bottom.My Saturday morning ritual was cleaning the inside, and thenwashing it. I waxed it once a month. My dad went and got mea 8 track cassette for it (yes, I know I just dated myself;for those of you who don't know what an 8 track is, think CDplayer of today)! Unfortunately my poor baby was broken intoa couple oftimes when they stole my 8 track and some verynasty person slit the front seat. Bad enough they took my 8track and tapes, the least they could have done is left theseat alone. So, yes there were bad eggs around then too!

Whenever we had to make a trip into the city (New York thatis), my father made me drive while he sat in the back seat.It had a amazingly comfortable ride, even with all the potholes on the Long Island Expressway! In addition to drivesinto the city, I had loads of fun in the Black Beauty withmy friends.

Unfortunately I had to sell the "Black Beauty" when myhusband and I went off to graduate school. However, don'tfeel too bad, we had replaced it with a 1976 Pontiac TransAm, yep, the last of the big 455's. Plus we had the engineblue printed, balanced and a whole lot more, so it reallyhauled a**!

We sold the Black Beauty to a neighbor, who took out thevinyl seats and lo and behold the cloth ones were inexcellent condition. He eventually sold it to his brother inBrooklyn, who while driving one day went to step on thebrake pedal and his foot went through the floor.Unfortunately the harsh NY winters aren't kind to cars!

I think many of us wax sentimental when we think of ourfirst car, I know I do! Luckily , I still have my picturesand some very great memories of my "Black Beauty"!

Drive On!

DeFiore Enterprises, Copyright 2005