Pennsylvania Auto Dealers

The “cash for clunkers” program, which began on Friday, offers owners of older, less efficient vehicles a voucher for trading their cars in for a more efficient one. According to some studies conducted, the Toyota Prius offers the best savings for your money.

The researchers at Cars.com released a list of cars, trucks, crossovers and minivans that offer the biggest incentives for participating in the “cash for clunkers” program. However, knowing how you can get the best deal and actually qualifying for it are two separate things.

The MSRP for the 2010 Toyota Prius starts at about $22,000. The buyer receives a voucher for a maximum of $4,500 to invest in the hybrid vehicle. That means the customer will pay about $17,500. That’s a pretty good deal!

With a bargain like this, you would be amiss to not take the opportunity to get a better car with much of it funded by the federal government. Your Doylestown area Toyota dealer is available to help you understand the “cash for clunkers” program and help you find the best deal for your trade-in. Visit us today and let us put you in a new fuel-efficient vehicle that qualifies for the vouchers from the federal government.

The “cash for clunkers” program, or Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), is full of stipulations and regulations. That’s why so many buyers are confused. On Wednesday, we started discussing some of the rules of the program. Today we are giving your more facts about the CARS program.

• The bigger mileage difference between the trade-in and the car you are purchasing determines the amount of the voucher you will receive. For instance, if your trade-in gets 18 mpg and the one you purchase gets 22 mpg combined, you should receive a $3,500 voucher.
• You will not see the money from the voucher. It merely comes off the bottom line of the purchase price. The dealer gets the actual money.
• The program only runs until November 1 or until one million cars are sold using the vouchers. Once it expires, Congress will revisit it and see if it should be renewed. However, there would probably be some changes at that time.
• You cannot use the vouchers toward the purchase of a used vehicle.
• Evaluate how much your vehicle is worth before turning it in for a new one with the voucher. You may be losing money and it may not be feasible to turn your car in at this time.

If you still have questions, your Philadelphia area VW dealer can help answer some of them. Visit a dealer today!

Since the new “cash for clunkers” program took effect on Friday, it seems like there is a lot of confusion about how it actually works. Your New Jersey dealers would like to clear up some confusion with some facts about the federal program and how it can benefit you.

• First of all, there is only one credit available per person. If you were thinking of getting rich off of this idea, think again.
• The vehicle you are trading in for your voucher must be registered and insured in your name for one year prior to bringing it in.
• Your trade-in must be driveable. There are several stipulations that constitute driveable, but your dealer can help you determine that.
• The suggested retail price of the new car you are buying must be no higher than $45,000. This price is the base price, so the price can be higher when adding accessories, dealer fees and other charges.
• The new car can be a lease as long as the contract is for at least five years. However, the agreement incorporates a balloon payment at any time during the five years if the vehicle ceases to meet the basic requirements.

Those are just a few facts about the cash for clunkers program. Come back on Friday for more about this confusing yet beneficial program. Until then, you can visit your Trenton area VW dealer and start shopping for your new car today!

If you live or work in Manhattan, you may have noticed a bunch of huge plastic flowers popping up all over the place. That’s because Toyota is using them as a way to promote the newest generation of the Prius hybrid.

The new promotion, entitled “Harmony between man, nature and machine,” involves a large number of 18-foot-high plastic flowers with solar power and Wi-Fi capabilities built in. That means passersby can simply stop and sit down on the bench at the base of the flower and charge their cell phone, laptop computer or other device. They can even get online in the middle of Manhattan for free!

The promotion is designed to bring attention to the solar powered technology used in the Prius that helps ventilate the inside and keep it cool even when parked in the sun. A press release for the campaign had this to say about the promotion: “This fully integrated marketing effort explains how consumers can get virtually everything they want for themselves in a car – advanced technology, extra power, space, safety and 50 miles per gallon – all while providing what nature craves most: fewer smot-forming emissions.”

Visit your Conshohocken area Toyota dealer and check out the new 2010 Prius and all it has to offer. You’ll see how man, nature and machine truly can live together in harmony.

So you have just left your Allentown area VW dealer with a new or certified used car but now you are unsure about choosing an auto insurance company. They’re all the same, right? Wrong. Auto insurance companies are very different in how they treat their customers and even their prices. Your VW dealer would like to offer some tips so you can choose the best car insurance company for your needs.

• Visit local agents in person. You can get a great impression of how the company’s agents are going to treat you by visiting in person rather than calling on the phone. Do they offer refreshments? Do they treat you like a customer or a bother? Do they take their time with you?
• Notice their hours of operation. Will the company be available if you need them at 3:00 a.m. or do they turn their phones off at 5:00 p.m.? Do they have a 24-hour hotline? Do they keep weekend hours so you can visit when you are not working?
• Research companies online. These days you can find what other customers say about their auto insurer. Do this homework to see how many complaints and how many praises your potential companies are receiving.

These are just a few things you can do to find the best auto insurer for your specific needs. Visit your VW dealer for more suggestions on your auto insurance and local companies.

Have you ever received a ticket in the mail from a traffic offense that occurred days or even weeks ago? If so, you probably got frustrated and cursed out the technology that many cities use known as traffic cameras. While these cameras may have a purpose, few people like them and many people even question their validity.

An article in a Chicago, Illinois website – ChicagoNow.com – seeks to educate drivers about the many facets of a traffic camera. Here are some of the highlights from that article.

• Many cities have online databases that you can access so you can pinpoint which intersections actually have these red light cameras. However, they are rarely updated so you might not always get the most accurate information.
• When you see a sign in a town with a picture of a traffic light and the words “Photo Enforced” underneath, be careful. This is a blaring warning that the town has traffic cameras at intersections.
• To be safe, just assume that all intersections have traffic cameras mounted somewhere. You should be driving safely anyways rather than speeding through red lights.

Your Glenside area Toyota dealers just want you to stay safe. Paying attention to the traffic lights and stopping when you are supposed to are just two of those ways you can avoid tickets and getting into accidents.

With banks and financial institutions becoming more and more stringent with their lending, some car buyers are having trouble qualifying for an auto loan. But your Philadelphia area VW dealer wants you to qualify so you can come to us and get a deal on a new or certified used car. Here are some tips to help you clean up your credit so you have a better chance of getting financing at your VW dealer.

• Start now! The best thing you can do to qualify for an auto loan is to start working on your credit now. Start paying your credit card bills and other bills on time and stop charging immediately. Within a few months, you will become a more attractive risk to lenders.
• Choose a car that you can afford. Don’t just get a car that is the maximum limit of your price range. Find one more modest and less expensive so you will have no problem at all paying the payments if you run into some minor financial trouble.
• Save up a huge down payment. The larger down payment you have for your new car, the better your chances of being approved. Twenty percent is a good number, but the more you can bring to the bargaining table with you, the better loan and interest rate you will get.

Once you have these three steps completed, visit your local VW dealer and check out the inventory. You’re sure to find something that suits your needs.

Since we are in the middle of a hot summer, your Pennsylvania dealers want to take this opportunity to remind you of the dangers of leaving your kids and pets inside your vehicle.

Every year, some parent or babysitter leaves a kid in the backseat of their car while they “run into the store for a second” or run some other errands. They think they will just be gone for a few minutes so it should be fine. Unfortunately, dozens of kids have lost their lives because of this kind of thinking.

Children are not like adults. Their bodies are not as developed or strong as our bodies and they cannot take the extreme heat. Even on an 80 degree day, the temperature inside a non-moving vehicle can get up to 130 degrees in just a few minutes. As a matter of fact, children can die in as little as 10 minutes when inside a closed vehicle on a hot day even if the windows are cracked. Do you really want to take a chance with your child’s life with the clock ticking like that?

Your Doylestown area Toyota dealer cares about your child’s safety. We encourage you to take your child inside with you or leave them home with a responsible person. It may just save their life.

Would you be willing to have your every move tracked if you could save a few bucks each month on auto insurance? Your PA car dealers want to bring your attention to a new program offered by Progressive insurance that does just that.

The new type of police is offered in 15 states and Texas has become the latest to implement such a plan. The insurance company installs a device in your vehicle that records your driving habits, how far you drive, the times of day you drive and how smoothly you start and stop. The company then uses all of this data to determine how much your insurance premiums should be. The insurance company reevaluates this data every six months to ensure the most accurate prices according to your driving habits.

Tim Goodwin, a former Dallas resident and current Missouri resident, loves the new program and has been using it for several months. “I’m 45 years old and I drive responsibly,” he said in an interview. “And you know what? I want them to know how well I’m driving and how little I’m driving. It works out; it really does make sense to charge people based on how many miles they’re driving and not just their credit report.”

Your Glenside area Toyota dealer wants to know how you would feel about participating in this type of program. If it comes to Pennsylvania or New Jersey, would you have one of these devices installed to save money? Or is it too much of an intrusion? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

On Monday, we told you about some myths regarding fuel economy and how you can save fuel. Today, we would like to offer some tips and suggestions that actually work when it comes to saving money on fuel.

1. Use websites like GasBuddy.com to find the lowest prices in your area. Just remember to evaluate if the lower price across town is low enough to warrant the drive.
2. Fill ‘er up when it’s cool outside. According to an article in Kiplinger’s magazine, the early morning and evening are ideal for filling up the tank because the cooler air tends to have an impact on the density of the fuel.
3. Get gas before you are on “Empty.” By doing this, you can drive around and find the lowest price. If you wait until you are on “Empty” however, you may get stuck filling up somewhere more expensive so you don’t run out.
4. Change your driving habits. Some of the biggest wasters of fuel are your driving habits. Hard stops, quick accelerations and constantly speeding up and slowing down wreak havoc on your fuel economy.
5. Maintain your vehicle. Bring your car to your Allentown area VW dealer to make sure it’s in tip-top shape to get the most out of every drop of fuel in your tank. Our service department is happy to give your car a checkup and tell you how to maximize your fuel efficiency.