Saving money by saving gas is a hot topic these days. It seems like every other story on automotive news sites is about hybrid, electric or fuel-cell vehicles. And the rest are about ways to save gas with the car you have. But how much can you really save? Yahoo Finance tried to find out.
They looked at typical car numbers - 22 mpg and 15,000 miles per year - and applied a series of hypermiling and other recommended techniques to figure out how much you can save. Amazingly, if you do everything on their list (and honestly, a few things are just silly), you might be able to knock $1,000 off of your yearly gas bill. That's a lot of dough!
Now, as I said, a few of the items don't make much sense. Yeah, I'm sure it would help if you lost 100 pounds, but if you need to lose that much weight, I think saving money on gas is pretty low on your reasons to do so. They also recommend getting an oil change every 3,000 miles to save $27, or about the cost of one oil change. Well, with most cars and oils, you can easily go 5,000 miles (or more if you use synthetics). At 5,000 miles instead of 3,000, you'll need two fewer oil changes per year, saving you even more money.
But back to the good ideas - the top two are key for me. I've been known to keep that Check Engine light on way longer than I should. I never really thought about how a failed sensor might affect my gas mileage. The air pressure item is amazing. Granted, I don't know what their baseline is (and that's actually a problem with all of these numbers), but if keeping your tires at the correct pressure can save over $500 a year, I need to be better about that. I have a few tires that seem perpetually low, so I bet I can really help my fuel efficiency by being more prompt in filling those up.
Lastly, it should be noted that if you really want to improve your gas mileage, you need to start tracking your gas mileage. Otherwise, how will you know if it's working? And how should you track your gas mileage? BrightCar, of course! ;-)
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
RepairPal Can Be Your Buddy
Have you ever had the feeling that you were being screwed by your mechanic? That he was charging you way too much for service? Of course you have. We've all felt that way - lots of times. The problem is that consumers have a huge information deficit. We don't know how much repairs should cost so we have to take the word of the guy who is giving you the estimate. Sure, you could get a competing offer, but in most cases that's not practical. Who has time to go driving all over town getting quotes? And what if your car isn't drivable?
Enter RepairPal. The folks at RepairPal collected a ton of historical repair data, sliced it and diced it with the help of a couple of dozen mechanics and can now give you an estimate for your repair. You tell them what make/model/year vehicle you have, your zip code and what service you need and they'll give you a range that you should expect to pay. It really is impressive and could conceivably save you hundreds of dollars.
What might be cool is to take your service history (you use BrightCar to track that, right?) and see if you've been getting fair prices. I'm definitely going to do that and see if I need to change repair shops!
You can find two nice reviews of RepairPal (which just launched this week) at TechCrunch and Wired.
Enter RepairPal. The folks at RepairPal collected a ton of historical repair data, sliced it and diced it with the help of a couple of dozen mechanics and can now give you an estimate for your repair. You tell them what make/model/year vehicle you have, your zip code and what service you need and they'll give you a range that you should expect to pay. It really is impressive and could conceivably save you hundreds of dollars.
What might be cool is to take your service history (you use BrightCar to track that, right?) and see if you've been getting fair prices. I'm definitely going to do that and see if I need to change repair shops!
You can find two nice reviews of RepairPal (which just launched this week) at TechCrunch and Wired.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Hypermiling
As gas approaches a national average of $4 per gallon, everyone is looking for ways to reduce fuel costs. The most obvious solution is to purchase a more efficient car, possibly a hybrid. But if you have to buy a new car to achieve greater fuel economy, are you really saving any money? Probably not. Hybrids ain't cheap and trading in one car for another is almost always a big money loser (and often counter-productive).
So what to do? How about fixing the way you drive right now and saving just as much gas as you would by switching to a hybrid? You need to try hypermiling. Hypermiling is pretty simple actually. The gist of the concept is that you should change the way you drive to be more efficient. Accelerate more slowly. Use your brakes less. Try to avoid red lights. And most importantly, track your fuel economy so you can see how you're doing! According to CNN, if you follow the basic steps outlined at hypermiling.com, you can increase your gas mileage by 35 percent. If you get really serious, you can be like this guy and get 70 mpg out of your Honda Civic (OK, that requires a bit of body work as well)!
One really cool side benefit of hypermiling, is that some of the techniques can actually reduce traffic congestion, helping everyone on the road, not just you. If that sounds preposterous, check out this paper on reducing "traffic waves" by maintaining a generous gap with the cars in front of you. If you keep at least a two-second gap, you can greatly reduce the number of times you have to quickly brake. Each time you brake in traffic, you force the car behind you to brake as well, and the car behind them, etc. Every time that happens, it compresses traffic at that spot, making a small, compressed "wave" in the flow of cars. If you instead cruise along with a buffer in front of you, you can ignore some of the annoying little stops that you normally encounter in heavy traffic. If you don't have to brake, then neither do the cars behind you - suddenly that "wave" of slowed (or stopped) cars goes away. Just one car can make a huge difference. Read the article to get a clearer picture, because it can be a bit difficult to describe.
So what to do? How about fixing the way you drive right now and saving just as much gas as you would by switching to a hybrid? You need to try hypermiling. Hypermiling is pretty simple actually. The gist of the concept is that you should change the way you drive to be more efficient. Accelerate more slowly. Use your brakes less. Try to avoid red lights. And most importantly, track your fuel economy so you can see how you're doing! According to CNN, if you follow the basic steps outlined at hypermiling.com, you can increase your gas mileage by 35 percent. If you get really serious, you can be like this guy and get 70 mpg out of your Honda Civic (OK, that requires a bit of body work as well)!
One really cool side benefit of hypermiling, is that some of the techniques can actually reduce traffic congestion, helping everyone on the road, not just you. If that sounds preposterous, check out this paper on reducing "traffic waves" by maintaining a generous gap with the cars in front of you. If you keep at least a two-second gap, you can greatly reduce the number of times you have to quickly brake. Each time you brake in traffic, you force the car behind you to brake as well, and the car behind them, etc. Every time that happens, it compresses traffic at that spot, making a small, compressed "wave" in the flow of cars. If you instead cruise along with a buffer in front of you, you can ignore some of the annoying little stops that you normally encounter in heavy traffic. If you don't have to brake, then neither do the cars behind you - suddenly that "wave" of slowed (or stopped) cars goes away. Just one car can make a huge difference. Read the article to get a clearer picture, because it can be a bit difficult to describe.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
$2.99 Gas for 3 Years
How would you like to pay $3 per gallon for gas for the next three years? Steven Levitt's Freakonomics blog introduces this as new deal for Chrysler customers. Basically, this is just one of a handful of "financing" deals Chrysler customers could choose. So, if they want the deal on gas, they'll have to pass up the normal cash back or lower loan rates they might have otherwise taken.
I agree with Levitt that this appears to be a brilliant marketing ploy by Chrysler. I find it hard to believe that it'll cost Chrysler any more than its other incentives. (In fact, I'd bet it ends up costing them less per customer.) And the price of gas is constantly in the news, perhaps inflating its importance in drivers' eyes. So, maybe this promotion gets some incremental car buyers in Chrysler showrooms.
I agree with Levitt that this appears to be a brilliant marketing ploy by Chrysler. I find it hard to believe that it'll cost Chrysler any more than its other incentives. (In fact, I'd bet it ends up costing them less per customer.) And the price of gas is constantly in the news, perhaps inflating its importance in drivers' eyes. So, maybe this promotion gets some incremental car buyers in Chrysler showrooms.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Nissan's Carlos Ghosn Bullish on EVs
TWSJ reported yesterday that Nissan plans to introduce electric vehicles (EVs) to the U.S. and Japanese markets by 2010, and globally by 2012.
The article cites some interesting comments by Nissan's CEO, Carlos Ghosn, as well. Specifically, Ghosn is preparing Nissan for what he believes will be a "mass market" for EVs in 2012. His belief stems from expectations for continued high oil prices, increased environmental awareness by consumers, and breakthroughs in battery technologies.
Interestingly, he also sizes the initial EV market around 10 million vehicles, the number of vehicles used for shorter commutes in big cities around the world.
The article cites some interesting comments by Nissan's CEO, Carlos Ghosn, as well. Specifically, Ghosn is preparing Nissan for what he believes will be a "mass market" for EVs in 2012. His belief stems from expectations for continued high oil prices, increased environmental awareness by consumers, and breakthroughs in battery technologies.
Interestingly, he also sizes the initial EV market around 10 million vehicles, the number of vehicles used for shorter commutes in big cities around the world.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
This could have been soooo much better
In A Crushing Issue, Joel Millman tells us the story of 4,703 Mazdas that were aboard the Cougar Ace, a freighter ship that capsized (but didn't sink) on its way across the Pacific Ocean. The story itself is very interesting and worth a read. He's also got a video, presumably to add further detail to the specifics of the story. But this video could have been soooooo much better. I wanted to see cars getting crushed. I wanted to see cars getting eaten by shredders. I wanted to hear the "pop, pop, pop" of the airbags inflating. But I didn't get any of that.
Well, at least we still have video on SSI's shredders (which we covered previously in a Friday Diversion).
Well, at least we still have video on SSI's shredders (which we covered previously in a Friday Diversion).
Monday, April 28, 2008
Buying Cars on eBay
I read just the other day that eBay recently sold their 3 millionth vehicle. That's a lot of cars! But if you ask most people you know, not only have they never bought a car on eBay, they wouldn't even try.
Why not? Why are folks scared to buy a car online? There are two obvious reasons - first, it's not what they are used to and second, people feel like they need to physically see and drive the car they buy (and maybe even kick the proverbial tires). That first barrier - buying cars at a dealership or out of newspaper ads because that's they way dad did it - should be easy to overcome. Dad didn't buy Blu-ray DVDs online back in the day either, did he? Online shopping simply shouldn't be scary anymore. So, it's the second problem that's probably the most significant hurdle - not actually seeing the car or meeting the seller.
Let's talk a bit about that. Cars are basically a commodity today, no different than mp3 players or computers. You can get them anywhere and a Toyota Corolla you buy in Albuquerque is exactly the same as one you get in Abilene. In other words, if you check out a make/model/year that you like in your hometown, why shouldn't you then go and try to find that same car for the cheapest price no matter where it comes from? Isn't that extra bit of effort (and actually, it's probably less effort than haggling in person) worth saving a few thousand dollars?
One related fear to not seeing the car is not meeting the person who's selling it. I think most people expect to see their car seller (whether it's a dealer or someone selling their own truck) face-to-face. The funny thing about this, is nobody trusts car dealers. There's a reason that the unctuous used car dealer is a cliche. Here's where eBay's method is world's better. No, you never actually meet or see your seller, but you do know exactly how every one of their online transactions worked out. That's the key. If you sell cars on eBay, you simply can't afford to screw anyone. If you get a few - or maybe even just one - negative review saying that you are dishonest, your business is kaput. Nobody is going to send $15K to buy a car halfway across the country from someone they feel they can't trust. On the other hand, if a local dealer screws a customer, how does anyone find out? It could happen all the time and you'd probably never know. Your only hope is to check with the Better Business Bureau and hope that someone thought to file a complaint there, or hit up Google and hope someone posted to some message board. It's a crap shoot. The truth is, you probably won't find out. You actually have much less visibility into and information about the local guy than you do about an eBay seller on the other side of the country.
Accountability, visibility and convenience aside, the best reason to buy a car on eBay is the most basic one - price. With a little patience, you can find outstanding deals on eBay. Edmunds has a great feature called True Market Value pricing, where they show you actual expected prices you'd pay/get for a car. They show you three prices, Trade-In, Private Party and Dealer. Trade-In is what you would likely get for a car if you traded it in to a dealer. Private Party is what you'd expect to pay someone to buy their personal truck (i.e. through a newspaper ad) and Dealer is what you'd pay at a dealership. You pay more at a dealership because you're ostensibly getting a bit more backing behind the car, that they've cleaned and inspected it and you have some recourse if something goes wrong. The differences between these three prices can vary from several hundred to several thousand dollars. On eBay, you should expect to pay no more than the Private Party price even though you are buying from a dealer. If you are picky and look for No Reserve auctions, you can do even better. I have bought two cars on eBay and paid just above Trade-in for one and $700 below Trade-in for the other. I could have bought the car, driven it straight to a local dealership and traded it in for a profit. Beat that out of your local classified ads!
When you are saving that kind of money, it really helps to offset the other fears. Sure, there's a chance that the used car I'm buying is a lemon, but that's a risk with any used car, isn't it? Is a short test drive going to prove otherwise? Would one of those used-car inspections help? Maybe, but you can actually order one of those for most eBay cars as well. Even so, how much risk are you taking on? To use an example, say you want to buy a 2005 Honda Accord EX with the V6 engine. At a local dealership, I'd expect to pay about $17,500. I can find one of those on eBay right now for about $15,600. Wouldn't a savings of nearly $2K help offset any risk? Especially if you consider that I know that the seller has all positive feedback and has posted dozens of pics of the inside and outside of the car? Well, what if I decide that I'm willing to shop a bit abd I hold out until I get a car closer to the Trade-In value? Now we're talking about a savings of about $3,500. You could replace the transmission and still come out way ahead!
The bottom line is this - buying a car online makes sense. You can buy a great car from a reputable dealer and you can save thousands of dollars. Why would you want to do it any other way?
Why not? Why are folks scared to buy a car online? There are two obvious reasons - first, it's not what they are used to and second, people feel like they need to physically see and drive the car they buy (and maybe even kick the proverbial tires). That first barrier - buying cars at a dealership or out of newspaper ads because that's they way dad did it - should be easy to overcome. Dad didn't buy Blu-ray DVDs online back in the day either, did he? Online shopping simply shouldn't be scary anymore. So, it's the second problem that's probably the most significant hurdle - not actually seeing the car or meeting the seller.
Let's talk a bit about that. Cars are basically a commodity today, no different than mp3 players or computers. You can get them anywhere and a Toyota Corolla you buy in Albuquerque is exactly the same as one you get in Abilene. In other words, if you check out a make/model/year that you like in your hometown, why shouldn't you then go and try to find that same car for the cheapest price no matter where it comes from? Isn't that extra bit of effort (and actually, it's probably less effort than haggling in person) worth saving a few thousand dollars?
One related fear to not seeing the car is not meeting the person who's selling it. I think most people expect to see their car seller (whether it's a dealer or someone selling their own truck) face-to-face. The funny thing about this, is nobody trusts car dealers. There's a reason that the unctuous used car dealer is a cliche. Here's where eBay's method is world's better. No, you never actually meet or see your seller, but you do know exactly how every one of their online transactions worked out. That's the key. If you sell cars on eBay, you simply can't afford to screw anyone. If you get a few - or maybe even just one - negative review saying that you are dishonest, your business is kaput. Nobody is going to send $15K to buy a car halfway across the country from someone they feel they can't trust. On the other hand, if a local dealer screws a customer, how does anyone find out? It could happen all the time and you'd probably never know. Your only hope is to check with the Better Business Bureau and hope that someone thought to file a complaint there, or hit up Google and hope someone posted to some message board. It's a crap shoot. The truth is, you probably won't find out. You actually have much less visibility into and information about the local guy than you do about an eBay seller on the other side of the country.
Accountability, visibility and convenience aside, the best reason to buy a car on eBay is the most basic one - price. With a little patience, you can find outstanding deals on eBay. Edmunds has a great feature called True Market Value pricing, where they show you actual expected prices you'd pay/get for a car. They show you three prices, Trade-In, Private Party and Dealer. Trade-In is what you would likely get for a car if you traded it in to a dealer. Private Party is what you'd expect to pay someone to buy their personal truck (i.e. through a newspaper ad) and Dealer is what you'd pay at a dealership. You pay more at a dealership because you're ostensibly getting a bit more backing behind the car, that they've cleaned and inspected it and you have some recourse if something goes wrong. The differences between these three prices can vary from several hundred to several thousand dollars. On eBay, you should expect to pay no more than the Private Party price even though you are buying from a dealer. If you are picky and look for No Reserve auctions, you can do even better. I have bought two cars on eBay and paid just above Trade-in for one and $700 below Trade-in for the other. I could have bought the car, driven it straight to a local dealership and traded it in for a profit. Beat that out of your local classified ads!
When you are saving that kind of money, it really helps to offset the other fears. Sure, there's a chance that the used car I'm buying is a lemon, but that's a risk with any used car, isn't it? Is a short test drive going to prove otherwise? Would one of those used-car inspections help? Maybe, but you can actually order one of those for most eBay cars as well. Even so, how much risk are you taking on? To use an example, say you want to buy a 2005 Honda Accord EX with the V6 engine. At a local dealership, I'd expect to pay about $17,500. I can find one of those on eBay right now for about $15,600. Wouldn't a savings of nearly $2K help offset any risk? Especially if you consider that I know that the seller has all positive feedback and has posted dozens of pics of the inside and outside of the car? Well, what if I decide that I'm willing to shop a bit abd I hold out until I get a car closer to the Trade-In value? Now we're talking about a savings of about $3,500. You could replace the transmission and still come out way ahead!
The bottom line is this - buying a car online makes sense. You can buy a great car from a reputable dealer and you can save thousands of dollars. Why would you want to do it any other way?
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