Self Healing Paint?

What are you kidding? there is no such thing...or is there? The answer is a resounding yes. Nissan and Infinity developed a special paint in 2009. So on higher level Nissans from 2010 and newer, and on 2010 and newer Infinity models this special paint is standard. It is a special formula developed by synthesizing organic naturally occurring substances. It works like this. You get a scratch on your car and as long the scratch is not through the primer under the paint, the paint will heal. All you have to do is park your car in the sun, thats right... UV is the key to this paint. Outside in the sun for 8 hours or so (maybe less if you live in sunny California) and the paint will heal and the scratch is gone. Truly remarkable. The interesting part is that most folks who own these cars don't even know that they are truly on the cutting edge of technology. Whats next?

The reality of accident repairs

Everyone wants a car with a clean history and no accidents. On the ICBC APV 9T, commonly known as a transfer form there is a box to be checked off indicating whether there has been damage over 2000 dollars. If this box has to be checked,then the vehicle you are registering has been involved in a repair costing greater than 2000 dollars. Now, on this form there is no more data than that, simply a teaser, letting you know that the car has had an issue in the past. In order to truly ascertain how severe the accident or issue was, we must dig deeper. I recommend paying for a carproof report on any vehicle you are considering, it's a small price to pay for great piece of mind. The carproof will break down all vehicle history, both Canadian and or American. It is inevitable, over the course of time and the law of odds, that some vehicles get into accidents or fender benders. Nowadays, even a Kiss of the bumpers can cost over 2000 to repair, modern vehicles often have park assist sensors built in to bumpers and metallic or pearl shaded paint is quite costly to respray. Minor frontal collisions where a headlight is cracked and plastic bumper covers have to be replaced can easily top 5-8000 dollars. Yes, modern xenon headlights can cost upwards of 2000, add a bumper or a bumper respray and a handful of one-use fasteners and clips and you are at 8000. This is not a case where any structural damage has been noted. An eye opener, absolutely. Would I still buy a car with a declaration of 8000? Absolutely, providing I had done my homework. Body shops charge close to 100/per hour so don't forget to factor in a couple days worth of work to fix the expensive cosmetics on your lightly damaged vehicle. I see higher end cars with accident reports of 20000 to 45000 on a regular basis and to look at these vehicles after the repair has taken place, one could not tell that anything was ever amiss. Premium cars require premium parts to fix and even if the vehicle is 5 years old, the repair parts being installed on the vehicle are brand new and bought at brand new prices. Decide for yourself and do your homework, but my advice is don't overlook a great car that has been repaired properly at an accredited facility. The vehicle will function as it should and 10 years down the road, the repair will be ancient history.

Do I really need all wheel drive or 4 wheel drive?

Four Wheel Drive, I just have to have it or do I?. Of course we all want to have it because its safe right? or do we have images of creeping along a rocky ridge in the middle of nowhere, breaking new ground and reaching destinations previously uncharted, only possible with a 4x4?.  Whats the weather like in your area in the winter? Rainy...me too with the chance of  a couple days of the white stuff here and there. So what are the benefits and what are the negatives.
Pros:
- added traction by sheer number of wheels being driven
-more even tire wear than a front or rear wheel bias system
- better resale when compared to 2 wheel drive models of the same vehicle
Cons:
-added weight effectively decreasing fuel economy
-added complexity with a lot more expensive moving parts to potentially repair or replace
-more expensive when compared to similar models in 2 wheel drive

The reality is that if you live in greater Vancouver or anywhere in southern BC where the winter does not normally require putting a lot of hours on a snowblower, you will be just fine with 2 wheel drive. Thanks to modern electronics and powerful computer programs, front or rear wheel drive cars make out just fine in the slippery and snowy conditions these days. Programs that come standard on most cars nowadays such as stability control and traction control are so good that most drivers would have a hard time outperforming what the car can do for itself. If you have an all wheel drive car or a 4x4 or just a two wheel drive vehicle there is still another factor affecting your vehicles performance...the tires. Not many folks stop to think of the quality of the rubber that is transmitting their car's power to the ground. In the winter, a 2WD vehicle with great winter tires on it will do as well as a 4WD vehicle with all season tires on it. The other big factor for me is that, while all wheel drive may help you get rolling, it does nothing to help you stop. A small but important detail which seems to escape most discussions.

Less inventory, smaller margins, higher prices

You may noticed that there is an unusual trend afoot here and everywhere in North America. The price of used cars has actually risen in the past year. Yes, thats right, the car you bought a year ago is probably worth more today. Seems unusual, but the industry is facing a supply shortage. Right after the economy took a major dip in mid to late 2008, barely anyone bought new cars. Production numbers on certain models went from 400000 in a year to less than 100000. All these vehicles usually come back to the market as lease returns, rental fleets and company cars. This stream of lightly(and sometimes heavily) used vehicles is what is normally used to populate dealer lots. Well the stream is at a low water mark now. The lack of sales and leases in 2008 and 2009 has resulted in a lack of 2-4 year old used cars right now. All of this has effectively driven the prices up on existing inventory. The automotive industry, as with any other consumer driven entity faces cyclic periods. The problem, however, is to determine when the bubble will burst and when the price of used inventory will fall.  When this adjustment happens, used vehicles will depreciate at above normal rates and there will be many deals to be had.