The most cost effective things to do are: clean, clean and clean.

1. The inside should be carefully vacuumed. There are many products to fix tears and restore a new look to the plastic, leather, carpet and vinyl so get them and use them. They should pay for themselves by helping to get you a higher price, or at least one closer to your asking price. Do not forget to clean the glass!
2. Take out and leave out any mats that are worn and remove the stuff in the glove box. Leave the owner’s manual and records of services done to the car.  The longer and more detailed the records the better. Copies with your personal information blacked out will do just fine in most cases – use your judgment as to what to leave.
3. Clean out the trunk and touch up any rusty spots or worn paint.
4. The outside should be washed and waxed. Carefully try to touch up any rust spots and rock chips. Again touch up paint, wax and car wash is not expensive and you will have lots left over!  Do not forget to polish the chrome. The wheels should be cleaned to be free of brake dust and the tires should be sprayed with tire shine.
5. Under the hood you should consider having the engine bay cleaned. You can do this yourself at a car wash but you need to be careful to cover electrical components and air intakes. Failure to do so can leave you stranded there or cause electrical system problems. While there clean the battery terminals (baking soda works but do not get any inside the battery!) and apply an anti-corrosion spray or gel.

The next six things have a small cost but can make all the difference when a buyer is comparing your car to the competition.

1. Tires should have at least one half the tread left and all should be the same brand if possible. No one wants to buy a new (to them) car and then have to go out right away to buy new tires.  Installing a set of used tires or ordering tires online can make the difference between a sale and your car sitting unsold for months.
2. The exhaust system should not be noisy, if there are holes in the exhaust get it fixed.  It will only scare away potential customers or reduce what they are willing to pay.  Most muffler shops will charge as little as $50 to professionally fix an exhaust leak in a pipe or seam.
3. A fresh oil change says a lot about the fact that you cared for your car. They are not expensive to do and are a good idea as most inspection reports include the state of the oil.
4. Subscribe to The Secret Mechanic Newsletter for your free used car buying guide. Think like the buyer and do as many of the things listed there as are appropriate to the value and nature of the car you are selling. Try to have as many things as possible right on the included buyers check list.
5. Price it right. Check sources like Kelly books, Edmonds, Autotrader, Buysell, newspapers, Ebay and other online sources to determine a value. When asked, auto dealers will typically tell you a trade in value or a wholesale value. You would like to sell at the higher retail price. This is a good reason to sell your car privately and not trade it in to the dealer. There may, however, be reasons like taxes that make trading in logical and you need to determine that in light of your personal circumstances.
6. Advertise where you get the biggest exposure for the lowest cost. Kijiji, Craigslist, bulletin boards, a sign on the car (Buy one! Do NOT use a crummy piece of cardboard with a price scrawled on it. That sends the wrong message – one that says you do not care).  The Autotrader, and local newspaper classifieds are a bit more expensive but can also help spread the word about your car if the free methods above don’t get you the interest you deserve.

Happy selling! (more…)

In many years of trying to get better performance out of my cars, a few things have consistently worked well. I will start with the less costly.

A high flow air filter and cold air inlet can almost always improve airflow to the engine.  These are usually relatively easy to install and quite affordable.

However, better airflow to your engine will be more beneficial if the exhaust gases can leave freely. A low-pressure exhaust system should take care of that and will also have a good sound.

Next, fuel flow should be looked at. Sometimes bigger injectors will do the trick. Be careful to match the size of the injectors to the optimal fuel needs of the engine. Getting the biggest injectors possible can actually reduce your power. At this point, you may start looking at an engine performance chip. Be careful! Unless the chip is from a very experienced tuner, the independent reviews have shown inconsistent results. Check it out before you spend your money.

Now would be a good time to upgrade the wheels and tires.

If you are looking for still more power, then either turbo charging or supercharging may be the ticket. This gets EXPENSIVE in a hurry.  The temptation is to go for high boost and horsepower. This puts big strains on engine components that were generally not designed to withstand them. That means BIG repair bills. Check with experts to see how much boost to run. It also means that airflow, exhaust and fuel demands must be matched to the forced induction system.  Also be aware that, with the large horsepower increase, other components like the transmission and differential will probably need beefing up for longevity.

If you have come this far, then brakes and suspension upgrades are going to be required. Bigger rotors, perhaps cross drilled and vented, along with calipers with more pistons than stock, and braided brake lines will make stopping easier.  Suspension upgrades could start with performance shock absorbers, bigger roll bars and performance springs. These upgrades should be done at the same time and purchased as a package from a professional tuner or car manufacturer if they are available.

Again, these engine, brake and suspension upgrades will do little if your car has the wrong tires and wheels. So with brake and suspension upgrades, tires and wider wheels will allow you to extract the most from your car modifications.

My recommendation is that, if you improve airflow in, fuel quantity in and exhaust flow out and you have better tires and wheels, you will have reached the point at which the law of diminishing returns kicks into play and increasingly larger amounts of money will need to be spent to further increase performance significantly. If you are still not happy with your car’s performance at this stage, save your money and buy a car that has the performance you want.

Many people have poured thousands of dollars into mods, were unable to get the performance they wanted, yet also did not see a dime back of the money they had spent on the modifications when they sold the vehicle.  If you still intend on modifying your car with all of this in mind, make sure to shop around for the best price as local shops often have huge markups over the same parts online.
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There are many places to buy car parts.

Most people automatically think of going to the dealer to get their parts.  What you buy from dealers is OEM (Original Equipment Manufactured) parts. Many times these are the most expensive. However, they will also be of original quality and the dealer parts counter will have access to the latest revisions of parts. Manufacturers make changes to parts over time to improve on weaknesses and flaws. So, if the price is of secondary importance, the dealer is the place to shop.

The other places to look for parts include the auto parts shops/jobbers. Jobbers are auto parts stores that you find in the phone book or online. Here you can find replacement parts, usually at lower prices. But check all possible sources, including the dealer, for your parts. Jobber parts are often knockoffs, not made for the original manufacturer, and produced overseas. But they could also be the identical parts you would get from the dealer,  packaged  differently. Ask the seller about the part, as they often get their parts from many sources. If the same company that produces dealer parts also manufactures the jobber parts, your purchase could still be top quality, but less expensive.

Generally, I would recommend you not purchase the following at the dealers unless you have a specific reason to do so:

• Tires
• Windshield wipers and fluid
• Brake parts
• Shock absorbers
• Spark plugs
• Belts
• Hoses
• Filters – oil, air
• Light bulbs
• Ignition wires
• Antifreeze
• Waxes, polishes, cleaners, etc.

This is not a complete list, so you need to check all sources for what is available for your car and costs.

I would recommend you go online and search for the part you need to check price and availability. Always check several sources and then check with local auto parts suppliers. That way you are less likely to overpay!

Certain parts are only available from your dealer and these usually include body and interior parts but even some of these may be purchased elsewhere. Look to save.

I have left getting your parts from auto wreckers to near the end of the article because they may not be your best option. My experience has been that the wreckers typically charge one half of the retail price dealers charge and that is for parts that are obviously used. What is unknown is how long they have left in their useable lifespan for this price. New jobber parts can often be gotten for the same price wreckers charge.

A final note: If the part will require extensive time on your part to install, you may wish to install the one with the longest warranty. The length of the warranties may vary so shop around. Make sure to ask if the part is OEM to avoid fitment problems.

With these tips you will save money, time and keep your vehicle running smoothly.
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Tires are tires, right?  That’s what many people walk into their local tire store thinking, and often walk out paying hundreds more than they could have gotten the same tires for with a bit of planning.

When I needed tires, I called around all of the local tire stores first and was quoted from $220-250 per tire, plus mounting, balancing and other fees.  The total would be well over $1,000 for the set of tires I wanted.  Convinced that I could find a better deal, I turned to the internet and found a variety of tire stores advertising reasons to choose them over their competitors: “we have the best price, trust us” and “free lugs with every set of wheels” were some of the pitches that caused me to raise an eyebrow.

After reading quite a few reviews of tire stores online, one kept standing out as having repeat customers, which is a pretty good sign to me that the store has done it’s job right.  I checked out the website and found quite a bit more than just tire prices, I found honest reviews of the latest tires from Bridgestone, Pirelli, Hankook and others as well as ratings of tires from thousands of people who had driven on almost every tire out there, often for months before reviewing them.

In a twist of fate, the tires I had gone to the website to purchase ended up being rated fairly poorly, so I checked out the top rated tires in my segment and I’m glad I did – I ended up choosing a completely different manufacturer with better tread wear, noise and performance ratings, for the same price (well, within $10 anyway).

With the new tire in my cart, I proceeded to checkout - I was presented with options for which warehouse to ship the tires from, complete with estimates of how many days and how much shipping each would be. I liked that the total was shown up front, unlike some other stores which hide the taxes and levies until the very end. I chose to wait a bit longer to save another $30, but they ended up coming in just over a week to my house anyway - not bad considering the local shops were booked solid for two weeks.

In the end, I got my tires delivered to my door for about $400 cheaper than the best price I could find at a local shop - that savings includes state taxes, shipping, and having them mounted and balanced, so I really am comparing apples to apples here.

So who exactly is it that’s rated so highly and offers all this information with their übercheap prices?  Click here to find out, you can come back and thank me after.
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