Don't Let Car Thieves Get Your Car When Driving On Your Vacation

By Dorothy Yamich

In these difficult financial times most folks need vacations more than ever. And people also want to save a lot of money if they can. One economical solution is to take the family car and drive to and from your holiday destination instead of flying.

If you plan to drive, it may also make sense to take some steps to protect yourself and family from car theft. Having some car thief steal your car, luggage, or other items of value from your trunk could really put a damper on what was supposed to be a fun-filled and enjoyable trip.

Even if you take all of the numerous precautions to prevent auto theft when you travel, very determined professional car thieves can still manage to steal any vehicle if they want it badly enough. Can you remember the car theft action movie Gone In 60 Seconds starring Nicolas Cage? However, you can still dramatically reduce the odds of becoming a victim of auto theft to almost zero.

Most of these auto theft preventative measures are common sense and will you cost nothing to do. So why not make it a habit of implementing them not only when you travel by car on your holidays, but also in your every day driving as well?

Firstly, you should never take it for granted that you are immune from car thieves when traveling, or that your vehicle is not really worth stealing.

Keep in mind that thieves might be after more than your vehicle, luggage, or any valuables that might be inside your vehicle. They might only want an older car to take a joy ride in or for its parts.

They may also be after your vehicle documents for identity theft purposes, or they could be thinking of robbing your residence while you are away on vacation. Where would they get this important information? From the vehicle registration and auto insurance papers which are usually conveniently located in the glove compartment.

The best solution is to eliminate this problem by keeping these documents on your person at all times while traveling on your holidays.

The second best way to reduce this problem is to hide the documents really well in the trunk. Some police forces in cities that have a high incidence of auto thefts recommend doing this. Just remember to tell everyone who is traveling with you where these documents are squirreled away inside the trunk.

Here are some more ways you can lessen the chances of having your holidays wrecked by car thieves. If you can manage to implement some of these suggestions, you will really lessen the chance of becoming a victim of auto theft when you travel.

Close all of your vehicles windows tightly and lock all the doors when you park it anywhere, even if its only for a minute or two.

A real invitation to lose your vehicle is to leave it idling and unattended. You should never, never do it. Not even for even a minute.

Similarly, do not leave your vehicles keys in the ignition or hidden anywhere in car, including a second set of keys. Car thieves can easily find the keys hidden in the usual places very quickly. Keep another set of keys with you.

Do not leave any valuables in your vehicle, even if they cant be seen from the outside of your car. If possible, you should take them with you.

However, if you have no choice but to leave valuables in your vehicle, at least make sure that they are locked inside your trunk. When you do this, check first and look around to make sure that nobody is watching, or better still, stop, pull over, and put them in your trunk before you arrive at your intended destination. Prying eyes can be anywhere.

When you park your car in public areas, turn you front wheels either to the right or left before turning your ignition off. This engages the steering wheel lock mechanism located in the steering wheel column which could make your vehicle somewhat more difficult to steal.

Engaging the emergency brake after you have parked and turned the motor off may also make your vehicle harder to tow away.

For front wheel and rear wheel drive vehicles you should park them a bit differently when in underground parking. Front wheel drive cars should be parked nose in and rear wheel drive ones, nose out. Then turn your tires to the right or left. Again, this may make your auto harder to tow away.

It is always better to park in an attendant supervised parking lot rather than an unattended one. If its a place or lot where there is valet parking, just give the attendant your door and ignition key. They do not need any other keys on your key chain.

In public places around dusk and at night, always park in well lit areas that have a lot of pedestrian traffic. Keep in mind that most auto thieves prefer to work at night.

Try to avoid parking near or next to any obstruction, such as a fence, hedge, large truck, or anything that blocks a clear view of your vehicle to vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

When you stay in a place that has gated, secured parking, make sure that the gate has completely closed after entering or leaving so that a thief doesnt sneak in to the parking area where youre staying.

If you observe any suspicious activity like a person or group of people milling around or near your vehicle you should call the police.

Here are some anti-theft devices that you can install for maximum protection. You may already have a few of these products installed in your vehicle.

You can use a very visible after-market steering wheel locking bar. Most car thieves will likely move on to easier prey/greener pastures. Other less visible after-market products are locks for gas pedals, brake pedals, as well as armored collars that fit around the steering column which protects the ignition. For any manual shift vehicles you can also use an after-market shifter lock. These are effective but not highly visible to prying eyes.

Another thing that you can easily do is to have your mechanic install a hood lock that will prevent easy access to your vehicles battery and security system.

A loud vehicle alarm system and a highly visible alarm sticker on your windshield can be worth its weight in gold when combined with the addition of a number of other anti-theft security options.

The best vehicle protection is a passive electronic immobilizer that disables the motor when the ignition is turned off. Its not an inexpensive device to get installed but is well worth it for your peace of mind. There are more benefits you may receive by installing an electronic immobilizer in your car. A number of auto insurance companies will offer a discount on your policy if you can produce documentation that you have had one installed. You may also get more money for your vehicle if you sell it down the road.

Last, but not least, make sure you have adequate insurance coverage on your vehicle including theft and damage before you travel on a vacation.

How To Get The Right New Auto Insurance?

By Graham McKenzie

After you have already purchased the new car you always wished to have, you may just come to know that you will now also have to get car insurance besides your monthly car payments. For many states, it is compulsory to have car insurance, and most finance providers require you to get a minimum coverage for your new car.

If you wish to lower your premiums on your new car then the best way out would be to buy a ?safe car?. These cars are called so because they include extra features like air bags and anti-lock brakes, which protect the cars from heavy damages during an accident. Even though the car your buy is not particularly a "safe car", you may still avail the discount rates by adding some features that the insurance companies look for, in your car.

When thinking about car insurance with a new car you will want to think about what type of model you purchase. All insurance companies use some sort of rating, usually an ISO symbol, which tells the insurer about how much it would cost to fix the vehicle in a crash. Although it is not a set number, it helps the insurer get a general idea while they set your premiums. Sports cars have a much higher rating than your average family vehicle, so be sure to take that into consideration while buying. Even the color of your car plays a small factor towards your premium.

You should never leave a new car uninsured, because if you get into an accident within a week of buying your new car, and are unable to fix the damages; then it would really be terrible. Moreover, most financing companies ask you to get some auto insurance. In case you don?t get it yourself, they get it done for you and charge you with three times the cost.

You must carefully decide what sort of coverage you require from your auto insurance. Many people think that liability insurance is the best choice; however you may require supplementary coverage for your new car. What would you do if you have an accident with a driver of an uninsured car? You may in this case require collision insurance.

You must also consider the fact that a brand new car is more vulnerable to vandalism and theft. A sports car is more open to this threat. To safeguard your car from such happenings, you may need a comprehensive insurance, which covers your car for any kind of disaster except car accidents.

Insuring your new car may be costly; therefore it is essential that you include this cost while calculating your expenses. Your insurance company takes into account all factors like your past driving record, credit record, and car-type to determine your risk level as a driver. Drivers can try many ways in order to reduce their premium rates, but for this they may need to do a little research for better quotes and look for the different type of discounts on offer.

Things To Know About Teenage Driving

By Nathan Lewit

Teenage driving is something we all can remember. It was a thrill when we got that piece of paper giving us the ability to take to the road in a car. Lately teenage driving has become synonymous with crashes and tragedies.

Nowadays we are all too familiar with the fact that car accidents are the leading cause of death for teens these days. A lot of this can be blamed on the experience that a teen doesn't have when it comes to being behind the wheel of an automobile. Along with this there are also other high risk behaviours that are associated with teenage driving.

Teens that are at the point of getting their license are being highly encouraged to take driver's education courses in an effort to prepare them more for what is in store for them when they do hit the open road. They teach about car safety and rules that must be abided by, and they do so both in a class setting as well as in an actual vehicle. This is a great start for teens but the learning needs to keep on going after the courses are complete.

Teens are a bit on the naive side and do not think that some of the things that they are doing will hurt anyone. This is so far from the truth though. How can a person text message and drive at the same time?

There are so many things that teenagers take for granted once they begin to drive it is a very scary thing. There are a lot of teens that text message and talk on cell phones while they are driving. This is taking a huge risk with their lives when they do this as well as others that are on the road when they are doing such things. New laws that have been implemented making the use of cell phones while driving illegal in many places is an excellent way to reduce this risk associated with teenage driving.

Another high risk thing that teens are still doing without much thought is drug and alcohol abuse while they are behind the wheel of a car. No matter how stiff the repercussions are for them if they get caught it does not seem to deter them from acting this way. There are still huge numbers of people each year being killed or seriously injured due to alcohol or drug related accidents that result from teenage driving. The only good thing is that law enforcement agencies are cracking down more and more on our youngsters than they did before.

Young men are having behaviours that are quite risky as well. They love the road racing idea but do not think of the people that may get hurt while they do such things. They just see it as speed and more speed. This is okay when you are in an appropriate place like there are in some states, but it is not acceptable on our everyday roads.

There are many groups out there that have come to light in an effort to help with our teenage driving efforts. They want to ensure that our young driver's are safe as well as others that are on the road. Government agencies and people giving out of their personal money and time to help are very high in numbers and they all should be thanked immensely.

Why does your Car Insurance Quote Increase after an Accident?

By A Nutt

Car accidents usually result in an increase in insurance premiums. Even if you are not responsible, your insurance company will have to incur some costs. There is an increase in car premiums and policy quotes because the accident will be rated against your coverage. There are a number of types of insurance coverage that can include collision, personal injury protection, and medical coverage. If you are found at fault' for an accident, coverage such as personal liability and collision will cover you, your vehicle, and personal injury to the other driver. Often, if you have just one accident, you will see an increase in your car insurance quote.

Car insurance quotes will increase because you will be considered a high risk driver. The premium will reflect the nature of the accident and the costs associated with the accident. Insurance companies will usually charge 'points' to your policy. Depending on the insurance company, these points will be charged to your policy for a certain period of time that usually ranges from three to possibly seven years. If you are in an accident that was your fault, the insurance company will consider that you are a high risk of having accidents in the future and increase your rates. You will also receive higher insurance quotes. The length of time between an accident and your quote and premiums decreasing depends on a providers policies. As well, you may have to pay a higher deductible for the insurance.

Another reason why an accident can increase your premiums when you are 'at-fault' in an accident is that there are some companies who will not insure you. When there is less competition for your business, then there is less incentive to give you a good deal. As a result, your insurance quote will be higher. When you add the insurance 'points' into the mix, it is easy to see how an accident can become very expensive. If you have a faultless driving record, it is unlikely that your premiums will increase after an accident that was determined not to be your fault.

You can normally expect a rate increase of between 20-40%. This increase is based on the Insurance Services Office's (ISO) criteria of raising a premium after an accident. According to the ISO, for multi-car policies, the surcharge is 20 percent of the base rate, and for single-car policies it is 40 percent. It is important to remember that there are other factors taken into consideration after an accident such as your age, gender, and driving record. These factors will affect how high the percentage increase will be.

The increase in premiums is not done so that the insurance money can get their money back, but is based on the risk that you may be involved in another car accident. Each insurance company has different policies and standards, but they look at your chances of getting into another accident. The number of accidents that you are involved in also increases your insurance premiums.

Some companies will absolve past accidents after a set period of time has expired. This can be two years, or as much as five years, but the period will vary depending on the insurance provider. Basically, you have to show the insurance company that you are no longer a high risk driver.

The best way to avoid high car insurance quotes is to avoid an accident. You can do this by practicing safe driving. One car accident can seriously impact your car insurance quote and the premium that you will pay.

Green Cars Means Cheaper Insurance

By A Nutt

It seems that these days everyone wants to do their part to help protect the environment. Due to growing consumer demands, Business and Industry are now coming up with ways for people to benefit from living a green lifestyle. One way of encouraging eco-friendly living is for insurance companies to provide cheaper car insurance for people who buy green cars. Recent research shows that drivers are increasingly more likely to purchase a green car.

There are many reasons why people are gravitating toward green cars. Because green cars have lower emissions, they will save more on gas. As well, lower emissions will result in a decreased carbon footprint since there is less carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide being released into the atmosphere. This helps slow down global warming.

Because some green cars such as hybrids tend to be expensive, insurance companies are now providing discounts to people who buy more energy efficient vehicles. This can include not only hybrids, but cars that have high mileage. Research has shown that people who drive hybrids are a lower risk of getting involved in an accident and tend to be less reckless drivers. These drivers are considered more sensible and they care about the environment so there risk is lowered. A lower risk driver will receive lower premiums. As well, many of these companies that offer discounts for green drivers are involved in programs that work to make a more sustainable environment.

Green Car Insurance is basically a method of providing discounts for people who drive low emission vehicles. The insurance was designed and implemented on the concept of reduce, reuse, and recycle. They reward eco-friendly customers with discounted car insurance premiums. Most of these companies offer some type of carbon offsetting program. This means they take a percentage of the price of a policy and give it to carbon offsetting projects. Some of the programs involve planting trees, supporting recycling projects, or other eco-projects. They may even offer extra incentives such as using recycled car parts for repairs and recycling the car if it is irrecoverable. There are a number of green car insurance companies that will offset 100% of a vehicle's emissions.

There are also proposed pay-as-you-go car insurance programs. This is where your insurance rates are based on the actual number of miles you drive. This encourages drivers to reduce the number of miles they drive each year. Drivers would confirm mileage either by their repair records, odometer readings, or even a piece of equipment installed on the vehicle that tracks mileage.

Customers are now being rewarded for their green lifestyle with insurance discounts. For example, GMAC offers a program with their OnStar system allowing customers to send their mileage stats via OnStar, and if their yearly confirmed mileage is less than 15,000 miles, they can receive up to a 54% discount on their GMAC car insurance.

The number of insurance providers that are providing policies that include green options is increasing. Unfortunately, not that many people know about these eco-friendly insurance options because they receive less advertising than traditional insurance policies. If you are one of the millions of people who are concerned about the future of the planet and its resources, ask your insurance company if they offer a green insurance policy. As more people learn about these great insurance options, the green trend will continue to swell. Educating consumers about the importance of green cars will encourage more people to consider purchasing a green car.

Offering cheaper insurance for green car owners means more people will buy these vehicles and thus create a cleaner and greener environment with Auto Parts Stores

Very Cheap Auto Insurance -- Four Time-Tested Recommendations

By Chimezirim Odimba

There are a lot of ways to pay less on your policy. But while many of them might reduce your cost, they could leave you with insufficient coverage. This is, however, not the case with the recommendations I'll share with you in this write-up as you'll realize considerable savings while still maintaining sufficient coverage. Here they are...

1. Folks who have more than one vehicle will make considerable savings if they insure them all with the same auto insurance provider. It makes sense to insure all your cars with the same insurance company unless got a better deal for some of your vehicles with another insurance carrier. You can ensure you are making the right choice by doing extensive comparison shopping. But however you look at it, a multi-vehicle discount is one way to get cheaper rates.

2. A multi-policy discount is a good option to cut down your overall insurance cost. That's, for example, if you purchase your auto insurance policy from the very insurer that underwrites your homeowners' insurance.

Nevertheless, I must point out that you might NOT be saving as much as you might by switching. Comparison shop with quotes sites and then have a chat with your insurance agent. This done, you'll be in a position to say for sure if this would make you save a lot more.

Online Auto Insurance Quotes

3. Staying without making claims will make you eligible a good discount. But remember that not all carriers present this discount.

If your agent tells you that they don't give this discount make it clear that you'll change over to another insurer. As a matter of fact, you should because you'll certainly find a better offer somewhere else if you've maintained a claims-free status for this number of years.

However, more often than not the threat of switching from you will be enough to make them shift grounds.

4. Make out some time to visit not less than 5 insurance quotes sites that offer quotes on auto insurance policies. Doing this should take you not more than 25 minutes.

As you visit each site, ensure you give the same information. Doing otherwise will give you misleading quotes. When you've received your auto insurance quotes, compare them to determine which serves your interest best both in price and value.

Business Auto Insurance

By Matt Hellstrom

Everywhere we turn, we see evidence of rough times.The recession continues to result in higher unemployment rates. The highest recipients of bail-out money from the federal government are insurance companies and banks. Everyone who wants to stay in business are looking at ways to cut costs. In times like this, business auto insurance becomes a vital area for grinding out the best deal possible.

If a business is of a type that requires a vehicle fleet, it has a business relationship with a car company and a vehicle insurance company. But this year those relationships are going to change for more companies than ever before.

This state of flux is only increased by the ease in getting insurance quotes for vehicles on line. Never before has competition between insurers been as tough as it is now.

With the collapse of large insurers like AIG, what will that mean for insurance rates? With insurers under ever-mounting pressure to show profits, will they be offering lower rates to keep customers, or raising them to squeeze even more out of what they've got?

The competitive advantage of using the Internet to do your due diligence doesn't just apply to companies with fleets of vehicles. If you take a deduction on your taxes for vehicle expenses for your job, and especially if you are going to be changing vehicles this season, you can use online quotes now like never before.

The changes being forced upon General Motors and Chrysler by the credit crisis will have the effect of dramatically lowering product loyalty. In consequence, truck and car buyers will, in many cases, be considering models they are unfamiliar with. While this type of action will be gut-wrenchingly disruptive for U.S. auto makers, it will similarly demand a change in process in the auto and truck buying and insurance decision process for business. The stability that product familiarity brings when it comes to business expenditures no longer exists in the area of vehicle replacement decisions.

Word from General Motors is that the company may go into Chapter 11 as of June 1st. Does this mean that you, as a small business owner, are going to have to reconsider your decades long attachment to General Motors automobiles and trucks? Will more expensive hybrid or fuel-saving features factor into the cost of insurance? Whichever decision you come to may boil down to ongoing insurance costs. The Internet is the only way to get the wide range of business auto insurance quotes that you are going to need as you do your due diligence.