Getting a Co-signer For A Bad Credit Car Loan?
February 22, 2012 | 
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If the applicant can provide a co-signer, the lender will also take into consideration the co-signer’s credit score and history and if it qualifies, he will grant the loan.
What does co-signing imply?
The co-signer agrees to be constrained by the same responsibilities as the borrower. Thus, if the first signer fails to meet the monthly payments or any other duty associated with the loan contract, the cosigner will have to take the first signer’s place and satisfy the loan terms. Otherwise, he will be held responsible for the breach of the loan contract as well and legal actions will be taken against either of them in order to collect the money.
When someone agrees to co-sign a loan contract he is legally guaranteeing that the signer will pay. It is because of this guarantee that the lender will agree to grant the loan. The co-signer must only sign if he will be able to pay the monthly payments in the event that the borrower fails to do so. Otherwise, any of his assets will become the source of payment when the lender takes legal actions against him.
Usually, the lender requires that the co-signer pledges that he won’t exercise his right to come in second place if legal action is taken. Therefore, the lender will be able to pursue legal actions against the cosigner in the first place. This is due to the fact that probably, the borrower doesn’t have enough assets to cover for the loan amount (otherwise he wouldn’t have needed a co-signer for approval).
Co-signing and credit score
The loan probably won’t affect the co-signer’s credit score unless the borrower makes late payments or misses a payment. It depends on the loan contract terms, but lenders usually inform the co-signer of any late or missed payments so he can act in accordance with his obligations and pay the installment. If he does, the lender will only inform credit agencies of the first signer’s delinquency. But if the co-signer fails to meet his duties as guarantor, he will be held responsible too and the late or missed payment will be recorded into his credit history affecting his credit score.
Co-Signing and Bad Credit Car Loans
Applying with a co-signor is an excellent way of getting approved for a car loan with bad credit, no credit at all or even a past bankruptcy on your credit history. There is not that much risk for the co-signer as the primary guarantee of the car loan is the car itself. However, acting as a co-signer is a matter of trust. If whomever you are backing up fails to pay and something happens to the car or the car value is not enough to cover for the lender’s monetary losses, you will have to cover for them.
If you are the one asking someone to be a co-signer, you need to understand the true magnitude of what you are asking for and the responsibility you have in order to avoid causing financial problems to the one who is willing to help you in such difficult times.
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HHO Gas Car Kit Conversion For Browns Gas – Do It Yourself And Convert Your Car To Burn On Water
HHO gas is the latest innovation to increase gas mileage, increase power and improve emissions. Your car will not be totally dependent on water but will be a hybrid of sorts by utilizing water as a catalyst once it is broken down to HHO also known as browns gas. By using HHO gas one can expect to see and increase in gas mileage of 20 – 50%. This is not new technology but is starting to get rediscovered as gas and diesel prices continue to increase.
You can find HHO gas car kits online for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Believe me they are worth every penny! The key here is that if you have a vehicle and you would like to make your own HHO or browns gas kit for your car or truck there is a lot of information online.
How is HHO gas utilized in your gas or diesel engine. When you convert your car to burn on water you are converting water to a gas that you engine can use. Some even refer to this as hydrogen on demand. Through a process of electrolysis water that is in a sealed container under your hood is converted to hydroxy also known as browns gas or HHO gas. This gas is then introduced to the airflow in the intake manifold using your engines vacuum. This gas is then mixed with the gasoline providing better gas mileage.
The process is so amazingly simple and the parts to build the system can be found around home or in your shop. This homemade hydrogen generator is easy to build. What you are looking at is a sealed quart size container, electrical wiring, baking soda, an automotive fuse and some vacuum hose. There is a handful of other parts but if you are wanting to make such a system it can be made for under $100 per vehicle! What is nice is it requires very little modification to your vehicle and can be removed within minutes and no one would even notice you had it installed.
There are forums online that focus HHO gas or browns gas technology as an alternative energy to reduce car emissions, increase gas mileage and improve power. HHO devices for cars are starting to get noticed. This technology has even been brought up in th news for improving gas mileage.
What Size Speakers Fit in My Car?
You are finally going to break down and upgrade that car stereo system you have. You might even still have the factory installed one. If so, then there are some key points you need to know before you head off to the store. One of the most important questions will be: What size speakers fit in my car? Let’s see if we can figure out how to tell this.
For starters, you can check the manuals. The speaker size is sometimes listed in there, along with a part number for replacement. We do not need the replacement numbers, just the size of the actual speaker you are going to replace. If it is not there, then you head to the next step.
You can always just measure them. They are going to be in the doors, or in the flat section behind the back seat, just below the back windshield. You need to access these back ones from the trunk. Most of the time, these are going to be 6×9′s, but they could still be a different size. You should need a screwdriver and tape measure for this.
Remove the cover for the speaker and measure the diameter. This will give you a certain number. For example, you might have a 5″ speaker in each door, and 2 6×9′s in the back. If you are having a hard time doing this, or are not real sure, then just ask the guy at the car stereo place. He will be more than happy to help you out with the speaker sizes.
Now, just because you have a standard size in the car, does not mean you need to stick with it. These professional car installers can make the holes bigger to accommodate bigger speakers. There will still be a certain amount of air space required behind the speaker to get the full sound quality. They can help with this as well.
One last thing is if you want sub-woofers. This is where the bass part of the songs will come from. Most people install these in their trunk in a speaker box. As I stated earlier, certain speaker sizes require a certain amount of cubic in of space to sound their best. There are 2 things to consider here: how much room you actually have in your trunk for this, and what size speakers you want.
If you base this decision on the trunk space, then this will give you a maximum box size, which will then place you in a certain speaker size. Once again, professional car stereo installers have a ton of knowledge in this, and will tell you how big the box needs to be, and what size speaker will go into it. Plus, they will just build it for you, and install it. What could be easier?
If you are trying to find out what size speaker fits in your car, those are the basic options you have to do this yourself. Please, do not be ashamed to ask for help on this. The last thing you want is to spend the money on a good set of speakers, and put them in the wrong location. This will end up not sounding good, plus you will have wasted your money. Get the right speakers for the right job and you will be definitely happy.
How To Repair Your Car’s Power Windows
As you’re driving down the turnpike and approaching the tollbooth, you reach for the switch to lower your window and nothing happens. The switch moves but the window does not budge. Not even a noise from the window motor can be heard which strongly suggests to you that the device is not functioning. You must stop your car and open up the door to pay the attendant before continuing on your trip. Thoughts of an expensive car repair bill are dancing through your head, putting you in a foul mood and tempering the anticipated fun of your getaway weekend. Don’t despair: you can repair the power window yourself and save a bundle over expensive dealership charges. Let’s take a look at the steps you can take to fix the problem yourself and save a lot of cash in the process.
Before assuming that the window regulator must be replaced you should first rule out the possibility of dirty electrical contacts. On most cars the main power for all switches goes through the master switch located at the driver’s console. Sometimes the switch is dirty causing the window to malfunction. If this is the case, take the necessary steps to clean the contact and your problem should be resolved.
Should you determine that the contacts are clean and your switch is functioning, then it is likely that the motor has burned out and is in need of replacing. Whether you are installing a Honda window regulator or a Volkswagen window regulator, or a regulator for any other make the steps involved in replacing a window regulator are usually quite similar:
1. Remove the door panel for the affected window.
2. Locate and remove the bolts holding the regulator to the door; it is likely you will have to manually lower the window in order to access the bolts.
3. Remove the old regulator, disconnect all wiring, and replace the old regulator with a new one you have purchased from a parts supplier. Shop online to find the best value as you will pay a mint if you order one through a dealership.
4. Tighten the bolts holding the new regulator and reinstall the moisture barrier. Make sure all the wires are put back in the door before closing the door panel.
5. Engage the power window switch and the new regulator should work unimpeded.
Of course, follow your car‘s repair manual for specific instructions.
I’ve given to you a general outline to convince you that this is a task that even a novice mechanic can handle – in other words: you can do it! By handling the problem yourself, you’ll save plenty of money by avoiding garages who will mark up the replacement part as well as tack on several hours of labor costs to your bill. Shop online to compare prices and to receive the best shipping and handling arrangements available.
Car Reliability 2011 – Consumer Reports’ Best Cars
Each year Consumer Reports predicts the reliability of vehicle models based on the reported performance over the preceding 3 years, or fewer years if data are limited, as they are for newer models such as the Ford Fusion. The best small cars, family cars, upscale/luxury cars, minivan, small SUVs, midsize SUVs, Luxury SUVs, and pickup trucks by CR’s predicted infrequency of serious problems is given below.
In the small car category, Honda and Toyota vehicles dominate. The five best small cars of 2011 are:
Toyota Yaris, a sedan or 2-door or 4-door hatchback
Honda Fit, a 4-door hatchback
Toyota Motor Corporation’s Scion xD, a 4-door hatchback
Honda Civic Coupe
Honda Civic Sedan.
For comparison, last year’s 2010 Auto Reliability Grade Point Averages (GPAs) of these models for model years 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 are:
Toyota Yaris Hatchback: a perfect 4.00
Honda Fit: 4.00
Scion xD: 4.00
Honda Civic Coupe: N/A
Honda Civic Sedan: 3.50.
In the category of family cars, Ford Motor Company captures first and second place for 2011 predicted reliability. The two are:
Ford Fusion Hybrid
Ford Fusion with a V6 engine and front-wheel drive.
The 2010 Auto Reliability GPAs of these models are:
Ford Fusion Hybrid: 4.00 (based on only a one-year data history)
Ford Fusion with a V6 and fwd: 3.75.
In the category of upscale/luxury cars, Honda and Toyota account for all four in the list. These are:
Honda Motor Company’s Acura RL,
Honda’s Acura TL
Toyota’s Lexus IS 250 Sedan with rear-wheel drive
Toyota’s Lexus ES.
The year earlier GPAs are:
Acura RL: 2.67
Acura TL: 3.25
Lexus IS 250 with rwd: 2.50
Lexus ES: 3.50.
Two of the above are very modest.
Not making this year’s upscale/luxury car list are Ford’s Lincoln MKZ and its 4-cylinder Mercury Milan, both of which had 2010 GPAs of a perfect 4.00 last year.
In the category of larger wagons and minivans, the best is the V6, front-wheel-drive Toyota Sienna. The 2010 Reliability GPA of the front-wheel-drive Sienna for the 4 recent years is a more modest 3.00.
The 5 best small SUVs are:
Honda CR-V
Toyota RAV4 with a V6 engine
Mitsubishi Outlander
Toyota RAV4 with a 4-cylinder engine
Subaru Forester with a non-turbo engine.
The 2010 GPAs of these best for the 4 most recent model years are:
Honda CR-V: 3.75
Toyota RAV4 with a V6: 3.40
Mitsubishi Outlander: 3.00
Toyota RAV4 with a 4-cylinder: 3.75
Subaru Forester with a non-turbo engine: 4.00.
The 4-cylinder RAV4 and the Honda CR-V have outstanding 10-year mean GPAs of 3.88 and 3.63, respectively.
The 5 best midsize SUVs are:
Toyota FJ Cruiser
Toyota Highlander with a 4-cylinder engine
Toyota Highlander with a V6 engine
Hyundai Santa Fe with a V6 engine
Nissan Pathfinder.
The 2010 GPAs of these best for the 4 most recent model years are:
Toyota FJ Cruiser: 4.00
Toyota Highlander with a 4-cylinder engine: N/A
Toyota Highlander with a V6 engine: 3.75
Hyundai Santa Fe with a V6 engine: 2.75
Nissan Pathfinder: 1.67.
The V6 Toyota Highlander has an outstanding 10-year mean GPA of 3.94. The Pathfinder’s jump to best from a very mediocre 2010 GPA suggests thin data making an accurate rating difficult.
The 3 best upscale/luxury SUVs are:
Toyota’s Lexus LX
Honda’s Acura RDX
Honda’s Acura MDX.
The 2010 GPAs of these best for the 4 most recent model years are:
Toyota’s Lexus LX: 3.67
Honda’s Acura RDX: 3.33
Honda’s Acura MDX: 3.50.
The Lexus LX has an excellent mean 10-year GPA of 3.79 for 2010; the MDX’s is a more modest 3.31.
The 5 best pickup trucks are:
Toyota Tundra with a V6 engine
Honda Ridgeline
Nissan Frontier with 2-wheel drive
Ford Ranger with 2-wheel drive
Toyota Tundra with a V8 engine and 4-wheel drive.
The Ridgeline has a notable recent GPA of 3.75.
6 Home Remedies to Remove Acne Scars
Do you have acne scarring but plastic surgery is out of the question? No need to worry. While you may not get Dr. 90210 like results, items available in your own kitchen can help improve acne scarring if done correctly.
In two simple steps, all you need to do to affordably improve your acne scarring is:
1. Gently remove the damaged layers of the skin and
2. Nurture your skin with collagen and moisture building foods so that your skin can more rapidly repair itself.
Acne Scar Remedy 1: Lemons
If your acne scars dark, you can use lemon juice to lighten them. Cleanse your face with lemon juice. Dab one teaspoon of lemon juice into a cotton ball and smooth it over the acne marks. Leave for ten minutes, then rinse. Use caution with lemon juice because it can make your skin photosensitive. So be certain to use a sunscreen on any area you treat with lemon juice prior to going out into the sun.
Acne Scar Remedy 2: Soda
Exfoliate your skin with baking soda. Often times a version of baking soda is used in cosmetic microdermabrasion treatments. You can give yourself a mini microdermabrasion treatment by mixing one teaspoon of baking soda with the two teaspoons of filtered water. Then gently rub the mixture on your acne scar for sixty seconds then rinse it off.
Acne Scar Remedy 3: Olives
After exfoliating your skin with baking soda, massage a pea-sized amount of olive oil onto your face. Acne scaring can cause the skin to lose its elasticity and suppleness. The moisturizing nutrients in the olive oil will penetrate the skin to deeply moisturize the skin and soften the skin’s texture.
Acne Scar Remedy 4: Fruits
In addition to eating fresh fruits to supply your skin with collagen building vitamin C, you can also smear them onto your face for gentle acid exfoliation. Just puree a forth a cup of pineapple and smooth it onto your face. Leave it for 10-15 minutes, then rinse. Since the pineapples contains ascorbic acid, it will impart a brightening effect on the face, and help fade acne marks.
Acne Scar Remedy 5: Water
It cannot be said enough. “Your skin needs water.” Especially when you want to promote the type of skin repair needed to heal acne scarring. Your skin needs water to keep the skin plump, to remove toxins, and the build new skin cells. Drink at least 80 ounces of filtered water a day to give your skin the quality and quantity of water it needs to reveal healthier, fresher skin.
Acne Scar Remedy 6: Consistency
The ultimate ingredient needed to completely remove acne scars is consistency. Acne scars form over a series of weeks, layer by layer. To remove the acne scarring, you need to use your acne home remedy on a daily basis to remove the damaged scar tissue layer by layer.
To be successful at fading and healing your acne scars at home, you just need to plan in advance. Devote time to removing the damaged skin and giving yourself the nutrients you need to build healthier skin. For example, you can decide to spend five minutes a day exfoliating your skin with baking soda or pineapple and another ten minutes enjoying collagen building foods like soy, grapes or oranges. Do it consistently and you will see and improvement in your scars.
How Much Does a Used Car Extended Warranty Cost?
A used-car extended warranty can cost as little as $65 and as much as $3400. It all depends on the make and model of your vehicle and what type of coverage that you want AND where you buy it. It is much cheaper to buy direct through a good warranty company than it is to buy it through a dealership.
Obviously, if you are looking for warranty coverage on a $50,000 car, you can definitely expect to pay much more than someone that is wanting to insure the typical sedan.
You can certainly save a tremendous amount of money by comparing quotes from multiple companies using an online comparison website that allows you to see what various companies charge based upon year, make and model of auto. This is by far, the most convenient and effective way of making an educated decision and not being taken to the cleaners when it comes time to make a claim on a repair bill.
Used-car extended warranties are a major profit of in car dealerships and you can expect to pay a lot more money for a service contract if you buy it at a dealership. Many people are not aware that you can buy an extended warranty for your car at any time. You do not have to make a rushed decision in a dealership finance office.
Finance managers will frequently indirectly pressure you to make a fast decision about an extended car warranty because they tell you that you can simply add it to your monthly payment. What many people are not aware of is that you can get an extended warranty for pennies on the dollar in comparison to what they cost at dealerships. There are legitimate companies that can offer you excellent warranty coverage with no deductible costs.
The Car Rental Industry
Market Overview
The car rental industry is a multi-billion dollar sector of the US economy. The US segment of the industry averages about $18.5 billion in revenue a year. Today, there are approximately 1.9 million rental vehicles that service the US segment of the market. In addition, there are many rental agencies besides the industry leaders that subdivide the total revenue, namely Dollar Thrifty, Budget and Vanguard. Unlike other mature service industries, the rental car industry is highly consolidated which naturally puts potential new comers at a cost-disadvantage since they face high input costs with reduced possibility of economies of scale. Moreover, most of the profit is generated by a few firms including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis. For the fiscal year of 2004, Enterprise generated $7.4 billion in total revenue. Hertz came in second position with about $5.2 billion and Avis with $2.97 in revenue.
Level of Integration
The rental car industry faces a completely different environment than it did five years ago. According to Business Travel News, vehicles are being rented until they have accumulated 20,000 to 30,000 miles until they are relegated to the used car industry whereas the turn-around mileage was 12,000 to 15,000 miles five years ago. Because of slow industry growth and narrow profit margin, there is no imminent threat to backward integration within the industry. In fact, among the industry players only Hertz is vertically integrated through Ford.
Scope of Competition
There are many factors that shape the competitive landscape of the car rental industry. Competition comes from two main sources throughout the chain. On the vacation consumer’s end of the spectrum, competition is fierce not only because the market is saturated and well guarded by industry leader Enterprise, but competitors operate at a cost disadvantage along with smaller market shares since Enterprise has established a network of dealers over 90 percent the leisure segment. On the corporate segment, on the other hand, competition is very strong at the airports since that segment is under tight supervision by Hertz. Because the industry underwent a massive economic downfall in recent years, it has upgraded the scale of competition within most of the companies that survived. Competitively speaking, the rental car industry is a war-zone as most rental agencies including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis among the major players engage in a battle of the fittest.
Growth
Over the past five years, most firms have been working towards enhancing their fleet sizes and increasing the level of profitability. Enterprise currently the company with the largest fleet in the US has added 75,000 vehicles to its fleet since 2002 which help increase its number of facilities to 170 at the airports. Hertz, on the other hand, has added 25,000 vehicles and broadened its international presence in 150 counties as opposed to 140 in 2002. In addition, Avis has increased its fleet from 210,000 in 2002 to 220,000 despite recent economic adversities. Over the years following the economic downturn, although most companies throughout the industry were struggling, Enterprise among the industry leaders had been growing steadily. For example, annual sales reached $6.3 in 2001, $6.5 in 2002, $6.9 in 2003 and $7.4 billion in 2004 which translated into a growth rate of 7.2 percent a year for the past four years. Since 2002, the industry has started to regain its footing in the sector as overall sales grew from $17.9 billion to $18.2 billion in 2003. According to industry analysts, the better days of the rental car industry have yet to come. Over the course of the next several years, the industry is expected to experience accelerated growth valued at $20.89 billion each year following 2008 “which equates to a CAGR of 2.7 % [increase] in the 2003-2008 period.”
Distribution
Over the past few years the rental car industry has made a great deal of progress to facilitate it distribution processes. Today, there are approximately 19,000 rental locations yielding about 1.9 million rental cars in the US. Because of the increasingly abundant number of car rental locations in the US, strategic and tactical approaches are taken into account in order to insure proper distribution throughout the industry. Distribution takes place within two interrelated segments. On the corporate market, the cars are distributed to airports and hotel surroundings. On the leisure segment, on the other hand, cars are distributed to agency owned facilities that are conveniently located within most major roads and metropolitan areas.
In the past, managers of rental car companies used to rely on gut-feelings or intuitive guesses to make decisions about how many cars to have in a particular fleet or the utilization level and performance standards of keeping certain cars in one fleet. With that methodology, it was very difficult to maintain a level of balance that would satisfy consumer demand and the desired level of profitability. The distribution process is fairly simple throughout the industry. To begin with, managers must determine the number of cars that must be on inventory on a daily basis. Because a very noticeable problem arises when too many or not enough cars are available, most car rental companies including Hertz, Enterprise and Avis, use a “pool” which is a group of independent rental facilities that share a fleet of vehicles. Basically, with the pools in place, rental locations operate more efficiently since they reduce the risk of low inventory if not eliminate rental car shortages.
Market Segmentation
Most companies throughout the chain make a profit based of the type of cars that are rented. The rental cars are categorized into economy, compact, intermediate, premium and luxury. Among the five categories, the economy sector yields the most profit. For instance, the economy segment by itself is responsible for 37.7 percent of the total market revenue in 2004. In addition, the compact segment accounted for 32.3 percent of overall revenue. The rest of the other categories covers the remaining 30 percent for the US segment.
Historical Levels of Profitability
The overall profitability of the car rental industry has been shrinking in recent years. Over the past five years, the industry has been struggling just like the rest of the travel industry. In fact, between the years 2001 and 2003 the US market has experienced a moderate reduction in the level of profitability. Specifically, revenue fell from $19.4 billion in 2000 to $18.2 billion in 2001. Subsequently, the overall industry revenue eroded further to $17.9 billion in 2002; an amount that is minimally higher than $17.7 billion which is the overall revenue for the year 1999. In 2003, the industry experienced a barely noticeable increase which brought profit to $18.2 billion. As a result of the economic downturn in recent years, some of the smaller players that were highly dependent on the airline industry have done a great deal of strategy realignments as a way of preparing their companies to cope with eventual economic adversities that may surround the industry. For the year 2004, on the other hand, the economic situation of most firms have gradually improved throughout the industry since most rental agencies have returned far greater profits relative to the anterior years. For instance, Enterprise realized revenues of $7.4 billion; Hertz returned revenues of $5.2 billion and Avis with $2.9 billion in revenue for the fiscal year of 2004. According to industry analysts, the rental car industry is expected to experience steady growth of 2.6 percent in revenue over the next several years which translates into an increase in profit.
Competitive Rivalry Among Sellers
There are many factors that drive competition within the car rental industry. Over the past few years, broadening fleet sizes and increasing profitability has been the focus of most companies within the car rental industry. Enterprise, Hertz and Avis among the leaders have been growing both in sales and fleet sizes. In addition, competition intensifies as firms are constantly trying to improve their current conditions and offer more to consumers. Enterprise has nearly doubled its fleet size since 1993 to approximately 600,000 cars today. Because the industry operates on such narrow profit margins, price competition is not a factor; however, most companies are actively involved in creating values and providing a range of amenities from technological gadgets to even free rental to satisfy customers. Hertz, for example, integrates its Never-Lost GPS system within its cars. Enterprise, on the other hand, uses sophisticated yield management software to manage its fleets.
Finally, Avis uses its OnStar and Skynet system to better serve the consumer base and offers free weekend rental if a customer rents a car for five consecutive days Moreover, the consumer base of the rental car industry has relatively low to no switching cost. Conversely, rental agencies face high fixed operating costs including property rental, insurance and maintenance. Consequently, rental agencies are sensitively pricing there rental cars just to recover operating costs and adequately meet their customers demands. Furthermore, because the industry experienced slow growth in recent years due to economic stagnation that resulted in a massive decline in both corporate travel and the leisure sector, most companies including the industry leaders are aggressively trying to reposition their firms by gradually lessening the dependency level on the airline industry and regaining their footing in the leisure competitive arena.
The Potential Entry of new Competitors
Entering the car rental industry puts new comers at a serious disadvantage. Over the past few years following the economic downturn of 2001, most major rental companies have started increasing their market shares in the vacation sector of the industry as a way of insuring stability and lowering the level of dependency between the airline and the car rental industry. While this trend has engendered long term success for the existing firms, it has heightened the competitive landscape for new comers. Because of the severity of competition, existing firms such as Enterprise, Hertz and Avis carefully monitor their competitive radars to anticipate Sharpe retaliatory strikes against new entrants. Another barrier to entry is created because of the saturation level of the industry.
For example, Enterprise has taken the first mover advantage with its 6000 facilities by saturating the leisure segment thereby placing not only high restrictions on the most common distribution channels, but also high resource requirements for new firms. Today, Enterprise has a rental location within 15 miles of 90 percent of the US population. Because of the network of dealers Enterprise has established around the nation, it has become relatively stable, more recession proof and most importantly, less reliant on the airline industry compared to its competitors. Hertz, on the other hand, is utilizing the full spectrum of its 7200 stores to secure its position in the marketplace. Basically, the emergence of most of the industry leaders into the leisure market not only drives rivalry, but also it varies directly with the level of complexity of entering the car rental industry.
The Threat of Substitute
There are many substitutes available for the car rental industry. From a technological standpoint, renting a car to go the distance for a meeting is a less attractive alternative as opposed to video conferencing, virtual teams and collaboration software with which a company can immediately setup a meeting with its employees from anywhere around the world at a cheaper cost. In addition, there are other alternatives including taking a cab which is a satisfactory substitute relative to quality and switching cost, but it may not be as attractively priced as a rental car for the course of a day or more. While public transportation is the most cost efficient of the alternatives, it is more costly in terms of the process and time it takes to reach one’s destination. Finally, because flying offers convenience, speed and performance, it is a very enticing substitute; however, it is an unattractive alternative in terms of price relative to renting a car. On the business segment, car rental agencies have more protection against substitutes since many companies have implemented travel policies that establish the parameters of when renting a car or using a substitute is the best course of action.
According to Tracy Esch, an Advantage director of marketing operations, her company rents cars up to a 200-mile trip before considering an alternative. Basically, the threat of substitute is reasonably low in the car rental industry since the effects the substitute products have do not pose a significant threat of profit erosion throughout the industry.
The Bargaining Power of Suppliers
Supplier power is low in the car rental industry. Because of the availability of substitutes and the level of competition, suppliers do not have a great deal of influence in the terms and conditions of supplying the rental cars. Because the rental cars are usually purchased in bulk, rental car agents have significant influence over the terms of the sale since they possess the ability to play one supplier against another to lower the sales price. Another factor that reduces supplier power is the absence of switching cost. That is, buyers are not affected from purchasing from one supplier over another and most importantly, changing to different supplier’s products is barely noticeable and does not affect consumer’s rental choices.
The Bargaining Power of Buyers
While the leisure sector has little or no power, the business segment possesses a significant amount of influence in the car rental industry. An interesting trend that is currently underway throughout the industry is forcing car rental companies to adapt to the needs of corporate travelers. This trend significantly reduces supplier power or the rental firms’ power and increases corporate buyer power since the business segment is excruciatingly price sensitive, well informed about the industry’s price structure, purchase in larger quantities and they use the internet to force lower prices. Vacation buyers, on the other hand, have less influence over the rental terms. Because vacationers are usually less price sensitive, purchase in lesser amounts or purchase more infrequently, they have weak bargaining power.
Five Forces
Today the car rental industry is facing a completely different environment than it did five years ago. Competitively speaking, the revolution of the five forces around the car rental industry exerts some strong economic pressure that has significantly tarnished the competitive attractiveness of the industry. As a result of the economic downturn in recent years, many companies went under namely Budget and the Vanguard Group because their business infrastructure succumbed to the untenability of the competitive environment. Today, very few firms including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis return a slightly above-average revenue compared to the rest of the industry. Realistically speaking, the car rental sector is not a very attractive industry because of the level of competition, the barriers to entry and the competitive pressure from the substitute firms.
Strategic Group Mapping
As a moderately concentrated sector, there is a clear hierarchy in the car rental industry. From an economic standpoint, disparities exist from a number of dimensions including revenue, fleet size and the market size each firm holds in the market place. For instance, Enterprise dominates the industry with a fleet size of approximately 600,000 vehicles along with its market size and its level of profitability. Hertz comes in second position with its number of market shares and fleet volume. In addition, Avis ranks third on the map. Avis is among one of the companies that is having issues recovering its revenue margins from prior to the economic downturn. For instance, in 2000 Avis returned revenues of approximately $4.23 billion. Over the course of the next several years following 2000, the revenue of Avis has been significantly lower than that of 2000. As a way of reducing uncertainty most companies are gradually lessening the level of dependency on the airline industry and emerging the leisure market. This trend may not be in the best interest of Hertz since its business strategy is intricately linked to the airports.
Key Success Factors
There are many key success factors that drive profitability throughout the car rental industry. Capacity utilization is one of the factors that determines success in the industry. Because rental firms experience loss of revenue when there are either too few or too many cars sitting in their lots, it is of paramount importance to efficiently manage the fleets. This success factor represents a big strength for the industry since it lowers if not completely eliminates the possibly of running short on rental cars. Efficient distribution is another factor that keeps the industry profitable. Despite the positive relationship between fleet sizes and the level of profitability, firms are constantly growing their fleet sizes because of the competitive forces that surround the industry. In addition, convenience is one of the crucial attributes by which consumers select rental firms. That is, car rental consumers are more prone to renting cars from firms that have convenient rental and drop off locations. Another key success factor that is common among competing firms is the integration of technology in their business processes. Through technology, for instance, the car rental companies create ways to meet consumer demand by making renting a car a very agreeable ordeal by adding the convenience of online rental among other alternatives. Furthermore, firms have integrated navigation systems along with roadside assistance to offer customers the piece of mind when renting cars.
Industry Attractiveness
There are many factors that impact the attractiveness of the car rental industry. Because the industry is moderately concentrated, it puts new market entrants at a disadvantage. That is, its low concentration represents a natural barrier to entering the industry as it allows existing firm to anticipate sharp retaliations against new entrants. Because of the risks associated with entering the industry among other factors, it is not a very attractive sector of the marketplace. From a competitive standpoint, the leisure market is 90 percent saturated because of the active efforts of Enterprise to dominate this sector of the market. On the other hand, the airport terminals are heavily guarded by Hertz. Realistically speaking, entry in the industry offers low profitability relative to the costs and risks associated. For most consumers, the main determining factors of choosing one company over another are price and convenience. Because of this reason, rental firms are very circumspect about setting their rates and that generally force even the industry major players in the position of offering more to the consumers for less just to remain competitive. Hertz, for example, offers wireless internet to its customers just to add more convenience to their travel plans. Avis on the other hand, offers free weekend specials if a customer rents a car for five consecutive weekdays. Based on the impact of the five forces, the car rental sector is not a very attractive industry to potential new market entrants.
Conclusion
The rental car industry is in a state of recovery. Although it may seem like the industry is performing well financially, it is nonetheless gradually regaining its footing relative to its actual economic position within the last five years. As a way of insuring profitability, besides seeking market shares and stability, most companies throughout the chain have a common goal that deals with lowering the level of dependency on the airline industry and moving toward the leisure segment. This state of motion has engendered some fierce competition among industry competitors as they attempt to defend their market shares. From a futuristic perspective, the better days of the car rental industry have yet to come. As the level of profitability increases, I believe that most of the industry leaders including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis will be bounded by the economic and competitive barriers of mobility of their strategic groups and new comers will have a better chance of infiltrating and realizing success in the car rental industry.
Sources
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“Car & Truck Rental.” Hoover’s AB&D Company. Jan. 2005 . Hoovers. 04 Feb 2005. http://premium.hoovers.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu/subscribe/ind/factsheet.xhtm. “
Rental car foes war on each other’s turf.” The Associate Press. Fall 2004. The Enquirer. 08 March 2005. http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/10/11/biz_rentalcars111.html.
“United States – Car Rental.” Data Monitor Industry Market Research. Nov. 2004. Gale. 12 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu/sessions?products=BNI.
“A synthesis of tactical fleet planning models for the car rental industry.” IIE Transactions. Sept. 2003. Gale. 12 March 2005. [http://www.fleet-central.com/arn/01stat3.cfm].
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“Tracy Esch.” “Car rental market leaders make rebound .” Business Travel News. May 2002. Gale. 12 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.
“Avis Equips Rental Car with Satcomms 1999.” Newsbytes News Network. Oct. 1999. Gale. 12 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.
“Car Rental In the United States.” Data Monitor Industry Market Research. Nov. 2004 . Gale. 13 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.
“Global – Car Rental.” Data Monitor Industry Market Research. Nov. 2004 . Gale. 13 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.
“Corporate and Travel Trends.” Travel Trade Gazette. Nov. 2003 . ProQuest. 14 March 2005. http://www.proquest.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.
“Car rental market leaders make rebound.” Business Travel News. May. 2002 . Gale. 14 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.
“Car rental market leaders make rebound.” Business Travel News. May. 2002 . Gale. 14 March 2005. http://search.rdsinc.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu.
“Ovation Travel.” Wall Street Transcript. May. 2002 . LexisNexis. 14 March 2004. http://www.lexisnexis.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu/cis.
“Avis Offers New Deal for Free Weekends.” Newswire. Feb. 2004 . LexisNexis. 15 March 2004. http://www.lexisnexis.com.ucfproxy.fcla.edu/cis.
How To Paint Your Car
Masking & Preparation
To begin this venture we need to clean the metal on the car. After we clean the metal, make sure it’s dry before we begin to mask the car, also do a last minute check to be sure it’s free of all dirt grease and other contaminants.
Now it’s time to mask the car, and be sure to mask all that you don’t want painted leaving no masking hanging of the car, that would get in the way of a nice paint job. The main idea of the whole thing is to produce the best quality paint possible with the given surroundings, it is preferred that you have a paint booth, but if not, make sure that the area that you use to perform the work is ultra clean and dust free.
After the car has been masked it’s time to get ready to spray the primer, once again make sure that you have cleaned your surroundings, it’s best to have some water on the floor to keep the dust down, once you are confident that the area is clean then you can begin checking the spray guns to be sure that they are clean. This is a very important step especially if they’re not your guns, dirty guns will make an ugly paint job there for wasting all of your time.
Now that you have determined that the paint guns are clean, make sure that your respirator is in good working order. Now be sure that you have all the products that you need to perform the primer job on the car. You will need primer, reducer and catalyst, you will also need strainers, stir sticks and a measuring device.
It’s best not to have to leave the paint booth during the time that your priming the car. Reducer comes in different temperatures and you need to know what temp is best for your working conditions.
The temps are as follows, their is a high temp that is designed to dry slower when it’s hot in the area where your working, high temp is good for 80 degrees and up, theirs also a mid temp, this probably the most popular temp used this is best used from 55 to 80 degrees and is designed to dry faster to make up for the colder temp, due to the fact primer will run easier in the cold weather. Now we have low temp reducer this will dry extremely slow therefore for giving the primer a better chance to run. I tell you all this in an effort to help you better understand the products that you are working with, the more you know the better armed you are for problems when they happen.
Now it’s time to enter the paint booth, and as you do pay attention to the booth filters and be sure that they sure clean also. Now get your can of primer and read the instructions on the side, usually the mix is 4:1 or 4 parts primer to one part reducer and a cap or two of catalyst and for the best results follow these instructions. After you spray the first coat of primer, you will need to wait 15 to 20 minute before you can spray the next and so on, the way I like to do this is to give the body work areas a coat or two first to build them up. The whole reason we use primer is is to give the paint a smooth surface to stick to and give the metal some protection from the elements, it’s usually a good idea to get 4 or 5 good coats on the car.
If you are really serious about the way that you want it to look the you might want to take the primer one step farther and use an etching primer before you spray the urethane or epoxy primer, an etching primer will give the top coat just a little more to stick to. Etching primer has no building qualities there for it’s not used for smoothing out waves in your work, but it will make the primer stick allot better.
I do suggest that you always use a urethane primer,and not lacquer type,as lacquer can and will shrink urethane or epoxy is recommended for best results. Epoxy is a very hard primer to sand but it’s extremely tough, and urethane is I think probably your best choice,because it’s high building and easy sanding, their are a lot of brands to choose from, I use DuPont euro myself but it’s all up to you to choose that.
Now that your card is primed, it’s time to remove the masking, and I like to do this while it’s still a little wet for the sake of ease, just be very careful about how you do it, you don’t want to screw up all that nice work, so just take it slow and easy while pulling the masking off your car.
(Sanding)
Well now the hard part is here, before you start to sand the car you’ll want to be sure that it’s been guide coated, this will make it easier for you to get an ultra smooth finish. Heres where we weed the boys form the men, if your trying to do a show finish on the car that your painting, you will want to sand it by hand with water running on it all the time.
This is the hard part,and you will have lazy people that will want to use a machine to do this, this is just a word to the wise, you have allot better control over a hand block. The best way to produce this type of high quality work is to have the best control over it that you can, offten a machine will go through your primer. If your trying to produce show quality work this would mean priming that area again I.E. more time spent, this is time that could be spent better doing other things.
Now I will explain a bit about what a guide coat is, this is it in a nut-shell. The guide coat is the step right after the car has been primed, you should do this before you pull the masking, what this in tails is misting a light coat of black paint over the primer so that you can see the low spots in your work, and no matter how good you are, you will have low spots. The idea behind this is to sand all the guide coat off with out going through to the metal on your car.
Now it’s time to start the actual sanding of the car, you need to pay close attention to detail on this part of the paint job, the better you sand it, the better it will look. I usually start with 320 grit wet paper on a medium hard block, this grit is good for getting the guide coat smoothed out, their will most likely be some small low spots that will require either spot filler or more primer. This is one of those areas where you need to pay a little attention to detail, here you will need to look at the depth of the low spot and think about it, how low is it will primer alone fill it, or will it take spot filler and then primer.
Now that you’ve finished that part it’s time to move on to the next grit of paper, I usually move to 400 grit on a medium- hard sanding block from here, you don’t want to move up to far because it can leave scratches form the previous grit of paper, so a word to the wise, don’t get in a hurry and move up to far a once this will leave seeable scratches in your work. After you’ve sanded the whole car with the 400 grit wet paper then inspect it for bare metal and guide coat still there.
The whole idea with sanding is to make the primer look the way that you want the paint to look, I sand my primer until it has a smooth shiny finish on it, as if it were the paint on the car.
You need to have a vision of how you want it to look, the one thing that you need to know is, the better you want it to look, the more you will pay for materials. Just a word of caution cheap paint materials are just exactly that cheap!!!!! and don’t use them if you want a nice paint job.
You might save some money but you will not save the agony of a crappy looking paint job. Think about this before you go and buy cheap primers and paints, do I love my car or is it just some turd to push me to work and the old ladies and back, if you love your car then don’t put cheap crap on it.
Now that I’m through with my little lecture on low quality products, it’s time to move on to the next sanding step. From 400 grit I usually move up to 600 grit wet paper, this is where I usually stop unless requested to go one more step, this is really as far as you need to go with the sanding. After you finish with the 600 grit do one final inspection of the work before cleaning it.
Well now it’s time to clean the car, for this just use soap and water, just like washing a car normally. You should blow it dry though, this being the main difference between this and a regular wash job, be sure to blow all the water out of the little cracks in the car, like the cowl area, under the hood, between the doors and in the trunk lid. Believe me this will blow water on your paint during the actual painting of the car, so be very through about this step.
If you miss some and it happens to get in your paint during the spraying process it will bubble the paint, the paint will look horrible so be sure to get all of the water out of the car first.
Now it’s to mask for the actual paint, for this refer back to the top of this page. Masking right is an art and you better take this part very serious if you want a good job.
Now that you’ve masked your car it’s time to put it in the paint booth, hopefully this is a temperature controlled booth, in any case when you roll that car in the booth all you should have to do is clean and spray, again before you put your car in the booth make sure that it’s ultra clean in there and ready to go.
Now make sure that you have everything you need in there to paint the car I.E. paint, reducer, catalyst, stir sticks, strainers and stir sticks and a measuring stick. Once again check your respirator and be sure that it’s working properly, tie your hair back and if you have a beard cover your face.
Follow all instructions on the back of the paint can to the letter or it could cause problems with the out come of your paint.
Now that you have the car in the booth, be sure to double check the masking on it, what you are looking for here is perfection and nothing less.
This means everything that if you don’t want it painted it must be masked for sure, their is no room for error here. Now you need to take a look at the supplies that you have to do the job with, and inventory them to be sure that you have everything you need to complete the job, the last thing you need is to find that you don’t have something right in the middle of painting the car. Here’s a list of what you will need for the job.
Supply List
1) Paint
2) sealer
3) reducer
4) Catalyst
5) Tack Cloths, preferably designed for clear coat
6) Measuring Cups
7) Stir Sticks
Measuring Stick
9) Strainers
10) Respirator in working order
Now I will give you a few things to think about, if your painting with metallic paints then you must pay allot attention to the settings on your paint gun. Metallic paints will tend to get lighter if the pressure goes up and darker if it goes down, your fluid flow and fan on your gun will also effect this.
Now I will give you a basic mixing chart, most paints will follow this chart.
Instructions
1) get your paint ready to pour.
2) make sure that your mixing cup is clean.
3) Get your strainer and sticks.
4) Put a strainer in the top of the measuring cup.
5) Now pay close attention to the level of paint in the cup.
Paint Mixing Table. Always be sure to read and follow the paint manufactures mixing guide lines. These mixing ratios are just a basic idea of what to do, things will change with different manufactures.
Recommended Air Pressure At Gun Head. Paint Mix Ratios. Paint Product.
25-40 PSI Mix 4:1:1 Base Coat
25-40 PSI Mix 4:1:1 Sealer
25-40 PSI Mix 4:1:1 Clear Coat
25-40 PSI Mix 2:1:1 Primer Coat
When using a paint gun, you try to achieve a certain spray pattern without any heavy or light areas, in the pattern chart above you would try to achieve pattern (A).
Now a lesson on gun angle. Their are only two angles you should ever need to use when holding a spray gun, and they are 45 and 90 degrees angles to the surface of the car that you are spraying, these angles will give you the best outcome possible, and also you should try to keep the spray gun at about 6 to 8 inches from your work. If you get much closer you will more then likely cause a run in the paint and, much more distance and you will get a dry look to your paint job, you also need to get a feel for the speed that you need to move the gun according to the air pressure and fluid flow of the gun.
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Battery Reconditioning
Reconditioning old batteries and reviving batteries which appear to be dead is not a major problem once you know how. To learn how to recondition batteries requires little outlay with many experts on the net giving the low-down for well under forty bucks.
Once you have learned the methods (there are one or two, depending on the type of battery) the costs per battery are extremely low and the effort involved to recondition an old battery very low indeed. If you learn how to recondition a battery, you may even find it to be a profitable business venture on a small or larger scale. Handy resources will be referred to later in the article.
Although it isn’t hard to recondition or revive a battery, excellence in anything should never be underestimated. To learn how to fix a battery to its original state, it is crucial to understand the following.
Simple techniques to revive a completely dead battery back to 100% of its original charge capacity (full power) are readily available. It’s really not that difficult. Keep in mind that rechargeable batteries enable users to forget about power cables which hinder manipulation of power tools, for example and restrict movement of any device to length of the cable from a power source.
Think about how many devices requiring electricity for power are portable nowadays. Okay, the type of battery may vary – be it for a fork-lift, a cell phone, a golf cart, power tools or iPods, to mention just a few – but for each type of battery there are quick and easy ways to revive them. I would stress again that the methods are cost effective whether for purely personal use or for a business.
To learn how to recondition automotive batteries, motorcycle batteries, marine batteries and motorized wheelchairs batteries is of great interest for people in all countries. In the States these batteries are expensive for any user and there will be an ever increasing market for reconditioned batteries when the cost of a new one is looked at. Conversely, there exists an ever increasing market in third-world countries where the price of a new battery is also prohibitive.
It is important to take on board that the unhealthy (if not dead) condition of a battery can be due to its charger which frequently malfunctions. But, much more frequently, it is the battery which is murdering the charger. So it is unfortunately common to find people replacing a perfectly good charger, in the belief that the charger is the problem, only to find it destroyed by the real culprit – the battery. Once a battery’s ‘natural’ lifespan has been exhausted it must be properly reconditioned in order for it not to be a threat to equipment and chargers.
It is also essential to know how to accurately measure the charge capacity of the battery in question. Of course this varies, but once you know precisely how much energy a battery can store at a given time, you can begin to assess the improvement you have made to its performance.
The importance of knowing how to revert a reversed cell cannot be overstated. It is one of the first things to evaluate about a dead battery. You won’t be able to do anything with it until you have fixed the reversed cell.
One of the best things to understand is exactly why it is that a battery needs reconditioning. A new battery develops a memory effect but, guess what, reconditioning a battery properly should dispel this effect completely. Now that is some feat and means it is possible to continually rejuvenate suspect batteries.
Battery reconditioning requires just a little knowledge and a few cheap tools. It is simply great to use around one’s own home and for family and friends. It can even turn into a nice little business. Try this battery reconditioning blog for more details: TechnoBlog