Archive for January, 2011
Essential Ways To Take Care Of Your Car
To keep your car looking good and performing well OzFreeOnline offers some simple guidelines that will give you all the information you need to know. Each week we will offer you some excellent suggestions in taking optimum care of your car.
UNDER THE BONNET
Do you know your way around under the hood of your car? While not as critical as it used to be periodically checking under the hood can head off problems before they become costly. Today with selfservice gas stations everywhere often the only way you will get it done is for you to do it yourself.
Start by reading your car owners manual or search for your car models manual on line if you bought a used automobile which most of the times doesn’t have manuals for the drivers for them. There will always be a section on under bonnet checks. A word about safety though: read the safety warnings in your owners manual and any safety warning stickers under the hood. Also its advisable that you keep a pair of old gloves and a roll of paper towels in the boot.
If the engine has been running for any length of time there are areas under the hood that can be very hot. Except for checking transmission fluid level all checks should be done while the engine is turned off. If the engine is running do not put your hands near any belts or fans.
BATTERY
Most batteries today are maintenance free which simply means that you cant check the water level. This doesnt mean however that there is nothing to check. The main things to check are the top of the battery which should be clean and dry and the terminal connections which should be clean and tight. If the top of the battery continuously becomes damp or corroded soon after cleaning then have the charging system and battery checked by your mechanic. If by chance you are considering to buy used cars from dealers and know nothing about batteries you might wanna check it by looking and inspecting the connection wires. If it is corroded it is rusty or white chemicals are forming you can ask the used car dealer to clean it or change the battery to save you more money.
Happy motoring and remember the best source to buy a used car today is OzFreeOnline.com Cars Section. To sell your car you can use our free car listings We promise itll cost you nothing.
To keep your car looking good and performing well OzFreeOnline offers you suggestions on checking the Coolant Antifreeze level as well as the engine oil level.
COOLANT ANTIFREEZE LEVEL
Never open the radiator of a car that has just been running. The cooling system of a car is under high pressure with fluid that is usually hotter than boiling water. Look for the cooling system reserve tank somewhere near the radiator. It is usually translucent white so you can see the fluid level without opening it. Do not confuse it with the windshield washer tank. The reserve tank will have two marks on the side of it. FULL HOT and FULL COLD. If the level frequently goes below full cold after adding fluid you probably have a leak which should be checked as soon as possible. Todays engines are much more susceptible to damage from overheating so do not neglect this important system. If your car is prone to overheating you might wanna change your engine coolant or have your radiator checked up. Cars bought from car auctions usually have this problem so you might wanna research the used car value and asking for the cars service and damage/accident history to be aware of this kind of problems. Having an overheating engine on the road could be a very difficult thing to deal with.
ENGINE OIL LEVEL
An engine cannot run without oil; oil is what prevents serious engine damage or total destruction! To check the oil level make sure that the engine is turned off then find the engine oil dipstick and remove it. With a paper towel or rag wipe off the end of the stick and notice the markings on it. You will usually see a mark for Full and another mark for Add’. If you have just acquired a used automobile it is wise to check the oil immediately to determine if it is required to refill or do an oil change. Clean oil also is best for car engines.
Check your owners manual to be sure. Push the stick back into the tube until it sets then immediately pull it out to see the oil level. You should not add oil unless the level is below the Add mark and NEVER add oil to bring the level above the Full mark. Your main concern with this check is that oil consumption is not rapidly increasing. If it is take your car to a repair shop as soon as possible and have it checked out. It is acceptable for the oil to be dark as long as you change it at the recommended intervals. However it should never be foamy and should never have a strong petrol smell. If either of these conditions exists have it checked out soon. Remember you can browse sites like OzFreeOnline to give you some tips and advices in properly maintaining your car but it is also advisable to pay a few dollars for an expert periodically to check your car to get it to its best condition.
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Difference Between A Road Bike And A Mountain Bike
Bikes are one craze among the boys which they really fall for. Many men are especially fond about the custom built motorbikes. There are many kinds of bikes and some of the most famous kinds of bikes are road bikes and mountain bikes they are known for their specialization of their particular task. Road bikes are generally built in such a way so that they enhance the speed and provide better mileage whereas on the other hand the mountain bikes are built to cater to the stability task. This is the major basis of differentiation between a road bike and a mountain bike. The following four areas will help to identify a better differentiation between a road and a mountain bike.
Design: Road bikes catering to the service of providing higher speed are designed in such a way that the riders position is present much closer to the top tube. This hunched position enables the rider to get more power from your legs and the negative impact present in this posture is that it causes much strain on the back. There is a difference present in the handle of both the bikes. On one hand mountain bikes possess wide handle bar offering more control to the rider as against the bent handle bars in the road bike. The handles in the road bike are lowered thus designed to offer more energy which in turn offers greater speed.
Mass: Heavy weight as a known fact imposes greater constraint on the speed .To move down through the mountain it is important that you go down slowly thus it becomes a necessity for mountain bikes to use heavy weight materials so as to reduce the speed of the vehicle. With a view to make the mountain bikes heavy they even have wider tyres and they even possess many suspension systems so that the ride down the mountain becomes more manageable. As far as the road bikes are concerned good road bikes are designed with a view to reduce the weight of the bike they utilize materials like titanium and carbon fibre which allows strength as well as they facilitate the function of reducing weight.
Tyres: Mountain bikes have traction. These are wide and they are closed with a covering material like rubber which increases the surface area. These features permit the rider to get more control as they are riding down the mountain. The tyres of a road bike are thin and smooth. As far as the maintenance of friction in a road bike is concerned this depends on the surface of the rubber and the skill of the rider to maintain the friction between the bike and the road.
Suspension: Road bikes are built with a sole purpose of providing greater speed; they do not possess this feature although they have certain materials which absorb the shocks of the uneven roads. Whereas in a mountain bike there are features like front shock absorbers and rear suspensions.
To conclude you can get a cheaper bike at a price of 200 whereas on the other hand if you are looking for custom made bikes they can cost you more.
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Chris Martin is a SEO Copywriter of Chopper bike . He has written many articles on Custom choppers custom chopper kit east texas chopper chopper for sale etc. For more information visit: ultimate chopper or email us at chrismartinseogmail.com
Confessions Of A Used Car Salesman
Consider the car lot as a battleground with you on one side and the used car dealer and his sales manager on the other. There are psych wars and price wars that go on albeit mostly on paper. But yes once you are in there you must come prepared.
Some ways you can gear up for the used car lot are: 1. Come in December; and 2. Come with your own financing.
December is often a desperate time for used car dealers because almost no one is spending on cars. At this time money goes into gifts and all the holiday merriment. Everyone in the used car lot is feeling the pressure to make a sale. When you step in there you can practically ask for all the perks and they will give it to you. Try it. Ask for free detailing lower interest rate on used car prices and a new window tint; you might just get it.
Also when you come come with financing. Financing is another service that the used car dealership offers. Without ready financing they will push their rates and their options further blurring what should be the focus of the day: the overall price of the used car and what your trade if any is worth. So get your own financing. In the end you will most probably be better off with the third partys terms anyway.
Many a used car dealer will tell you that the tricks of the trade are pretty much standard. You will get it at whichever used car dealership you go to.
A common trade tactic is the foursquare. This is a simple piece of paper thats folded in four. The used car dealer will write down the purchase used car prices and the trade value on the top deck and the downpayment and monthly payment on the lower deck.
You will be initially presented with the top deck. The used car dealer would run through this fast even if you register some dismay for the trade price maybe. He will try to get you to focus on the bottom deck which contains the down payment and
the monthly installment. Moreover in the scheme of things the numbers filled in these squares are from the sales manager not the used car dealer. They usually have this setup wherein the manager sits in the tower and the dealer goes back and forth from you to the manager as negotiations go on.
Be observant because if they have it their way you and the sales manager will be negotiating the downpayment and the monthly installment. The essential numbers would have been forgotten. Focus on whats important: your used cars price and your trade ins trade price whether it be used cars in Toronto used carsin Vancouver or used cars / auto hebdo in Montreal.
About the writer: Ammar Khan is a Canadian car enthusiast. He focuses on helping consumers find used cars through his website http://www.carads.ca
