August 30th, 2011 by cheapcar

Keeping Your Vehicle Covered

You lovingly wash and wax your vehicle on most sunny weekends, spending time detailing every single blotch, nick, scrape, or other damaging mark on your car’s exterior.

Other enemies including bird excrement, acid rain, and even harmful UV rays can thwart the best efforts of even the most diligent car owner.

Part of the deal with owning any vehicle is making certain that it looks its best week in and week out. Still, you may not be doing all that you can to protect the finish.

Fortunately, there is one automotive accessory that can help keep your car clean, provided you use it when your car is parked for an extended length of time.

What am I talking about? Car covers! Read on for seven helpful tips to help you choose the right cover for your truck, van, SUV, or car.

When shopping for a custom car cover you must give consideration to what it does besides simply covering your car.

Among some important points to know:

• Will the car cover protect from damaging UV rays? If you live in an area of intense sunshine, such as Arizona, you need a car cover that offers the maximum protection from the sun.
• Is the material durable? Does it breath? Will it tear if loaded down with snow or ice?
• Will the car cover resist or completely repel rain?
• Can the product survive weather extremes, i.e. intense heat or severe cold?
• Will the car cover resist dust? Some car covers prevent even the finest dust from accumulating, dust that can mar your garaged car too.
• Does the car cover come with multiple layers to protect from small insults? This is important feature to have if you leave your car in a public area.

In addition, selecting a car cover that comes with side mirror pockets is a wise choice to ensure that your car receives the snuggest fit.

Finally, you will want to know if there is a lengthy guarantee offered, what colors are available, and what the return policies are, if any, of the cover that you select.

Most premium car covers allow you for them to be cleaned right in your washing machine. By selecting cold to warm water, regular bleach-free laundry detergent, and drying it on your dryer’s permanent press cycle, you can make the dirtiest car cover clean in no time.

Of course, make certain that you adhere to the manufacturer’s specifications for the proper care of your car cover.

*

Car Cover Store

*

Custom Cars Book Store

*

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

August 30th, 2011 by cheapcar

Looking for ways to modify your BMW E34 vehicle into a more noticeable and sportier style? Then buy an E34 body kit.

Body kits improve both the appearance and look of your vehicle. It not only makes your E34 look stunning, it also improves the speed and performance of your car through aerodynamics.

E34 body kits are readily available almost anywhere. You just have to drive around town and canvass which stores offer the best deal.

But if you want a better alternative in which you can save money and gas as well as time and effort, then purchase an E34 body kit online. Bear in mind that before purchasing from any online store, it is always a good idea to verify the reputation of the store.

Doing a background check and knowing if the store is registered with Better Business Bureau, are ways to avoid falling victim to scammers who just want to run away with your money. An authentic BBB seal can be one guarantee that the store can be trusted.

After finding an online seller or an online store you trust, you now have to determine which type of body kits will you be ordering. Will it be a urethane or a fiberglass? Depending on your needs, one of the two types is suitable for you.

Fiberglass, for instance, can be easily damaged, also easily repaired. Urethane, on the other hand, is highly resistant to damage but cannot be repaired. You choose the type of body kits for you according to the kind of weather and the road structure you have in your area.

Lastly, while waiting for your order, you may want to start planning and determining how your E34 body kit will be installed. Will it be installed by you or a local body shop?

If you are not confident and cannot install it by yourself, then it is better to just let the experts do it for you while you get excited in seeing the outcome.

After installing the kit, do not forget to test drive your car to determine if the kit is installed properly and if it has any rattling sounds caused by loose bolts. If there is no problem, then the only thing left for you to do is show off what you’ve got and let others be jealous.

Louie Liu has been in the car aftermarket products industry for 5years. He has specialized in body kits, headlights, cold air intakes and other aftermarket products. He has deep knowledge of a wide range of products including knowledge of benefits of body kits and other products, product options and how to choose a car aftermarket product. You can learn about a wide range of body kits and other car aftermarket products at his site www.ilovebodykits.com. Article Source: www.articlesnatch.com

*

*

*

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

August 28th, 2011 by cheapcar

Vehicle Customizing

Car buff John Fortuno views an automobile that’s just off an assembly line the way a painter sees a blank canvas: Creatively speaking, it’s only the beginning. “When I buy a car, I look to see what I can do with it,” he says.

Take his 2005 Chrysler 300C, which Fortuno bought for almost $40,000 and immediately started working on. He added 22-inch wheels, upgraded the fog lights, replaced the suspension, lowered the car by two inches, applied carbon fiber to the front end, and installed high-performance speakers, exhaust and a sparkling grill.

“I love the looks I get when I’m driving it on the street,” says Fortuno, a salesman in Huntington Beach, Calif. “Ultimately, this is my car, and I’m looking to make a statement with it.”

And this work of art doesn’t just sit in a garage. “I drive it every day,” Fortuno says. “I have 61,500 miles on it now.”

“Tricking out” their cars empowers owners with a sense of individualism by allowing them to stamp their own designs on their rides. It could be neon lights, rear spoilers, road-hugging monster tires or pounding stereo systems with 12-inch subwoofers.

It could be a dozen DVD screens fitting in every conceivable part of the vehicle – the trunk, the head rests and even the sun visors. And don’t forget the doors that open backward and upside down.

Anything is possible, whether the work is done in a do-it-yourselfer’s garage or a car-customization specialty body shop. Indeed, the car-customization industry defies the conventional thinking that says the manufacturer’s design is, aesthetically speaking, the final statement.

It also gives the owner a sense of importance, as celebrities such as Shaquille O’Neal, Tony Hawk and Snoop Dogg are car-customization enthusiasts, showing up at top shows such as the DUB Custom Auto Show and Concert Tour, produced by DUB magazine. The DUB show, which is now in its seventh year, stops in 16 cities. Nearly 1.6 million have attended the show to date.

Another show, the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), recently upped the glitz factor in Las Vegas, drawing more than 100,000 attendees.

“The notion of customization is growing, with consumers personalizing everything from their coffee to the ring tones and appearance of their phones,” says Peter MacGillivray, the vice president at SEMA who oversees special events. “Cars and trucks are much more than just a mode of transportation – they’re reflections of one’s personality and lifestyle.”

Customizing cars is becoming a mainstream pastime, industry executives say. In fact, half the owners of new full-size trucks either have spent, or plan to spend, $500 or more on accessories, according to SEMA.

The recent SEMA show was represented not only by car customization players, but also by large automakers that have launched their own specialty vehicle efforts, including Chrysler, Ford, GM, Honda, Kia, Lexus, Nissan, and Toyota.

Whether they’re called customized cars, specialty vehicles, or “pimped-out” or “tricked-out” rides, this industry now represents $36.7 billion in annual revenue, according to SEMA.

Keep in mind that automobile insurance policies regarding theft or damage on these items may vary, so be sure to check your policy.

“Most aftermarket customization will not be covered by the base insurance policy,” says Michael A. Sablack, assistant general counsel in Progressive’s corporate law department. “If you fail to report these additional items to your insurer, they may not be covered at the time of a claim.

Bio: Dennis McCafferty is a freelance writer with extensive experience in the automotive field. He has written for Chrysler magazine, UAW-GM People magazine, Dodge Tomorrow magazine and Corvette Quarterly. He also wrote the NASCAR coverage for USA WEEKEND magazine.

*

Custom Cars Book Store

*

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

August 28th, 2011 by cheapcar

CL Body Kit

If you want your CL vehicle to look brand new once more, then you will be needing a CL body kit.

CL body kits are exterior modifications to your car and can make your car look amazing and sleeker. Steal the look of every passer-by with a CL body kit. Aside from enhancing the look of your car, kits like CL body kits can also boost the performance of your car and improve its aerodynamics.

It is not hard to look for CL body kits, local body shops sell them. But if you want to save some money on gas as well as save time and effort, then it is wiser to just purchase one online.

The internet has gone a long way and it now allows us to shop for whatever we want, from food to vehicle modifications. Keep in mind though that amid the success of E-commerce comes the emergence of scammers.

Before you make a deal with an online seller, verify his or her reputation first. You can do this by checking if the store is registered with Better Business Bureau.

If it is not, then prepare to take extra caution. If it is, then the fact that it has a BBB seal is already a guarantee that the store can be trusted.

If you have already found yourself a reliable and excellent online seller or shop, then now is the time to decide which kind of CL body kit you are going to purchase.

There are usually two kinds of body kits. Urethane and Fiberglass. Depending on your where you live, one of the two can be very useful to you.

For instance, Urethane is best for those who are living in a cold places with bumpy roads. A Urethane CL body kit can resist damage caused by rough roads, but once damaged, can never be replaced.

Fiberglass, on the other hand, has the tendency to be damaged a lot and is advisable for those people who live in places where the road is smooth.

Installing CL body kits is not at all difficult. You may choose to do it by yourself or have your nearest local auto body shop do it for you.

Local body shops will of course charge you for their services, but it is nothing compared to the kind of satisfaction you will get in witnessing the beautiful transformation of your CL vehicle.

Posted By: Louie Liu Louie Liu has been in the car aftermarket products industry for 5years. He has specialized in body kits, headlights, cold air intakes and other aftermarket products. He has deep knowledge of a wide range of products including knowledge of benefits of body kits and other products, product options and how to choose a car aftermarket product. You can learn about a wide range of body kits and other car aftermarket products at his site www.ilovebodykits.com. Article Source: www.articlesnatch.com

*

*

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

August 27th, 2011 by cheapcar

Customization Options

If it’s not be feasible for you to buy a sporty new vehicle right now, you can still customize your own car to get a fresh look inside and out. With tons of aftermarket customization options out there, it’s easy to make your old vehicle feel like a brand new ride!

Add Some Pizzazz to Your Car’s Exterior
There’s that old adage that you can’t judge a book by its cover, but when it comes to cars, appearance does matter. The way your car looks can affect the way you feel when you drive it, and fun customization options can help give your old car a whole new look.

Window Tinting Provides Mystery
There’s something exotic about a car with tinted windows, and you don’t have to drive a sports car to get that mysterious look. Window tinting can even be a do-it-yourself project when you use tinted window film. Many companies offer inexpensive pre-cut window tints that you can apply to your car windows to achieve a custom look.

Note: Before tinting your car’s windows, make sure window tinting is legal in your state.

Decals Offer a Fun Look
One of the easiest and least expensive ways to add custom style to your car is by using exterior decals or graphics. You simply choose the look you want, whether it’s roaring flames, barbed wire, or cherry blossoms, and apply the decal to your car.

Most decals do not mar your car’s paint, and many companies offer decals that are fully customizable. There are even totally free car decals and stickers.

Car stickers, which can be applied to the bumper or window of your vehicle, also offer an excellent way to personalize the appearance of your car. You can get car stickers in a variety of styles and brands, including the following:

* Family car stickers

* Roxy car stickers

* Volcom car stickers

If you can change a headlight with help from your instruction manual, you can give your car a totally new look in the space of an afternoon. It’s easy to find aftermarket headlights, brake lights, indicator lights, and fog lamps that can make your car more visible and distinctive after dark.

More Exterior Customization Options

For the ultimate in vehicle customization, you can purchase body kits to completely transform the look of your car. Body kits include spoilers and other trim pieces to give your car a sporty, custom feel. Installing these kits can be a little tricky, so depending on your experience level, this might not be a do-it-yourself job.

Another option for serious exterior customization is custom tires and rims. Just as a pair of shoes can completely transform an outfit, your car’s look can be dramatically changed depending on how you outfit the wheels. Changing tires and rims can be a complicated process and is another customization option that might be best left to professionals.

Interior Options to Customize Your Own Car
You spend a lot of time in your car, and it’s important for the interior of your vehicle to reflect your personal style. Try out some of these ideas to make the inside of your car feel trendier.

Personalize the Gauges
When you’re sitting in the driver’s seat, the dashboard gauges are one of the most visible features in your car. You can change the look of your gauges with aftermarket gauge kits.

These kits replace the existing gauges to provide an exciting new look. Some of these kits include lights to change the appearance of your dashboard at night. Installing can be tricky, but the result is worth the effort.

New Lights for a New Look
Lighting can dramatically change the atmosphere of a car, and with aftermarket lighting options, you can give your old car a new, sporty look. The manual for your car includes instructions for changing the bulb in your dome light.

When you want a new look, simply replace the existing bulb with a colored bulb. You can also install neon lights below the seats or behind the rear window to add an even more personalized appearance.

Audio Customization Options
Music is another way to set the mood in your car, and a good car stereo is a must for any music lover. You can purchase various stereo components and have them installed at the shop, or with the right tools and a good set of instructions, you can install your new stereo yourself. A new CD player or MP3 unit will make your old car feel brand new again.

Other Interior Accessories
You can replace almost anything inside your car, from the floor mats to the gas pedal to the seats themselves. There are dashboard trim kits to give your dash a custom feel and custom shifter knobs to make shifting more comfortable and sporty.

If you’re handy with a needle, you can even make custom slip covers for your bucket seats. No matter what you choose, any change will help update your car’s look.

Get Creative
You don’t need a lot of money or a lot of time to transform the appearance of your old car. Just a few of these ideas to customize your own car will help you get a completely new look, and you’ll be turning heads around town in no time at all.

Courtesy: Kate Miller-Wilson and Love to Know Cars

*

Custom Cars Book Store

*

Be Sociable, Share!

•