Poage Ford Blog

Should I Buy or Lease My Next Vehicle?

Buying a vehicle can be a stressful event. There is a lot going on and you just want to make sure you are making the best decision. If something goes wrong, it could end up costing you a lot of money. Hopefully this will give you some guidance on the path you would like to take in getting a new car. 

When in the market for a new vehicle, you have to ask yourself if you are going to buy the car or lease the car. There are pros and cons to both options. Below you will see a breakdown of the pros and cons for each option.

Leasing

Pros

• You will usually have much lower payments than you would financing the car

• The down payment will be a lot less or there may not be a downpayment at all

• You get the freedom to switch vehicles every two or three years depending on the lease

• You do not have to worry about finding a buyer for your car when the lease is up

• No trade in hassles with the dealership

• Just get a new lease and turn the old leased car in. Simple

• Sales taxes are less on a leased vehicle

Cons

• When the lease is up, you have no ownership of the car

• You must turn the car back in to where you got it from

• You are limited by the amount of miles you can drive

• Typical lease is around 12,000 miles per year

• 1,000 a month

• The leasing contract may be very confusing for people who don't understand leasing terminology

• If you were to keep the same car for years, you would actually end up paying more over time than you would if you were to just buy the car

• If you want to terminate the lease in the middle of the contract, you will be charged a hefty termination fee.

• You cannot make any changes to the car

Buying/ Financing

Pros

• If you buy a car, you can do whatever you want with the car. You can customize it to your liking

• It is cheaper in the long run to buy the car

• The vehicle is yours

• There are no limits as to how much you can drive the vehicle

• You have the option to trade in the vehicle when you are looking to purchase your next vehicle

• You could sell the vehicle whenever you want. You do not have any agreement holding you to that vehicle for a specific period of time

Cons

• You will have a down payment and if could be a lot depending on the car you are looking at

• If you are financing the car, the monthly payments will be more expensive than a lease monthly payment

• The dealership where you got the car from is not responsible for repairs and maintenance. You are.

• The value of a car when you drive off the lot, goes down substantially. It is called depreciation

• When you are ready to get your next car, you can trade this one in. The trade in process can be a hassle and some people do not want to add more hassle to an already stressful process.

If you are in the market for a new car, come by and see us. We would be happy to go over all of the options available to you. We can explain what would be better for you individually. Not everyone is the same so we will do our best to make sure you are doing what is right for you. If you have any questions about the car buying process you can always give us a call or come into the dealership to ask questions. Visit poageford.com to view our inventory. Click here to apply for credit. To get more information about why you should buy or lease, click here. If you are in the Bowling Green, Hannibal, Quincy, Clarksville, Louisiana, Moscow Mills, Troy, Vandalia, or Silex, come by and find you next vehicle!

Check Engine Light

The check engine light on a car is there for a reason. To let you know when something is wrong so you know to go and get it fixed. If the light was not there to let you know that something is wrong, how would you know if something is wrong? The answer is, you would not know. Unless you are a mechanic and keep up with your car regularly. A mechanic would be able to tell is something is wrong, where a normal person probably would not be able to. Depending on the issue. When you see that light come on, you are thinking it is the end of your car. What could possibly be wrong? Sometimes it is nothing, but sometimes it can be something serious. You do not want to risk it. The first opportunity to go in and get your car checked out, you should do it. 

Gap Cap Not Tightened

If you get lucky, the reason your check engine light is on could be the fact that you did not tighten your gas cap properly. If the cap is not on tight, you could be losing pressure in your fuel system. There is also the possibility that you could be losing fuel as well. If you have the cap open for too long, evaporation of the fuel will begin. The fix for this problem can be as simple as tightening your gas cap. A reason for the faulty closing gas cap may mean there is something broken in the mechanism of the cap. Maybe a piece of the cap has chipped off and that is why the light came on. In the event that the light does not go off after tightening the cap, you should have it serviced.

Another common reason your check engine light has come on is when you car is in need of new spark plugs. Without functioning spark plugs, you will not be able to start your car. The spark plug creates the "spark" to ignite the engine. Some common symptoms of bad spark plugs are poor fuel economy, slower than usual acceleration, engine misfiring, and maybe the most noticeable one, the engine not starting as easy. The engine may sound like it is struggling to start. If you notice this, have your car checked out.

The other most common reason for a check engine light being on is a faulty oxygen sensor. The oxygen sensor measures the amount of unburned oxygen in the exhaust system. Having a bad sensor will not severely hurt your car in any way but it will cause the car to burn more fuel than it normally would. If you are planning on taking your car in for an emissions test, you will fail the test. You will need to get a new oxygen sensor before being able to pass the emissions test. A new sensor could cast as much as $200 but that does not even factor in labor. Labor can be very expensive and it will also depend on the type and year of the car. 

Preventative Measures

There are some ways to avoid a surprise car issue. You should be getting your car regularly serviced. If you keep up with your car servicing, the odds of having something go wrong go down significantly. Some people get really worried when the check engine light comes on, while other people do not do anything about it. If you just let it go, that is just causing more and more problems. The problem you had could turn into a very serious and way more expensive transaction. If you just get it fixed when the light comes on, you will be much better off. 

If you are really having problems with your car, the check engine light will be flashing. There is a difference in when the light is on and when it is flashing. Flashing means you need to get your car checked out immediately. The flashing light usually means that your engine is misfiring. If you continue to let it go and do nothing about it, it can cause some serious damage. Holding off doing repairs could cause damage to the catalytic converter. If you have to get a new catalytic converter, that could set you back around $1,500. That's the average for converters. You may end up doing damage to the engine itself and have to get a whole new engine which can cost up to $5,000. At that point you may want to get a new car and just start over. But all of these costs can be avoided if you do regular service on your car.

If you are in Bowling Green area of Missouri, you can come by Poage Ford to get your car serviced. Or you can go online to poageford.com and fill out a service request form. We should be able to fix any problem your car is having. Even if you did not buy your car from here, we will be glad to fix your car. If you have any questions, you can always contact us whatever way suits you best. You can call us directly, you can send us an email, send us a message on facebook, or just come into the store and we will take it from there. Once your car is here, we will be able to run diagnostics on the car to really determine what is truly wrong with the car.

Winterizing your Car

The seasons are changing and it is getting colder outside. That means that it is about time to winterize your car. Depending on where you live will determine if you need to winterize your car. If you are someone who lives in a place where it really does not get that cold or does not get inclement weather, this will not apply to you. But if you feel like playing it safe and not risking anything, you can follow these steps to ensure you are ready when the winter weather comes in. You don't want to be unprepared in the event of a winter storm. If you car or truck has not been properly winterized, you are risking getting stuck or crashing your car. Winterizing your car is the best way at putting your best foot forward in getting prepared for the winter.

Steps to take to Winterize your Car

1. Take you car in to get serviced for the winter elements

• When you take your car in for service, ask them to check you brakes, cooling system, the battery, belts, hoses, and spark plugs. The last thing you want when it is freezing cold outside is if your car doesn't start in the morning. Making sure you have a fully charged battery and properly functioning spark plugs is essential. Everything is harder when it is colder outside including starting your car. Sometimes your car just sounds like it has had enough and it just cant start. Getting your battery and spark plugs checked before winter starts is a must. 

2. Putting on your winter tires

• Snow and ice are very dangerous even with winter tires on your car. But if you do not have that extra tread, you may not be able to stop in time and you may get into an accident that could have been avoidable. That little bit of extra tread could be the difference in having and accident and not. When the temperatures get really low, the rubber will begin to get really hard. This causes the tire to not be able to grip as much as a winter tire would be able to. Winter tires are made differently so this does not happen. 

3. Tire pressure upkeep

• Have you ever noticed that when the temperature starts to decrease, your tires pressure will slowly go down too? If your tires are too low, you will begin to lose the amount of control you have over the vehicle. Once your tire gets to a certain point, it is not safe to drive anymore. When the temperature changes 10 degrees in either directly, hot or cold. It could add or subtract 1 PSI from your tires. So if it 60 degrees one day and the next it is 50 degrees. Most likely your tires will have gone down 1 PSI. Be sure to keep an eye on your tire pressure no matter what season we are in. Without air in your tires, you will not be going anywhere, regardless of the season or temperatures outside. If you are unsure about the correct PSI that should be in your tires, the manufacturer always puts the recommended amount in the door jam. It is usually on the driver's side. It can also be found in the owner's manual. You can also just google it. 

4. Keep up with the Changing temperatures 

• Once the temperature gets below freezing (32 degrees), the water that has been sitting on the road, could change into ice. If there is any chance for the temperature to drop below freezing, make sure to be very careful on the roads. Check the weather often. Before setting off on a long road trip or if you are just going to the store, you need to be paying attention to the temperature.

5. Installing winter wipers

• Winter wipers have rubber on them so ice won't get stuck on the wipers. If there is ice on the wipers, they won't do you any good. But you have to be mindful to remove the winter wiper blades once winter is over because they weigh more than regular wipers do. Over time, the motor that runs the wipers can wear down and you will end up having to replace the motor. A very avoidable expense if you can remember to take off the winter wipers.

• Make sure your wiper fluid is always topped off. There are solutions that are meant for the winter conditions. You can get the liquid almost anywhere. But if you go to an auto parts store, you can ask a worker and they will be able to get it for you. Or you can request if when you have your car serviced. 

6. Winter safety kit

• If you get stranded on the side of the road and don't have any way to contact someone to come help you, it is good to have a winter safety kit in your car. You can keep it in your car all year round so you don't forget to put it in the car. The items that you should keep in your car in the winter are

• Jumper cables

• Food and water

• Matches

• A flashlight with spare batteries or rechargeable batteries

• A shovel in case of getting stuck

• Bag of sand: for traction if you get stuck

• Some people use kitty litter

• Extra antifreeze

• Ice scraper

• Blankets, gloves, hats, winter coats

• Flares

7. Keep at least ½ tank of gas at all times

• You may get stuck somewhere and the car will be the only thing that will keep you warm. You want to have as much gas as possible at all times. If it is really cold, the gas line could possibly freeze up. 

8. Defrosters are in good working order

• Your defrosters are going to be your best friend if you park your car outside. If your defrosters do not work, it will be much more difficult to scrape your windows in the morning. Scraping without the assistance of the defrosters is very difficult. You do not know how valuable they are until they don't work. To avoid running into this issue, before the winter season starts, have you defroster checked out to ensure they are working properly.

If you follow these steps, you should be all set when the winter weather comes in. We don't always know the extent of how bad the winter storm is going to be, so it is important to prepare for the worst. Regardless of the type of car you have, once the seasons start to change, you should start getting your safety kit together. Some of the items in the safety kit should already be in your car at all times. You should always have a flashlight, some food and water, and some jumper cables somewhere in your car. If you would like to get your car checked out to make sure everything is working right, set up an appointment at a Poage dealership near you.