Benefits of Black Boxes in Motor Cars

When you hear the phrase black box, you may think of an aircraft accident investigation. But the benefit of retrieving data from a flight data recorder in the Black Box is not limited to airlines. You can now find this technology in cars, where it helps to determine what happened in the critical moments before a crash. Furthermore it is also able to keep a running record of how a car is being operated, including speed, acceleration, breaking, steering and checking to see if you use your seat belt! A recent report by the BBC in the UK suggests that the installation of black boxes in the cars of young people is growing.

Originally the black box for cars was installed by car manufatcurers to monitor air bag activity. Studies have shown that drivers under the age of 25 are involved in 40% of accidents, but they make up just 10% of motorists. It appears that the black box could be a good tool to monitor and control their driving style. Also for parents, who worry that their child is driving carefully, they would derive comfort from the black box because the technology will present them with the cold hard facts about their children's driving.

This new technology could be of interest for insurance companies, because it provides them with all necessary information about the driving styles of their customers. Theoretically, those that drive safely are less likely to have an accident and could therefore have their premiums reduced.

The black box for the car would be of special interest for car rental companies. When a car is returned back to the rental company, any disputes about vehicle damage can be easily resolved by looking at the data from the black box. The subversive practice of car rental companies charging multiple customers for the same damage will be eliminated. Driveaway Holidays receives numerous complaints from their customers

There is no question that a black box in a car will benefit car rental companies, consumers and the car insurance companies, but more importantly, it will reduce the number of accidents by improving the driving attitude of the general public

Car Rental Faqs - Part 1

Q. Why take a 'driving holiday'?
A. A drive holiday gives you the freedom and flexibility to decide on where you travel and what you see and do. You are in charge of how much time you wish to spend at a particular attraction. You have the independence to move around as much or as little as you like. A drive holiday allows you to discover so much more as a car will allow you to drive through the little villages in out of the way places.

Q. How is car rental charged?
A. Car rental is based on 24 hour periods and charged accordingly. If you pick up a car at 9am on Thursday and return at 9am the following day, this is one 24 hour period and therefore a one day booking.

Q. Is it cheaper to pre-book my car rental or should I book when I arrive?
A. Pre-booking will save you money almost every time! With a wholesaler like DriveAway Holidays, you receive the benefit of our purchasing power. Our prices with the major car rental suppliers are considerably lower than walking in off the street in a foreign country to rent a car. In addition you are pre-paying in Australian dollars so the risk of fluctuations in the currency are reduced.

Q. How does a prepaid rental work?
A. The booking is made in advance, paid for and a voucher is issued. The voucher is then used as payment when you go to pick up the car from the supplier.

Q. What additional extras will I have to pay?
A.  It depends on what the rental covers. DriveAway Holidays in most cases include all mandatory charges, like road taxes or airport surcharges. Many optional charges are applicable such as young or additional drivers, Insurance Excess Reduction or extra equipment like child seats. Be sure to check out rate inclusions – first when you are choosing your vehicle online and when you have made your booking (the inclusions will be on your voucher)

Q. What happens when I pick up the car?
A. Present the rental voucher, a valid drivers license and a credit card for a security deposit. Any additional charges will be explained as well as the conditions of the rental. A signature will be required to accept or decline additional charges and to acknowledge that the rental conditions are understood.

Q. What does the supplier do with the renters credit card?
A. It varies depending on the supplier – they may freeze a specific amount as a deposit, an imprint may be taken as a deposit or an amount may be charged to cover the security deposit and then refunded on the return of the vehicle. In some instances the bond can be paid in cash – check with the supplier/broker when you book.

Q. Will there be fuel in the vehicle?
A. Yes, there should be enough to get you on your way. Different companies have different policies regarding fuel – most will supply a full tank and require the car to be returned with a full tank of fuel, otherwise the renter is charged the difference. Some companies provide minimum fuel and is to returned as the renter wishes.

Q. What is a Pre-Paid Fuel Option?
A. Most car rental companies provide a full tank of fuel and will charge you for re-fuelling the vehicle if it is not returned with a full tank. By accepting a Pre-paid fuel option you are agreeing to pay a pre-determined price for fuel regardless of whether you return the vehicle with a full, partially full or empty tank. This means you won't need to search for a petrol station before you return the car, but there is no refund for any fuel remaining in the tank.

Q. Should I check out the condition of the rental car before driving away?
A. Yes, it is a good idea to check the vehicle before you leave the depot. Any damage or unusual dents/scratches should be noted on the contract before leaving.

Look out for our 2nd part of car rental FAQs!

Car Dealer Scams and How to Avoid Them

When you are looking to buy a car with bad or poor credit it doesn't leave buyers with lots of options. Occasionally their only choice for finding a lender for their new car purchase is through a car dealer loan.

Car dealership loan deals are not as bad as a lot of people may think. However, it is certainly true that they may hide a lot of surprises so if you are in fact planning to use a Car Credit Loan you should be extra vigilant.

The first thing that you need to watch out for is if the interest rate happens to be fixed. By fixed I mean that it's clearly stated in your contract and that all of it is written in a way that it wouldn't allow the car dealership to change it at a later date. What lots of car dealerships tend to do is approve your car loan application, have you sign the documents, and hand you over the car. After that later on they just give you a phone call and state that in fact you do not qualify for the loan because you have poor credit (which is something you already knew to begin with) and that you must pay higher interest rates in order to keep the car. If you fall into this situation you should try to either find a loan from another lender or report the scam and fight back.

Another extremely popular scam done by car dealers is to make you look for a cosigner for your loan convincing you that this is the absolutely only way that you can get financing since you have a terrible credit history. It won't be difficult to convince you at all. First of all it sounds pretty reasonable and second of all the car dealer will cause you to believe that this will in fact repair your poor credit profile. Later on you will discover that your name isn't including in the loan documents and that the loan is in the name of the cosigner only even though you are paying it . Not only is this illegal but it also may lead to serious penalties but it's not helping your poor credit at all. If a dealerhship offers such a thing you absolutely must refuse.

If you're a poor credit consumer and have difficulties in finding a good loan, it's pretty obvious that you shouldn't overstretch yourself. What this mean is to buy a reasonably priced vehicle and not to buy into all of the extras like the extended warranties for example. However, many different Bad Credit Auto Loan will end up trying to trick you by making you believe that you must buy a warranty that will increase your loan just to qualify. Since you are in a desperate situation you would end up saying Ok. However, if you for one second think about it, you can plain as day see this is simply a trick to increase your loan costs.

Get a New Car Loan

A car loan is simply a way for you to go about paying for the car that you are looking to purchase.  You are going to take out a car loan from a financial lending company and bring it to the car dealership with you.  The reason for going about doing this is because the moment that you bring your own New Car Finance to a car dealership you are then considered what is known as any cash buyer in that you can buy the car pretty much out right from them just as if you are paying for it in cash in the first place.  You can then you should car finance in order to either buy the car that you want from them or you can also use it to lease a car through them.
 

 

When you go about getting yourself a great deal on the type of used cars that is going to last you for a long period of time you might end up thinking that it's something that is based upon a roll of the dice or something to that extent.  The reality is however that it really depends on each exact amount of time and research that you are willing to put in to in order to empower yourself with the knowledge that is required in order to get the best possible deal on a New Car Loan that you can get for yourself.  The bad credit used car loan that you will end up getting for yourself really is going to end up helping you get a very easy to manage and budget priced because the monthly payments are going to be fairly lower than at what you would normally expect from a car dealership as well as the interest rates on it should also be considerably lower than what you would get from used car dealerships.  The reason you and make sure that you do this actually correctly is because you not want to end up having to get locked in to why it is known as an upside down car loan.  This is aware you end up having your New Car Loan being worth more than what the price on a used car but you are trying to purchase or are purchasing it is.  You should not be afraid about this though because there are a few different things you can do that can guide you in finding yourself the best financial deal on a bad credit used car loan.