Carfacts Foreign Car Tips and information....
I will give you some Carfacts information on Foreign Vehicles from repair to warranty policies.... To get prices and quotes on Foreign cars,click here... To have your vehicle inspected,click here.... Some Carfacts on buying a new or used foreign car is no different than buying a domestic vehicle.Just know what vehicle you want,all your options,check out rebates from manufacture and dealers.Then proceed to buy when you have "YOUR" deal together. Buying a warranty will also be the same except there may be some exclusions on some vehicle as they are high failure vehicles and the warranty companies will not put a policy on them.Some may but at a high premium. I will run down a list of the vehicles that have a high risk of failure and have high premium rates.Some of these vehicles you may want to stay clear of and think of another to replace it. But after all is said and done and you still want the high risk vehicle you may be able to get a better deal on these and if at all possible find some way to get an extended warranty or aftermarket warranty. Another thing about warranties while we are talking about it is if you are buying the vehicle and planning on doing any modifications,see my Performance page, and read about modifications. If you buy the vehicle and then modify it and have a mechanical breakdown the warranty company will have vehicle inspected and when any modifications are found and documented with photos they will likely reject the repair. Some of the things they look for are modifications to engine (exhaust,cold air tubes,sensors and computor chips etc.),to the suspension (vehicle raise or lowered,oversized tires and wheels,torque bars and links etc.),electrical (aftermarket alarms,remote starting systems,heavy wiring to AMP systems,etc.). All of the above will trigger an alarm to them and they will refuse the claim,read the small print. Some more important Carfacts are listed below....
Most important carfacts....Carfacts has found the most important thing you will want to do when buying a new or used foreign vehicle is to make sure you find quailfied foreign car repair shops and ASE certified Technicians. Dealerships are required to have some Certified Techs but not all have to be.Most Independant shops may or may not have Certified techs. So if don't know a good shop or Certifed tech to work on your vehicle(even oil changes)you will need to do your homework on this.Check out a few shops and have friends recomend one to you that they have had good relations with. Things to look for when shopping for a shop.When you walk in how were you greeted? Does the front area appear neat and clean? Ask to see shop area,is it dirty and have old parts laying around? Do the mechanics have matching uniforms,are they excessivly dirty? If 2 or more of the above are negative,better look for another shop. If going to a Dealership or Independent shop and you have an extended or aftermarket warranty make sure they will honor it up front,most will,and find out about their labor rates,and how much you will have to pay if not covered by a warranty. Labor rates in Dealerships and Independent shops will vary with most Independents being less expensive.Labor rates are also different for customer pay(you paying bill)and warranty(warranty company paying). Most times customer pay is higher,and warranty companies get a break due to a pre set rate in policy.At some shops the customer will have to make up the difference,so make sure you know this up front. Most rates,depending on the area you live will vary from $50.00 per flat rate hour to $125.00 per flat rate hour. The difference between a flat rate hour and regular hour is,if a shop charges by the "Hour" it is a regular hour,if they charge by a "Flat Rate hour" this means if it takes them less than an hour to do the repair you still get charged an hour or if it takes more than hour you still get charged for the "Flat Rate hour".
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