Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 29, 1993 TAG: 9312290112
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Sandra Brown Kelly
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The timing is right.
Cars bought in 1986, which was a record car sales year in both Virginia and the Roanoke Valley, are starting to be a little clunker-like - if not for real, at least in their owners' minds.
And the 1993 car sales in the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area, while nowhere near the 1986 level of 10,671 vehicles, indicate that consumers are in a car-buying mode. Sales through November, the latest available statistic, totaled 6,914, better than the entire years of 1992 and 1991.
New-car sales grew in the double digits through September, according to the November issue of Virginia Business Report, a publication of the College of William and Mary's business school. The highest increase was in the Richmond-Petersburg area, which was 41.7 percent above the previous September. The increase in the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area was 21.7 percent.
The smallest increase, in Bristol, was still high: 16.1 percent.
Monday, Chrysler Corp. sold its 2 millionth vehicle for 1993 and said it hadn't done that well since the last day of 1989. The 1993 sales gives the company its highest U.S. market share in 23 years, 14.5 percent.
Timed perfectly with the current and anticipated car purchasing activity are two new publications designed to help customers decide what to buy and how to negotiate for it.
"AAA AutoTest," the annual guide to new-car models from the American Automobile Association, rated 125 new models based on evaluation of the vehicles in 20 categories, including acceleration, braking, comfort, convenience, fuel economy, handling and workmanship.
The maximum points a car could score was 200; the Lexus LS400 topped the list with 178 points, up one point from its 1993 rating.
The book also contains advice on selecting a new car and information on test driving, negotiating the best deal, auto maintenance, warranties and how to resolve disputes. It sells for $12.95 and is available from AAA clubs and some bookstores.
"The Car Book," by Jack Gillis, is in its 14th year of publication and includes for the second year its own crash test of vehicles.
Winners in the crash test, the book said, were Ford Escort, Mercury Tracer, Honda Prelude, Nissan 240SX, Ford Taurus Wagon, Mercury Sable Wagon, Toyota Camry, Dodge Caravan, Plymouth Voyager, Chrysler Town and Country, Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar.
Gillis is director of public affairs for the Consumer Federation of America, a consumer advocacy organization, and executive director of the Certified Automotive Parts Association, a nonprofit, quality-standards organization.
The 224-page book, which sells for $11, will be available Jan. 12 from HarperPerennial. It's good reading even if you're not in the market for a new car. Reading it is like taking Automobile 101. There are chapters to help you understand fuels, including octane ratings; warranties; tire grades; help in dealing with mechanics; resolving complaints; and negotiating in the showroom.
A ratings chapter gives readers a picture of the new vehicle, general information about it and prices of different models, ratings on fuel economy and the like, its safety features, overall specifications and what is competing with it.
A chapter on showroom strategy gives some sound advice on shopping for a car including "don't fall in love with a car." If you look too interested you'll weaken your negotiating strength. Other tips have to do with a salesperson's use of silence to speed up the negotiation.
"The Car Book" makes buying a car sound so simple. It's a five-step process, the author points out:
Narrow your choice to a particular class of car.
Determine what features are important to you.
Find three or four cars that meet your needs and your pocketbook.
Make sure you take a good long test drive.
Negotiate for the best price, remembering that the dealer has to earn a fair profit on the deal.
by CNB