Paul Marchesseault

Article / Updated 12-03-2021

To get the best used car, know the prices, actual value, vehicle options, mileage, and condition of the make, model, and year of your targeted automobile. Do not talk with a car salesperson, or an owner selling a car, other than exchanging some pleasantries and indicating you are just gathering information. Do not fall in love with a specific car that you must have! First, develop a plan. Arm yourself for the contest of wills you are to about to enter. Remember, with no plan, there’ll be little or no savings on the price of the car you buy. If you own a vehicle, are you going to sell it privately, donate it for a tax deduction, or attempt to trade it in when you purchase a newer vehicle? Research to price your current vehicle. The following websites have programs that will help you establish a price for your current car or truck, including trade-in, private sale, and dealer values. Kelley Blue Book NADA Edmunds You should also check vehicles, currently for sale, that will compete price-wise with yours. Look to Carvana Craigslist cars.com Autotrader You can ask CarMax for an appraisal. Advertise your vehicle. If selling a car yourself, again, Craigslist is a good free site to list your vehicle for sale. AutoTrader charges a listing fee, but is widely used. Include as many photos as allowed on internet sites. Videos, such as those posted on YouTube, may also be possible. Heck, even try putting a “For Sale” sign in the window. They really do still work! Trade-in your car or truck. The price you get will be lower than if you sell it yourself, since many trade-ins get auctioned. If your car is an absolute gem, a dealer may put it on the lot for sale. Think price negotiation. Also, sales tax may be paid on the newer vehicle you purchase. A few states allow the dealer to deduct the trade-in value from the price of the newer car or truck you buy. You only pay sales tax on the difference between the two values. Keep in mind the two negotiations: the price you get from a trade-in, or private sale, and the price you pay for the newer vehicle. The difference between comes directly out of your pocket. Research pricing, mileage, condition, and colors of exterior and interior of used vehicles. Accept only what satisfies your desires and your wallet. Use many of the strategies you used in pricing your older vehicle. Use the same internet resources you used to sell your vehicle to look for local available vehicles that match your thinking. In your searches, put in how far out you want to look — 50 miles, 100 miles, or . . . ? Talk to your local bank or credit union loan officer. Get an idea of what you can afford. It will give you an alternative to compare when a dealer bombards you with car loan options. Don’t just look at a proposed monthly payment and assume you can meet that amount. What is the total cost of financing? How many years will you be paying for a vehicle dropping in value every month? Select some vehicles from internet and classified searches to go see. This can be the fun part of buying a used vehicle. Get prepared with small info packets on each specific vehicle you select. Print out data from internet sites and cut out data from classified ads in print publications. Phone or e-mail sellers to verify those vehicles are still available for sale. Make appointments so somebody will be there to answer any questions. Check out the vehicles you selected. Be cool. Even if a car or truck looks like a beauty, curb your enthusiasm a bit. Remember that exclamations like, “Wow, this looks cool” are clear buying signals and can make a seller more firm in price negotiations. Each positive exclamation could cost you. Don’t disparage the vehicle either. That can just make the seller angry. However, you should politely ask questions about your concerns. Of course, you should definitely road test the vehicle if you are interested in a possible purchase. Don't buy the first, or even the second, vehicle you check out and test drive. You ought to see the others you selected for viewing that day. You need some examples to make comparisons on what you like and don’t like. Walk away, but promise to consider the vehicle after you see others you made appointments to see. Make a deal on the vehicle you like. Offer to purchase at a price at least 10 percent to 15 percent lower than the asking price. If the seller refuses to come down on the price, consider walking away. Make certain you express that you like the vehicle very much at the price you are offering. Tell the seller that you would want your mechanic to check the vehicle before sealing the deal. If you do walk away, leave clear written contact information with the seller and express that you would be happy to hear from him, or her, if your offer becomes acceptable. Then keep searching and making offers acceptable to you until the right deal comes through. Get the vehicle checked by an Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) Certified Technician or a mechanic you trust. If you can find an ASE Certified Master Technician, tested and certified in all eight automotive and light truck service skill areas, it would be ideal. Paying $75.00 to $125.00 for a thorough pre-purchase inspection could save you lots of money in future repairs. Ask if you can observe the inspection in progress and go along on the test drive. Also, ask for a written report or a filled out checklist of the results. Finally, when a deal goes through, make certain you get a bill of sale and the vehicle's title signed over to you. If financing part of the purchase price, check again with your bank, or credit union, before accepting a financing plan from any seller. Take the best and safest loan deal that won’t leave you owing more money than the car is worth. Happy car hunting!

Article / Updated 06-15-2021

You don’t have to know a lot about cars and trucks to save money on repairs and maintenance, but a little knowledge about how the industry works can save you hundreds of dollars. Heeding these tips is a great start toward putting that money in your pocket. Read the owner’s manual If you read nothing else, familiarize yourself with the scheduled maintenance guide. This tells you when maintenance is suggested by the manufacturer. If you pay attention and read a little, you’ll learn how and when to best spend your limited maintenance dollars. Find a reputable auto repair shop Ask family, coworkers, and friends if they have a shop or mechanic they trust. Look for local shops that specialize in your make of car, van, or pickup truck. A good automotive repair shop should have certified technicians on staff. They will have certifications in one or more of eight car repair classifications, such as Brakes, Steering and Suspension, or Engines. The certifications will be by Automotive Service Excellence (ASE). If they aren't certified, you need to know what specific training the technicians have. Ask questions about this. It may be an indication of the quality of the staff. Also check the work area for a relatively clean floor. A shop that has dirty shop rags, empty fluid containers, and other trash on the floors has sloppy mechanics. You don’t want them working on your car. Do preventive maintenance A good way to test a shop you believe to be reputable is to go in when you are ready for an oil change and oil filter. That is one of the most worthwhile preventive maintenance steps you can take. It also provides an opportunity to ask more questions prompted by your manual reading. If they give you an estimate for a laundry list of added maintenance services, make certain they can show you it is a list for your specific vehicle and that it agrees with the mileage currently on your car or truck. If you can’t afford it that day, ask which are the most important and pare the list down to the size of your wallet. Then put together a budget and goal for the others. Also, ask a knowledgeable friend what she thinks about the estimate before going back again. Know the usual charges for car repairs in your area A couple helpful websites provide estimates for common repair jobs on your make of car where you live: RepairPal and AutoMD. They provide a range of fair price estimates in your zip code. Somewhere between the lowest price and about half the way to the upper price is probably more accurate for a fair price. Avoid duplicate labor charges Sometimes a mechanic has to remove lots of parts to get at the part that is causing the current problem. This presents an opportunity to save on future repairs by doing them now. For instance, an estimate to repair a squealing drive belt may suggest changing the upper and lower radiator hoses and a water pump and thermostat, because the mechanic has to remove some of those to get at the drive belt. To get a savings from this approach, you will need to negotiate a reduced labor charge if a flat-rate manual charge was in the estimate for each separate part replacement. Heed warning signs After startup, if the Check Engine light comes on, get it checked within a few days. It may be something simple, but it could be something very serious. Don’t wait. If the Check Engine light flashes on and off, have the car towed to your chosen repair shop. Otherwise, it could cause severe engine damage and even result in engine replacement. Don’t ignore the light flashing. You could check one thing yourself. Remove the fuel filler cap and check to see that a gasket, usually rubber, is in place on the underside. Then replace the cap firmly. Restart the engine. If the warning light goes out, it usually means the cap was not firmly in place. The fuel system works under pressure. No cap seal, no pressure, Check Engine light goes on. Sometimes, do it yourself You can do some jobs yourself. Changing wiper blades is easy when you know how. So is changing your air filter. Ask a parts person at your local auto parts store to help you choose the correct wiper blade or air filter for your vehicle. Then ask to get help installing the part(s). You save money if they show you how; They ensure you’ll come back to them for parts. Buy discount parts online Websites like Parts Geek and AutoBarn will sell you parts at very competitive prices. Check to see if they charge for shipping or a state sales tax. (You also want to know what their returns policy is prior to ordering.) Then check these prices against a local parts store or a dealer’s parts department. If the website saves you significant money for equal quality parts, try it out. Find a ding repair specialist Your vehicle will get dings, dents, and chips in the paint finish. An autobody shop will want to sand down all the components dented or chipped and repaint and re-clearcoat the whole thing. It’s very expensive. Check around at used car lots to see if you can find out who repairs the dings and dents on the used cars that come in for resale. Repairing dents and dings will maintain the value of your car and can help to prevent rust.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

A small business plan must focus on the essentials. Any successful business plan will address organizational structure, product descriptions and market position, marketing and sales, and finances. Critically important is the how, when, and where you are going to accomplish what you plan. But here are ten key things you need to do for a great business plan: Write down your thoughts throughout the planning process. Although this may seem obvious, many people plan in their heads and don’t write it down. Later, they forget some of what they thought about. Keeping notes from the beginning is essential. After you have grouped your notes in some categories, then start writing an organized business plan. Don’t be too fancy or grandiose, just get down as many essentials as you can. Get help to construct the plan. Resources in business planning can be found in abundance on the Internet. The U.S. Small Business Administration has several online resources devoted to small businesses and planning. With this wealth of resources, you can DIY your business plan. But, if you aren’t into the do-it-yourself thing, there are tons of companies with websites that want to sell small business planning help, business plan templates, small business accounting software, and on and on. Just type Small Business Planning into your favorite search engine, and you’ll find several sites to choose from. Evaluate carefully what you would get if you try them out. Describe the business. What’s the nature of your business? What markets needs will you serve? How will your services or products meet those needs? Why will your products or services have a competitive advantage in your defined markets? How will you tell those markets what you have to offer? Will your organization function as well as competitors, or even better, to serve the needs of the described marketplace? Analyze the market. Think about your target market. It’s not everybody out there. Who needs your products and services? Or, do you need to create a perception in the market that your products or services are needed? That can be difficult, but not impossible. After all, who knew they desperately needed a cell phone 30 years ago? You must describe a focused, manageable market that you can truly serve. You must research that market and then describe its distinguishing characteristics, its size within the area you will serve, and how much share of that market you can capture. Document your logic so you can explain it to a partner, a banker, or an investor. Develop a sales and marketing plan. What will your marketing strategy be? How are you going to make your potential customers aware of what you have to offer? Word of mouth will not suffice to kick off a new business. You have to come up with marketing strategies that will make your company and its products and/or services memorable. Your pricing must be very competitive, or your products and services so superior that people will pay more for them. Potential customers must know where and how to get what you are selling. These are all things to include in a marketing plan. The sales plan will consist of the specific steps your organization will take to execute the marketing strategy. For instance, will you sell your products online, from a retail location, at in-home parties, or some combination of the three? Will you have your own sales force or use independent reps? Prepare financial statements. Your new business, or expansion of a previously started business, will need several financial statements. You’ll need a projected income statement, a balance sheet, a calculation of cash flow so you can count on being able to pay bills and employees when those times come, and a break-even analysis, which will tell you when you will actually start making a profit from your business. Choose your business name. The right business name projects an image in the minds of potential customers. Luigi’s Pizza works. Luigi’s Corner Bank, not so much. Try out names on people. Talk about the business you are about to launch and ask them to select the best name of three that you’ve conjured up. Note their reactions. Keep trying out names until you can select one you and others like. Does it reflect the mission of your business? Be certain it does. Register your business name. When you’ve selected your business name, you must register it to comply with the law. If registered in any name other than your own personal name, it must be registered with the various authorities, in most situations as a “Doing Business As” (DBA) name. The U.S. Small Business Administration is a good source of information on this subject. Establish the legal structure of the business. Will your business be a Sole Proprietorship, a Partnership, a Limited Liability Company, a Corporation, or an S Corporation? Your choice will have legal and tax implications. You should seek legal assistance in this matter. Describe the management structure. Who’s the leader of the company, the boss? Will there be other managers or partners? Who reports to whom? Are there other employees? Describe the duties of each manager and employee. Make certain there are no gaps in the responsibilities in getting all the jobs done that are necessary to the success of the venture. For example, are there products to be manufactured and packaged? Who is responsible for organizing a manufacturing plan and who actually makes the stuff? Will outside services be procured for any reason? Who keeps the books and pays people?