2010 Toyota CorollaNEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Despite a torrent of high-profile recalls that have tarnished Toyota’s once stellar reputation, a study published Wednesday reveals that the automaker actually gets fewer customer complaints per car than the majority of its competitors.

Edmunds.com reviewed more than 200,000 complaints filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) over the last decade and found that Toyota ranked 17th among the top 20 automakers in the overall number of complaints per vehicle sold.

The results come amid a series of recalls totaling more than 8.1 million Toyotas worldwide, including 400,000 of the popular 2010 Prius hybrid for problems associated with sticking brake pedals, software glitches and faulty floormats.

The study was based on the percentage of complaints each automaker received versus the total number of vehicles they sold in the United States between 2001 and 2010.

As a result, British carmaker Land Rover had the highest proportion of complaints relative to the number of cars it sold. The company received 0.6% of the total complaints in the database, while its sales amounted to only 0.1% of all new cars sold in the United States.

Meanwhile, Toyota had 9.1% of all the complaints in the database. But the company was number 17 on the list because its sales made up 13.5% of the U.S. market.

According to the study, Toyota had fewer complaints than its American rivals. Ford was number 10 on the list, while General Motors came in at number 11.

The only automakers to receive fewer complaints than Toyota were Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and the Mercedes-made Smart Car.

Among the other automakers that ranked high on the list were Suzuki and Isuzu, which came in at numbers 2 and 3 respectively. German automaker Volkswagen came in at number 4.

The complaints lodged against Toyota ranged from minor problems with lighting to more serious issues such as sudden acceleration and difficulty steering. But the study did not rate the reported incidences for severity.

Edmunds.com said that it found some unreliable reports in the database, including one complaint indicating that 99 people had died in one vehicle as a result of an accident. It also said that about 10% of the complaints appeared to be duplicates.

Quality control: Not just Toyota’s problem
While the issues raised by Toyota’s recent recalls shouldn’t be overlooked, quality control concerns are apparent across the entire automobile industry, said Jeremy Anwyl, Edmunds.com chief executive.

“A broader view shows that consumer complaints reflect an industry issue, not just a Toyota issue,” said Anwyl. “It is no longer an option for car companies to dismiss consumer complaints, even if the event is difficult to replicate or diagnose.”

Some automakers assume that customer complaints are the result of driver error and not necessarily a reflection of design problems, said Jeannine Fallon, an Edmunds.com analyst.

“It depends on the culture of the car company,” she said. “But it’s clear now that Toyota has not had very many conversations with NHTSA.”

Tata Nano (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File) DETROIT (AP) — The world’s cheapest car is being readied for sale in the U.S., but by the time India’s Tata Nano is retrofitted to meet emissions and safety standards, it won’t be that cheap.

Tata Technologies Ltd., the global engineering arm of the Tata group conglomerate, brought the tiny car to Detroit as a publicity stunt for the engineering group.

Tata officials, while maintaining that they couldn’t speak for Tata Motors, maker of the $2,500 Nano, said they were involved with the Nano from concept until it launched last July in Mumbai.

They wouldn’t say when the Nano might arrive in the U.S. or how much it might cost here, although Ratan Tata, chairman of the group of Tata companies, has said it should be ready for U.S. distribution in about three years.

Tata Motors already has made a European version of the four-seat car that will cost about $8,000 when it debuts in 2011, and a Tata Technologies official said privately that the U.S. version is expected to have a comparable price. The official did not want to be identified because the price has not been made public.

Warren Harris, Tata Technologies president, would only say that the price would be more than the roughly $2,500 charged in India.

“The structural changes that would need to be made, the changes that would be required as far as emissions are concerned, and some of the features that would be appropriate to add to the vehicle for the North American market, obviously that would drive up the price point,” he said.

Tata Technologies could be involved in bringing the car up to U.S. standards, said Tony Jones, associate vice president of the global automotive practice.

Before it can be sold here, the car’s two-cylinder, 623cc engine would have to be engineered to meet stronger U.S. pollution standards, he said. Airbags would have to be added, the roof strengthened and the front bumper lengthened to meet U.S. requirements to limit damage in a 5-mph crash.

The Spartan interior, with flat bucket seats, three knobs, a horizontal switch and a steering wheel, also would have to be changed to comply with U.S. safety standards that limit movement of passengers not wearing seat belts.

Jones said the Nano Europa has airbags and has passed European safety tests with flying colors.

The Nano, with 12-inch diameter tires, electric windows in the front and crank windows in the back, gets 50 mpg on the highway and has a top speed of 65 mph.

If the $8,000 price tag holds true, it would cost far less than the $9,970 Hyundai Accent, currently the car with the lowest base sticker price in the U.S., according to the Edmunds.com automotive Web site. The price excludes shipping.

2011 Mercedes-Benz E-Class CabrioletWas it intentional that Mercedes-Benz to choose the usually-cold, quite often snowy, Detroit Auto Show to debut its all-new 2011 E-Class Cabriolet? Quite possibly, as due to a neat gizmo called the Aircap, the E-Class Cabrio backs up Mercedes’ claim that it is genuinely a convertible for all seasons.

How so? Because the E-Class Cabriolet’s Aircap, along with the company’s earlier introduced Airscarf, make its cabin most habitable regardless of ambient temperature or disposition of its soft top. This top, by the way, has elaborate multi-layering, each ply aligned for a particular enhancement of sealing and isolation. And unlike so many retractable hardtops that come to mind, this soft top’s electrically actuated stowage doesn’t utterly destroy trunk volume.

Prior to the car’s Detroit Show introduction, I experienced its uncanny top-down efficacy in an 87-mph virtual trip (courtesy of Mercedes’ Unterturkheim wind tunnel). The E-Class Cabriolet’s extendable Aircap rises from the windshield header to divert the airflow over the cabin. A screen extending between the two rear seats defeats annoying back drafts. And, if you’re seated up front in the Cabriolet, its Airscarf (already a popular option on SLK and SL models) offers heat flow adjustable to neck level. Both Aircap and Airscarf are standard features of the E-Class Cabriolet.

Styling of the Cabriolet echoes that of its recently introduced Coupe sibling. Especially noteworthy are aerodynamic efficiencies of these two. The Coupe’s coefficient of drag is 0.24, for the moment at least, a world’s lowest among production machines. The Cabriolet’s slightly less slippery soft top adds only a tad; its coefficient of drag, a commendable 0.28. The E-Class sedan’s is also impressive at 0.25.

The E-Class Cabriolet goes on sale in the spring. Like the Coupe, it’ll be available as either a 268-bhp V-6 E350 or 382-bhp V-8 E550. Pricing hasn’t been fixed as yet, but figure it as a bit more expensive than the $56,000 CLK it replaces. Add maybe another $7000 for the E550.

2011 Chevy VoltNEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — If you want to save big money on fuel and create a cleaner environment by buying a new, hot off the production line plug-in hybrid, you’d better hold your horses.

For at least a couple of decades, plug-in hybrid vehicles are likely to cost too much for drivers to earn any financial benefit, according to a government advisory group.

High battery costs are the main culprit, according to a National Research Council report.

Also, Americans shouldn’t expect a big environmental impact from these vehicles even if they’re very successful with consumers, the report said.

Among plug-in hybrids, those that rely more on gasoline and less on electric power, like Toyota’s planned Prius plug-in, are expected to become cost-effective sooner for consumers. That’s because of the high cost of the lithium-ion batteries required for these cars. The farther a car is expected to drive on electricity alone, the larger, and more expensive, its battery pack will have to be.

Fuel savings won’t cover the extra battery cost unless gas prices rise sharply, the report said. That extra cost will have to be offset somehow, either by passing it on to consumers or by providing higher government incentives to car buyers, or both.

A car like General Motors’ Chevrolet Volt, which is expected to travel 40 miles on a fully charged battery before burning gasoline, won’t be cost effective for new car buyers until 2040, assuming gasoline prices don’t rise above $4 a gallon, the report said. The Volt is expected to go on sale in late 2010.

On the other hand, a car like Toyota’s planned plug-in Toyota Prius, which is expected to travel only 10 miles on electricity before burning gasoline, is expected to become cost effective for buyers before 2030. The Prius plug-in is due to hit the market in 2011.

Representatives of GM, Toyota, Ford and other companies provided information used in the report.

In order to help these vehicles gain market acceptance in the meantime, the government will need to spend “tens to hundreds of billions of dollars” in subsidies to generate sales of these vehicles. The Volt, for instance, will be eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit which will help bring its expected $40,000 sticker price down to about $32,000. Bigger government incentives than that may still be needed, according to the NRC report.

The extra cost to build a car like the Volt, compared to a similarly sized gasoline-only car, is expected to be about $18,000 according to the NRC. Of that, $14,000 is for the battery pack alone. A car like the plug-in Prius would cost about $6,300 extra to produce, including $3,300 for the battery pack. Added to that, some homes will require electrical system upgrades to charge the vehicle, work that will add about $1,000 to consumers’ costs, the report said.

GM spokesman Rob Peterson called the NRC’s estimates of battery cost “bloated,” saying the Volt’s battery would cost much less than that. Battery costs will also come down quickly, he said.

“Our starting point, which already costs much less than they estimate, is just the first step,” he said.

Bill Reinert, Toyota’s national manager for advanced technology, took less issue with report, saying its conclusions were generally correct.

“As a general rule, society has not really looked through all the issues (with plug-in cars),” he said.

Ultimately, the goal of reducing fuel use and cleaning the air will be reached through a combination of technologies, including improved internal combustion engines and advanced bio-fuels, he said.

Higher gas prices or faster-than-expected reductions in battery costs could shorten the time it takes for these cars to become cost effective and decrease the amount of government incentives needed sell them, the report said.

Competing against gasoline power One of the biggest challenges facing plug-in hybrid cars will be the continued improvement of ordinary, non-hybrid vehicles.

The Chevrolet Equinox SUV, already on the market, gets 32 miles per gallon on the highway and the Chevrolet Cruze compact car, due out around the same time as the Volt, is expected to get 40 mpg. Both will cost thousands less than the Volt and will carry more passengers and cargo.

Also, those cars won’t need to be plugged in.

“Some people will probably look at that as something they don’t want to have to do,” said Jim Katzer, an MIT researcher and one of the reports’ authors.

Even given optimal expectations of 40 million plug-in hybrids in a fleet of 300 million, they will have relatively little impact on the nation’s fuel consumption before 2030.

“You’ve got tremendous inertia in the existing fleet that’s got to be turned off,” Katzer said.

Improvements in green house gas and other emissions will take much longer because of the higher emissions of the typical American power generating plant, the report said.

“As long as you have the grid as it is now, and you don’t clean it up, you don’t save a lot,” Katzer said.

It’s easy to get excited by a new car, like the $90,000 Porsche 911 Carrera S. It has a six-cylinder, 385-horsepower engine that gets to 60 miles an hour in 4.5 seconds, and it tops out at 188 mph.

But if you want a chance at getting a good deal on one of the 2010 models, keep that enthusiasm to yourself. It’s the only way to walk out of the showroom with your dignity–and your wallet–intact.

“Dealers kind of prey on the fact that you’re going to be excited,” says James Bell, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book, an Irvine, Calif.-based vehicle valuation company. “Getting a new car is fun, and it’s exciting, and you can’t wait to drive home and show your neighbors. They know that.”

In fact, keeping your mouth shut (at least in the beginning) about several things, like how you plan to pay for the vehicle, or the fact that you’re not sure exactly what you need in a car, will serve you well when you finally do make a purchase.

Expert Advice
To create our list of the worst things to say to a dealer when buying a car, we consulted with car-buying experts from AAA (John Nielsen, director of auto repair and buying), Kelley Blue Book (James Bell, executive market analyst) and NADA Guides, (Mike Caudill, auto market specialist for the Costa Mesa, Calif.-based auto-data Web site). They gave us their best advice for getting the most car out of the shopping experience –and for not being taken for a ride.

One piece of advice unanimously agreed upon: Be careful when you talk numbers. Never go into a showroom and announce what you can afford to pay each month. Odds are, you’ll end up paying at least that–plus extra fees, service charges and extended financing payments that the dealer pads into the monthly payment agreement.

“It gives them the framework to then build a program,” Bell says. “You’re giving them all the ammunition necessary to build a program that magically hits something close to [the price you name]. But nine times out of 10 that’s not going to be to your advantage. It’s going to be to the advantage of the dealership.”

Just be clear with what you want, says Nielsen. State which cars you’re considering and talk about the overall purchase price of the vehicle, not its monthly payments.

Another phrase to avoid, at least up front, is “My credit’s not very good.” Inevitably, if you get serious about a particular vehicle, the salesman will find out that your credit score is not up to snuff. But if you tell him outright, he’ll know he’s got you in a bind.

“You are truly at a disadvantage then, because now the dealer says, ‘Look if I can get you financed, you’ll pay what I want,’” Nielsen says.

Instead, try to arrange financing with an outside source, like a bank or credit union, and use that safety option as leverage.

“I’d tell the dealer that ‘I have financing available, I’ve been approved, but if you can beat that, you’ll get the deal,’” Nielsen says.

If you plan to pay for the car with cash, even better. But don’t announce that right when you walk in the door–it’ll automatically tip off the salesperson that he should charge you more up front, since he won’t be making money off the dealership financing plan.

Buyer Beware
Research plays a major role in successful car buying. The months before the end of the year are prime times to snatch a good deal on an outgoing 2009 model, Caudill says. So don’t tell the dealer he’s the only one you’re considering. If you know which car you want, how much it’s really worth and where it’s available, you’ll be free to move on to the next dealer if the first one can’t meet your terms.

“No dealer has an exclusive product,” Bell says. “If you really like that red one, you can probably find it somewhere else pretty easy. Don’t ever get caught in the sense of, ‘Wow I’ve got to have this car right now because it can never be had again.’”

Above all, be honest, decisive and direct. Despite all the horror stories about crooked car dealers, odds are that the one you work with is upstanding and provides a much-needed service: You need a car, and he wants to sell you one. There’s no reason to be confrontational–just be well-informed, Nielsen says.

“By being well-educated, you can make sure that you’re comfortable, so when they tell you something, you’ll know right from wrong.”

Your wallet may already be reeling from holiday spending, but it’s worth your while to consider adding a purchase with a five-figure price tag to your list. Why? Because December is the cheapest time to buy a new car. In fact, if you’re looking for a bargain, six of the 10 best days to buy all year are between December 14 and the end of the year.

Buy in December
That’s the conclusion the car pricing experts at TrueCar.com reached when they crunched data from the last three years of pricing trends. “The average discount in December is around 6.5 percent off MSRP, compared to 4.5 percent in a typical month,” says Jesse Toprak, TrueCar.com vice president of Trends and Insights.

There is an old rule of thumb in the auto industry, Toprak explains, that says “the end of the week, the end of the month, and the end of the year” are the best times to buy. “Statistically speaking,” he tells us, “that actually turns out to be the case.”

Why would prices dip at the end of the year? Like so many things in the car shopping process, the phenomenon is psychological – but it has real impact on the financial health of car dealerships and shoppers.

The calendar hits 2010 next month. But for automakers, it’s been 2010 since mid-summer. Some of the earliest model year 2010 cars were rolling off of factory lines by July, and by now, dealerships are filled with cars with next year’s date on the window sticker.

Best Days to Buy in December

Expected Average
Discount

12/14/2009
6.86%

12/16/2009
6.74%

12/21/2009
7.13%

12/24/2009
7.25%

12/28/2009
6.90%

12/31/2009
7.04%

But they also have plenty of 2009 cars left to sell — more than in a typical year, in fact. That’s because automakers overbuilt, underestimating the impact of the recession on American buying habits. On Jan. 1, 2010, the value of those 2009 cars will drop because they will seem out of date. Dealerships want to get rid of them before that drop comes.

In reality, the differences between model years can be subtle. The 2010 Ford Fusion is a dramatically better car than the 2009 version, since Ford significantly modified its midsize sedan between model years. The 2010 Honda Accord LX, however, is virtually identical to the 2009. Honda lightened the color of the ventilation switches. That’s it. That’s the full list of changes. Yet, come January 1, the 2009 Accord will be worth thousands less than its 2010 counterpart — so dealers are willing to negotiate this month to push the 2009s out the door.

There are a handful of exceptions to Toprak’s guidelines. Prices of some vehicles vary seasonally. Convertibles, for instance, are typically cheapest in colder months. All-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive vehicle prices dip a little in the summertime. “But even with trucks,” he says, “buying an expiring model- year vehicle in December may be cheaper than buying the same truck in the summer,” when dealers don’t feel the pressure of January 1 looming.

Buy at the End of the Month
No matter what month you do your car shopping, Toprak says, you can still save money by timing your purchase carefully. Plan to buy, he says, late in the month. Dealerships are most willing to accept a lowball offer as the start of a new month rolls around.

“There is something called an Objective Bonus,” he explains, “that few shoppers seem to know about.” It’s a simple concept. Automakers set targets for their dealerships each month – “if they sell a certain number of units by the end of the month, they get a bonus from the automaker.” If you time your purchase for the last few days before the calendar switches over, you might find yourself negotiating with a dealer who knows he needs to sell just a few more cars to qualify for a big check from the home office – so he’s willing to take less from you in order to get one sale closer to his quota.

Buy on Saturday
The day of the week you go shopping can change the amount you’ll pay as well. In most weeks, TrueCar.com’s analysis shows, the biggest discounts tend to fall on Saturdays.

Car dealers are acutely aware of all the competition they face from other brands and even other dealerships selling the same brand. They know that when shoppers leave the house intending to make a purchase, they generally do.

“I ran dealerships for a few years,” Toprak says, before launching his career as an analyst. “The thinking at dealerships,” he explains, “Is that if you don’t give customers enough of a discount to close the deal on Saturday, they will go down the road somewhere else. They’re shopping on Saturday, and they intend to buy that day.”

Buy on a Holiday
Finally, TrueCar.com’s data shows you should consider car shopping when your neighbors are wrapping presents, or getting things ready for their party. Two of the least expensive days of the year are Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, when the average discount tops 7 percent off MSRP.

Maybe those commercials that propose giving a car as a Christmas gift aren’t completely crazy after all.

Negotiating for a car can be a nerve-wracking and difficult process. But even once you’ve agreed on that golden price, you’re not home free. If you’re buying a new car, there are plenty of options a dealer will still try to persuade you to tack on. While some of these might make sense for you, others aren’t worth the money. Though they may add only pennies a day to your monthly payment, they can add a lot to the price of your new car. Here are five dealer add-ons you should think twice about.

1. Extended Warranties
The extended warranty is one of the most alluring dealer extras. After all, doesn’t everyone want a little extra peace of mind? But no matter how good it sounds, remember: Always say no. First of all, your car’s original warranty may be all you need — especially if you’re buying a Hyundai or Kia, which both offer lengthy five-year/60,000-mile basic warranties. Many other manufacturers are now also offering five-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranties.

Secondly, even if you do want an extended warranty, you don’t need to purchase one the moment you buy the car. If you want one, you can easily buy it later, either from the car manufacturer or a reputable third-party company (but beware of unsolicited phone or mail offers down the line). The dealer’s extended warranty isn’t necessarily the best deal; in fact, it usually costs more. Plus, you’re in a high-pressure situation at the dealer and might not be able to read the fine print. Finally, if you buy the dealer’s extended warranty, you might be required to return to that dealership to get it honored – which could become a problem if you move.

2. Fabric and Paint Protection
Stain protection for your seats and floors can cost hundreds of dollars at the dealership. But while it may make you feel better when you’re balancing a milkshake in one hand and driving with the other, it’s not worth the money. Scotchgard Auto Interior Fabric Protector is available at Wal-Mart or Target (around $10 for a 10-ounce can), and it accomplishes virtually the same thing as what the dealer provides. The only difference is that the dealer’s fabric protection might come with a warranty, which means they’ll cover the cost of removing any stubborn stains.

Another typical dealer extra, Paint Protection, won’t accomplish much more than a good coat of wax will. Again, you can apply this yourself by picking up polymer sealant car wax at the auto parts store. Remember that your car already comes with a good coat of sealant from the factory, so you only need to apply wax about once a year.

3. Rustproofing
Unless a car is decades old, rust isn’t usually a problem. And unless you plan on keeping your car for decades, you won’t need any extra rustproofing. Modern vehicles are built to withstand rust, and nearly every new car comes with a lengthy rust perforation warranty. That makes rustproofing one of the biggest rip-offs a dealer can entice you to buy — because why would you want to pay for something twice?

4. Maintenance Plans
A maintenance program covers fluid changes and other regular maintenance items as part of your monthly car payment. If you buy such a plan, you won’t have to worry about budgeting for car maintenance. However, you will have to take your car to the dealership for service. While buying the maintenance program up front may cost less than paying for individual services at the dealership, it might not cost less than going to an outside repair shop for maintenance. You’ll have to do the math to decide if a maintenance plan is right for you.

Note that during negotiations, you might even be able to convince the dealer to throw in a maintenance plan for free. A few automakers already provide maintenance programs for free with a new vehicle. Volkswagen and Volvo offer plans that last three years or 36,000 miles, while BMW’s Ultimate Service program runs for four years or 50,000 miles. Scion provides the first two maintenance services for free.

5. Ding Protection
Buyers who are worried about cosmetic scratches on their new car might be inclined to opt for Ding Protection. It covers the cost of fixing small dents and scratches (often less than four inches long) for a set period of time. The price varies, but a three-year plan can cost as much as $650.

While this may seem like an alluring offer for a concerned new car owner, that’s a lot to pay up front for something you may never use. Even if you do use it, remember that large dents aren’t typically covered under this type of plan. Will the cost of buffing out small scratches really ever add up to the cost of the protection plan? Unless you repeatedly ram your new car with shopping carts, the answer is probably no.

2009 Ford F-150 XLTNEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — When people think of Black Friday shopping, they usually think of things like flat screen TVs, toys and sweaters. Now you can add cars, trucks and SUVs.

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is the best day to buy a car, according to car pricing researchers at the Web site Truecar.com.

Analysts looked at day-by-day car pricing for the last several years. That data revealed that discounts on Black Friday are, on average, the biggest of the year.

“The discounts from dealerships, as well as manufacturers’ incentives, generate the highest discounts of the year on Black Friday,” said Jesse Toprak, an analyst for Truecar.com.

Unlike typical Black Friday sales where customers know exactly what they’ll pay for an item, car prices are individually negotiated the day of the sale, so it’s difficult for customers to know ahead of time they’ll be getting a deal. But there’s been a clear trend, Toprak said.

The average new car discount on Nov. 27 is projected to be 7.5%. The average discount the day before and after is expected to be just over 6%. On a typical day throughout the year, car shoppers usually pay about 4.7% less than the sticker price.

Truecar.com projected particularly large Black Friday discounts on certain models. For instance, consumers should be able to pay about 28% off sticker price for a 2009 Suzuki SX4 compact car, 26% off for a 2009 Nissan Titan or Ford F-150 pick-up or 20% off a 2009 Hyundai Sonata sedan.

Getting in on the Black Friday Madness
Car dealers are trying to get a piece of the Black Friday shopping frenzy, Toprak theorized, and that may to lead to the bigger discounts found in the data.

“There’s a lot of noise in the market that day, and we have to stand out,” agreed Brian Benstock, general manager of New York City’s Paragon Honda.

Paragon Honda will send bicycle riders dressed in gorilla costumes to a nearby Best Buy store, Benstock said. The gorillas will be draped in sandwich-board signs advertising car deals available just down the road.

Paragon Honda will also be relying on more traditional advertising methods to pull customers in, Benstock said, including TV and print ads touting a “$5-a-day” Honda Civic. (That’s a $149 a month for a 30-month lease with $1,999 down.)

Michelle Primm, managing partner of Cascade Auto Group in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, said her dealerships don’t usually do big, splashy ads, except on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving.

“Those are the only two days when we buy full-page ads in the paper,” she said.

Primm says her dealership does get more business on Black Friday although according to Truecar.com’s Toprak, average dealership traffic doesn’t tend to be particularly high that day, said Toprak.

“Dealerships always spend a lot of money on marketing for that day,” said Toprak “but for some reason it’s not a particularly big day for car shopping.”

That may be part of the reason for extra-big discounts, Toprak theorized. Dealerships that aren’t getting the business just keep trying harder.

Not everyone is playing, though. Bob Goldberg, general manager of Premium Nissan in New Rochelle, NY, denied that Black Friday is particularly special at his dealership. “Every day is important to us,” he said. “I don’t consider it different from any other day.”

Crunch Time for Car Dealers
Adding to the sales pressure, Black Friday this year happens to fall very close to the end of the month. Car deals typically sweeten as the month goes on because many dealerships are approaching quotas they must meet in order to get additional manufacturer incentives.

“I mean the push is on as we get close to the end of the month,” Nissan dealer Goldberg conceded.

Besides monthly deadlines, dealers are also under pressure to clear out 2009 model year cars and trucks before the end of the calendar year. Those cars will be much harder to sell after Dec. 31, when they become “last year’s” models.

If only cars could talk. It would make the buying experience a lot easier, wouldn’t it? Because verbalized or not, every used car has a story to tell. And to avoid getting ripped off, it’s up to you to listen. You need to know about the skeletons in that car’s closet, the dark secrets of its past.

There are so many problems that can hide easily under the surface — accident damage, a counterfeit title, failing mechanical parts. It’s not as if you’re marrying the car, but you are making quite a financial commitment. Wouldn’t you rather find out about these red flags before saying “I do” and plunking down your hard-earned cash?

With this list of warning signs, you’ll be able to make your next used car purchase confidently — and if you do find “the one,” we’ll bet the relationship won’t end in a messy divorce.

Red Flag #1: No Service Records
More from U.S. News & World Report

» Great Deals on Used Cars

» Best New Car Deals for October

One of the most important aspects of a used car is its maintenance history. You want to make sure you’re buying a vehicle that has had routine oil changes and major mileage services. Always ask the seller, even if it’s a car dealership, for all service records. If they can’t provide those for you, you have no way of knowing if the car has been maintained properly. In addition to asking for records, look for a windshield sticker indicating when the car’s next oil change is due. If there’s no sticker or it shows an oil change is past due, ask why.

Red Flag #2: Vehicle and Accident History Issues
A vehicle history report is essential for any car purchase. You can ask the seller or dealership for the report or access it yourself online using the car’s VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). AutoCheck charges $19.99 for a single report or $29.99 for unlimited reports for 60 days. The report shows accident/damage history as well as title problems, frame damage and an odometer rollback check — any of which should be deal breakers.

Red Flag #3: Mechanical Problems
A quick look under the car can reveal fluid leaks, but unless you’re an expert, you’ll need to have someone else do a thorough inspection to make sure it’s in good working condition. A PPI, or Pre-Purchase Inspection, is performed by a neutral third party (such as a certified mechanic or automotive technician) and costs about $100 to $200.

The inspection is a detailed assessment of the cosmetic and mechanical condition of the vehicle. It is an invaluable asset since it can alert you to problems, maintenance issues and even frame damage hiding under the surface. The mechanic should put the car on a lift to check undercarriage components. Make sure he or she also uses a paint meter gauge to catch any re-painted body panels — which mean the car may have been in accidents that weren’t reported to the insurance company (if they had been reported, they would show up on your AutoCheck vehicle history report). Choose the party who will perform the inspection, rather than going with someone recommended by the seller. Ask to have the results sent directly to you.

You may be tempted to skip a PPI, but it’s almost always well worth it. You’re making a large investment in a vehicle, and the price of the PPI is only a very small fraction of that. If any problems the PPI shows are deal breakers, you can walk away from the sale. If not, you can still use them to negotiate a better price.

Red Flag #4: A Problem Title
Your AutoCheck vehicle report will show any problem titles on the car’s record at any point in its history — everything from hail damage to fire damage. Most of these issues are red flags, but here’s just a sampling of those to avoid at all costs: Flood titles, which means the vehicle has received extensive water damage; salvage titles, which mean an insurance company has at some point declared the car a total loss due to sustained damage; and junk titles, which mean the vehicle indicate that a vehicle is not safe enough for use and the car cannot be titled again in that state.

Red Flag #5: A Fraudulent Title
A problem-free title doesn’t mean it’s valid. Criminals can create counterfeit or fraudulent titles and use them to legally register and then sell stolen cars. If you buy a car without a valid title, it’s the worst-case scenario — you don’t legally own the car you just bought.

The first step to verify the title is to check with the DMV. Usually, you’ll just need the car’s VIN number and may be charged a small fee (often these transactions require you to go to the DMV’s office). You need to make sure the VIN on the car matches the VIN on the title and the seller’s name matches the one on the title. This record check is also valuable because it will show any outstanding liens on the title, which means that the owner is still making payments on the car and doesn’t own it outright. This could complicate the sale later, especially if you’re buying from a private seller.

However, even if the title appears to belong to the seller, it could still be fraudulent. There are a few signs that may signify foul play. Play close attention if the vehicle was recently brought to your state and titled or if the VIN number on the car is obscured or shows signs of tampering. The title should look official, meaning it will be printed on special paper with watermarks (visible when held up to the light). All text, graphics and borders should be sharp, not blurred. If you can, compare the title with an original (perhaps from a friend’s car in the same state) and make sure the two look the same.

The Bottom Line
Checking for all these red flags may seem excessive, but they can save you time and headaches down the line. In the end, the PPI, AutoCheck vehicle history report, DMV records and seller should be consistent. If any of the information seems fishy, consider walking away from the sale. If any of the above warning signs do surface, you may not even want to give the car a second thought. It doesn’t hurt to walk away, but it can sure hurt a lot to buy a problem vehicle. Plus, with the internet, you can find virtually any car, anywhere. And as they say, there are plenty of other fish in the sea.

Someone has been putting on a monkey mask and then whizzing past photo radar devices in the Phoenix area, developing a pretty clear picture of the weaknesses of high-tech traffic enforcement in the process.

Police say that “someone” is Dave VonTesmar, the owner of the white Subaru photographed during the drive-bys. The flight attendant is accused of wearing the mask to conceal his identity while speeding at least 37 times on local freeways.

In an apparent game of cat-and-mouse with law enforcement, VonTesmar admits to acts of civil disobedience. But he neither admits nor denies he was the driver captured by the cameras.

David VonTesmar’s drivers license photo (Arizona Department of Public Safety)”I would like to tell everyone that there is no proof that I am the driver in all of these photos,” VonTesmar told a Phoenix TV station, ABC 15. “I would never admit guilt in that type of situation, but do I own the mask? Yes.”

At a minimum, the monkey business has put a spotlight on a key issue: how to identify drivers to a legal certainty in photo radar cases.

About a dozen states and the District of Columbia have camera-based systems to record speeding or red-light violations in one or more of their communities, and their number is growing.

But critics say the systems are more or less indifferent to whether the owner of the vehicle, identified mostly via the license plate number, was actually the driver.

Drivers who didn’t commit the offense are often ticketed, they say. The process also gives offending drivers a potential loophole. If they can hide their identities from the cameras, they can argue they weren’t driving. And the burden of proof would theoretically be on the police.

Given photo radar’s weaknesses, its manufacturers and police departments can only hope people pay the fines without complaint, the opponents say. In short, most people simply have to play ball. Otherwise, the whole structure falls apart.

“‘Monkey Man’ brilliantly unmasked the flaws in the photo enforcement system,” VonTesmar’s attorney, Susan Kayler, said in an email interview. “Arizona doesn’t have the resources to pursue the thousands who can now do the same.”

The main problem is that an officer isn’t usually present when the devices are activated. If a car exceeds the speed limit by a set margin, usually by 10 mph or more, cameras take a picture of the driver, the car, and its license plate. The identification of the driver later takes place, often by comparing the photo radar image to the picture on the owner’s license. Finally, a citation is issued and delivered to the owner.

But the bad lighting conditions can produce poor pictures, and the identification process is a far cry from the up-front and personal approach of a traffic stop. In many cases, it isn’t even a police officer doing the certification of the driver’s identity back at the station — it’s the private company that sold the photo radar devices to the locality and then gets revenue from each ticket.

In some jurisdictions, a police department or city employee must take part in the identification process. To some observers, that doesn’t come close to meeting the gold standard for identification.

“Because photo radar companies do virtually nothing to verify the identity of the person in the photo, the certification is questionable at best,” Kayler wrote in her book, “Smile for the Speed Camera – Photo Radar Exposed.”

A similar situation wouldn’t be tolerated in other law enforcement scenarios, she wrote. “Just imagine what would happen if you asked a police officer who stopped you to issue the ticket to the registered owner of the vehicle instead of to you.”

It’s not surprising that the Arizona Department of Public Safety had to go to extra lengths to make their case against VonTesmar. Officers put him under surveillance, repeatedly spotting him as he put on his monkey mask, police said. He has also been photographed wearing a giraffe or gazelle mask.

But surveillance in these cases leads to a tricky ethical situation, Kayler pointed out. Shouldn’t police immediately stop drivers doing dangerous things instead of continuing to observe them?

“If this were truly a safety issue, why don’t they have patrol cars pulling him over in real time?” agreed Gary Biller, executive director of the National Motorists Association, a group that lobbies for traffic law reform.

“It looks like it is just one corridor where he is being tagged. Why have cameras enforcing this well after the supposed unsafe act? This is a clear indication to me that they are after money and they are not out to make roads safer.”

Car owners can contend they weren’t the behind the wheel and then fight the tickets. But depending on the jurisdiction or the whim of a judge, they may be asked to identify the actual driver, either before or during a hearing.
Proponents of photo radar aren’t likely to be swayed by the legal niceties. They argue that photo radar reduces deaths, accidents and injuries, pure and simple.

In a nine-month photo radar pilot program in Scottsdale, Ariz., in 2006, the proportion of speeders exceeding 75 mph in a 65 mph zone went from 15 percent to less than 2 percent, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

While photo radar does generate extra revenue for city and state coffers at first, the amount decreases as drivers become more law-abiding, said Russ Rader, media relations director at the institute. “They do generate revenue because a lot of people break the law. But the revenue tends to tail off over time.”

In mid-September, VonTesmar, who says he has a clean driving record, was waiting for a court date. In an email to AOL Autos, he said, however: “I would never operate my vehicle in an unsafe manner, nor would anyone else who drives my car.”

Whatever his identity, the man behind the monkey mask is no hero to some folks. “The people I deal with just consider him to be a big joke, and think he has crossed the line, to be honest with you,” said “Radar” Roy Reyer, a retired police officer, blogger and law enforcement radar expert.
With photo radar starting to saturate a few U.S. communities, other people are trying to fool the cameras, whether to protect their wallets or their rights.

“Some have resorted to disguises while others wear big hats,” Kayler wrote in her book. “If you move when the photo is taken, it may be too blurry to identify you.” Clear plastic covers over license plates can also be used to reflect back a camera flash, making letters and number unreadable. Kayler figures the plastic covers “must work or the photo radar companies wouldn’t be so adamantly against their use.”

Other activists have taped over the cameras, and garage tinkerers are coming up with inventive counter-measures. On his blog, Reyer has written about one of the more advanced ones: It detects the flash aimed at a license plate from a radar camera and instantly overexposes the photo with its own flash.

Reyer has no trouble understanding the rationale for some of these measures. “To go from my house to Sky Harbor airport, I have to pass 14 of these cameras alongside of the road,” he said. “Give me a break. You can’t go anywhere anymore without having your picture taken.”