Site
proves Internet can be helpful for car buyers
Some
people wonder if computers really improve our lives. Here's proof: You
can now buy a car without ever seeing a guy with greasy hair or a plaid
sport coat.
MSN's Carpoint is
one of the new generation of car-shopping guides that let you price your
old car online, shop for a new one, look around for financing and do everything
but click a button and have car keys delivered to your door. It's a deep
site with a lot of information, and it's attractively organized and presented.
On the home page, the first things you see are the cute graphical icons
representing the six major departments: new-car buying service; prices
and reviews; My Vehicle Web page; used-car marketplace; finance and insurance;
and This Week.
Whether you're actively seeking a car or just love them like red-blooded
Americans are required to by law, this is a site for you.
Best bets:
My Vehicle -- a personal auto page: This is an outstanding
example of what interactive Web sites should be. It tells you
everything you need to know about your existing car -- its current
blue book trade-in value, whether it's subject to a recall now
or in the past and what its next scheduled maintenance should
be and how much it should cost. It's simple to set up -- you start
out by plugging in your car make, features and mileage, and it
kicks back an easy-to-read page chock full of good information.
A cookie placed on your hard drive lets it recognize you next
time you return. A bookmark for sure!
How
to wash your car: As an avid do-it-yourselfer, I've always
washed and waxed my own car. But all these years, I've been doing
it wrong! Thanks to this page, one of many helpful-hint articles
you find buried in the This Week section, I've learned what I
was doing wrong (circular motion to apply wax -- I thought it
was up and down, like brushing your teeth). I also got some ideas
for extra steps I can take if I really want the ol' AMC Gremlin
to shine.
Consumer
auto news: They do a nice roundup of automotive news. Sure,
they give you the same big-news industry headlines as everyone
else, but they also dig for some nuggets. The week I visited,
for example, they had the story of the upcoming maiden flight
of a flying car. If it works like the inventor says, the Batmobile-shaped
car will travel at a top speed of 600 mph -- six feet off the
ground! It seats four, gets 5 miles per liter and costs $60,000.
Wonder if they'll take a Gremlin in trade?
