Ebay tips: buying cars in auctions

Ebay has become THE place to buy and sell almost anything - but what about buying a car? Use these tips and be safe!

Online auctions have become the new way of purchasing almost anything you need, from thimbles to comics to lunchboxes. But what should you consider when purchasing a car through eBay? A few simple tips can make your experience a good one and your investment a sound one.

Many people start their search for a new or used car by limiting their search to vehicles within their State or local area. Most auctions will specify that the new owner must pick up the vehicle from the auction seller's place of residence or store. This could end up making that great sale possibly not much of one if you need to pay for an airline ticket across the country to pick up the car and drive it back, to say nothing of the paperwork involved in transferring the ownership with two or more States involved. The search function in your eBay account can help to limit your choices and save yourself a lot of effort. You'd be surprised at how many local auctions you can find that you would probably never see in your daily paper!

The first and most important information you need to look at is the amount of feedback about the seller. You can see at a single glance if the feedback is overwhelmingly positive, neutral or negative. Take into account that while a sale may have been legitimate and without problems from the auction site's point of view, the seller may have become disgruntled for reasons outside the transaction and left bad feedback in order to erode the seller's reputation. Usually the seller has an opportunity to respond to any negative feedback, but you should take into account just plain old bad feelings possibly accounting for some negative or neutral ratings.

Feel free to contact other customers who have left feedback (be it negative, positive, or neutral) and ask what their experience was like with the seller - did he/she misrepresent the car in any way? Was the car's history accurate and reliable? Were there any problems in transferring ownership or mechanical surprises soon after the purchase? Most customers will respond to your queries, wanting to help or warn other potential buyers about this particular seller.

If you can visit the car itself before placing a bid, do so. Photographs are fine and the buyer may have a slew of them up on eBay, but the only way you can truly assess the condition of the car is to arrive at the seller's lot and kick the tires, as the saying goes. If you can't get to the site itself consider calling up a friend or relative and asking him/her to go and look the car over. If the buyer refuses to allow this, you may wish to reconsider placing a bid for this car at this time. Unfortunately there are always criminals placing imaginary items online for sale, disappearing with the money and never delivering a product. This is why checking feedback is one of the most important things you can do before placing a bid!

So you've seen the car (or sent a friend), you're convinced the car is a good deal and a great buy and you've checked out the seller and know the sale is as legal as it can be. Now, let's bid!

One of the oldest tricks on eBay is the sniper - he/she is a buyer who waits until literally the last few seconds to place a bid, usually snagging the item for sale out from under your nose. In order to avoid being sniped out of your car, be sure to monitor your auction for the last ten minutes at least, and be prepared to enter a counterbid as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

Unfortunately this is where a slow modem can make the difference between winning and losing. A cable modem or another fast communication system is almost a necessity when dealing with online auctions.

Remember that placing a bid on eBay is a legal commitment to purchase that item. While you will have the option to retract your bid if you make a mistake, eBay will frown on you if you make it a habit. As well, many sellers will either refuse to sell to you or complain to eBay, possibly leading to your membership being voided. Don't bid if you're not serious about buying it and don't bid what you can't afford!

So you've placed your bid and you’ve won your dream car! Now what do you do? Well, the first thing NOT to do is dash to the bank and withdraw your cash in small bills, stuffing it into a brown paper bag to deliver it to the seller.

First contact the seller through email and ask that either certified check or money order be used to make the exchange. Personal checks are fine if the buyer is prepared to take the risk of it bouncing, but most transactions should be done in a way that produces paperwork. This protects both you and the seller in case either of you have any disputes in the future regarding the amount exchanged or the ownership of the vehicle in question.

When you arrive at the seller's lot or house to pick up the car, make sure to get ALL of the proper documentation you will need to drive the car home. The State Trooper who stops you on the highway ten miles from your house may not know much about eBay, but he will know the law as it pertains to driving a car without insurance or the proper ownership papers. Remember, buying a car online is the same as if you went down to the local lot and bought it there - the documentation needs to meet the legal requirements of your state for the exchange of the car from one person to another.

Finally, if you are happy with the car and the transaction, please consider leaving positive feedback for the seller. He/she's only reputation on eBay is dependent on the opinions of others, and you will be influencing others who might be considering purchasing their next vehicle from this person. You don't have to leave a personal essay, but feel free to point out the best points about your purchase and why you would recommend this seller to others.

Purchasing a car on eBay can be a daunting experience, but knowing what to look for and what to do before placing a bid can lead to a rewarding and fun exchange. Now instead of being limited to the local papers and the used-car lots you can search across the entire State and the country, if you wish, to find the car of your dreams!

Safety and security-how a car alarm system works

Knowing how the parts of a car alarm work can help us better understand what an alarm system can and can't do for us.
Car alarms are one of the most underappreciated pieces of technology around today. The problem stems from car alarm owners that let their vehicle’s alarm go off until the preprogrammed time expires and the alarm resets itself. This causes most people to ignore sounding car alarms and consider them annoying noisemakers.

However, when you hear a car alarm going off, it is usually due to improperly adjusted impact sensors. The impact sensor is the most common and most problematic sensor. This is a device that senses vibrations which could be caused by someone attempting to break in. These impact sensors have an adjustable sensitivity setting. Often, these sensors are left with the sensitivity set way too high. This condition can cause a car alarm to go off, for example, if another car drives past or if someone bumps his or her car door lightly. To ensure your car alarm’s impact sensor is set properly, remember this rule. It should take a good hard slap to set off the alarm. If the alarm goes off by just bumping your car, the impact sensor requires adjustment. It is necessary for equipment installers to ensure that every impact sensor is not set to sensitive, since this will cut down on the number of false alarms.

The next most common sensor in car alarms is the door sensor. These door sensors trigger the car alarm if any door is opened. This can include the hood and trunk as well, depending on the installed alarms configuration. Door sensors can even be used to protect removable car stereos. Some high-end car alarms also come with optional proximity sensors. A proximity sensor is a device that monitors for motion within its range. If you get too close to the vehicle, the proximity sensor will trigger the alarm. There is also an option where this sensor can be used with a verbal warning. The intruder is given a 10 to 15 second period to back away from the car before the alarm sounds. These talking alarms can really startle an innocent bystander!

There are a few sensors that are still relatively new to the market. The first one is the audio sensor. This sensor monitors for the noise of someone breaking or attempting to break a vehicle’s window. The other one is a temperature sensor. This one is triggered by a sudden increase in temperature inside the car, which is normal when someone enters a car, especially in a colder environment.

It is important to understand what happens when a car alarm is set off. Most everyone is familiar with the loud siren and flashing lights. All car alarms, when engaged, disable the vehicle’s starter. This is the primary defense against car thieves. If they can’t start it, they can’t steal it. Most car alarm systems also come standard with a tilt sensor. This causes the alarm to sound if someone tries to tow the vehicle while the alarm is engaged. This won’t prevent it from happening, but it will draw attention to what is going on. Some car alarms also send an alert to the vehicle owner through a small paging device. This way, the owner can respond to the alarm even if he or she is out of audible range.

Hopefully, by addressing the problem with impact sensor sensitivity setting and discussing some of the primary ways an alarm system can help keep a car from being stolen, we as a society can begin to better appreciate what car alarms are capable of doing for us.

How do tire pressure guages work?

Three basic types of tire gauges, they all work with the same principle. Devices have different readout methods




Maintaining proper air pressure in your car’s tires is a simple preventative maintenance step you can perform to avoid such troubles as bad gas mileage, premature tire wear, and poor tire to road contact. An invaluable tool for this procedure is a tire pressure gauge. And just a note here, don’t trust the gauges connected to the air hose at a service station. They can be notoriously inaccurate due to misuse and mishandling There is a myriad of shapes, sizes, and costs to consider when shopping for a gauge, however, they all boil down to 3 basic types. The dial, digital, and stick. The gauges may look different, and display results differently, but all use the same principal. When the gauge is pressed onto the stem of a wheel, the air pressure in the tire pushes against some type of plunger which in turn actuates the readout section of the gauge assembly. The following article describes the similarities and differences between the different types of gauges.





The first and most common gauge is the stick type, also known as the pen type. On the air input end is a ball or tube shaped body that presses onto the wheel stem. Inside the opening of this ball is a centered pin. This pin pushes against the pin in the valve stem to open the valve, letting air into the gauge. The gauge’s pin is surrounded by rubber to seal the gauge to the valve stem. The gauges long metal tube is lubricated with light oil, and contains a rubber piston that is forced away from the air input end when the gauge is pressed onto the valve stem. The piston is pushed in direct relation to the air pressure coming from the tire. The piston is pushed against a spring that is calibrated in such a way that a certain amount of air will compress it a certain amount. The spring is wound around a stick or rod with gradations printed on it. When the piston pushes the spring and the rod, the rod is pushed out the end of the gauge by a calibrated amount. The user then simply reads the number on the rod. The rod is not connected to the spring or the piston, so when the gauge is removed from the valve stem, the spring returns the piston to its starting point, but the rod stays where it is until the user pushes it back into the body of the gauge. The rod is larger in diameter inside the gauge, so as not to be shot out the end of the tube.



The second type of gauge is the dial type. These gauges are easier to read, but more expensive and less robust than the stick variety. In this gauge, air from the tire enters a C-shaped tube inside the gauge. The air forced into the tube causes it to uncoil, much like a party noisemaker. The end of the tube is connected to an indicator needle by a series of levers and springs. When the tube straightens out, the needle deflects accordingly. Almost all dial gauges have an air bleeder valve; if the air pressure is too great in the tire, hold down the button and air will be released until the desired pressure is achieved.

The third type is the digital tire gauge. These gauges are the easiest to use, they have a direct LCD readout, and some even talk! These gauges use an electronic component known as a strain gauge. Air from the tire goes into the body of the gauge, where it pushes against the strain gauge. The resultant flexing of the strain gauge changes its resistance. This resistance change is input to a microprocessor where the resistance change is converted to a binary signal used to drive LCD readout. These gauges come in a variety of shapes and sizes, are very accurate and very durable.