LEASING MYTHS

Debunking the myths about leasing

High mileage drivers

Some people think that high mileage drivers should not lease, but that's a false assumption. 

High mileage drivers make the most auto-leasing sense!  The number one way to depreciate the value of a vehicle is to drive high miles. That vehicle then becomes the most difficult vehicle to resell.  Many leases are customizable and can be written for more than 15,000 miles a year.  Whether you pay for your miles upfront or at lease end, when you turn in the vehicle you don't have to worry about trading in or reselling a high-mileage car. 

1953 CORVETTE

 

1953 WAS THE FIRST YEAR FOR THE CORVETTE

The Corvett was originally designed as a show car for the

1953 Motorama display at the New York Auto Show. It

generated enough interest to induce GM to make a

production version to sell to the public.

That year it was available in one color, Polo White.



Quadricycle by Henry Ford

 

Henry Ford and his first car
the Quadricycle, which he
built in 1896

FOR MUSTANG LOVERS & CAR ENTHUSIASTS

2003 FORD MUSTANG SVT COBRA

 

Check out this beauty on our website:  www.nwfl.com

 

                                       Mileage:  66,063

                                       Engine:  8 Cyl SOHC 4.6L

                                       Trans:  6-Speed Manual

                                       Exterior Color:  Silver Clearcoat Metallic

                                       Interior Color:   Dark Charcoal

 

                                        Call me if you are interested

                                              Pho# 425-251-6000

APPRAISING A USED VEHICLE

It's common that most of us have a tendency to over value our vehicle(s).  We all like to think that our assets have a great value.  However vehicles may depreciate in value quicker than we think.  Used vehicle values are obviously based on condition.  The following information may be helpful in understanding a used vehicles condition and hence, the value.

 

There are a number of cosmetic, mechanical and maintenance factors that go into determining the condition of a used vehicle.  Following below are the major factors or condition categories as defined by the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA).

 

Clean - The vehicle has no mechanical defects and passes all necessary inspections with ease.  Paint, body, and wheels may have minor surface scratching with a high gloss finish.  Interior reflects minimal soiling and wear, with all equipment in complete working order.  The vehicle will need minimal reconditioning to be made ready for resale and the vehicle has a clean title history.

 

Average - The vehicle is mechanically sound but may require some repairs or servicing to pass all necessary inspections.  Paint, body and wheel surfaces have moderate imperfections and an average finish which can be improved with restorative repair.  The interior reflects some soiling and wear in relation to vehicle age with all equipment operable or requiring minimal effort to make operable.  The vehicle will need a fair degree of reconditioning to be made ready for resale and has a clean title history.

 

Rough - Significant mechanical defects requiring repairs in order to restore to reasonable running condition.  Paint, body and wheel surfaces have considerable damage to their finish which may include dull, faded or oxidized paint.  There may be small to medium sized dents, frame damage, rust or obvious signs of previous repairs.  Interior reflects above average wear with inoperable equipment, damaged or missing trim and heavily soiled or permanent imperfections on the headliner, carpet and upholstery.  The vehicle will need substantial reconditioning and repair to be made ready for resale.  Some existing damage may be difficult to restore.  The vehicle may have a branded title.

 

Appraising a cars value is not an exact science.  Many of the things mentioned above are subjective.  However, an experienced appraiser will generally come up with a value with a reasonable degree of accuracy.

 

You can get your vehicle book value by going to www.nadaguides.com

 

Model Year Indicator - The tenth position (digit) in the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is a code indicating the model year.  This chart gives the code for the model year.

MINICAR SAFETY

Smaller cars carry a bigger risk in a common and deadly type of crash.  The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) ran front end crash tests on 11 small & mini cars.  The cars hit a barrier with the front driver’s side corner at 40 MPH.  This simulated clipping another car head-on or hitting a tree or pole. None of the vehicles tested received the highest rating of “good.”  Only the Chevrolet Spark received a passing grade of “Acceptable.”  The worst performer was the Honda FIT which received a rating of “poor.”   Besides the Fit, here are other cars that were also rated “poor” (from lowest to highest score): Fiat 500, Hyundai Accent, Toyota Prius C, Nissan Versa and Mitsubishi Mirage.   Some cars received a “marginal” rating and they are as follows:  Ford Fiesta, Toyota Yaris, Kia Rio and Mazda 2. 

 

 

Chevy Spark was the only tiny car to get an

acceptable rating in the new IIHS crash tests.

 

Although the Spark received the rating of “Acceptable” it does not protect occupants as well as larger, heavier vehicles with the same rating, IIHS said.  Minicars can weigh more than 1,500 pounds less than the average model made for the 2013 model year, preliminary federal data show.

 Small, lightweight vehicles have an inherent safety disadvantage, “Joe Nolan, IIHS senior president for vehicle research, said in a statement.  “Unfortunately, as a group, minicars aren't performing as well as other vehicle categories in the small overlap crash.

FIRST SUPER BOWL

 

The first Super Bowl was played on January 15th, 1967 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in L.A. California.  The National Football League (NFL) champion Green Bay Packers defeated the American Football League (AFL) champion Kansas City Chiefs by the score of 35 - 10.

Bart Starr was the Green Bay quarterback and he was named the MVP of that game.

 

 

The first Super Bowl was not called the Super Bowl. It was referred to as the "AFL-NFL World Championship Game." The term Super Bowl was not used until 1969. 

AUTO LEASING GROWING AGAIN

According to a recent article in "Automotive News" lease customers are returning to the showroom. Auto leasing has been growing in recent years. As shown in the chart below leasing accounted for 23 percent of U.S. auto sales through September of this year.  Up from 13 percent in 2009.

 

MINING ASTEROIDS?

This is from an article in the "Seattle Business" magazine.

 

 

Is the idea of mining asteroids a science-fiction notion or can it become a reality?  A number of companies have sprung up to take on the challenge.  Funded by some of the world's wealthiest people and staffed by some of the top minds in aeronautics, these companies believe the time has come for a new multibillion-dollar space industry, with the Puget Sound region serving as its launch pad.

 

Planetary Resources located in Bellevue Washington wants to use unmanned spacecraft to mine asteroids for precious metals.  There are thousands of near-Earth asteroids in close proximity to our planet.  Past analysis shows a single one could contain very large amounts of platinum-group metals.

 

There are many challenges ahead but there is also the intrigue of going beyond our earthly environment and heading out into space, the final frontier.

CHESS JOKE

 

Check out the Tacoma Chess Club

www.tacomachess.org 

 

U.S. MARINE CORPS BIRTHDAY

Sunday November 10th is the 238th Birthday

of the United States Marine Corps

"Semper Fi"

 

The Marine Corps Memorial was created from this picture taken

by Joe Rosenthal of the Asscocited Press

Joe Rosenthal caught the flag raising on February 24th 1945 at the top of Mount Suribachi on the small isand of Iwo Jima.  That afternoon the Marines had cleared the slopes of enemy resistance and raised the U.S. flag.  Raising the flag are 5 Marines and one Navy Corpsman: Sgt Michael Strank, Cpl Harlon H. Block, Pfc Franklin R. Sousley, Pfc Rene A Gagnon, Pfc Ira Hayes and PhM.2/c John H. Bradley.

Unfortunately 3 of these men would lose their lives as fighting continued on Iwo Jima.  The three killed were Strank, Block and Sousley.

May God bless them and all our service men and women.

VETERANS DAY

VETERANS DAY IS MONDAY NOVEMBER 11th

Please honor our service men and women

IT'S A CHANGING WORLD

Yes it is a changing world.  A recent survey conducted by American Express shows that a large number of people believe that Online business relationships are as valuable as face-to-face business relationships.  As shown in the chart below, 42% of people interviewed believe that to be true.  That percentage will probably increase over time as more young people enter the work force.  Young people coming out of High School today have never lived in a world without  computers.    

 

PUBLIC ESTEEM

This is from a recent article published in USA today. 

I was happy to see Military on top of the list. 

I believe that Military personnel deserve this kind of respect.

FUEL ECONOMY 2013 VEHICLES

Listed below are several 2013 vehicles with the MPG ratings.  These are the Government MPG (Miles Per Gallon) ratings and estimated annual fuel costs.  As one would expect hybrids are on top of the list. 

This is not an all inclusive list. You can check other vehicles by going to the website: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ 

Click on the chart to enlarge

ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

Can Bakken Oil bring energy independence to the United States?  

By now most everyone is aware that North Dakota is the home of the Bakken oil formation.

Oil was discovered in the Bakken in 1951.  The Bakken is named after North Dakota farmer Henry Bakken, who owned the land where the formation was initially discovered.

 

Although North Dakota has been producing oil for the past 60 years, the Bakken was never a major source of the state's production because the tight oil formation proved too technically-challenging and too costly to produce.  In 1999 a USGS Geochemist named Leigh Price estimated the total amount of oil contained in the Bakken ranged from 271 billion to 503 billion barrels.

 

Oil companies started testing various methods of drilling to access the Bakken's hard-to-get oil, namely horizontal drilling.  The first horizontal well was drilled in the Bakken in 1987.  This method of drilling proved to be successful.  As a result, oil production in North Dakota soared.  Since then the state has moved up to be the second largest oil-producing state in the country. Second only to Texas.

 

The Bakken has truly been a game changer.  The United States is on track to produce more domestic crude oil than it imports from overseas sources by the end of this year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA March 2013 energy report).  According to the report, increased shale oil production in both North Dakota and Texas get the credit.  Thanks to these vast recources in the shale production, OPEC's stranglehold on oil production is about to come to a startling end.  Some are predicting that the United States will be energy independent as early as 2018.

 

 

What the United States needs now are more refineries.  More refineries will increase gas production which could result in lower fuel prices.



FEATURED CUSTOMER - MEET JOHN PARKER

John Parker is the owner of Freight NW Inc.

 

John has been a customer of mine for nearly 20 years.  He leased his first truck with me when he first started his business.  John has successfully grown his company over the years and now has as many as 25 trucks operating on a daily basis.

 

 

 

Freight NW Inc is a freight hauler located in Tacoma Washington.  They serve Washington and Oregon and offer same day delivery.  They haul all types of freight. 

 

Their motto is "Big or Small, We haul it all".

 

John is an honest and hard working individual.  I'm proud of John and the business he has built.  And I'm honored to continue serving his vehicle and equipment leasing needs.

 

If you need the services his company provides you can contact john at 253-572-1179.

NEW AND EXCITING CARGO VAN

 

2013 Nissan NV200 Cargo Van

When Nissan Motor Co. announced that they were building a new compact Cargo Van we at Northwest Fleet Lease got excited.  Knowing the popularity of the Ford Transit Connect, we felt that the new Nissan NV200 would be a winner so we ordered six.  They just arrived!  We ordered three “S” models and three “SV” models all in white.  The estimated fuel efficiency is 24 mpg and the MSRP ranges from $20,835 to $22,265 so these vans will save you money on both the cost and fuel efficiency.  We should have these at our office by the weekend so feel free to stop by and check out the newest thing in commercial vans!

 

COME IN AND CHECK IT OUT!!

For more information please call me.  # 206-979-8015

 

NORTHWEST FLEET LEASE

Website:  www.nwfl.com

CAR TRIVIA: What was the White House's First Official Car?

 

Answer:  1909 White steam touring car

In January of 1909, legislation was entered into Congress on behalf of president-elect William Howard Taft for the appropriation of official White House automobiles.  After some discussion and initial rejection of the funding by the Senate, that February the Congress authorized $12,000 for the purpose.  Taft arranged for the purchase of a 40-horsepower White steam touring car and a 48-horsepower six-cylinder Pierce-Arrow limousine.  Taft's enthusiasm for the technology changed the political culture of the automobile and brought about a national craze for the machines. 

FLEET MANAGEMENT

  Managing a fleet of vehicles can be a very busy task. We can help

  with our fleet management program. Below are some of the services

  provided through our partner company called "Network".  You can

  pick the services you want to utilize:                               

                                         1. Maintenance and Repair 
                                            -  National Account Card
                                            -  Reduce Downtime
                                            -  Post Warranty Recovery
                                         2. Accident Management
                                             -  24 Hour Reporting
                                             -  Collison Repair
                                             -  Salvadge
                                         3. Risk Managment
                                             -  Driver Record Checks
                                             -  Point Assignment Program
                                          4. License and Title Management
                                             -  Flags Vehicle Tags
                                             -  Monitor State Changes
                                             -  Title Retention
                                          5. Value Added Services
                                             -  Fuel Management
                                             -  Emergency Roadside assistance
                                             -  Replacement Rentals
 For more information please contact me:  Phone # 425-251-6000
 or cell # 206-979-8015 or e-mail: larrya@nwfl.com