Category: Car

Americas Official Car Donation Center has been in business since 1992. The center accepts cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, trailers and RVs that will help to support thousands of local and nationwide charities. This often allows for new research funding and outreach because of your donation.

Over 1 million donated vehicles have supported hundreds of non-profit charities through the work of Americas Official Car Donation Center. The center is also equipped to receive trailers, boats, trucks, RVs, and some other recreational vehicles like snowmobiles and jet skis. They accept most vehicles even if they are not running, so your “junk car” is welcome here.

The donation process is pretty easy. There is an online form or you can call to request a form. Local and national charities that include the American Red Cross, United Way, Humane Society, SPCA, Boy Scouts of America, the USO and many more. Check out the list by state, cause or national chapter on their website.

Towing companies that are associated with Donation Charities Center are professionally licensed, bonded and insured. Americas Official Car Donation Center is able to pick up in every US state except for Alaska. Usually the towing company will be notified by the center and call you and come up with an agreed upon time to pick up the vehicle.

The title and keys will be picked up when the towing company comes to pick up the vehicle. Do not forget to sign over the title to the Center, cancel your registration and insurance. It is very important for you to sign the back of the title and then give it to the organization or charity that you are donating the car to. Also, don’t cancel your auto liability insurance until youve cancelled your car’s registration. You should cancel your car’s registration so you are not responsible for anything that happens with the car after you’ve donated it, like getting a speeding ticket.

IRS and Tax Deduction: A Donors Guide to Car Donation

The IRS allows a tax deduction of the value of your vehicle up to $500 or if the vehicle is sold at auction for more than $500. Donation Charities Center will mail the IRS tax form 1098-C with the value. To find out what your car is worth visit Kelly Blue Book website.

Most cars will be sold at auction. The cars are sold then the center will forward a portion of the proceeds to the charity of your choice. When donating to this particular charity, you may want to check out the regulations. The regulations would be different than an outright donation. You can find the information you need in A Donors Guide to Car Donations. You should read the guidelines and ask questions. Checking with a certified tax planner is an excellent idea, too.

Recognised for 40 years as key industry figure.

John Leigh, Managing Director of Europcar UK and National Car Rental, has received the highly coveted lifetime achievement accolade in the Holiday Autos Partner of the Year Awards, confirming his status as an industry legend. In acknowledging his enormous and positive influence which has helped to shape and evolve the sector, the Holiday Autos Partner of the Year Awards ceremony honoured John for his dedication and commitment to the vehicle rental industry.

The Award was presented by Brian Murphy, Group Managing Director of Lastminute.com at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

“The evening was very emotional for me and I feel proud to be honoured by the industry in this way,” said John Leigh. “The Award was a complete surprise and it means a great deal to me to be recognised by my colleagues and partners who have put this industry where it is today.

John Leigh began his working life promoting concerts of legendary acts like Roy Orbison and Pink Floyd. In 1967 he decided to get a proper job and joined Godfrey Davis eventually to become Europcar, where he held a number of management roles. In 1972 he joined Swan National where he enjoyed a successful career culminating in his appointment as Managing Director in 1990 shortly after it had rebranded itself as EuroDollar.

Following an MBO from TSB and the acquisition of EuroDollar by National Car Rental USA, John was given responsibility for launching National into the EMEA marketplace.

In February 2007, the European operation was acquired by Europcar and John was appointed Managing Director of Europcar UK Group the largest daily rental company in the country.

As Chairman of the BVRLA in 2006/7, John played a leading role in defining and implementing industry standards for quality and customer service. He is also a Vice President of Chelsea football club, as well as being a very active patron of the Make-A-Wish-Foundation, a charity that grants wishes to often terminally ill young people. Two years ago he was also honoured with an “Unsung Hero Award” by the Celebrity Guild of Great Britain in recognition of his charitable work.

“I cant think of anyone more deserving of this award than John” confirmed Brian Murphy of Holiday Autos. “He has been the driving force behind the success of the industry, not just the growth of his own business. His vision and dedication has led to many of the innovations car rental customers now take for granted and he continues to challenge and lead the sector forward to new levels of service.”

High performance tires from companies like Duro Tires, Sumitomo Tire, and Falken Tire can give you vehicle the ability to perform at its peak condition. Without durable tires that cling to road surfaces well, even the best could lose control of a well designed car. Understanding your driving conditions and vehicle, though, could help you choose the passenger tires that are right for your truck, car, or SUV. Knowing your options will also help you choose performance tires for cars that are designed for high speeds and tight turns.

Choosing Duro Tires

Duro Tires offers a wide assortment of tires for vehicles such as SUVs, passenger cars, ATVs, motorcycles, light truck, and even trailers. If you are interested in purchasing passenger tires for a commuter vehicle, then you might consider their DP-3000, DP-3050 Impulse, or DW-9100 Snow Hawk. These tires are designed to work with passenger vehicles under circumstances that commuters often encounter on surface roads and interstates. If you are not sure what kind of passenger tires or SUV tires are right for your vehicle, then you should consider contacting a reliable dealership to help you determine which ones will work well for you.

Choosing Sumitomo Tire

Sumitromo Tire is another manufacturer of reliable tires. They have an assortment of performance tires for racing, passenger tires for your daily commute, and SUV tires for larger commuter vehicles. One of Sumitomo Tires top performance tires is the HTR Z III. This performance tire has lateral grooves that whisk water away, siped tie-bars to offer maximum control and safety, and a rib tread pattern that will keep vehicles on course.

Purchasing New Tires for Vehicles

Whether you are looking for performance tires, SUV tires, or passenger tires, you should always make sure that the dealer can offer you good customer services as well as reliable products. You know that Sumitomo Tire and Duro Tires make great products that are used by many experienced drivers because they give them the control that they need on a variety of surfaces.

Regardless of how careful a tire manufacturer is, though, mistakes are made. Small defects in SUV tires could wear them down quickly or cause slow leaks. Choosing a tire dealer that offers you guarantees on the products you buy understand that nothing is perfect all the time. Having a warranty from the dealership as well as the manufacturer could make it significantly easier for you to get the customer services that you need for your Sumitomo or Duro tires.

For many people, the end of the holiday season is the time to make resolutions for the coming year. The New Year may present a financial challenge for many vehicle owners. If your budget is tight, you may need to keep your current car running strong another year with a simple car battery replacement. It’s easy to overlook seemingly minor car care issues, such as car battery maintenance.

5 Car Battery Maintenance Tips:

Avoid the hassle of a dead car battery, especially if you’re headed to the mountains for a little skiing or other fun recreation in the snow. Here are five simple tips to help keep the charge in your car battery.

1.Park in a Garage. A thoroughly insulated garage will keep your battery warm in the winter. If your garage is not insulated, insulate the battery.
2.Keep your battery clean. Remove the clamps and clean away grease, dirt and oxidation. A dirty battery connection will weaken the charge.
3.Recharge it with Solar. You can purchase an inexpensive solar charger to refill your battery’s charge with solar energy. Just be sure not to overcharge it.
4.Add Distilled Water. If you’re stretching the life of a conventional car battery, you may have to add some water to it.
5.Secure the Battery. If your battery is jiggling around, it could tip over. Battery acid spilling all over your motor is not a good thing! Keep the battery tray clean and make sure it sits correctly.

Remember: To keep your vehicle going strong through 2015, don’t procrastinate. Repair what’s wrong, have the appropriate services, including a car battery replacement if necessary, and your car can provide reliable transportation for many more miles to come.

Get ready for your trip to the mountains with a car battery checkup. Contact our ASE certified technicians today at Rebel Automotive or go online to http://www.rebel-auto.com for more information about a needed car battery replacement. We will be pleased to take care of your vehicle and provide you with honest and professional automotive service. Our auto repair shop serves vehicle owners in Henderson, NV, Las Vegas, NV, and North Las Vegas, NV.

Our vehicles can be costly, and for that reason, we all want to take good care of them and make sure we can get as much life out of them as possible. In this, most of us want to know what we should do to help our vehicles along but we also want to know what not to do, so that we arent wasting our money.

So what are some of the basic car care myths professionals have identified?

1. Myth #1 Tune-ups How often should you have your vehicle tuned up? Do you know? Most engines are computer monitored and controlled the good news with this is, they dont need tune-ups as often as a traditional engine. There was a time that with a standard tune-up, it often called for new ignition parts such as a distributor cap, spark plugs, and points and rotors. Besides spark plugs, which usually don’t have to be changed until 100,000 miles, today’s cars aren’t built with points and rotors, and many engines don’t have distributor caps that need replacement as often.

2. Myth #2 Having Your Car Lubricated In the old days, cars had chassis that needed lubrication. All that metal, potential rust you name it, the car needed to be greased. But now, cars are a combination of metal and plastic and therefore need little additional lubrication.

3. Myth #3 Flushing Your Radiator Annually – Manufacturers have made significant advancements in engine cooling systems during the past few years with closed systems that recirculate coolant. These new systems don’t lose coolant as often, and coolant manufacturers have also made advancements in their products’ chemical components with synthetic materials, making the seasonal radiator flush almost extinct. It is still important to check fluid levels periodically–especially before long trips–and use the manufacturer-recommended coolant. You should change your coolant about every four years. Coolant chemicals last longer than they used to, and newer engines aren’t going to be damaged by leaving it in long.

When changing your coolant, try a premixed formulation rather than adding tap water, which contains minerals that can cause trouble.

Some coolants will need to be mixed with water, in this case use only distilled water which doesnt have the hard minerals in it.

For those who live in extreme climates, hot or cold, then you should be paying much more attention to your coolant than others.

4. Myth #4 – Wheel Alignment We all want to keep our car in balance and were taught growing up to make sure our vehicle had the tires rotated frequently so that it stayed in alignment. Although it’s important to keep tires properly maintained and inflated, it’s not always necessary to have them aligned every time they are rotated. A majority of manufacturers recommend a wheel alignment and wheel balance only if there is a major issue with the car pulling to one side or another.

5. Myth #5: Winterize Your Car Many grew up with the notion that before winter came, you had to winterize your car. Your cars maintenance doesn’t have to be tied to the seasons. Todays modern cars dont require the same amount of attention. Professionals say, other than possibly changing to winter tires, modern cars don’t require special attention at this time of year the way that your parents’ car might have.

What can you do for your car before winter? During colder months, it is advisable for you to keep more gas in your car’s tank. Why this is due to the fact air carries moisture and water, which can freeze and crystallize. The more gas in the tank, the less air – and less chance of ice forming inside where it could get into fuel lines and cause trouble, he says.

So, dont spend unnecessarily, in these times, we all want to be a bit wiser about where our dollar goes. And enjoy your car for as long as you have it.