carviews

Ladder racks help me succeed in my painting business

Fri, 22 May 2009 20:12:19 GMT

The tough economic times we live in shouldn't preclude me from having to scrimp on various truck accessories for my vehicle. While I am not so fortunate to have a personal and professional vehicle, just being able to maintain my own painting business and subsequently being my own boss is a great thing.

photo credit: scholz

When it does come to customization, however, there are certain add ons I need for the job. In addition to a variety of toolboxes that I can lock up, one of the biggest accessories is really a requirement. Ladder racks are essential to any painter that is not 17 feet tall! And while I'm a nicely sized 6', without the capability to carry around a number of ladders, I would never be able to get enough work to make a living.

And while the average height of homes in Northern Arizona are within the 1 to 1.5 story range, there are a number of applications where having 20 to 30 foot ladders gets me the job over someone who's not made the same investment.

Now when it comes to the personal use of my truck, I have always enjoyed the look of bull bars on the front of the vehicle. No, there's not much use for it in the painting business, but I have helped a buddy or two out of a ditch because I had one properly installed (and looking good!)

Have you ever totaled a vehicle?

Sun, 03 May 2009 18:54:58 GMT

It was a rainy Sunday afternoon during football season when an intoxicated man rammed the rear of my 76 Honda Civic. Being about 1996 or so, and the car was definitely in the "hoopdee" category! During the aftermath I learned what a totaled vehicle was all about.

Until very recently, auto manufacturers were more concerned with building quality cars that sold for good prices. Of course, we all know how that has gone (but that's another post!) Over the past several years, though, the car companies are actually working more and more with insurance folks and their own R&D departments to engineer vehicles that can withstand the impacts of collisions and not be immediately scrapped as a "totaled" vehicle.

If you've ever had to deal with the hassle, time loss, and, regardless of your insurance coverage, out of pocket expenditures (saying nothing of the inevitable insurance premium increases) you'll be appreciative of the fact that great advancements are being made in vehicle design.

In addition to making your car or truck safer and able to handle higher impacts, the likelihood of your insurance rates decreasing is a distinct possibility. Well, we are all hoping that cheaper insurance will trickle down to our wallets. We'll keep our eyes on that one!

Time for repairs

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 23:29:19 GMT

I need to find some good toyota 4runner parts like right away to repair my car after taking it out for a big spin in the desert last weekend. If I do not get it fixed really quickly then I am not going to be able to take myself and all of my friends that I promised that I would take down to Mexico next weekend and they will be so incredibly mad at me I will not even want to know them for probably many weeks! One of them told me that I had better get my rear end over to a computer and get on toyotaparts.com to start looking for the many parts I need to get the thing fixed up for our big trip.

I do not blame my friends for being so anxious that we will still be able to go on this trip because we have been looking forward to it forever. It is our last spring break that we will have together before we all go our separate ways after we graduate from college so I know that I really have to get this together and not let everyone down.

There are Mexican beers, pina coladas, tacos and beaches at stake here after all!

Miami Car Hire Good Service Note

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 01:26:32 GMT

About four days ago, I was in Miami for a trip to see an ill relative. Florida car hire was needed to get me from the airport to the hospital and then I needed to use the vehicle to get around some while I was there. The city is so big and so confusing I was worried about this and therefore decided I could not rent a vehicle. How would I get around? After getting more information about the Miami airport rental cars available to me, and how easy I could find them right at the airport, I decided that it was in my best interest to rent a vehicle.

I am very glad I did. I was able to run some errands for my ill relative, help out at their home and I was able to get away for some time to see friends, too. I could do this because I did not have to rely on a bus or cab and I definitely did not need to have my relatives worrying about getting me around since they had so much to handle on their own. The good news is that the company I used made a very simple process for cheap Florida car rentals.

Where Do You Find Good New Cars In Fort Worth?

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 23:24:29 GMT

Last weekend I searched the web to find new cars in the Fort Worth area. I stumbled upon a few good sites but most didn’t have what I was looking for. It’s so hard to find quality car dealers in Fort Worth.

Only a few sites had the type of crossover I wanted. I started by looking at a Mitsubishi Outlander. I eventually found one at a reasonable price and I’m going to buy it next week provided it’s still on their lot. If they don’t have any left in stock I’m not sure what I’m going to look at next.

The Outlander looks good and has some pretty cool features to it. I was thinking of getting into a Nissan Murano but the price tag is so much higher than the Mitsubishi, and the car really isn’t all that much better! I’ve also thought about jumping into a Ford. If it ever breaks down OEM Ford parts are always easy to find whereas the import stuff can cost a lot more. Hey, with the current American economy, any little bit of domestic spending I can do only helps out right?

I’m thinking I’ll probably wait a few more months before making a decision to see if the prices drop a bit more. Who knows, I just might be able to find a brand new SUV for under $10,000!

Buying an Older Car

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:49:16 GMT

For the past few months, I’ve been giving a lot of consideration to buying a car for my son. He’s 14 now, but before you know it, he’ll be behind the wheel. I was thinking about buying an older car, and working together over the next few years to fix it up.

I actually saw an ad in today’s paper for a mid-90’s Toyota Camry. It looks like exactly what I had in mind. The car is running, but it needs some Toyota accessories and Camry parts to get it in tip-top shape. I figure if my son and I work on it a little bit each week, it’ll be ready to go when he’s old enough to get his license.

Now, I just need to find somewhere that sells cheap Toyota parts. I don’t want to go broke trying to fix up this car. Otherwise, I’d just buy him a new automobile. So, the less money I have to spend on repairing it, the better.

I think I’m going to give this guy a call to see if we can come take a look at the car in the next day or two. If it looks good, we’ll buy it and go to work on it immediately.

Buying My Son a Truck for Graduation

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:48:11 GMT

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but my son will be graduating from high school in May! It seriously seems like only yesterday that we were leaving the hospital with little baby Joseph in our arms. And now, in the blink of an eye, he’s graduating at the top of his class, and he’s headed to a great college to become a finance major.

So, as a way to show him how proud we are, my wife and I decided to get him a truck for his graduation present. He’s had his eye on this one truck at the local dealership, and it’s only fair to get it for him. He truly has earned it.

I just can’t wait to see his face when we hand him the keys to his new ride. I must admit, it’s a pretty nice truck. It has all of the truck accessories you could ever want—tonneau covers and fender flares. He’s going to absolutely love it! Plus, he’s going to need a big truck to haul all of his stuff to his dorm room at the university.

It’s sad to see him grow up so fast, but at the same time, I couldn’t have asked for a better kid. I really am so proud of him!

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:29:26 GMT

Companies who make their living by providing auto and truck accessories are always looking for new ways to attract more companies. In business, it seems as if old, traditional methods always seem to get results. This is why more and more companies are just going with the tried and trusted method of developing new, great products. So who are these companies and what products are they bringing to the market?

Mag Hytec might not be a household name for truck owners just yet, but it is quickly getting there. They have really taken control of the accessory market because they are always on top of the newest trends in the market. They keep their finger on the pulse of what their customers are looking for and they develop products using that knowledge.

Diablosport is in a similar spot as a company and their products are being well received by consumers. If you are looking for a company that really stays cutting edge, then you will like this one. They are not as traditional as some of the other companies out there, but they do a great job of developing cutting edge products.

All in all, the companies who are succeeding in the industry are the ones who are developing new products. If you want to learn more about these new accessories, read more on truck accessories.

Those Abundant Japanese Cars

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:39:14 GMT

I love Japanese cars. Even if I am American, I really do. I just think they are the best.

Having lived in Asia for a couple of years now, I have come to admire Japanese cars and the way they design the cars in smaller sizes. They have efficiently managed their car planning and production so much that in many parts of the poorer countries, good quality Japanese cars are easily available to the average person.

Japan today is the largest manufacturer of automobiles. So it is not surprising to find many brands of Japanese cars around the world, from small to large cars, each meeting a different person's needs and tastes.

I myself personally own two cars and both of them are Japanese made. I love my Mitsubishi Outlander which I use on more occasions. I love this particular brand because genuine Mitsubishi parts are very easy to find.

My other car, the older 2000 Suzuki Esteem has still been functioning well and even if Suzuki is a lesser popular name compared to Mitsubishi in where I live now, I do not find it hard to find Suzuki parts.

But I must admit though that as an American, I miss Ford cars back home in the

United States

. I see several bigger Ford cars and sometimes I would wish I had one to drive around too. Maybe I will work on that some time in the near future. I know keeping a Ford car here is not difficult as there are Ford service centers selling genuine Ford parts all over.

Stolen Truck Fiasco

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 18:09:23 GMT

About a month ago I found myself in Salt Lake City for a convention. It’s not a bad place, but the rules about drinking are a little different there. Apparently all of Utah is that way which caught me off guard since in Arizona you just go to the gas station to get a six pack of beer. It was a really nice drive going there. The scenery was awesome, and I kind of took the back way to get there and even stopped at the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

I stayed at a very nice hotel, so I assumed my truck would be safe in the parking lot. Well it wasn’t. The third night I was there some heartless thief stole it. Finding a way to get back home turned out to be the least of my problems. About a week after it was stolen it was recovered. Well, most of it anyway. When they found it, the thing had been stripped bare. I’m not just talking about my truck rack, running boards and chrome truck accessories either. Apparently there is a market for pickup doors, seats and even air conditioners there too! Unfortunately the insurance company has decided that it is not totaled, and they are going to fix it.

Booking Transportation for people on Trips

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:51:13 GMT

For the past six months, I have been enjoying my new job at a call center. I know that you might cringe at the thought of working on the phone, telemarketing products to people all over the country. I would too, but thankfully, that is not what I do.

In fact, I like my job because people are just calling me to book their Orlando airport car rental through our call center, so I don’t have to sell them on anything. We are just there to cater to their wishes and make sure that the car will be waiting for them when they land.

What sets the job out from others that I have had is that we were trained and allowed to experience what sort of services our clients would experience. In order to accomplish this, the company let us each have a complimentary car rental Orlando for a weekend to see what it was like.

I took the kids to Sea World and they had a blast. It was a great weekend getaway, and I was able to spend some time with the kids for a change.

Thanks to the rental car Orlando that was provided to us, we were able to go. Each time that I am having a bad day, I remember our trip and the fun we had together, and it puts a smile on my face.

My First Car

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:36:01 GMT

After I graduated from high school, my parents bought me my first car. I was fortunate, maybe even a bit spoiled in the fact that they bought me exactly what I wanted. My first car was a Datsun 280ZX. It was black with gold stripes, brown leather interior, T-tops, a cassette deck, mag wheels and a slant six fuel injected engine. And there was no shortage of auto accessories either. It had electric seats, a shift light and even would talk to you. “Your door is ajar” would quickly get followed up by me saying “no, it’s just a door.” I was definitely the kid on the block with the nicest car.

And boy did I take care of it! There was never as much as a speck of dust on it. And if it rained, the water would bead up and trickle off really fast because there were so many layers of wax. The inside gleamed of armor all, as did the tires. Passengers were advised to either wipe their feet off or face the consequences (death).

Summer times were awesome. I loved to tool around with the T-tops off cranking my favorite tunes. And if I was with a chick, I never had to worry about a third wheel or someone trying to tag along because the car only had two seats. Man, that was a cool car!

A Winning Auction

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:20:59 GMT

I have never been a fan of online auction sites until very recently. Up until now, most of the people I know who have frequented the sites have bought a bunch of junk and wasted their money, paying way too much shipping for a really cheap item.

This all changed a few weeks ago when I found the sweetest set of g35 wheels at a phenomenal price. When I was browsing, I was surprised at how low the auction was currently going for, so I put in a bid, knowing that they would go for a lot higher than my bid.

Much to my surprise, I won the auction and have just installed the aftermarket wheels on my car. I told a friend, who also managed to win his auction on a set of MRR wheels, thought he ended up paying quite a bit more money for his than I had for mine.

I could have gone out and bought custom rims for my car and I would have spent a thousand dollars more for them than I did for the ones I bid on. It has not made me a complete believer, as I still think people waste their money, but I will say that a good deal can be found if you look for the right thing.