Choosing the Right Car Glass for Your Windshield Replacement

Sometimes, windshield repair is no longer enough and you just have to go for total replacement. If you ever need to have windshield replacement or any other auto glass installation, you will have to choose from three types of car glass. There is dealer glass, original equipment manufactured (OEM) distributor glass and aftermarket glass.

Dealer glass is the most expensive type of car glass. This is what you get from the authorized car dealership of your automobile brand. It is expensive because it is made by the exact same manufacturer that produced your vehicle’s original car glass and it usually bears the stamp of your car brand. Those who just need to have everything branded will not go for anything less than dealer glass.

Original equipment manufactured distributor car glass means original equipment manufactured car glass. It is identical to dealer glass and has exactly the same specifications, including thickness, color, durability, size and shape. The only difference is that it is made by a different manufacturer.

Manufacturers of original equipment manufactured car glass are contracted by the different car brands and are authorized to produce car glass to those exact specifications. Most are well-respected in the industry and their product is recognized as being of equal quality as dealer glass. Among the top OEM manufacturers are Pilkington, Pittsburg Plate Glass (PPG), Carlite, Ford, Safeguard/Mopar, Asahi, AP Tech, Triplex, Sekurit, Sicursiv, Scanex, Crinamex and Guardian. Keep the list as a handy reference for when you need to check your car glass choices against them.

There may be some unscrupulous OEM manufacturers, though. Be careful of claims that the glass is “from an OEM manufacturer”. Unless the glass itself is described as OEM glass, it may be substandard glass which just happened to be produced by an OEM manufacturer.

Aftermarket car glass, also called original equipment equivalent (OEE) car glass, is manufactured by companies who are not legally authorized to make car glass to the exact specifications copyrighted and licensed to car brands.  Aftermarket car glass, therefore, has specifications different from your car’s original glass. This may include variations in thickness and quality. Of course, it does not have the same guarantees as dealer glass or original equipment manufactured glass, and may have imperfect fit, leakage, optical distortion, low solar performance and wind noise.

In comparison, therefore, original equipment manufactured car glass is your best choice. It has all the qualities of dealer glass but at a much lower cost. In fact, original equipment manufactured car glass is made according to standards higher than those of the Department of Transportation. Whereas the DOT requires only 80 percent windshield retention in frontal barrier crash tests, original equipment manufactured car glass has 100 percent.

It is imperative that certified auto glass technicians work on your auto glass installation. They should be knowledgeable on the auto glass manufacturer’s specifications and instructions.

Aside from making sure that OEM car glass is used for your vehicle, you should also make sure that OEM auto glass parts and adhesives are used. This is for your utmost safety. With mobile windshield replacement, for example, you are sometimes made to believe that your car is ready to be driven in a while. The problem is that inferior adhesives may not dry in time, leaving you unprotected in case of an accident. Even with the use of an OEM adhesive, you should check the safe drive away time indicated in the product. Furthermore, demand lifetime warranty on auto glass parts and workmanship.

Whether for car glass, glass parts or adhesive, or for auto glass installation services, always put safety first.

Posted in General at January 4th, 2011. No Comments.

Private Auto Loans For Non Dealership Purchases

Buying a used car directly from an owner will get you a much better deal than you would get from a car dealership. This is especially true in cases where the car owner and the car history are well known to the buyer. It eliminates the possibility of hidden surprises. On the whole, private auto loans have a lot in common with other methods of car financing. However there are also certain differences that can be important when deciding to purchase a car.

Higher Rates For Used Cars

When it comes to used cars, the rates for person-to-person or private auto loans invariably prove to be higher than those for a new car. To take an example, rates for private party sale auto loans from online auto loan lenders will usually be about two points higher compared to what is charged for traditional new auto loans and about one and a half points higher than the interest rate being charged for used car loans for vehicles purchased from dealerships. Moreover, the rates will fluctuate according to your credit history and other aspects concerning your loan application while new car loans from dealerships usually have fixed rates providing you qualify for them.

Repayment Schedules

Loan term may be less than that of a new car. The standard duration for financing a new car can be up to seventy-two months. In the case of private auto loans, it may not be possible to finance a vehicle for the same time period. Usually lenders are ready to finance private auto loans for up to forty-eight months, though there may be exceptions. However, auto loan financing should be done for as short a period of time as you can possibly afford. This is to ensure that you don’t end up in a situation where you owe more on the car than its value (upside down car loan) and to minimize the amount of interests you are required to pay.

Down Payments and Fees

With many lenders a down payment may not be required for person-to-person auto loans. Despite not being required, it is better to put money down. Doing this will reduce your chances of overpaying for your car loan in the future. Taxes, title and registration have to be paid separately when you purchase a new car from a dealership. The dealer normally combines taxes, title and registration fees into the loan amount. For private auto loans, the lender will not allow you to finance the fees and will require you to pay for them out of your pocket.

Title Transferring

On purchasing a new vehicle, the title is put in your name almost immediately. When it comes to person-to-person or private auto loans, it could take longer. The owner of the car you are buying from may still owe money on the car and it could take a week or longer for completing the payoff process. His lender needs to receive the payoff amount before he transfers the title to the car owner and then it can be turned over to you. The duration of this process is mainly based on the location of the lender. For a local bank, this process should not take more than a few days. However if the lender happens to be in another state, it could take much longer for the transfer to be done.

To briefly sum it up, private auto loans make a good option if you are a creditworthy borrower. However if your credit happens to be less than perfect, it may be better to turn to your local dealership as the best source for an auto loan.

Posted in Uncategorized at May 26th, 2010. No Comments.

No Money Down Bad Credit Auto Loans – Getting the Financing You Need With No Upfront Cash Down






When most people think of buying a car with bad credit, they think about big down payments and high interest rates. This is mainly due to what people have been told over the years from car dealerships. Usually, when you go to a car dealership, they will only offer a bad credit auto loan with money down.

This is because of a couple of factors…

1) The amount financed is regulated by the lenders. A loan company may approve you for the car that you want, but only finance a certain amount. When it’s less than the sale price of the vehicle, you have to come up with the difference.

2) Dealerships ask for down payments because it increases their gross profit. When they can get a maximum retail price for a car, plus a down payment on top of that, they make more money.

3) When you have negative equity in your trade-in, sometimes there isn’t enough room to add on that amount to the new loan. A down payment would be required to reduce the amount financed to fit within the guidelines set forth by the lender.

So how can you get an auto loan with bad credit, with no money down?

By using specialized lenders that work with people that have bad credit, you can pre-arrange your financing. This helps you to know what amount of car loan that you qualify for. By knowing this in advance, rather than choosing a vehicle and seeing if the numbers will work, you can know ahead of time if the vehicle will fit within your qualified loan amount.

One of the fastest and easiest ways to see what you can qualify for and also to get approved, is by trying online lenders. There are good companies that provide legitimate auto loans for people that have bad credit, with little to no money down. This can be a real life saver if you’ve been told that you’ll have to come up with a lot of cash, at a local dealership.

Posted in Car Loans at February 28th, 2010. No Comments.

Bad Credit Car Loans – No Deposit Or Money Down?






When you approach a car dealership looking to get approved for a bad credit car loan, the issued of no deposit or no money down can be a real sore subject. Salesmen will most always ask you to put money down and the reasoning behind it never really seems to be clear.

Do you need a down payment in order to get approved? It doesn’t seem likely that a lender will require a specific amount down just to get you approved for a car loan. While salesmen will argue that it’s showing an act of “commitment” on your part, it seems hardly logical.

The reason that a deposit or down payment is not needed is simply becuase of the way that finance managers in dealerships can arrange the numbers to reflect a down payment that doesn’t even exist. Simply by inflating the price of the car by $1000.00, then showing a “down payment” of $1000.00, doesn’t affect the bottom line a bit.

That’s how most every dealership moves the numbers around to show a lender that you have a cash down payment. Is it ethical? That’s for you to decide. It does happen everyday in car dealerships across the country.

So needing a down payment for a car loan really isn’t something that’s required by a lender. While a lender may see the sale price of the vehicle as being unreasonable, and thus not authorize the advancement of the full amount, there is no logical reason that a deposit (down payment) is a condition of an auto loan approval. Even with bad credit.

Posted in Car Loans at February 19th, 2010. No Comments.

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