Finance Tips

When ready to apply for a car loan, there are some documents you’ll need on hand. First, you must show proof of income. Lenders want to ensure that you will be able to make monthly loan payments being offered. His proof of income could be a copy of your last month of paycheck stubs, tax returns and other documents as proof of alimony or Social Security. The more income you can show the lender, the greater the amount of money you may qualify. Your lender also will want to know about your bank and credit history. It is likely that your lender requires a credit report. You may be asked to present some of its current bank statements, mortgage or lease statements, or some other proof of your credit history. Another piece of documentation required when applying for car loans is a proof of address. A piece of mail or a utility bill could be sufficient. If you have already chosen a car and not just the auto loan application for prior approval, you need some information on the vehicle. The leaf dealer for car loans, is usually sufficient. If you are buying a used car, you need the title, disclosures, however, mileage, VIN, make, model and year. The lender will also want to know the purchase price. You also have to prove that they have purchased insurance on the vehicle.

Garmin has recently released a free software download for their overwhelmingly popular Garmin Nuvi GPS series that will not only find the most fuel efficient route for your destination, but also monitor your driving style and make recommendations for you to improve your fuel efficiency.

There is more too. This new software will also track fuel usage over time and monitor mileage and fuel use on a per-trip basis. This provides the driver with a means to easily keep track of fuel used and distance travelled for business reimbursements and taxable travel allowances.

The free software is called ecoRoute and is available for download from the Garmin website. While it is not currently available for all Garmin Nuvi GPS models it is available at this time for the 2×5 and 7×5 series which includes the extremely popular Garmin 255W.

How does it work? Once installed in the Garmin Nuvi GPS device the setup process will enable the user to select their vehicle profile and enter some vehicle estimated fuel economy data and current fuel costs which the device will use to calculate the running costs.

It determines driving style by monitoring things such as acceleration and deceleration rates and over all cruising speed and then calculates performance against the vehicle’s pre-configured profile. It even gives the Garmin nuvi the ability to keep score to determine just how efficiently the driver is driving and how much room for improvement there is.

Saving money at the pump is not something we have much control over, but reducing the frequency in how often we need to visit “the pump” is something Garmin’s new ecoRoute software for their Nuvi GPS devices does give us some control over.

To ensure that your car continues to run its best, does not use more fuel than is necessary, and continues to provide the best possible performance for your money you need to ensure that it has a regular service. Different cars and different models will have different recommendations regarding when and how often a car should be serviced, and if you are a heavy driver that puts in a lot of mileage or has an especially aggressive driving style then you should consider having your car serviced more often than recommended.

Make And Model

Similarly, how often you need a BMW service for your car will depend on the model of BMW that you have and how far and how often you drive it. Some argue that oil needs changing more frequently if you subject the engine to numerous cold starts while recommendations would seem to suggest that several long trips can also lead to a need to change engine oil.

BMWs Recommendations

Check your manufacturers guidelines which can usually be found in your car handbook. These will usually state that you should, for example, have a BMW service every 12 months or 10,000 miles whichever is sooner. Some models may require shorter intervals between servicing while others may afford you the opportunity to have a longer gap between services.

Leased Cars

If you lease your car, rather than having bought it outright, then you may find that there are different servicing requirements too. In these cases, you should follow the leasing requirements but might want to consider having the oil and filter changed more regularly. Oil and filter changes are included in a BMW service and a build up of dirt and debris in the oil can cause damage initially to the filter and later to other components of the engine.

Your BMW Service

By using an official BMW service company you can be sure that they will use the most appropriate and beneficial tools and, should any new parts or materials be required, then they will use those that BMW have passed as being the most suitable for the job in hand. This can help prevent further damage to your car over time.