According to the article, in 2007 alone Americans bought 41.4 million used vehicles compared to 16 million new vehicles. Consumers now also have a wide variety of choices – from certified pre-owned vehicles to no-haggle deals on eBay. And yet, there is always the possibility that you could end up with a lemon. Bensinger lists the important decisions you must make and things you must watch out for before making a decision on a used car.

A common misconception among used cars buyers is that they’ll be fine if they buy a certified pre-owned vehicle. Last year alone, 1.6 million of these certified pre-owned vehicles were sold in the United States. A CPO vehicle costs about $1,700 more than a regular used car because of the inspections and warranties that go into them. But here’s what every used car buyer needs to remember – shelling out that extra cash and buying a CPO does not mean you won’t get stuck with a lemon.

So far there have been reports of 11 minor accidents caused by these faulty brake hoses. No injuries have been reported in connection with these accidents. A majority of the recalled Ford trucks – about 600,000 – have been sold in the United States and about 50,000 were sold in Canada. Ford currently does not have the parts needed to complete the repairs to correct the defects, but dealers will replace the hose at no charge to customers when the recall begins. For more information about this recall, please call Ford at (800) 392-3673 or NHTSA at (888) 327-4236.

The lender, which currently has a $3.6-billion dollar loan portfolio, told boat and RV dealers that it would cease taking applications by July and underwriting new loans on August 1st.

“We just really looked at a lot of different alternatives and are facing a challenging environment and ultimately came to the decision that we needed to invest our resources and capital in areas where we could see good return,” Williams said.

The decision is a blow to the already hard hit recreational products sector. Makers of boats and motor homes have had a rough year as rising gas prices, a tough housing market and fears of a U.S. recession caused many consumers to scrap plans to buy big-ticket recreational items.

The tips themselves came from Carey Caldwell, purchasing manager for used-car chain CarMax. Armed with these guidelines, the average used car consumer might be able to sniff out potential used and certified pre-owned car problems before driving the car off the lot. The tips address cars that have suffered severe water damage, significant body work, and finally issues with the operation of the motor vehicle on the road.

Water Damage

Cars that have been submerged in water or have at some point been water logged are notorious for having problems of all sorts. How do you identify these autos after they’ve been dried out? The article suggests doing things like sitting in the car with the windows rolled up and smelling for mildew or musty odors. Finding signs of water damage like silt, water lines, and rust on the bolts that hold the seats to the floor and seat belts is a sure-fire giveaway that the car was at one point or another, water logged.

In his class action ruling, Judge Stevens declined to award monetary damages to U-Haul customers but ordered the rental giant to stop promoting “confirmed reservations” for one way moves in California. U-Haul agents have long been instructed to accept every reservation – a policy known to employees as “just say yes”, and although the company almost always supplies the equipment (98% of the time according to U-Haul representatives), the customer may face long waits or have to travel long distances to pick up the rentals.

In 2007, 1.6 million of these certified pre owned vehicles were sold in the United States. The majority of these automobiles are no more than 6 or 7 years old and have relatively low mileage. Most all of them carry extended warranties and are inspected by dealer mechanics to pass a factory checklist. Any necessary repairs and upgrades are then made. For this reason, the average CPO vehicle costs about $1700 more than a comparable one that isn’t certified.

The extended warranties on these vehicles is the main benefit of purchasing certified pre-owned vehicles. The warranties themselves, however, vary widely depending on the brand of car. BMW, for example, extends coverage to six years or 100,000 miles from the date the car was sold new, while Dodge offers only a three-month or 3,000 mile extension from the date the certified car was purchased.

“At the end of the day, what you’re buying is the warranty,” says Rob Gentile, a California used car fraud specialist at Consumer Reports.

The article also discusses the California lemon law and how it applies not only to new cars but also used ones. For example, a new vehicle returned to a dealer because it is a lemon can be sold as a used vehicle, but only if the buyer is informed it was bought back under California’s lemon law. These “Lemon law buyback” automobiles must be advertised as such. Notices must be posted on the autos specifying the vehicles problems and the work completed to resolve them. Additionally, the manufacturer must provide a 1 year warranty for these issues.