With the nights starting to get darker, and the cold creeping back into the air, more people are opting to travel with their cars.

During the summertime many of us will take advantage of the nicer weather and walk or cycle to work. However, the more uncomfortable the weather gets, with the rain, wind and cold air taking charge, the more we will choose the comfort of a dry, heated car to get us around.

This trend will result in more cars on the road and subsequently heavier traffic on the main routes, especially near and in town centres. It is therefore important that you ensure you are best equipped to deal with the more hectic and dangerous conditions that driving in winter presents.

One of the simplest and effective methods of improving road safety in the winter is to upgrade your headlight bulbs. This is still a relatively unknown upgrade and all too often overlooked. There are extremely effective and easy to fit upgrade bulbs available that will increase your vision dramatically.

The top upgrade bulbs currently on the market are the Osram Night Breakers, Philips X-Treme Power and Ring Xenon Max bulbs. These can offer up to 90% improved vision over a standard bulb making night time driving much easier.

Having this extra vision available will allow you to see obstacles quicker in and around the roads. It will also illuminate road signs brighter, allowing you to react to your surroundings quicker and safer. It will also help reduce confusion in other drivers about your upcoming actions due to hesitancy or swerving to avoid objects.

Most of insurance buyers often forget that they are insuring a certain thing and it directly influences the final price of the policy. When speaking about auto insurance, the car you drive is the primary factor that affects your insurance costs and at certain moments the insurance company point of view of the car can be quite surprising to usual drivers. Insurance companies have internal charts and ratings, assessing how much it will cost you to insure any given car make or model. And the primary elements that set the car in this rating are the risk factor and the theft factor of this particular make and model. The risk factor relates to how the car will perform in an accident and how likely it is to end up in one, while the theft factor, eventually, deals with the likelihood of the vehicle to be stolen.

When a new car comes out, it is placed at a certain place within the rating as compared to other similar models and the insurance rates are set accordingly. And as experience with this particular model accumulates in the company’s records, the model can be moved in either direction within the rating, making it cheaper or more expensive to insure. Of course, other things like your driving record and credit score also influence the cost of insuring your vehicle, but the car is actually the most important and crucial factor you will have to deal with.

In general, it will be more costly for you to insure sports cars, luxury cars and SUVs. Some companies rate SUVs differently because of their increased safety for the people inside, while others take in regard the fact that these vehicles are likely to cause more collision damage than others. Sports cars are much more likely to end up in a serious or even tragic accident due to their power and speed that is so tempting to be pushed to the limits. And luxury cars are usually the target of auto theft due to their price, and are more expensive to repair because of exclusive parts and costly service.

auto insurance experts state that the most attractive and non-expensive class of vehicles to insure are mid-class and middle sized cars. It is important that the car has good crash-test ratings and additional safety features installed, being safe in case of an accident. Small light-weight cars are cheaper to repair but they get damaged more easily and this may lead to serious injuries to those who are inside of it. The higher is the mass of your vehicle the less damage it will take in case of collision. That’s why big SUVs are considered to be quite safe from this point of view.

It is good to see what car insurance rates you can get for different cars before you actually buy the auto. If the question of insurance price really concerns you then choose a vehicle that is cheaper to insure. And if the rates don’t bother you much, just buy a car that you really like.

Buying a Repossessed Property

If you are looking for a cheap house you might be tempted by the possibility of buying a repossessed house or foreclosure. Repossessions are of course increasing at the moment so this could be the ideal time get yourself a bargain.

Buying a bargain does of course mean that somebody else is losing a packet. If you are of a religious bent you might argue that this is all God’s will. If you are not religious then you might just see it all as Darwinian economics, the survival of the smartest (or the luckiest) which ensures that in future generations people will be smarter (or luckier).

Nevertheless, be all this as it may, there are possible pitfalls so take care, even if you are in the fortunate position of having some spare cash to buy a bargain home.

Repossessed or foreclosed properties can be a godsend for people looking for a house who can’t afford one.

The number of repossessed properties is still on the rise according to the UK’s Council of Mortgage Lenders. There were 12,800 repossessions in the first quarter of 2009, compared to 10,400 in the last quarter of 2008, and 8,500 in the first quarter of 2008.

So where do you have to go to get your hands on one ? And how do you do it ?

The first thing to realize that your desirable repossessed residence is owned by a bank not by a flesh and blood person. The person was booted out by the bank, so that they could sell the house at a loss, rather than let the person live in it. But that’s bankers for you – totally useless in my opinion.

But I digress. The bank wants to sell the property and get it off its hands as it does not want to be bothered with maintenance or renting houses etc..

Before you start you will need to get an ‘agreement in principle’ from a mortgage lender, so that you know how much they are willing to lend you.

You should obtain a certificate that says how much you can borrow, which should convince the seller that you have the necessary ready cash to buy the property. This won’t cost you more than a credit check.

Now you have to find the repossessed property of your dreams. They are advertised by smaller estate agents and websites such as Globrix and Rightmove, but they probably won’t have REPOSSESSED plastered all over them. The ads. generally look cheaper however, with no photos and economical descriptions. You could also try asking an estate agent about repossessed or distress sales.

The next place to look is property auctions. Bear in mind, however, that property auctions attract property investors who know what they are doing and generally have access to a fair amount of cash. So make sure you do your homework first.

If you are think buying at auction is for you, then you need to check the catalogue which is produced weeks before the auction date and view the property you are interested in before bidding on it.

If you are buying from an estate agent then the process is not straightforward. First, after an offer has accepted on a repossessed house, the estate agent is legally bound to publish a ‘Notice of offer’ in the press. Other prospective buyers are thus invited to make a bid over a a period of seven days. This is a double-edged sword as, clearly if you see such a notice of offer on a house then you can make a bid yourself.

This process means that you are potentially in an auction, and even after the seven days the bank can accept a better offer if one comes along. It is important to realize that until contracts are exchanged, you do not have a legal right to actually buy the property. The bank of course is only interested in getting the best price for its property.

You will have 28 days to complete, but you could find yourself paying for a survey etc… only to be outbid on day 27.

Auction

Buying at auction is different from buying through an estate agent. Once the auction ends you are deemed to have exchanged contracts, neither party can change its mind. The transaction must be completed within 28 days.

This is more straightforward but you have to pay a 10% deposit on the day of the auction, which you risk losing if you do not complete the contract. So in some ways you are better getting any survey and legal work done before the auction – despite the fact that you don’t know if you will win the auction or not.

The Property

Repossessed properties are generally in need of a fair amount of work so you need to factor this into your costs.

It is important to chase people up too, as the transaction needs to be completed in 28 days. You are recommended to chase both solicitors and lenders twice a week at least.

For the last several decades in North America, there were only two choices for a small camper van:

A Volkswagen camper van with a tiny 1.6 liter engine A Ford, Dodge or Chevy van with a huge 360 cubic inch (5.7 liter) V8 engine

The first choice was very popular and ultra-fashionable (and still is in some circles!), but had significant problems: it was small and underpowered, and broke down often. The domestic vans were much more reliable, had more space and more power, but as the price of gas kept increasing, their poor fuel efficiency became a problem, especially for long road trips.

In 1995, the Volkswagen Eurovan camper van appeared. It was a modern, updated version of the original VW camper van, with much better-designed interior fittings, more space and more engine power. However, just like the older VW camper vans, it was plagued with mechanical problems, most of which didn’t seem to be worked out until the last few years the model was available in North America, 2002 and 2003. The 2002 and 2003 VW Eurovan camper vans were good camper vans, but now in 2010, low-mileage examples of this van are rare and expensive, some selling for US$40,000, more expensive than their original price!

In 2002, an excellent new base vehicle appeared for camper van conversions. The Mercedes Sprinter van was imported from Germany, and sold under several brands: Freightliner, Dodge and now (in 2010) back to Mercedes badging. The Mercedes Sprinter is tall, roomy and light (especially compared to the typical domestic North American vans), and over the years has been offered with different fuel-efficient and powerful gasoline and diesel engines, including a 2.7-liter 5-cylinder turbodiesel and a 3.0-liter V6 turbodiesel. A basic Mercedes Sprinter cargo van can be customized into a great Sprinter camper van or Sprinter RV conversion.

In 2010, North American Mercedes Sprinters are offered in passenger van and cargo van versions, and in two sizes, a 144-inch wheelbase and a longer 170-inch wheel base, sometimes known as the regular-body (RB) and extended-body (EB). Older-generation vans (2002-2006) were also known as “T1N-style” vans, the newer-generation vans (2007 and later models) are also known as “NCV3-style” vans. There are also two roof styles for the Mercedes Sprinter:

“regular” roof, with an interior height of 65 inches “high” roof, with an interior height of 76.4 inches

For some past model years, there was an ultra-tall “Mega” roof, the tallest roof option – this roof style was unsuitable for RV conversion because it was lower-strength fiberglass.

Why Choose a Mercedes Sprinter?

The Mercedes Sprinter cargo van has a number of great advantages which make it an excellent choice for converting into a Sprinter RV conversion / Sprinter camper van:

Fuel-efficiency – 2009 Mercedes Sprinters with the OEM642 3.0-liter V6 turbodiesel engine rated at 181 bhp were estimated to get 18-22 miles per gallon. Bluetec Euro5 turbodiesel engines available on 2010 models may get even better gas mileage. Power – With its turbodiesel engine, the Mercedes Sprinter has a very flat torque curve, and it has much greater torque than many similar-sized gasoline engines up until around 70mph. This is especially important for many higher-altitude regions of North America, where normally-aspirated engines lose up to 15% of their power at high altitudes. Mercedes quality – Because it is built by Mercedes, a distinguished auto manufacturer known worldwide, it has proven to be very reliable mechanically, especially in comparison to its Volkswagen counterparts Tall, roomy chassis – The tall, roomy chassis affords a significant amount of space for the usual camper van features – the interior is mostly 68 inches wide. One million Mercedes built – There are now many, many Mercedes Sprinters on the road: Mercedes estimates over one million have now been built worldwide. The current Mercedes Sprinter van is the product of fifteen years of continuous refinement.

Why Build Your Own Sprinter RV Conversion?

There are now several excellent small RV conversions – class “B” conversions, in comparison to larger class “A” or class “C” models – in mass production based on the Mercedes Sprinter chassis, both 144-inch and 170-inch. In particular:

RoadTrek offers the SS Agile camper van on the 144-inch chassis Airstream offers the Airstream Interstate 3500, based on the 170-inch chassis Pleasure-Way offers the Ascent TS, based on the 144-inch chassis

These are excellent small motorhomes, and are designed with every luxury you might expect in a larger RV. However, there are some drawbacks to these conversions, at least in comparison to the older generations of small campervans:

Expensive – These conversions are very expensive, typically US$100,000 – $130,000 Not good for off-road use – These conversions are two-wheel-drive, equipped with running boards, and heavy, which makes them poor choices for off-road or even off-pavement use Typically sleep 2 – These conversions typically only sleep two, which leaves a family of four looking for options on how to add two more sleeping berths

There’s another option – build your own custom Sprinter RV conversion. With some hard work and ingenuity, you can turn a new or used Mercedes Sprinter cargo van into a great Sprinter camper van or small Sprinter RV for less than half of the cost of one of these expensive mass-market conversions. And you’ll be able to say you built it yourself!