We're in a unique car-buying cycle right now where it's actually cheaper to buy a new car in many cases than it is a used car. This runs counter to Clark's usual advice, which is to buy a two or three-year-old used car instead of a new one.

The Detroit News reports that buyers are paying the most they have in seven years for used cars. The average price of a three-year-old used car is now more than $19,200.

Why? Two reasons primarily: First, the Cash for Clunkers program soaked up a lot of excess inventory in the used-car market. Second, auto makers could not afford to push vehicles out into the market through leasing. That means there's less oversupply of two and three-year-old cars freshly out of lease for you to buy.

The result of both factors is that today you can buy new cars fully equipped at prices cheaper than $19,000. Many are around the $15,000 mark and others price out in the $17,000 range.

One word of warning. This is a temporary phenomenon. Do not take this as gospel for the future. In most instances, a used car will almost always be a better buy. Just not right now!

Finally, one segment where it's still smart to buy used is with high-end luxury cars. They're typically under corporate leases and have low mileage, making them smart buys.

It was during the spring of last year that Clark's typical mantra about buying used cars was first upset. At that time, auto manufacturers had oversupply of certain models and that forced them to offer great incentives to move new vehicles.

That trend has continued, making a unique situation where certain new cars are now smarter to own than their used counterparts.

Edmunds.com has compiled a list of such vehicles. As the website writes, "Because used/certified pre-owned cars are generally financed at a higher rate than new cars, a shopper can actually save money by purchasing a new vehicle instead of a used version in some cases."

Know that this is a true anomaly because of current market conditions. It does not reverse Clark's longstanding advice that, as a general rule, it's better to buy used than new.

Meanwhile, you may be seeing some TV commercials right now offering free maintenance on select luxury brands. Be very wary because not all programs are created equal. It doesn't matter what it says in the TV commercial. You've got to read the mice type.

RIP-OFF ALERT: Clark was reminded of the dangers of used car buying when an unfortunate motorist broke down and had to pull into his driveway recently!

In this particular instance, the motorist was a member of our Air Force who bought the used car from a Craigslist seller. The airman had just picked up the car and didn't even make it home with the vehicle before it broke down.

All used cars are sold "as is," whether by a private seller or a licensed dealer -- unless they come with a warranty stated in writing. Worse yet, the seller is not required by law to be honest about the condition of the vehicle. Whatever representations they make about the car can be false.

We get so many calls on the show from people who are duped when buying a used car. We call them "razor blade calls" because they're so painful to hear.

Remember Clark's key rule of used car buying: Have the car inspected by a certified diagnostic mechanic of your choosing. You can eliminate nine out of 10 used car buying disasters this way.

The Kansas City Star reports truck sales have jumped 25 percent over the last few months. In fact, the full size truck segment is now growing quicker than the car market for the first time in three years, according to Edmunds.com.

Buying, as you know, goes in cycles. There's a huge marketing push behind getting more people into small cars right now. Yet the sentiment in the marketplace has moved back to larger vehicles like trucks.

That means there's a true opportunity here with small cars being a real deal, both new and used.

In addition, there are special artificial pressures that mean small cars will remain a deal for years to come. As previously reported, a new federal mandate will drive what's called corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) up to 35 mpg across automakers over the next several years.

Now, the only real strategy to do that is to use less sheet metal. But Americans prefer bigger vehicles -- even as automakers have to get people into smaller vehicles. So the only way to bend that supply-demand curve is to discount small cars!

In related news, there has been a recall of Honda Odyssey and Element mini-vans from 2007 and 2008 because of brake problems. Visit Recalls.Honda.com for more information.

More than any other two automakers, Honda and Toyota trade customers back and forth all the time. Together, they account for about 26 or 27 percent of the entire car market. No surprise then that just last month, Clark was saying that the real beneficiary of Toyota's troubles would naturally be Honda.

Well, now the consumer champ has to recant that statement completely.

Here's why: Toyota faced a huge drop in market share following their sudden acceleration issues. So they responded by dramatically lowering prices. Practically overnight, Toyotas became so much cheaper when someone went looking for a car and compared the Honda Accord vs. the Toyota Camry (or the Honda CRV vs. the Toyota Rav 4 or the Honda Odyssey vs. the Toyota Sienna).

The Japanese nameplate's deep discounting worked. Toyota's market share has now climbed back up to where it was before their fall! And the flip side of the equation is that Honda sales have declined by an enormous amount.

So now Honda is rolling out all kinds of sales -- including amazing leases -- as part of their Really Big Thing sales event. Visit Honda.com for further details.

Typically, a lease is a flawed, defective way to get into a car. But these new Honda leases are so heavily subsidized that they are a real deal. One key bit of advice: Stick to leasing terms of 36,000 miles over three years. Any longer than that and you're doing yourself financial harm.

Look for a ripple effect among other Japanese brands like Nissan, as they seek to offer matching deals over the next week or two.

In spite of these Honda deals, if your car runs just fine, resist the temptation to get into a new car and keep driving what you've already got.

Toyota has announced details of how it will handle the massive recall of millions of vehicles at risk of sudden acceleration problems.

The Japanese auto giant will start with repairs in about a week or so. Owners must wait to get a certified letter in the mail before making an appointment for repair at local dealerships. The dealers plan to burn the midnight oil making the necessary fix, which should only take about the same time as an oil change. But if dealers do get backed up, you will be given a loaner car.

One word of advice: Don't be the first in line to have your car repaired. There will be a learning curve and you don't want your vehicle to be the guinea pig.

Meanwhile, should you be afraid to drive your Toyota at this time? Clark recalls when Audi had a similar issue in the 1980s. It turned into a public relations disaster because the automaker didn't step up to the plate. People simply garaged their Audis at the time.

But in this case, Toyota is taking responsibility -- albeit late in the game. Clark himself has no problem driving a Toyota. He has explained in the past how to stop the car if it goes out of control.

Interestingly, the whole debacle has created a unique window if you're in the market for a used Toyota. Late model Toyotas (2007 to the present) have seen a big drop in value recently. Right now, you can save as much as $3,000 when buying a used Toyota vs. what you would have paid just two weeks ago.

We're also seeing some weakness in the cost of a new Toyota, but not to the degree we're seeing with used ones.

The ultimate lesson here for business is this -- it's never the problem, it's always the cover-up. It takes years to build a reputation, but only an instant to destroy it. Toyota has such strong brand equity overall that it will make a comeback. But heed this word, business owners: It's important if you mess up to fess up.

Auto-buyers have lost all brand loyalty when they go to purchase a new vehicle, according to CNW Research.

Historically, it was almost a given that people would buy the brand they were already driving. Yet only one in five shoppers this past year replaced a vehicle with the same brand they previously had in their driveway. This is an unprecedented development.

Our loyalty to a particular nameplate has been broken. People want the best deal and the best vehicle for their money. This has been a disastrous development for auto marketers. The Detroit newspapers report that manufacturers are putting the blame on their ad agencies and firing them. But the real problem is that the market is too competitive and the quality of vehicles too good.

That's turned us into free agents with shifting allegiances. Our free agency puts continuing pressure on manufacturers to keep delivering quality vehicles at affordable prices.

But remember, you must be a non-emotional shopper and do your homework. Follow our step-by-step guide for tips. And be sure to consider multiple models from multiple brands to suss out the best deal.

Opportunity beckons in the car market. New data for September 2009 -- the most recent full reporting month -- shows that sales fell off a cliff in the aftermath of Cash for Clunkers.

Clark watches car prices continually and has noticed that they're starting to soften. During Clunkers, prices actually went up, but that trend has now reversed. The artificial stimulus of Clunkers is gone and now the marketplace has a collective hangover!

Dealers went from round-the-clock business to have nothing to do. Manufacturers put the factories back to work and now they've got to move that inventory. In addition, we're moving into a time of the calendar year when no one is interested in buying a new car.

As previously reported, the consumer champ had predicted that there would be a rough 60-day sweet spot in the market from just before Thanksgiving to just after the New Year. The new September stats now corroborate this.

The used car market is still disrupted from Clunkers. We're still short of inventory. After all, you can't just make used cars!

The result is that used cars will bring in more money at trade-in or if you sell it on your own, and your new car will be cheaper. All because of the market disruption of Cash for Clunkers.

Clark can't think of another time ever when he could say that new car prices are depressed at time that used car prices have firmed up. Of course, this will only be a temporary phenomenon.

Having said all that, should you be buying a car? That's the ultimate question. Just because something is a deal, it doesn't mean you should necessarily buy it. The true test comes when you honestly gauge your own financial situation and the reliability of your existing car. Getting new wheels simply because you want them is not a smart move unless you're in good financial shape.

RIP-OFF ALERT: Used car buyers can expect a glut of flood cars to hit the market in the wake of the flooding in the Southeastern United States. Clark wants to offer some tips so you can steer clear of these bum rides.

We're treading familiar ground here, actually. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, we saw waves of flood cars coming out of Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and other states.

Here's what to look for this time around:

• Be wary of any used car that shows up as recently titled in Georgia or Alabama when you research the VIN number through CarFax.com or a similar service.

• Use the National Insurance Crime Bureau's search tool at NICB.org to identify further identify flood cars.

• Make any used car purchase subject to inspection by an independent mechanic. You can leave a deposit if you wish, but specify in writing that the money must be returned to you if the car doesn't check out.

• And as always, know what fair market value is on the used vehicle in question!

Used compact cars represent the latest sweet spot in the auto market in a post-Cash for Clunkers world.

Americans have pivoted back to purchasing trucks and SUVs now that the price of gasoline is a shrug of the shoulders. GasPriceWatch.com lists the lowest price for gas in the United States at $2.11 in South Carolina. Of course, certain areas of the country like California are still paying near the $4 range. (Editor's note: Prices accurate as of Sept. 24, 2009.)

But overall, compare today's national average of $2.11 to a year ago at this time when prices were nearly twice as high across the country!

The softness in the prices at the pump have driven up sales of larger vehicles and depressed sales of smaller cars.

One exception to this general rule are some of the hybrid cars. Those that have been embraced by the public are holding their value for resale. Yet some models that have fallen out of favor, especially the SmartCar, have seen resale values drop, according to Kelley Blue Book.

There are times that we as individuals, institutions or companies mess up. After all, no one's perfect. The question is, how do you handle a mistake when you mess up?

Clark recently read a Wall Street Journal report about medical facilities that admit when they make an error. Traditionally, lawyers will tell you to deny, deny, deny any wrongdoing. But that's one of the prime problems in corporate America. People can't seem to say, "I messed up."

One corporation that did manage to own up to its mistake is Enterprise Rent-A-Car. The Kansas City Star reports that the nation's largest car rental agency found a unique way to save money as a fleet buyer. They deleted side airbags from Chrysler vehicles they were purchasing from GM!

It's important to realize that their decision was totally within the limits of the law. Typically, only front airbags are required by law.

The company saved nearly $12 million over three years with this cost-cutting measure. But here's where they went wrong: They didn't disclose that the side airbags were deleted when they resold the cars to consumers.

Enterprise has since contacted every single buyer and made full disclosure. They've also offered to buy the cars back -- regardless of condition -- at above market prices.

Kudos to the car rental giant on this one. They made a misstep and then took action to correct it.

If Cash for Clunkers was designed to help U.S. automakers work off excess supply, it's been a grand slam success. However, it's been more of mixed bag for dealerships.

Many dealers got a huge increase in sales. But those that were thinly capitalized now find themselves hurting as they wait for reimbursements from the federal government. In fact, GM has had to extend interest-free loans to certain car dealers so they can stay in business.

Now the Cash for Clunkers program will end on Monday. It was originally supposed to last until around Thanksgiving. This is now the second time the program ran out of money. The original billion went in a week. An emergency allocation of $2 billion lasted a little longer and is now gone.

Where does the overall car market stand in the aftermath of Clunkers? Right now, the manufacturers have lean inventories and will likely overshoot on production as they ramp up to build new vehicles. Couple that with the continuing weak economy and Clark thinks the next sweet spot for new car buyers will come from Thanksgiving until Jan. 31, 2010.

Our nation used to sell 17 million new cars a year. Now it's more like 9.5-10.5 million annually.

One of the other effects of the Clunkers program has been that the value of used cars has gone up, especially in the $6,000 or lower category. We're experiencing a shortage of these so-called "beater" vehicles, which drives their price up. Yet as the used car market replenishes with more beaters, their price will soften too.

The Cash for Clunkers program has already spawned its fair share of potential rip-offs online.

Unofficial websites are masquerading as the official Cash for Clunkers portal, according to an Associated Press report. These bogus sites will solicit personal information such as your Social Security number for supposed pre-registration…and then turn around and use it to steal your identity or money.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar, Cash for Clunkers is a new federal program offering rebates of up to $4,500 for trade-ins when you purchase a newer fuel-efficient vehicle.

The "cash for clunkers" program is taking form and promises rebates of $3,500 or $4,500 for trade-ins when you purchase a newer fuel-efficient vehicle.

The effective date for the program -- officially known as the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) -- has not yet been set. But Clark expects it to be sometime toward the end of July or the beginning of August. There should be a 2-month buying opportunity through October.

Let's say you start from a baseline of 18 mpg on your current vehicle. If the new car you intend to buy gets 22 mpg or more, then you'd get the $3,500 voucher toward the purchase.

Please note that participating dealers will apply this taxpayer-subsidized credit directly to your purchase.

You're only eligible for the full $4,500 voucher if your next purchase gives you at least 10 mpg more than your old vehicle.

Meanwhile, there's a lower threshold for SUVs and trucks. You'll get the $3,500 voucher if your new vehicle get 2 mpg or higher. If it gets 5 mpg or more, you then get the $4,500 voucher.

The vehicle you're trading in has to be drivable and the dealer has to agree to crush it. There are also several rules to prevent abuse of the program. For example, the car you're dumping has to have been registered and insured continuously for at least 12 months prior.

Other countries that have experience with similar programs saw an immediate big increase in sales as a direct result of the program. That's the hope for the American auto market too.

Remember, of course, that there are still some great deals on vehicles available regardless of the "cash for clunkers" program. The more shopping you do, the better the price you will get. See Clark's tips for buying a new car.

The deals on new cars are undeniably amazing because of vast oversupply. But has Clark's recent overwhelming enthusiasm about buying new left you exasperated with the consumer champ?

It's as if "Used Car Guy" is betraying his roots. Whatever happened to his advice to ride your old car until the wheels fall off?

Well, here's a rebuttal that may please you. AAA reports that the true annual expense of owning and operating a car is $7,800, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal. This figure takes into account insurance, gas, maintenance, interest, depreciation and other factors.

The real cost of buying a new vehicle comes when you take a huge hit on depreciation during the first few years of ownership. But that loss in value decreases each year until you're eventually practically driving for free.

So the math remains lousy if you buy a car and keep it for a short cycle. And it's even worse if you lease a car.

Are you one of the few Americans in the market for a car? There are more of you out there than you think.

CNW Research says 4 million used cars were purchased in the United States during the month of May. That's astounding when you consider that the market for new cars is only 9 million in the United States over the course of an entire 12 months!

Clark can't believe the advice he's about to give…but it's now possible to get a better deal on a brand new car than on a relatively new used car.

It's a classic case of supply and demand. The used car market is up about 25% and new car sales are down 34%, according to figures from The Boston Globe.

This is, however, a temporary phenomenon. Do not take this as gospel for the future! In most instances, a used car will almost always be a better buy. Just not right now!

Meanwhile, if you want to buy a new vehicle, Clark has new way to make the purchase easy. In the past, he's talked about CarsDirect.com and the wholesale clubs' buying programs.

But there's a new kid on the block known as Zag.com. This service gives buyers instant guaranteed up-front prices from a network of certified dealers. It also offers an easy delivery process that helps you avoid "the grind" at a dealership.

Zag is available to members and customers of Overstock.com, Capital One, UPromise and USAA at the moment.

So will Zag get you the lowest possible price? Well, it's a very good price, but a dedicated hard-working shopper can probably find a slightly better deal on his or her own.

It appears certain that General Motors is going bankrupt. The government was hoping to keep GM afloat with a private workout, but they're running out of time and it's unlikely that will happen now. Since we've already sent them over 30 billion in bailout money, the question remains as to who will assume control of the bankrupt company -- the government or the debt-holders. Either way, stock holders and bond holders will lose.

What if you own a GM or Chrysler car? The good news is the feds have agreed to back the existing warrantees for both, as well as the dealers' extended-service contracts. The bad news: some of you who traded in a car that still had an outstanding loan may face a problem. Dealers who are going bankrupt are not always paying off the loan on your old car as agreed. Unfortunately, that leaves you responsible to pay off both loans, even though you traded it in.

Another problem with these dealer closings is loss of your service records. Warrantee agreements rely on these records to determine whether owners are doing the required recommended maintenance. Without them, claims can't be processed.

What does this mean for you? In this market, Clark advises you to not to trade in a car that still has a loan. Also: if you don't have all your service records -- and your dealer is still in business -- go to the dealership, request copies of all your records and file those away. On the plus side, if you're a buyer, inventory overstock will allow you to steal a deal! But you'll need to buy with the intent of keeping the car a long time -- ten years or so -- since your car will have little to no value in the used-car market.

During last year's hysteria about gas prices, Clark said it was a bad idea to buy a hybrid. Even at $4.11/gallon, the payback on hybrids simply did not make sense. In addition, dealers were doing what the marketplace allowed at the time and charging far above sticker price.

Now that the price of gas is back down, sales of hybrids have fallen by two-thirds. The Chicago Tribune found that the average supply of Priuses was at 2 days last year. Now it's sitting at 80 days! Keep in mind that a 55-day supply of vehicles on dealer lots is typically where supply and demand are at equilibrium.

The Chicago Tribune is also reporting some people have bought Priuses for $5,000 below MSRP, even though dealers are still pricing them high.

In another example of the declining demand, Chevy Malibu has a hybrid version that's priced above the gas engine model. But they sell less than 100 per month!

Meanwhile, Honda's new Insight hybrid is the first hybrid to be priced in the teens with a $19,800 list price.

The real opportunity, however, is not buying a hybrid new; it's buying one used. A lot of people who got caught up in the hybrid craze last year have discovered they don't exactly love driving around in a "putt-putt mobile."

So now may be the time to strike. Gas won't always be this cheap…

There are some amazing opportunities right now in the car market. New stats show that luxury car sales are down 32% in the most recent monthly reporting period. Similar troubles have hit the market for regular cars too. This is, after all, an equal opportunity recession for people of all income levels.

Luxury cars makers are really getting it from all sides. Their products have fallen out of favor because they feel too ostentatious in our new no-frills era. In addition, much of the high-end market depends on corporate clients buying their cars as perks for employees. But employers have dialed back on making those purchases too.

What does it all mean? This could be a perfect storm of opportunity that you can sail through and benefit from should you want a fancy car.

If you're looking for hard numbers, J.D. Power estimates that Mercedes' sales will fall more than 40%. BMW is expected to slip 20%. The sales of Bentleys -- which still costs $250,000 -- are down 66%, while Porsche is down 50%.

The real deals, of course, can be had on used luxury cars. Just remember to get a potential purchase carefully vetted by a mechanic before you take the plunge.

Finally, when it comes to regular cars, Edmunds says the discounts off MSRP are 25% to 30% these days. In fact, it's even possible to find new economy cars for just under $10,000.

RIP-OFF ALERT: In the wake of this season's hurricanes, you can expect to see flood cars deluging the auto market, according to Money magazine.

Here's the bottom-line: Dishonest people take flood vehicles into certain states where they can "wash" a car's title. That action removes any evidence that the vehicle was ever in a flood. Cars with "washed" titles can then be sold to any dealership across the country that either doesn't know or doesn't care that they're buying a flood vehicle.

To the naked eye, there's no telling that anything is amiss. But you'll know you've got a flood car when you encounter failed electrical systems throughout the vehicle.

So what can you do to protect yourself? Have any potential used auto purchase carefully vetted by a mechanic of your choosing. Know that most car dealers are honest, but it never hurts to be safe. Get it inspected by a mechanic as a condition of purchase.

Clark wants to share a brand-new trend in the car market that affects the mass affluent automobile crowd.

Historically, only a small sliver of Americans would buy a luxury brand. Then Lexus changed the psychology completely with its late '80s entry into the market. They targeted the aspirational wealthy -- those who have a little more money than most people, but are not yet truly wealthy.

Lexus' entry into the marketplace was followed by rival Acura, which also adopted the business model of selling both moderate-level and entry-level luxury cars. That move then prompted BMW, Jaguar and Mercedes to bring some of their comparative models into the American market. All these factors combined to create a true mass affluent car marketplace.

But right now, the mass affluent folks no longer have the income they once had. Their HELOCs are being shut off and their investments are plummeting. The result? They're not buying any longer. This creates real opportunity, especially for used luxury and near-luxury cars that are being returned at the end of a lease. There's way too much supply. This is a real sweet spot in the market right now.

Meanwhile, Toyota has a new offer of 0% financing that seems poised to take advantage of GM's cash troubles. The Japanese automaker is cash-rich while the American nameplate is in a real cash squeeze. There's no way GM could afford to do an offer of 0% financing. This highlights a real split in the marketplace as some brands can offer the great financing deals and others can't.

Sales trends in the car market often move with the price of gasoline. As the latter has sunk, so has demand for small cars. Pity the poor automakers; they just got production up to meet increased demand and now there's a reversal in people's tastes!

The flip side, of course, is that the oversupply means deals may abound on small vehicles right now. Clark always wants you to zig when others zag. The average American could really benefit from better fuel efficiency, so this represents a real window of opportunity.

Financing from the American automakers may be hit or miss. GMAC is tightening up on credit by raising its borrower score requirement to a minimum of 700. That move reverses the industry's historical bias toward lending to customers that other businesses won't. Ford, however, confirms it's still loaning and leasing cars freely. So the chances are there to get a real deal on some smaller American cars.

The bigger news, however, is that the Japanese automakers also have oversupply of small cars in most categories except hybrids. No worry there, though; small cars typically offer much better payback than hybrids. Look for Honda to buck that truism next year with a new line of affordable hybrids.

In related news, The Washington Post reports that auto arson rates have doubled as people seek to collect insurance money. There's even a term in the insurance industry for someone who torches their own car -- "owner give-ups." With owner give-ups under increased scrutiny, you'll be suspected as a possible criminal even if you have a legitimate car fire.

Car sales are at their worst level since 1993, with sales down 27% in the month of September. We've known for awhile that American automakers have been hurting, but the latest figures show that even Japanese automakers are ailing. Toyota's sales are down 32%; Honda is down 34%; and Nissan is down 37%

There are 2 main reasons behind the death spiral in the auto business. First, we've lost confidence in the economy and are afraid to spend money on big purchases. Second, even if you wanted to buy a car right now, many banks won't write loans because of the tightening of credit markets. That should work itself out as the behind-the-scenes credit markets thaw out and more money starts flowing again.

One tip -- try your local credit union if you are looking for an auto loan.

Suffering sales means that this is a great time to buy if you're able. The news about the slowdown hitting Japanese automakers means that you may be able to steal a deal on some coveted foreign nameplates. Of course, the best opportunity is always to buy used, especially if you're looking for a luxury model.

In related news, Clark reveals that he's sold his natural gas car, the Honda Civic GX. He credits T. Boone Pickens with raising awareness about natural gas vehicles, allowing him to capitalize on the market scarcity by putting his up for auction online. Clark sold it on eBay for far more than he paid for it a year ago. Now he drives his old standby Scion XB!

The Detroit News reports that GM is running short of cash. The dire financial straits have prompted 2 recent major announcements from the automaker.

First, GM is offering a new warranty for used cars under their certified-car program. This is a highly unusual move that you can benefit from. This bumper-to-bumper warranty is for 12 months/12,000 miles.

The second announcement concerns employee pricing on new vehicles. This is not a gimmick. It's a longstanding perk that's been enjoyed by the employees of many American automakers. Now it's being extended to the general public in the hopes that they'll buy more GM vehicles.

Now is the time for great deals -- unless you're seeking a highly coveted small car or a hybrid!

CLARKONOMICS: The Vehicle Affordability Index now shows that cars are the most affordable they've been since Jimmy Carter was president.

That's partly because of the intense competition in the car market that makes new vehicles a real deal at this point.

To arrive at this finding, researchers took the average income and figured out how many weeks you'd have to work to equal the average cost of a vehicle. The result? 23 weeks of work.

But here's the disturbing news: We're snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. First off, the average length of a loan is now 63 months, which is way too long. Second, repossessions have skyrocketed at all levels of car purchases -- partly because of the economic downturn.

42 months is the longest auto loan you should ever take out, according to Clark. If you can't afford the payment on a 42-month loan, then you need to buy a cheaper car. Paying cash upfront for a vehicle is always a good idea too.

Meanwhile, the price of used vehicles is down because there's too much supply. CarMax is among the major used-car sellers that's really taken it on the chin. So in addition to the great deals on new vehicles, there's never been a better time to buy a used car either. As always, remember to get a mechanic to carefully vet any used car before you actually buy it.

In related news, Clark recently read that an SUV purchased today will be worth a mere 30 cents on the dollar in 36 months. That's food for thought!

When it comes to research about reliable cars, there are two highly respected sources -- Consumer Reports and J.D. Power and Associates.

The latter's 2008 Vehicle Dependability Study shows that the most reliable cars are made by Lexus. They're followed by Mercury, Cadillac, Toyota and Acura.

When it comes to the worst of the worst, Land Rover is in last place -- again. Faring slightly better were Suzuki, Kia, Isuzu and Saab. In fact, Saab was named as the most-improved nameplate this year.

In addition to J.D. Power's tally, you should also check the April issue of Consumer Reports each year -- particularly if you're in the market for a used car.

Over the last few weeks, we've received hundreds of calls from people who wonder whether they should ditch their old gas-guzzling SUV/truck and buy a newer fuel-efficient vehicle to save money.

Clark usually says that it doesn't make sense to do so. But that's just general advice without looking at the numbers.

If you want to get really granular, Smart Money has a new interactive tool that features 11 variable fields where you can enter your trade-in value, gas mileage, daily driving distance, etc. The tool calculates how long it takes to start getting payback.

You may not like the answer you get. Sometimes the only way to make it work is to buy a used gas-sipper. In this respect, cars from Hyundai and Kia tend to depreciate much quicker than those from Honda and Toyota.

And if you're stumped on your trade-in value, know that Edmunds, Kelley Blue Book and others haven't stayed current with SUV/truck values. So deduct about 25% from whatever they say.

The car market continues to take a beating, with the latest blow coming from a horrible sales month in June. Fitch Ratings, meanwhile, has downgraded Chrysler and GM -- citing weak sales and rising fuel costs, among other things.

Ford is also struggling with collapsed sales. The F1 Series is falling further down the list, and Ford is delaying a new remake because they can't sell the old ones.

In short, any automaker that has had a heavy emphasis on unloved giant trucks and SUVs is hurting right now.

So what's a Big 3 automaker to do? Well, in the case of GM, they're offering sweeping rebates and great buying opportunities. Look for 0% interest on a 6-year loan and possible additional cash rebates.

Clark doesn't even like 5-year loans…and here they're pushing 6-year ones!

But here's the bottom line: If you are in the market for a new SUV or pickup truck, there's never been a better moment to buy one. You're also likely to steal great deals if you're looking at used vehicles.

One caveat: As Clark has mentioned before, you should try to get it in writing that your Chrysler warranty will be honored no matter what.

Here on The Clark Howard Show, we have something informally known as "Car Call Mondays." Every Monday, Clark's staffers have to ration the car calls because people flood the phone lines after buying suspect used vehicles over the weekend.

With used car purchases, you buy "as is" -- no matter what condition the car is in. The vehicle and all its warts become your problem. If it comes with any warranty, it's usually very limited.

So Clark wants you to do your homework when you're buying used.

First, make sure the vehicle is worth what you're paying. Check Edmunds.com for the true market value so you come up with a feel for the price.

Second, run the vehicle number through CarFax.com to find out if it's a flood vehicle or if it's been in a horrible accident. For the past 15 years, the insurance industry has been able to block a proposed federal database that promised to give instant access to records about known calamity cars. But no more -- look for the database coming soon.

Finally, have the vehicle checked out by a mechanic as a condition of purchase.

The car business continues its downward spiral. New figures for March show that GM and Chrysler are down 20% and Ford is down 14%, year over year. Ready for the stunner? After defying slowdown, Toyota now is down 10%. Honda is the only of the Big 5 automakers that emerged flat but unscathed. Be on the lookout for deals!

One word about Chrylser, but Clark wants to preface this by saying he's hasn't heard or read anything to substantiate his beliefs, nor is he trying to kill business at Chrysler dealerships. He's just concerned because the company was recently taken private and is being run by non-automotive people. So should the company go belly-up, he fears the owners might just shrug their shoulders and move on to managing other assets in their handsomely diversified portfolio. Chrysler dealers might want to get assurances from corporate that warranties will be honored even if the company goes bust. Again, Clark has no inside knowledge about whether Chrysler is ailing or not. He's just thinking ahead about possible future scenarios.

Finally, if you like fancy cars, this is a good time. Porsche sales are down 26% and Lexus is down around 20%. The theory that the rich would continue buying status automobiles through the lean times has proven false. And keep in mind that cash is king at the dealerships as loans become harder to get.

In Clark's TV work, he recently reported on a website that offers an interactive tool that should help the owners of old gas guzzlers. The site addresses that all-important question: Does it make sense to keep it or dump it and get a brand-new fuel-efficient vehicle? Before you play around with this tool, you should realize that the cost of a car is more than just the price of a gallon of gas or a barrel of oil. You have depreciation, maintenance, insurance, repairs and interest on the loan if you're not buying upfront.

What kind of gas mileage are you really getting? To find out, fill up your tank, set your trip odometer to zero and drive your normal route over a tank of gas. Then fill up again and divide the number of gallons you buy into the number of miles you drove. Keep in mind that if you replace your gas guzzler with a used car of similar age that gets great fuel economy, well, the math is irrelevant for you. You've simply bought like to replace like, in terms of age.

Clark's been hearing some interesting things in the car market. For the longest time, 4 cylinder engines were unloved. Now they're back with a vengeance. If your last 4 cylinder went from 0 to 60 in a day and a half, the technology has changed so much over the last few years. Today's 4 cylinder engines are more powerful and get better fuel economy than yesteryear. Meanwhile, sales of ultra-small cars like the Honda Fit have shot through the roof. So Clark's advice is look one size bigger for a steal of a deal. You'll get less depreciation over time and the slight decrease in fuel economy won't be much to outweigh the potential savings upfront.

There's great news for your wallet coming to a car lot near you. Automakers have been trying hard to scale back production to get supply and demand in sync. But it's not working; demand is dropping quicker than they can cut back production. There's simply too much product out there. Couple that with the fact that repossessions are skyrocketing and the housing slump is cutting into people's car budgets -- it all adds up to a perfect storm for the savvy car shopper. The Wall Street Journal reports that domestic, Japanese and European automakers are all offering great deals such as 0% or 1% financing and big rebates.

Edmunds.com will keep you up to date with the latest incentives. Keep in mind that sometimes a credit union car loan at 5% with loads of cash back from the manufacturer is a smarter move than an offer of 0% financing from the dealership with no cash back. So arrange your financing in advance, know the market and avoid "the grind" at the dealership. Start pricing vehicles at CarsDirect.com. They'll give you a fixed price that you can use as a reference point. You may even find that their price is the best. Surprisingly, people love the Internet for researching cars, but they always go to the dealership and face "the grind" when they want to seal the deal. Old habits die hard.

Consumer Reports' annual auto issue is out and Clark is giddy with excitement. The April '08 issue definitively says that extended warranties aren't worth the investment. Clark has historically been neutral on extended warranties for vehicles, but now he'll have to revise his opinion. Only 20% of people ever recoup the cost of the warranty vs. the cost of repairs over the lifetime of a vehicle. If you're buying a Mercedes, you'll have the best chance (about 40%) in that regard. Other vehicles where a warranty may be a smart move include Pontiacs, Jeeps, Chryslers, Buicks and Dodges.

In other news, there's a new champ when it comes to reliable small cars: Hyundai Elantra. Other top picks included the Honda Accord (family sedan); Toyota Prius (hybrid); Toyota Sienna (minivan); and Hyundai Santa Fe (SUV). American cars are getting more reliable, but they're not quite on par with the Japanese vehicles yet.

When it comes to the best used cars, they're all Japanese: Toyota's Prius, Highlander, RAV 4 (4 cylinder), Corrolla and Honda's Accord (4 cylinder). A new category this year was vehicles that are unloved, but good to own. This category was dominated by Korean vehicles such as the Kia Rondo and the MAZDA5.

We've all heard the term "certified used car," but what exactly does that mean? It's really a marketing term that statistics show can inflate the price of a vehicle by several thousand dollars. But the term itself may or may not have any real meaning from dealership to dealership. Minnesota has decided that it's heard enough horror stories about people buying certified used cars and getting lemons. The Land of 10,000 Lakes has passed a law to define what "certified used car" should mean. There are basically 3 criteria: The certified used vehicle must have a warranty; the dealer must believe it's in good shape; and it can't have been in a bad wreck. Clark never goes through a week of the year when someone doesn't tell him a lemon horror story about a certified used vehicle. So be Clark Smart when buying and have an independent mechanic inspect the vehicle.

Car prices are headed into a free fall. Records show that sales were anemic in 2007 -- the lowest they've been in 9 years. Now comes word that '08 sales are expected to be even worse! So the opportunity for car buyers right now is tremendous. Car dealerships are in complete turmoil because there are simply too many of them in the United States. Manufacturers, meanwhile, are trying to guess how much they should slow production. But they won't be able to dial back quickly enough. The Financial Times reports that the best opportunities in '08 will be in used vehicles, not new vehicles. There's a huge surplus of used vehicles because of repossessions, trade-ins or leases that have ended.

While Clark loves used cars, the only danger is that you'll buy someone else's trouble. So do it right from the start: Get the vehicle inspected by an independent mechanic -- even if it's been "inspected" at a dealership such as CarMax. Always beware that you buy as is when you buy a used car. In fact, salespeople in some states may be allowed to lie to you about the past history of a vehicle. So which dealerships are trustworthy? CarMax is one company that's beloved by Clark. They researched what people hated about the industry and eliminated it from the buying process. In Europe, a man who heard about Car Max opened a clone. Now it's the fastest growing dealership chain over there. You can't go wrong when you treat people right and make everything simple, honest and clear.

Your car is the second most expensive purchase you're likely to make after your home. So people often ask about which vehicles hold their value best after 5 years. To answer that question, Kelley Blue Book has just released its 2008 Best Resale Value Awards tally.

The winner is Volkswagen, which is making a comeback after some recent big losses. VWs keep just under half their value after a 60-month cycle. The other brands that round out the Top 10 are BMW, Acura, Honda, Porsche, Subaru, Lexus, Infiniti, Audi and Toyota.

On the other end of the spectrum, the worst brand to hold value has been singled out as Suzuki. With Suzukis, you only get about a quarter back for every dollar after 5 years. Other cars that really stink when it comes to holding value include Kia, GMC, Mercury, Dodge, Chrysler, Lincoln, Jeep, Ford and Jaguar.

On a related note, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) says that the Subaru Impreza is the only small car that meets its strict safety standards. There were tons of midsized vehicles green-lighted by the IIHS, but not so in the large vehicle categories -- despite what you may remember from high-school physics!

Last winter, Clark first started talking about natural-gas vehicles (NGV). He loves them because they don't pollute the air and they use domestically produced fuel. His wife encouraged him to get one, so he searched on the Internet and a found used 2007 Honda Civic GX. Clark admits that this could either be a really dumb purchase or a really smart one. Honda is making about 400,000 of these cars per year, but they're only for sale in California and New York. The cost is about $25,000 for an NGV versus about $17,500 for a standard Civic. One of Clark's challenges in having an NGV is finding a place to fill it up with specially compressed natural gas. There are a lot of filling stations on the West Coast and on the Eastern seaboard down through Richmond, Virginia. But in the Atlanta area there's only one single station in a more than 200 mile radius! Luckily that station is about seven miles from Clark's home. Clark believes that as a nation we need to start thinking outside of the box about our energy needs. Relying on foreign energy suppliers who want to harm us can only weaken our nation. Clark's Honda GX is his answer to this dilemma. What's yours?

Consumer Reports has released its annual vehicle reliability survey and Toyota has come out with a black eye. For the first time ever, the Japanese company's Camry has been dropped from the recommended list. Toyota made a corporate decision a few years back to become the world's largest automaker. In doing so, they had to take the focus away from making quality vehicles and shift it to growth. That explains why Toyota as a whole now checks in at No. 5 on Consumer Reports' tally of the most reliable vehicles sold in the United States.

Meanwhile, Ford has emerged as an unlikely hero in the report thanks to its enormous jump in quality. The "Not your Father's Ford" tagline is taking on a new meaning and people can no longer joke that Ford stands for "fix or repair daily."

The top carmaker remains Honda, followed by Acura and Scion. The first American nameplate on the list is Buick, followed by Mercury and then Ford. The least reliable car sold in the United States is Land Rover, followed by Hummer, Cadillac and Mercedes.

Cars speak to us emotionally. Clark's producer Joel bought a 2000 Nissan Altima recently that doesn't really stir his emotions; he simply views it as dependable transportation. Joel might have picked a Honda Element if he were buying on emotion alone. Christa, Clark's executive producer, has named the hybrid version of her standard Lexus RX 300 as her dream car.

Sometimes it's hard to step back from the emotional side and make a smart auto purchase. But think about the underlying hassle that comes with purchasing an unreliable vehicle.

When you're ready to go car shopping, get pre-qualified for a car loan from a credit union and then get Consumer Reports' annual auto buying guide. Try to find a balance of quality and that emotional X factor and you'll be on your way to a great car purchase.

Clark's associate producer, Joel, has been in need of new transportation and now he's got his hands on a great used vehicle. His old Honda Accord croaked on him and he'd been very patient looking online for a used car over the past few months. By checking Craigslist.org on a daily basis, Joel was able to snag a 2000 Altima with 139,000 miles for $3,200. Clark's executive producer Christa used AutoTrader.com to buy a Lexus EX 300 about three years ago. The car had 99,000 miles and looked like new. She initially narrowed her search to 10 cars, and eliminated five off the bat when she couldn't get the VIN number from the owners. A few cars she did get the VIN for had been in serious wrecks, so she was able to eliminate those ones early in the game too. The important thing to know is that you're less likely to have auto heartache if you're methodical and have the vehicle vetted by a mechanic and run the VIN number before purchasing. Both Joel and Christa paid cash, so they have no car loan. Meanwhile, Kim -- Clark's producer -- has had a pickup truck for about five years. She bought it on a whim when she wanted to take a road trip and got a zero financing deal. Within days she regretted her purchase -- she actually hates trucks! But she didn't compound her troubles by selling the vehicle and facing steep depreciation. Instead she's hung on to it and turned a not-so-great purchase into a financially viable one.

The car market is going through some tough times right now. Sales are the worst they've been since the financial crisis of 1998. Toyota has reported lower sales for three months in a row, especially with their trucks. Ford's sales are down 20 percent over the last month and 14 percent over the whole year. GM is probably doing the best, which in this case means their sales are just on par with last year's figures. Meanwhile, dealers are scrambling because they're overloaded with '07s on their lots and the '08s are already in place. Add all of these factors up and it's clear that consumers are in charge of the car market.

People often ask Clark for a recap of what they should know when buying a new car. First off, get your financing in place before you buy. You'll usually get the lowest rates from a credit union or an online bank. Keep this rule of thumb in mind: If you can't afford a car on a standard 48-month installment plan, you're overbuying. Once you have your financing in place, check out Consumer Reports for recommendations about quality vehicles. Then check prices in the marketplace. Look at CarsDirect.com where you'll get a guaranteed price on a car. You should also test drive the car you want before buying. Visit a car rental business and see if you can rent one for cheap over the weekend. That way you'll have two days to decide if you like driving the car, not just 10 minutes. If you have to interact with a car dealer, try doing it by e-mail to avoid high-pressure sales pitches. And make sure the Internet price you get includes all junk fees like documentation charges.

It's no surprise that we Americans are energy hogs. But everyday there are new developments that help us reduce our energy consumption. Soon auto shoppers will actually be able to believe the gas mileage stickers found on cars in dealer lots! The feds used to put fake numbers on the stickers because the test used to calculate mileage efficiency was bogus. So you could purchase a vehicle expecting to get something like 26 miles/gallon (city) or 38 miles/gallon (highway) and get substantially lower real mileage. Now the government is enforcing a legitimate mileage test, so all cars shipped to dealers after Sept. 1 will have real numbers posted on them. Why the sudden change? The Toyota Prius really pushed this along. People were expecting to get 50-60 miles/gallon but the actual numbers were so much lower that people really ripped off and complained.

Another positive change that's a little further off involves LED (light emitting diode) lighting. Clark and his wife often battle over using regular or CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) bulbs in their home. He has a number of CFLs from the '90s when the technology still had a lot of kinks. In fact, once he was doing a TV story about energy-smart homes and he wanted to demonstrate his lighting for the camera crew. The CFLs took about 70 seconds to come on after he flipped the switch! Today's CFLs are much better (and faster to light up), so his wife is now more open to using them in their home. But CFLs may soon be a thing of the past when LEDs hit the market. LED are now used in new billboards and offer just about the best artificial light possible while eating up low energy. They don't release extra heat and they last for years. LEDs will probably be in offices, retail stores and industrial parks before they're available for home use. Clark thinks within four years LEDs should become a popular consumer product.

For 15 years, Clark has talked about the advantage of keeping a new car for at least 10 years or buying a used car and keeping it for at least four years. Cars lose about half of their value during the first three years, but then the loss ratio drops off pretty steeply after that time. Consumer Reports has now done a study on the virtues of keeping a car for 15 years. Bear in mind that most owners only keep their vehicles for three or maybe five years. But by keeping a car for 15 years or 225,000 miles, you save $31,000 dollars. The report found that during the course of 15 years, your average maintenance will be $18,000 and your insurance will be $18,000.

Consumer Reports also identified 10 vehicles that are reliable enough to last 15 years -- and they’re all Japanese! Among the top ones are Honda’s Civic, CRV and Element; and Toyota’s Forerunner, Landcruiser and Highlander models. So what vehicles should you not buy? A lot of European models, according to Consumer Reports, such as the BMW 7 Series, the Infiniti QX 56 and select models of Jaguar, Mercedes, Volkswagen and Volvo. Meanwhile, how should you decide when it does not make sense to repair a car? Clark typically tells people the cutoff should be when the cost of repair is 50 percent or more of the car’s trade-in value. Now Consumer Reports says you can push that up to the actual trade-in value. Other times you should junk a car is when it’s rusted out; really unreliable, in a flood or in an awful accident.

Over the past five or six years, there's just been one deal after another when it comes to buying an automobile. It goes back to the months after 9/11 when GM tried to jumpstart sales with offers of zero financing for five years. Other automakers quickly followed with similar deals. But now people aren't buying cars as readily because of the fallout from the stock and real estate markets. Overall the industry is having dismal sales results. So that means that you have so much bargaining power right now that it's not even funny. Yet two-thirds of consumers squander that power by not doing the right things.

So what should you be mindful of when you go to buy a car?

First, do research online before you buy. Check Consumer Reports and sites like KelleyBlueBook.com and Edmunds.com to find out about reliable cars that won't need much maintenance.

Second, arrange for financing in advance before you get to the dealership. Credit unions offer interest rates on car loans that can be one to three percent lower than other lenders. You may also want to check online lenders. Even your auto insurer may be able to give you a competitive interest rate. Whatever you do, don't go with a traditional bank or dealer financing. Also, don't tell the dealer you're a cash buyer or credit union customer because they'll factor that into the price in a negative way.

Finally, buy your car before you get to the dealership. By this Clark means you should avoid going to the dealer and negotiating the purchase of your car or you'll face "the grind." The grind is when the salesperson says he or she will go talk to their manager about getting you the best deal. Instead they go watch TV for five minutes and come back and tell you that the manager couldn't help out with a good rate despite their best efforts on your behalf. This is total baloney. When it comes to price, you want to stay in your ballpark, not theirs. After all, they have home field advantage because they sell cars everyday while you may only buy a handful of times over the years.

As a final thought, you may also want to purchase through a warehouse club if you're a member. There you'll enjoy a set price and no haggling.

When you use a car dealer to finance your auto loan, the dealer will mark it up as much as they can. But the average black customer buying a new car pays an interest rate that's 40 percent higher than the average white customer -- even after accounting for differences in credit scores. Hispanics, meanwhile, pay almost the same as non-Hispanic whites, just slightly higher. In the used-car market, one in three blacks pay an interest rate that is above 15 percent, while the average rate for a white person is less than 10 percent. Clark thinks it's a shame that this residual racism is still around in 2007.

If you dig deeper into this story, you'll really find that anyone who doesn't get pre-qualified for a car loan will pay more than they should. So Clark advises anybody seeking an auto loan to get pre-qualified at a credit union, which will offer lower rates than a bank. Think about it like this: You may have spent hours researching your car thoroughly, but you've got to do the same on the loan. Dealers are entitled to make money on a loan if you don't do homework and get pre-qualified elsewhere. Historically, that mark-up had been about 10 percent points. After all the legal settlements of the past few years, however, it now is usually three percent. That means if a bank offers you a car loan for 5 percent, the dealer will offer the same loan for 8 percent. So whether you're black or not, it pays to get pre-qualified for an auto loan.

Clark's daughter has his Honda Civic hybrid at school and she's happy to be getting about 45 miles/gallon. It seems that hybrids with good fuel economy are now selling like gangbusters. Remember back just a few years ago when this wasn't the case? Ford had to offer incentives just to move their Escape hybrids. Now The Washington Post reports the Escape is so hot that dealers can't keep up with the demand. In fact, the vehicles are selling for thousands of dollars above the list price because people want to save money on gas. Psychologically it may feel OK to pay a little more now with the promise of bigger savings down the road, but Clark thinks you should really crunch the numbers before you make this kind of purchase. Buying with your emotions isn't advisable, nor is overpaying for new technology. Take the rational approach by doing some smart comparative auto shopping on a website like Edmunds.com. The same thinking applies when deciding whether to dump your current gas-guzzling ride for a new and more fuel-efficient vehicle. Look for a similarly depreciated vehicle and try to do a trade where you get an older set of wheels that's more fuel-efficient than your current car.

Clark made a prediction in January that ended up wrong. He said gas prices would be a lot lower by this summer. He says he really blew it on that one. However, he made another prediction several years ago that may just be turning out to be true. He predicted there would be increasing demand in the US for shared cars services. Two companies who are doing this are Zipcar and Flexcar. These are services where you can rent a car by the hour just to do your errands, and just return it to where it was parked when you're done. Gas and insurance are usually included. It's kind of like "public transit, private driving," and it's much cheaper than adding another car to the family fleet! It's expanding like wild fire to many American cities, and even to some suburban markets. Since cars are such a huge part of our daily budget, it can save you a lot of money. It's like owning 1 and 1/4 cars, instead of 2 cars, or a time share for a car. But everyone knows that's not a term Clark likes to use -- so he prefers to call it "shared ownership!"

Certified used cars have become overwhelmingly popular these days. With everything that the dealer’s say about their “certified used cars,” you would believe that they are a safe bet. Don’t count on it. In a recent story, one lady bought a GM certified pre-owned car that turned out to be two cars welded together! And GM has said absolutely nothing about it. The average extra price paid for a “certified used car” as opposed to one that isn’t certified is $2,000. When you are paying “certified” price but aren’t really getting a “certified” product, it is just wrong. So avoid some of the pains you can have and pay an ASE certified mechanic to take a look before you buy. It might cost a little up front, but save you a lot in the long run.

About a year and a half ago, after Hurricane Katrina and the big run up of gas prices, Clark proposed an idea: discourage people from buying gas-guzzling vehicles and encourage them to buy fuel efficient models. He suggested taking vehicles that got bad fuel economy (less than 20 miles per gallon) and hit them with a $5000 gas-guzzler tax. If you buy a vehicle that gets between 20-29 mpg there would be no tax, and if you buy one that gets over 30 mpg, you’d get a $5000 rebate from the government. Some people were furious with that position. But now, the State of California is considering doing this. (The California tax would be $2500 for guzzlers, a $2500 rebate for efficient vehicles, and no tax for autos that fall in between.) Americans use far more fuel, electricity and energy than other countries of equal wealth. He believes that we hurt our national security and our national defense needs when we remain dependent on foreign sources that hate our guts. That’s why in Clark’s opinion encouraging people to use less energy of all kinds is a big deal.

New statistics show that for the first time in almost 6 years, people are buying more cars than light trucks, which include SUVs, minivans, pick-up trucks and vans. That’s been the sweet spot in the car market for years, but now that’s shifted: Small cars are selling like mad, and big vehicles are not doing well at all. Cars.com does a list of the top ten cash back offers on the market, and Clark discovered that the discounts top 25% on several models. Number one is the Chevy Silverado, which is giving $4500 cash back (a 28.41% discount from the MSRP.) The Dodge Ram is giving a 28% discount ($6000 back) , the GMC Sierra a 27% discount, the Ford Freestar a 25% discount ($5000), and the list goes on. For those of you who want or need a large vehicle, there are some outrageously good deals out there for you. But the greatest deals are on the used ones - you can steal a deal right now. The flip side is that if you are buying a new SUV (or anything that’s not “in”), you’ll save a lot on your purchase, but you’ll get pinched on the trade-in value on your old one. If the vehicle you are trading in has enough years on it, however, the pinch you’ll suffer is not nearly as much in dollars as the benefit you get in dollars on the new one.

The car business is hurting. Car sales in April were terrible. Even Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, reported dismal sales in the States. Ford reported sales down 13 percent and most manufactures reported similar numbers. It means that dealers and manufacturers have too much product these days. For consumers, that is great news because it means you can wheel and deal on price. The only types of cars you have no negotiating power with are SUV-type vehicles that get great fuel economy and small cars that are fuel efficient. These include the Toyota Rav-4 and the Honda CRV, which tend to get about 20 miles per gallon. There are always good times and bad times to buy a car. This is a good time. Just do your homework and know what you should pay. Check out carsdirect.com for price quotes, and then comparison shop on dealer sites. Use all the tactics necessary to get your great deal!

People often buy a car this time of year. So, do you know about how much it takes to go one mile in a car? Typically, it’s more than 50 cents a mile. You probably think gas has a lot to do with that, but the big money is actually in depreciation. That’s a fancy way of saying your car loses value over time. The first year of ownership, it loses the most value. Then, after several years it levels out. In addition to depreciation, you have maintenance, insurance and repairs. So, Clark wants you to be smart when buying a car. First of all, buy Consumer Reports’ annual car buying guide. It comes out every April and is on news stands now. In it, cars are rated on the quality of car and the type of repair record the car has. Secondly, once you’ve figured out what cars you might want, test drive them. The best thing to do is rent a car for a few days – maybe from Enterprise or Hertz, which have neighborhood offices. A lot of rental cars sit in lots on the weekend and will cost you very little to rent. Once you’ve got it narrowed down, go to carsdirect.com and figure out what you should be paying. Once you’re at the dealership, pay only what the car is worth and no more. If you don’t want to deal with that often unpleasant experience, buy through one of the car-buying programs at a warehouse club or at carsdirect.com. Just make sure you have your financing all ready before you buy. In addition, if you buy from a dealership, the dealer is going to try and sell you an extended warranty. Clark is neutral on car warranties, but you should not need one if the car is reliable. And don't deal with the trade-in until you've negotiated a price on the car.

Consumer Reports recently published its well-known annual auto issue. The issue is considered one of the most reliable and thorough sources when reporting on which cars to buy and not to buy. Surprisingly, the least reliable of all cars this year is Mercedes. It has been moving slowly down the list, and this year the German automaker – with its 36 brands – is dead last. In fact, the report stated that a 10-year old Lexus is more reliable than a new Mercedes. Next to last was Land Rover, preceded by Hummer, Jaguar and Cadillac was fifth from the bottom. So, what are the most reliable brands? The top five are either Toyotas or Hondas. The No. 1 most reliable brand is Toyota, No. 2 is Honda, No. 3 is Scion, No. 4 is Acura and No. 5 is the Lexus. The cars that retain the most value over time are Toyotas and Hondas, so the cost is actually less than what it appears to be. You still want to have any used car checked out by a certified mechanic. That’s because once you buy it, it’s yours. So, you want to know about any problems ahead of time. How about new cars? In the “Budget” category, the Honda Fit won. In the “Small Sedan”, it was the Honda Civic. In the “Family Sedan,” it was the Honda Accord. The Infiniti G35 won in the “Upscale Sedan.” The Infiniti M35 won the “Luxury” category. The car deemed the most fun to drive while being reliable is the Mazda Miata. The best “Green” car was the Toyota Prius.

What rights do you have when you buy a car? Many people make the wrong assumption that they have three days to return a car. It’s not true. In California, there is a new “Car Buyer’s Bill of Rights,” but it’s pretty watered down after the car dealerships got involved. So what does it allow you to do? You can buy a “grace period” when you purchase the car, if you decide you want to return the car for some reason. Another tenet is that a “certified” car has to meet certain criteria. People pay a lot more money for “certified” cars, even though they may not be in any better condition. Except in California, it’s still buyer beware around the country. Thirdly, if you finance a car at a dealership, the dealer marks up the loan a bit more. That’s standard procedure. But if you go to a credit union, you will get much lower rates than banks and especially at the dealership. If the California law does anything for people across the country, it is to remember “Buyer Beware.” In most states, once you sign the paperwork on a car, you own it. There is one exception and that is CarMax, which offers a right to return for a set number of days. If you take these steps and thoroughly price shop, you will avoid a lot of hassle and trouble.

Car depreciation costs are now at 53 cents a mile. Find out how to reduce that cost. Listen now! Remember to turn off your pop-up blocker in order to listen.

. 3:30 – Clark always prefers that people buy used cars because they cost much less than new cars and still have a lot of life left. But the risk with used cars is that the car may have been in a wreck and you don’t know about it. That’s why Clark wants you to always do two things: have the car inspected and run a Carfax report. It’s especially important that you do both because Clark has just learned that in Oregon and Illinois it’s illegal to disclose information about accidents in which cars have been. Somehow, car dealers convinced the legislatures in these two states that a car is worth less if people know about those accidents. What about the people who buy the cars? Don’t they deserve to know that the car could be faulty and potentially endanger their lives. It’s essential that you have any used car checked out by a certified independent mechanic. Pay the money to have this done. And if a dealer refuses to allow you to do this, don’t buy from that dealer.

In October, Clark gave the first warnings about flood cars from Hurricane Katrina and Rita coming into the market. Well, the flooded cars are starting to appear. The Chicago Tribune estimates that half of the vehicles that were flooded out and destroyed are going to be on the market. That means hundreds of thousands of cars will be rebuilt and “washed,” or given a new title. Some states have very strict paperwork and others do not, so it’s easier to do in states with less oversight. Thankfully, there is a database run by the National Insurance Crime Bureau that lists the flooded cars. So, get the car’s VIN and check it out at nicb.org. Even if you don’t see the car on the list, you still want to have the car inspected by a mechanic, especially if it’s in the South. Also, what does a “certified car” mean? Nothing! Under the law, a dealer can label any car on their lot a “certified” car. Many programs that claim to be “certified” just look over a car briefly or not at all. So make sure you get an ASE certified mechanic to check it out. Almost all cars sold in the U.S. are sold “as is,” which means the salesperson can lie about its history. So beware.

Most car purchases are used, not new. When people shop for used cars, we feel relieved when we see a sign that says “certified.” So what does that mean? Well, certified used cars sometimes are good deals, but most of the time means absolutely nothing. Car dealers have learned that people are willing to pay more for certified used cars, so they started adding thousands of dollars to the car cost. But there is no legal definition of the word “certified” when it comes to used cars. And even if the car is certified, you should still get it inspected by an independent mechanic. The only legitimate certified cars are those that are certified by the manufacturer. This means that in return for your money, you have a meaningful extension on the warranty that comes with the vehicle. The idea came about from luxury automakers who wanted more cache for their used cars. Lexus, for example, certifies the car is not above a certain age and the mileage is not past a certain limit. Jaguar is known for having the best program. So, does the manufacturer actually certify the vehicle? No, it's an agreement between the manufacturer and the dealership that the car has been overhauled and inspected. So, it's hard to know if the work has really been done. Yet another reason why you should always have a car checked by an outside mechanic before your purchase it.

Why does Clark prefer that you buy used cars instead of new? Well, according to Kelley Blue Book, the value of a new car drops like a rock as soon as you leave the lot. Let’s say you buy a new American car and trade it in five years from now. How much of the original purchase price is it worth? Between 22 and 25 percent. In five years, it loses between 75 and 80 percent of its value. What about Japanese cars? Two vehicles that hold their vehicle better than any other car are the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. They hold about 60 percent. So, there is a benefit to buying a new Japanese car versus a new American car in terms of resale value. But there is still a large drop. If you buy a used car that is a few years old and have it checked out, the car will keep its value much longer. There may also be some of the warranty left on the car, which is great. Even better news is that car prices are now going down and car companies are adopting a “no-haggle” buying procedure. So, the process is easier and cheaper. GM is one of the companies that tried the no haggle deal, and it did not work so well for them. So the company is implementing special incentives on top of the deals. It’s basically a great time to buy a used car. Just remember to always have your used car inspected by a certified mechanic and research the title history on carfax.com. That goes for “manufacturer certified” cars as well.

There are a ton of “young” used cars sitting on dealer lots right now. The marketplace is overrun, in fact, and prices have dropped significantly. So, if you like a car that is a couple years old, you have found the sweet spot in the market. Even more fantastic are the deals on used SUVs. Of course, you’ll be paying a lot more for gas. But the SUV market is overrun with vehicles. The average price on a three-year old SUV is about $13,000! If you do buy one of these used vehicles, just remember to have it checked out by an independent mechanic. What about buying new cars? Well, GM has come up with a program to get more women in the door. Women hate the car buying process because of the way they’re treated and they talk about it openly. At the same time, women influence 85 percent of all car purchases, whether they are the ones buying or are the partner of someone who is. So, GM has started “Girls Day Out.” When women arrive there are massages, makeovers and cooking classes, along with cars that women can test if they want to. Clark thinks it’s crazy. What needs to change is how dealers do business, not adding fluff around it. Carmax has the business model other dealerships should emulate.

When buying a used car, it’s key that you do your homework because you’re buying the car “as is.” That means that you’re buying the car and whatever problems may go along with it. Rarely, a used car will still be under warranty. But most used cars are not, and you want to know what has happened with that car. The BBB has just released a warning about all of the flood cars coming out of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi in the weeks and months after Katrina. They are being stripped and resold without people ever knowing they were flooded. And a flood car will not ever be okay. So, the first thing you do is have an independent mechanic check out the car. Make sure the mechanic is ASE certified. Also, do a Carfax report on a car. That is the 1-2 punch to give you information on car and its title history. A clean Carfax report doesn’t necessarily mean you are safe. But together they will prevent you from getting a lemon. And beware of these cars coming into the marketplace in a year or so.

You may have heard about the oversupply of cars that GM has on its lots these days. The company decided to offer any customer the same deal employees got on cars to get those cars off the lot. It was a huge success and GM’s sales rate has skyrocketed. As a result, Ford has gotten in the game with its “Ford Family Plan.” Aside from the Mustang and a few other cars, all Ford vehicles are included. Chrysler’s version is also jumping on the bandwagon. The European and Asian carmakers are just watching from afar and haven’t gotten involved in the frenzy. But if you want to buy a couple-year-old American car, now is the time.

Because of all the subsidized new car programs going on over the summer, used cars are overflowing on car lots. That means the deals on used cars are getting better and better. Pricing guides are off as much as 5- to 10- percent, especially on American branded vehicles. In other words, you may pay more than you need to if you’re going by Kelly Blue Book or Edmunds standards. Don’t miss out on this deal, which will probably go on up until the holidays.

People used to have to barter when they bought a car. Deals could take up to two days. Now, younger people expect no hassles when they buy a car. People who are less than thirty-five gripe more, complain more, and insist more on an experience that is clean and simple. Car dealers are either adapting or dying. According to a JD Power survey, buyers under thirty give dealers horrible scores compared to older customers. Buyers under thirty expect to go into dealerships and buy a car within minutes. Another study dealt with the Toyota Scion. Customers under thirty-five are 40% more likely to find problems with their Scions then older customers. This means that younger customers are being picker, and forcing dealerships to adapt. Clearly, younger customers want a simple, easy, and pressure free car buying experience.

Clark has long had a bias for used car purchases instead of new car purchases. But he wonders if buying new is sometimes the best idea. New cars can be great deals, especially with all of the sales incentives and financing rates out there. At the same time, used cars that are a year or two old are the best deal they’ve ever been. How can that be, you may be asking. The answer is that all of the sales incentives in the new car market have caused people to ditch old cars that they would have kept longer otherwise. And used cars dealerships have had to drop in price in order to be competitive. So, the first has led to be big effect on the second. It also means that new cars lose a huge percentage of their value in the first year of ownership. New cars lose more than one third of their value in the first 12 months. In the first three years, they lose 60 percent of their value. For this reason, buying used luxury cars is a growing trend. No matter what kind of car you’re going to buy, always have it inspected by an independent mechanic.

Clark was driving on the freeway this weekend when he saw a pick-up truck with smoke blowing out of the exhaust pipe. All of a sudden, the truck’s engine exploded and debris went flying everywhere. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the car – which had an “AS IS” dealership sticker on it - basically died there on the freeway. The driver must have recently bought the used vehicle, and all Clark could think was that the man was stuck with it now. He has no transportation, yet he still probably owes money for the truck. Clark gets calls about the sale of used vehicles all the time, because people don’t know the sale is final. The federal government requires only that used cars have a sticker in the window, saying either “AS IS – no warranty” or “warranty included.” If you buy a car “AS IS,” you can’t return it under any circumstances. Do not rely on anything the salesman tells you during the sale because all that matters is what is in writing. So, if you’re thinking of buying a used car, make sure you have the car checked out by a mechanic who is ASE certified.

If you’ve bought a used car recently, you may have taken Clark’s advice and bought a Carfax report. These are background checks on cars that you buy online at carfax.com. It’s basically a title history report, and you get a 30-day pass to run VIN numbers on cars you’re interested in buying. The report tells you if the car has been totaled in an accident and rebuilt, or “salvage titled.” If the car is in the state’s lemon law buy back program, or has received flood damage, hail damage and fire damage, that information is also included. And, there are businesses that buy these “salvage title” cars and sell them to the public as a salvaged car. Most of these businesses are legitimate. But others are not. They will go to states that don’t have good vehicle registration laws and they re-register the car with a clean title. They then sell it to people as if it is new. It’s a process known as “title washing.” In addition, CarFax has a new policy stating that it will buy back a car in the first year if company representatives fail to pick up on any key problems that have happened with cars. It’s a new layer of protection from CarFax, which is great. But it’s not enough. When you buy a used car, you need a checklist of things to do, right? Your first step is to check the April issue of Consumer Reports “Used Car Buying Guide.” This guide tells you which cars you should avoid and which ones are the . You can then go to the comparison sites, kbb.com, Edmunds.com and nada.com. In general, Clark likes you to run Carfax reports, so do that next. If you’re a AAA member, you get a discount on Carfax. The next step is to consider “manufacturer-certified” used cars. Finally, when you’re interested in a car, have it inspected by an ASE-certified mechanic. These steps won’t eliminate 100% of your problems, but they will help you get a much better buy.

Clark was driving on the freeway this weekend when he saw a pick-up truck with smoke blowing out of the exhaust pipe. All of a sudden, the truck’s engine exploded and debris went flying everywhere. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the car – which had an “AS IS” dealership sticker on it - basically died there on the freeway. The driver must have recently bought the used vehicle, and all Clark could think was that the man was stuck with it now. He has no transportation, yet he still probably owes money for the truck. Clark gets calls about the sale of used vehicles all the time, because people don’t know the sale is final. The federal government requires only that used cars have a sticker in the window, saying either “AS IS – no warranty” or “warranty included.” If you buy a car “AS IS,” you can’t return it under any circumstances. Do not rely on anything the salesman tells you during the sale because all that matters is what is in writing. So, if you’re thinking of buying a used car, make sure you have the car checked out by a mechanic who is ASE certified. You can see more of Clark’s suggestions if you go to Clark’s Library and click on “Buying New,” or “Buying Used.”