What to Consider When Using Auto Transport

Posted on by

Purchasing and moving large items is much easier today than it once was. Finding businesses that meet your needs is also much easier since the internet has been around. To find the best and cheapest products and services, most people go online. Many such things are not found in the general area, but elsewhere in the world or country. Auto transport is one such product and service. When a vehicle needs to be moved, one place to find great services is online.

At the same time, there are plenty of not-so-good companies waiting in the shadows of the World Wide Web. For this reason, people must be careful when hiring such services, to make sure that they are hiring upstanding services that will really take care of their vehicle. There is no reason to fall for one of the many moving and transport scams out there, and you should be careful when considering which company to use and how much to pay.

Comparing Prices

One of the first things that you should do when seeking car hauling companies is compare the prices of the services that you need. All good companies will be happy to give you a free moving quote for your needs when you contact them, so you should be sure to contact more than a single company. Make sure to be aware of quotes that are really low, as they might not include the fees and other costs that some other companies include. This is also one of the red flags that a company is not totally forthcoming.

Looking at Reputation

Another important thing to look at when choosing an auto transport company for your vehicles is the reputation of the company. You should be able to get references from various companies, and you should contact them for more information about the company. You can also check with the better business bureau in order to find information about the company. Make sure that you verify there are no big complaints about the service or the employees of the company.

Extra Costs and Company History

Company history is an important thing to look at as well. You should always hire a company that has a history longer than a month or two. The history of a company is one of the only ways you can tell if a company follows through on what they say. Look at the history of any accidents as well as licenses and any tickets that you might be able to find.

Always ask about extra costs, including insurance, as these costs may make the overall price of the services unaffordable. Add things together before choosing to do business with one company over another. No matter why you need to transport your cars, it is vital to find the best company for your specific needs.

Are You Considering Buying a Trike Instead of a Motorcycle? Not a Bad Idea at All!

Posted on by

If you have thought about buying a motorcycle but were nervous about the safety issues, you might want to think about buying a trike instead.

As the name implies trikes are motorcycles that have three wheels. They give you the feeling of riding a bike combined with increased safety for you and any passenger you might have behind. The extra wheel provides extra stability to reduce the chances that you will be involved in an accident.

In a trike, you can feel the wind on your face and enjoy being in the outdoors while you are riding, just as you would in a motorcycle. In addition to the added stability, the increased size of the vehicle gives you more room for storage.

If you think that all trikes are like the Reliant Robins of the past, and have been put off buying one because you don’t like the way they look, you need to check out today’s modern trikes. They show up at biker meetings all over the country because they look so good. Trikes have become a modern status symbol.

Modern trikes look more like motorcycles than like cars. They are more open than the old style trikes, allowing you to feel the wind on your face as you drive. These machines are also built for performance.

With their fashionable looks and outstanding performance, it’s no wonder trikes are becoming so popular. If you want to be a biker but are nervous about riding a motorcycle, a trike could be the perfect solution.

Make Hip Hop Beat Music Without Any Hardware – What You Really Need

Posted on by

Okay, so obviously you want to make hip hop beats. To make hip hop beat music it used to take a lot of time, money and energy. The time, came from learning how the hardware and software worked, the money came from the expense of the hardware and the software, and the energy came from the pain of having to save the material on appropriate formats and mixing in a way that today would seem ridiculously difficult and time consuming.

Today, when you spend about a grand you get an easy software component with unlimited tracks that runs on your nice super fast computer with plug-ins that reach to the sky and seem limited only by your imagination. On top of that, it is even easier to write hip hop beats than ever before due to the very specific plug-ins and sounds the replicate 909’s and the like.

However, it gets even better. Suppose you didn’t have to spend a grand, could get a multi-track recorder and not have to spend the time, money and energy that used to be required to make a decent beat? Look no further and once again, we have the Internet to thank for this incredible invention.

For under $30 you can use online software programs that have a sequencer, piano-key set, drum machine and thousands of sounds to choose from with a library of sounds that just keep growing. Welcome to the future! No hardware needed, no plug-ins needed; only your creativity can stop you from making a hip hop beat in just minutes.

It’s also incredibly easy to export to mp3 (with the click of a mouse) and this means you can be writing beats and exporting them to your MySpace music page all in the same day. This truly is the future of making hip-hop beats. To make hip hop beat music, you just need a little creativity. The rest is handled with the advent of so much technology and innovation.

In my opinion, these new software beat maker innovations are as great as the microwave or remote control. What could be better than being able to easily master a great beat, using piano parts, synthesizers, bass-lines and guitar parts in just a few minutes? When I first started playing around with these beat makers I was up for days, just writing hip-hop beat after hip-hop beat. I still haven’t laid down the lyrics for most of the songs.

This is what the future has brought us and frankly, the future looks bright. Remember that to make hip hop beat music, all you need now is a few minutes and a desire to live the dream, which, let’s face it, is why we turn on our computers in the first place.

European Car Rental – Top Ten Tips for Europe Travel – Tip #2: The Price Is Right

Posted on by

When it comes to shopping for something on-line, we tend to become naturally more focused on a singular aspect of the product or service we desire. There is so much information to be absorbed while browsing sites that it is nearly impossible to factor everything in. This is very true of the travel industry, which happens to be the second largest on-line market (I’m sure you can guess what the first is) and the one thing most customers tend to zero in on is that magical of all numbers: price.

This is of course to be expected. We can, after all, only afford what is in our budget. However, the first order of business should always be to understand the requirements of our vacation, in this case, the car rental. Before you look at prices, you should have a solid idea of how many people you need to accommodate, the amount of days you are staying, whether or not you can drive a manual shift, and the locations you are picking up and dropping off at. Provided you have those things locked down, you can safely move on to comparison shopping.

While it is true that 91% of travelers at least research if not purchase their trips on-line (source: Nielsen NetRatings – EyeforTravel independent study), it is always best to have some human contact before you make that important decision. In fact, if it is difficult to elicit at least a personalized e-mail response within 24 hours of contacting a travel company, you can almost guarantee that their customer service will put you on the back burner should you have a problem. Before you settle on a price, make sure that any future dealings with the company you choose will be satisfactory, or you will end up paying much more than that number on the screen.

The time honored tradition these days is “added extras”, also sometimes known as local taxes, hidden fees, or much more malicious wordings, depending on who you talk to. Some companies only quote you a “base rate”. Some companies will tell you their price is “all-inclusive”. Sometimes this is true, other times it is anything but. As long as the company is honest in conveying this information, it should not be a deterrent, as sometimes it is not within their control. Make sure you always read any terms and conditions and if you are still uneasy, call or e-mail the company and ask if there are any other charges to be expected upon arrival. Note that I say “charges” and not “fees” or “costs”. The basis of this being that in most cases a security deposit will be held for gas and key as well as a deductible for insurance purposes. The things that should either be included or not are:

Value Added Tax: Like sales tax in the States, all the countries in Europe have a different tax structure. This can be as low as 7.6% (Switzerland) to 25% or more (Scandinavia) and is generally not refundable as it is on goods, since car rental is deemed a service.

Insurance: While there are new types of insurance being imagined up by rental companies everyday, the main ones are usually Collision and Theft (these two are sometimes covered by credit cards – more on that in later articles), liability, personal accident insurance (like medical insurance) and personal effects coverage (covers your belongings inside the vehicle).

Mileage: Only luxury vehicles and SUV’s should come with limited mileage. Beware any company who does not have unlimited mileage on normal sedan and wagon vehicles, even vans.

Local Taxes: These typically include premium location surcharges (airports and railstations especially), road taxes, additional drivers, eco surcharges and more. Like insurances, these are called something different every day.

After inclusions are tallied up, request a free quote in writing. If you can’t get a free quote in writing, chances are the company will end up billing you for something you do not know about. If the company has a website where the quotes are stored, print it out off of your browser. Make sure it has a tracking number so you can pull it up when needed. Also make sure you know the difference between a tracking number and a confirmation number. One holds a rate quote, one holds an actual vehicle.

In general, you can get the lowest price from a consolidator, who deals with multiple suppliers. They have contracted wholesale rates and typically hold more weight when confirming special requests such as hotel deliveries, additional equipment and after hours pick ups. It helps if they have a “best rate” policy. The better companies will offer to beat any rate you can find provided it has the same parameters and inclusions. Always ask if they have discounts for memberships like AAA, AARP, etc. Ask friends who have used the company if they know of any discount codes. You never know what will bring down the price in the long run.

To sum this up, always remember that price should not be the first thing you look at. Make sure the company is reputable, is easy to reach via telephone and e-mail, has the criteria you require available, and then worry about the price. It may sound like a lot of work but in the end you will be happy that made the right choice.