Carblogger on CablePulse24 tonight at 8 p.m.

If you happen to read this in time and live in the right area, tune in to CablePulse24 tonight (Sunday, Oct. 19)  at 8 p.m. for my latest appearance on AutoShop.

The regular guest expert, Mohamed Bouchama of Car Help Canada, is away for a bit and I’ve been asked to return again. I’ve lost track, but I think this is the fifth or sixth time sitting in the guest chair. I’ll be joined tonight by Alan Gelman of Glennalan Motors in North York. He can handle the mechanical questions any viewers throw at him and together we’ll tackle any questions about new or used cars.

I always enjoy appearing on this show, not only for the chance to chat with and hopefully help viewers live, but also because my friend Hugh Burrill of Citytv is now the regular host. Hugh and now started at Citytv in Toronto around the same time as news writers many years ago. I moved on to produce shows like CityOnline and AutoShop, while he went on to become a sports reporter and anchor Hugh is a good guy all around and has a genuine interest in the automotive sector and he’s a huge fan of racing.

If you like what you hear or couldn’t get through on the phones, feel free to drop me a line at carblogger@rocketmail.com.

In other news, I’m just about finished my article on hypermiling and using the Scangauge I purchased for that purpose. More on that still to come….

Why can’t Canadians access invoice car pricing?

South of the 49th parallel, U.S. car buyers can simply Google their way to the invoice price of just about any car they like. But up here in Canada that same information is jealously guarded by the manufacturers. Why the difference? I’m not entirely sure, but I suspect the inequality has something to do with greater public access to information in the U.S. and a greater willingness of dealers down there to share the info.

But perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s first examine what the invoice price is and how it can help consumers. The invoice price is essentially the dealer’s cost on a car. This cost is always lower than the manufacturer’s suggested retail price and the difference is called the mark-up. Knowing exactly how much the dealer paid for a particular vehicle can be a very empowering bargaining tool.

Generally speaking, mark-ups vary from about nine to 20 per cent over the invoice price. Cheaper cars tend to be on the lower end of the scale while luxury models are more likely to command a higher mark-up. Most people would probably be surprised at how little dealers make on new cars. And in Canada where compact and sub-compact cars make up more than half of all new car sales, it is easy to understand why some dealers are struggling to make ends meet. But that is their concern and not ours at the moment.

Now, anyone who thinks they can negotiate a car price down to the dealers invoice is dreaming in Technicolor. The best most people can hope for is to knock a few percentage points off the MSRP. For example, on a compact car like a Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla, a good deal would probably be about $600-$700 off retail. On a more expensive car though, the savings could be into thousands of dollars.

The best advice I can give car buyers is to use the services of a non-profit group like Car Help Canada or the Automobile Protection Association (APA). They not only have access to invoice pricing, but also offer pre-negotiated pricing that is often a far better deal than you would be able to negotiate for yourself. And best of all, you don’t have to deal with pushy salespeople, even pushier business managers and all that back and forth baloney. Both groups have been around for years and are dedicated to helping consumers navigate their way through the car industry. There is a membership fee for their services, but the payback is instant and well worth it if you purchase through them.

Welcome to the truth about cars

Welcome to my blog, which I am dedicating to the absolute, unbiased truth about cars and related technology.

My background is journalism, but don’t mistake me for a groveling automotive hack at the beck and call of the manufacturers. Yes, I too test drive vehicles provided by the automakers, but I don’t jet around the world to drive the latest Land Rover in the Sahara and I don’t pull any punches.

Instead, my writings provide straight-forward and practical advice for car owners.  In fact, I am one of the few automotive journalists endorsed by Phil Edmonston, creator of the  best-selling Lemon-Aid new and used vehicle buying guides. I’m also the former communications manager for the non-profit consumer association Car Help Canada.

In addition, I am also an appointed consumer trustee for the Ontario Motor Vehicle Dealers Compensation Fund and a member of the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council’s communications committee.

But enough about me. This space is dedicated to educating consumers thourgh information they won’t likely read in the automotive section of their favourite newspaper. Why is that? Well, because automotive sections and car magazines owe their very survival to the ads placed by car makers and their dealers and biting the hand that feeds you is very unpopular these days. And with the automotive industry in such upheaval, any criticism of domestic automakers in particular is seen as almost unpatriotic.

Of course, I too feel for the struggling automakers and even admit to a soft spot for GM having lived and worked as a journalist in Oshawa, Ontario for many years. However, I also see the disappearing jobs and financial losses as entirely foreseeable events that could have been avoided or at the very least minimized. More about this later, but suffice it to say the current train wreck should have slammed on the brakes a long time ago instead of clinging to this reliance on the giant profits from massive fuel-sucking trucks.

Anyway, I hope readers will enjoy the future posts on this blog and use it as the smart shopper’s resource I envision to be. If enough people get on board I’ll consider launching a full-blown website with even more useful information for car drivers.

Happy motoring!