Carsut – Understand cars and drive better

Category: Car Buying

A complete, unique and special car buying guide that will lead you to the most compatible car for your situation.

Best gas mileage SUV for savvy consumers

While gas prices are on the rise again, owning a poor gas mileage SUV definitely is not a good idea. On the contrary, owning the best gas mileage SUV is what a smart consumer will do. In our complete car buying guide, one main thing to consider when buying a new car is the gas mileage. Generally, vehicles with poor gas mileage have bad resale value compared to vehicles with good gas mileage. We couldn’t control the gas price but we could plan well and buy a fuel efficient car. Most SUVs did not have good fuel economy due to the body size and weight. However, it doesn’t mean that you have to pay more on the gas. There are still many fuel efficient SUVs out there in the market if you fall in love with the off-road capability, body style, and the stoutness. For those who are into SUVs but prefer a fuel efficient model, take a look at these top five options.

MINI Cooper Countryman

MSRP Price: $22,450
The 2012 MINI Cooper Countryman is a stylish small SUV/crossover that offers a great fuel economy of 27 mpg city/35 mpg highway/ 30 combined mpg. It runs like a proper MINI Cooper. The astonishing exterior and high fuel-efficient engines might persuade a lot of SUV buyers but the cramped backseat may discourage some. As such, choices include the Kia Soul and Nissan Juke often comes in mind when a person is buying an SUV. For those who don’t mind making a few sacrifices for the sake of enjoyment and fuel efficiency, this is the best small SUV in its segments.

Toyota Highlander Hybrid

MSRP Price: $38,715
While hybrid sedans are getting more common, it is only a matter of time until hybrid technology migrated to all SUVs. The 2012 Toyota Highlander is considered one best mid-size SUV to own. It is slightly bigger than the MINI Countryman with bigger cargo capacity and superior passenger room. SUV shoppers hardly refuse this most fuel-efficient seven-seater vehicle that offers a smooth ride with all-wheel-drive option, a comfortable interior, an elegant exterior, and a fantastic fuel economy of 28 mpg city and 28 mpg highway. Competitors include the 2012 Honda CR-V and 2012 Kia Sorento.

GMC Yukon Hybrid (Also known as Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid)

MSRP Price: $53,465
The debut of the GMC Yukon Hybrid once again reminds people that a large SUV with decent towing capacity can also comes with great fuel economy. At 20 mpg city/23 mpg highway/21 combined mpg, the car accelerates well without sacrificing the power. Large SUV with less than 15 mpg is no longer a way of life. The V8 engine works well to transport up to eight passengers and gives a towing capacity of 6,200 lbs. In official crash testing, the 2012 GMC Yukon Hybrid scored an overall rating of four out of five stars. As for price, it will however cost more.

Lexus RX 450h Hybrid

MSRP Price: $45,235
Although it is expensive compared to the non-hybrid version, the Lexus RX 450h SUV is still a better choice in long run with its impressive fuel economy. The Lexus RX 450h is an SUV that packs luxurious, power, fuel efficient, comfortable, and smooth ride into one piece. Paired with an electric motor, the 3.5-liter V6 engine achieves better fuel economy for city drive compared to the all-time best seller Honda Civic. 32/28/30 mpg is the numbers that you get for a luxury SUV in between $40,000 to $50,000.

Audi Q5 Quattro

MSRP Price: $40,775
The 2012 Audi Q5 Quattro is one of the large-size SUVs that achieve 20 mpg in city drive except the Lexus RX 450h and the 2012 Mercedes-Benz M-Class. The Q5 is famous for its safety, reliable, and luxury interior with top-notch craftsmanship. This is one good choice for savvy consumers for look for the safest SUV. Backseats are roomy, handling is superb, and ride is smooth. Standard equipment on the car includes a set of cool 18-inch wheels, automatic headlights, eight-way power front seats, automatic wipers, leather upholstery, a sliding and reclining 40/20/40 rear seat, and a multi-function multimedia screen at the center console. With 20/27/22 mpg, the Audi Q5 made itself into the top five best SUVs list.

In a nutshell, saving a few miles per gallon on gas could turn into few thousand dollars in the end of the day. A vehicle with extra 3 mpg will give you an extra 300 miles for 300 gallons of gas. Why not?

May 3, 2012
Top ten cars American women love the most

Men are from Mars, women are from Venus is an old fact that can be applied to car buying. A research in America automobile market has shown men’s and women’s brains work in different ways when it comes to buying a new car.

According to a car buying study, male car buyers preferred fast, powerful, sporty, and cool vehicle especially attention-grabbing car such as BMW Z4, Ferrari 458 Italia, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Ford Mustang, Porsche 911, Audi R8, and a long list of car names to be mentioned here. On the other hand, female buyers often drifted towards practical vehicles – cheap selling price, high fuel economy, high resale value, safety, easy to drive, and easy to maintain. A few popular small cars among female buyers are the Mini Cooper, Volkswagen Beetle, Honda Jazz, and Ford Fiesta. Let’s see what cars American women love the most.

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Among the ten cars, six cars are SUV/Crossover, two are open-roof sporty coupe, and two are sedans. Ladies, what will be your choice then?

April 25, 2012
What do CBU and CKD mean in automobile?

A CBU Toyota Prius

Often when you are buying a new car or reading the information about your desired cars, you may have come across some weird terms such as CBU and CKD. These terms usually appear in some countries that impose excise duty on imported vehicles such as Malaysia, India, China, and Thailand. What is actually CBU? What does CKD means? In this article we will explain what they mean and the differences between CBU and CKD.

Generally, CBU and CKD are terms used to describe the way of importing a vehicle into the country. CBU stands for Complete Built Up and CKD stands for Complete Knock Down.

CBU – Complete Built Up

A CBU import means a vehicle is completely built out of the country. The vehicle is tested and it can be driven once it lands on the shores. If a vehicle is tagged as CBU import, it means the vehicle is imported to the country as a whole piece. A CBU import does not mean that the vehicle is 100% built in its origin country. For example, a CBU Honda Civic imported to Malaysia can be assembled in Japan (Honda’s origin country) or some other Honda plants in either Thailand or Indonesia. However, most of the time but not always, the import will be done by picking the nearest country. Most Hondas in Malaysia are imported from Thailand due to the geographical location. The quality of a CBU vehicle very much depends on the QC (Quality Control) of the plant.

CKD – Complete Knock Down

A CKD vehicle means a vehicle is assembled locally using all the major parts, components, and technology imported from the country of its origin. Government imposed excessively high taxes on CBU vehicles to encourage foreign car manufacturers to build factories and produce their vehicles in the country. This would help the country’s economy as well as to increase the employment rates. This is the reason why we see more and more CKD vehicles available in the country.

CBU vs. CKD

The biggest difference between CBU and CKD is the taxes. A CBU unit could have cost 30% more of a CKD unit. However, quality of the vehicle is the first concern of consumers. A Mercedes-Benz completely built in Sindelfingen plant will definitely have some difference with other Mercedes-Benz’s plants. This has also explained why the Sindelfingen plant was presented with the J.D. Power Award by the renowned U.S. market research institute J.D. Power and Associates.

Popular CBU vehicles in India:

Aston Martin DBS, Audi R8, Bentley Continental GT, BMW Z4, Ferrari 458 Italia, Fiat 500, Honda Civic Hybrid, Honda CR-V, Lamborghini Aventador, MINI Cooper, Nissan GT-R, Porsche Boxster, Toyota Prius, Toyota Camry, Volkswagen Tiguan, Volvo S80, and others.

Popular CKD vehicles in India:

BMW 3 Series, BMW 5 Series, Ford Figo, Ford Fiesta, Chevrolet Cruze, Chevrolet Tavera, Honda Brio, Honda Jazz, Honda City, Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, Hyundai Accent, Suzuki Swift, Nissan Sunny, Toyota Corolla Altis, Toyota Fortuner, Volkswagen Polo, Volkswagen Jetta, Volkswagen Passat, and others.

March 23, 2012
Step 10: Life after having a car
It is necessary to understand the life after having a car. This is because there are many things you may not expect and you need to prepare for it before buying a car. Some new car owners will walk to the window and peep at the car once awhile to make sure it is still there. “What the?” Don’t be shock; it is a truth based on the results from our research. There could be many reasons, the owner is afraid of the car being stolen, worry about the car being scratched or just look at it to satisfy themselves. For some people, spending a huge amount of money in one shot to buy a depreciating object (car) is hurting, so they will definitely try to take good care of the car. Other than that, these are several things you may not know about having a car especially for the first time car buyer:

1. Someone regret it. If you did not manage your budget properly as mentioned in Step 1, you may start to regret buying the car when it starts to suck money out from your pocket every month for the installments.

2. Extra money for extra accessories. To celebrate the new purchase, people often spend extra money on accessories to decorate the car. This includes head rest, floor mat, new carpet, steering wheel cover, windscreen tint, car seat covers, and many other things that may cost few thousand dollars or more. Some people will also spend a few hundred dollars for high quality steering lock or transmission lock as a theft deterrent. Furthermore, car wash and car detailing are something which will keep costing money.

3. Extra protection. Do you notice that there are many bottles sitting in the store room? Detergent to wash car, car wax kit, polishing kit, fluid for windscreen protection, and tire dressing are extra money for a car owner. A person who takes public transport does not need all these things.

4. Extra trip. First time car owner will find excuses just to drive the car out because they want to drive it. Well, it doesn’t really matter as long as you enjoy it.

5. Parking Charges. You may need to pay parking fees wherever you park your car. For those who are staying in apartments or condominiums, there will be monthly parking charges. Do take this into your calculations before buying a car.

6. Car maintenance. There is always a maintenance fee, for example, engine oil, oil filter, car batteries, tires, and others. The maintenance fee for cars with bigger engine often cost higher.

7. Customize your own car. Other than buying aftermarket accessories to decorate the car, some car enthusiasts will customize their own car. Sound systems upgrade, sport wheels, customized dashboard or extra gauges to make the car look cool.

These are some of the opinions from our research:

Jonathan Blanchfield said: “Buying a used car is very complicating. I will prefer a new one to avoid all the hassles.”

Jeremy Teoh said: “I prefer a new used car because I do not want to throw all my hard-earned money into depreciation.”

Isabella Joel said: “I am a girl, I do not understand a lot about mechanical things and car maintenance, buying a new car seems to be more practical for me.”

Jonathan Lipnicki said: “I love cars, I love new smells, I love new features but I prefer a used car. With the same amount of cash, I prefer a used branded car than a new cheap car.”

What is your choice then?

Having gone through what you have to go through from Step 1 to Step 10, you should get your new car now. Most people find having a car is more convenient, and yes, it is. What you need to do is to enjoy the ride!

Carsut’s car buying guide is written by Howsen who is an experienced car dealer. Thanks to people who participated in this research and contributed their opinions in making this buying guide a success.
- Suming – a used car dealer since 1983.
- Peter Czech – a mechanic who specializes in Mercedes-Benz, BMW,Toyota, Honda, and Suzuki.
- Phoenix– an insurance agent who has been dealing with car insurance for more than 10 years.
February 21, 2012
Step 9.1: Vehicle Bill of Sale (Printable)
This is a printable version of vehicle bill of sale form. It is available in PDF version and image version to download for free. A vehicle bill of sale is important for any vehicle sales especially used car between private seller and buyer. This is because it serves as an agreement between the seller and the buyer. Everything agreed between both parties are written in the agreement to avoid a potential lawsuit for breach of an oral agreement. It is a must when you are making a deal for automobile sales.

What is bill of sale?

It is a legal sales agreement, sales contract or a black and white document that evidences the transfer of title from the seller to buyer with all the terms and conditions agreed by both parties. It can be printed on normal A4 paper and it only works when both seller and buyer sign it accordingly. Both parties must read the details carefully and voice out if they find something agreed on orally is not written in the contract. Extra things promise by the seller can be written in the “Additional Notes” column in the contract, for instance, “A set of sound system will be given to the seller” or “Free tint will be given”. In the contract, the seller is the current owner and the buyer will be the future owner.

Why a bill of sale is needed?
- It is considered as the third important documents to prove the ownership of the car after Vehicle History Report and Log book. This is to prevent buyer from buying a stolen car or a car that does not belong to the seller.
- It is a useful document for the buyer when applying a new insurance for the vehicle before transfer of ownership.
- It is a sales receipt that shows the down payment has been received by the seller.
- It also shows subsequent payment, the last payment, method of payment and the payment date. The payment method can be bank check, bank draft, cash, personal check or bank-to-bank transfer.
- It is a useful document for buyer or seller to protect themselves should any disputes arise in future. For example, a seller can protect himself if the buyer comes back and say “Hey! This is not the car I agreed to buy previously.” The seller can also reduce his liability risks and avoid a buyer’s regret. On the other hand, a buyer can also protect himself if the seller refuses to sell the vehicle to him because there is another higher offer.
- It protects both the seller and the buyer.
- It proves that buyer owns the car from the agreement date. Should anything happen before this date the seller is responsible and after this date is the buyer’s responsibility. It will be the buyer’s (i.e. new owner’s) responsibility if they use the car for illegal racing or summoned with a speed ticket.
- It can be used as a document for people to claim personal or company income tax.
- A private seller can avoid the responsibility to provide warranty because most of the used cars are sold “AS IS”. If a car is still under manufacturer’s warranty, the buyer will have to send the car to the manufacturer instead of the seller.
With so many practical reasons, a vehicle bill of sale is not just a useful document for car deals but also for boat, motorcycle, mobile home, ATV or aircraft.

Download it for free

In old days you may have to create a bill of sale yourself but now you can download it here for free in PDF version and also image version. You can still amend it if you need extra information. You can also include some images of the vehicle in the bill of sale for better understanding.

PDF Version: Vehicle Bill of Sale

Image Version:

Sample bill of sale

Once you have downloaded the sample form, you may follow the steps here to complete it. Below here is an example of how to write a bill of sale.

1. Write the agreement date: Day, Month, and Year. It is the date where the agreement is signed.
2. Write the seller and buyer details: Full name and identity card number. You may also add in the address if you prefer.
3. Write the vehicle details, as details as it could be. For some reasons, the manufacturer year and registered year are different, write both years down in the form. For example, manufactured 2010, registered 2011.
4. Write the make, model, body type, body color, VIN (Vehicle Identification Numbers), engine number, indicated mileage.
5. Write the additional notes if there is any.
6. State the date where seller will meet the buyer again if it is necessary.
7. Write the total purchase price, down payment, next payment or future payment (if there is any) based on what you agreed.
8. Both parties sign together with witnesses.
February 19, 2012