Fighting Parking Tickets Today In Toronto

We all at some point in our lives have walked out to your own, a friends or family member’s car and have seen that bright yellow ticket flapping from the windshield. The pain of a parking ticket is not so much the monetary value but if you feel you need to fight it then you know that entails frustration and aggravation.

Most of the time, we will pay our parking tickets just so we won’t have to deal with ordeal of fighting them. This is what the city wants. The city wants us to pay our parking tickets and not fight them but sometimes the principal is to strong that there’s no choice in the matter.

So what happens when you want to fight a parking ticket?

You have 15 days to go to one of the four court offices and wait in a long line in order to request a trial. However prior to that, you’ve had to pay for parking, you’ve had to schedule time off work, use your lunch hour, hire a babysitter or worse take your baby with you in order to schedule a trial. This is so nerve wrecking that most people would ignore the ticket and just pay for it when they need to renew their sticker.

Toronto issues about 600 hundred thousand tickets for parking meter violations each year and about 40 thousand are not valid violations.

There is a new option in place and that is to fight your parking ticket electronically, via email or fax. This is only available to parking meter infractions. In many instances the police officer didn't see the ticket, read the time wrong, the pay and display meter printed the ticket incorrectly, the customer put it in their pocket or purse in a rush but will have proof that they've paid. In cases where the meter is broken and you don’t have a camera or phone handy, this new system will not work, you must still visit one of the four offices.
If you've sent proof and it wasn't enough, you do have the option to fight the ticket at a trial but that also you’ll have to do in person.

You can find out more about this new program on the City of Toronto parking ticket disputes website and for more valuable information and tips, visit www.prudentvaluecars.com

How Much Can I Afford For A Car?

When we want to buy a car the first thing we should ask ourselves is, How much should I spend on a car? Most of us will finance or lease a car which means that we’re driving cars we can’t really afford but making the payments thinking that we can. This means that if we had to pay $50,000 for the car outright, most of us couldn’t. Cars in all honesty are not the greatest investment because cars constantly go down in value but it makes our lives easier so how much should we spend on a car?

Whether you have a home that is paid off or you few monthly bills, the basic rule is we should not be spending more than 20% percent of our monthly income. You need to include all car payments in your household. You should also keep in mind that the amount that you can spend on a car should depend on more than just the purchase price. You need to factor in the cost of insurance, gas and maintenance.

First you need to consider your debt ratio. This is the percentage of debt to assets you own. You will take your total debt and divide that number by your total assets. The lower the number the better. Next calculation will be the car price to equity ratio. This is where you take the final price of the car and divide it by the total number of assets you have in the bank again the lower the number the better. If the number is too high, then you are buying too much car. The final calculation is interest and principal. Every car loan comes with interest. The key to this is to make sure you can afford your monthly payments. Let’s say that you purchase a car for $25K and got an interest rate of 5%. You would multiply .05 x 25,000 and the total of $1,250 is roughly the amount of interest you will pay annually. Your combined principal payments plus your interest payment should not be more than 20% of your monthly net income.

If you are buying a new car, it is important that you pay off all short-term credit card debt. If you have more debt than assets in the bank then you should consider buying a used car if you must have a car at all. Visit Prudent Value Cars at www.prudentvaluecars.com where our vehicles are top quality, pre-owned cars and trucks with low kilometres. We offer flexible financing for all kinds of credit and zero down for qualified customers.

Understanding Auto Insurance Coverage

Everyone who drives a car in Canada needs car insurance. It is required by law. When you buy car insurance, you are buying a policy. A policy is based on several different factors and is actually a package of different types of insurance coverage.

Your insurance policy will cover you for expenses such as medical treatment and care, legal costs, property damage and loss of wages if you’re involved in a car accident. When choosing a coverage package, you can choose different levels of coverage depending how much protection you want.

The premium is the amount to be paid for your car insurance policy. The cost is different for every individual and is based on a variety of factors such as:
• The make and model of your car
• Your driving record
• Your insurance claim record
• Your level of driving experience
• Your age
• Where you live
• The distance you drive to and from work.

Insurance companies offer various types of coverage and they are as follows:
Liability – This coverage pays for accidental bodily injury and property damages to others. Injury damages include medical expenses, pain and suffering, property damages and loss of wages.

Collision – Protects your car against damage caused by impact with another vehicle or an object such as a guard rail.

Comprehensive – This covers fire, theft, vandalism and damage caused by natural disasters such as tornados, floods and ice storms.

All perils insurance – combines the coverage provided by collision and comprehensive insurance.

Specified perils – protects your car against specific types of danger such as theft or attempted theft, some natural disasters and riot or civil disturbances.

There are several things that can bring your car insurance premium cost down:
• Have a clean driving record
• Take driving courses
• Combine insurance policies
• Carpool or drive less
• Purchase a low profile car Now just might be time to refresh your memory on where your policy stands.

For more valuable information and tips, visit www.facebook.com/prudentvaluecars

The Different Ways You Can Finance Your Car

Car financing offers someone the opportunity to own a vehicle. There are several ways that you can obtain car financing. Even if you have a bad credit score, you still have options. If you’re looking into getting a new car but are not sure how to go about financing the car, there are several different ways to finance a vehicle.

Through the dealership – This type of financing involves forming an agreement between the dealer and the buyer. The buyer is asked to put a down payment of anywhere between 10-20% of the total price of the car. The monthly payments are then calculated based on the balance left owing on the car. When you finance your car this way, the car is not completely owned by the buyer until the balance is paid off. Interest free financing is usually offered with new cars only.

Personal Loan – This method of financing is the most popular because ultimately the buyer is able to borrow money from any institution of their choice and completely pay off the car. This also allows the buyer the freedom to sell the car or trade in the car for another as they now own the vehicle.

Home Equity Loans – This type of financing is designed for homeowners as you’re tying in your car to your home. Equity is the difference between your home’s value and the balance on your mortgage loan. So if your home is worth $200K and your mortgage is $150K then you have $50K worth of equity in your home that you can leverage against. This is a very popular method to get a big chunk of credit because of its low interest rates.

The first rule to financing a car is simple. Buy a car that fits your budget. You should understand your cash flow and the reason you’re buying your car. If you’re buying your car for business then car leasing may be an option for you. You should also be aware of hidden car costs like insurance, gas and parking. Always take these extra car costs into consideration when buying a car so that you can avoid any surprises. A good tip to remember is that an informed buyer will almost always get the best deal.

For more valuable information and tips visit www.facebook.com/prudentvaluecars