Auto leasing can sometimes seem like a glorified car rental, as you’re paying for a vehicle that doesn’t even end up under your name.­ However, a leased car can easily become yours if the price is right.

Leasing often gets a bad rap since you do not actually own a car at the end of the term.

Choosing which new car to buy is one of the hardest decisions to make when it comes to getting a new ride, but so is how you’re going to pay for it.

There are a lot of car stereotypes out there, like that Toyota builds dull appliances. While true on many fronts, the Japanese automaker does also make exciting sporty cars like the Scion FR-S, and Lexus LFA, both praised for their exhilarating rides, edgy styling and pulse-raising performance. But there’s another stereotype that needs to be dealt with.

Likely you’ve heard the phrase “German engineering” more than a few times in your life and there’s a popular misconception that it equals good reliability. German cars are well engineered, sometimes to be amazing performance machines and sometimes to be incredibly high-tech (and often both) but, Porsche aside, German cars don’t have the best track record for reliability.

Having participated in Spring Mountain Motorsport Ranch’s 1-Day Corvette Driving School – recently renamed the ‘Ron Fellows Performance Driving School’ in recognition of this legendary Corvette Racing driver’s direct involvement with the program – I was well aware that this 5-star facility owns an impressive fleet of C6 Corvettes including many 405-hp Z51s and 505-hp Z06s as well as several new 638-hp ZR1s. The Ron Fellows link runs deeper than just the school though – he also played a key role as a test driver during the development of Michelin’s highly anticipated Z06-specific Pilot Sport PS2 ZP tire as well as the factory-installed ZR1 PS2s.

Now that we’ve reached the bottom of The Great Recession (we hope) and things are starting to look up, perhaps its time to dream again and have a little fun instead of clipping coupons and pinching pennies. For a lot of car enthusiasts, especially those of us who are fans of Formula 1 and the IRL, those dreams might include piloting an open-wheel Formula race car, even if it’s just for a few laps. You may have thought this kind of dream was unattainable, but as I recently learned while taking the Bridgestone Racing Academy’s ‘Thill of a Lifetime 3’ course, you can experience the rush of driving a state-of-the-art Formula SCCA racing machine without having to apply for a second mortgage.

In short, tires are precisely-engineered pieces of rubber, chemicals, fabric and metal that are designed to provide traction, cushion road shock and carry a specified load under all kinds of conditions.

No, I’m not talking about the language tires speak when they take corners under full throttle, or when they warm up in the burnout box, or during protests of disgust when the brakes are called upon for a sudden veto.

Shopping for car insurance is not easy, or fun for that matter! Hunting for the best rates on car insurance is hard enough then there are factors like your age, gender, credit and driving record. And yes, all of these things are determining factors in every auto insurance quote you get.

Whenever you buy or lease a new automobile, it’s important to read and understand the warranty information it comes with. These often lengthy documents outline your warranty service, stating what components are covered and what is not, for how long, and how to go about getting warranty repairs done. Manufacturers follow their own guidelines when it comes to handling warranty claims and every manufacturer is different to some degree.

There’s a lot to know and keep track of in the fast-paced world of automobile insurance. The myriad of terms used to describe everything from apples to oranges causes even more confusion for consumers shopping around. So, to help your process go more smoothly next time, below is a glossary of some common (and some commonly misunderstood) terms related to automobile insurance from various sources on the Net.

The minimum amount of liability coverage you must maintain varies from state to state. But, beware since each state sets its own “legal” minimums that may or may not provide you with enough coverage. Beyond these legal minimums, any additional coverage is purchased at the buyers discretion. The key here is to find a balance betwixt adequate coverage and overpaying for insurance in order to have peace of mind for you and your family.

Your own insurability and getting quotes are only part of the shopping for auto insurance process. Finding a reputable insurer is the other, more important part. After all, you want an insurance company that has a history of good service. You want an insurance company with the ability to settle claims from its policyholders, a company with a strong financial outlook and relatively few complaints and most importantly, you want an insurer that’s legally entitled to do business in your state.

Each state has its own Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and most use a “point” system to track your individual driving record. Whether a parking ticket, moving violation, at-fault accident or DUI charge, each infraction comes at a price as each has a certain value associated with it. The fewer of these points on your license (cannot be less than zero), the better shape your driving record is in.

So, you managed to get your vehicle insured. Congratulations! But, now, for whatever reason, you want to cancel your policy. We don’t need to know why, but don’t worry, we have some useful tips to help make the process as quick and painless as can be.

The enclosed materials are intended to help you if you have a vehicle warranty claim denied in circumstances in which an aftermarket product has been used. The information describes the law on vehicle warranties and will provide a sense of what is and is not an improper warranty denial. After reviewing this information, you will be aware of the steps to take to fight unlawful warranty denials.

We covered the basics, now it is time to dig deeper. Let’s start with “gap insurance” because it’s additional coverage that’s pretty much essential if you plan on buying or leasing a new vehicle. Why? In a nutshell, gap insurance protects your automotive investment against depreciation. Gap insurance is not required but it’s no secret that as soon as a new car gets driven off the dealer’s lot its value can instantly depreciate by 20 percent or more. Now, let’s say that same vehicle were to be stolen or involved in a total loss accident a few miles down the road. The insurer would pay out only as much as the vehicle’s current value, leaving the policyholder to pay the “depreciation difference” between what the finance company says it’s owed for the destroyed vehicle, plus any applicable taxes or fees. In this situation, if you didn’t get gap insurance – either from an insurance company or the dealer – then you could be out a lot of money. In fact, if you tried to buy that same vehicle from the same dealership with the insurance payout money you receive, chances are you’d find a significant gap between what you paid the first time versus what you can put down for the replacement. If you were covered by gap insurance here though, you would be fully covered up to what the finance company wants though. As a rule of thumb, small down payments create a larger depreciation difference than large down payments do.

If you’ve ever thought about customizing your vehicle, chances are you’ve faced some pretty tough questions about how your vehicle’s warranty would be affected. Tip-toeing around the huge minefield of do’s and don’ts is a head-scratching affair. It can be accomplished by working closely with your dealer and discussing the modifications you’d like to make beforehand. But, more often than not, people don’t spend enough time on planning and researching vehicle modifications and, in turn, their warranty claims (even legitimate ones) are denied because the dealer or manufacturer believes aftermarket (non-OEM parts) are at the root of the problem.