One dealer that specializes in the luxury car market had this to say about higher-end used cars: “The bargain out there is a car that’s a couple years old, has been well taken care of, doesn’t have a lot of miles on it but it can be bought at a significant savings.”

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that sales of used Mercedes vehicles were up by more than 25 percent in January 2009 when compared with January 2008. Those are surprising numbers given the financial turmoil that many Americans find themselves in these days. Other studies show that people are taking better care of their luxury vehicles and having them serviced regularly to help make them last longer so the owners can get more bang for their buck, so to speak.

If you haven’t considered the used luxury car market, what’s stopping you? Now is the best time to find some great deals on the car or cars of your dreams!

• Be sure to have a designated driver. Drinking is a lot more fun if you have someone designated to drive who is completely sober. Then you don’t have to worry about getting home safely. Plan this out ahead of time so nobody’s holiday gets ruined.
• Pace your drinking. If you’re one of the lucky partygoers that get to drink, don’t do it all at once. Pace yourself throughout the night to avoid alcohol poisoning or other problems that could ruin the evening.
• Only drink drinks that you have handled yourself. People these days will put things in your drink to make you unconscious so they can rob your or do something worse. This is especially important if you are a woman.

So get your Mercedes vehicles all shined up and ready to go for March 17. Just be sure to stay safe and use some common sense while you’re having fun.

Did you know getting your tires rotated on your Mercedes vehicles on a regular schedule helps keep your repair costs down? The same goes for oil changes, tune-ups and other preventative measures. Unfortunately, drivers do not think about it too much.

“We all get in a hurry, we have the tendency to put things off – and your car is something that doesn’t care for itself,” said mechanic Bobby Armstrong in Nashville, Tennessee. He says if you simply follow the recommended maintenance schedule for your used Mercedes-Benz, you can keep repair costs at a minimum over the years.

Other things can cost more in the long run, too. For instance, if you hear a brake squeaking and decide to wait before getting it fixed, an easy $200 job could turn into a $700 bill because more parts will need to be replaces.

Let this be a lesson to you. Bite the bullet and have the scheduled maintenance done on your used Mercedes-Benz and have any unusual noises checked immediately. You’ll put more money in your pocket and enjoy your luxury vehicle for many, many years.

Lindsay Lohan recently downgraded from her Mercedes SL65 to an SL550. That means her used Mercedes-Benz is now available and up for sale. As the car site Jalopnik puts it, “If history repeats itself she’ll probably drive it, crash it, go to rehab and then someone will put it on eBay,” just like her previous Mercedes vehicles.

In addition to the economic downturn, LiLo may have had some problems paying for her SL65 because she hasn’t enjoyed a huge amount of success lately. Her 2005 movie Herbie: Fully Loaded began her downward spiral in terms of disastrous movies, according to an article in Vanity Fair. Her 2006 movie Just My Luck also received poor reviews and only made less than $40 million nationwide. Other flops include A Prairie Home Companion, Georgia Rule and Chapter 27. She also withdrew from a film adaptation of A Woman of No Importance due to going into rehabilitation.

Either way, maybe you can be the next proud owner of LiLo’s used Mercedes-Benz. We haven’t heard anything about it, but you may just see it on eBay in the next few weeks.

Gather your supplies. Some of the things you’ll want to have on hand include a quality carpet foam and cleaner, vinegar, soapy water, car wax and a vacuum cleaner.

Throw away the trash. When you start detailing the inside of your used Mercedes-Benz, throw away wrappers and trash. This will make the vacuuming much easier. Take other things out and set them aside if they are not trash.

Vacuum thoroughly. Take your time when vacuuming and don’t forget to vacuum the little nooks and crannies.

Clean the carpet thoroughly. Use your foaming carpet cleaner or your favorite type of fabric cleaner that you can use on the seats, too. If you use the foaming kind, allow it to foam up before scrubbing it. When it dries, vacuum the areas again.

Wipe down the dash and the other interior areas. Use Armor All or another type of cleaner specially made for dashboards and accessories for a glossy finish.

Follow these steps and you can make your used Mercedes vehicles look brand new!

1. Get rid of the offending substance. You can’t get a bad odor out of your used Mercedes-Benz if you don’t find the source. If your kid spilled milk on the floor, you’ll have to soak that up first. If someone left a fish under your seat three weeks ago, you’ll have to find that before you start cleaning.
2. Use charcoal. Charcoal is one of the best odor eaters that exist. After cleaning the smelly area, place an open bag of charcoal near the area. It will soak up the odor. You can even crush up some briquets to cover the area and vacuum it up later.

3. Get caffeinated. Coffee grounds are great for absorbing odors. After brewing a fresh cup of coffee, place the wet coffee grounds in your used Mercedes-Benz. As they dry, they will soak up the odor and leave the pleasant aroma of brewed coffee in your car.

If you own Mercedes vehicles, you want everything to be just right so you can enjoy your luxury car and show it off to others. A bad odor can be embarrassing. Get it taken care of by using these tips and you’ll enjoy your car even more!

Calm Down
Getting all frustrated, angry and impulsive behind the wheel is a recipe for disaster. Instead of acting on your emotions and impulses, take a few seconds to cool down, think about the situation and reevaluate your actions. Basically, just “get over it” and continue down the road as if nothing happened.

Look Ahead
This doesn’t only mean that you shouldn’t be looking down at your cell phone, your iPod or your radio when you are driving. This also means to look for any potential problems on the road ahead.

Leave Some Space
You don’t need to tailgate the person in front of your or “keep up” with the person driving next to you. Instead, find a space for yourself so you have an “escape route” in case of an emergency behind the wheel.

Follow these defensive driving tips and you’ll be able to keep your Mercedes vehicles in tip-top shape for several years to come.

Now, you can kind of keep an eye on your teen and what they are doing when they are driving your used Mercedes-Benz. Several insurance companies are offering a GPS device that will track your teen’s habits and whereabouts in real-time regardless of where they are. And when you take advantage of one of these devices, your insurance company is more likely to offer discounts on your premiums.

The program is called Teensurance and offers a variety of monitoring tools for parents. “The Teensurance program provides parents with a suite of tools to actively monitor and manage their teenager’s driving,” said Tim Haugaard, a Safeco executive and director of product management for the company’s Teensurance program. “With its real-time tracking, speed alerts and curfew notifications sent via text message or e-mail, parents can identify and correct their teenager’s driving behavior before an accident occurs.”

Of course, this new program does not take the place of a good driving course and taking the time to teach your teen how to drive safely. But it may make you feel more comfortable when your teen is behind the wheel of your used Mercedes vehicles while saving you money on your premiums at the same time.

• Slow down. One of the most efficient methods for saving gas is to drive slower. Going 70 mph in a 55 mph zone will not save any gas and you might even get a ticket from it. Slow down in your used Mercedes-Benz and you’ll be a more efficient driver.
• Accelerate gradually. “Punching it” from a red light or trying to get up to your desired speed in three seconds or less will destroy your gas mileage. Instead, take your time and accelerate slowly to get more miles from each gallon of fuel.
• Shut it off in the drive-thru. If you find yourself waiting in a restaurant’s drive-thru, turning your used Mercedes-Benz off will save gas instead of leaving it running.

Just because you are driving Mercedes vehicles doesn’t mean you don’t like to save money. Use these fuel-saving tips to get more from each dollar you spend at the pump.

Lose Weight – This is probably the most common New Year’s Resolution there is. Everybody wants to lose weight. If people kept their resolutions past the first week of each new year, though, we wouldn’t have the obesity problem we have today.

Manage Debt – This is another popular resolution. It is a good idea to manage your debt and pay off your bills, but this is another one that people forget about around the fourth day of January.

Quit Smoking – My wife resolved to do this every year. She did, however, quit for hopefully the last time this past February.

Whether it’s losing weight, getting fit or buying one of those certified Mercedes vehicles that you can use for riding around in style, New Year’s resolutions are a way that we can better ourselves. Here’s hoping that you can keep your resolutions for 2009!