What you should know about using your car for business

Whether you are an entrepreneur or the owner of a large company there are a few things you should know about using a vehicle for business.   Besides insuring the car, you have been trying to find ways to get money back on your taxes. Have you been trying to write off 100% of your leased vehicle, only to find that you can deduct a percentage and not the whole enchilada? Nonetheless, we thought we would give you some hints on some things you should know when using a car for business.

 

So you just purchased a pickup truck for your landscaping business.  The first thing you will want to do is to call two very important people.  First call your Tax Preparer or accountant then call your Insurance agent.  You will want to check with your agent for the following:

1.    If you should take out a higher liability insurance.

2.    If you should have a commercial policy and what is the difference between that and higher liability.

3.    If you have employees driving your vehicle should you carry a special policy for them? Who is covered?

Now that we have figured out what to ask the insurance agent, what do we ask the accountant? 

The accountant will tell you to keep a log of everything.  This would be perfect if you had a GPS that logged your every move, but that’s just not practical.   You also have to be realistic about using the vehicle for personal use as well as business use. 

To determine the business-use percentage for a mixed-use vehicle, divide the business miles by the total miles driven, for example, 7,000 (business miles)/10,000 (total miles) = .70, or 70 percent.

If this doesn’t work then on January 1^st in big red letters on your log sheet or calendar write odometer and then write the mileage. After you have logged that then write in big red letters odometer to remind yourself when you need to re-log the mileage.  This beats the heck out of keeping a log every time you make a trip to the office supply store. 

These are just a few areas to consider when using your car for business.  With the right accountant or tax prep person and a good insurance agent your company vehicle should be ready to go to work, with you behind the wheel! 

Safe Driving Tips for the Holidays

It’s an exciting and hectic time.  If you’ve been running around frantically, searching for the best gift, buying decorations, or trying to balance work and home life lately, you’re not alone.  The holidays are a time of love, compassion and the occasional MAYHEM.  While you’re out and about this time of year, take precaution.  Traffic is heavy this time of year and its important to still keep your driving skills up to par.  Here are some tips on maintaining your safety this holiday season.

Vehicle Maintenance

Get a tune up and make sure your car is prepared for travel if you’re taking a road trip.  This is CRUCIAL, especially regarding winter driving conditions.

Restrain Yourself Properly

This should be the norm.  Remember, the rear seat is the safest place for any children to ride.

Stay Alert and Energized

Take plenty of breaks and don’t push to meet unrealistic schedules like finishing all of your holiday shopping in a few hours.  If you feel yourself getting tired, pull over into a rest area or business, and get out and stretch.  If that doesn’t work, find a place to rest.  These crashes most often occur during the late night/early morning hours and the late afternoon hours to drivers who are sleepy.

Keep Speed Down

Hey, Ricky Bobby, give yourself plenty of time and distance to react to the traffic around you.  Let impatient and aggressive drivers pass you.

Choose a Designated Driver

There will be tons of intoxicated drivers on the roadways.  If you absolutely have to drive during this time of year always have a designated driver.

So, do you have any tips?  Feel free to comment below!

Drive safely this holiday season with our blog tips!

Driving and Texting...Danger ahead

The Dangers of Texting and Driving (2013 Edition)

You’ve heard it all before.  Texting and driving should not mix.  We’ve all been ridiculed and yelled at for checking our phones in the HOV lane, dashing passed a red light while flicking our phone and having full blown conversations via MMS.  Texting and driving is DEADLY.  This isn’t a filtered blog with soft-spoken words, it’s a PSA for those who drive while browsing and texting on their phones.  We’re providing some scary facts on WHY LOL can lead to RIP.  Please be safe out there, fans! We care about ‘ya!

·      In 2011, at least 23% of auto collisions involved cellphones.  That’s 1.3 million crashes.

·      Five seconds is the average amount of time your attention is taken away from the road.  So, if you’re traveling at 55 mph, this equals driving the length of a football field without looking at the road.

·      77% of young adults are very or somewhat confident that they can safely text while driving.

·      55% of young adults claim it’s easy to text while they drive.

·      Teens who text while driving spend 10% of their driving time outside of their lane

·      48% of young drivers have seen their parents drive while talking on a cell phone.

·      1 in 5 drivers of all ages confess to surfing the web while driving.

·      Texting while driving increases the risk of accident 23.2 times over unimpaired driving.

·      Texting while driving results in longer response times than even drunken driving. While an unimpaired driver can respond quickly to changes in traffic and begin braking within half a second, a legally drunk driver needs four additional feet to begin braking—and a driver who’s texting needs 70.

Drive safely!

Read this weeks blog and learn what the people at Sirius XM radio are up to now.

Those folks at Sirius XM are going after some real serious business.  The company has been in business for close to a decade and reaches close to 4 million square miles across the U.S.  They have a record revenue of $897 million dollars in sales.  This company is expecting to add another 1.6 million listeners to their 24.4 million listeners by the end of this year.  Not only are they dialed in to countless vehicles, they are also able to go 200 miles offshore making it great for boating and use in airplanes.  Sirius XM looks to complete its projected goals for getting more involved with the auto industry.

Sirius XM has been working on an infotainment platform. Entertainment with Sirius includes a large, more tailored footprint for their listeners.  Such as sports channels, comedy, and talk shows, live and full of rich content that local radio may not have. However, their focus is to add Infotainment, meaning they will have the ability to be more like OnStar and provide listeners with weather updates, provide roadside assistance, and deliver traffic updates along with the choice of entertainment. 

Sirius is targeting more auto companies to add this as temporary feature that can be subscribed after a 90-day trial.

To find out more about Sirius XM and other features included in your vehicle please contact us at West Palm Beach Kia (888) 256-5392.

Weird driving laws that make ya go "hmmmmmm".

Have you ever been pulled over when traveling in another state for something that was completely ludicrous?  As motorists we take for granted that the laws in all states are the same when it comes to driving. After doing some research we’ve found that there is a difference in some of these rights. We also found that not all laws are created equal and  some are downright strange.  However, It’s good for you to be aware that the states you possibly travel in have some interesting laws. Other than giving you a chuckle this might even prevent you from getting a penalty. This week our marketing at West Palm Beach Kia wanted to share some of these laws with you.  

• You can’t leave your keys in your vehicle in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Minnetonka City Ordinance 930.070 states that a person must stop the engine and remove all ignition keys from the vehicle.  So if you’re keys drop out of your pocket, you could face a fine.  
• Make sure that you don’t tie up your dog to the back of your truck in the state of California.  California VC Section 23117 Carrying an animal in truck.  The law only allows cross tethering along with a bunch of other perimeters when riding around in the back.
• Next time you’re vacationing in Hawaii avoid using your horn.  Section 15-19.27 of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu specifically says, “The driver of a motor vehicle shall, when reasonably necessary to ensure safe operation, give audible warning with his or her horn; but shall not otherwise use such horn when upon a highway.” 
• Utah Motor traffic code 41-6a-804. states that you must signal continuously for 2 seconds before making a turn.  In some states that could be equivalent to an enormous amount of fines. 
• In Colorado your truck would be required to have Mud Flaps. Flaps must be installed and functioning at all times. Torn or damaged flaps must be replaced at the first reasonable and safe opportunity to exit the road.

As silly as these laws may seem, they along with many others should be known when traveling outside of your average driving area.  Any questions that you may have can be directed to DMV.org or contact the state you will be traveling in to be sure you know of the “not so usual” laws and regulations.  

If you have a question regarding your other travel needs please feel free to contact us at 888-256-5392.

Keep your car clean without washing away your finish

Guess what West Palm Beach? It's spring cleaning time and the experts at West Palm Beach Kia wanted to share with you what to do and not do when getting your car washed. Read on to learn more. 

Let’s face it, you spend a lot of money on purchasing a vehicle so don’t let a car wash ruin your investment.   In this weeks blog we discuss some hot tips that can help keep your car looking it’s best,  and can help prevent dangerous situations.  Let’s start by discussing your privacy, something many people overlook when getting their car detailed or washed. 

You should never leave change out for someone to be tempted. This may also prevent break ins.  Lock up your personal info. A car registration has your address on it. Take precaution when working with strangers. Yelp is a valuable resource if you need to research a car wash. After time the people that work at the car wash may get to know you and trust will be built by how often you take it there. 

Frequency of washing your car depends on a few factors.  If you are in a state that the roads are salted or parking under trees with a lot of birds you may want to wash the car once a week.  However, if the car is parked in a garage, or rarely gets dirty once a month is sufficient. 

Now we’ve talked about how often, let’s talk about what a good car wash looks like. 

A good car wash is one that uses cloth instead of brushes that can leave scratches.Once the clear coat is damaged the entire car needs to be repainted. All new vehicles have a clear coat finish. 

Make sure they are using fresh, clean towels when they wipe down the car after the wash is over.  Towels that are being reused are often like sandpaper due to the dirt that was on the previous vehicle. 

Don’t be fooled by getting talked into the extras.  For the amount of a bottle of Armor All, you will be saving more than if you opt to getting the attendant to spray your tires. 

Don’t forget to get the underbody done.  This will help your car to perform better and can really make a difference in the longevity of the vehicle being free from rust and salt. 

Stay away from harsh chemicals that can cause damage if you’re a DIY kinda person.  A friend of mine used dishwashing liquid on his black car and on a hot summer day. The car was damaged permanently with swirl marks. When he traded his car in he got 20% less value because of the cars finish. 

That’s it for this week, but if you would like to find a reputable car wash in your area feel free to contact us.  We will also appraise your car free of charge if you’re curious about trading it in. Call us at (888) 256-5392

Add Us to Your Circles on Google+

Have you logged into your Google+ Profile lately?  Well, if you have, you’ll realize there were a TON of new aesthetic changes!  Google+ recently released a new way to managing your profile content on Google+.  Now, you have access to a jumbo Google Cover Image at the top of your page and app integration.  We recently upgraded, so feel free to check us out right here:  https://plus.google.com/102925295752956292743/posts

See you on Google+!

How to buy a vehicle like a celebutaunt

When it comes to celebrities and their automobiles one would assume that the only vehicles that your favorite movie star drives, would be a Bentley or Rolls Royce.  It might fascinate you to know that our “celebutantes” like Katy Perry and guys like Robert Downey Jr, and Mark Zuckerberg drive the cool and practical vehicles just like you.  So what are their buying patterns?  What would make them choose vehicles in this category?  Do you think that these individuals lease or pay cash for their cars? Are celebs as concerned with insuring their vehicles as you might be? In this blog, you might discover some points on how and why celebrities make their choices.

One of the choices a celeb makes is to buy or lease their cars.  One reason they might choose leasing over buying is tax deductions.  They have huge incomes and need the write-offs.  So what better way to get a tax deduction than to lease your car?  Besides the idea that they have very busy schedules, and not much time for servicing their cars, they are able to write off a large portion of the vehicle. The other aspect is the warranties on leased vehicles.    With leasing programs vehicles are never out of warranty. This is one less thing for them to be concerned with.   If you haven’t leased a car yet, you might want to find out how to never pay for scheduled service again by leasing your car.  Celebs are very smart on leasing or purchasing their cars, or so it seems.

How is it that they are so smart? Most of these individuals have accountants and financial planners and although money may not seem like an issue and we would guess that then can purchase whatever they want.  However, the fact is their entourage of executives supporting their careers maintains their financial status. They do this by saving them as much money as they can.  We can learn a lot about the auto world by following the famous or their CPA’s.   These braziliant peeps pay cash for used vehicles too.  If you were researching a vehicle for your boss,  “The Biebs” you might learn that a vehicle depreciates in value by 20%.  So your advice to the teen heartthrob would be possibly paying cash. Bieber might give you a raise if you were still trying to save him money. However, advising him on insuring his car is equally important?

When it comes to insuring a car, high achievers have to follow the same rules as well as the rest of us. Just because they have star power doesn’t mean they get away with breaking the law. But what you may not have known is they often have to pay higher insurance rates because of their famous status.  Besides people like Lindsay and her many car accidents, these individuals are often chased by paparazzi making them high risk motorists. On the other hand, these wealthy individuals often pay higher premiums due to auto theft.  Auto theft is more prominent in this demographic.

So not only are these normal individuals, they have the same types of concerns and issues as you do when it comes to purchasing, leasing, and insuring a vehicle.

Here is a list of some celebs and their smart not stuffy auto’s. Perhaps your brand is included?

Mark Zuckerberg can often be seen in his wife’s Acura TSX

Katy Perry drives an Audi A5

Skater Rob Dyrdek just gave away his “Urban Assault Vehicle” Chevy Tahoe

Sarah Jessica Parker drives her children around in a Honda Odyssey.

Jeff Bridges is the Spokesperson for Hyundai

Transformers Josh Duhamel tools around in his GMC Sierra truck.

Angela Lansbury likes to shop in her Kia Soul

Robert Downey Jr. gets serious with the Nissan GT-R

Andy Garci was just on the British show Top Gear for test driving a Suzuki Aerio

Julia Roberts enjoys trips in her Toyota Prius

As flamboyant as these famous people can be, they are also savvy, smart, and practical just like you! 

Watch for our blog next week and don’t forget to like us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.