After a car accident, the last thing most of us want to think about is getting back in our cars and out onto the road – at least not when the cars are damaged. But if you need to get to work or school every day and public transportation just is not an option, than getting your car returned to you quickly is extremely important. Fortunately, there are panel beaters in Auckland that are available to do exactly that.

The amount of time your car may take to be repaired depends on the damage, as well as the make of your car. If you are worried about the cost of repairing your car, panel beaters can help you figure out whether their repairs are covered by your insurance policy. They can also give you a free estimate before starting any work, so you can decide exactly how much you want done. Panel beaters Auckland based may have to order parts for your car, and if the damage is particularly bad they will want to take the time to make sure your car is in top shape before returning it to you. They use a variety of tools to put your car back together, and they are trained professionals, so the risk of getting anything but the best is low – it does take some time, though. However, most panel beaters typically take about a week to get your car back to its factory setting – as good as new.

If you are in an car accident, you need someone you can trust to get you (and your car) through the experience. Luckily, panel beaters in Auckland are there to take care of each and every one of your auto-related needs. Be sure to browse your local Yellow Pages or use your preferred search engine to find the panel beater that is right for you.

At Colin Waite we think Hybrid vehicles are great and we are experts at sorting out any collision repairs you may need on your Hybrid. Yep, there are some specialist thing you need to consider if you are unfortunate enough to have a collision in your Hybrid car, so make sure you contact us.

If you are thinking of buying a Hybrid, remember you are saving money while saving our environment. Sound appealing? Here are just some of the reasons that more and more drivers today are looking to swap their gas-guzzler for a Hybrid Vehicle:

1. Because a Hybrid vehicle is designed to combine the use of electrical power with a gas-powered engine, the resulting improvement to fuel economy can be astounding.
2. In contrast to traditional gas-engines, hybrid motors do not need transmissions to get their engine working at full capacity, even in the lower gears. A hybrid car will function on a consistent basis at any motor speed thus reducing running costs.
3.  The electric motor is designed to recharge itself using kinetic energy that is generated during the braking process. Additionally, when the vehicle comes to a stop at a traffic light, it’s engine will automatically shut itself off and then restart when the vehicle is put into gear. A feature that both saves on fuel consumption, and reduces environmental impact.2.
4. Intelligent design features aid fuel efficiency. These features include the shape of a hybrid vehicle which is aerodynamically architectures to minimise drag and tyres that are made with a special rubber to minimise friction.
5.  Hybrid cars are built using technologically advanced lightweight materials further reducing running costs.
6. Driver experience is enhanced by the easy maneuverability around town (as a result of the lightweight material mentioned above) and the immediately noticeable reduction in noise pollution when driving a Hybrid.
7.  In contrast to gasoline or diesel-powered cars which release tremendous amounts of chemical fumes and other harmful byproducts into the atmosphere, hybrid vehicles are significantly gentler on humans, and on the environment. Fewer and cleaner emissions can only be viewed as a dramatic break-through in “green-friendly” technology.
8. Driving hybrid vehicles and thus reducing smoke emissions is also an invaluable contribution to addressing Global warming, one of society’s most pressing environmental issues.

At a time where soaring gas prices are the expected norm, slashing expenditure on your weekly fuel-bill is a welcomed relief. The fact that you can do so while playing your part in protecting the environment has many conscientious drivers looking seriously at making the switch to a Hybrid Car.

Buying an imported vehicle comes with certain pros cons. Imported vehicles are vehicles that are not manufactured or assembled in NZ nor are they assembled for the NZ market. These vehicles will often modifications or alterations to the body and sometimes parts. However a lot of these cars look really great and are models with extras we haven’t seen in NZ. If we couldn’t buy imported BMW’s for instance it’s unlikely you would see so many of them on the roads. If you are in the market for an import there are a few things you should take into account.

The Pros of imported vehicles.

• Imported Cars often look great on the inside and outside: Imported cars are very popular, are often modified before they come into NZ, have hidden extras and are often quite souped up models. They look fast and very often are really fast too. This is why they are popular to buy here.
• Imported vehicles can be modified inside and out: With body kits available online and instruction manuals for these vehicles, as long as you are not breaking the law, it is very easy to modify an imported car every which way. You can modify the engines and the interior. This also makes imported vehicles popular.
• Imported Vehicles are often faster than NZ spec’d cars: Because of all these enhancements, especially in the engine, imported vehicles are often faster than their NZ new equivalents.

Some of the cons of buying an import car are:

• Due to miscellaneous fees imported vehicles can be costlier than you expect: Apart from modifications there are often extra taxes to pay on imported vehicles, so make sure you cover everything off with the dealer and make sure there are no hidden costs to get the car on the road.
• There are pitfalls buying privately: With so many imports out there you are safer to buy one of these vehicles from a reputable dealer rather than privately. Laws in NZ require dealers to offer warranties and force them to make sure the car is roadworthy and compliant to NZ vehicle laws. The only extra cost you should have is to register the vehicle if it hasn’t been registered in NZ before.

Our advice

Buy from a reputable dealer if you can. Make sure you get the vehicle checked over first by professionals, the AA or equivalent. It may cost $150 or so but in the long run there are so many expensive things that can go wrong with cars that are not immediately obvious to you. A mechanic will easily find things wrong with the cooling system for instance or the on board computer. Definitely get a warranty on any used vehicle you buy and barter with the dealer to add it or part of it to the price. A full 3 year warranty can be a real life saver if the transmission fails.

It is safe to buy imported vehicles as long as you do your homework first. Happy motoring!

Water-based paints use acrylic resins just like urethane based paint. The difference is that the resins are carried to the surface of the car, the substrate, using water – Urethane auto paint uses toxic solvents to carry the resins or the paint to the substrate. These solvents are smelly and toxic to the guys doing the painting as well as the environment. Water based paints have the same abilities and durablility as solvent based paints and the same colour range as well.

Water-Based Paints Are Non-Toxic

Water based paints only produce water vapour as they dry unlike their urethane based counterparts which produce dangerous and volatile organic chemical compounds. Urethane and water based paint are the same in many respects, but the different carrying agents make the difference and also that they react differently in similar conditions.

Water-Based Paints Are Easier to Use

Urethane paints have to be mixed under certain conditions and have hardeners and reducers added to them. Water-based paints are far simpler and are ready to use straight out of the jar! There is no mixing involved and the paint can be put straight into the spray gun and applied to the vehicle.

Quick and Convenient

Urethane paint has many different chemical ingredients and as they mix together they use chemical reactions to bind and meld to the surface substrate. Water-based paint however bind mechanically, there are no chemical reactions and so the whole process is much faster. As well as not having to mix the paint, water based paint is convenient and fast. Often several coats of paint are necessary to apply to the surface of a vehicle. There is a strict timetable when applying urethane paint to a vehicle in between layers because solvent can often become trapped in surface layers, causing what is known as ‘solvent pop.’ This is not an issue when your using water based.

Waterbase paint is O.E.M

For the last decade manufacturers have factory finished their vehicles in waterbase paint, something the public are generally unaware of. Hence when painting a vehicle after collision repairs it makes sense to use waterbase as it best meets O.E.M finish.