Following are important vehicle characteristics you should be familiar with when buying and selling your vehicle:

Body Style
Describes the configuration of a vehicle. For example, passenger vehicles are available as coupes, sedans and convertibles. ³Coupe² implies a two-door hard-top car. Technically, a sedan is a hard-top vehicle with two or four doors and seating for four to six occupants, but the word¹s meaning is so widely misunderstood that ³sedan² often appears in for-sale listings representing a four-door vehicle.

Class
This refers to the type and/or size of a vehicle.

Cylinders
Engines are usually described by the number of cylinders and their configuration. Most engines come in either a V or inline configuration. The former has two banks of cylinders arranged in a V-shaped engine block. A six-cylinder engine with this configuration is commonly referred to as a V-6. An inline engine is one with all of the cylinders in a single row.

Doors
Most vehicles come with either two or four doors. However, a two-door vehicle with a hatchback (or liftback) rather than a trunk may be called a three-door, and a four-door hatchback a five-door.

Drive System
Vehicles are equipped with either front-wheel, rear-wheel or some type of four-wheel drive. Generally, all-wheel drive implies a type of four-wheel drive that automatically routes power to the front and rear axles as needed with no involvement from the driver. It¹s most common in passenger cars. Four-wheel drive (4WD), a more heavy-duty system used in pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, typically includes a low gear for off-roading and pulling power. Vehicles can have both four- and two-wheel drive, or permanently engaged 4WD.

Exterior Color/Interior Color
Most ads list a vehicle¹s exterior color first, followed by the interior color. Although the manufacturer may have designated your vehicle¹s color scheme as Moss/Ecru, you should use recognizable hue descriptions, such as Green/Tan.

Mileage
Most used-car ads list odometer readings to the nearest thousand miles. Keep in mind that vehicles with above-average mileage will be worth less than a similar vehicle with fewer miles. The average annual miles of travel for passenger cars and light trucks is essentially the same ‹ approximately 6,000 miles. Although the annual mileage differs little between vehicle classes, there is a sharp decline in annual mileage with vehicle age. While first-year travel is estimated at 14,000 miles, by the time a vehicle is 5 years old, annual travel drops to less than half that (or about 6,500 miles), according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report. Because the average vehicle age is 7 years old, annual travel figures are closer to the 6,000 figure.

Other Comments
What else makes your car worth more than a similar make and model? Have you performed oil changes at 3,000-mile intervals and always parked your vehicle in a garage? The more information you can provide a potential buyer, the easier the sell.

Price
Before determining your vehicle¹s selling price, it¹s best to find out what an equivalent make and model is selling for in your area. Do a search of used-car classifieds on www.OmegaMotors.com or any other major automotive site or printed publication to see what dealers and private sellers are asking. Keep in mind that a dealer, which may offer value-added items such as a certification program and/or limited warranty, will be able to charge more for an identical vehicle than you would.

Transmission
The mechanism that uses gears to link the power produced by the engine to the drive wheels over a broad range of speed. Most vehicles are available with either automatic transmission (AT) or manual transmission (4Spead or 5 Spead). Manuals require the driver to depress a clutch and select a proper gear via a shifter. AT-equipped vehicles do this automatically.

Vehicle Trim
The designation, or trim level, assigned to a vehicle by its manufacturer to distinguish base models from those with upgraded equipment packages.

VIN
Established in 1954, American automobile manufacturers use a vehicle identification number, or VIN, to describe and identify motor vehicles. Beginning with the 1981 model year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration required that all over-the-road-vehicles sold must contain a 17-character VIN. This standard established a fixed VIN format. Found on the driver¹s side of the dashboard where it meets the windshield, the VIN encodes the vehicle¹s year, make, model, body and engine style and unique serial number.