It's that time of year again.  That's right, it's time for the West Herr Used Car Sales Event and Indoor Car show.  

The deals at this event are not to be missed.  Let Buffalo Bills legend Steve Tasker drive that point home even further:

As Steve said, we'll have over 1400 used cars on hand from most of our brands.  14 of our dealerships are participating.  If and when you come, be prepared to drive out of there with a great deal on a great car.  

Where will we be? Two spots:  The Hamburg Fairgrounds and the Eastern Hills Mall. Two awesome local businesses we've always enjoyed working with. 

To get a little taste of what will be on hand, check out our specials page on WestHerr.com! 

One of our value cars at West Herr Used Cars of AmherstWith our Used Car Sale going on, it's time to talk about value cars!

West Herr knows how to deliver value to you, the consumer.  That's why we've introduced our new value cars program, to bring you reliable automobiles at the right price. 

So what exactly is a value car?  Over the years our customers asked us for less expensive used vehicles.  So we responded.  Value cars start as low as $2995!

Value cars may be a little older, have some extra miles or may have a cosmetic flaw.  But one thing that's guaranteed with value vehicles is that they are reliable.  They are all mechanically sound. 

Every West Herr pre owned vehicle goes through a 98 point inspection.  We'll give you a detailed history of any work done on the car for you to review.  Plus each car comes with a 1 month, 1000 mile warranty. 

We have a rigorous screening process for all of our used cars. When we buy used cars we don't just locally, we scour the country for the best cars at the right price.

Stop in today and see the value!

With our Used Car Sale coming up, take a quick look at one tool that sets us apart from other used car dealers.

When buying a used car, the main thing anyone wants aside from a good price is confidence in the vehicle.  At the West Herr, customers get both.  Since our Used Car sale is going on right now, might as well tell you why we offer such great prices on used cars.  

First, West Herr uses a new third party pricing tool called Real Deal.  Real Deal will search the surrounding Western New York area compare prices on other used cars, even at other dealerships.  Now Customers will know for sure that they're getting the right price. 

For a full explanation of Real Deal, take it from our spokesman Steve Tasker in this video:

"We value transparency highly in what we do," said Jack Anderson, West Herr Used Cars Director.  "We pride ourselves on education our customers with every purchase they make." 

West Herr realizes that in the Internet age, customers are presented with a wide array of options and information.  Customers can now research multiple cars before even coming into the store, as opposed to the old methods of traveling from dealership to dealership. 

That's why aside from the Real Deal pricing, we also offer the West Herr Peace of Mind guarantee.

Each used car comes with a 3 Day/150 Mile Cash Return, 30 Day/1,000 Mile Exchange Policy and a 6 month/6,000 Mile Powertrain Warranty. 

The Peace of Mind guarantee also comes with storybooks, Auto Check vehicle history reports, and maintenance records.  Plus we recently partnered with Carfax to be our main provider of vehicle history reports.  

On top of that, customers can even take the car to their own personal mechanic for a second opinion if they so desire. 

West Herr also offers a "buy it and drive it option."  Many West Herr Used Car customers can leave with their cars the same day they purchase them. 

Stop by the sale this weekend or visit us online here. 

More importantly, manual drivers say its just way more fun.  

=With that in mind, we've put together a list of some new West Herr cars that you can still get with a manual transmission. Thanks to our friends at Popular Mechanics for the assist on this one. 

2013 Subaru BRZ 

Oddly enough, this car will be a joint venture between Subaru and Scion.  This care will be in a similar vain the Mazda Miada, and the now defunct Saturn Sky and Pontiac solstice.  Early reviews say this car drives like a dream.  Popular Mechanics praised it for making the driving experience feel "rewarding and organic." Manual fans ought to be excited for this one. 

2013 Mustang Shelby GT500

In 2007, the Ford brought back the Shelby GT500 and since then it has ONLY been available with manual transmission.  So the manual purists will love this one.  The 2013 GT500 will feature 650 hp to make 200 mph.  Now THAT is some power. Plus the 2013 will also feature a little white ball on top of the shifter, an homage to the muscle cars of the 60s.  Nice.  Keep an eye out for it later this year.  

2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

It's a 4x4 that can handle some heavy terrain. Combine that with manual transmission and you've got yourself a fun ride.  Popular Mechancis said "The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon is one of the most capable 4WD vehicles ever produced, and one of only a handful of 4x4s today to offer a manual.  It does operate smoothly, and brings out the personality of the Wrangler's new 285-hp 3.6-liter V-6."

The Beat The Traffic app is about to change the way you drive.

Beat the Traffic was already a great app, but version 2.0 is a step up, by all accounts.  Beat The Traffic is designed to save you time by giving you real-time traffic updates including accidents, traffic congestion and road work delays.  

The new and improved app will offer interactive maps plus even more deeper street details.  It will estimate travel times and check this out:  it even has live camera views.  Very cool!

To get into specifics:  the app will tell you accident severity.  So if it says "high" you might want to plan a different route.  Plus it will show you how fast traffic is moving in certain areas.  

Additional tools, such as personalized traffic reports and saved routes, will be available for a fee.  The first version is now available on Blackberry, Android and iOS.  Version 2.0 will launch on iOS first 

Though Buffalo isn't insane on traffic by any means, this app will still be helpful.  Any other app suggestions? Let us know!  

We all have different values in a car:  some of us want speed, room, or safety.  Some people value a nice quiet ride.  In certain situations, don't we all value that a little?  

If you're looking for a quiet cabin, then the new Ford Escape could be for you.  Multiple outlets have described it as "exceptionally quiet."  

How are they doing it?  Through a new mirror tool they use in testing..  The elliptical shaped mirror looks like a satellite dish with a microphone, used to improve acoustics and decrease wind noise.  High tech stuff.  

"The mirror identifies 'hot spots' where noise penetrates the interior of the vehicle, allowing drivers to listen to music or conversation inside the car instead of external noises," the company said in a press release.

With the use of this technology, the Escape now sports a new shape designed to be optimally quite. The tuning work on the A-pillar, for example, helps ensure better noise performance in crosswind situations.

See?  As per usual, Ford thought of everything.  If you'd like to check out the Ford Escape, visit West Herr Ford in Hamburg or Amherst!  

We've heard of tv screens in cars and of course infotainment, but GM is looking to take that concept to the next level: they are turning windows into interactive displays.  

Toyota first showed a demo video of this concept about 6 months ago, but it looks like GM's Research and Development department are entering the arena as well.  

The basic concept is that your windows would display interactive animations, images, etc.  You'd swipe and control it with your finger.  Basically, it's a sci-fi movie in the ilk of Tom Cruise's Minority Report come to life.  

Check out a video demo of it:

"Advanced windows that are capable of responding to vehicle speed and location could augment real-world views with interactive enhancements to provide entertainment and educational value," Tom Seder, GM R&D lab group manager for human-machine interface said.

So far the team has developed 4 apps that would "bcapable of stimulating awareness, nurturing curiosity, and encouraging a stronger connection with the world outside the vehicle," GM said.

Very cool.  Probably very far off, but we can't wait to see it if/when it does come to be.  In the mean time, check our own GM stores in East Aurora, Orchard Park and Hamburg! 

Ford Sync knows where you want to go and the latest upgrade, named Sync Destinations, will ensure you arrive at your favorite places safe and sound.  

We've written about the awesomeness of the Ford Sync app in the past, Sync Destinations takes the convenience to a whole new level.  Sync Destinations will push navigation directions from an Android device, iPhone or iPad to any 2010 or 2011 Ford that supports Sync's TDI (Traffic, Directions and Information) services.  So basically you get directions on your phone, your Ford will read them off to you.

That's not all. What sets the app apart from other apps is that it account for the departure and arrival times, both current and historical traffic patterns, and searches for businesses or contacts.  

It gets better.  The app can support as many as 25 saved common access points.  So basically if you go somewhere frequently, the app will tell you how the traffic is before you go.  So if you're traveling near a sports arena and there's an event which will  impact parking and traffic, Sync will let you know about it. Sync Destinations helps you plan ahead for a better trip. 

Plus the app uses a device's built-in GPS for an added safety measure: if the device and thus the car are moving faster than 5MPH, the app will refuse to provide its features to bring attention back to the road.

Sync Destinations is free on all platforms and should be available today for Android and iOS users, although drivers need to also have registered their cars for TDI. A BlackBerry version is coming but is so far only described as coming soon.

Have you ever dropped your iPhone?  It's ok to admit it, I absolutely have.  Multiple times, in fact.  It definitely has a few scratches on it that I've learned to live with.  

However, a new type of paint developed by Nissan could have (and still might) change that.  

Scratch Shield paint, developed by Nissan, can repair small scratches on a surface within a few hours.  It is also far more scratch resistant than normal paint and provides a better grip.  

Luckily for clumsy iPhone owners like myself, Nissan is trying out Scratch Shield paint on iPhone cases. Cnet reported that it's currently in Beta testing, but if that goes well then the case will be available to the public later this year.  

The paint is currently used on the Nissan Murano, 370Z and X-Trail.  If this takes off, it would certainly be a gamechanger for iPhone, and eventually all smartphone, owners.

For new and used Nissan vehicles, visit West Herr Nissan in Orchard Park!