4 Ways to Increase Your Chances of Keeping Your New Year’s Resolutions

New Year’s resolutions are a long-standing tradition, but most people have discovered that it’s much easier to promise something than to make a permanent habit change. According to a 2013 Forbes article, only 8% of people keep their New Year’s resolutions. Gyms and diet clubs see a spike in membership sales every January. Restaurants sell more salads in January.

It’s common to experience a moment of inspiration and pledge to turn over a new leaf in the new year, but sustained motivation is much more difficult to achieve. When you make a New Year’s Resolution, you will need a strategy to fulfill on it. Motivation requires energy and effort to sustain. Different goals require different approaches, but here are three basic practices that can be adapted to any area of life.

Look “upstream” of your difficult choices.

Many people fail to accomplish their goals because they depend on their willpower to be strong at the moment when it will predictably be at its weakest. By anticipating your moments of weakness, you can make a better decision that will shield you from temptation at the moment of truth. For example, if you have made a pledge not to overindulge on junk food, it’s much easier not to buy junk food when you are at the grocery store than to buy it and try to restrain yourself from eating it. On the other hand, if you are in sales and have pledged to make more sales calls, you might make this easier by getting in the habit of planning out your sales calls for the next day each evening. For any habit you want to change, look at the decisions leading up to it and see how you can change those decisions for the better.

Take steps rather than big leaps.

Most people find that radical changes to daily routines are the hardest to sustain for the long haul. If you don’t exercise at all, resolving to work out for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week may be a recipe for discouragement. Instead, consider taking one small step forward at a time. For example, you might choose one simple exercise that you can do in one minute and do it first thing every morning. Then, when this habit has become firmly ingrained, add another simple habit.

Change your environment.

Making simple changes to your environment is a powerful way to remind yourself of your own commitment to your new way of life. It doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated; even rearranging the furniture in your office will force you to walk a different path to your chair. Even this simple behavior change will create a subtle change in your thinking.

Track your habits and results.

Progress toward any goal is often slow and hard to see. When we don’t measure what we do, it’s easy to develop the perception that we aren’t making any progress. Keeping track of your activity is a good way to stay encouraged and hold yourself accountable. Simple is the key word here. You might try, for example, marking a check-box on your wall calendar for every day that you kept your promise to yourself. When you start to see measurable progress, this is a good natural motivator to stay on course.

Rome wasn’t built in a day—success requires consistent exertion of effort one day at a time. If you make New Year’s resolutions this year, give some thought to the factors that could derail your resolution and develop a strategy for success.

Happy New Year from all of us at Folger Subaru of Charlotte!






5701 E. Independence Blvd Charlotte, NC 28212
Sales: (888) 703-8351
Service:(866) 306-3293
Fax: (704) 535-8204

Why “Gap” Insurance Is Important

Gap insurance is ideal for new cars, leases and recent-model pre-owned cars. Some car buyers assume that “full coverage” on an insurance policy means an ironclad guarantee that if their car is totaled or stolen, it will be replaced at no cost (other than the policy deductible which is typically $500). Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

Cars are a type of asset that depreciates in value over time. Depreciation is especially sharp during the first few years of a car’s life. When you drive a new or late-model pre-owned car off the lot, the value of your car decreases more rapidly than the balance of your loan. In other words, your debt will likely exceed the value of the car for the first 1-2 years. This condition is referred to as being “upside down.” If you get into a bad accident and your insurance company declares your car a total loss, you will be responsible for paying the difference between the car’s book value and the balance of the loan—which can add up to a hefty amount of money.

Let’s look at a couple of scenarios. Suppose you bought a brand new car for $22,000. You were able to buy the car with $1,000 down and 4% financing with a 72-month loan period. Your payment is $345/month. Six months later, the car is totaled in an accident. Your insurance company pays you $18,300 (based on the current book value of the car) less your $500 deductible ($17,800). Meanwhile, you still owe $19,340 on the loan. The balance of $1,540 comes out of your pocket.

There are a number of factors that can influence the size of the gap between a vehicle’s book value and the amount owed at the time of a total loss. The higher the sticker price of the car, the greater the gap will be during the upside-down period. If you bought the car with zero money down, you will start with a hefty gap. If you financed the purchase with an extended loan period (as in the example above), the loan will amortize slowly—meaning that the “gap” will shrink slowly. Finally, if you were upside-down on your old car when you traded it in (adding the negative equity onto your new car loan), this will also exacerbate the gap in the event of a total loss.

If you are leasing your vehicle, gap coverage is even more critical. One of the primary benefits of leasing a car instead of buying is the fact that you get to drive a higher-end vehicle for a similar monthly payment. That means that the depreciation on the vehicle will add up to a higher dollar figure and a higher “gap” in the event of a total loss. For this reason, many leases require gap insurance and include the cost in the lease payment, but don’t assume that. Make sure to read your lease terms and understand your gap coverage.

Most dealers will explain gap coverage to you, but make sure to ask if your loan includes gap coverage. Unless you are paying at least 20% down on your vehicle, you will most likely need gap insurance.

If you’re in the market for a new vehicle, stop in this week and test-drive one of our Subarus!


5701 E. Independence Blvd Charlotte, NC 28212
Sales: (888) 703-8351
Service:(866) 306-3293
Fax: (704) 535-8204

Common Winter Car Problems and How to Avoid Them

While North Carolina is less prone to severe winter storms, cold temperatures can still affect your car. Those of us who have lived in the Southeast region during past winters know that the temperature can drop like a stone without warning! Here are a few things to look out for this winter.

Bad Battery

For a number of different reasons, dead car batteries tend to be a bigger issue during the cold winter months than at other times of the year. If you haven’t had your battery tested in awhile, now is an important time to do it. Also, take a look at your battery cables and make sure that they are not corroded or rusted. For older vehicles, the connectors on your battery may need to be replaced to ensure a good connection. Double check to make sure that you have jumper cables in your trunk—and that they are in good condition. Replace old or rusted jumper cables. Should you find that your car will not start, resist the temptation to crank the starter over and over. This will just drain the battery and make matters worse.

Frozen Emergency Brake

As a rule, avoid using your emergency brake in the winter unless you absolutely have to. There’s really no reason to use the emergency brake most of the time anyway unless you are parked on a hill. When the temperature drops below freezing, your parking brake can become stuck in the engaged position. If you drive a car with a manual transmission, you can park the car in first gear; for an automatic, put it in park. During the cold months, avoid parking on inclines even if it means walking further.

Obscured Windshield Visibility

Windshield road dirt is a serious hazard during the winter, particularly if you do a lot of highway driving. On the first day of driving in inclement winter weather, you may suddenly begin to depend on the washer and wipers just to be able to see out of your windshield. Make sure that you have plenty of windshield washer fluid (including a bottle in your trunk)—and make sure that your windshield washer actually works. It’s not uncommon to go most of the year without using the washer (or using it infrequently). Be sure to replace windshield wipers if they are worn. On nights where the temperature falls below freezing, don’t scrape or pry wipers away from the windshield if they have frozen to the glass. Doing so could damage the wipers and prevent them from working correctly when your windshield becomes clouded.

Windshield Cracks

Cracks in the windshield are most likely to form during the winter. This is due to the constant temperature fluctuation and the stress it places on the windshield. The combination of cold air on the outside of the car and hot air from the defroster causes tiny micro-cracks to expand. If you have a “star” or a tiny crack in your windshield, you may be able to prevent it from growing into a crack. See a windshield repair specialist to find out what can be done.

Frozen Door Locks

On especially cold nights, the door locks can freeze up. Spraying a tiny bit of WD-40 lubricant into the locks ahead of time can help to prevent them from freezing. If you do find your door locks frozen, do NOT use a lighter to heat your key. Most recent-model cars have electronic chips inside the key fob that can be damaged. (You could end up with a key that gets you into your car but fails to start the ignition.) Also, don’t pour hot water onto the lock (unless you’re planning to park your car in a warm garage the next night). This may temporarily resolve the situation, but will only make matters worse when the hot water cools down and freezes. Thawing out the lock with a hair-dryer is a better option (if you happen to have access to a hair dryer and an extension cord).   Be sure to stay safe this winter by taking these important precautions. If you’re considering upgrading to a newer vehicle before the winter sets in, give us a call or stop by!



5701 E. Independence Blvd Charlotte, NC 28212
Sales: (888) 703-8351
Service:(866) 306-3293
Fax: (704) 535-8204

The Subaru 2014 Share the Love Event

If you drive home a new Subaru between now and January, you automatically become a part of our Share the Love event—now in its seventh year. Subaru supports a number of different charities as part of this annual event. $250 from the sale of your vehicle will go to support one of our partner charities—and you get to pick which one.

Here are a few of the things that the Share the Love event has made possible:

• Subaru has donated $9 million to the ASPCA, which helped to put 1,200 pets in new homes.
• The Make-A-Wish Foundation received more than $4.5 million, helping to grant over 600 wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions.
• Meals on Wheels was able to deliver over one million meals to seniors, thanks to contributions from the program.
• Subaru has helped to provide the funding for 71 national parks, in partnership with the National Park Foundation.

Subaru dealerships around the country work with local charities as part of the Share the Love event. In 2012, Folger Subaru of Charlotte partnered with Make-A-Wish® Central & Western North Carolina. We donated $100 from the purchase of each new Subaru at our dealership to the local foundation. In addition, we sold Christmas tree ornaments and collected monetary donations to raise additional funds for the charity.

2014: The Humane Society of Charlotte

For this year’s Hometown Charity, we have selected The Humane Society of Charlotte. The Humane Society helps to put pets into loving homes and also provides free and low-cost veterinary clinic services, including spaying/neutering and microchipping. At any given time, they house 120 to 150 animals at their facility. The Charlotte Humane Society does not receive any federal or state grants; they rely solely on private donations and the generous support of over 500 volunteers.

Here are just a few things that the Humane Society of Charlotte accomplished recently:

• They placed 2,715 dogs and cats into permanent homes in 2013.
• They performed 12,009 spay/neuter surgeries at two clinics in 2013. (Since the clinic opened in 1982, they have altered over 250,000 animals and prevented billions of unwanted births.)
• Approximately 1,517 animals were fed through the HSC pet food bank, where they distributed over 16,000 pounds of food to those in need.

When you buy a new Subaru from Folger Subaru of Charlotte, Folger Subaru and Subaru of America will donate $250 of the proceeds to the charity(ies) of your choice. Click here to select whom you would like to support. If you select more than one, the $250 from your vehicle will be evenly distributed between the different charities.

As always, all new vehicles purchased at Folger Subaru of Charlotte come with the Ward Williams Promise: a lifetime warranty including towing. Purchase a new Subaru between now and January 2, and your purchase will benefit a good cause.

5701 E. Independence Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28212

• Sales: (888) 703-8351
• Service: (866) 306-3293
• Parts: (888) 703-0991
• Body Shop: (704) 535-8204

Proudly Serving The Greater Charlotte, NC Metro Area!