ABC News wrote a nice article on the do’s and don’ts of buying a used car. While the advice is sound, it does appear the website favors major brands over smaller dealerships.

What are some of the things you look out for when shopping for used cars?

EasyAutoSales.com now allows buyers, private sellers and dealers to upload avatars in their account. This feature while small – is the first of many improvements to our service that will help add a community feel to the website and help open up the communication for the buy/sell process for both parties.

Real estate agents have long been using their their faces in various marketing materials and websites for local marketing and we feel car sellers can also benefit from the same type of exposure. Assuming you have a trustworthy face, this feature should help you sell cars in the new, web 2.0 market.

Yes, we’ll admit it – we are a big sucker for photos here at EasyAutoSales.com. Head shots of users and unlimited photos for cars are definitely great features to help you sell cars.

Despite the fact that gas prices are through the roof, the value of SUVs is dropping fast, and Detroit may be experiencing more job cuts in the near future, there are reasons to feel good about the car buying industry. Here are 5 reasons to look beyond the climbing gas prices:

1. Hybrids, Electric Batteries, and Hydrogen Fuel Cells – The progress being made with alternative powered cars is significant. They may not be making an impact tomorrow, but they will come sooner than later.
2. Smarter Rides – From fuel displacement systems to collision avoidance software, the technology we are wielding these days is astounding, and making the roads safer every day.
3. Coolness Factor – New cars these days are looking damn good. Not to mention the nifty features that continue to make the driving experience more enjoyable.
4. Automakers Responding Quickly to the Market – If the SUV market had tanked 10 years ago, Detroit’s car makers would have been extremely slow to react. Today, Ford has already said it will cut production and avoid building SUVs that the dealers will not be able to sell.
5. The final reason to feel good about the car buying industry, is without a doubt a self plug, but I think a valid one. EasyAutoSales.com is embracing the internet’s social presence in a way that other car classifieds sites are not. These days, with Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, FriendFeed, and many many more, the web of connection cast by an individual across the web is nothing short of remarkable. Imagine if you could use that massive social network to help you buy and sell cars. EasyAutoSales.com is integrating itself into this web 2.0 phenomenon , and the car buying industry will be better for it.

What makes you feel good about the car buying industry (or bad for the matter if you think this is all a crock of ….)?

In our effort to make our results more relevant, EasyAutoSales.com has just implemented Carfax reports into our search results. This means you can now get thousands of free Carfax reports online for any car that the dealer has ordered a report for – just like if you were at the dealership!

In addition to just showing free reports for many of the used cars listed on EasyAutoSales.com, you can also filter your search by Carfax 1-owner vehicles and vehicles with free reports.

Now you can save time and shop with confidence at EasyAutoSales.com, the free car classifieds online service for car dealers, private owners, and car buyers.

We have created a profile over at GetSatisfaction where we will offer on demand help for any portion of our services found on EasyAutoSales.com. Why did we choose Get Satisfaction over creating an in house solution? Well, we feel the process of customer support should be opened up similar to the process of shopping for used cars. It makes the company (and/or dealerships) more accountable.