Archive for the ‘Maintenance’ Category

Although this summer's Cash for Clunkers (CARS) program provided the right kind of push for some owners to replace their guzzling jalopies with new cars, it's probably not so surprising that new-vehicle buyers plan to hold on to their vehicles longer than ever before. So-called "rapid replacers" have backed off on plans to get what's hot almost every year, while a growing number of buyers are keeping vehicles for six years or more. Other families hobble along with second or third vehicles that have well over 100,000 miles.

According to AutoPacific's 2009 New Vehicle Satisfaction survey, conducted this spring, about 59 percent of recent...

TCC's Frugal Shopper ALERT: If you drive a small, aging econocar—or even a mid-size sedan—and have been thinking about new tires, get them now, because several weeks from now you might be paying $20 or $30 more for a set.

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Last month the federal government imposed a controversial new 35-percent tire tariff on passenger car and light-truck tires imported from China. The tire industry—including a number of retailers—had been opposing the tariff and predicted that prices will rise as a result-at an inopportune time, with affordable tires most affected at a time when owners can't afford the extra cost.

The tariff was heavily influenced by...

Do you have an old tin of car wax, or a bottle of car-wash concentrate that’s more than a few years old? Don’t use it; they likely contain so-called volatile organic compounds (VOC), which are dangerous for health and the environment. They've been tightly regulated by California and have been reduced steadily over the years.

Among the other products to watch out for are brake-dust-removing wheel cleaners, which have changed significantly in formulation in recent years to cut the presence of VOCs.

According to Dmitri Stanich of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the regulations have greatly reduced VOCs, along with some other...