Archive for the ‘mechanics’ Category

Despite the Cash-for-Clunkers frenzy, overall new-vehicle sales remain way down versus two or three years ago. So it wouldn't be at all a stretch to say that more people today are holding on to their cars longer than they'd intended to.

If the term 'late model' no longer applies to your car and you're going to keep it for another year or two, maybe even longer—after all, your car probably won’t depreciate as much from here on out—it's time to start thinking about a plan of action for when your vehicle needs a significant or costly repair.

Trying a mechanic is a bit like dating. Try a new shop out on routine maintenance, and gauge your...

We've heard a lot about the positives of the Cash-for-Clunkers program in recent days. It gets gas-guzzling vehicles off the road in favor of more fuel-efficient, potentially safer ones, and has brought business back to blighted dealerships and auto malls.

In an immediate sense, it looks good, right?

But many sour sides might be starting to emerge, just as the program—officially known as the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS)—was today given a second wind in the form of a $2 billion extension. We've seen several reports in recent days, including this one from the Reno Gazette-Journal, that the program is hurting the business of both...

According to a story from late last week in the Consumerist, an upstate New York Dodge dealership kept a vehicle for six days for repairs and charged the customer well over $700—only to tell him that his vehicle hadn't been fixed.

After the vehicle—a 1988 Dodge Ramcharger SUV—was towed over a hundred miles home, the customer's local independent mechanic fixed the issue in ten minutes.

The customer has now been refunded his money, the Consumerist reports.

Admittedly, morale might not be high at Dodge dealerships; it's likely many of them have seen cuts of every sort—including in the service department. But this incident serves to underscore...