Open the door of certain 1980s or early 1990s cars and a small buckle begins travelling along the roofline. Sit down, close the door and the shoulder belt glides toward the B-pillar, hopefully passi
The car drifts gently toward the shoulder, and suspicion immediately falls on the alignment. That is understandable. A car should travel where it is pointed, and anything that seems to tug at the s
A tire can look almost offensively healthy for its age. The tread grooves are deep. There are no nails in sight. The sidewalls still turn glossy after a wash, and the car has covered so few miles th
There's real money to be saved by doing your own car maintenance. Oil changes, air filters, wiper blades, bulbs — these are legitimately easy, and the savings are real. A cabin air filter th
There's a specific kind of frustration that comes from walking out to your car in the morning and finding a tire that's low — again. Not flat, just soft. And soft again two days later af
Most drivers assume they would know if something serious was wrong with their car. That seems fair. If a vehicle has a safety problem, surely someone would call, email, text, send a giant red enve
There are few sounds more discouraging than a car almost starting. The key turns. The dash lights flicker like they are thinking about it. The engine gives one slow, tired grind, then another
The average check engine light repair cost in the US just hit a record $554. That is up 33 percent in a single year, and it is the kind of number that should make every car owner pay attention. The
If your car is old enough to have a few parking-lot scars and one mystery rattle you’ve decided to ignore, go look at the headlights. There’s a good chance they’re not clear a
Car repossession numbers haven't looked this bad since the early '90s. Last year, 1.73 million vehicles were taken back by lenders across the United States, the highest total since 2009. And a