Changing a car battery used to be one of the cleaner bargains in home mechanics. Remove two terminals, undo the clamp, lift out the old battery and fit the new one. The clock might need resetting a
The old battery has been replaced, the engine starts with renewed enthusiasm and the dashboard clock has been corrected. Then the driver’s window develops amnesia. It still moves when the swi
The brake pedal is down. The engine may even be running. Yet the gear lever remains planted in Park with the determination of a fence post. Pulling harder rarely improves the situation. It can, how
A turn signal normally keeps a relaxed, predictable beat. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Then, without warning, it sounds as though someone has doubled the tempo. The arrow on the dashboard flashes furiously
The car comes out of the wash looking excellent, apart from one headlight. Behind the clear lens is a patch of mist, as though someone breathed on the inside of it. The other lamp may be perfectly
There was a time when checking automatic transmission fluid involved a dipstick, a rag, and five minutes under the hood. Now the dipstick has vanished. The filler may be buried beneath the car, the fl
New luxury SUVs have a real talent for making wealthy people feel good and second owners feel smarter. That is especially true when depreciation gets violent. Because there are cars that los
A used hybrid can be a really smart buy. That is the good news. The other news is that people sometimes shop for one the same way they shop for any regular used car, and that is where thin
Used cars are expensive enough now that people are starting to look in places they used to ignore completely. That is how government surplus auctions end up back in the conversation. On pap
BMW and reliability have had a weird relationship for a long time. There was a stretch where people talked about older BMWs like they were carved out of granite. The straight-sixes had a reputa