A new study from CarMD found Mazda is the lest expensive car to repair when a check engine light surfaces on the dashboard. The findings, released on Wednesday, showed the average repair for a Mazda vehicle cost $285.70 for check engine light-related repairs. The company looked at 10 makes and 100...Read More»
A new study from the American Automobile Association (AAA) last week found that vehicles equipped with advanced driver assistance systems such as automatic emergency braking can cost twice as much to repair following a collision than those without the technologies. Even minor accidents that damage...Read More»
It's happened to all of us: you're driving down the street on a beautiful spring day with the windows down, and something unusual catches your ear. A new squeal, a squeak, or maybe a clunk is coming from underneath the hood. Perhaps it's something simple to repair, like an aging belt. Then again...Read More»
Another month, another survey from J.D. Power. The firm's 2017 U.S. Customer Service Index examined how satisfied (or unsatisfied) vehicle owners and lessees were after taking their cars in for service. The brand-by-brand rankings probably won't surprise you, but let's take a look anyway. To gather...Read More»
When you're shopping for a new car, it's easy to fixate on sticker prices. But as we all know, buying a car involves more than just paying for it: if you're financing, there's interest to consider, and of course everyone has to shell out for registration and insurance. Most car-related costs can be...Read More»
How do you feel about your local garage -- the mom and pop place on the corner with the faded, hand-painted sign and the lot full of cars waiting to be fixed? Your answer to that question will color the way you feel about a new survey from Hiscox, an insurance provider for small businesses. The...Read More»
Last spring, we asked an important question: "Do You Really Own Your Car?" According to Auto News, one federal agency has now provided a definitive answer, which will make tinkerers and tuners happy -- if the decision doesn't get upended by federal law, that is. HOW WE GOT HERE For as long as there...Read More»
This morning, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released crash test scores for the new, aluminum-bodied 2015 Ford F-150 pickup. Among the results, there's good news and bad news for fans of America's best-loved vehicle. First, the good news: IIHS says that the F-150's new aluminum body...Read More»
As everyone knows, 2014 was the Year of the Recall. Between fatal ignition switch flaws at General Motors and exploding airbags from Takata, recalls were at the forefront of everyone's mind. It wasn't just the volume of recalls that made 2014 remarkable, though. It was also the fact that some of...Read More»
When it comes to cars, there are plenty of reasons to buy instead of lease. For starters, when we buy, we're making a capital investment. Though that investment will depreciate over time, we'll still get a chunk of our money back. Also, even in the increasingly rent-friendly, ridesharing economy...Read More»
There's good news and bad news in the 2015 CarMD Vehicle Health Index. The good news is, taking your car to the mechanic last year didn't cost you any more than it did the year before. The bad news? It didn't cost you any less, either -- unless you owned a hybrid. ALSO SEE: In 2013, Google Almost...Read More»
Wise people often say, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", and if ever there was a vehicle that wasn't broke, it's the Ford F-150. That pickup has been America's best-selling ride for nearly 40 years. And yet, for 2015, Ford upended conventional wisdom by "fixing" its hugely popular truck, ditching...Read More»
Are you satisfied with the service at your Chrysler, Fiat, Ram, Dodge, or Jeep dealership? Although you might be happy with your late-model vehicle, the chances that you aren’t quite satisfied at the dealership are much higher if your vehicle has one of those five badges—the brands of...Read More»
Mitsubishi has recalled nearly 166,000 vehicles in the U.S.—including the Lancer, Lancer Evolution, Lancer Sportback, Outlander, and Outlander Sport—due to an issue with premature wear and early failure of the drive-belt system. In vehicles with Mitsubishi's '4B1' 2.0-liter...Read More»
Once upon a time, aftermarket add-ons were marketed almost exclusively to motorheads. Apart from stereo upgrades and the occasional set of ill-advised Car Lashes, mainstream drivers didn't spend much time looking at specialty rims or undercarriage lights or insane suspension tweaks. But cars have...Read More»
Having your car repaired after an accident is never fun, but some of the pain can be alleviated by an efficient garage offering speedy service. Believe it or not, such places do exist, and new data from Enterprise shows where to find them. Enterprise's data comes from its Automated Rental...Read More»
Having a car repaired can be pretty unpleasant. (A recent study suggests that half of Americans would rather visit the dentist than take a car to the shop.) But in some places, the situation is easier, or at least cheaper, than others. To identify those places, CarMD pulled data from its nationwide...Read More»
Few people enjoy taking their car to a garage. Fewer still enjoy it when they know they're car needs extensive, expensive repairs. A new survey from AutoMD suggests that women hate it so much, they'd rather go to the dentist. ALSO SEE: What Car Should You Really Drive? The survey was conducted in...Read More»
There's been a lot of talk about recalls lately, thanks in part to General Motors' "Switchgate" fiasco. But Switchgate is an anomaly: most recalls are so modest in size and scope, they can pass by nearly unnoticed. And that's a big problem. A recall is the result of a three-step process. It begins...Read More»
