Auto Dealers

Owning An Electric Vehicle Could Get You A Sweet Deal On Car Insurance
Drivers of electric vehicles might have to hand over a bigger wad of dough to buy their cars, but it could be worth it, if they get a good deal on insurance due to their status as EV owners. It could partly be due to the fact that often, EV drivers are more careful and tend to get in less accidents. More »

Average Price For New Cars Hits High Of $30,000
It's not just the used car market that's hopping right now — new cars are selling for the record average price of $30,748. That's 6.9% higher than a year ago, because consumers are feeling fancier these days and choosing expensive options for their new vehicles. More »

Brace Yourselves: Gas Prices Are Going To Climb Even Higher This Summer
So maybe you thought the gas prices had finally stopped ticking upward, but if you were entertaining that line of wishful thinking, well, you're likely to be disappointed. The Energy Department is predicting that gas prices will rise about 6% this summer, up to 24 cents more a gallon during the peak driving season. More »

Because It's Such A Great Time To Sell A Used Car, Don't Try To Buy One Now
There's a dearth of good used cars out there, so if you've got a particularly fine example you've been looking to unload, now is a good time to sell it, say experts. On that note, if you're trying to find a cheap previously-owned vehicle, prices are probably not going to be in your favor. More »

Study Says Hybrid Owners Probably Won't Be Back For Another Car
Hybrid cars have earned some admirers, but it turns out once customers buy an electric-gas model, they're unlikely to come back for another one when it's time to purchase a new car, according to a new study. More »

Flying Car Will Debut At New York Auto Show Piloted By Marty McFly
Fire up the flux capacitor and tell Doc you'll be back in time for dinner — a so-called flying car is scheduled to be debuted at the New York Auto Show this week. And while it won't travel through time and Marty McFly won't actually be driving it (George Jetson will be! Kidding, again), we're still pretty excited. More »

Fisker To Replace Karma Battery That Quit During Consumer Reports Testing
Consumer Reports couldn't even get their $108,000 Fisker Karma test car through its first round of tests before its battery went kaput. And now, Fisker says they'll be replacing said defective parts in the luxury electronic vehicles. More »

Consumer Reports Spends $107K On Fisker Karma; It Breaks Down In Parking Lot
As many of you probably already know, our kin at Consumer Reports buy everything they test at retail. Which means that they aren't testing a product that has been optimized or checked out by the manufacturer in advance. It also means that every once in a while, a $107,000 car breaks down in the parking lot. More »

Annual Consumer Reports Auto Issue Top Picks: Toyota Cleans Up
Our brilliant benefactors at Consumer Reports have released their annual auto issue, and if Toyota was allowed to brag about it, they'd be tooting their horns over the fact that they took five of the top spots out of 10 categories. The April issue is jam-packed with car ratings for the discerning consumer, but companies aren't allowed to use those scores for commercial use. Sorry! More »

Owning A Smaller, Cheaper Car Doesn't Necessarily Mean You'll Pay Less For Insurance
Thinking you've scored a great deal by buying a smaller, cheaper car might not be entirely correct, as one report indicates owners of such vehicles might end up paying more in insurance than some of their fellow drivers. More »

Car Seat Sensors Scan Your Butt To Protect Vehicle From Theft
Some backsides are already alarming, but if new anti-theft technology takes off, the wrong rear really could set off alarms. Researchers in Japan have come up with a car seat that scans a driver's posterior to verify identity before a car starts. More »

The Cars Everyone Loved To Hate On In 2011
In 2011, there were plenty of cars with a lot of hype behind them, only to end up doing poorly with consumers. Failing to meet high expectations could almost be worse than just being as terrible as everyone thought you would be. So let's toast a few of the flops of the 2011 American car market, shall we? More »

Car Dealerships Want To Get Rid Of Certain Models During Holiday Sales
During holiday sales weekends, car dealerships want to lure you in with big deals on delightful new cars. But during these weekends, and in the weeks after, there are really only a few dealers want you to drive off the lot: a luxury ride, a big truck or an unpopular model. More »

Electric 'Boozer' Car Whizzes Past 1,000 Miles On Single Battery Charge
Detractors of all-electric vehicles, beware. A group of German automotive students has set a new distance record for EVs — 1,013 miles on a single charge — and may point the way to future battery-powered cars that won't give owners "range anxiety." More »

High Gas Prices Aren't Giving The Blues To Motown Car Makers
When gas hit $4 a gallon in 2008, Detroit's Big Three auto makers took it on the chin as American demand for big, fuel-thirsty SUVs and trucks suddenly disappeared. But even with gas prices again hovering north of $4, American car companies are whistling a much happier tune—all the way to the bank. More »

Auto Manufacturers Slim Down Cars To Increase Fuel Economy
As a reaction to rising gas prices, new cars are becoming lighter and more fuel-efficient. Auto manufacturers are scrounging for ways to cut the weight of vehicles, shifting to lighter materials and ditching some parts altogether. More »

Going Green Doesn't Always Mean Plugging In When It Comes To Cars
You don't have to buy a car that plugs into an outlet to be green or run on batteries, says a new scorecard of the most eco-friendly vehicles on the road. More »

Is It Time To Get A Cheap Dealer-Financed Car Loan?
With banks continuing to stick to high (well, higher) lending standards, and car dealers eager to move inventory, now could be the right time to buy a new car and finance it through the dealer, according to SmartMoney. Rates are as low as zero percent, and . "nothing beats 0%," says Paul Taylor, of the National Automobile Dealers Association. More »

Mercedes Drivers Are The Most Ticketed; GM Drivers The Least
A new study by an insurance industry analytics service reveals the vehicles with the highest and lowest percentages of traffic violations. Of the top 10 automobiles with the most violations, three of them were made by Mercedes-Benz. On the opposite end of the scale, 6 of the 10 least ticketed cars were GM models. More »

Are You Changing Your Car's Oil Too Frequently?
According to the consumer advice editor at Edmunds, if you bought a car in the last seven or eight years, you don't have to change its oil every 3,000 miles. On these newer models, it's fine to wait until 7,500 miles or more, although a Pennzoil employee tells the New York Times that you should stick with what your manual advises (which is still probably less frequent than every 3,000 miles). You can also check out this California State list of guidelines for different cars. More »

GM Voids Warranty On Used Truck, Blames It On Chip Owner Didn't Know Was Installed
Ken is facing a $13,000 repair bill on his 2007 Chevy 2500 diesel truck, because the full factory warranty the dealership assured him it had was voided by GM. The reason: GM says at some point in the past, someone put a chip in the truck that doesn't match the info GM has, so they don't have to service it. The problem for Ken is that the dealership didn't check for this chip before it sold the truck to Ken, and Ken didn't know about this loophole when he bought it. In fact, he says he bought it about a year and a half before GM implemented this rule. More »

How Often Is Your Car Model Stolen?
The Highway Loss Data Institute keeps track of insurance claims for stolen cars, and it's just released a list of the highest and lowest insurance claims for auto theft for 2007-09 models. The winner is the Cadillac Escalade luxury SUV, followed by the Ford F-250 pickup—both of these vehicles have a relatively high claim frequency and high average loss payment per claim of $9,600-$11,000. On the other end, the Mini Cooper and Toyota Sienna 4WD are infrequently stolen and have average loss payments of around $2,000. More »

Why Are Fewer Teens Driving These Days?
Here's some news that will please many of you who cringe when you see a cocky teenager behind the wheel of an automobile. A new report claims that not only are fewer teens driving their own cars, but that fewer teens are on the road in general. More »

Enjoy The Ride: Vibrating Seat Could Enhance Driver Safety
You're driving along, happy as can be, rocking out to some Journey, when suddenly, you feel a vibration against your body. Feels kinda good but oh no, wait, that's a signal that there's a car approaching on your left side so watch out and don't get in an accident. Sound enticing — er, interesting? You're in luck! Engineers at Yale are working on just such an invention. More »

Consumer Reports Tries Out Chevy Volt, Enjoys Driving It
Yes, Virginia, there is an electric car. Sibling Consumer Reports got their hands on a pre-production model of the Chevy Volt, a new plug-in electric car hitting the asphalt this fall. It has a range of 40 miles on just electric. After the battery is depleted, the gas engine kicks in, extending the total range to 300 miles. Yep, you can plug it in to a standard outlet. But how's the ride? More »

Shady Car Dealers Price Loans More Than What Bank Will Take So You Love Them When It's Reduced
A former manager of a car dealership knows exactly how sneaky those sons of guns can be. One of their favorite tricks involved knowingly pricing out the monthly payments at $100 above what the bank computers would let buyer afford, and then acting like they're your best friend for getting it lowered $100. More »

Mazda Dealer Won't Give Loyalty Discount Because Insurer Now Owns My Totaled Car
What does it mean to be "loyal" to a car manufacturer? Brett tells Consumerist that he wanted to take advantage of a program that offered a $500 loyalty discount to people who already own Mazdas. He negotiated a price with a local dealer, then learned that he wasn't eligible for the $500 discount...because his previous Mazda had been totaled (that's a picture of it, at left), and his car insurance company now holds the title. More »

Can You Trust Those Awards You See In Auto Ads?
If you pay attention to all the various automobile ads on TV, you'd probably notice that just about every make and model of vehicle has won some sort of award from some magazine, or that its been "rated highest in its class" by any number of organizations. But what many people don't know is that these awards and thumbs-up ratings almost always cost the car companies a pretty penny. More »

Toyota Shoots For $50k Price Tag On Hydrogen Car
Good news for those hankering after a fuel-cell vehicle: Toyota has announced they’ve cut the cost of making hydrogen-powered cars by around 90 percent and could start selling the first retail model for close to $50,000 by 2015. More »

Outsource Used Car Haggling To Pros At Carsala
For those without the temperament or time to engage in the scrum that is negotiating with a used car dealer, Carsala will do it for you. The site boasts a team of professional negotiators who will contact an average of twenty dealers and work to get you the best price possible. No more getting befuddled by the Four-Square or "Oh, I'm sorry, I really want to make this work but my manager in the back will only agree to..." The pros at Carsala charge a commission of 20% of the difference between Blue Book value and the final price. And, unlike some other car shopping sites, they don't take kickbacks. Handy! Or you can just use their free tools to check out how a price you're quoted compares to others in the area, and whether the car you want really fits your budget. More »

Tips For Buying A Used Car This Year
The sorry state of the economy the past couple of years has actually led to higher prices for used cars, writes Kiplinger. That's because more people started buying used cars, which tightened the supply while also reducing the number of fresh trade-ins. It may be a couple of years before prices drop again, but Kiplinger has some suggestions for saving money if you plan on buying a used car this year. More »

What Was Your First Car?
Yesterday, we posted Consumer Reports' selections for the best cars for teen drivers. That list, on which the least expensive car was priced at $9,900, drew quite a bit of heat from readers who thought the listed cars too pricey for teens. That's why we want to hear about your first ride. More »

The 13 Best Cars For Teen Drivers
It's almost graduation time, which means that lots of parents and recent graduates will be in the market for a dependable car for heading off to college or full-time work. Our cousins with the cool test track at Consumer Reports have come up with their annual list of Best Cars for Teens. More »

Nissan Loses Devoted Customer Over Demonic Driver's Seat
Consumerist reader Brian has been devoted Nissan owner his entire adult life, having owned upward of 10 different Nissan vehicles over the years. But now Brian is looking to move onto non-Nissan pastures after the driver's side seat of his new Pathfinder became possessed by some sort of malicious demon. More »

Cadillac Is Ashamed Of The GM Name
In a move to remove some of the taint of bankruptcy and bailout, luxury car maker Cadillac is taking steps to distance itself in the public eye from its parent company, General Motors. More »

Mercedes-Benz Ordered To Pay $482k Over Lemon Car
Wisconsin's lemon law for cars is pretty strict. If a customer demands a refund on a newly bought car that won't run and can't be repaired, the manufacturer has to comply within 30 days or pay double the purchase price plus legal fees. Marco Marquez has been fighting Mercedes-Benz for 4 years now over a $56,000 E 320 he bought in 2005 that immediately stopped working. He says the company deliberately stalled on giving him the refund in time, and last week a judge awarded him $482,000. More »

Consumer Reports Gets Patriotic, Names Best American Cars For 2010
While the Congress frets about the millions of Toyotas on the road that probably shouldn't be, our grease-monkey brothers at Consumer Reports were busy getting domestic. They just released the list of their Top Picks for vehicles put out by American car companies. More »

Chicago Is Worst Place To Get Your Car Repaired, Memphis Is Best
The website AutoMD.com sent mystery shoppers to 600 auto repair shops in 50 different market areas to ask how much it would cost to replace the front brakes on a Ford Focus. They found that on average, repair shops in Memphis were among the most affordable shops tested, and they tended to consistently quote their prices to customers. The worst was the Chicago area, where shops quoted anywhere from $425 to $150, and where every shop tested changed its quote depending on what information the mystery shopper presented. More »

How Bad Would Another Recall Be For Toyota?
As the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Toyota look into whether or not complaints of steering problems in 2009 and 2010 Corollas merit a recall, it's worth investigating both the potential financial and public relations costs for the auto giant. More »

Chevy Resurrects John Mellencamp "Our Country" Ads For Olympics
If you've been having flashbacks to the fall of 2007 while watching the Olympics on NBC this week, you might want to blame Chevy, who decided to dust off their love-it-or-hate-it "Our Country" ad campaign for the winter games in Vancouver. More »

Toyota Wants To Kiss And Make Up, Wants You To Keep Buying Toyotas
Now that Toyota has almost nearly completed its time in the naughty spot for dumping a few million potentially deadly vehicles on the market, the world's largest auto manufacturer is looking to make nice. But instead of flowers, candy or poetry, Toyota is making plans to woo you back into their showrooms with increased cash incentives and improved maintenance plans. More »

A Volvo Dealership E-Stalked Me
Inspired by yesterday's post about Victoria's Secret's e-snooping, Julia says she felt cyberstalked by a Volvo dealership. When she sent the business an email, she got a response back to not only the account she sent the email from, but a different, personal address. More »

Dealership Ad Fail
Bill found negotiating with the dealership to be a little one-sided. [Craigslist via Failblog]

Every Time VW Fixes My Car, They Break Something Else
Amy's '06 VW Passat has been in the shop 106 of the past 141 days. After the engine broke down on a road trip and needed replacing, VW replaced it, but broke the transmission. When they replaced the transmission, they broke an axle. When they fixed the axle, the car started leaking oil worse than the Valdez. All Amy and her family want to be able to do is drive their car around like normal. So far, that's not happening, and VW's only offer of contrition has been to waive one car payment and $250 in services. So Amy launched her EECB, complete with a graph of how long VW has held her car hostage: More »

Toyota Stops Selling 8 Popular Car Models
A week after issuing a recall on over 2 million vehicles due to faulty acceleration pedals, Toyota has announced it will stop selling 8 popular models in the U.S., as well as shut down 6 U.S. factories, while it deals with the problem. The faulty pedals were made by a U.S. manufacturer but have also been installed in cars sold in Europe, although Toyota hasn't said what it plans to do outside the U.S. for now. Update: SafetyResearch.net says Toyota was required by law to stop selling the models after it announced the recall last week, so it's actually kind of strange that it waited five days. More »

Dollar Messed Up My Contract, Charged Me For An Extra Day For Being 40 Minutes Late
Natraj rushed through the contract signing process when renting a car from Dollar, and his failure to confirm the car return time on the paperwork ended up costing him an extra day's rental fee. More »

Cash For Clunkers Customers Entitled To More Cash
Some customers who purchased cars during the 2009 CARS rebate program, popularly known as Cash for Clunkers, were entitled to a portion of the scrap value of their old cars, in addition to the government rebate of $3,500 or $4,500. What? And the dealerships didn't tell them? Gasp! More »

Buy A New Car Without Getting Ripped Off
There is a rare breed of individual who enjoys shopping for a new car. Likening it to one of our last remaining instances of socially acceptable bare-knuckle-boxing, Rob Gruhl is one such person. He shares his tips for not getting screwed at the dealership in this fun and lively and short presentation. More »

41% Of Sudden Acceleration Complaints Are Toyotas. That's A Lot.
Here's a beauty contest you don't want to win: 41% of the 2008 model safety complaints about "sudden acceleration" problems were for Toyota and Lexus models. That would be the same complaint lodged by that California family this summer when they crashed into a highway barrier at 120 mph when their loaner car wouldn't stop speeding up, if they were still alive to make it.

6 Things You Should Never Say To A Car Salesman

—>There are few things in life that will test your mettle more than a savvy car salesman. He is a master manipulator and has a PhD in messing with your head. Even if you have checked out some confessions of a car salesman and carefully studied the evil "four-square" technique, there are still some things you could say that tell a salesman you are a soft target. CNN Money and Edmunds.com have put together a list of 6 things you should never say to a car salesman. The list, inside...  More »