Here's what the fine print says (thanks to Mac-Phisto's eagle-eyes):

Bottom left: Prices & discounts include all consumer rebates & incentives. Prices plus tax and license. Offers available on select models. Some offers may require financing through Chrysler Financial with approved credit. Offers valid on the day of publication only and cannot be combined. Due to early publication deadlines, factory programs and incentives may change without notice. Not responsible for typographical errors. Pictures are for illustrative purposes only.

Bottom right:
Prices plus tax, tag, title and dealer installed options and include all factory rebates & incentives, including Lease Loyalty. List price = M.S.R.P. + dealer installed equipment. Must finance thru CFS with approved credit. Offers valid on the day of publication only. Advertised offers cannot be combined and are not available for [report?], Not responsible for typographical errors. Due to early publication deadlines, factory programs and incentives may change without notice. Must present this ad upon arrival at University Dodge to receive advertised offers. Pictures are for illustrative purposes only.

Rob Lambdin's University Dodge(Thanks to Stephan!)

Fox 5 in New York did one of their notorious "Shame, Shame, Shame" segments about the debacle, confronting the dealer with pictures of the car being accepted and the $1700 in parking tickets that racked up as they left it out on the street for several months.

The whole story began when Jessica bought the BMW from Planet Auto Mall in Queens for around $45,000. Soon after she bought the car, it began shaking when she drove it. Planet Auto Mall's mechanics tried to fix the car — but couldn't. When she took it to a BMW specialist they found that there were so many things wrong with the vehicle that it wasn't even safe to drive. Jessica filed a "lemon law" claim against the dealership and won — but that's when her real problems started.

The auto dealer filed a legal challenge to the arbitrator's decision — based on the fact that Jessica had not returned the car. So she did. And she took pictures. And now the dealer says they never got the car. Even though it was sitting outside their dealership for months:

Fox 5: "There were like, 17 or more tickets that were issued to the car... right on the street around here."

Dealership Manager: "Sure. Somebody can say 'OK, you know what? Hey. Here is... I'm bringing the car and I'm parking it over there.'"

Fox 5: "So you're saying she might have..."

Dealership Manager: "She might have. I'm not sure."

Fox 5: "She might have put the car on the street."

Dealership Manager: "She might have put the car wherever she wants to put it."

The dealership lost their case in May, but have still not paid up because they've filed an appeal. Fox 5 stormed in with their cameras and demanded answers of the dealership's owner, but, of course, got none.

Jessica's next payment is still due on the 14th.

Planet Auto Mall [MyFoxNY]

Tonight, the president of Ford Motors will be on Campbell Brown's "No Bias, No Bull" program on CNN at 8pm ET/5pm PT, presumably to hit similar talking points. Dance, auto monkey! Dance for the TV audience!

Dear [redacted],

You made the right choice when you put your confidence in General Motors, and we appreciate your past support. I want to assure you that we are making our best vehicles ever, and we have exciting plans for the future. But we need your help now. Simply put, we need you to join us to let Congress know that a bridge loan to help U.S. automakers also helps strengthen the U.S. economy and preserve millions of American jobs.

Despite what you may be hearing, we are not asking Congress for a bailout but rather a loan that will be repaid.

The U.S. economy is at a crossroads due to the worldwide credit crisis, and all Americans are feeling the effects of the worst economic downturn in 75 years. Despite our successful efforts to restructure, reduce costs and enhance liquidity, U.S. auto sales rely on access to credit, which is all but frozen through traditional channels.

The consequences of the domestic auto industry collapsing would far exceed the $25 billion loan needed to bridge the current crisis. According to a recent study by the Center for Automotive Research:

• One in 10 American jobs depends on U.S. automakers
• Nearly 3 million jobs are at immediate risk
• U.S. personal income could be reduced by $150 billion
• The tax revenue lost over 3 years would be more than $156 billion

Discussions are now underway in Washington, D.C., concerning loans to support U.S. carmakers. I am asking for your support in this vital effort by contacting your state representatives.

Please take a few minutes to go to www.gmfactsandfiction.com, where we have made it easy for you to contact your U.S. senators and representatives. Just click on the "I'm a Concerned American" link under the "Mobilize Now" section, and enter your name and ZIP code to send a personalized e-mail stating your support for the U.S. automotive industry.

Let me assure you that General Motors has made dramatic improvements over the last 10 years. In fact, we are leading the industry with award-winning vehicles like the Chevrolet Malibu, Cadillac CTS, Buick Enclave, Pontiac G8, GMC Acadia, Chevy Tahoe Hybrid, Saturn AURA and more. We offer 18 models with an EPA estimated 30 MPG highway or better — more than Toyota or Honda. GM has 6 hybrids in market and 3 more by mid-2009. GM has closed the quality gap with the imports, and today we are putting our best quality vehicles on the road.

Please share this information with friends and family using the link on the site.

Thank you for helping keep our economy viable.

Sincerely,
Troy Clarke

TIP: get a cheap key dupe made at the hardware store and drill a hole through it (or get your fave local handyman to do it). Then place said key behind your license-plate with screw through hole. This will keep it secure and it's rare that you'll be stranded without something that can be used (dime, piece o'metal by road, helpful person's screwdriver) to remove the screw and access the key. This $2 fix has saved my bacon many times. Those magnetic boxes are OK but they can dislodge when you hit a pothole.

Brilliant.However, as other commenters noted, if you live in an area known for license plate thefts or your key has a theft-deterrent device in it, you'll want to explore other options.

(Photo: Getty)

Engine-flushing is supposed to clean out the gunk and deposits in your engine, but breaking these up is like dislodging a blood clot - they can jam up other sensitive components. Honda calls fuel-injection cleaning an "improper repair procedure" as it can damage other injection parts. They and other makers have sent notices to repair shops telling them not to perform them. Despite this, KNBC received complaints from across the country from consumers with cars damaged after getting upsold into the potentially dangerous service. See more in their video report, below:In a statement, both JiffyLube and EZLube say it wasn't acceptable for employees to lie and say services were recommended by the manufacturer when they weren't, and the employees caught would be fired.Could This Damage Your Car? [KNBC]

...Brigette refused and also refused to let anyone else test drive the car.

Aaron is now pursuing complaints against the company with the BBB and the State's Attorney General. Deposit, hotel, rental and airfare, Aaron and his friend are out $2,000. A check of their online profile turns up a number of very severe complaints against the company, mixed in with a number of glowing reviews.

Our request for comment from International Motor Productions was not returned.

"I am also curious as to where they get cars that have clean titles, but have obviously been wrecked. (*cough* chop shop *cough*)", said Nathan.

AutoTrader doesn't let customers post dealership reviews. Before putting down a deposit and flying to get your dream car, make sure to always check out a dealership's reputation elsewhere, like cardealercheck.com, their BBB report and Yahoo! Local reviews. You can also investigate a car's history on CarFax.com. If you were to check out a dealership's rep, where would you look first?

So, if the low-level peons are ripping you off, try appealing to the higher authorities, en-masse, via EECB.
(Photo: Alexis Deadly)

Jeff writes:

Today I am writing to pay a serious compliment to one of your outstanding employees. I do not know her last name, but Leslie (the manager?) from your Emeryville, CA transfer center went above and beyond the call of duty today, and this outstanding effort on her part should be recognized.

Today I am purchasing a vehicle from a private seller. Due to some complications with the bank holding the title, it was not shipped from Georgia until yesterday evening, and arrived in California early this morning, with an expected delivery date of Monday. This was not good, as the seller was leaving the country (for good) later this afternoon, so we had to have the title by this morning. After the seller placed a few calls to fedex, they informed him that he would be unable to pick up the shipment because it was stuck in the Oakland airport. We were both disappointed, and tried to come up with a workaround. However, a few hours later, I checked the tracking information and saw that the package was now sitting in the Emeryville shipping center. Again, the seller tried to call but whoever he spoke to refused to transfer him to the Emeryville office!

At this point I called and spoke to a very polite and helpful customer service rep on the phone (whose name I cannot remember), who assured me that she would get a message to Emeryville and see what they could do. An hour later, Leslie called me to confirm the tracking number and asked me a few questions for verification, and promised to personally find the shipment and have it ready by noon. I was thrilled. When the seller walked in around 9:30, Leslie had already found the package.

Because of the singular effort on the part of Leslie, I will be able to purchase my new car today, something that would have gotten way more complicated once the seller left the country, even it even could have been completed at all. I have already told several people this story, and will continue to mention it in the future. This sort of exemplary action on the part of FedEx employees reinforces the brand image your company attempts to portray on Television and other advertising campaigns: If it absolutely has to be there, you can absolutely depend on us. Today Leslie has reminded me that FedEx is one company who actually takes their credo seriously.

Leslie, thank you so much,

Jeff G.

And that's how the front lines can win you customer loyalty.(Photo: billy verdin)

Alison Prezler, from the BBB, told MSNBC's Consumer Man columnist, Herb Weisbaum, “They have made taking advantage of people who are locked out of their house or car part of their business model."

Sadly, this is the exact scenario recently faced by reader Kaitlin. She was locked out of her car and used Google 411 to find a locksmith, and would like to share her story as a warning to others:

I locked my keys in my car Monday afternoon. It was in the parking lot of a bank/grocery store. i waited a couple hours for my boyfriend to bring me an extra key. when he couldn't find it, my dad came to try to break into my car. No go. My 2005 Focus cannot be slim-jimmed. So, after almost 4 hours, I decide to call a locksmith. I used google 411, and picked a locksmith that was supposedly on a road nearby, because i thought it would be quick. The two I called before I got this one didn't answer their phones. A1 24 hr Locksmith answers and tells me $39.99 + about a $19 service charge. I tell him the kind of car, the address, etc. They say 25-30 mins.

I start to think things might be weird when I get two calls from two different people to confirm the address, my name, etc. The "locksmith" shows up over an hour later, in an unmarked car, with no uniform. I show him my car and he decides that my 2005 ford focus is VERY hard to break into, and that the labor charge is gonna go up to $125, for a total of $177 after tax. About $19 does not = $125. I'm sure he saw 20 year old female college student and thought $$$$$. He is very intimidating. He tells me he's charged people $260 to get into their cars, and that he is giving me a deal, it is late at night, what am I gonna do. He insists that I have to pay him for the service charge anyways. It's almost 9, I've been locked out of my car for almost 5 hours with only a sweatshirt, and I'm cold (live in the seattle area). We argue awhile. I, on the verge of tears, agree to pay him. It takes him all of 2 minutes to unlock my car. I give him my credit card, and ask him if he has a business card, invoice, etc as I was planning on reporting them to the BBB. He could not give me anything that linked him to a business of any sort. This all seems way too suspicious. I drive home, seething.

When I woke up and won't to work the next morning, I noticed that the door of my car was all bent up. I didn't see it in the dark the night before. I decided to call the company back and ask for a partial refund, due to the bait and switch, the late locksmith, and especially the damage to my car. The manager lies, saying that he didn't even have an appt with me. I said "well, I have the license plate number of the car. I will just call the cops to report it, and cancel my credit card." He suddenly "remembers" me. Refuses to discuss the damage to my car or a partial refund. He just kept repeating that it wasn't a scam since the driver told me the price before he did the work. I told him if he wouldn't help me, that I would file a charge-back and report him to the bbb, etc.

I called my bank and they were very helpful. They canceled the card so it could not be used again, and began the charge-back process. When I researched online, there were all kinds of stories about a couple companies back east who have local numbers with made up addresses and ads all over the country. People have lost $300 and more. They dispatch the calls in their main offices, and send out local contractors. They do this all the time- there are hundreds of horror stories, and some of them are about A1 24 hr locksmith. Hopefully the charge-back works. These people lie, and kick you when you are down. Its really hard to google the business name or check out it's reputation when you're locked out of your car in a parking lot. I shudder t think what the charge (and intimidation) would have been like if my dad hadn't been there with me.

Is there anyone else I can file complaints with? I want to get them in trouble and I want to keep this from happening to other people. Businesses should not be able to get away with this. From reading the stories, I doubt they were even licensed, etc. Out of curiosity, I contacted more locksmiths and got the same sort of response. Finally, I got one who seemed reputable. He told me it would be $60 flat no possibility for change, etc, and said he had helped an old woman who was charged $200 to be let into her car

You've already done the right thing and reported this shady company to your credit card company. Be sure to keep following up with them and file any paperwork request in a timely fashion.

Next, report the locksmith company to the BBB, because they like to keep an eye on this sort of thing. Finally, file an official report with your state's attorney general and/or department of consumer affairs.

And, now that you know what its like to be taken advantage of by a shady locksmith, check your credit cards to see if they offer roadside assistance for when you're away from home — and find a local locksmith that's dependable for when you're not.

(Photo: mullenite )

Here's a quick summary of the list:

1. Falling in love with a model.
   Becoming infatuated with a single model can blind you to alternative vehicles that may be better for your needs or make you skimp on thoroughly researching a vehicle's ratings, reviews, reliability, or safety and pricing information.
2. Skipping the test drive.
   A lot of vehicles look good on paper—especially in glossy brochure photos—but the test drive is your best chance to see how a vehicle measures up to expectations and how well it "fits" you and your family.
3. Negotiating down from the sticker price.
   "A salesperson may offer you a deal that's, say, $500 below the sticker price, and many consumers will conclude, often mistakenly, that they're getting a good deal. Unless the vehicle is in big demand and short supply, you can often get an even lower price by negotiating up from what the dealer paid for the vehicle."
4. Focusing only on the monthly payment when negotiating.
   "Salespeople like to focus on a monthly-payment figure while negotiating a deal. Indeed, "How much were you thinking of paying each month?" might be one of the first questions to greet you when you meet a salesperson. Don't take the bait. It's the first step down a slippery slope of being manipulated with numbers and overpaying for your vehicle."
5. Buying the "deal" instead of the vehicle.
   "...it's important to remember that any deal is only as good as the car that's attached to it. Just because you can get a good discount doesn't mean you should buy the vehicle."
6. Waiting until you're in the dealership to think about financing.
   "...it's critical to comparison shop for financing terms at different financial institutions and get prequalified for an auto loan before you go to the dealership to buy the vehicle. Check interest rates at banks, credit unions, or online financial sites to see which offers you the best rate."
7. Underestimating the value of modern safety features.
   "Today's vehicles offer an array of advanced safety features. But many buyers don't know which are most important or what to look for when comparing vehicles. Antilock brake systems (ABS), electronic stability control (ESC), and head-protecting side air bags, for instance, are effective and well worth the money."
8. Buying unnecessary extras.
   "Dealerships often try to sell you extras that boost their profit margin but are a waste of you money. They can include rustproofing, fabric protection, paint protectant, or VIN etching, in which the vehicle identification number is etched onto the windows to deter thieves. Don't accept those unnecessary services and fees. If you see those items on the bill of sale and you haven't agreed to them, simply cross them out and refuse to pay for them. "
9. Not researching the value of your current car.
   "Find out what both the used-car retail and wholesale prices are, so that you'll know what you should be able to get if you trade it in or if you sell it yourself. Typically, you'll get more money by selling it, as long as you're willing to put in the additional effort."
10. Not having a used car checked by an independent mechanic.
    "Before you buy a used vehicle, have it scrutinized by a repair shop that routinely does diagnostic work. A thorough diagnosis should cost around $100, but confirm the price in advance. "

10 common car-buying mistakes [Yahoo!] (Thanks, Stephen!)
(Photo: Bonita Sarita )

Here's a quick summary of the list:

1. Oil! Oil prices have dropped 50% in 3 months. Maybe this means that you won't have to burn your furniture to stay warm.
2. Car makers are waking up. They've realized that you want more fuel efficient cars. Finally. Also, don't forget about 0% financing. Assuming you have good credit, of course...
3. Low interest rates. Kiplinger's says "The interest rate on a traditional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is averaging 6.5%, the highest it's been since the summer of '07, but still not too far from the historic low of 5.8% reached in 2003-05 and 1963-65."
4. Real estate is less expensive. If you have the money for a down payment, perhaps a deal can be yours.
5. Your bank savings are safe. FDIC insurance is now $250,000. FDIC insures small business non-interest bearing accounts, and a temporary program is in place to guarantee Money Market Mutual Funds, says Kiplinger's.
6. Stocks are cheap. Bonds are looking good. "Triple-A-rated tax-free bonds, an extraordinarily safe investment, are paying 5%-plus for ten years and 6% for 20. That's more than the Treasury offers for bonds of the same maturity."
7. Technology is awesome and cheap. You can buy a big TV and use it to keep you from crying all the time, apparently.
8. We grew a lot of stuff. "The fall harvest is shaping up as one of the best ever, despite the destructive weather and floods in the Mississippi River corridor since last spring. Exports of U.S. farm products will increase more than 40% by value this year."
9. New government. Whoever wins, it will be someone new.
10. Holiday bargains. If you still have some money, you can expect some crazy deals. "Both brick-and-mortar and online retailers are gearing up to offer huge discounts to boost sales." Just try not to get trampled, especially if you have substandard health insurance.

10 Things That Are Going Right [Kiplinger's]
(Photo: taberandrew )

The Three Markets: Contract, Spot and Futures

Both oil and gas are traded on three markets: the contract market, the spot market, and the futures market. Each is influenced by different factors and impacts the price of gas at different stages of production. Unlike the futures market, the contract and spot markets are not the kind of markets found on Wall Street; they are informal networks of businesspeople.

The Contract Market
Though it seems like oil companies spend most of their time ruining your day by raising the price of gas, their primary business is exploration. Once an oil company finds a field and coaxes it into producing crude, it takes that unrefined oil and sells to refiners. The vast majority of oil is sold by contracts. A veritable orgy of contracts signed between oil companies and dealers, oil companies and refiners, refiners and independent dealers predetermine the fate of most oil and gas.

Refiners plan their purchasing and refining activity to ensure that these contracts are fulfilled. In exchanged for this privileged standing, refiners charge contract customers a premium.

The Spot Market
Need some extra oil? Got a spare barrel you need to sell today? The spot market is for you. The spot market fills the gap left by the contracts market. When a refiner needs extra oil to meet its contracts, they find people with surplus oil on the spot market. Unlike the contract and futures markets, which trade pieces of paper, the spot market involves the trade of actual barrels.

The best deals are often found on the spot market. Since neither the buyer or seller is locked into a prearranged deal, the laws of supply, demand, and free market are mostly in effect.

The Futures Market
Crude oil is the bees knees of the American Mercantile Exchange. A futures contract might stand for 1,000 barrels of West Texas Intermediate to be delivered at Cushing, Oklahoma. The futures market represents that collective state of the oil market at any particular moment. When you hear reporters talk about the price of oil reaching $100 per barrel, they're talking about the futures market. Because fluctuations on the futures market are driven by information, its prices guide the contract and spot markets.

The people buying and selling futures rarely, if ever, collect on their contracts; a seven year period saw 5 billion barrels traded, of which only 31,000 were ever delivered.

Refineries

Refineries are the temples where crude oil gets Bar Mitzvah'd into gas. Shifts in the refining world over the past two decades have helped ratchet up the price of gas. In the early 80's, there were over 350 refineries, mostly owned by the oil companies. The oil companies didn't see refining as a place to generate profit, but as an integral part of a larger operation.

By 2002, there were only 153 refineries, and most of them were no longer controlled by the oil companies. Refineries are now held privately and independently, and as with any independent businesses, profit is key. It is in the refiner's interests to supply only as much gas as is absolutely needed to stay on the profitable side of the supply and demand curve.

Gas emerging from a refinery is sold at what is known as the 'rack price.' The rack price is the cost of gas to dealers, and it is generally influenced by the spot and futures market. The rack price is also where branded gas begins to exert a price premium.

Branded gas from Exxon-Mobile, BP-Amoco, etc, isn't different from the unbranded gas found at Joe Schmoe's Gas Shack. Still, there are several costs associated with branding gas. The brand name carries a premium, since people might associate it with quality, and not grossly overcompensated executives. Branded gas is also sold under contract, giving buyers long-term stability that can't be duplicated by unbranded gas. Oil companies also add value to branded gas by providing ancillary benefits that command a price premium, like branded advertising and branded credit cards.

Refiner pricing strategies are almost as complex as the mating rituals of the red-sided garter snake. Though refiners want to maximize their profit, they don't necessarily want to gain additional market share. Refining capacity can't simply be ramped up on demand. Acquiring and refining crude oil takes considerable time, leading refiners to take a slow and steady approach to business. First and foremost, refiners care about fulfilling their contractual obligations. Leftover gas can be sold for profit on the rack.

If a refiner's rack price is consistently too high, dealers will take their business elsewhere when their contracts expire. If the rack price is too low, buyers might swamp the refiner, leaving it unable to meet its contractual obligations.

To ensure pricing continuity, refiners used to call each other and share pricing information. Activist judges on the Supreme Court called this "collusion." The refiners, unfazed by the justices, came up with a crafty alternative: publicly posting their rack prices. Somehow, the Ninth Circuit Court found this to be illegal, too. Nobody knows how refiners discuss their pricing arrangements nowadays, but we wouldn't be surprised if it involved a members-only group on Facebook.

Gas Stations

Ah, gas stations. Nourishers of our cars, wellspring of our rage. Gas stations are not all alike. Some are owned outright by the oil companies, while others are leased by dealers who sell only one brand of gas.

There are supposedly nine benefits to being a branded lessee-dealer:

(1) a wider variety of grades of gasoline than unbranded, which leads to higher gross profit margins,
(2) access to oil company credit card at no fee,
(3) oil company third party fee discount for VISA and MasterCard,
(4) "subsidies" in the form of soft loans and investments,
(5) marketing assistance,
(6) rebates based on incremental volume,
(7) training and support on how to run a profitable gasoline station,
(8) technical support and station startup design, and
(9) security of supply.

There are also open dealers, who sign contracts with a particular brand, but can shift their allegiance whenever the contract expires. Open dealers interface with refiners through middlemen known as jobbers. A jobber will often supply several dealers, and depending on the size of the operation, will sign contracts, or buy unbranded gas either from the rack or the spot market.

Finally, there are the true independents. These folks shop around for the best unbranded gas price, sometimes aided by a jobber. They almost never sign long term contracts and almost always get their gas from the rack or the spot market.

At the turn of the 20th century, the U.S. had just under 175,000 gas stations. Of those, about 55,000 are run by independent operators. Of the remainder, half are run by open dealers, and the other half is split between company-owned and lessee-dealer stations.

Fixing The Price Of Gas

Oil companies set the price of gas at company-owned stations. What they say, goes. With lessee-dealers, the relationship is more complex.

Lessee-dealers are charged a 'Dealer Tank Wagon' (DTW) price by the oil companies. The DTW price is set either by the oil company's central or regional office, and is driven by both the spot and futures markets. Most importantly, oil companies determine the DTW price by looking at the prices of other stations in the market. This is why two stations with the same brand a block away from each other can have different prices.

Lessee-dealers can't negotiate a DTW price since they sign contracts with just one oil company that require them to purchase a minimum amount of gas. Oil companies allow dealers to sell gas at a slightly inflated margin to ensure a profit stream so the dealers can put food on their family's table. That margin can range from 3-10 cents per gallon.

Why don't dealers just raise the prices more, like 20 cents a gallon, so they can give their families even more food? Some do. If they're caught, you can bet anything the next DTW price will be higher, bringing their profit margins back to normal - only now, their gas is more expensive than their neighboring stations and they have a competitive disadvantage.

DTW pricing is the product of an exceedingly complex and secretive pricing scheme known as zone pricing. A zone can be as small as a single gas station, or as large as a city. The testimony of a Mobil representative in 1997 revealed that Mobil had 46 zones in Connecticut. Most dealers have no idea what zone they are in, even though the DTW price given to their neighboring stations can determine their standing in a local market.

Oil companies, like politicians reapportioning voting districts, rely heavily on technology to slice apart local markets. The DTW price in each zone will be different, taking account several factors including nearby competition, demographics, and the historical demand of the zone. Oil companies also seek to determine the price elasticity of each zone, or how much the zone will pay for gas before looking for alternative suppliers. For some zones, that breaking point is a penny, for others, it two or three cents, and some will stay with their station out of a sense of loyalty. These factors can cause the price of gas in neighboring zones to fluctuate by as much as a dime.

Oil companies adjust zone price by considering what their competitors are doing. The price of rival gas stations will be surveyed two or three times a week, or the data will be relayed to the oil companies by refiners.

Taxes

State and federal taxes account for about 18% of the price of gas. The cost is a constant and is factored into the baseline price of gas.

Eliminating those taxes would reduce the price of gas by a few cents, but would do nothing to otherwise address the underlying factors involved in pricing gas.

Ok... so why IS gas so expensive?

A butterfly flaps its wings in the Saudi desert, causing the State Department to release a warning of increased terrorist activity. The futures market flips out, sending the price of crude skyward.

The higher price on the futures market makes it more expensive for refiners to acquire crude to refine into gas. When the refiner's work is done, the emerging gas will be priced accordingly higher. This raises the rack price and the prices on the spot markets. Oil companies and jobbers with long-term contracts might be insulated from the higher price, depending on their contracts.

Refining oil into gas isn't instantaneous, and there can be a lag before the higher price of the oil is reflected in higher gas prices paid by jobbers and oil companies. That, of course, didn't stop them from raising prices the moment the futures market jumped. So now that the oil that was purchased for refining at a higher cost is ready to hit the market as gas, the oil companies will raise prices again.

This double-dipped price is passed onto dealers as the DTW price, which is then inflated yet again so the dealers can turn a profit.

You paid more for gas thanks to a butterfly.

"It's just a !@$% butterfly!," you say. Sure, but it scared the hell out of the markets. Since the oil companies all move in lockstep, that butterfly can cause the price of gas to rise for several days as one oil company sees another raising prices and adjusts accordingly.

Eventually the markets will calm and the price will begin to fall. This allows the introduction of a friend much more insidious than the butterfly: price gouging.

Despite popular misconceptions, price gouging almost never occurs as prices rise. Instead, price gouging occurs when dealers keep prices artificially high in order to gain a little extra profit or recoup costs, even though the DTW price has declined.

Sticking with our butterfly friend, let's say she caused the DTW price of gas to spike for four days. It may be ten days before dealers lower their prices. That's price gouging.

Most people never notice true price gouging. They will complain that the price went too high, but that's the fault of the oil companies, not the dealers. Prices that stay high for too long go unnoticed. Just because the price of gas stays high does not mean that a dealer is price gouging. The price may actually be higher. That's why it's almost impossible to prove, let alone prosecute, price gouging.

Conclusion
Most of the above draws on the excellent work of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which produced a 324 page report that makes for a fascinating read. Direct links to the report sections are below:
Executive Summary
Introduction
The Production and Marketing of Gasoline
The Effects Of Market Structure And Concentration On Gasoline Prices
How Gasoline Prices Are Set

Unless you're a Saudi Arabian butterfly, you can't hope to control the oil market, but you can control your consumption. Reduce your gas costs by carpooling, biking, walking, using gas price finder sites to decrease the information asymmetry, and/or switching to a car with a better MPG.

RELATED:
What Goes Into The Price Of Gas?
Get 30 More Miles Per Tank: Turn Off Engine If Idling More Than 10 Seconds
Potentially Insane Ways To Increase Your Fuel Efficiency

(Photo: Getty)

Editor's Note: This post was originally published May 2007. I decided to republish it now because it's one of my favorite posts Carey ever did, and it's incredibly relevant in the current economic situation.

We thought one detail worth sharing with anyone who will listen is that some title lenders will disclose a monthly interest rate instead of an annual one, even though legally they're required to publish the APR. For borrowers who don't know any better, a 25% monthly interest rate doesn't sound that bad compared to many mid- and low-end credit cards these days, until you multiply that by 12 and realize your APR would be three hundred frickin' percent.

"Why car title loans are a bad idea" [AOL Autos | CNN]
(Photo: Photog*Phillip)

Toyota experienced a 32% slide in U.S. sales in September.

Toyota offers interest-free loans on 11 vehicles [Reuters]
(Photo: blue_j )

"I've been doing this for 25 years in some form or another, and I have never seen consolidation like this going on," said Peter Welch, association president.

The National Automobile Dealers Association says that they expect 600 dealerships to close this year, and domestic dealerships are going to be the hardest hit. There are just too many dealerships and not enough market share for domestic cars:

There were just too many GM dealers chasing dwindling market share, he said. GM commanded 40 percent of the market in the 1980s, selling cars through 7,000 dealerships. But while GM's slice of the market tumbled by 40 percent or more, the number of dealers has declined by 1 or 2 percent, Mattia said.

"The dealers will have to suck it up and go away," said Mattia, who now leads Auto Engage, a consulting firm for dealers and manufacturers. "It wouldn't surprise me if we didn't have a nationwide loss of 10 percent of the dealers."

Economy forcing more car dealers to close [SFGate] (Thanks, Big Keytee!)
(Photo: amanjo )

Tim writes:

My neighbor "Pam" recently lost her husband and was surprised to have someone call her up and ask for him. She asked who was calling. The representative was from VW Credit agency. They get to chatting and the rep asks if she knows two people from across the street and gives their names and house number. Pam is very social and say yes of course. The representative then asks if Pam could leave a note on the front door and on their VW Bug asking if the neighbors could please contact VW Credit agency.

At this point Pam said "No thank you" and terminates the call.

I don't know if any laws were broken but there are violations of privacy legal or not that are very disturbing. I now have suspicions that neighbor 1 and 2 are co-signers on a car loan and are not returning calls to the VW credit. I am dismayed that VW Credit is using some data mining tools to figure out who the neighbors are and asking them to help in collections!

I know if I was having trouble making payments, the last person I want at my door is a neighbor telling me to call the collectors.

Shocked in CA,

Tim

Tim should visit his neighbors, but instead of leaving harassing notes, he should bring them Section 805(b) of the FDCPA:

(b) COMMUNICATION WITH THIRD PARTIES. ...without the prior consent of the consumer,... a debt collector may not communicate, in connection with the collection of any debt, with any person other than a consumer, his attorney, [or] a consumer reporting agency...

Since Tim is in California, he also falls under the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which extends the federal FDCPA to original creditors, and separately provides: "...collectors may not tell another person, other than your attorney or spouse, about your debt."

Tim's neighbors can sue VW Credit in small claims court, and, thanks to Section 813 of the Act, walk away with a judgment for $1,000.

We'd expect shady collection tactics from fly-by-night creditors, but not large established subsidiaries of Volkswagen. Have any of you had similar experiences? Tell us in the comments.

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act [FTC]
RELATED: How To Take Your Case To Small Claims Court
(Photo: 416style)

Below I detail a problem I encountered with my 2005 F-150 pickup and what I thought were covered damages and repairs under the initial warranty or the ExtraCARE extended coverage.

Basically, my truck was making a pinging noise pretty much from the outset of purchase, the original dealer said it was normal, only to find out later that it was not and was going to be a very expensive repair.

Here is the letter Jeff sent to Ford:

This documents the events surrounding the engine noise problem experienced with our 2005 Ford F-150. We purchased the truck in April 2005. The truck was new and only had 5 miles on it. I purchased the ExtraCARE for four years/100,000 miles.

I also received free routine maintenance for the first 30,000 miles from the dealer, Koons Sterling Ford in Sterling, VA. I brought the vehicle in every 5,000 miles approximately for this service. Early on, the engine developed a pinging noise. I asked the mechanic and service manager at Koons about this and they said this was the normal sound of the fuel injectors. Since the truck ran fine otherwise, I took them at their word as this truck was more up to date than my previous 1993 Ford F-150. I never experienced any other mechanical problems with the truck and it ran fine, albeit with the pinging noise.

After the 30,000 mile free maintenance was up, I started taking the truck to Jiffy Lube – first the one in Leesburg, VA then the one in Ashburn, VA. I started going to the one in Ashburn because they had the newer equipment which could service the automatic transmission fluid. All during this approximately 28,000 miles nothing changed in how the truck performed or in how it sounded. The “fuel injector” ping was still there.

This changed when I drove my truck near a friend one day and he mentioned that we probably had a lifter problem. I said the noise was attributable to the fuel injectors. He advised that if that was so, why didn't all fuel injected Ford trucks make this sound? I realized he was right as I have never heard another vehicle make this sound, truck or otherwise. I made an appointment at Jerry’s Ford in Leesburg to have them look into the noise. If the noise was truly fuel injectors, they would know about it and tell me so. I advised that no other performance problem was being experienced, just the noise.

They advised that the problem stemmed from the camshaft position sensor. The said it would have to be replaced. They did so, but the problem persisted. They continued to work on the truck, and we (the dealership and I) agreed that the extended warranty covered us. This was the last week of February/first week of March 2007. A week later they still had not found the actual cause of the problem, but had continued to tear the engine down looking for it. In the meantime, since this was covered by the ExtraCARE and Jerry’s had agreed, I had rented a rental car, and Jerry’s even called Enterprise car rental to alert them to me having ExtraCARE maintenance plan work being performed and that the plan would pick up a portion of the rental car. They said it would pay for 10 days at approximately $28 per day.

On March 7 2007, the service employee at Jerry’s called me to alert me to the problem stemming from the use of an aftermarket oil filter. I reiterated that the problem predated the use of aftermarket filters, and that the true problem had to be caused by something else. They pointed me to a service bulletin (attachment bm3.jpg) which stated that the use of low quality aftermarket oil filters can cause pinging and would result in damage not covered by a warranty. This bulletin did not state what brand or which service, such as Jiffy Lube, might be suspect. This service bulletin also does NOT cover the actual engine installed in my truck. Please see attachment bo3.jpg, my buyer’s order, for detail of my vehicle. At this point they stated that the maintenance plan probably would not cover this repair. I once again alerted them to the fact that this noise predated the use of aftermarket oil filters. They checked their Ford records from our maintenance visits to Koons, but nothing of this detail was recorded on our records from that time period.

I started investigating my rights under the warranty, consumer protection services, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, and what the proper procedure would be if a dispute continued. Jerry’s said a Ford inspector would visit on Thursday, 08 March 2007 to see the truck and make a determination of my case. Initially, Jerry’s said there was not enough debris from the filter in the oil to have caused the pinging. I again reiterated that the pinging predated the use of aftermarket oil filters. At this point, their tact with me changed and they pretty much ignored anything further I had to say concerning the condition which predated the use of aftermarket oil filters.

I received word late on Thursday, 08 March 2007, that my warranty claim was denied and that there would be a hefty bill for the repairs. The engine could be put back together for $2800, the cylinder head could be replaced for $6200, or an entire new engine could be installed for $7800. I chose the second option, giving them the benefit of the doubt that something had to be done to rectify the problem. I authorized Jerry’s to perform the work and they stated that the truck could probably be finished on Monday, 12 March 2007.

I then started to gather information on how to best challenge this maintenance plan denial. I called Ford ESP (Extended Service Plan) after talking to Jerry's service manager. The service manager advised this was going to be the best route to challenge the denial. I gave them all of the pertinent information, having to spell out in great detail where I purchased the truck and where I was getting it serviced. The representative of Ford ESP I spoke with was quite unfamiliar with the concept of going to different dealers. She did recommend that in order to get a favorable decision I should go to different Ford dealers in the area. I advised that the maintenance plan does not require that, since I had been dealing with an authorized Ford dealership and maintenance shop. She also did not know or understand what a “Jiffy Lube” was. I did not explain this to her further, but asked to speak to someone else who might be able to change the warranty denial for me.

I was connected to the technical manager, “Bill”. I gave him the full history and waited to find out what Ford ESP could do for me. He advised that they had not seen the inspection report yet, but that the failure of an oil filter which caused the damage would not be covered under the warranty. I reiterated to him that the noise was preexisting, explaining again about how I alerted the original dealership's service department to it. Bill advised that he had no evidence or documentation to back this up. He also stated that even Ford Motorcraft oil filters, had they been used and failed, would also invalidate any warranty claim for repair of damage. He said there was nothing else he could do for me. He gave me the phone number of an arbitration service. I continued to have to rent a rental car, but now completely out of pocket for the entire expense, until the truck is done. Ford ESP also stated that the inspection records and photos were the property of Ford and I would not be receiving a copy of it.

I called the Ford Customer Center in Dearborn, MI on Friday, 16 March 2007. After a lot of pleasant conversation, questions, answers, and being on hold, Ford informed me their guideline was to support the dealership and side with them. They stick behind the idea that an aftermarket oil filter was the culprit. They said if I wanted to get the inspection report I would have to talk to the dealership; the dealership said I would have to talk to Ford ESP. The answer from Ford ESP is stated above.

I also submitted my information to the Dispute Settlement Board to no avail. Based on this information, Ford is blaming an aftermarket oil filter even when the problem predated the use of aftermarket (i.e., Jiffy Lube) filters. Ford is not standing behind even the products they recommend and use. The failure of these replaceable parts could possibly damage warranty covered parts, which would invalidate the warranty. This could mean one of several things: this is a convenient excuse for voiding customer’s maintenance plans; Ford has no faith in even their own filters; Ford maintenance itself uses aftermarket filters of a questionable brand.

This also begs the question of whether or not Ford officially applied for a waiver to the tie-in sales prohibition of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Invalidating a warranty based on a claim such as this should create evidence which could be used against the aftermarket manufacturer or the service company (Jiffy Lube). Ford’s unwillingness to part with this information tends to make me think there is something wrong with even their filters, or they have simply found an easy scapegoat for invalidating customer’s warranties.

My intention all along has been to maintain the truck so it will last as long as possible, performing the service for which it was designed. I believe I have done everything practically possible to this end. I availed myself of the maintenance offered by Koons for the first 30,000 miles. While I notified them of the noise, they informed me it was “normal” and just the “fuel injectors”. Since they were being held up by Ford as the local experts, I believed them and took them at their word. Obviously, now I know they were wrong, lying, or incompetent. If they were improperly trained or too inexperienced to diagnose problems, shame on them. If they were lying to me, that is fraud. My vehicle was brand new, under warranty and they were choosing to not address a concern brought to them by a customer.

I respectfully request repayment of $5698.37 to cover that amount of the attached work order (wo10f3, wo2of3, wo3of3 jpgs) and remaining portion of the rental car expense. I have also provided a copy of the rental receipt (rental.jpg) and a copy of my title (title.jpg) and registration of the vehicle to show I own it (registration2.jpg).

Should you not consider this request deserving of a refund, I will be posting all of this information online (e.g., Consumerist.com) for others use in consideration of your products. A positive response can also be posted to show how well you take care of your long-term and repeat customers.

I have been a Ford truck owner since 1993 and truly enjoy the vehicles. I want to stay with the Ford brand for future truck needs. Your positive response to this request will go a long way to ensuring just that. Thank you in advance for your prompt and professional attention to my request.

Sincerely,

John Y.
[contact info redacted]

I worked through Ford’s Customer Relationship center, their Dispute Settlement Board and the BBB. Getting no satisfaction, I am now writing Consumerist. The above information was sent via EECB (Thank you Consumerist for this information!) to several high level managers and members of the board of directors for which I could come up with names. I ferreted out the most probable names of the e-mail addresses and sent the above letter. I starting getting a few delivery failures right away and kept track of those. I also received immediate responses from a few people at Ford who have since moved on to other duties within the company and do not handle these areas. I also started to get phone calls from a local Ford rep who wanted to quickly offer me a one time Goodwill payment of ½ of the repair costs. I stated that was not good enough and told her to check with her superiors over the weekend for a better offer. I reiterated that this would not go away and I would definitely make a stink of this on the Internet.

The next week I also started to receive phonecalls from Detroit from Ford’s headquarters and executive offices. I thought this was directly related to the other phonecalls. Apparently, when you send an EECB to a large company and to several people, you might get independent responses that do not know about each other. Detroit called to say they were standing behind their inspectors and were going to offer me nothing. I do not know why they felt compelled to call me to say this. I again reiterated that this was unacceptable and I and the issue were not going away quietly. I thought that was over then. I started receiving calls again while I was out of the office with several voicemails being left by Detroit. I thought they had changed their mind when they said they had an “exciting offer” for me. The offer was for the X-Plan to purchase a new vehicle at a low cost. This just goes to show how out of touch Ford is with their truck buying customers.

I have since received a check for half of the repair costs from the original Ford rep. It came through one of the local dealers with no stipulations about keeping quiet if I cashed it. I cashed it and am now making good on my promise to write this up for all to read on your site.

I feel Ford still owes me for the other half of the repair work and the cost of the rental car. This totals $3567. The rental car alone was almost $900.

At this point I think it is fair to say I will not be doing business with any of the Koons dealerships or the Jerry’s dealerships in the Washington, DC area, nor buying any more Ford products. They are dead to me. However, if they choose to respond to this posting in a positive fashion (e.g., money) I would be willing to write you with a positive update.

As an aside, it was very interesting to find out what the Better Business Bureau can, and cannot, do for you. Their response to my complaint letter said that since the mileage on my truck at the time was outside the initial warranty, they could not help me at all. Good to know what the scope of your interest is, BBB.

Thanks a lot for all you do for all of us consumers. It really helps.

Also, here are the email addresses of Ford executives which did NOT receive a delivery error:

Lbooth@Ford.com
Dleclair@ford.com
Bfowler@Ford.com
Pdaniel@ford.com
Dhazel@ford.com
Eford@ford.com

East Tennessee and Middle Tennessee both primarily receive fuel supplies through spurs of the Colonial pipeline, which carries refined gasoline from the Texas Gulf Coast to the Northeast. [Hurricane] Ike damaged and knocked out power to many of those refineries, cutting the amount of gasoline fed into the pipeline.

The shortage should be remedied by next week, the paper reports:

The state is scheduled to receive 1.42 million barrels of gasoline over the next week, roughly matching its typical demand of 1.44 million barrels, Heidt said.

"Gas prices remain higher in Middle Tennessee" [The Tennessean] (Thanks to Jessica!)
(Photo: Pat Hawks)

How Wall Street's Woes Affect Car Shoppers [Kicking Tires] (Photo: Tengaport)

All tires bear a Department of Transportation number hidden on the inner wheel wall. At the end of the number is a four-digit sequence that shows the week and year the tire was made. Tires with the notation 3502 were made in the 35th week of 2002. If you only see three digits, get new tires immediately; your tires are from the 90's and are way past their effective lifespan.

Listen as the mustachioed John Stossel explains:

Check Your Tires [The Kim Komando Show]
Aged Tires: A Driving Hazard? [YouTube]
(Photo: zorilla)

I wanted to follow up with you about my situation with Advantage Rent-A-Car and the "diminution of value" charge. I called Lauren Wilson [the director of sales and Marketing]. Lauren listened to my story, took down my info, and said she would look into it and get back to me.

Within minutes, she emailed me saying that she had spoken with the Chairman and Owner of the company, Denny Hecker, and that he was interested in speaking with me. We scheduled a call for the following day.

When I spoke with Denny he was polite and understanding. He understood my frustration, but was concerned about my perception that "diminution of value" was a scam. He explained that when cars are damaged, they are unable to sell them back to the dealer under their contracts, and that they can lose money. I listened, explained that I understood the principle, but that I felt that the charges were unreasonably high. Denny said that he wanted to look into the situation on his end, which was understandable since the issue had just been brought to his attention the day before.

Long story short, Denny and I spoke again and Denny decided that he was going to wave the entire thing - not just the ~$2500 in diminution of value, but the ~$4500 in repair charges as well. He said that customers are very important to him, and that he wanted to ensure that I left a happy customer. I thanked him, but insisted that I (through Visa) cover the damages to the vehicle. After all, the vehicle was damaged and I had no problem being responsible for the physical damage. Denny and I had a laugh, he explained that he wouldn't turn my money down, but that he wanted to be clear that he was willing to walk away from the the entire thing. That it was that important to him. I said I understood, but would pay the damages, just not the diminution of value. Done.

While obviously I would have preferred to have never gone through this, I was impressed with the way Lauren and Denny handled it. At the end of the day everyone makes mistakes, people and businesses, and in many cases what's important is how the mistakes are handled. Advantage's mistake here was contracting with Subrogation Management Team, which profits off Advantage's customers, and not keeping close tabs in the impact this has on their reputation. In this case, in my opinion, Advantage made a mistake but when confronted with it, Denny went above and beyond by offering to wave the entire charge, including the physical damage. He also indicated that he would be reviewing their relationship with SMT.

All-in-all I will probably give Advantage Rent-a-Car another shot and rent from them again, though this time I will probably buy the insurance :)

It's always interesting to see how the people at the top behave when confronted with unfair business practices. Now if only they could find a way to pass that one-to-one sense of customer service downstream to every customer.

We're glad Paul was able to get the outrageous $2500 charge waived, because it was calculated by assuming that 49 hours in the shop somehow equaled 22 days of labor. We just hope that whether the fault lies with Subrogation Management or Advantage, they fix it so others aren't hit with the same high fees.

(Thanks to Paul and Debbie!)
(Photo: Getty)

The U.S. House of Representatives is considering loaning at least $25 billion to GM, Ford, and Chrysler, possibly as part of a second economic stimulus package. If so, they'll have to move fast. Congress will go on break at the end of this month and may not reconvene for the rest of the year.

"House leadership weighs loans for automakers" [Reuters]
(Photo: Getty)

This closing is notable because of where it is taking place and who is pulling the plug. It is, after all, one thing for enviro-friendly people in San Francisco–another city that recently lost a key Hummer dealership–to shun the brand. It is entirely different when Sin City decides the vehicles are too excessive. Towbin said Las Vegas is a custom fit for Hummer. “It’s all about bling and it’s in the desert,” he said.

And Towbin is an uber-Hummer enthusiast. He credits a Hummer with saving his life, and he counts a Hummer as his daily driver. “I feel very aligned with the brand,” he said. “Neither General Motors nor I wanted to go this way.”

One of Nation’s Largest Hummer Stores to Shut Its Doors [WSJ]

What is with the pregnant woman drinking champagne in the ad on this page!?!

Oh, c'mon, David. She's just having one for the road! Don't be such a square.

Happy Labor Day everyone!

Cincinnati.com (on the right)

Car | Average incentive value | Average incentive value per vehicle
Hatchbacks/wagons | $1,300 | $400
Budget and small cars | 1,000 | 450
Sporty/convertible | 2,300 | 750
Sedans | 2,300 | 1,200
Minivans | 2,200 | 1,600
SUVs | 2,600 | 1,900
Pickup trucks | 3,200 | 3,100

It's important to consider other factors, like maintenance, depreciation, dealer incentives, safety and fuel efficiency. Consumer Report says, "getting a great deal on a bad car is no deal at all."

Driving a great, end-of-summer new car deal [Consumer Reports] (Photo: jurvetson)

314-512-2206
ataylor@erac.com
andrew.c.taylor@erac.com

10. Suzuki SX4
9. Kia Rio
8. Toyota Corolla
7. Pontiac Vibe
6. Scion xB
5. Nissan Versa
4. Toyota Yaris
3. Hyundai Accent
2. Chevrolet Aveo
1. Honda Fit

10 Cheapest Cars To Drive [Bankrate] (Photo: yarnzombie)

OpenCarPrice [Official Site]
RealCarTips [Official Site]

Melissa writes:

I have a rental car from Enterprise in Manhattan. I rented the car on Sunday, August 17, in order to visit my parents in Rochester, NY and to have a necessary medical procedure performed there. After driving to Rochester, I noticed that the tire on the car had become dangerously low. I contacted my local branch on August 18 to see what could be done. I was told that I would have to go to a garage myself, wait for them to fix the tire and pay for it at my own expense. I did not have time for this, nor did I think the cost was my responsibility. I asked if I could simply receive a new car. Apparently, because Rochester and Manhattan are in two different "zones" they cannot switch the car without the Manhattan manager's approval. I called the Manhattan branch, where I was again told that I needed to fix the tire at my own time and expense. The evening of August 19, I called the Customer Service number and spoke to a representative, Drew. He said that because the Manhattan branch was closed, I could not switch out the car at that time.

Three days after arriving in Rochester, I was still in possession of a faulty car. Since I am only in the area about 5 days out of the year, my schedule was jam-packed, and I did not have time to go to a mechanic. Also, one of the reasons for not owning a car is that I did not want to have to deal with car repairs. This morning, August 20, I underwent a medical procedure requiring anesthesia. Because of the medication I was given, I am not permitted to drive for 24 hours. After arriving home (I was driven by my mom in her vehicle), I decided to call Enterprise again to try to get the problem resolved. I spoke to Barb, who connected me with roadside assistance. A representative from AAA was sent out at approximately 2pm. He inspected the tire and determined that it was unrepairable and replaced it with the spare. However, the spare is only a temporary "donut" and so cannot be driven 400 miles at highway speeds to Manhattan.

I again called Enterprise customer service at 2:45pm on August 20. I explained the situation, and was connected to what I believe was the Manhattan office, though I was never told. However, as I was trying to explain that I could not drive to another branch because of the anesthesia, the representative became confused and hung up on me. I called customer service again, and was again disconnected. On the third try of the hour, I was finally connected to a very helpful individual, whose name I believe was David. I explained the situation for what felt like the millionth time, and he tried to work out a solution. I was told to go to a branch 12 miles from my parents' house and I would receive a new car. However, after explaining again that I could not legally drive until Thursday, I requested that Enterprise "pick me up" as they advertise on TV. He said that the distance was too long, to which I replied that there was a closer branch. I was told that my mother, who was not authorized to drive the car, could drive to the closest branch without an issue, and they would give me a new car. However, after arriving at the Brockport branch I was told that I could not get a new car and that I would have to go to a service station and have the car repaired. I explained that I did not have time for that, and that another branch with an available car should bring that vehicle to my location. This request was refused. The only other option I was given was to drive to the other, larger location tomorrow and hope they give me another car.

I do not own a car, in large part because I do not want to deal with the hassles of owning