In a Facebook post, the indie band Lemuria says Pep Boys left its van unlocked in its parking lot after it fixed the vehicle following a robbery. And then a car thief came along and tried to hotwire the van. [More]
cars
How To Give An Electric An MPG When They Don't Run On Gas?
By 10.15.10
Cruising the electric cars on the showroom floor, consumers could soon be faced with an array of new numbers and stats on the piece of paper in the car window. Until now we’ve just had the traditional city vs highway MPG, but how do you give a rating that makes sense to car that doesn’t run on gas? [More]
Save Money By Changing Your Own Oil
By 10.10.10
I’ve never changed my own oil on a car and have no interest in learning how to do so. I’m terrified that I’d screw something up and ruin my engine. Yet it comforts me to know that some enterprising people — regular guys who don’t know everything about cars — can take it upon themselves to learn the fine art of oil changing and save themselves hundreds of dollars a year. [More]
Motor Vehicles Bureau Gets Your Birthday Wrong, Makes You Pay
By 10.4.10
A Cleveland driver paid to register his van and truck the day before his birthday, but got stuck with late fees because the Bureau of Motor Vehicles office insisted his birthday was three weeks earlier. The clerk’s response when the man produced a driver’s license with his correct birthday? Sorry; we can’t update the computer record or refund the penalty. [More]
Park In The Shade And Save Gas
By 10.4.10
One easy way to save on gas is to park in the shade. The cooler your car is, the less the gas in your tank will evaporate. A quality windshield shade helps, too. After all, you wouldn’t want your hard-earned dollars to waft away into the sky, now would you? [More]
What Are The Common Car Mechanic Scams?
By 10.4.10
One of our readers recently complained about a shady dealership mechanic trying to sell him on replacing his whole rear differential on his car for $3,800, when all he really needed was his fluids to get flushed for about $160. [More]
Priceline Promised No "Young Renter Fee," But Avis Says Pay Up
By 9.29.10 — Updated: 9.8.16
When Lauren reserved a car rental through Priceline last week, she checked out the fine print to see if she’d have to pay any age-related extra fees, and according to Priceline what she bid would be the total price. Now Avis is telling her Priceline is wrong and she’ll have to come up with more money at the rental counter. [More]
139,500 Hyundai Sonatas Recalled
By 9.28.10
Hyundai recalled 139,500 model year 2011 Sonatas this Sunday because of a steering issue. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTHSA) said that on some of the cars, the steering column intermediate shaft universal joint connections were not put together correctly, or were too loose, which could make the car hard or impossible to steer. [More]
How To (Maybe) Get Out Of A Traffic Ticket
By 9.25.10
When a cop pulls you over, what you do and say in the next few minutes may well determine whether you get pounded with a ticket for the maximum fee or skate like a celebrity. It’s not so much about being able to talk your way out of a ticket — because let’s face it, the cop has probably decided your fate before he asks for your license — but avoiding digging yourself any deeper. [More]
Wait — So GM Didn't Pay Back All The Bailout Money?
By 9.16.10
Last spring, now-former General Motors CEO Ed Whitacre ruffled a lot of feathers in Washington by airing a TV commercial where he claimed that the bailed-out car company had repaid “government loan in full, with interest, five years ahead of the original schedule,” without mentioning that taxpayers still owned 61% of GM. Today, new GM CEO Dan Akerson opted for a more honest approach, not only admitting that his company still owes billions to the government, but that it’s going to take “several years” to pay it back. [More]
Are You Changing Your Car's Oil Too Frequently?
By 9.13.10
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 Wants You To Update Your Facebook Status While You Drive
By 9.9.10
Because there is nothing more important for GM to improve with their vehicles, the car company has begun testing a functionality that would allow Facebook-addicted drivers to tell everyone “I can’t believe Prince Poppycock made it through to the finals on America’s Got Talent!!!” without having to take their hands off the steering wheel. [More]
Walmart Auto Care Leaves Car Unlocked With Ignition On, Wanders Off
By 9.8.10
Peter copied Consumerist on his letter to Walmart about his baffling recent experience with a local Auto Care Center. The ever-helpful technicians–who, as he learned later, were apparently random people drafted to perform oil changes on an understaffed day–left Peter’s car unlocked and unattended in the parking lot, with the ignition on but the motor not running, despite his explicit instructions. Would you have shrugged the incident off, or been as angry as Peter? [More]
Would You Pay $25 For The Right To Speed?
By 9.6.10
Maybe someday you’ll slam your foot on the gas pedal to see how fast that Ford Ranger can really go and you’ll catch the sirens in your rear-view mirror, only to wave off the patrol car and resume going way too fast just for the fun of it. [More]
Geek Squad Gets Some Sweet New Wheels
By 9.3.10
Sick and tired of seeing Geek Squadders rolling in those tired old VW Beetles? Then you’re in luck. Ford says they just made a deal to deliver around 1,000 new vans for use by the Best Buy nerd herd. [More]
The Continent's Most Notorious Speed Traps
By 9.3.10
Some cities have garnered a reputation for employing guerrilla methods to snag speeding motorists. Speed traps help keep drivers honest. But more importantly for the municipalities, they keep the money flowing. [More]
$230,000 Ferraris Recalled For Being So Hot They Could Burst Into Flames
By 9.2.10
The Ferrari 458 Italia is a hot car. Too hot. So hot that at least 5 of them have burst into flames because of a design flaw, leading the Italian luxury car maker to recall more than 1,200 Italias, each worth around $230,000. [More]
