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Autos: every article

52 articles, newest first.

23 September 202642 pieces

AutosThe best collector-car deals aren't under the auction lightsTelevised auctions set the market. Estate garages, regional sales and patient private-seller hunting are where you actually beat it.
AutosWhat to Buy When You Need Three Rows and a Trailer HitchA straight read on the new trucks and SUVs that actually work for a full house, a full driveway and a job that starts at six.
AutosThe Classic Cars Still Cheap Enough to Buy This YearSeven cars the market still files under used instead of collectible, plus the one rule that decides whether you win or bleed.
AutosStart With a Weekend Project, Not a Barn FindMost project cars die in the disassembly phase. Pick the job that fits the two days you actually have, and the car stays a car.
AutosWipers, Bulbs and the Cabin Filter in One Saturday HourThree jobs a shop will happily charge you $250 for, done in your driveway with a socket set and a paper towel.
AutosGetting a Truck Past 300,000 Miles Without Getting StrandedThe engine is rarely what kills a high-mileage truck. It's the rust, the fluid nobody changed, and the owner losing patience in a parts store parking lot.
AutosCall Your Insurance Agent Before Your Teenager Gets a PermitThe discounts, the deductibles and the one coverage you should raise instead of cut when a sixteen-year-old joins your policy.
AutosSell Your Car Yourself and Keep the Dealer's MarginThe private sale is worth thousands more than a trade-in, and most of that money is earned in the two hours before you list.
AutosFind the Rust Before It Finds Your Brake LinesA flashlight, a magnet and twenty minutes under the car will tell you whether you're looking at a project or a trap.
AutosPick the truck by the door jamb sticker, not the tow ratingA half-ton that says it tows 11,000 pounds will still be illegally overloaded by a 7,800-pound travel trailer. The math is in the door.
AutosMinivan or SUV When the Third Kid Shows UpThe sliding door settles most of this argument, but there are three real cases where the SUV is the right buy.
AutosThe lease is cheaper every month and that's not the pointWork a $38,000 SUV through both deals, month by month, and the winner isn't obvious until year four.
AutosWhat a Classic Car Actually Costs You Every YearThe purchase price is the cheap part. Insurance, storage and the stuff nobody warns you about is where the money actually goes.
AutosThe First Ten Minutes After a Crash Decide the Next Six MonthsYour hands will shake and your memory will lie to you. Work the list instead, and shoot the twelve photos that settle the argument later.
AutosBuying a Car at Auction Without Paying for Someone Else's ProblemThe hammer price is never the price. What to check in the five minutes you get, and the fees that turn a bargain into a lesson.
AutosGetting your motorcycle license and choosing a first bikeThe weekend course, the endorsement, the gear budget, and the short list of bikes that won't put a new rider in a ditch.
AutosPull Your Own Check Engine Code in Ten MinutesA twenty-dollar scanner and a parking space is all it takes to find out whether that light means a loose gas cap or a tow truck.
AutosReplacing a Car Battery Without Waking Every Warning LightThe swap takes twenty minutes. The part nobody tells you about is what your car forgets the second the power goes away.
AutosRide City Traffic Like Nobody Can See YouThe left-turning sedan, the four-second gap, and the habits that keep a rider upright through an ordinary Tuesday commute.
AutosElectric, Hybrid or Gas With Three Kids in the BackTwo numbers decide this before you ever walk onto a lot, and the sticker price isn't either of them.
AutosRotate Your Own Tires and Read What They're Telling YouForty-five minutes in the driveway, a $5 gauge, and a penny will tell you more about your car than most shop visits.
AutosChanging Your Own Brake Pads on a Saturday MorningTwo hours, about a hundred dollars in parts, and one step most people skip that ruins the whole job.
AutosWhat Actually Kills a Truck Before 300,000 MilesThe engine is rarely the problem. Frames, fluids and the parts nobody thinks about twice are what decide whether your truck sees 300k.
AutosHeadlights, Wipers and the Cabin Filter in One AfternoonThree jobs a shop charges real money for, all doable in your driveway with a 10mm socket, a pair of gloves and about an hour.
AutosThe Car Turning Left Is the One That Gets YouLane position, escape routes, and the one thing you should watch at every intersection instead of the driver's face.
AutosWhat the hammer price at a car auction doesn't includeThe bid is the cheapest part. Fees, titles, tow bills and a two-minute inspection window are where people lose money.
AutosGet Your Motorcycle Endorsement First, Then Buy the BikeThe weekend course, the DMV shortcut most riders miss, and the honest list of first bikes that won't hurt you or your resale value.
AutosWhat to Do and Photograph in the First Ten Minutes After a CrashAdrenaline makes you stupid for about five minutes. Have a plan so your hands know what to do while your brain catches up.
AutosWhat to do before you add your teenager to the policyThe rate hike is real, but most of it is negotiable if you start during the permit year instead of the week after the road test.
AutosThe Lease Versus Buy Math Nobody Shows You at the DealershipFour numbers build every lease payment. Learn them, run the same car both ways, and the decision stops being a feeling and starts being arithmetic.
AutosPayload, Not Tow Rating, Decides Which Truck Pulls Your CamperThe window sticker brags about 11,000 pounds. The door jamb quietly tells you you're out of truck before the trailer is even hitched.
AutosThe minivan wins more often than you want it toBefore you spend sixty grand on a three-row SUV, go sit in the third row with a car seat already installed.
AutosChange Your Own Brake Pads Before Lunch on SaturdayFront pads on a normal car take about ninety minutes, two jack stands and one tool most guys don't own yet. What goes wrong, and how to avoid it.
AutosRotate your tires at home and read what the tread tells youAn hour in the driveway twice a year buys you thousands of extra miles and an early warning on your alignment, your shocks and your right foot.
AutosElectric, Hybrid or Gas for a Family of FiveEight years, 120,000 miles, five seatbelts. Run the arithmetic yourself before a salesman runs it for you.
AutosBuy the boring car your teenager doesn't wantInsurance quote first, horsepower last, and new tires before anything else. How to pick a first car that protects a new driver instead of flattering him.
AutosThe first car for your teenager should be dull and heavySkip the horsepower, skip the hand-me-down subcompact, and make one phone call before you hand over any money.
AutosWinter Driving When You Have the Whole Family in the CarThe decision that matters most happens twelve hours before the first flake. Then there's the tires, the trunk, and knowing when to quit.
AutosRestoring a car with your son without ruining it for both of youPick the right car, sequence the work so he sees wins early, and know the month where most projects die in the driveway.
AutosThe Saturday morning truck detail, start to finishFive hours, one driveway, and an order of operations that keeps you from scratching the paint you just cleaned.
AutosHow to Tow a Trailer Without Learning the Hard WayThe hitch, the weights, the tires and the backing up, in the order you'll actually need them on your first trip.
AutosThe used car tricks that still work, and how to beat themCurbstoning, title washing, flood cars and the finance office. What the seller is hoping you won't check, and the ten minutes it takes to check it.

22 September 202610 pieces