Owning
Running costs, maintenance, and keeping a used car worth keeping.
Finding a mechanic you can keep
What a good shop does in front of you, staged across the first call, the first small job and the first real bill.
How insurers price a used car
The factors, sorted by how much of each one is actually yours to move.
How service departments make money
The book hour, the parts margin, the multi-point sheet - and the opposite incentive inside a dealer's own recon bay.
Maintenance that actually matters
Ranked by the consequence of skipping it, from the items that end a car to the ones that only cost you comfort.
OEM, aftermarket, remanufactured
Five ways to buy the same part, and a reference by part category for where each one belongs.
Records that hold value
The folder, divider by divider: what goes in each, how to keep it usable, and what it is worth at sale.
The first thousand miles
A used car tells you most of what it has to say in the first month. Here is what to do, and what to listen for, by the odometer.
What a warranty doesn't cover
Seven categories of exclusion, what falls into each, and the reasoning that put it there.
When a repair isn't worth it
Not repair cost against the car's value - cost per remaining month against the alternative. Four worked cases.
Why your mileage doesn't match the sticker
The lab and your Tuesday, side by side - and the four places a gallon of fuel actually goes.
Winter prep in New Jersey
Brine, cold starts and short trips - the three things a Jersey winter actually does to a car, and what answers each.