Flipboard 2025 Car Tips

You walk out to your car, start the engine, and suddenly it sounds like a race car. Then comes the bad news. Your catalytic converter has been stolen, and the repair estimate is much higher than expected. Many drivers assume insurance will take care of the problem. Unfortunately, that is not always how things work out. Deductibles and coverage limits can leave you paying a significant portion of the bill.

Insurance companies increasingly offer discounts to drivers who agree to share driving data. The pitch sounds simple, but for many drivers the offer raises uncomfortable questions about privacy and whether the promised savings are actually worth it.

Getting your car towed is stressful enough. Things can get even worse when the towing company refuses to release your vehicle until you pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars in fees. Many drivers feel trapped and wonder if the company is legally holding their car hostage.

Driving used to involve all sorts of little tricks, gadgets, and routines that have completely disappeared. Some were genuinely useful. Others were a huge pain. Either way, do you remember any of these?.

You bring your car in for maintenance, and then comes the warning. The advisor says you need to service it at the dealership or your resale value will suffer. It is a powerful line because it mixes fear about future money with confusion about what buyers really care about.

You thought the hardest part would be paying for the repair. Instead, the mechanic wouldn't even put your vehicle on the hoist. If rust is the reason, you may have more options than you think.

Modern cars can feel incredibly advanced until the main touchscreen stops working. One minute, everything is fine, and the next you can’t adjust the fan, lower the cabin temperature, change defrost settings, or even access basic climate controls. The good news is that regulators and safety groups are paying more attention, but the rules still haven’t fully caught up with touchscreen-heavy car design.

Most drivers understand that modern cars contain computers. What many don't realize is just how much information those computers collect. Newer vehicles can track location data, driving habits, vehicle performance, phone connections, navigation history, and much more. Once people discover how much information is being generated, a natural question follows: Who actually owns all of it?

There was a time when "check engine" didn't automatically mean "schedule an appointment." Plenty of American cars could be diagnosed with your ears, fixed with a basic toolbox, and back on the road before dinner.

Buying a new vehicle today often means buying a connected device on wheels. Many cars continuously gather information such as location, speed, braking, acceleration, diagnostic data, app usage, and connected phone information to power navigation, remote features, maintenance alerts, and other services. The challenge is that some of this information may also be shared with outside companies, leaving many owners wondering what control they actually have.

If your neighbors are willing to chip in $15 a month, what's the problem? As it turns out, the answer isn't nearly as simple as you might think.