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You are signing paperwork, you glance at your credit report alerts, and you see five “hard inquiries” from the dealership process. It is a fair question whether your score just took a beating. The answer depends on what kind of checks they were and how close together they happened.

You agree on a price, show up ready to sign, and suddenly the dealer says that number was before “mandatory add-ons.” It feels like a bait-and-switch because, in many cases, that is exactly what regulators have accused some dealers of doing. The short answer is yes, this is a common enough trick that federal and state agencies have warned buyers about it for years.

If you have ever shopped for a used electric car, you have probably heard the warning. Someone always says the battery will be toast in ten years and the whole car will be worthless. It is a powerful claim, but the real-world data now available in 2024 and 2025 paints a much more nuanced picture.

Settling minor accidents privately may be convenient, but you lose some of the advantages of using insurance.

You park your rental car for what you think will be a quick stop. When you come back, the window is smashed and your luggage is gone. It's already a stressful moment but then a few days or weeks later, the rental company sends you a bill for the broken window. Unfortunately, this is a pretty common situation with rental cars. The good news is that being charged does not automatically mean you'll end up paying out of pocket.

Automakers love bringing old nameplates back to life. Sometimes it works brilliantly. Other times, great cars fade into history even though they still have huge potential today. From wild rally legends to underrated coupes and quirky SUVs, these forgotten machines all deserve another shot at the spotlight.

Discover 25 easy car repairs mechanics overcharge for—and learn how to do them yourself to save hundreds on maintenance and repair costs.

A teen crashes a Ferrari into a pothole and the automaker refuses repairs—here’s what to do next, from insurance claims to certified repair options.

You have a small crash, the car still drives straight, and then your insurer says it is “totaled.” That can feel like someone is trying to take your car away for no reason. In reality, “totaled” is usually a math decision, not a drivability decision.

You are driving, and the touchscreen that runs your heat, radio, and defroster suddenly freezes. The car still moves, but the “brain” for everyday controls stops listening. That is when a modern design choice starts to feel like a safety problem.

If your neighbor keeps stopping in front of your driveway “just for a minute,” you are not being petty for caring. In most places, blocking a driveway is a traffic or parking violation, even if the driver stays in the car. The trick is that the exact rule, and who enforces it, depends on where you live.