Maximizing Profits: Top Tips for Selling Your Junk Car Is your old car just collecting dust and taking up valuable space? You might be sitting on a goldmine without even realizing it! Turn your eyesore into a money-maker with our top tips for selling your junk car. By transforming that clunker into cash, you’ll not […]
We all know that one person who refuses to give up their old, beat-up vehicle. They don’t seem to care that the engine lets out an ungodly shriek each time it starts up (if its fortunate enough to), alerting everyone within a 3-block radius to clear off the roads or choke on the pungent aroma […]
Ever looked at that old rust bucket in your garage or driveway and thought, how can I convert this into a pile of cash? Well, you’re just one read away from unlocking the treasure trove. With insights gathered from industry experts, discover how you can turn your decrepit vehicle into a worthwhile financial asset. With […]
Having a car repossessed is stressful and it happens fast. Understanding what comes next — particularly the part about still owing money after the car is gone — puts you in a much better position. What happens immediately after The lender takes possession and will normally sell the vehicle, usually at auction. You are generally […]
You can sell a car you still owe money on, but you cannot simply hand it over and walk away. The lender holds a legal interest in the vehicle until the loan is settled, and that interest has to be cleared before ownership can transfer. Here is how it actually works, and what your options […]
Tires are the only part of a car that touches the road, and they are one of the few components where the failure mode is sudden rather than gradual. They are also, on a junk car, one of the more valuable things left. Checking tread depth New tires start around 10/32 of an inch. The […]
Salvage yards are the cheapest source of parts there is, often a fraction of what the same component costs new. The trade-off is that you do more of the work, and you need to know what you are looking at. The two kinds of yard Self-service (u-pull-it) You pay a small entry fee, walk the […]
Towing a dead vehicle with a chain looks like the cheap, obvious solution. It is also one of the more reliable ways to damage two vehicles, injure someone, or collect a citation. Here is what actually goes wrong, and what to do instead. Chains do not stretch This is the core problem. A tow strap […]
Squeaking brakes range from completely harmless to a warning that you are about to spend real money. The trick is telling which noise you have. Noises that are not a problem A light squeak on the first stop of the morning is usually surface rust on the rotors, formed overnight from humidity. It disappears after […]
A sweet, syrupy smell in or around your car almost always means one thing: coolant is escaping somewhere it shouldn’t be. Antifreeze has a distinctive smell that people usually describe as sweet, a bit like maple syrup, and it doesn’t smell like anything else under the hood. The smell itself is not the problem. It’s […]
Car air conditioning fails in a fairly small number of ways, and you can narrow most of them down in ten minutes without any tools. Here is how, and what each outcome tends to cost. Start with what it is actually doing Air blows, but it is not cold The refrigerant circuit is the likely […]