San Diego Auto Repair

Chances are, if you're getting rid of a car it's because you upgraded to newer and better (maybe Santa was extra generous this year!). Congratulations! Unfortunately, selling your car can be a frustrating task. Even if you plan to skip the hassle and trade it in, you want your car to be in the best shape possible so you can get the most money for it. So what should you do to entice buyers or help the dealer see the value of your ride? Image: Flickr First things first: clean it up! Empty all your personal items out of car and remove any parking permits or bumper stickers. If you’re trying to sell your car to a private party, spring for a full detail. For roughly $200, you can get your car looking and smelling as new as possible with shampooed carpets, freshly waxed paint, and spotless windows ... read more

It’s the holiday season, which means an estimated 90% of holiday travel will occur via automobile as people head out to join their families (according to the AAA 2012/2013 Year-End Holidays Travel Forecast). Is your car ready for the journey? Image: Flickr Depending on how far you’re going, you’ll want to make sure you’re prepared in different ways.  If you're sticking to shorter trips (say, from San Diego to Los Angeles) you should inspect and top off your fluids, inspect your tires for damage or excessive wear, and maybe make sure there are spare batteries around for any electronics your kids are using to distract them from the drive. For longer trips, such as up to the Bay Area and beyond, you should take a little more time with your fluid checks. If you’re already overdue for a service such as an oil change or a new set of brakes, you should ha ... read more

Last week, we showed you the 10 most unreliable cars of 2013, but wanted to leave some hope for the future (the new year is fast approaching - we like to start it off on the right foot). This time we're featuring the 10 safest cars for 2014, but you'll be pleased to see some stylish, high performing vehicles among the safest. Car Safety Ratings New car, truck and SUV safety is a difficult thing to gauge not only because there are two main sources of information regarding crash testing—in the United States the Federal Government runs the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), which also issues vehicle recalls, and there is also the IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety), which recently came out with an even more stringent test for new models, but also because "safety" can be a relative term when it comes to something as personal and important as driving. While we find the NHTSA&rsqu ... read more

Everyone loves to write about the best and brightest new cars that come out each year to the delight of auto journalists and new car buyers everywhere. But you have to admire the chutzpah of Consumer Reports for releasing a list of the ten LEAST reliable new cars from 2013, the last model year that they have complete survey records from their readers. If you're planning on making a big car purchase this month for yourself or as a gift, take these models into consideration before throwing thousands of dollars on something you'll end up regretting. Also note, Consumer Reports' focus isn’t really on “driving fun” but they do not accept advertising from any automakers and pay their bills through subscriptions from readers of their website or magazine, making it harder for ... read more