Sellers Who Publish the VIN Ask 11% More — and Get It
You'd expect a seller who opens the car up to scrutiny to be the one making concessions. Matched like for like, they charge more than the sellers who don't.
Nissan Admits a Defect in Under Four Years. Honda Takes Nearly Seven.
Every brand gets compared on how many recalls it issues. Nobody compares them on how long they take — and that number separates manufacturers far more sharply than the count does.
One in Five People Asking What Their Car Is Worth Owns Something With No Comparables at All
Valuation tools always return a number. We checked how often there was anything behind it, and for a fifth of requests the honest answer would have been that nobody is selling one.
A Used Pickup Costs 2.5x a Used Sedan. The Cheapest Body Style Is One Nobody Buys.
Body style decides more of the price than model year or mileage does. Ranking every type by what it actually sells for puts the most practical shape on the market at the bottom.
97% of Engines Now Use the Technology That Causes Carbon Buildup. Nobody Warns Used Buyers.
One engine technology took over the entire market in a single five-year window, faster than turbocharging or hybrids. It also introduced a maintenance problem that only shows up on the used market.
A 2009 Car Costs More Than a 2010. The Recession Is Still Doing It.
Cars get cheaper as they get older. Except for one model year, where the car that's twelve months newer is the one that costs less — and the reason happened in 2009.
One Model Year of the Ford E-350 Carries 38 Separate Recall Campaigns
Recall counts usually get quoted per brand, where volume dominates everything. Counted per model year, the top of the list is a very short list of specific, unlucky vehicles.
A Luxury SUV Loses Its Badge Premium by Year 15. A Luxury Sedan Never Does.
Premium badges are supposed to hold value better. Tracked year by year against mainstream equivalents, that turns out to depend entirely on what shape the car is.
Car Shopping Happens at the Weekend. Checking the Car Happens on Wednesday at 5pm.
We can see exactly when people look up a car they're considering. The pattern doesn't match when people go and look at cars, and the gap says something about how a purchase actually unfolds.
Gearboxes Stopped Helping After Seven Speeds. A Ten-Speed Is Worse Than a Six.
Every generation of automatic adds gears, and every press release calls it efficiency. Holding engine size constant, the curve turns over at seven and heads back down.
62% of Modern Cars Were Never Crash Tested. That Includes Three Quarters of Honda's Range.
Everyone knows what five stars means. Almost nobody notices when there are no stars at all — and that turns out to describe most of the cars on sale.
A Corvette Covers 2,738 Miles a Year. A Ford Transit Covers 15,135.
Mileage expectations are usually set by the calendar. Sorted by model instead, the spread is five and a half times — which means age tells you almost nothing on its own.