Flood damage is a serious matter for vehicles–and worse yet for those that have been subjected to salt water. That’s been a prime concern since the appearance of Hurricane Sandy, which assaulted the Northeast on October 29. More...

Rejected for an auto loan a while back? Was it because your credit score was too low to qualify? May as well apply again, because lenders continue to loosen their requirements. Whether you’re shopping for a new car or a used one, financial institutions have been easing their cutoff points just enough to let more of the credit-challenged slip through.

That trend is continuing, according to the latest data from Experian Automotive, which covers auto-financing transactions from the second quarter (April through June) of 2012. Most comparisons are made against data from a year before: the second quarter of 2011.

Lending institutions have a “very stable portfolio” of loans compared to a year earlier, said Melinda Zabritski, director of automotive credit for Experian, in her quarterly report on the state of the auto-financing business. More...

When the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) issued its list of most-reported consumer complaints a year ago, automobiles stood right at the top. Well, cars are Number One again, on the 2011 Consumer Complaints Report, issued on July 31, 2012. As before, too, credit/debt complaints are second on the list.

This year’s report represents complaints received by 37 state, local, and city agencies that handle consumer-related issues, in 22 states. Altogether, those agencies dealt with more than 289,000 complaints in 2011.

Though some complaints described this year are relatively new, those involving automobiles cover issues that have been around for years—Indeed, for decades. Specifically, CFA points to “misrepresentation in advertising or sales of new and used cars,” along with complaints about faulty repairs, leasing, and towing disputes.

Allegations of misrepresentation by auto dealers—or by any individual selling a vehicle—have been an integral part of the car culture since the early days of the automobile. Back in 1958, in his hilarious—yet serious—book, The Insolent Chariots, author John Keats provided some particularly colorful descriptions of the “anything goes” mentality that prevailed at car dealerships. More...

After rising steadily for months, sometimes to startling levels, used car prices began to decline this spring. Overall, that trend is continuing, according to Tom Kontos, executive vice-president of customer strategies and analytics at ADESA (a major wholesale auction group).

Not only is there a “continued downturn in used values,” Kontos told Auto Remarketing magazine, but in June–for the first time in four months–average auction sale prices fell below $10,000. That signified a 3.7-percent drop since May. The June average was 3.6-percent lower than it had been a year earlier.

“Wholesale used-vehicle prices continued to soften cyclically and seasonally,” Kontos added. In the car segment, the drop between May and June was 4.4 percent. Compared to the previous year, cars were down an eye-opening 6.9 percent. Trucks dropped 3 percent between May and June, and were down 0.5 percent compared to a year earlier.

“As gasoline prices softened in June,” Kontos noted, “prices for car segments fell more dramatically than for truck segments.” More...

Location is everything, we’re told, whether it’s shopping for a new home or establishing a business. Well, geography counts when you’re contemplating a used car purchase, too. According to a new CarGurus survey, consumers can expect better used-car buys in the vicinity of big cities than out in the suburbs or in rural areas. Those big-city prices can be “hundreds of dollars better,” CarGurus.com reports.

In all but two states (Indiana and Arkansas), dealers located within 50 miles of a major city had better deals. New Orleans led the list. At a dealership right in town, a shopper could save an average of $770 on a used-car purchase, compared to an outlet elsewhere in Louisiana. In Las Vegas, the difference between in-city dealerships and those out in the desert was $641 on average. Urban Atlanta dealership could save the used-car shopper an average of $606.

All around California, New York, and Texas, used cars were more than $500 cheaper in the major cities than in their surrounding suburbs. Nationwide, the average difference was $345.

Geography affects prices on a broader scale, too. Auto dealers know that wholesale prices–what they pay for the car they plan to resell–vary substantially between one part of the country and another. That’s why several wholesale price guides publish regional editions, with completely different valuations for each vehicle model. More...

Has your car been recalled? If so, did you get that recall remedied at a dealership? It’s free, you know. What about a car you’re planning to buy? How can you find out if all of its recalls have been dealt with?

Safety recalls are “being ignored and left unfixed at an alarming rate,” according to CarFax, a top supplier of Vehicle History Reports. Results from a new study found that more than 2.7 million used cars for sale online during 2011 had uncorrected safety recalls.

“Open recalls have caused vehicle fires, major accidents and even death,” CarFax advises. California, Florida, and Texas have the worst records. Each of those states has had more than 100,000 cars for sale at a given time, with open recalls.

In the words of CarFax.com’s communications director, Larry Gamache, “Open recalls are an accident waiting to happen. A recall is a warning,” Gamache adds. “The only way to solve the problem is for everyone to be proactive about finding and fixing open recalls.” In the used vehicle market, “many of these cars change hands without the buyer ever knowing a recall exists,” much less whether it’s been fixed.

A simple online check can tell you about a specific car’s open recalls, based on its Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). CarFax offers this as a free service, available at Recall.carfax.com. Recall repairs are always free, provided by a franchised dealer for the affected vehicle’s make. More...