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Short answers to the questions readers send Car Fix Advisor most often, plus where to write if yours is not covered here.
Many repairs are straightforward if you follow the right sequence and have the right tools. Others are genuinely dangerous to get wrong. We say which is which in every article, and we do not encourage you to attempt safety-critical work on a vehicle you rely on.
The calculation is repair cost versus the car's realistic market value, minus how much you need it and how soon. There is no universal answer, but we walk through the variables in the buying section and in our articles on repair-or-replace decisions.
An OBD2 scanner reads the fault codes stored by your car's computer when a warning light comes on. A basic one costs around thirty pounds and saves you the diagnostic fee at a garage. We explain how to use one and what to do with the codes it gives you.
Aftermarket parts are usually cheaper, and for many components the quality is identical or close enough to make no difference. For others, the gap is real and the savings are not worth it. We cover this in the parts section.
It depends on the make, model, age and how you drive. Most modern cars have a service interval indicator, but that is a minimum rather than a recommendation. We explain what the intervals cover and which checks you can do yourself between services.
Service history, corrosion, tyre condition, brake feel, and a drive that does not produce unfamiliar noises. We have a full checklist in the buying section that covers what a seller is unlikely to point out voluntarily.
No. Some links on this site are commercial and that is disclosed in our editorial policy, but the wording of our advice does not change because of a commercial relationship.
Write to info@carfixadvisor.com and ask. Questions that arrive more than once usually end up as an article, and the ones that arrive often end up on this page.
Start with the blog archive, or pick a topic from the about page if you would rather see how the site is organised first.
