Car Dealers, Auto Repairs, Warranties, and Recalls: Honest Reviews from Real Owners
Americans spend more on their vehicles than on almost anything else besides housing. And yet, the car business remains one of the most complained-about industries in the country. Dealer markups, warranty runarounds, undisclosed accident histories, questionable repair bills, and ignored safety recalls cost consumers billions of dollars every year.
Buying a car without getting taken
Whether you're shopping for a new sedan, a used truck, or your first EV, the buying process is designed to favor the dealer. Hidden fees, mandatory add-ons, inflated financing terms, and bait-and-switch pricing remain standard practice at thousands of dealerships. This section arms you with what the dealer doesn't want you to know.
Car Dealer Reviews & Ratings
Verified reviews of new and used car dealerships across the country. Owners report on pricing transparency, sales pressure, financing terms, and post-sale support.
Browse dealer reviewsOnline Car Buying Sites
Side-by-side comparisons of Carvana, CarMax, Vroom, CarGurus, and other digital retailers. We track title delivery times, vehicle condition accuracy, and complaint patterns.
Compare online dealersCar Buying Tips & Guides
How to negotiate out-the-door pricing, spot dealer add-on scams, understand your financing options, and know when to walk away from a bad deal.
Read the guideUsed Car Scam Alerts
How to spot curbstoners, fake online listings, VIN cloning, and odometer rollbacks. Updated with current scam patterns from our complaint database.
See active scam alertsDealer Markup Tracker
Which models carry the highest markups above MSRP, and which dealers are charging them. Crowd-sourced reports from buyers combined with market pricing data.
Check current markupsWhat to do when your car is a lemon
Every state has some form of lemon law on the books, but the rules differ widely. In California, a vehicle may qualify after just two repair attempts for a safety defect. In other states, you might need four or more failed repairs. We break down the law in each state and connect you with attorneys who handle these cases.
Lemon Law by State
Fifty individual state guides covering qualification criteria, filing deadlines, required documentation, and arbitration options. Written in plain language, not legalese.
Find your stateHow to File a Lemon Law Claim
Step-by-step walkthrough covering everything from documenting repair visits to filing with your state's consumer protection office to finding a lemon law attorney.
Start the processLemon Law Attorney Directory
Searchable by state. Listings include practice focus, fee structure (many lemon law attorneys work on contingency), and client reviews.
Find an attorneyCar Complaints by Make & Model
Owner-reported problems organized by manufacturer, model, year, and vehicle system. See which cars generate the most complaints and which defects appear most often.
Search complaintsRecalls, safety defects, and investigations worth watching
The average recall completion rate in the U.S. sits below 50%. Roughly half of all recalled vehicles remain unrepaired and on the road. Keeping track of open recalls on your car isn't optional. It's a safety issue.
Free Vehicle Recall Lookup
Enter your 17-character VIN to check for open safety recalls on your vehicle. Results pulled from NHTSA data, explained in plain English.
Ford F-150 Transmission Defect
2021-2023 models affected. Potential loss of drive power without warning. 478,000 vehicles.
Tesla Autopilot Software Update
NHTSA investigation into phantom braking on highway. OTA update pending for 2.1M vehicles.
Counterfeit Airbag Alert
Aftermarket airbags sold online failing deployment tests. Check your repair history if airbag was replaced outside a dealer.
Vehicle Recall Alerts
Look up open recalls by VIN, make, model, or year. Plain-English explanations of what each recall means and how urgent the repair is. Sign up for free email alerts.
Browse all recallsADAS & Self-Driving Safety Reports
Tracking complaints about phantom braking, Autopilot incidents, lane-keeping failures, and other advanced driver assistance problems. NHTSA has logged over 5,200 related incidents since 2021.
View safety reportsSafety Defect Investigations
Vehicles under active NHTSA investigation: what the suspected defects are and what you should do if you own one.
Check investigationsExtended warranties and auto service: separating value from scam
The extended car warranty industry runs on fear of a $5,000 transmission repair or a $3,000 electrical diagnosis. Some warranty providers pay claims reliably and earn their premiums. Others deny claims on technicalities, delay payments, or disappear entirely. Our reviews tell you which is which.
Extended Car Warranty Reviews
Rated by actual policyholders. Claim approval rates, customer service ratings, coverage details, and cost comparisons for Endurance, CarShield, CARCHEX, and others.
Compare warrantiesWorst Extended Warranty Companies
The providers with the highest complaint rates, most claim denials, and most deceptive sales practices. Updated quarterly from our complaint data.
See the worst-ratedAuto Repair Shop Reviews
Owner reviews of national chains (Firestone, Meineke, Midas, NTB, Maaco) and independent shops. Sorted by location, service type, and rating.
Find repair reviewsRoadside Assistance Reviews
AAA, Good Sam, Allstate Motor Club, and others compared on response times, coverage areas, cost, and how they actually perform when your car is on the shoulder.
Compare providersWarranty Scam Alerts
How to identify robocall warranty scams, fake mailers, and high-pressure sales tactics. Includes reporting instructions for the FTC and your state AG.
View active scam alertsAuto loans and financing: what lenders don't tell you
Americans owe $1.7 trillion in auto loan debt. The average new car payment hit $767 a month in late 2025, with loan terms stretching past six years. Subprime delinquencies reached 6.6%, the highest rate since 1994. If your auto loan terms feel wrong, they might be.
Auto Lender Reviews
Verified reviews of banks, credit unions, and online lenders including Capital One, Ally, PenFed, LightStream, and buy-here-pay-here dealers.
Read lender reviewsPredatory Auto Lending Guide
How to recognize inflated APRs, hidden fees, negative equity rollovers, yo-yo financing, and other practices that trap borrowers. Red flags every buyer should know before signing.
Learn the red flagsAuto Loan Complaint Center
File a complaint about your auto lender and see complaints filed by other borrowers. Searchable by lender name, loan type, and issue category.
View complaintsCar Loan Refinancing Reviews
When refinancing makes sense, which companies offer the best rates, and what to watch for in the fine print. Includes rate comparisons updated monthly.
Compare refi optionsCar insurance: filing complaints and finding better coverage
A low premium means nothing if the insurer won't pay your claim. Our reviews come from policyholders who have actually filed claims, not from people who just bought a policy and forgot about it.
Car Insurance Reviews
Policyholder reviews of major carriers covering claims handling, premium accuracy, customer service, and renewal rate increases.
Read insurance reviewsInsurance Complaint Guide
State-by-state guide to filing complaints with your state insurance commissioner, including links, deadlines, and what documentation to gather.
Find your state guideCar Insurance Comparison Guides
Coverage types explained, rate factor breakdowns, and guidance on switching carriers without a coverage gap.
Compare coverageNew threats: EVs, subscriptions, and your car's data
The car industry is changing fast, and consumer protections haven't kept up. EV owners face charging failures on roughly 1 in 5 public sessions. Automakers are locking features behind monthly subscriptions. And your connected car is collecting and selling your driving data, often without clear consent. These are the problems no one warned you about.
EV Owner Complaint Center
Battery degradation reports, charging infrastructure problems, range discrepancies, and EV-specific repair cost complaints. Organized by manufacturer and model.
Report EV issuesCar Subscription Feature Tracker
Which manufacturers charge monthly fees for which features, what they cost, and what legislation is pushing back. Updated as new subscription programs launch.
View the trackerVehicle Data Privacy Guide
What your car collects about you, who it sells that data to, and how to opt out. State-by-state privacy rights and recent enforcement actions.
Check your rightsRight to Repair: Your Car, Your Mechanic
Current state and federal legislation, which manufacturers restrict independent repair access, and what you can do about it.
Learn about your rightsAuto transport reviews
Moving a vehicle across the country shouldn't mean handing your keys to a stranger and hoping for the best. Our transport section includes verified reviews, price comparisons by route, and complaint data for carriers operating in all 50 states.
Auto Transport Company Reviews
Rated by customers who shipped their vehicles. Covers pickup and delivery times, vehicle condition on arrival, pricing accuracy, and insurance coverage.
Compare transport companiesAuto Transport by City
Route-specific pricing and carrier availability for major corridors: Florida to New York, California to Texas, and other high-demand lanes.
Check your routeWhere to file an automotive complaint
Not sure where to start? The answer depends on what went wrong. A dealer that lied about a car's history is a different complaint than a manufacturer that won't honor a warranty. Our routing tool points you to the right agency, whether that's your state attorney general, the FTC, NHTSA, your state DMV, or your state's consumer protection division.
Complaint Filing Guide by State
Look up your state to find every relevant agency, hotline, and online complaint form for automotive issues. One page, all the resources.
Find your stateAutomotive Class Action Tracker
Active and recently settled class action lawsuits involving vehicle defects, dealer practices, auto lending, and insurance disputes. Check if you qualify.
Search class actionsConsumer Bureau is a privately operated consumer protection resource. We are not affiliated with any government agency. Our reviews come from verified consumers. Our editorial content is fact-checked and updated regularly. We accept no payment from companies in exchange for positive reviews. When you see a company comparison or recommendation, our methodology is published alongside it.