Dear Lifehacker,
I love my car, but it's getting on in years. It's paid off, which is great, but even routine maintenance now runs me a few hundred bucks, and the mechanic is always upselling me on additional repairs that are hundreds more dollars. Is it time to just retire my ride and buy a new car, or should I stick…

Going to the body shop is never really a pleasant experience. Most of the time it's because your car has been damaged and you need to get it fixed. But at the end of the ordeal you expect to have a car that's up to snuff and ready to hit the road.

When you take your car to get serviced, how do you know the mechanics aren't driving it like it's a getaway car in a heist movie? This 2010 Camaro SS driver figured out one very clever way: he placed a voice recorder in the car to capture the dealership employees driving and working on the car.

America's roads are filled with cheap, rusty cars half-broken and fixed with duct tape. Eventually they have to go into the shop. When they do, they go to the best sub-reddit there is.

Ever get that sneaking suspicion when you take your car in for repair that you're overpaying or getting needless work done? If you want to make sure you get service you can trust, keep in mind these tips for what to ask at the shop and signs of good (and bad) mechanics.

If there's any transaction more fraught with fear of scams than buying a car, it's getting one fixed. Mechanic Jeremy Waters explains why people need to be a little more trusting — at least in his shop —Ed.

Automobiles are not singular objects, but rather of a collection of interconnected parts slowly wearing out at different rates. A good mechanic will help identify what needs to be replaced or repaired. According to Reddit user dnalloheoj, the folks at his local Firestone aren't so good at that.

Adam Cramer runs a vintage motorcycle shop in Philadelphia, and filmmaker Andrew David Watson pulled him away from his obsession long enough to hear Cramer's lament for the loss of American craftsmanship. Do your children know from a Phillips screwdriver?

Meet Bart Hickey, who runs Bart's Automotive and Towing in Alsip, Ill. He's been a mechanic since he was a teenager... not a bad career for someone who's been blind since birth. This will get your motor running. (H/T Kevin!)

The Vinsetta Garage, the historic neon landmark of Detroit's Woodward Avenue cruising scene and the oldest garage east of the Mississippi, has closed after 91 years in business, a victim of the tough choices facing its owner.