Ever wonder what times were like before any government agencies oversaw auto safety? Believe it or not, things really were worse back in the day.

More and more these days, consumers are being forced to sign Arbitration Agreements when they sign purchase agreements. There are numerous arguments against them but I’ll point out one thing: Arbitration is dangerously unpredictable and unfair.

You bought something that is defective - a car, boat or a washing machine. If the seller and the manufacturer won't - or can't - honor the warranty, then you need to know about the following three laws. They are in order of importance so take note.

If you ever get ripped off for a few thousand dollars, you might not be able to – or need to – hire an attorney. You should consider suing in small claims court. Here’s how that works.

In my practice, I review automobile purchase documents all day long. And I cringe every time I see someone who has purchased the overpriced gap insurance from the dealer. They’ve been ripped off to the tune of several hundred dollars and probably had no idea.

Ever break a crankshaft? It's not the easiest thing to do and it will cost you quite a bit to repair. But that's nothing compared to the cost of Hadley's crankshaft. That one affected future generations, to the tune of billions of dollars.

A lot of my advice has focused on how not to get ripped off when buying a car, but I also get asked from time to time what advice I have for individuals who are selling a used car to another individual. Here's what you need to know when selling a car.

You bring your car to a dealer for repair and when you pick it up it has a dent in it. The manager tells you to file a claim with your insurance company because he does not know what happened to your car. What do you tell him?

Remember when Chrysler went bankrupt? During the early days of that financial catastrophe, Chrysler tried stealing a bunch of customers' cars, including my client's.

Donald MacPherson was driving along in his Buick at 8 MPH when something went horribly wrong with one of the wheels and he crashed. Because of the lawsuit he filed, your car and every other car built since 1918 is safer.

Ever been tempted to buy a Rebuilt Salvage vehicle? Formerly wrecked but now legal to drive, the former Salvage vehicle might be substantially less expensive than another similar vehicle without that designation. I would caution you: Rebuilt Salvage vehicles are the fool's gold of the automotive world.

You buy a truck to pull your boat trailer and specifically ask the salesperson if it will do the job. He assures you it will. Afterwards, you discover it couldn't pull your trailer downhill with a tailwind. Can you sue to un-do that deal? Probably not – unless you took specific steps to protect yourself.

Driving is about freedom, and that's why we all love it so much. But freedom comes with responsibilities and rules as well. What guidelines should we all follow for the good of ourselves and everyone else on the road? Opponaut Distraxi has six I like.

The National Transportation Safety Board says more than half of the semi-trucks that hit pedestrians had no idea they'd crushed somebody. They're aiming to fix that with blind-spot mitigation tech, and protective side skirts.