There are equal amounts of fear and bravado when it comes to modifying new cars. Many owners worried they’ll void their warranty don’t modify their car at all. Others make modifications they can reverse if they need to take a car in for warranty work. But few know what a car company even looks for when assessing a…

Hello ladies and gentlemen and welcome to Letters to Doug, a weekly column wherein Doug addresses your automotive-related letters with letters of his own, such as P.

Today, I’ve decided to address certified pre-owned programs. More specifically, I’m going to tell you why certified pre-owned programs actually benefit car companies with a reputation for poor reliability.

On average, I get five phone calls a day from people who have bought defective used cars and are seeking legal help. The question I ask which stumps most of them? Did it come with a warranty? Not knowing the answer to that is akin to not knowing if the car was sold with an engine.

I’ve mentioned before that even when you do your best to negotiate the sale price of your car, you still need to keep your guard up when you get to the finance office. Often this is where the dealers make the most money, and can be a bit pushy about it. My recent trip to the F&I office was surprisingly pleasant.

Yes, good people of Jalopnik, it's true: Friday is upon us once more. The week is almost over, the weekend is almost here, and that means the time has come for Letters to Doug, the weekly column where I almost answer your automotive questions.

If you recently purchased a new General Motors vehicle, were you lured in by their five year, 100,000 mile powertrain warranty? If the answer is "Not really," you aren't alone. GM switched to that warranty plan in 2007, but it's being downgraded because it apparently wasn't helping to move cars.

Certified pre-owned is a great way to get the "ultimate driving machine" of your dreams without dropping a ton of cash, but a new program has just eliminated that extra warranty coverage if the vehicle was not purchased from a BMW store.