Unless you’re a professional mechanic or a hardcore DIYer, I suggest you focus on building memories instead of a car.

Why wouldn’t your shop purchase a few of these?
Two technicians are examining a tapping sound coming from a V6 engine. See who has the correct response about what’s causing the noise.
We’ve all heard the expression “buy once, cry once,” and for some auto parts, those are words of wisdom. For others, it might be an unnecessary expense.
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Auto care news and advice you can use.
Step up your repair game with sensible choices.
With 84% approval, it’s the latest electoral show of support for providing owners and independent garages with more ability to repair motor vehicles.
Proper tooling and techniques are critical to repairing threads—and if you’re a mechanic, neither are marketed well to you.
DIFM customers just won’t purchase this common underhood part.
Think you know your dash lights? Shop Press contributors Keith, Miriam, Chris, and Greaser try their best to identify all kinds of lights, symbols, and indicators.
Are you a wrench and a writer? A counterperson and a communicator? A service writer and a scribe? Get paid to share your experience and expertise with thousands of Shop Press readers.
Auto care news and advice you can use.
It’s been asked of every new mechanic for more than a century. Does it matter in 2025?
These handy tools can are useful for all kinds of alignment tasks involving covers, pans, and gaskets.
If you’re a budding technician, a few of these pointers might help ya during front end work.
We assembled a list of common and confusing advice, then asked the gang to weigh in on some very questionable practices.
Set yourself up for success with high intensity discharge lighting systems.
On a car with disc brakes, what is the most likely symptom of a vehicle with rotors that measured out-of-spec for thickness variation when measured at several places on the rotor surface?
Peter Meier discusses the importance of testing coolant and how mechanics can use simple strip testers to keep cooling systems safe.
Dorman trainer Pete Meier turned me on to a handy new tool.