Q – Do you test drive cars that you service? I have taken my car in for service, gotten it back, and it still had the problem that I took it in for. That is so frustrating. One time I picked my car up, drove about 3 miles and one of the rear wheels came loose! Shouldn’t test driving cars be part of the process?   Don

A – Years ago, I was a bit lax about test driving cars, but now, I or someone I trust, test drives every car.   Some times it might be a trip around the block, occasionally twenty miles or so, and for a few cars, with very knotty problems, we may drive it a hundred or more miles.   Tricky problems need extensive test drives, such as when I am told: “it only acts up after I get off the freeway after a 25 mile cruise”.   Those are the tricky ones.   MC

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