About Car Field Guide

What this site is

Car Field Guide is a small independent editorial site about buying and owning a used car in the United States. Our subject is the part of car ownership that happens away from the workshop: how to inspect a car before money changes hands, which documents and history checks actually matter, how to work out what a car will cost to run rather than what it costs to buy, how to negotiate on evidence, how to pay in a way you can prove, and what to do in the first few months after the keys are yours.

We write for ordinary private buyers, not for dealers, traders or mechanics. That shapes everything. We assume you do not own a lift, a scan tool or a trade account. We assume you have a limited amount of time, one chance to look at each car, and a budget that has to cover the tax and the insurance as well as the sticker. Where the right answer is "pay somebody qualified to look at it", we say that instead of pretending a checklist can replace an inspection.

How we decide what to publish

Every guide starts from a decision a reader has to make, not from a keyword. Before publishing we ask three questions of each piece: does it change what somebody would actually do, is every claim in it something a reader could check for themselves, and have we been honest about where the answer depends on the reader's own state, insurer or vehicle?

• Specific over general. "Check the spare-wheel well" is useful. "Do your research" is not.
• Verifiable over impressive. Where we mention a cost, we give a broad range and tell you how to get a real local quote, because prices vary by region and change over time.
• Local rules flagged, not guessed. Titling deadlines, emissions requirements, sales tax and consumer protections differ by state. We say so rather than publishing one number and hoping.
• No pretend certainty. Used cars are compromises. We try to describe the trade-offs rather than promise an outcome.

What we do not do

We do not sell cars or list them. We do not arrange finance, broker insurance, sell service contracts or take a commission on anything a reader buys. We do not accept payment to feature a dealer, a marque or a product, and we do not publish sponsored guides dressed up as editorial. Nothing on this site is an offer, and no page here asks you to buy anything.

We also do not offer legal, financial, insurance or mechanical advice. Our material is general information. A guide can tell you what to look at and what questions to ask; it cannot inspect the car in front of you, and it cannot know the rules of your county or the terms of your policy.

Corrections

If something here is wrong, out of date, or ambiguous enough to mislead, we would like to know. Tell us which page and which sentence and we will check it. Substantive corrections are made to the page itself rather than quietly rewritten, and the update date at the top of the guide moves when the content changes in a way that matters.

Who publishes this site

Car Field Guide is published by AD.JUST Video Production Los Angeles, from 1850 Whitley Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028, United States. You can reach us by email at contact@carfieldguide.com or by telephone on +1 (213) 668-7957.