The Four-Wheeled Federal Reserve Note

A used car is an unknown car. Even with receipts it’s hard to know for sure whether required maintenance was done – and done correctly.

That second part being the intangible part.

A receipt indicating that the axle lube was changed – or the brake fluid flushed – is kind of like a Federal Reserve Note.

Its value is based on faith.

The work was probably done. But how well was it done? And was it done with the right parts? Including the right fluids? This latter is very important with late-model...