Q: Is premium gas really that much better for your car?
It is better, but only if your owner’s manual recommends higher-octane fuel. If your car calls for regular 87 octane, giving it anything else isn’t really helpful. With most modern vehicles, it won’t damage your engine if you don’t opt for the hi-test stuff. Almost all modern cars that call for premium fuel have knock sensors that automatically adjust for lower-octane gasoline by lowering the compression ratio. Your car may make slightly less power or burn slightly more fuel, but it’s a performance issue more than a reliability or engine health issue. The only modern engines that really need high-octane fuel are vehicles with turbo and superchargers, since the engine is being force-fed extra fuel so quickly that the knock sensor can have a hard time keeping up. If in doubt, listen for pinging coming from the engine. If you hear it, let up on the gas, reach for some octane booster and remember to dig deep next time at the gas station.
Q: When’s the best time of year to get great car deals?
Most list prices stay the same throughout a full model year, October to October, although as the small print always says, “Prices are subject to change”—and almost always upward. If you’re looking for a deal, the end of the month is usually a good time to go car shopping, as salespeople and managers are often looking to meet monthly target sales figures. Go to the dealer an hour or two before closing with a couple of days left in the month so there is time for them to find you other vehicles with the colours/options you really want if the perfect car isn’t on the lot. The end of the calendar year and model year (end of September) are especially good months for deals on cars from that same year, since many companies are pushing their dealers hard to meet or exceed annual sales objectives. This is a better deal if you’re planning on keeping the vehicle for a long time, since the car will depreciate even more quickly when the new year arrives and the car is a year old in potential buyers’ minds, even though you just bought it.
Q: As a car writer, what’s it like test-driving so many cars?
For the most part it’s great, especially if you’re a true car enthusiast and enjoy learning all about the intricacies of what makes one car better-looking, more comfortable, faster, more dangerous, noisier or more fun overall than its competitors in the market. But it does have some drawbacks: You lose a ton of CDs, you spend way too much time stuck in traffic either picking cars up or dropping them off, and you lose a lot of change.
