Trust
Editorial standards.
How we research, source and review everything published on this site — and how we keep partner money out of the advice.
Who writes this site
Every guide, comparison, cost page and city page on cardogs.org is written or reviewed by Nicholas Velez, Founder, Car Dogs. Bylines link to his bio so you can see who stands behind the advice you are reading.
We do not publish anonymous content, and we do not publish content written to satisfy a partner. If a page recommends something, it is because we would tell a friend the same thing.
How we source numbers
- Fees, taxes and registration figures point to the agency that sets them — DMV, BAR, NHTSA, the Federal Reserve or the EIA — so you can confirm the current amount yourself.
- Prices are published as ranges, not promises. Local pricing moves with inventory, labor rates and time of month.
- Recall information comes straight from the NHTSA database by VIN. We do not restate recall status from memory.
- Our Monday news roundup only publishes stories we can tie to a fetched source. Unsourced items are dropped rather than paraphrased.
What we will never do
- Invent testimonials, review counts, ratings, credentials or savings claims.
- Publish a guaranteed payment, rate or price we cannot show you the math for.
- Let a partner buy a recommendation, a ranking, or an edit to a page.
- Present ourselves as a dealership, lender, repair shop or insurance agency. Car Dogs is independent.
How partners appear in content
Partners are vetted before they can receive an introduction, and their pages are labeled as partner pages. We earn a fee only when a partner converts an introduction — never for the advice itself, which is always free.
A partner appearing on a page does not mean they are the only option. If a page says a local shop is worth a call, it is because they cleared our vetting, not because they paid for placement.
Corrections and updates
Pages carry a visible update date. When a rule, fee or price changes, we update the page and the date rather than quietly leaving stale numbers up.
If you find something wrong, tell us and we will fix it. Reader corrections are the fastest way this site gets more accurate.
Found something wrong?
Send us the page and what looks off. We would rather be corrected than be confident.