This post is not an advertisement but a loud applause for some great work being done by CarComplaints.com. What these guys do, they do very well.

Don't buy a lemon. That seems like an easy enough thought to keep in mind when you go car shopping. But how do you avoid it?

One way is to check the current ratings of the best and the worst vehicles on reliable web sites like this one. Frankly, we have seen a lot of complaint web sites come and go over the years, but this one sticks around and gives consumers remarkably useful data - and that's what you need so that you don't end up with a lemon.

Thinking of buying a used Honda Accord? Well, while Honda typically builds a good vehicle, but did you know that CarComplaints reports that the 2008 Accord has more complaints about premature brake wear than any other complaint about any other car? So the moral is simple - avoid that one unless you know how to replace those brakes or have some money set aside to pay for it.

But if you don't check, you don't know. And if you don't know, you can end up with an expensive four-wheeled lemon on your hands.

You can find not just the worst cars at this website but also the best (note that the Accord isn't listed as the best Honda for any model year).

And their Recent Trends page shows summaries of the most recent complaints received. Like for instance the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango that is reported to have lots of "TPM" related runability troubles too - which backs up the 160+ owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the federal recall agency.

Bottom line is simple, don't get a lemon car, new or used. And one way to avoid it is to do your homework first by checking out online complaints and ratings and reviews at websites like this one, frankly, folks.

And if you do end up with a lemon, well, that's what we're here for.