Each year Consumer Reports Magazine sends out thousands of questionnaires to car owners to survey defects and problems that owners are experiencing. Based on the latest survey results, Consumer Reports has predicted what cars will the most reliable in 2016 - and which ones will be the worst - in the December 2015 magazine issue.

The most reliable car? The Lexus NX. The fact that it is the Lexus brand is no surprise to us - we hardly ever get a lemon Lexus case.

The only American brand car to make the top 15 most reliable cars for 2016? The Buick Encore. We can't recall the last lemon Buick Encore case we had - the quality is that good.

And the least reliable car predicted for 2016? The Fiat 500L. And, yes, that is also what our clients seem to say too. For the price though, when you get a good one it may well be worth the money.

Most surprising result for most people? The Mercedes Benz GL Class ranks among the least reliable and the Cadillac SRX is even worse. Both of those "luxury" brands like to tout quality but the owner survey numbers show an experience among their owners that is anything but that.

Our lemon law experience is the same for the Mercedes and Cadillac cars too.

You can read the entire list and see how your car stacks up online at the Consumer Reports website or at your local news stand.

And if you get a lemon, call us. Getting rid of lemon cars is what we do.

Every Veterans Day we pause to thank those who served and to reflect on the meaning of this day by republishing a blog article written several years ago, to give tribute to the veterans in all of our families - and all the veterans who have served over the generations. We pause to note not our time but to honor the time of the millions of veterans who passed before and after us. The true story below is that of a farmer's son and a war that was only just beginning some fifty plus years ago and which now has passed from most memories, except for those who lived it. Like every war in the last 100 years, it was life and death everyday, half a world away from the evening news.

A few years ago, a local farmer came in to see me for some help. Farming bills and crop prices and debt had him over a barrel and we talked about bankruptcy and what it could and couldn’t do to help relieve his situation. He was a big strong man, the way some farmers just naturally are, both in his heart and his size. We were about the same age but he looked so much older.

His situation took about 5 months to get resolved but I will never forget the day that I learned that he was a chopper pilot in Vietnam about the same time as my older brother, Larry, was there. I had no clue and never would have guessed.

We both stopped what we were talking about, his own current problem, while he looked out the window and quietly talked about what it was like then, back in Vietnam. It was hard for me to look at this older and much heavier man and try to imagine what he must have looked like back in the days of 1966-'68. Now, he was mostly bald and probably weighed a lot more than he did back then, but like me he had been young once too. Now, he didn't move as quick as he undoubtedly did back in 'Nam either.

But you could tell from the distance in his eyes as he spoke that he had never really left it all behind him.

He talked about what it was like to fly a chopper in and out of valleys and hills and fire, dropping down as quickly as he could and picking up a wounded soldier or two and getting back out of there, wherever "there" was, as fast as he could. Nothing but plexiglass between him and the bullets.

He said he loved flying helicopters then, but that he was never in his life as scared as he was in those few minutes between the time just before he would land and when he was back out of the worst of the fire. He said they were the longest minutes of his life. He called it dodging a lifetime of bullets, scared to death that one of them had his name on it.

He had a dusty old baseball cap in his hand as we talked. It hung loosely in his hand as he gazed aimlessly out the window. It was from some team that didn't really matter, I'm sure. His eyes were never in the room with us as he calmly and matter-of-factly talked of how men died around him and also of those who came back like him.

You could tell he had memories he wished he didn't have. He said the worst feeling he had from the whole war was that every time he'd lift off the ground he knew that while he was getting out of there, he was leaving other boys behind. He'd fly away, his heart pounding loud in his chest, while the fighting went on below him.

After a long while, he stopped talking and we just sat there, not talking at all. I could see that things were going on inside his mind and I just didn't know what to say. I was dumbstruck by this seemingly now-gentle giant of a man who had been through hell. Truth be told, I didn't think I had a right to say anything at all. After what seemed like the longest time, both of us returned to the present moment. He never spoke about it again.

It's been years now. I don't even remember his name. Probably most of the guys he saved didn't remember it either. I haven't thought of him since then until my older brother sent me a recording he found on the internet, called God's Own Lunatics (click below) that explained what it was like to be one of those foot soldiers on the ground. I clicked on it, listened, and the memory all came back to me.

I recall that he was the son of a local farmer who had gone off to war and came back all grown up - to be his father's son, a farmer again. Something about beating your swords into plows seems appropriate for me to end on with this note but it also seems so trivial a thing to say. I can still recall his face. It has haunted me ever since. It was a look of resigned melancholy. Perhaps for a war that took away his youth and innocence. Perhaps the regretful haunting of his own for those boys he left behind so many times.

Being a veteran is hard because no matter what duty you had, things happen there that you never forget and which influence the way you live the rest of your life.

We all owe veterans a whole lot more than any of us will ever be able to repay. If you know someone who served, shake their hand and thank them. You don't need to say why. They'll know. And remember on this Veterans Day that there are lots of vets that aren't around for you to thank, so say thanks to those who still are. Thanks, Dad. And thank you, Larry. Two of the wisest bravest men I have known in my lifetime. Veterans.

Don't let that expensive Rv rip off your rights

Money Talks. So let it talk.

Ten tips that can save you a lot of money when you buy your next car.

One of the smartest folks I know just wrote a terrific article giving you ten tips on how to buy a car that should be required reading for anyone who is even thinking about it. 

Its published over at the NHS Consumer Law Center blog, where you can find out much more about consumer rights, scams, and how to protect yourself.

One Smart Car Buyer Gives You 10 Tips

In the article, Nadine Ballard explains what she just did in buying a car that kept her in control of the process and avoiding some of the major pitfalls and dangers that lurk in the sales staff and paperwork car dealers use.

She also shows you how just saying "NO" can save you time and money and preserve your legal rights - and how car dealers will change even their form contract paperwork just to make a sale to you if they have to.

Nadine's advice is highly recommended to everyone!  Don't leave home (to go car shopping) without it -

Today is National Watermelon Day - so if you've got a lemon car, we have your answer.

Goes Well With Lemonade too

1. Go to a restaurant or bar near you

2. Order a Watermelon Martini

3. If they know how to make it, drink it down and call us for your Free Lemon Law Help (it's what we do)

4. If they don't know how to make it, here's a YouTube (click here) so you can go home and make your own. Then drink it down and call us for your Free Lemon Law Help

5. Don't try to drive to our office; if you are at a bar and have had too many Watermelon Martini's - well, call a cab right after you call us or we can call one for you.

Remember, got a lemon motor vehicle? We can handle that. It's what we do.

Got a Lemon? Get Burdge on Your Side

Chrysler Death Wobble trucks to be repurchased.

After months of negotiations, Chrysler has agreed to accept a hefty fine for violating federal safety laws and buy back the trucks that thousands of consumers complained had an uncontrollable chassis wobble, nicknamed the "death wobble" by owners and investigator.

Under the recent agreement between Chrysler in the federal government safety recall agency, Chrysler also agreed to repurchase thousands of motor vehicles whose recall work had not been done properly or whose owners had not been notified properly.

If you have one of these Chrysler lemons, you need to know if Chrysler has to buy it back.

Is your vehicle affected?

278,229 vehicles were recalled because the axle may lock up and could cause an accident. The vehicles involved in this recall are the 2009 Chrysler Aspen, the 2009 Dodge Durango, 2009 through 2012 Dodge Ram 1500 trucks, and the 2009 through 2011 Dodge Dakota trucks.

Another 36,710 vehicles were recalled because of a factory defect that can cause the driver to lose steering power and control - and that can lead to a crash. The vehicles involved are the 2008 through 2012 Dodge Ram 4500 trucks, and the 2008 through 2012 Dodge Ram 5500 trucks.

Another 265,057 other vehicles were recalled because a steering link defect could cause the driver to lose power steering control and crash. The models involved in this recall are the 2008 Dodge Ram 1500 truck, 2008 through 2012 Dodge Ram 2500 trucks, and the 2008 through 2012 Dodge Ram 3500 truck models.

If you have one of these lemon trucks or cars, what can you do?

1. Call your local dealer and tell them your vehicle is one of the recalls and you want them to buy it back.

2. Call Chrysler at 1–800–853–1403 and tell them that your vehicle is one of the recalls you want them to buy it back.

3. Make notes of what you say and what they say.

4. If you don't get it resolved promptly, call us call another lemon lawyer near you. To find the name and phone number of a lemon lawyer near you, keep reading.

How do you find out about recalls for your vehicle?
How do you find a local lemon law lawyer near you?

To stay up-to-date on all recalls for your vehicle, download the Ohio lemon law app for your smart phone. It has all 50 state laws and a list of lemon lawyers in all 50 states.

Just click here and look for the link in the lower right corner of the page. With the app on your smart phone, go to the recalls page and enter "my recalls" info for your vehicle and press "get recalls" and you will always know when a recall is issued for your vehicle.

For the iPhone app, click here

For the Android app, click here

FCA, the new Fiat Chrysler Automobiles corporation that resulted from the merger of Chrysler and Fiat, is looking to merge now with General Motors, but GM bosses want no part of the idea, according to AutoNews in Detroit.

FCA first floated the idea early this year and GM's Board refused. Now, both GM and FCA are reportedly taking another look, each hiring financial advisers to see if it makes sense.

For its part, FCA's chairman is arguing that combining development teams would enable each of them to create new and better products faster. But the biggest shareholder in GM is the company that manages the United Auto Workers healthcare trust for retired workers and no one thinks they would rush to the merger idea for one simple reason. Job losses from a merger would hurt current employees and the Union itself.


This whole merger thing sounds like a game being played by millionaires who sit on the boards of large corporations that employ thousands of workers and are just dreaming up ways to make more money for themselves and their companies by cutting company costs, which often means cutting jobs. We can't think of a single merger in the last decade where the new company had the same number of employees that the two companies had before the merger - workers seem to always lose out when big corporations get bigger.

And for the guy who goes car shopping later? Well your next Chevy Impala just might end up being made by Fiat workers in Europe. Will the quality get any better? Only time can tell...

Meanwhile, if you've got a lemon Fiat or Chrysler, you know who to call.

Same Size Can but with More Profit

So, with costs going up and profits going down, what does a food manufacturer do? Simple, trick consumers into thinking they are getting just as much today as they did yesterday when they go to the grocery store. But how do we do it, asks the CEO, CFO and the Board of Directors? Well, says a voice in the back of the room, how about we just put less pepper in the package? Genius, shouts the entire room, s they envision their next bonus payment!

And so it goes. Profits stay high, the fat guys get fatter, and the everyday folks in the grocery store don't even realize what is happening to them. At least maybe not until every food product starts doing it. And now they are.

All of this came to the forefront (again) in a front page article in the Business section of the June 12 Wall Street Journal. The entire article is well worth the read, so you don't waste your money on big business rip offs. Consumer Reports reported on its investigation of these deceptive practices a few years ago but obviously things have only gotten worse as Big Business has continued to find ways to sneak around the law's prohibitions.

You need to be aware of this grocery store deception and to be ready to do something about it too.

We don't know where it started but McCormick's pepper tins are among the latest to take the weight out of their same-size tin package so they can keep their profits high. Same size tin on the shelf at your grocery store. Just a lot less pepper inside. One fourth of the original content has been cut out and in tiny print on the bottom edge of the can the new much-less content amount is printed, 3 ounces now where it was 4.

It's like a 25% price increase that you didn't even know you were paying. In the food packaging business this deception is called "weight-out" or "slack fill" apparently by those who are beginning to do it regularly. We call it cheating.

News programs noticed the narrowing of toilet paper rolls, followed by the shrinking size of some cereal boxes, but up to now there was usually some noticeable size difference in the package itself that would tip off the consumer that they were getting less than when they shopped yesterday. Now we are seeing some food companies getting deceptive by simply keeping the food container-package the same size and just cut back on how much product is put on it.

Well it turns out the Federal Trade Commission has some federal regulations that makes deceptive packaging illegal and there are only a couple ways around deceptive packaging laws. One is the unavoidable settling of the food items into the bottom of the package - think crackers in a box for example. Another is to protect the food from damage in transit - think chips for example.

Is Big Business Cheating You at the Grocery Store?

And then there are those companies who do it just to protect their profit in a way the consume has less chance of finding out about. Feel like complaining to McCormick about this? Click here and do it! Maybe it will make them think twice before doing it to their other grocery store products.

Better yet, the FTC is looking at rewriting its packaging regulations and is inviting you to tell it what you think - you can do that by clicking here - so give them a piece of your mind if you want to stop this kind of consumer fraud.

Time did a nice article online about the ten common ways that companies trick you into spending more on their products.

So what can you do? You can stop them. You can let them know you don't appreciate being ripped off by sneaky sales gimmicks that are designed to see if you are being careful every time you go to the grocery store.

Every state has a "Udap" law that makes it illegal for any company, anywhere, to do anything that is unfair or deceptive to a consumer - and that includes the use of deceptive advertising and sales gimmicks that can rip you off. And, best of all, many of these Udap laws say that a violation of the federal law against unfair and deceptive acts is also a violation of the state law. So if you see an unfair or deceptive sales tactic that costs you money, these laws not only give you the right to stop it, but most of them give you the right to make the company pay you for doing so and, on top of that, they can be liable for any attorney fees too.

Big Business will be fair and honest, it seems, when you make it less profitable for them to be unfair and deceptive. So when you go shopping, be careful and don't let them trick you into wasting your money.

A tip from an industry source warns us that as many as 10,000 damaged vehicles may come out of the recent Texas floods and insurance companies may be letting wholesalers buy these vehicles so they can end up at your neighbor dealer's car lot.

Texas floods send thousands of vehicles to auction

Automotive News and Bloomberg News are both reporting that about 2,500 flooded cars, trucks, Rv's and motorcycles have already been towed to a Copart yard in Houston, where they likely will be auctioned off for salvage value to the highest bidder. Copart works with insurance companies to sell vehicles wholesale that have been totaled in accidents and floods.

While these totaled out flood cars are normally reduced to salvageable parts, some are bought by dealers who intend to resell them after cleaning them up, often moving them to another state, and then off to the local auction yard they go - where their flooded or wrecked history can often be made difficult to trace back.

So if you are in the market to buy a used vehicle in the next six months, watch out. Inspect carefully, have a local mechanic or body shop check out the vehicle before you buy it. Check under seats and in trunks for any sign of water damage, such as sand or dirt or waterline markings.Look for signs of premature rust. Smell for musty odors and look for mold.

And, most important of all, ask the selling dealer to guarantee that the vehicle you are looking at was NOT in a flood anywhere.

And don't just take their word for it. When they say "no flood - no way" be sure to tell them that you want them to write that on the sales contract too. And if they won't do it, then watch out! Don't buy! Go somewhere else.

Don't waste your money on flooded or wrecked cars!

Every Memorial Day we pause to remember and thank those who gave their all so that all of us could have the life we have in this country. We also pause to remember those who served and to reflect on the meaning of this Memorial day by republishing an article written several years ago, to give tribute to the veterans in all of our families - and all the veterans who have served over the generations. We pause to reflect on the millions of veterans who passed before and who inspire those who will come after them. The true story below is that of a farmer's son and a war that was only just beginning some fifty plus years ago and which now is little more than a few pages in a history book. Like every war in the last 100 years, it was life and death everyday, half a world away from the evening news.

A few years ago, a local farmer came in to see me for some help. Bills and crop prices and debt had him over a barrel and we talked about bankruptcy and what it could and couldn’t do to help relieve his situation. He was a big strong man, the way some farmers just naturally are, both in his heart and his size. We were about the same age but he looked so much older.

His situation took about 5 months to get resolved but I will never forget the day that I learned that he was a chopper pilot in Vietnam about the same time as my older brother, Larry, was there. I had no clue and never would have guessed.

We both stopped what we were talking about, his own current problem, while he looked out the window and quietly talked about what it was like then, back in Vietnam. It was hard for me to look at this older and much heavier man and try to imagine what he must have looked like back in the days of 1966-'68. Now, he was mostly bald and probably weighed a lot more than he did back then, but like me he had been young once too. Now, he didn't move as quick as he undoubtedly did back in 'Nam either.

But you could tell from the distance in his eyes as he spoke that he had never really left it all behind him.

He talked about what it was like to fly a chopper in and out of valleys and hills and fire, dropping down as quickly as he could and picking up a wounded soldier or two and getting back out of there, wherever "there" was, as fast as he could. Nothing but plexiglass between him and the bullets.

He said he loved flying helicopters then, but that he was never in his life as scared as he was in those few minutes between the time just before he would land and when he was back out of the worst of the fire. He said they were the longest minutes of his life. He called it dodging a lifetime of bullets, scared to death that one of them had his name on it.

He had a dusty old baseball cap in his hand as we talked. It hung loosely in his hand as he gazed aimlessly out the window. It was from some team that didn't really matter, I'm sure. His eyes were never in the room with us as he calmly and matter-of-factly talked of how men died around him and also of those who came back like him.

You could tell he had memories he wished he didn't have. He said the worst feeling he had from the whole war was that every time he'd lift off the ground he knew that while he was getting out of there, he was leaving other boys behind. He'd fly away, his heart pounding loud in his chest, while the fighting went on below him.

After a long while, he stopped talking and we just sat there, not talking at all. I could see that things were going on inside his mind and I just didn't know what to say. I was dumbstruck by this seemingly now-gentle giant of a man who had been through hell. Truth be told, I didn't think I had a right to say anything at all. After what seemed like the longest time, both of us returned to the present moment. He never spoke about it again.

It's been years now. I don't even remember his name. Probably most of the guys he saved didn't remember it either. I haven't thought of him since then until my older brother sent me a recording he found on the internet, called God's Own Lunatics (click below) that explained what it was like to be one of those foot soldiers on the ground. I clicked on it, listened, and the memory all came back to me.

I recall that he was the son of a local farmer who had gone off to war and came back all grown up - to be his father's son, a farmer again. Something about beating your swords into plows seems appropriate for me to end this note but it also seems so trivial a thing to say. I can still recall his face.

We all owe veterans a whole lot more than any of us will ever be able to repay. If you know someone who served, shake their hand and thank them. You don't need to say why. They'll know. And remember on this Veterans Day that there are lots of vets that aren't around for you to thank, so say thanks to those who still are. Thanks, Dad. And thank you, Larry. Two of the bravest men I have known in my lifetime. Veterans.

Is There a Stink Bug Legion in Your New Car?

Literally. US Cars literally stink in New Zealand, according to an article just published by WardsAuto news publication and Yahoo's New Zealand news online. The official announcement was made in New Zealand last December but apparently word has just reached the US. Yeah, right, guys.

It turns out that stink bugs, those pesky fingernail size brown bugs, can infest cars shipped to New Zealand from the US and the island's government officials have put in place a ban on imported US motor vehicles that are shipped to the country unless they have first been fumigated. Or "heat treated" to kill the bugs.

“We are working closely with importers and treatment suppliers to ensure imported vehicles can receive biosecurity clearance where possible, although, if there are no suitable decontamination options, non-compliant vehicles may have to be turned away,” New Zealand's Ministry Biosecurity and Environment Manager Paul Hallett says.

The untreated US car ban  is intended to keep the pesky bugs out of New Zealand before they do damage to the country's agriculture.

So, it is from New Zealand that US consumers learn that US cars have stink bugs in them. A no-extra-cost standard feature, mind you.

If your new car or new truck stinks, call us. Getting rid of lemons is what we do. Everyday.

We were asked the other day why a car dealer who lied to a customer should have to do anything more than merely take back the car and refund their money. Seems some car dealers and their attorneys think that's enough. Paying "more" means paying what the law calls "punitive damages" and there's a reason for them. I think it was my dad or older brother who first explained to me, years ago, why punitive damages are a necessary part of our society and legal system. It's because of Chuck. Let me explain.

Young Chuck moved to Texas and bought a donkey from a farmer for $100.00. The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day.

The next day he drove up and said, "Sorry son, but I have some bad news, the donkey died." Chuck replied, "Well, then, just give me my money back." The farmer said, "Can't do that. I went and spent it already." Chuck said, "Ok, then, just bring me the dead donkey."

The farmer asked, "What ya gonna do with him?" Chuck said, "I'm going to raffle him off." The farmer said, "You can't raffle off a dead donkey!" Chuck said, "Sure I can. Watch me. I just won't tell anybody he's dead."

A month later, the farmer met up with Chuck and asked, "What happened with that dead donkey?" Chuck said, "I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars apiece and made a profit of $898.00." The farmer said, "Didn't anyone complain?" Chuck said, "Just the guy who won. So I gave him his two dollars back." Chuck grew up and works for a car dealer now.

Punitive damages are necessary to punish those few business people who knowingly do something that's just plain wrong and is so bad that they need to be taught a lesson and made an example of. 499 people paid Chuck two dollars and never knew they were ripped off. When the one who found out complained, why Chuck just paid them off by refunding their two dollars.

Meanwhile, by lieing to everyone (okay, technically he just hid the truth) Chuck made $898 profit off the scheme.

That's why just making a con artist refund your money is not enough. You have to stop the scheme and as long as they make money off the scheme itself, simply making them refund your money won't be enough to make them stop what they are doing. You have to go deeper into their pocket because people like that only understand one thing: money. After all, if they understood right and wrong, they wouldn't be selling raffle tickets for dead donkeys.

Same thing is true of a thieving car dealer who you catch ripping you off. The average car dealer fights hard to keep from taking back a bad car. Why? Because there's an old saying in the business that goes like this "Once it goes over the curb, we don't take it back."

Nowadays, the smart car dealer will argue but then eventually give up and take it back. They argue hard at first to try to avoid taking back the defective car (that's probably a visceral reaction ingrained in the breed, frankly). But if you argue long enough, the smart car dealer will take the car back just to stop your complaining. After all, they know that they can just pawn off the dead donkey on some other guy or gal, who probably won't argue as long or as loud as you do.

And they get away with it. In fact, they make money off it.

Many courts have explained that punitive damages are intended "to discourage others from committing similar wrongful acts." They don't reward the victim for being a victim. They punish someone for being a thief. Why? Because punishment works.

Otherwise, they'll just keep selling raffle tickets for dead donkeys.

If you've bought a dead donkey from a rip off car dealer, we can help. Click here to email us right now, or call us, 1-888-331-6422 Toll Free. Helping consumers get their money back is what we do. Everyday since 1978. Oh yeah, lots of car dealers know who we are and what we do, and that doesn't bother us one bit.