Affiliate Disclosure

What an affiliate link is

An affiliate link is an ordinary link to a retailer with a code attached that identifies it as coming from us. If you click one and buy something, the retailer pays us a percentage of the sale.

The price you pay is exactly the same. The commission comes out of the retailer’s margin, not out of your pocket. You are never charged more for arriving through us, and you are never charged anything for reading the site.

Which programmes we participate in

We may join additional programmes as the site grows. When we do, we update this page and the date at the top of it.

How to spot an affiliate link here

We do not hide them. Affiliate links on this site are identified in three ways:

• A short disclosure appears near the top of any article containing affiliate links, before you reach the first one
• Individual links are marked, typically as “(paid link)” or with a comparable label beside them
• This page is linked from the footer of every page on the site

This meets the disclosure standard set by the United States Federal Trade Commission, which requires that a material connection between a publisher and a retailer be disclosed clearly and conspicuously, close to the recommendation rather than buried at the bottom of a page.

What affiliate revenue does not change

This is the part that matters. Affiliate income creates an obvious incentive to recommend things, and the honest response is to state plainly what we will not let it affect.

• Nobody pays us for a recommendation. No retailer, parts brand, manufacturer or repair chain pays to appear here or to be described in a particular way.
• Commission rates do not influence what we recommend. We do not choose a product because it pays more, and we do not avoid one because it pays nothing.
• We recommend against things. If a part is not worth buying, or if the answer to a problem is that you do not need to buy anything, we say so, even though that earns us nothing.
• Our research method does not change. Articles containing affiliate links go through the same sourcing and verification process as every other article, set out in our Editorial Policy.
• Free products earn nothing. If a company ever sends us a product at no cost, we will say so in the article itself. Accepting a sample does not commit us to a favourable verdict.

Our rules for recommending anything

Because this is a site about problems and repairs, a product recommendation here usually arrives when someone is already spending money they did not plan to. Four rules apply.

• The cheapest answer gets said first If a problem can be fixed without buying anything, or with a five dollar part rather than a two hundred dollar assembly, that is the lead of the article, not a footnote.
• Fitment before preference A part is only recommended where we can establish it fits the model years the article covers. Compatibility is a documented fact, not an opinion, and we state where we checked it.
• We say when a job is not a DIY job Where a repair should go to a professional, we say that, even though it means you will not buy a tool through our link.
• No manufactured urgency We do not use countdowns, fake scarcity, invented deal language or pressure of any kind to move you toward a purchase.

Advertising is a separate thing

The display advertising you see on this site is not the same as affiliate linking. Ads are served automatically by third-party networks, chosen by those networks rather than by us, and we are paid for impressions and clicks rather than for sales.

The full picture of where our money comes from, including advertising, is on How We Make Money.

Your responsibility, and ours

Once you click through to a retailer, you are on their site under their terms. The purchase is between you and them. We are not a party to it and are not responsible for pricing, stock, shipping, warranties, returns or the quality of what arrives.

A product mentioned here is not a guarantee that it is right for your vehicle. Check fitment against your own year, trim and engine before buying, and see our Disclaimer for the limits of what we publish.

What we track when you click an affiliate link, and what the retailer’s own cookie does, is explained in our Privacy Policy.