Last updated: November 6, 2026 – By Diane Holcomb

November 2026 update: restated the sourcing and no-referral-fee standards that every page on the site is held to.

Your Best Deals exists to answer one question honestly: what is this actually going to cost, and why? Most of us have stood at a service counter holding an estimate we couldn’t judge – too high, too low, no idea. This site is written by two people who spent their careers on the shop side of that counter, so you can walk in knowing whether a quote is fair before you say yes.

Who writes here

Diane Holcomb came up through the front office. Seven years writing repair estimates at Charlotte dealerships and two at an independent shop taught her exactly what moves a price and where quotes get padded. She writes the cost, coupon, and chain-comparison pages – the “how much does this cost” side of the site.

Eddie Brennan came up under the car. Eleven years as an ASE Master Certified technician in Columbus, Ohio, working brakes, suspension, and electrical diagnostics, gave him the “what’s actually wrong and why” expertise. He writes the diagnostic and repair-technique pages.

We keep the split clean on purpose. Diane doesn’t guess at diagnostics and Eddie doesn’t guess at pricing – each of us writes the pages we actually did for a living. You’ll always see one name at the top of a page, and that’s the person who did that job.

How we handle prices

Every dollar figure on this site is either tied to a verified source – a chain’s published pricing, a manufacturer’s maintenance schedule, or a real repair order – or it’s clearly flagged as an estimated range. When there’s no reliable published number, especially for small regional shops or services that swing wildly by location, we give you a labeled range and tell you to confirm locally. We won’t invent a precise-looking figure to seem authoritative, because a confident wrong number is worse than an honest range. Every page carries a Sources section linking the official pages we checked.

We take no referral fees

Neither Diane nor Eddie takes referral fees, and neither has any advertising or affiliate relationship with the shops, chains, or parts brands covered here. That’s the whole point. It means when we tell you one chain is the best value for an oil change and another overcharges for what you get, the recommendation is identical whether or not you ever walk through their door. Nobody is paying for a placement, a ranking, or a kind word.

We admit when we’re wrong

Both of us lead our own bio pages with a mistake we made. Diane once quoted her sister $600 for a timing belt that came to $980 because she’d priced the four-cylinder and forgotten the V6. Eddie chased a phantom heat-shield rattle for three months that turned out to be a failing CV joint – and by the time he looked, it had taken a wheel bearing with it. We keep those front and center because pretending experts never miss is exactly the kind of false confidence that gets people to trust a bad estimate. When we get something wrong on the site, we fix it and date the correction.

How we keep pages current

Prices move with location, franchise ownership, and time, so every page shows a “Last updated” date and a note describing what was actually checked – not a cosmetic date bump. If a chain changes its pricing or drops a coupon, the page reflects it, and the update note tells you what changed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Your Best Deals independent, or is it paid by repair chains?

It’s independent. Neither author takes referral fees, and there are no advertising or affiliate relationships with any shop, chain, or parts brand on the site. We say plainly when a chain is a good value and when it isn’t, and the pay is the same either way – which is to say, none. Our only obligation is to the reader trying to judge a quote.

Where do the prices on this site come from?

From verified sources first: published chain pricing, manufacturer maintenance schedules, and real repair orders, all linked in each page’s Sources section. When no reliable published figure exists, we give a clearly labeled estimated range and tell you to confirm the exact number locally. We date every page so you know how fresh the figure is, because service prices shift with region, franchise, and time.

Why are there two authors instead of one expert?

Because pricing and repair are two different jobs. Diane Holcomb spent her career writing estimates from the service desk, so she covers costs, coupons, and chain comparisons. Eddie Brennan spent his as an ASE Master technician under the car, so he covers diagnostics and repair technique. A single “expert on everything” would be guessing at half of it; splitting the work keeps each page in the hands of someone who did that specific job.

What makes this different from other car-cost sites?

Two things. First, the writers are a real former service advisor and a real ASE Master technician, and each page names which one wrote it and why they’re qualified for that topic. Second, we refuse to fake precision – where we don’t have a verified number, we say so and give a range instead of a fabricated figure. Combined with no referral fees, that means the site is built to help you judge a quote rather than to sell you a service.

How often are pages updated?

Whenever the underlying facts change – a price move, a new coupon, a dropped service – and reviewed on a regular cadence regardless. Each page shows a “Last updated” date and a short note describing what was actually verified or changed, so a date change always reflects a real check rather than a cosmetic refresh.

Can I suggest a topic or send in a quote to check?

Yes, and it’s really useful. A lot of pages here started as a real estimate someone couldn’t judge. Use the contact page to send a repair order you’re unsure about or ask us to cover a specific service or chain.

Do you cover DIY, or only shop pricing?

Both. Diane’s pages tell you what a job costs at a dealer, an independent, or a chain so you can compare. Eddie’s pages will tell you when a repair is reasonable to do yourself and roughly what the parts run, since he’ll happily point you away from a shop when the job doesn’t need one. The goal is the right decision for your car and budget, not steering you toward paying someone.

Sources

Editorial policies verified and current as of November 6, 2026. Pricing claims across the site are verified against the official sources linked on each individual page.

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