WEBSITES                    eCOLLECTIONS                    IN THE LIBRARY

WEBSITES

Automobiles    Comparison Shopping    Consumer Protection    Cost of Living/CPI    Credit Reporting    General Information

 Automobiles

• Edmund's Automobile Buyer's Guide http://www.edmunds.com/
• Fuel Economy Comparisons http://www.fueleconomy.gov/
• Greener Cars http://www.greenercars.org/
• Hemmings Motor News http://www.hemmings.com
• Intellichoice www.intellichoice.com
• Kelley Blue Book Car Prices http://www.kbb.com
  • Motorcycles http://www.kbb.com/motorcycle/
• Microsoft CarPoint http://home.autos.msn.com/default.aspx
• NADA Used Vehicle Appraisal Guides http://www.nadaguides.com
• National Highway Transportation Safety Administration Recall Database http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/index.html

Comparison Shopping

• Appliance Efficiency Database http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/home/appliances/index.html
• Consumer Guide http://www.consumerguide.com
• Consumer Search http://www.consumersearch.com
• Consumer World http://www.consumerworld.org
• Consumers Union/Consumer Reports http://www.consumersunion.org
• Energy Efficiency (ACEEE) http://www.aceee.org

Consumer Protection

• Protecting Yourself from Frauds and Scams Bibliography (PDF)

Cost of Living/Consumer Price Index

• Consumer Price Index http://www.bls.gov/cpi - There is no CPI for Boise, but this site does link to index numbers for the region.
• Cost of Living comparisions (U.S. cities) http://www.datamasters.com
• ACCRA Cost of Living http://www.coli.org - There is a charge for this information online, however, the library has a subscription to the ACCRA Cost of Living Index publication.  Ask for it at the 2nd floor reference desk.

Credit Reporting

• Annual Credit Report http://www.annualcreditreport.com - AnnualCreditReport.com is the official site to help consumers to obtain their free credit report.
• Equifax http://www.equifax.com
• Experian www.experian.com/consumer/index.html
• http://www.ftc.gov/freereports - Information about free annual credit reports.
• TransUnion http://www.transunion.com/index.jsp - previously known as TUC.
• MIB Group, Inc. http://www.mib.com/html/consumer_protection.html -  request information about your insurance ratings.

General Information

• Bankrate.com - guide to mortgage rate and other financial rate calculations 
• Better Business Bureau http://www.boise.bbb.org
• Consumer.gov - your resource for consumer information from the federal government, including the well-known Pueblo, Colorado site.
• http://www.ConsumerPrivacyGuide.org
• Digital Television
  • http://www.dtvanswers.com/
  • http://www.dtv.gov/
  • Phone Number: 1 (888) DTV-2009
• Guide to Federal Government Sales - is linked to the Pueblo, Colorado site at http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov
• Idaho Attorney General's Consumer Protection Unit http://www.ag.idaho.gov/consumerProtection/consumerIndex.html

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eCOLLECTIONS - ONLINE MAGAZINES AND NEWSPAPERS

• Check the EBSCO database for Consumer Reports and thousands of other magazine and newspaper articles.  http://www.boisepubliclibrary.org/eCollections/Databases/Topic/consumer.asp
• eCollections are available at the Library or from your home computer.  Log in using your Boise Public Library card number. 
• In the Library we have public computers and offer wireless connectivity.

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IN THE LIBRARY

Visit the 3rd floor to use materials on the Consumer Table, including:

• Consumer Reports and Annual Buying Guide
• Other consumer magazines
• New and used vehicle cost guides and evaluations
• NADA price guide for a cars, manufactured homes, and travel trailers

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Last Updated:10/21/2011 Author:AS/JD/RJ