I received this item in a timely fashion and it was in great condition. This is a text book, not a how to book. So depending on your learning style you may or may not be able to get a lot out of it. I was looking for information on different types of suspensions, engines, etc. so this book was perfect. It goes into detail about how a combustion engine works from beginning to end.
If you are looking for an overall knowledge of cars and do well with books written in a text book format (there are illustrations and diagrams as well), this is a good place to start. Look elsewhere for a step by step how to do this or that.