There is a mechanic in a city nearby who restores and sells (and maintains) first-generation Honda Insights. Most of the cars his shop produces have a salvage title. He offers exclusive repair and maintenance service to purchasers. I've done a lot of reading and talking to people about this car—a trusted coworker owns one of his restorations—and I'm pretty much convinced that I want what seems to be one of the most over-engineered, fuel-efficient, cool little cars ever made. So what am I missing?
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posted by carsonb
on Apr 28, 2013 -
17 answers
It's time for me to get a new car. I'm leaning towards a smaller car. What should I get?
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posted by reenum
on Jan 21, 2013 -
55 answers
Help me decide how to finance my vehicle purchases. I need to get two cars for my family. Could be new, could be used. I want both of these cars to have very high safety ratings. Everything else doesn't really matter. I could pay cash for two new cars, but that just seems stupid to do on a depreciating asset. Is the best course of action to find two used, yet reasonably new cars and pay cash? What if we like having new cars? Should we just lease two new vehicles? I have read that the best course of action is to buy a used car and drive it into the ground. That's great, but what if I leave the country again in 5 years. And do I really want to be driving around in a
Hooptie in ten years. How do I approach the whole buy new / used, lease issue.
posted by jasondigitized
on Aug 10, 2011 -
16 answers
Are you an automotive engineer? Do you design engine control module firmware? Do you know or love someone who does? How is that firmware actually written?
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posted by TheNewWazoo
on Apr 9, 2011 -
17 answers
I have a 1979 Ford F100, which once belonged to my father. Since he passed away, it's served as a backup vehicle for an array of relatives, and now it's my turn. Yesterday, I got into the truck and turned the key, and I heard a single "clunk" (not a click-click-click), as if something started moving and then froze up. I tried again, with the same result. The next time, I got a kind of whirring sound, like something spinning free. It's a continuous whirring, rather than a series of attempts to catch. Lights and radio work fine. Jumping it didn't help. I didn't try to roll it off, because I'm loathe to leave it at the bottom of the hill in my slighty sketchy neighborhood; I'll probably try that this weekend, when I can get some help. The battery is relatively new. It started easily up until yesterday.
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posted by steambadger
on Mar 15, 2011 -
10 answers
What factors do you consider when thinking about getting rid of your old car and buying a new one?
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posted by reenum
on May 13, 2010 -
17 answers
My car's getting older, and I have recently moved to a new place with no garage. I'm worried about it starting in cold weather. More details inside!
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posted by Richat
on Dec 11, 2009 -
13 answers
Car was totaled, bank that gave auto loan charged off the loan account because the collateral is gone despite us continuing with full and on time payments. What are our options?
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posted by Nickel
on Oct 11, 2009 -
4 answers
I'm looking for a charity that will take a non-operational car, use it to train people in auto repair by fixing it, then sell it or give it to someone that needs a car. This is in the SF bay area.
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posted by EatenByAGrue
on Jul 14, 2009 -
3 answers
I'm looking for a new car mechanic in Melbourne, Australia and/or tips for finding a reliable one in general...
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posted by Silentgoldfish
on Mar 26, 2009 -
4 answers
I'm replacing the 6.5" door speakers on my 1999 Chevy S-10 (regular cab) and I have two questions.
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posted by carsonb
on Feb 13, 2009 -
5 answers
Is there a precursor to
Moore's Law for internal combustion engines?
If so, can you provide details, please?
posted by Exchequer
on Apr 24, 2008 -
7 answers
1. Is blue antifreeze special? 2. If the coolant reservoir is half-full, can I keep driving until I can get what I need?
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posted by Blazecock Pileon
on Jan 25, 2008 -
12 answers
Is there any difference in performance between pre-gapped sparkplugs (such as
these) and ones that you have to gap yourself?
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posted by Aanidaani
on Jan 14, 2008 -
7 answers
UsedCarFilter: Is buying used from a rental car company, specifically Enterprise, a good idea? First hand experiences appreciated.
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posted by Cogito
on Sep 14, 2007 -
26 answers
My hatchback car (Honda Fit) doesn't have a separately-locking trunk or glovebox. Can I add a lock-box or secret compartment somewhere inside the car for stashing a few items, for those times I must turn over my keys (parking garage, valet)? Ideally I'd only be securing/concealing 3 deck-of-cards-sized items: iPod, GPS, EZPass. There are no official Honda accessories that do this, nor can I find any Fit-fanatic mods that have addressed it.
posted by xo
on Aug 1, 2007 -
4 answers
Did this mechanic try to "trick" me into a repair that costs more than the car is worth?
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posted by hootch
on Nov 2, 2006 -
9 answers
I'm thinking about buying a new car in the next year. I live in Seattle, Washington, where the sales tax is about 8.8%, but I visit Oregon frequently, where there is no sales tax. Would there be any drawbacks to buying the car in Oregon to avoid the sales tax? I would still register and insure it in Washington.
posted by matildaben
on Mar 17, 2006 -
18 answers
What kind of car is the safest to drive? There are lots of studies on which cars are best in a crash, but I suspect that some cars crash less often than others, so I am interested in statistics that take the rate of accidents as well as crashworthiness into account.
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posted by procrastination
on Dec 27, 2005 -
24 answers
How dangerous is it to drive with earphones? I drive a noisy, noisy little car with a crappy stereo, and the tempation to just listen to my flash mp3 player with some Koss isolating earbuds is pretty strong, yet I don't want to endanger others or die in a fiery wreck. But at some point, with the car as noisy as it is, what's the difference?
posted by anonymous
on Jan 31, 2005 -
26 answers
I want to fix a couple of things on my car. However, looking under the hood causes to me to collapse with the vapors, forcing me to go purse shopping for an hour to mitigate the effects. Does anyone have an online walkthrough-to-fixin-up-your-car for guys like me? (Details inside.)
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posted by billybunny
on Jan 6, 2005 -
28 answers
CarFilter: My wife's old Toyota (1996 Tercell) is having an odd problem. I know very little about engines, and Google has turned up a variety of possible answers [mi]
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posted by sixdifferentways
on Dec 16, 2004 -
15 answers
AutoFilter: In a moment of terrible mental absence this morning, I drove about half a block in second gear with the hand brake engaged. While the right rear wheel smoked and the brake glowed visibly red, there seem to be no other consequences an hour after the fact. Does this merit a call to the mechanic to check it out if other malfunctions haven't arisen?
posted by Verdant
on Dec 16, 2004 -
19 answers
Driving to Mexico. I read that when driving into Mexico as a tourist one must post a cash bond, or provide a credit card to ensure that the vehicle is not sold inside Mexico. Does anyone have experience doing this, and is there a way around it? How much will the deposit/credit charge be?
posted by NorthCoastCafe
on Nov 23, 2004 -
10 answers
I was stop and go driving for about an hour today (hanging flyers for my job; the car's a manual transmission '95 Saturn) and after I finished I was heading back to the store when I hear a pop and my stick shift is just wobbling around. I still have to hold the clutch to start the car but it is stuck in second gear so I can get it going but only drive 10-15mph. What in the hell just happened?
posted by untuckedshirts
on Jul 9, 2004 -
11 answers
My hardworking but strapped bro. needs to buy a family vehicle for about $4k. Reliability is really important, and it has to carry him, spouse, and four kids (ages 3-13). I know about the online
reliabilty ratings but wanted to get your insight about how to find the best vehicle, and what your experiences have been. It'll mostly be used about town, with occasional 60+ mile trips to relatives. Thanks.
posted by mecran01
on Jan 13, 2004 -
15 answers
Has anyone ever shipped a car, enclosed, cross country? I am researching quotes for my boss and I wondered if anyone had any personal experience or problems that I should watch out for.
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posted by sugarfish
on Jan 12, 2004 -
9 answers
I've just moved out to san fran and feel like i need a convertible. found a sweet little
Karman Ghia for 5 grand. Has anybody had any experience with these good/bad/ugly?
oh, and how long has ask metafilter been here? (pretty damn cool)
posted by NGnerd
on Dec 10, 2003 -
14 answers
