Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with automobile

Older car, cold weather?

Richat — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:12:40 -0800

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! I've got a 2000 VW Golf, gasoline, not diesel. I've had a garage for years, and so never bothered with a block heater, which is pretty standard issue hardware in Northern Ontario.

I'm wondering, I suppose, if there is a better approach to the old block heater idea, which warms the oil in most I've seen. My battery is orginal as well. So far, at -15 celsius, the car's starting ok, but beginning to sound like it's not liking it too much.

Up here...we'll hit -25 to -35 Celsius (which is down to -31 F) eventually. Part of me would like to avoid a solution that means sucking electricity all night.

Any ideas?

Please identify this bitchin' car from the 70s

bonobothegreat — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:45:07 -0800

Can you identify this exotic car I saw a month ago on the highway, heading towards Stratford, Ontario? It 70s vintage, low and boxy, sort of like a Delorean or a Lamborghini with gullwing doors. Painted flat black with electric orange trim. I think it had a name like Brookline or Brooklyn. I vaguely remember seeing one in a magazine when I was a kid in the 70s and I remember the paint job being one of it's distinguishing features. I've thrown this description at Google in different combinations but nothing is sticking.

Automechanicfilter: The Case of the Thirsty Tank

desuetude — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:47:45 -0800

What could be some reasons why my gas mileage is very suddenly and dramatically craptastic? The decrease in fuel efficiency happened directly after I got stuck driving my car on a flooded road through deeper water than it should've been asked to handle. The car didn't stall, but it felt very close to stalling, and the steering was "stiff" for a few minutes. However, the functioning of the car returned quickly to totally normal. Except that my gas mileage is reduced by nearly half.

It's not running particularly rough or loud, using more oil than usual, running hotter than usual, or anything else that would signal an obvious "car is working too hard" issue.

The gas tank has been run down nearly to empty and filled, fuel injector cleaner has been used once. It's been a couple of months, so it's not resolving itself, that's for sure. And no, nothing's leaking when it sits.

It's a 1996 meticulously-maintained Neon. So yes, it's getting up in years, and I know that some cars lose fuel efficiency as they age, but this was a VERY dramatic change.

Auto-broker, good or bad idea?

furtive — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:13:48 -0800

Does buying used through an auto-broker make sense for me? I'm in the market for a used car (1-4 years old, one owner, still under warranty) but I live 90 minutes away from the nearest urban area with a proper used car market. To compound things my truck is on it's last legs and every trip out I expect it to be the last. This makes shopping around for a used car rather difficult.

It dawned on me that there must be a market for auto-brokers, and googling them found me several in the nearest city. Does anyone have experience with these? What should I be aware of? I don't mind paying a few hundred extra for the convenience.

Lead Foot Equall/Not Equall Need Brake Job

Liver — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:35:49 -0800

Theoretical brake wear: Do brake pads wear out faster, slower, or at the same rate if you brake later and harder than normal? Let's say you have two drivers, Alice and Bill, each with their own identical car.

Let's say Alice is a professional race car driver and Bill is a normal vanilla defensive driver. Alice drives her regular car at legal speeds on the open road, but because of her professional skill and training, tends to brake much later and with greater foot pressure than Bill would making the same journey.

For instance, while traveling 60 MPH, they both see an approaching red light. Bill applies the break gradually and takes 1000 ft to come to a stop. Alice doesn't apply the break until she is closer to the light, and applies more foot pressure, coming to a stop in 500 ft.

Over the long run, does Alice need new brake pads before Bill, or do they both need new brake pads at roughly the same time?

I can see it going either way. Either Alice needs pads sooner because she brakes harder, applying more force to the pads, or Alice and Bill both wear pads at the same rate, because they are doing the same amount brake use, only with different short-term usage patterns.

Or maybe I'm missing something entirely and you can help me understand.

Can bank charge off auto loan with totaled car despite continued payments?

Nickel — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:55:56 -0800

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? Our car was considered totaled by the insurance company, but the insurance company is refusing to pay for various reasons (not the point of this post, we've already hired a lawyer) so we can't pay off the loan in full. We've continued to make monthly payments in full to the bank that holds the loan.

However, the bank then sends us a letter saying they are charging off the account. A check of the credit report confirms that they have listed it as a negative account there. We call/write with proof that all payments have been made on time and in the full amount, they respond that it is their policy to charge off loans that have lost their collateral.

Is this legit? What are our options? It just seems wrong that they can charge off an account when we've been making all the payments and have proof of our payments.

Minor accident, am I being an ass.

evilelf — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:20:20 -0800

SUV backed over my tiny Miata, what should I do? Well, instead of trading in my clunker Jeep in for a minivan this summer, I decided to buy a 17 y/o Miata to help survive my horrible commute (at least on the nice days). The Miata is in great shape (low miles) for it's (17y/o) age. Unfortunately, last night a huge (Acadia) SUV backed over it while parked on the street (I was not in it). The owner of the other car was nice and coo-operative (I'm pretty sure I have all the info I need from them) and the damage looked minimal. Thing is while it looks like it may 'buff out' (the damage is only to the nose piece which is body colored plastic), I really do not have the time/inclination to fix it myself. I am going to get professional estimates in the morning. However, I feel a bit of an ass going after the person who backed over it for a professional repair (the car is 17 years old after all). If it were my Jeep I would have said just let it go, but this car was pretty much mint.
The person who hit me claimed they had not had an accident in 40 years (though I drought they were much older than 40), but my car had not had one in 17!
Opinions?

The Best Automobile Driver's Seat

five fresh fish — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:11:11 -0800

Which driver's seat. To my surprise, replacement automobile driver's seat -baby -infant didn't google up anything useful. Surely there's a widely-held opinion as to which junkyard car seats are the best! If it matters, it would be for a custom desk, not for a car. Seems to me a car seat designed for long drives would make a good reclined seat for a geekdesk.

Mystery of the '87 VW Jetta

ajarbaday — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 06:44:50 -0800

My 87 VW Jetta broke down, and none of the mechanics have the equipment to figure out what's wrong with it. What now? I have an '87 VW Jetta that has about 250,000 miles, but a rebuilt engine with a lot less mileage. I've had it since December, and haven't had trouble with it, though I just noticed an oil leak before the break down.

While I was driving on the highway, it started to 'buck', or 'miss' - the car would stop accelerating and kinda lurch forward. It was fine when I wasn't accelerating. I thought maybe the problem was with the leak - when I stopped the car, the oil level was way down and I put 3 quarts of oil in it, but I think the problems were unrelated. I stopped at a gas station and had it towed in the morning. It would start just fine, but now I've heard it's not running. It's been to a total of three mechanics in Charlottesville, VA, but none of them are willing to do any work on the car because they don't know what's wrong with it and they don't have the diagnostic equipment to figure it out (they didn't charge me for looking at it, but towing is starting to get expensive). One mechanic hazarded a guess that it might be the fuel injection system or the choke. Right now it's at a Volvo dealership, the only one in town.

Should I give up on my car? I don't have any technical ability, and right now my car is about 100 miles from where I live. But it's frustrating not knowing what's wrong with it.

Does anyone have any pertinent experience or suggestions?

Help identify an auto?

apollo — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:41:33 -0800

A friend's recent blog post featured a picture of her father standing next to the ol' family car. She can identify the dad, but not the car. I'd love some help. Here's a link to the picture. Thank you!

Where can I donate a car to be used for auto repair training?

EatenByAGrue — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:55:04 -0800

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. I realize that the tax law no longer treats car donations favorably, and I'm not really interested in how much of a deduction I get. Nor does it matter to me what the charity is, as long as it's for what I think is a good cause.

I'm mainly looking for two things:

(1) that the proceeds from the car's sale (or the car itself, if not sold) go as much as possible towards the charitable cause, as opposed to a middleman; and

(2) that the charity provides disadvantaged individuals with an opportunity to learn a marketable skill by teaching them for free or at a reduced cost how to fix cars, and specifically the car being donated.

I seemed to remember a radio ad from a few years back when car donations were all the rage describing a charity operating according to just this scenario, but I don't remember it and all my web searches have only turned up organizations outside of California. Thanks for the help.

AAA alternatives?

danny the boy — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:23:14 -0800

AAA alternatives? So I've just learned about the political lobbying AAA does, and I'd rather not support that if I can help it. In a slight tangent to this thread, someone mentioned Better World Club as an alternative to AAA (and their anti-bicycle, anti-environment lobbying). Anyone have personal experience with this or other automobile clubs?

Or do I even really need a car club membership? I haven't used any part of my AAA membership for 7 years...

What should I do for my beloved car?

mustard seeds — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:51:55 -0800

Recommended maintenance for car after winter storage? I just took my car out of storage after nine months out of the country. While I was away, my brother stored my 2007 Nissan Sentra in his garage in Seattle, Washington. Just before I left, I changed the oil and checked the tire pressure, but I also neglected to do a bunch of other important things that I didn't know about at the time. For instance, I did not fill up the tank with premium gas (or add fuel stabilizer) and I didn't disconnect the battery (although my brother claims he started the car every few weeks). If there was anything else I was supposed to do, I didn't do it. I'm sorry, car! I just drove it around for the first time today (to Jiffy Lube to change the oil), and it seems to be running fine so far, although the tire pressure light is on (even after the Jiffy Lube guys filled up the tires).

I'm planning on driving the car cross country in a few weeks and I want to get the car in as good of shape as possible. I checked old posts here and googled around, but I haven't seen much that addresses newish cars. Is there anything I can do to reverse the potential damage I caused my car by storing it improperly? Or even a way to find out whether I have caused it any damage? Thank you.

Zipcar Update?

The Whelk — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:35:30 -0800

Daytrip Dreamin': I've read the previous question about Zipcars in NYC, but it's about a year old and I have some specific questions. I am considering joining, but have heard that the availability is not terrific. What's it like for a daytrips out of the city? Any big problems? Does it make sense if you're only planning to use it 2 or three times a year?

Is it OK to remove key while it is turned to "acc" on the ignition?

SociologistTina — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:38:27 -0800

My car is a '92 Saturn SL, automatic. The dinging "alarm" to let you know that you left your lights on is permanently on-- even if I've left my lights OFF. If turn the key to "accessories" and then remove it, there is no dinging. Will it hurt my car in any way to always leave the car in this way?

Why have 2000 miles disappeared from my odometer?

srrh — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 20:23:10 -0800

My odometer has gone backwards by about 2000 miles. What caused this and should I be worried? I drive a 2000 Pontiac Firebird, 6 cylinder automatic with a digital odometer. As of Thursday morning, my car had a bit more than 65000 miles on it. I can't remember exactly how much, but between 65000-65500. Today, I started my car to go to work, and my car now has 63027 miles on it. The miles seem to be going up as normal now. What caused this? Should I be worried? Is this something I need to have corrected or fixed, or could it be a one time thing? Thanks for any help, and I'll supply any other info if you need it.

Finding a new car mechanic

Silentgoldfish — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:07:41 -0800

I'm looking for a new car mechanic in Melbourne, Australia and/or tips for finding a reliable one in general... I moved to Melbourne a little while ago and it's coming up time to service my car. Where I used to live I had an awesome mechanic who was honest, blunt, and never felt like he was ripping me off despite my ignorance of most of what makes my car go. He was the kind of guy that when someone else would try and sell me stuff I didn't need he'd tell me if I really did or whether I could get away for another few years with what I already had.

Unfortunantely, he couldn't recommend anyone in Melbourne, and while I found him through word of mouth no-one I know here can recommend anyone similiar.

Any tips or tricks for finding another guy as good (and most importantly, honest), or any direct recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

Stick 'em up

paxton — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 11:31:53 -0800

Can anyone recommend a good adhesive tape for an automobile dashboard? I have a '08 Nissan Versa and I'm trying to affix a small satellite radio antenna to the dash where it meets the windshield. This is one of the magnet mount antennas but I can't find a good place to channel the antenna to the roof of the car, so I'm leaving it inside and it's working great. However I can't find any sort of tape to hold it in place and keep it from sliding around.
The dash seems very slick, like it's coated with a wax of some sort but even cleaning with alcohol is not helping. I've tried everything from double sided foam tapes to duct tape and nothing will stick. I'm sure I could sand the dash down a bit, but would rather not damage the car for a half assed radio installation; this is also the reason I'm avoiding glues. Are they making dashboards out of some sort of anti-stick material now, or have I just not found the right tape to use?

Links & resources for doing business in India.

meta.mark — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 14:48:04 -0800

Does anyone know of useful links or resources for running a car manufacturing company in India? For a project in my international business class, I have to write a business plan for a car manufacturing company in India. I was wondering if anyone knew of any useful information such as car regulations or current trends in India. Any information will be useful.
Thanks.

Hurricanes are not a substitute for carwashes

casarkos — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:50:52 -0800

How do I take care of a car that's going to be outdoors all the time? At the beginning of this year I dropped nearly my entire life savings on a 2009 Corolla and relocated to Houston, and it might be a few years before I find living arrangements that also include shelter for the car. This is the first time I've ever owned a car and I'm planning to keep it for a long time, so what can I do to keep it shiny and happy under constant exposure to the elements?

(For example: don't park it across from older cars that suddenly go up in flames and spew hot smoke and melted plastic particles all over the windshield and hood, which is what happened to me yesterday evening and got me started thinking about this question. So far there doesn't seem to be permanent damage, but any suggestions toward removing lots of burned plastic soot spatters from my paint job would be nice too.)

Oli Heater that uses Waste Engine Oil

franklen — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:39:38 -0800

What are the pros and cons of trying to switch heating systems from a traditional furnace to a waste oil heater that burns used gasoline engine oil, particularly for an automobile repair garage? I work with small businesses in my city, and recently, two auto shops have raised the question of trying to facilitate the use of burning waste engine oil to heat their spaces. We live in Syracuse NY where the Winters are long and cold, and paying for oil can be quite expensive).

And p.s. if anyone knows of a good manufacturer, distributor, etc of these types of units, I'd love to know.

Cheers ~Frank
www.alchemicalnursery.org

What does the inside of my car door look like?

carsonb — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 10:36:43 -0800

I'm replacing the 6.5" door speakers on my 1999 Chevy S-10 (regular cab) and I have two questions. I. What does the linkage between the outer door handle and the latch mechanism look like? As I was removing the door molding (a minor fiasco, but done) I accidentally poked my finger in through a hole in the metal and unseated the rod that connects the outer door handle lever to the door latch. I can't see the linkage directly, so I don't know how it goes back together. If only I knew how they connected, I could put them back together.

II. The factory speaker that I'm replacing connected to the wiring via a socket. My new Pioneer speaker doesn't have this socket; it came with wires that crimp onto the speaker on one end and are an inch bare on the other. Can I simply cut the socket insert off the speaker wires in the door and just join them to the bare ends coming from the speaker?

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Where can/should I register my car?

Maia — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 06:18:19 -0800

From Washington state, but going to college in Massachusetts. What state should I register the car I just bought? I bought the car in Mass, and am currently there. However, it looks like I need a Mass driver's license to register the car here. Also, it probably doesn't make sense to register the car here since I am leaving as soon as I graduate.

However, if I want to register the car in Washington, it needs to be notarized in Washington state or done in person at a DoL office.

What to do? I want to be able to drive as soon as possible!

Worth the trouble to try to sell my car piecemeal?

Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 11:32:54 -0800

[Posted for a friend:] I posted this a while back. Today I was talking with someone about the car, and he offered me $400 for it. He's coming back by on Monday. Quick recap: it's a high mileage 97 Hyundai Sonata with a busted transmission. I could try to sell the car piecemeal and might end up getting more money if I did it that way (everything but the transmission is mechanically sound, the tires are new-ish, the radio is new, etc.), but who knows how long that would take. I'm thinking that it's not worth the hassle but I don't know for sure. I'd appreciate some additional perspective.

Looking for an antique automobile renter/dealer in Florida panhandle, South Alabama, or South Mississippi?

bamassippi — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:52:34 -0800

Looking for an antique automobile renter/dealer in Florida panhandle, South Alabama, or South Mississippi? I'm getting married in October and my fiance and I want to drive away in an antique Cadillac.

Does anyone know of any antique dealers, renters, shop in the Florida panhandle or South Alabama?

It has to be a Cadillac... her father's a dealer for GM. We really don't care which model... but preferably something older than 1950 (something along the lines of 1931 Fleetwood or
1941 Series 60 Special).