Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with vehicle

My speeding citation has turned into a shit snowball.

desjardins — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:19:22 -0800

Please help me navigate a mess involving an expired car registration, a speeding ticket, a lost insurance card, a license held as bond and a omg I can't even think. This involves Illinois and Wisconsin. 1. My car is registered in Illinois and I have an Illinois driver's license. The registration expires today; the license is good for awhile.

2. However, I'm (technically?) a Wisconsin resident, in that I have a lease on an apartment there, but I work in Illinois and sleep half the week in Illinois and the other half in WI. This is meant to be as temporary as humanly possible until I can stay permanently in WI.

3. I did not renew the registration yet because I was planning to get my Wisconsin license & registration this coming Friday, and hopefully avoid getting caught for the next 3 days while it's expired. Before I can register it in IL I have to get an emissions test. Of course, there will now be a late fee.

4. I got stopped for speeding today in a suburb of Chicago, I could not find my insurance card, and so I received another citation for that & my license was taken as bond. My court date is at the end of December. My driving record is otherwise clean.

5. So, I can't register my car in WI or get my WI license until I have my IL license back, correct? It's my understanding that if you have a valid license in another state, you have to forfeit it to get a WI license. I don't know about registering the car.

6. What's the ABSOLUTE CHEAPEST yet legal way to handle this? I am broke, like really broke, and the thought of having to pay to register my car in Illinois and then re-register it in WI when I get my license back is really disheartening.

7. I am freaking out and not thinking clearly, see above about being broke.

Fender bender responsibility?

cosmac — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:41:38 -0800

Who is at fault in the following scenario (USA, Colorado)? "Person A" in a pickup stopped in the left lane of a 4 lane road waiting for a car in front to turn left. "Person B" in a car stopped behind "person A". "A" and "B" get tired of waiting and seeing no traffic in the right hand lane pull into it to pass the stopped car. "B" hits the right rear quarter panel of "A"'s truck. "A"'s truck is large, "B"'s car is small. "A" asserts (s)he never saw "B". Note I'm interested in both the legal and ethical answer!

How to drive home a car bought in another state?

HopperFan — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:01:41 -0800

So I bought a car from out of state...please help me with the logistics! I bought a Volvo on eBay for a good price, yay. It's about 6 hours away, though. (Ohio to Virginia)

I've read this question, and this, this, and several others - but I still have questions, because there seems to be some conflicting information.

Step 1 : Insure vehicle. I'll be doing that tomorrow, I have the VIN.

Step 2 : Go to Virginia, meet seller with car. Make sure VIN on car and title matches with what was posted on eBay.

Step 3-4-.... : ?

The questions I've thought of so far are:

1. Does the seller need to have access to a notary? Otherwise, how would signing the back of the title and the bill of sale be valid?

2. Is it true that with a signed over title and a bill of sale, I could drive this vehicle back to Ohio and placate any police officers that happen to stop me?

3. It seems like a very bad idea to fedex payment down without a title in hand, trusting he'll send me the title in exchange, just so that I could obtain temp tags here before driving down. He hasn't asked me to do that, anyway.

The car does not currently have plates. I checked auto shipping companies, but the cheapest quote is around $300. This may or may not be worth it, depending on what I learn about this registration process.

Vehicle Shipping

Bokononist — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:50:53 -0800

Is there anything tricky I should know about shipping a car across the country? I'm moving from Florida to San Jose. I have a 2003 Honda Accord. I filled out a form online and got some shipping quotes sent to me that seem reasonable (my standard being they are about the same as the sales tax on a replacement there. I've had the car long enough that I wouldn't have to pay use tax to bring it in).

Has anyone done this before? I know plenty of horror stories involving moving companies, and it seems like a lot of the same trickery could go on with this. So any of the following would be helpful:

1) Contacts for specific companies someone has worked with that aren't sheisters.
2) Things otherwise to look out for or consider in choosing someone, and
3) Any radically different approach that is way better for some unconsidered reason.

How ofter is my car going to get towed?

T.D. Strange — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:12:22 -0800

I just moved to Northern Virginia for a new job- how likely is it that my car with out of state plates will be ticketed or towed? The Virginia inspection law seems very onerous, and I've read horror stories of shady towing companies towing cars without inspection stickers from apartment parking lots even with valid parking passes. My car is registered out of state under my Dad's name and currently has a broken right front turn signal, so it certainly won't pass any kind of inspection at present.

I'm currently renting a room in a residential area about 90mins outside of DC and commuting in towards the city on a daily basis. I haven't had any problems yet and don't expect to get towed from the garage under my office building, but I plan on finding an apartment in one of the NoVa suburbs after the new year and I'm more concerned.

Assuming that I fix the turn signal, how likely is it that I will have problems driving my car around on a regular basis with out of state plates? I REALLY don't want to move into the city and walk out for work one morning to find my car towed by some shady towing company, so I'd like to give them a few reasons as possible.

My Vehicle is a Piece of Crap

Sassyfras — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:54:10 -0800

Car repair: I have a 2003 Kia Sedona. Due to a humming sound coming from the front end, we've taken it in to be diagnosed. It gets complicated . . . The vehicle is a 2003 and has 54,000 miles on it.

We took it to our usual repair shop where it was determined that it needs new bearings and (possibly) hubs. For the shop to do it the cost would be about $900.00.

However, we decided to check to see if is still under warranty and called two Kia service (dealership) places.

1. Kia Place 1 told me that the bearings and hubs would be covered under warranty as long as we have proof that our timing belt has been replaced. He said that needed to be replaced at 5 years or 60k.

We have not replaced our timing belt because it has not hit 60,000 miles yet (even though it is over 5 years old).

Kia Place 1 then told me that if I got the timing belt replaced (a $540.00 chore) then the bearings and hubs would be covered.

2. I called Kia Place 2 (which is located about 2 HOURS away) that has our service records from another Kia service center that closed down. I explained what was happening.

He said that what Kia Place 1 told me wasn't the case. He said the timing belt doesn't need to be replaced until 60,000 miles and that the bearings and hubs would be covered as long as we showed minimum service on the vehicle (oil changes every 7500 miles).

3. I called Kia Place 1 back and told them what Kia Place 2 had said - that we just need proof of oil changes and that the timing belt doesn't need to be replaced until 60,000 miles. Kia Place 1 told me that Kia Place 2 didn't have it right and that it was 5 years or 60,000 miles - which ever came first to get the timing belt changed. He also said that he's known of cases like this going to court and that Kia has won.

So, who do I trust if anyone? Why get the timing belt changed before 60,000? What if I only drove it 10,000 miles in those 5 years, would I still need to get it changed?

I guess my question is: where do I go from here? Kia Place 2 spent a lot of time on the phone with me and looked stuff up for me telling me as long as I had oil change records the bearings and hubs would be covered. The problem I see with Kia Place 2 is that it is 2 hours away (one way) and if I take it there, there is a chance that they'd renege on that and require the timing belt be changed in order to get the bearings and hubs covered. I'm pretty sure they won't guarantee anything over the phone without looking at the vehicle first - and two hours one way is a long way.

Some questions about selling a car

crapmatic — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:01:22 -0800

Car selling questions: (1) Is there any reason for me, as a seller, not to disclose the VIN in a car ad, say on Craigslist? A Carfax lookup would reflect favorably on this car, but I don't know if there are "car identity thief" issues here. I know dealers list VINs all the time. (2) What is considered a reasonable precaution if someone wants to take a test drive or have their mechanic inspect the car? I'm not sure what would stop a thief from asking for a test drive and then never coming back. This is an older model car so I don't have any loss/damage coverage, but I'm guessing I should until it's sold.

Which of these vehicles will give me the most luggage space?

gfrobe — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:29:02 -0800

What vehicle should I rent from the airport if I need to transport 4 people and a load of luggage (at least 8 big suitcases)? We're a family of four that will be landing at Newark with 8 large suitcases. I then have to go back to Newark the next day and pick up around 15 small and medium sized boxes so I'm essentially looking for a vehicle that will fit at least four for the first trip but then allow me to fold down all unneeded seats for the next day.

I'm looking at the airport vehicles and I see Dodge Caravans, Chevy Trailblazers, Chevy Express Passenger Van (seats 12) and Jeep Commanders. The vehicle listings do estimate how much luggage will generally fit but I'm assuming that is with all seats upright.

Does anyone know which of the above vehicles will allow the most seats to fold down for the most cargo space?

Please help me find the make/model I want, so I can focus on the next steps. Thanks!

iamkimiam — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:56:05 -0800

I need to buy a new, used or certified used car real quickly. I could use some help deciding on a make and model that meets some specific criteria. I have ~$4000 I could put down on either a brand new or certified used car (not to exceed $25k). I could manage about $6000 for a direct-from-seller used car.

I want something fuel efficient and/or hybrid, but I am not currently not keen on buying a hybrid from a individual seller (hybrids are more expensive and if I am going to invest in one for environmental and economic reasons, I would prefer the extra up-front cost to count toward the public financial record of support of this type of innovation – an individual seller has already paid for the car and I might as well buy a fuel-efficient used car for less from them).
It'd be great if I could put >$4k down on a car that is also less than ~$12k. That's a most comfortable loan amount for me.
The newer the better.
I would prefer a hybrid.
Must be able to transport bikes and surfboards (shortboards inside with seats folded down) and longboards (at least three) up top. Cars like Prius's are NOT designed for this...curved roof and significant drag make it not practical.
The smaller the better. I like finding parking and not being a big bohemoth on the road.
Good track record, reliable. I tend to sell cars when I suspect they are going to start causing problems a year or two down the road, and so I don't want to take on something with a short life span, known problems, or high repair cost.

I currently have a Mazda Protege5 wagon, which is a pretty great all around car, minus the fact that mine is almost done for, its no longer made, and the gas mileage is 'meh'. I used to have a Mini Cooper, but that thing was too small.

Any suggestions, both car-wise and perspective-wise?

How do tanks turn efficiently?

Mike1024 — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 05:36:52 -0800

Tanks have long, high-friction tracks - good for going forwards, not so good for turning as the tracks would have to skid. What do tanks do to overcome this problem? It's reasonable to speculate that they have high-power engines, that they have a selection of low gears, and that they try to avoid making too many sharp turns, but are there any other design features that overcome this problem?

How to buy a car from a person

exceptinsects — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:26:59 -0800

I am looking to buy a used car for cash from a local (CA) private party, not a dealer. What do I need to know? I am mainly looking on Craigslist, but other suggestions are welcome. I'm looking for a Toyota Echo, if it matters.

So...what should I look out for in terms of scams? (I am already aware of things like shipping cars from far away, etc.) I will of course get it checked by a mechanic but what else should I be aware of?

How should I actually pay for it? Certified check? Giant wad of cash? Goats? I'm expecting it to be in the $5k range.

I am also going to be selling my old car, which is a 1997 Corolla in "fair" condition. Is it better to try to sell it myself, or should I go to Carmax? If I do sell it myself, how should I ask for payment?

Smoky...

Christ, what an asshole — Thu, 28 May 2009 08:27:13 -0800

As a non-AAA member, what are my cheapest options for transporting a broken vehicle 12 miles? Radiator cracked and began smoking off the freeway last night. Car is basically undriveable, and having already put so much money into fixing it, it's past the point of further maintenance. I just want to get it home and sell whatever's left of it on craigslist. Issue 1? Most inexpensive method to bring her 12 miles.

Thanks.

Would a tire that is losing pressure rapidly be safer on the front or back of the car?

Malice — Sun, 17 May 2009 03:10:33 -0800

I have a tire that keeps losing pressure rapidly. In a car with front wheel drive, would it be safer to have the tire on the front, or the back? At least until the tire can be replaced. How would this effect (or not effect) the car?

Compressed schedule moving tips?

Riki tiki — Tue, 12 May 2009 12:27:20 -0800

Compressed schedule move (from Seattle), advice? I have to move on very short notice, like within the next few days. I had enough notice to arrange for movers and vehicle transport and whatnot, but I'm freaking a bit at how much I still have left since this is not only on a time crunch but it's my first big move, period.

Of immediate concern: my vehicle is getting picked up today, any advice there? I'm going to clear everything personal out of the car, but I'm thinking of the stuff I'm not going to think about until it's too late. Do I tip the guy who picks it up? Is there anything I *should* leave in the car?

Of slightly-less-immediate concern: I'd like to purge a lot of stuff rather than move it cross-country. I'd love to donate some of the stuff (large desk, big screen TV with stand, sofa) rather than junk it, but have yet to find a place that will take them. Any suggestions of a Seattle charity that would take objects like that on very short notice? Are there any other options besides junking and donating that could be accomplished at a reasonable cost so quickly?

60K Mile Services a Joke on the Unwitting or Not?

roundrock — Fri, 08 May 2009 21:25:00 -0800

60,000K Mile Car Servicing, good idea or not? I own a 2003 Mazda M6 and I'm 3K miles from 60K. I'm torn between just getting an annual checkup at my local Firestone or paying for a 60K mile checkup at a Mazda dealership. Should I just go with the dealership or seek some other way? Is it just me or do car salesmen, mechanics, and lawyers (of which I will be one soon) rank at the bottom of professional respect because of their perceived unscrupulous actions?

Travelling in Britain

Taurid — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 09:33:11 -0800

What are ways to travel in Britain outside of the public transportation system? I will be travelling to England from Toronto Canada in the next 3 to 4 months. The trip will include my wife, my older sister (senior) and myself. We are to meet up with my daughter who is already living over there while attending university in Newcastle upon Tyne. We will probably either start our travels there or London depending on my daughters schedule. Our trip will last a total of between 10 and 14 days, possibly more, staying in various towns and villages. I understand the public transportation system ( buses and trains) is very good in Britain, however some of our travels will take us outside of that system. We also plan on going into Scotland as well as England. My main concern with renting a vehicle is driving on the left hand side in the more populated areas. I have driven in downtown Toronto and don’t find it too much a of a problem, but driving on the left is much different. Or is it? The only other option we can think of is a taxi when needed, but this may be too costly.

What are our options regarding our trip? Any ideas would be most appreciated.

Video game "playing cars" is fun!

BaxterG4 — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 10:08:16 -0800

My son and I love playing in the cars on Lego Batman: The Video Game (Wii). What other "vehicle toy" games are there? It's a lot of fun to have your characters jump into the cars on Lego Batman and just drive around, running amok, especially 2 players. Smashing into things, people, and each other. Trying to tip over or bounce as high as we can, etc! Just "play", not racing or trying to get anywhere, though that could potentially be fun too as long as fairly low on the competitive/difficulty ladder. Easy controls (at least for the basics) a must.

Split-screen/"second-person" perspective a la Mario Kart isn't necessarily a dealbreaker but definitely isn't preferred. That sort of game is fun, but "play" really needs a shared context where both players can be about equally seen in a single view. Likewise, not having a timer/other "arbitrary" interruptions is a plus. It's really cool and funny when you on occasion run into something that blows up, so destruction/EXCITEment would be good.

Have a Wii, so Wii or GameCube (including VC or WiiWare) would be preferred; might be talked into a PS2 since I already "need" one and it's always nice to have an excuse.

Source of creaky sounds in an older model vehicle plus general maintenance questions?

limonade — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 18:26:01 -0800

Source of creaky sounds in an older model vehicle plus general maintenance questions? I have a car that is well over 10 years old. It's a Honda and I've always gotten regular oil changes and other critical maintenance, so I hope to have it run to another 80,000 miles (until it reaches 200,000 miles).

I have a few different questions. First of all, the car has started making rather creaky sounds towards the rear. It sound sort of similar to what you'd hear riding in a big school bus. Just as the car hits bumps in the road, things sound creaky and a little bit loose. What would this most likely be?

Second, how important is maintenance of the outer body of the car to making it last? For example, I've had some rather large dents and other things that I just left as is. I don't follow the dealer recommended maintenance. But I am religious about oil changes. What is the most essential maintenance for making a car last?

Finally, at some point I will have to get a new-to-me car. What are the best ways to maintain the appearance of your car over time? Since I live and park on the street in a city that has a lot of snow, my cars have always a beating and after a while, they just look scratched up and worse for the wear. I'm wondering if there are any simple and expensive tips for maintaining their appearance and new look longer or if really, on NEW cars will stay looking new for long.

Help keep me from getting ripped off!

Glendale — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 05:56:26 -0800

Making an expensive, long-distance purchase. He only accepts "cashier's checks/money orders". How do I protect myself? That's basically the entire question. This is a craigslist-style sale, so there's no way to track it digitally... He gave me one address that the vehicle is located (his small business, which checks out on google) and another to send the check (his home address). He informed me that if I faxed him a copy of the check, he would immediately fax back the title, with my information on it, to show that he's actually got the vehicle and that he'll be dropping it in the mail as soon as he receives the real, physical copy of the check.

He sounds real legit, and I'm a really trusting person, so I'm going to go for it. I know there are probably a lot of warning flags here, but I'm going with my gut. Just wondering if anyone knows of any clever ways to protect myself...

Can I bring my car with me?

xanthippe — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:52:02 -0800

I love my Peugeot, but I might be moving to the USA. Can I bring it with me or am I just stupid to want to? I didn't think I was that attached, and it's not that valuable, but I just like it a whole lot. I understand that Peugots are not sold/present in the USA; French car parts are also expensive and far away, as are, presumably, mechanics who know about French cars. (So far away that Peugeot's "USA" webpage is defunct.) Solution?

And what about actually getting it there? I googled around and it seems like people put their crazy expensive vintage/custom/luxury vehicles in cargo boxes for extremely high rates. Isn't there a ferry across the Atlantic I can just drive it onto? Seriously, what's the economical way to do this? (The car is only worth about $8,000 for the record.)

Oh yeah, and won't there be some customs issues? Duties and inspections and such? This is all very expensive and stupid, non? I will appreciate being informed nonetheless. Thank you.

Will carrying heavy weight a long distance damage my car?

misled — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:04:39 -0800

Will transporting a weight set weighing roughly 600 lbs in my car for a long distance damage the vehicle in any way? I have a 2002 Honda Civic EX coupe and I need to transport my weight set (weighing about 600 lbs) over 520 miles because I am moving.

I was wondering: is this going to damage my car in any way? A friend of mine was saying that it might damage my struts, but then again he has a biased opinion because he wants the weight set.

LCD display on the fritz

reenum — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:00:27 -0800

The digital odometer on my 2000 Honda Accord is not displaying numbers fully. Any way to fix this? I have a 2000 Honda Accord LX. Last year, I began noticing that the numbers on the digital odometer were not fully displaying. Meaning, the numbers would look scrambled. Only when I push on the dash do the numbers on the odometer display correctly.

Anyone have any experience with getting the LCD display on a digital odometer fixed? Do any repair shops even conduct such repairs? If so, how much can I expect to pay?

When Traffic Court gets ugly

rileyray3000 — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:40:02 -0800

So I went to traffic court last week in the city of Los Angeles. I spent a week preparing for it. And I lost. And it got ugly. Largely because of a Judge Pro-Tem who went to town on me because I tried to fight my case. It was so ugly I’m springing the $86.50 it costs these days to get a copy of the tape. So my question is, now that I've lost, what are my options? (much much more inside) So I was ticketed for making a U-turn in a business district. I picked up the book "Fight Your Ticket and Win in California" and, following the instructions in the book, proceeded to build my case. I took google maps pictures proving from where the officer turned around, he could not possibly have seen me, I prepared objections to the officer's reading of his notes, I took pictures of the area he said was a double line on the ticket and blew them up 13x19 to prove it was not the case. I made a list of questions to ask in court of the officer.

Then I got there. And it all went to hell.

In fairness, the book didn't cover judge pro-tems. As others have told me since, they're usually lawyers who've been given a slot in the traffic court to handle the overflow of cases and are usually a lot less schooled in the traffic laws.

My very first question for the judge was "have there been any amendments to the ticket?" as instructed and after that it all went downhill. Literally EVERY SINGLE THING I DID he hated me for. When I raised an objection to the officer reading from his notes, I never even got to cite the evidence code for my objection. What I got was

"THIS IS NOT YOUR COURTOOM! THIS IS MY COURTROOM!"

Under questioning the officer misidentified my car as an Acura (it's an Audi) he admitted he wrote the wrong Vehicle Code for the ticket and he said there was no left turn lane at the area when overhead photos showed there was.

And every single thing I got him to admit just got him more and more steamed at me. IN the end he decided against me and, in keeping with the decisions of People V. Wozniak and People v Enochs I requested traffic school. He denied my request because I had "wasted the court's time"

So my question is, what do I do now?

1) I've got a point on my license. is there anything I can do about that? From appealing the conviction to the sneaky (applying for a driver's license in another state and then changing it back in 6 months).

2) Who do I complain to about this guy? I mean he was horrible. He literally interpreted my bringing materials to fight my case as a slap in his face. He acted as prosecutor and a hostile one at that.

3) Is there anything else I can or should do for some sort of moral victory if there's nothing else left? Like post the judge's tirade's to the internet in some way? Or get some consumer reporters in there to cover the fact that the baliffs are telling people unless they ask for traffic school they can't be considered for it after the fact (which is completely untrue).

4) I make a good living and, from my first experience ever with it, I'm morally outraged. Is this the sort of thing I should be fighting against on general principle because I have the means?

[WA,US] Overdue initial car registration?

Anonymous — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:57:00 -0800

Washington State: Embarrassingly overdue car registration, what do I need to know? I moved to Seattle two years ago, bringing my car with me with already-expired out of state tags. Early on, my job was within walking distance and I never drove recreationally, so I was content to let it sit in the garage gathering dust.

Now I'm commuting, I've been ticketed once for the expired tags, and I'm wondering if anyone knows what I should be prepared for as I register it.

For example, the form the DOL uses says the following:
"Private automobile was purchased and used by me in another state for a minimum of 90 days while I was a bonafide resident, before I entered Washington on _____"

Does this mean they're going to put me on the hook for two years' of taxes? That's fine, if that's the law, but if there's a way to legally avoid it I'd prefer to do so.

That, and any other advice from anyone who's been in a similar situation would be much appreciated. I was born without the part of the brain that makes one able to understand and navigate bureaucracy.

First-time car seller looking for best way to sell a car in NYC

dcjd — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 08:55:45 -0800

First-time car seller looking for best way to sell a car in NYC? I moved to Manhattan a few months ago, and I brought my car with me. I hardly ever use it now, and its costing me a lot of money and aggravation. I'm thinking that it might be time to get rid of it, however, I've never sold a car before.

What's the best method to get rid of my car and not get ripped off? Should I have the car inspected before listing it, or is that something the buyer would want to do themselves? I'd like to be safe, as I'm sure there are plenty of people on craigslist who might try to scam me out of my vehicle. The car is registered in NY, gets decent gas mileage, and I have the title to it.