Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with vehicles

I've fallen into a Motor Vehicle Rabbit Hole

jimmyjimjim — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 09:34:49 -0800

When you find yourself in a life-harming situation due to a unique administrative hiccup in a government bureaucracy (and since no one's anticipated this sort of hiccup, no one's empowered to override it)....what do you do? I'd be immensely grateful to anyone with patience to read through and advise. I'm usually crafty enough to find a solution to any problem, but I'm stumped on this one.
I've lived in New York State for years, and recently moved to Connecticut. I maintain an office address in New York where I can get mail.
I need to switch my drivers licence from New York to Connecticut, but during the move, I lost my (NY) license. I went to New York dept of motor vehicles for a temporary license, and they said they'd mail me a permanent one. Connecticut won't switch my license unless I give them a full one...they won't accept the temporary. So I awaited the permanent one for weeks. Unfortunately, it was mailed to an old address so I never received it.
I called New York dept of motor vehicles and they confirmed it had been returned to them in the mail. I asked them to send it to my current New York address, and they noticed something in my record. According to their computer, I surrendered my New York license two weeks ago and currently hold a Connecticut driver's license. I have NO idea where they got this idea, and my mind breaks (zen enlightenment!) every time I ponder it. I've never successfully submitted anything to Connecticut motor vehicle (again, they need a full license to do the switch) and Connecticut has confirmed to me that I'm nowhere in their system.
I went directly to a New York motor vehicle office to sort it out, but was told this is what the computer says, and unless I can PROVE I'm unlicensed in Connecticut, New York will not give me a license.
Frantic, nearly hysterical at this point, I returned to Connecticut motor vehicles, and begged/pleaded for them to give me a written statement attesting to my non-existence as a Connecticut driver. But they have no mechanism for proving to anyone that a given person is NOT in their system. There's no form for that! They could only print me up a driver's abstract, which shows I have no VIOLATIONS in Connecticut. That won't cut it.
So I'm between unyielding bureaucracies. NY won't license me. Connecticut won't license me. I'm essentially an unlicensed driver with no options whatsoever. No one in the system has ever anticipated this unique situation, so there's no mechanism to override it.
What would you do?
One option: apply for a fresh new Connecticut license, take a driving test, etc etc, along with the 17 year olds. Problem is it will take weeks to apply for a test appointment (must be done via mail), wait for the date, and finally pass through the bureaucracy. And I NEED to drive! Also, I suspect there will be a question on the application asking whether I've ever held a license before...and, being disinclined to lie, I worry I'd find myself straight back in this loop.

Used car shopping for dummies

B(oYo)BIES — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 21:40:24 -0800

Advice for a 17 year old, buying her first car. $4,000 budget. What advice would you give a 17 year old getting ready to purchase her first car. She has about $4,000 to spend. She wants to get a car that fits her style, but she is still trying to make sure she gets reliable car. She will most likely get a Carfax subscription and will do most of the hunting through autotrader and craigslist.

Here are a few of the cars that have peaked her interest as of yet:

93 Honda civic with body kit

1994 Jeep Wrangler

'98 or newer VW Bettle (Bug)

'98 or newer Mustang

Questions for you:

What general advice would you give an 17 year old try to purchase her first vehicle?

What questions would you ask the car owner?

What cars do you find to be the most reliable for the amount of money that she has to spend?

What should she avoid all together, and why?

Anything else?

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Other information about the subject:

She is in Phoenix, AZ.
There is no co-signer/finance options.
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Tell me about camper vans

jonesor — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 07:55:42 -0800

Camper van question: I'm thinking of buying a vehicle in the next couple of months. I do a fair amount of outdoor stuff like SCUBA, surfing, biking etc so I'm thinking of a van rather than a car so I can carry all my gear.
Since I like to camp I htought some kind of camper van would be ideal and for coolness factor I'm edging towards a VW camper. But I have questions...

What do I need to know?
Would it be worth just getting a commercial van and converting it to a camper?
Are there insurance implications for camper vans?
How economical/reliable are VW campers compared to similar vehicles?
Are there any online dealers (UK) where I can at least check out pics before travelling to view?
Left/Right hand drive? Much of a difference?
What other options are there?

I'm in the UK.

Help me buy a new vehicle

Witty — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:44:06 -0800

Help me choose my new vehicle... please. It's great fun! You should play. In the extreme near future, I need to replace my 1991 Ford Bronco II. My requirements are fairly simple. I hunt, fish, hike and camp. But this new vehicle will also serve as my every-day transportation too. I'm about function over form. I need decent cargo space and can't be too bothered with worrying much about keeping the lovely interior, lovely all the time (it can't be too plush). Some kind of AWD/4WD capability would be a plus, but isn't a requirement carved in stone (basically since I live in Virginia, not northern Alberta, and don't really go off-roading in the strictest sense of the word).

I think the available options for a 1 to 1 replacement are obvious... the Ford Escape, Jeep Liberty, Honda CR-V, a pick-up truck, etc. All of these vehicles are still be considered certainly. But I guess what I'm struggling with most is the desire to be as environmentally and economically (read: fuel mileage) conscious as I can be.

So some kind of wagon is a possibility too. Can someone help with a few alternative ideas or directions I might consider? I can't seem to focus and reading review after review is starting to wear on me. This will be my first new car EVAR... so I'm a rookie/virgin at this whole process.

I am a dominant male.

thirteenkiller — Sat, 27 May 2006 17:28:53 -0800

Please find me examples of vehicles which have V24 engines. I found a prototype V24 Maybach, but I'm especially wondering if there are any such vehicles actually in production. I think there could be locomotives or boats or giant trucks with such an engine.

Cars sold in US?

The Confessor — Tue, 09 May 2006 17:10:02 -0800

Looking for car *brands* currently sold at dealerships in the United States. I've got a 40+ member list (after the jump) that strikes me as fairly exhaustive but I also have this nagging feeling that I'm missing one or more "niche" brands. Acura
Aston Martin
Audi
Bentley
BMW
Buick
Cadillac
Chevrolet
Chrysler
Dodge
Ford
GMC
Honda
Hummer
Hyundai
Infiniti
Jaguar
Jeep
Kia
Land Rover
Lexus
Lincoln
Mazda
Mercedes-Benz
Mercury
Nissan
Pontiac
Porsche
SAAB
Saturn
Scion
Toyota
Volkswagon
Volvo

Comparison of 4 GPS Systems requested.

Scanner — Sun, 29 Jan 2006 12:37:05 -0800

Need your assistance in comparing 4 vehicle GPS systems before purchasing one of them. Units include Garmin Streetpilot C340, C330, Magellan RoadMap 360, and TomTom Go 700. Pl provide feed back on screen size and ease of viewing while driving, anti-glare sceen, backlight at night for viewing, ease of use. Your pro and cons would be appreciated. If you have a unit not mentioned but believe it is better than those listed above, let me know. Leaving soon on a trip and your responses would be appreciated ASAP. Thank you.

What's with all the pickups?

zek — Sun, 08 Jan 2006 18:55:26 -0800

How come Tex-Mex restaurants attract so many big SUVs and pickup trucks? This is something I've noticed in Austin as well as in several small cities in Texas.

In recent months there's an Italian joint we found that we like. So happens it's next to a Mexican place. Last night I actually made a rough count of the cars as I went through the parking lot. The Italian place: 35% pickups/SUVs. The Tex-Mex place: 80%. This particular Tex-Mex place doesn't even serve alcohol on their premises, so it's certainly a food thing. What's the deal? Is there a demographic phenomenon at work here?

How is it that [seemingly] Ford Escalade drivers like the enchiladas, while a Saturn driver relishes the lasagna?

keeping my car's feet in good condition

jclovebrew — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 08:26:10 -0800

What are some good wheel and alignment shops in or around Montclair, NJ? Just recently moved. What shops nearby can I trust to do a good job balancing my tires and aligning my wheels? The right shop will align the wheels according to my specifications, not the factory specifications, and not act like this is some sort of crazy big deal.

It doesn't specifically have to be an alignment shop. A good garage that's also good at alignments would be perfect. On that note, I'm also interested in hearing about good general-purpose garages in the area.

It's a Japanese car by the way.. Subaru, turbo.

Auto auction question.

NoMich — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:14:30 -0800

Have you ever been to an auto auction? I want to buy a used pick 'em truck and I thought maybe that the cheapest option would be an auto auction. Is that a viable option? Am I just asking to get ripped off, or to get suckered into a lemon? I live in Raleigh, NC and I have no idea where to look for them. I'm also not very proficient with a wrench. I'm not totally clueless, but I'm by no means an expert.

Truck Signage

adampsyche — Thu, 30 Sep 2004 05:09:37 -0800

Why do trucks have signs on them that say "wide right turns"? Don't they make wide left turns too?

Buying a Car

Lizc — Fri, 10 Sep 2004 15:24:07 -0800

Buying a car filter: Yesterday my car blew up. Now I don’t know what to do. [the unfortunate details inside] Yesterday my car blew up. Minus all the fire – but still unfixable. (The mechanic won’t even fix my car – I just had the radiator / head gasket / cracked heads / acceleration wiring errors fixed a month and a half ago. He says he feels bad charging me for looking at the car this time around and in lieu of charging me he wants me to buy another car)
a. I have no credit – as my dad was unwilling to pay my medical bills from when I was 14 yrs old… they were transferred to me when I turned 18 and I fought for 2 years to get my credit file cleaned. (I am 20years of age currently) One cannot get credit when one has no credit; I have been applying to department stores and the applications that come in the mail to no avail. Capitol one plays cruel ‘pre approved’ jokes on me constantly. Apartments and mobile phone providers have no problem with me getting either of those though.
b. I have no relatives with clean enough credit who will co-sign with me, nor would they anyway (I have asked for years) nor any who would give me any money for the down payment.
c. My job is unsatisfactory for the bank/dealership. I work at a temp agency as a contractor to a large company whose policy it is not to hire unless you can get ice cubes in hell. I (and my boss backs this up) will not be leaving anytime soon – she just renewed her contract through the temp for me for another year (1 year at this job – new department on the west coast) I just quit my second part time job with an actual company because it left me with no time for my full time schooling at the local community college.
d. I have no money to put down any sort of deposit as every penny I make seems to go into making my previous car run long enough to break down again.

I spoke with a senior loan counselor at my credit-union/bank, who advised me that I would need to have 30% down and a letter stating my permanence at my job, neither of which I can provide (no money, see above, and my temp can only give them a letter saying that I do in fact work, and have been working for them, and that their contract for my job has been renewed, but I am expendable.) I can bring the letter to them on Monday, but my case has been elevated and I have been warned that the superior counselor is more than likely to say no, given all the factors above.

So, the patrons of ask.me …. what should I do? I’m plum out of ideas and at the end of my brains ability to think straight.