Virgil writes:
What has been your experience selling a car privately? My recently widowed sister in California has a 2003 Infiniti Q45 with 10,000 miles. Yes, ten thousand. But I live 2000 miles away. An ad in the paper or Craigslist would certainly bring riff-raff to the door. A simple test drive could turn into a missing car. The dealer offered about half of market value, a private sale could make both parties happy.
Will writes:
Hello, Don Sajeev! Over on Autoblog, I read Jonny Lieberman’s post on the Aston Martin 177 and it’s inboard shocks. I am not sure I will ever have to deal with this, but what is the deal with reducing unsprung weight as much as possible? I don’t understand: Is it just about greater control of the vehicle+motion through shocks & springs, or is it something greater? It would be nice to find out what El Mehtador + the Piston Slap community thinks about this.
TTAC Commentator Dror writes:
I own a 2006 Mazda 3, hatch 2.3 liter 5 speed A/T. I bought the car new, I have 45k miles now, car drives very well and I tend to follow maintenance schedule as the book suggest. My concern is that there is no schedule for A/T fluid change, what does it mean? Don’t ever change it, or let the dealer decide for you?
If it’s up to the dealer, I’d spend ridiculous amount of money on stupid things like “the 30k service” that is known to car dealers only, but they never suggest anything like that when drop by every 3 months/3k miles for oil. I live in NYC and that car spend significant time of it’s life on Manhattan streets: I would like to know if anyone knows the answer, I really don’t like to mess with my A/T if I don’t need to.
TTAC Commentator dastanley writes:
My 2006 Corolla CE is what it is – it gets me where I’m going with no muss, no fuss, no excitement, no drama, no fun. But hey, it runs.
Problem is, every time I do a road trip in the thing, my ass hurts. The driver’s cloth seat feels like wood. Should I go to Walmart and buy the aftermarket cushions, etc. or does anyone have a recommendation for good comfortable aftermarket replacement seats? Or get another car?
Ted M. writes:
I have a 2005 Dodge Magnum RT with about 60,000 miles. Recently, I’ve heard a rattle or persistent clunk that sounds like its coming from the rear passenger side. I cleaned my car out to make sure there were no errant projectiles rolling around, but it still persists. Then I began to notice that it usually happened when I was turning left and accelerating up hill at the same time. I don’t hear it at speed on the freeway, or even turning left on a level or downhill grade. Every once in a while I hear it over violent bumps in the road, but not always. I’m taking it to the shop in a week or so, but I’d like to hear from you and the Best and Brightest about what it could be and what I should have them check.
Longtime TTAC Commentator KeepAustinWeird writes:
Hi Sajeev, I’ve got a 2000 SAAB Viggen with 113K miles. Recently, I’ve noticed that after I’ve been driving the car for about 20 minutes and the car is good and warmed up, the motor totally bogs until I can get to 3,000 RPM, at which point the car takes off. This is particularly annoying (unsafe) pulling away from full stop, where I either have to gun the motor or crawl thru 1st and part of 2nd before the RPMs rise enough for the boost to kick in. Wondering if this is a MAF (which I’ve cleaned) issue, a drive by wire sensor issue, or a dying turbo issue?
C.T. from AutoZone (yes, that AutoZone) writes:
Dear Piston Slap, I drive a 2002 Audi A4 1.8T with the CVT. It has 75,000 miles on it, and has been properly maintained. I am experiencing a vibration under these conditions:’
-Only after at least 10 minutes of driving…never cold
-Only between 70-80 mph
-Only when accelerating
-The same no matter how much throttle I give it
-I cannot feel it in the steering wheel
-It feels like it is coming from the axle/drive shaft area
-Sometimes it doesn’t happen at all
TTAC Commentator Golden2husky writes:
I have a Piston Slap question for you. Does anybody out there in the main office (or any of the B&B perhaps) recall “Shell of the Future” gasoline. I grew up on Long Island, New York and in the early ’70s Shell introduced a gasoline called “Shell of the Future” which was just unleaded gas. This fuel was dispensed from a baby blue pump and was sold a few years before the national roll-out of lead free gas. My dad tried a couple of tanks of it, but the car detonated due to a too low octane rating, or so he said. I asked him just recently and he clearly recalls it. Nobody else seems to recall this product. I have Googled and Binged this to no avail. So, am I living a dream?’
Larry writes:
Hi, do things fall off credit report after so many years?
Due to your knowledge I was hoping you may be able to shed some light on the subject. Would you consider giving me a couple pointers?
Sajeev replies:
This website prides itself on keeping the manufacturers honest on their business practices, so why not turn the spotlight on our personal finances? That said, my credit is quite good: I “credit” (get it?) my parents for warning me at an early age.
TTAC commentator talkstoanimals writes:
The recent TTAC flap over the Priapus’, er, Prius’ potentially failing HIDs got me to wondering if turning of my MKV GTI’s daytime running lights would lead to any meaningful gains in HID bulb longetivity. Historically, I only tend to keep cars for approximately 80k miles. I also like the fact that DRLs mean I never forget to turn on my headlights in the rain—a requirement in many states in my neck of the woods. However, I like this GTI so much that, the car gods willing, I may keep it longer than my other cars.
So is it worth it to shut the DRLs down and possibly keep the bulbs in action for a longer period of time? Or would the potential gain be so small that it fails to offset the potential for forgetting to light the Xenon fires in the rain? (I never had a problem remembering to turn on the lights before my cars came equiped with DRLs, but I’m not getting any younger and neither are my memory banks.) Lastly, how does one turn off the DRLs in a MK V GTI? My owner’s manual sheds no light (groan) on the subject.
Greg writes:
I have a ’95 Accord with 200,000 miles. As it runs well, I hope to drive it for a while more, but the radio has nearly died. What is the best solution for low-cost replacement audio? The other quirk is that in warm weather the speakers fade in and out. Do I have to replace the speakers and the wiring too?
TTAC commentator Geo. Levecque writes:
Hello Sajeev, greetings from Canada. If you switch Oil to Synthetic, can you go back to the old stuff? If it matters, I am asking about my 2008 Toyota RAV4 2008, 4 Cyl, with 18,000 kms on it.
Rishi writes:
I am a long, long time lurker but not a poster on TTAC (yet). I have a question regarding a 2004 Honda Accord EX four-cylinder. When I am driving, the headlights flash at different intensities depending on what gear it is in (its an automatic). When I accelerate, and it drops some gears, the headlights flash a bit brighter, but then become dimmer as the car settles into fourth. Could this be a sign of water damage or a major electrical issue? Thanks so much for your time.
John writes:
I own an E92 M3 and it’s my huckleberry, except for one thing—with a gas tank capacity of about 16 gallons, road range is a measly 300 miles between fills. And when I drive, I want to drive.
Every other car I have owned has been able to do 400 miles on a single tank in highway driving with the exception of my STi, which only did 330 before rapid maneuvers caused temporary starvation.
So my question is this: is it possible to fit a larger gas tank to my car—say one of about 20 gallons or so? If so, what are the positives and negatives of this, and where would I get one?
Sokhom writes:
I’m in the Army and I’ve moved to Korea for at least two years. I have a 2000 Honda S2000 that I left with my father in law in his garage. I’ve read advice from S2000 forums about slightly jacking up the car to “unspring” the suspension to spraying something into the cylinders to keep the piston rings from drying. There’s also a debate about whether it’s good to crank the car every so often or not. What is a guy to do?
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