I have such bad anxiety issues that if I get stranded because of a car issue, I will have a panic attack. I have only purchased new cars and trade them in for a new one every 5 to 7 years – before they become unreliable.
I don’t even drive anywhere except to the grocery store and the gym. I’ve had my current car for 1 year now and only have 3K miles on it. My last car I had for 7 years and traded it in with 22K miles on the ODO.
@cengland0 I’ve now had my car for 2 years and 5 months. I have over 56k miles on it. I used to average about 12k a year until I started working much further from home. If it wasn’t for how difficult it’s become to alter odometers I’d think most people wouldn’t believe your car has such low mileage.
@cinoclav All my friends and neighbors who know me want to purchase my used vehicles because of the low milage and good maintenance.
Unfortunately, friends don’t want to pay the premium needed to compensate for the extra taxes when buying the new car.
If you trade in a vehicle, you only have to pay taxes on the difference of the new vehicle minus the trade-in. If I sell it, I might be able to get more than trading but then I have to pay more taxes. Then there’s the liability of selling to a friend. If something goes wrong with the car 10 years later, they will blame me even though that should be expected to happen to an older car (and the reason I don’t keep them very long).
@narfcake The fuel pump on my truck went out in the parking lot of a pizza place at 9pm. I called a guy I knew who owned a parts store, he brought me a pump and we fixed it right then and there with the restaurant manager threatening to call the police and a tow truck the whole time.
@zrschaef External fuel pump? When the one on my truck died, I had to get it towed as the pump was inside the tank.
Speaking of which, the advice my dad gave me years ago – if you can pull off, GET OFF! Parts can be replaced. A car can be replaced. Your life cannot. I’ve had some flats over the years, but rim damage be damned, I was getting off the freeway no matter what.
@narfcake Internal, unbolted most of the bed but left the back 2 really loose. We took turns holding the bed up enough for the other one to lay between it and the frame to get the sending unit / pump assembly replaced
My best fix it (broken fuel line leaking gas) rural PA near where the 911 plane went down, Sunday July 3rd. Managed to find someone who knew someone who opened their boss’s repair shop, got a buddy out of a family picnic to open the parts shop to get what was needed, fixed it, cash only ($200 - I bet the boss didn’t hear about this) and was on my way. Way cheaper being stuck until Tuesday to get it fixed. Have some other spectacular fixes like this on, say a Saturday night in, oh rural Kentucky or in the middle of the mountains in the middle of a forest, or otherwise out of state at 11pm type of thing as well. The vehicle (the ghetto van) died at 25 years and 3 mo old due to the engine bearing. Oh, and did I say, no cell phone to solve it either? Yup no cell phone.
Jumping usually did the trick, until the starter gave out entirely. Got that replaced but it’s all been downhill since then, and now I’ve been told the ol’ clunker is probably not worth fixing. Guess I have to start actually paying attention to all those used-car sale ads on the radio now…
@anemones On the other hand if fixing it is cheaper than car payments then it is worth it. That is why I nursed along the ghetto van for 25 years (well the last 3 years were not by choice, but the rest were).
@Kidsandliz both CV axles are on their way out on top of a slew of other issues, and it’s a nearly 30-year-old sedan with 180,000 miles on it. I’m probably going to get a second opinion from another mechanic just in case, but honestly now I’m just daydreaming of owning a vehicle that actually has airbags.
I have AAA. The last time I needed a jump, I called them because the neighbors I do talk to weren’t home. The time before that, I was in a parking lot at work and everyone had left already. I had someone that could come jump me, but it would of been hours. So AAA it was.
/image not usually @sammydog01 a squeaky belt can be caused by an old belt that is stretched out, or by old pulleys that lack grip. You can sometimes spray belt dressing on it (i like bleu cheese) to increase the belt’s grip. The squeaking can also come from worn bearings in the thing the belt makes spin. Those things can be replaced.
@eonfifty Thanks! I had the belt and I guess water pump and whatever was on the 100,000 mile service done last year. I was hoping it was more embarrassing than dangerous. I think I’ll skip the bleu cheese though.
@sammydog01 Starting in the cold takes a bit more juice out of the battery, making the alternator work a bit harder to put it back in. If the squeaking goes away after a few minutes, that’s probably what’s going on. Could be the battery’s getting old, or any of the things @eonfifty mentioned.
@sammydog01 I’d suspect belt or tension/tensioner. Alternator is supposed to get harder to turn when it puts out more current (“conservation of energy”).
@sammydog01 If the squeak is only when it’s cold and the belt(s) is/are still in good shape, then it’s more likely the pulley(s) being glazed over. That’s nothing to worry about.
Bad bearings would be noisy all the time, vary with the rpm, and it’d be more a howling sound.
@sammydog01 Pay attention yourself. Does it only happen in the morning on startups? Is it happening in the evening? When the humidity is higher than usual? A test drive isn’t going to account for the varying conditions.
@sammydog01 It is potentially bad if the squeaking is coming from the timing belt or one of the related pulleys. If the timing belt jumps or one of the pulleys it rides on fails it can cause expensive valve damage on some engines.
If however the squeaking is coming from an accessory belt that is not as much of a concern, but the cause should still be identified and corrected (you know, to prevent a future breakdown. Problems do not just go away over time, they usually get worse).
If the noise only occurs on cold starts, you may want to make your mechanic aware of this and drop the car at the shop overnight so they can duplicate the concern. If you take it in warm and the noise is not occurring they will have much less chance of finding the source.
@Steve7654 Thanks. It actually started occasionally just before I had the timing belt replaced. I’ll have it checked out in the next month or so. It quieted down over the summer.
My current car has never had trouble starting. It’s died completely a few times. Flat tire with a solidly adhered lug nut, dead alternator, that kind of thing. It was starting to turn over with some difficulty a winter or two ago, so I bought a new battery.
Last time I got someone to jump my car (previous one), I don’t think it worked. Forget what the problem was that time.
@djslack Unfortunately, we couldn’t remove anything (except pic below…I stealthily pried this off and mounted it on my guitar). It was actually a car owned by Chrysler, who donated it to a local tech school for education purposes. After 10 years on-site, they had to dispose of the car. When the crusher came down, it felt like my heart was in the driver’s seat!
@tohar1 One of the tech schools I volunteer at would have loved to have that as a practice vehicle. That school is so underfunded they still have some cars in their fleet that are rear drive with carburetors.
@Steve7654 This car was actually destroyed on order of Chrysler. Believe me, it was a beautiful car, and as both a car guy and a huge Mopar/Dodge fan, it caused me great pain to see that car crushed. They actually had somewhere around 100 Vipers across the US which had to be destroyed…all within just a few weeks of each other. So that compounded my sadness. I said that I’d gladly donate $10K to the school if I could just have the engine…all to no avail.
@Steve7654 I noticed a Dodge D-series truck on the road last year with the local school district painted on the doors. It had an exempt plate, albeit yellow-on-blue, which means it’s still a current vehicle in their fleet.
I drive a Honda, so I have no idea what you’re talking about. J.K. My battery died in a casino parking lot just across the state line when I went to get fingerprinted to volunteer with the Wounded Warriors. The parking lot security gave me a jump and I got it replaced for too much money at the nearest Pep Boys. I was afraid it would stall in traffic if I tried to get to my regular mechanic.
Fix it. In the event I can’t fix it where it is, get it towed home and fix it. In the rare event its too much work to do in the driveway with our draconian HOA, then and only then get it to my mechanic who has lifts and everything.
After almost 40 years as an auto mechanic, I can tell you that about 99% of the time breakdowns can be prevented. If you have a good mechanic, he will be able to spot most developing problems during your routine maintenance visits and take care of them before they progress to the point of the car failing to run. Parts rarely fail spontaneously, usually it is a slow progression and/ or chain of cascading events that can be prevented.
I know I have done my job all year when we get that first below zero winter day and the phone in the shop is silent.
Buy a new battery
…ask myself, “Hey, when did I get a car?”
I have such bad anxiety issues that if I get stranded because of a car issue, I will have a panic attack. I have only purchased new cars and trade them in for a new one every 5 to 7 years – before they become unreliable.
I don’t even drive anywhere except to the grocery store and the gym. I’ve had my current car for 1 year now and only have 3K miles on it. My last car I had for 7 years and traded it in with 22K miles on the ODO.
@cengland0
I’ve now had my car for 2 years and 5 months. I have over 56k miles on it. I used to average about 12k a year until I started working much further from home. If it wasn’t for how difficult it’s become to alter odometers I’d think most people wouldn’t believe your car has such low mileage.
@cinoclav All my friends and neighbors who know me want to purchase my used vehicles because of the low milage and good maintenance.
Unfortunately, friends don’t want to pay the premium needed to compensate for the extra taxes when buying the new car.
If you trade in a vehicle, you only have to pay taxes on the difference of the new vehicle minus the trade-in. If I sell it, I might be able to get more than trading but then I have to pay more taxes. Then there’s the liability of selling to a friend. If something goes wrong with the car 10 years later, they will blame me even though that should be expected to happen to an older car (and the reason I don’t keep them very long).
Own 18
Have had more than a few torn down to bones and back
I can usually figure it out.
@meh427 while I don’t have multiple cars, I have a fairly stocked garage worth of tools and I’m too cheap to take it to someone else.
Replace the hamster.
@mehcuda67 Kia Soul?
/image Kia Hamsters
Why is there no “I fix/jump it”? What’s with the usually?
@unksol After the water pump took a shit on a road trip and I had to get it towed back into town, I replaced it in a motel parking lot.
@narfcake The fuel pump on my truck went out in the parking lot of a pizza place at 9pm. I called a guy I knew who owned a parts store, he brought me a pump and we fixed it right then and there with the restaurant manager threatening to call the police and a tow truck the whole time.
@zrschaef External fuel pump? When the one on my truck died, I had to get it towed as the pump was inside the tank.
Speaking of which, the advice my dad gave me years ago – if you can pull off, GET OFF! Parts can be replaced. A car can be replaced. Your life cannot. I’ve had some flats over the years, but rim damage be damned, I was getting off the freeway no matter what.
@narfcake Internal, unbolted most of the bed but left the back 2 really loose. We took turns holding the bed up enough for the other one to lay between it and the frame to get the sending unit / pump assembly replaced
@zrschaef Now that’s a heroic fix!
My best fix it (broken fuel line leaking gas) rural PA near where the 911 plane went down, Sunday July 3rd. Managed to find someone who knew someone who opened their boss’s repair shop, got a buddy out of a family picnic to open the parts shop to get what was needed, fixed it, cash only ($200 - I bet the boss didn’t hear about this) and was on my way. Way cheaper being stuck until Tuesday to get it fixed. Have some other spectacular fixes like this on, say a Saturday night in, oh rural Kentucky or in the middle of the mountains in the middle of a forest, or otherwise out of state at 11pm type of thing as well. The vehicle (the ghetto van) died at 25 years and 3 mo old due to the engine bearing. Oh, and did I say, no cell phone to solve it either? Yup no cell phone.
Jumping usually did the trick, until the starter gave out entirely. Got that replaced but it’s all been downhill since then, and now I’ve been told the ol’ clunker is probably not worth fixing. Guess I have to start actually paying attention to all those used-car sale ads on the radio now…
@anemones On the other hand if fixing it is cheaper than car payments then it is worth it. That is why I nursed along the ghetto van for 25 years (well the last 3 years were not by choice, but the rest were).
@Kidsandliz both CV axles are on their way out on top of a slew of other issues, and it’s a nearly 30-year-old sedan with 180,000 miles on it. I’m probably going to get a second opinion from another mechanic just in case, but honestly now I’m just daydreaming of owning a vehicle that actually has airbags.
@anemones I can understand that. I have only had a car with airbags for the last 2.5 years.
@Kidsandliz I was well over 30 years old before I owned a car that was all one color.
@Steve7654 meaning rust colored plus manufacturer colored was no longer your car color? LOL
I have AAA. The last time I needed a jump, I called them because the neighbors I do talk to weren’t home. The time before that, I was in a parking lot at work and everyone had left already. I had someone that could come jump me, but it would of been hours. So AAA it was.
@RiotDemon Thanks for the reminder to renew my AAA membership.
VIKING FUNERAL!!!
(set it on fire and dump it into the ocean)
Is this where I get free car advice? I have a squeaky belt when it’s cold. Is that bad?
/image not usually
@sammydog01 a squeaky belt can be caused by an old belt that is stretched out, or by old pulleys that lack grip. You can sometimes spray belt dressing on it (i like bleu cheese) to increase the belt’s grip. The squeaking can also come from worn bearings in the thing the belt makes spin. Those things can be replaced.
@eonfifty Thanks! I had the belt and I guess water pump and whatever was on the 100,000 mile service done last year. I was hoping it was more embarrassing than dangerous. I think I’ll skip the bleu cheese though.
And now I’m hungry.
@sammydog01 Starting in the cold takes a bit more juice out of the battery, making the alternator work a bit harder to put it back in. If the squeaking goes away after a few minutes, that’s probably what’s going on. Could be the battery’s getting old, or any of the things @eonfifty mentioned.
@walarney Got a new battery in March. Please let it not be the alternator. And thanks!
@sammydog01 I’d suspect belt or tension/tensioner. Alternator is supposed to get harder to turn when it puts out more current (“conservation of energy”).
@sammydog01 If the squeak is only when it’s cold and the belt(s) is/are still in good shape, then it’s more likely the pulley(s) being glazed over. That’s nothing to worry about.
Bad bearings would be noisy all the time, vary with the rpm, and it’d be more a howling sound.
@narfcake Now there’s the answer I was hoping for. Thanks! I’ll have them test drive it next time it’s due for an oil change.
@sammydog01 Pay attention yourself. Does it only happen in the morning on startups? Is it happening in the evening? When the humidity is higher than usual? A test drive isn’t going to account for the varying conditions.
@sammydog01
or
@sammydog01 It is potentially bad if the squeaking is coming from the timing belt or one of the related pulleys. If the timing belt jumps or one of the pulleys it rides on fails it can cause expensive valve damage on some engines.
If however the squeaking is coming from an accessory belt that is not as much of a concern, but the cause should still be identified and corrected (you know, to prevent a future breakdown. Problems do not just go away over time, they usually get worse).
If the noise only occurs on cold starts, you may want to make your mechanic aware of this and drop the car at the shop overnight so they can duplicate the concern. If you take it in warm and the noise is not occurring they will have much less chance of finding the source.
@Steve7654 Thanks. It actually started occasionally just before I had the timing belt replaced. I’ll have it checked out in the next month or so. It quieted down over the summer.
My current car has never had trouble starting. It’s died completely a few times. Flat tire with a solidly adhered lug nut, dead alternator, that kind of thing. It was starting to turn over with some difficulty a winter or two ago, so I bought a new battery.
Last time I got someone to jump my car (previous one), I don’t think it worked. Forget what the problem was that time.
I should probably get some jumper cables anyways.
Take that…car that won’t start!!
Done Deal…Yes that WAS a Dodge Viper!
Before the crush…
@tohar1 ouch! What a shame. I hope the loud/twisty bits were removed first.
@djslack Unfortunately, we couldn’t remove anything (except pic below…I stealthily pried this off and mounted it on my guitar). It was actually a car owned by Chrysler, who donated it to a local tech school for education purposes. After 10 years on-site, they had to dispose of the car. When the crusher came down, it felt like my heart was in the driver’s seat!
@tohar1 I guess it lived a good life then. Thanks for the story.
@tohar1
@tohar1 One of the tech schools I volunteer at would have loved to have that as a practice vehicle. That school is so underfunded they still have some cars in their fleet that are rear drive with carburetors.
@Steve7654 This car was actually destroyed on order of Chrysler. Believe me, it was a beautiful car, and as both a car guy and a huge Mopar/Dodge fan, it caused me great pain to see that car crushed. They actually had somewhere around 100 Vipers across the US which had to be destroyed…all within just a few weeks of each other. So that compounded my sadness. I said that I’d gladly donate $10K to the school if I could just have the engine…all to no avail.
@Steve7654 I noticed a Dodge D-series truck on the road last year with the local school district painted on the doors. It had an exempt plate, albeit yellow-on-blue, which means it’s still a current vehicle in their fleet.
California stopped issuing blue plates in 1982.
I drive a Honda, so I have no idea what you’re talking about. J.K. My battery died in a casino parking lot just across the state line when I went to get fingerprinted to volunteer with the Wounded Warriors. The parking lot security gave me a jump and I got it replaced for too much money at the nearest Pep Boys. I was afraid it would stall in traffic if I tried to get to my regular mechanic.
Coincidentally, my car wouldn’t start this morning. Jumped it with a charger. Needs a new battery. Anyone going to Costco at lunch time?
@walarney Pick up a hot dog for me.
Polish dog and battery. Mission accomplished.
Fix it. In the event I can’t fix it where it is, get it towed home and fix it. In the rare event its too much work to do in the driveway with our draconian HOA, then and only then get it to my mechanic who has lifts and everything.
After almost 40 years as an auto mechanic, I can tell you that about 99% of the time breakdowns can be prevented. If you have a good mechanic, he will be able to spot most developing problems during your routine maintenance visits and take care of them before they progress to the point of the car failing to run. Parts rarely fail spontaneously, usually it is a slow progression and/ or chain of cascading events that can be prevented.
I know I have done my job all year when we get that first below zero winter day and the phone in the shop is silent.
I drive a prius when my battery dies I have to get a tow or do an Elvis on it.
I walk off and leave it where it died?
@ruouttaurmind That’ll buff out
@tightwad Which? The smudge on the bumper, or the FREAKIN’ TREE GROWING THROUGH THE FLOOR?