Ask me any car question - the Car Guru

[cpmac7]

Car Guru,

With my new job I will be traveling a lot. Right now I have a truck, and I am looking to buy a car to save money. My friend who works at a dealership told me I need to be looking to cars like Accords, Civics, Corollas, and/or Camrys. Are there any others you can think of?

Also my budget is $3000-6000, Looking for a 4 Door, Automatic, with preferably less than 100,000 miles on it

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

CP

 

[Cedric]



Car Guru,
With my new job I will be traveling a lot. Right now I have a truck, and I am looking to buy a car to save money. My friend who works at a dealership told me I need to be looking to cars like Accords, Civics, Corollas, and/or Camrys. Are there any others you can think of?
Also my budget is $3000-6000, Looking for a 4 Door, Automatic, with preferably less than 100,000 miles on it
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
CP

Hey sorry, for the late response.
You have a truck, i suppose you haul stuff at your job?
If not, go for a used Jetta or Passat TDI.
Dont be afraid of one with over 100k miles. 100k in those cars is like having 25k miles in any other car.

 

[akatsuki]



Hey sorry, for the late response.
You have a truck, i suppose you haul stuff at your job?
If not, go for a used Jetta or Passat TDI.
Dont be afraid of one with over 100k miles. 100k in those cars is like having 25k miles in any other car.

This is a nice troll... I can't believe it got to 3 pages+.

 

[Joffrey]

Check engine light on my 2000 Mitsubishi Galant came on. Mechanic at the nearby gas station said it'd cost $675 to replace the catalytic converter. Does this make any sense? I looked online for 3rd party replacement CC's and found some for as low as $85. Am I being screwed?

 

[dah328]



Check engine light on my 2000 Mitsubishi Galant came on. Mechanic at the nearby gas station said it'd cost $675 to replace the catalytic converter. Does this make any sense? I looked online for 3rd party replacement CC's and found some for as low as $85. Am I being screwed?

Third-party cats are notorious for poor quality that results in rapid failure as reported by either the O2 sensor or emissions testing. Unless you are certain that it is a quality product, I would stay away from them. Although it is illegal in some states (for really stupid reasons), I would look for a cat out of a wrecked or otherwise salvaged Galant with lower mileage.

 

[NTexican]



"Being an expert on general automotive knowledge, can you tell me... what would the correct ignition timing be on a 1955 Bel Air Chevrolet, with a 327 cubic-inch engine and a four-barrel carburetor? "

''That's a BS question. Chevy didn't make a 327 with a four-barrel carb for the Bel Air in 1955....blah, blah.....12 degrees before top dead center.''

 

[Cedric]



Check engine light on my 2000 Mitsubishi Galant came on. Mechanic at the nearby gas station said it'd cost $675 to replace the catalytic converter. Does this make any sense? I looked online for 3rd party replacement CC's and found some for as low as $85. Am I being screwed?

you are being screwed royally.
Dont deal with that mechanic

 

[Vaio]

@carguru

My car occasionally makes a funny sound after turning off the air conditioning. It sounds like a whining sound that gets louder and higher pitched as engine revs get higher. It goes away if i turn the air conditioning back on, or if i drive for a while without the air conditioning on. WHAT DOES IT MEAN AND WHY IS IT SO ANNOYING.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

if it matters my car is a 2010 vw golf

 

[impolyt_one]

Might just need to lube your A/C compressor belt

 

[sonick]

Just how rampant are VW electrical issues in mid/late 90s, early 2000s dubbers? They seem like a good fit in terms of what I'm looking for, but the electrical issues just scare me off.

 

[KurtS90]

My moms 2007 VW GLI DSG (I been driving it allot lately, when I really need a car) has 114,xxx miles. Transmission rebuilt at 103,000 miles and reverse is going out currently (But I think they did a ****** job, still transmission died at 103,000 miles is young). A/C Compressor died at 68,000 miles, months after she bought it. Head and brake lights always burning out. Key Fobs works on and off... Airbag light currently on. Headliner is falling off and paint peeling...All maintenance done by dealer (accept rebuild of transmission) and washed weekly, waxed every 6 months.

My step-fathers 2010 VW CC M6 30,xxx miles. No mechanical problems, just minor issues. Such as plastic peace between rear window and trunk cracked (Recall) and small plastic square cover in rear bumper keeps popping out.

As nice as VW looks, feels, and drives... I question how long they will truly last. I hope the GLI is just a lemon.

~Kurt

 

[Cedric]



My moms 2007 VW GLI DSG (I been driving it allot lately, when I really need a car) has 114,xxx miles. Transmission rebuilt at 103,000 miles and reverse is going out currently (But I think they did a ****** job, still transmission died at 103,000 miles is young). A/C Compressor died at 68,000 miles, months after she bought it. Head and brake lights always burning out. Key Fobs works on and off... Airbag light currently on. Headliner is falling off and paint peeling...All maintenance done by dealer (accept rebuild of transmission) and washed weekly, waxed every 6 months.

My step-fathers 2010 VW CC M6 30,xxx miles. No mechanical problems, just minor issues. Such as plastic peace between rear window and trunk cracked (Recall) and small plastic square cover in rear bumper keeps popping out.

As nice as VW looks, feels, and drives... I question how long they will truly last. I hope the GLI is just a lemon.

~Kurt

That sounds like lemon for sure. i suppose the warranty has expired?

 

[KurtS90]

Yep, extended warranty expired not long before the transmission went out. The reverse gear is in and out on the rebuild. But that's under warranty.

~Kurt

 

[Joffrey]



Check engine light on my 2000 Mitsubishi Galant came on. Mechanic at the nearby gas station said it'd cost $675 to replace the catalytic converter. Does this make any sense? I looked online for 3rd party replacement CC's and found some for as low as $85. Am I being screwed?

you are being screwed royally.
Dont deal with that mechanic

This crossed my mind. Fortunately the check engine light went away for now so I'm not going to worry about it in the mean time. If it comes up again, I'll check with my family mechanic - unfortunately he's not located in the city.

 

[junior varsity]

ok car guru - i am looking at picking up a beater on saturday
i am looking at a 2006 civic si and i met the owner (car enthusiast) and test drove it
it drove great and engine was maintained to enthusiast standards...
but obviously i am concerned with things beyond the surface of the car...
how do i do so?
rust?
collision?
owner claims its not been hit before but i would like to cover my bases
everything in the car seems to be working
i leased the same 8th gen civic si before (for a year) so i kind of know how the car should drive