General question Wednesday: Ask your general car-related question and maybe someone will have an answer.
Posted by AutoModerator@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 34 comments
Please direct all choosing/purchase questions to the weekly car-buying sticky. All rules of r/cars apply here.
jsingh21@reddit
My friend got a new Jetta 2024. It had a couple miles on it not too much. And he got it from a dealer and he was telling me if he should take it back The thing is it breaks hard. Is that normal for this type of car that you have to press the brake really hard because usually when you're approaching a stop sign you start breaking ahead of time a in the car will stop when you press the brake cuz you start to press it slowly as you approach to stop sign but this one even if you start pressing it ahead of time once you get to the stop sign you have to break it hard for it to completely stop. Is that normal.
jsingh21@reddit
My friend got a new Jetta 2024. It had a couple miles on it not too much. And he got it from a dealer and he was telling me if he should take it back The thing is it breaks hard. Is that normal for this type of car that you have to press the brake really hard because usually when you're approaching a stop sign you start breaking ahead of time a in the car will stop when you press the brake cuz you start to press it slowly as you approach to stop sign but this one even if you start pressing it ahead of time once you get to the stop sign you have to break it hard for it to completely stop. Is that normal.
la_plus@reddit
What's an average price to upgrade my '19 Civic's multimedia receiver? I just need something with apple/android play so I can see my GPS. I saw this for $400, but I don't know if I'm paying too much.
OnlineSei@reddit
(Japan/Canada) Has anyone bought parts while in Japan that are too big to put in your suitcase and then shipped them home? I am thinking about trying to buy a bumper, but I am not sure its worth it or if its too much effort!
BohemianJack@reddit
(USA) My mom needs a car and I’ve been waiting for prices to drop in the used car market so we can afford her one.
However, with the new presidency and the threat of foreign tariffs, I fear that used car prices will skyrocket. Is the time to buy a used car now? Should we just bite the bullet and buy one with anticipation that prices will increase?
Triple_A_23@reddit
I am in the market for getting a car for myself and cannot seem to decide on one significant thing, should I get a new regular car (Honda, Toyota, Nissan, etc.) or should I get a CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) luxury car (Volvo, Cadillac, Lincoln, Acura). [About me section at the end if you'd like to understand my situation a little better]
My budget: $28,000-$30,000 (excluding dealer fee and extra costs) Miles Driven (For Pre-Owned): 50k or less Year (For Pre-Owned): 2020+
I can get a 2025 Honda, Toyota or a Nissan since if I go with new, I would prefer Japanese brands. I can either get an Altima, Civic Sedan, Accord sedan, Camry, RAV4 or a Corolla. These would incur lower interest rates, lower insurance costs and lower maintenance/cost to run.
For a CPO cars, I have a lot of options but I want to stay away from German Brands since I know they cost a fortune to maintain. That's why I have been looking at Volvo, Lincoln, Cadillac and Acura mainly. I would love a Lexus but they go outside my price range for the constraints I have specified. These, depending on the car, could have moderate to high interest rates, insurance costs and maintenance/cost to run. Thing about these and why I am leaning more towards this option is, in my home country, owning a luxury brand car with a normal salary is almost next to impossible so might as well do it while I can.
I don't want opinions solely based on price/cost to own since then, I understand that a new car is definitely better in terms of money.
I don't mind spending a little more money [unless it drives me bankrupt] on my car if I get to drive a good one since that's one of the very few things I actually spend any real money on (excluding necessities ofcourse).
Please tell me, in your opinion, which option would you prefer if you were in my situation. Also if there are any brands, cars that I am missing or sleeping on, I would appreciate your input on that too.
About me: I am a 24y/o living in Houston, TX, USA. This would be the first car I own. I just started at a job after my studies and am making a decent amount per year (70-80k USD). I am in a visa situation where I have 3 years to live in USA for sure. This could be extended later with a change in visa status but worst case scenario, I leave in June 2027 never to come back. I spend little money on lifestyle things but on cars and tech, I don't mind spending extra.
kaffeeschmecktgut@reddit
One of my cars was sitting for almost a year awaiting repairs. Now it is fixed and running again, but the rear hatch won't open after sitting for so long. It has been fully recharged, and all other doors open fine. What has happened? Did the mechanism rust inside? Is there a good way to fix this? My other car has also had the same problem since I bought it.. hah.
FuzzelFox@reddit
You could try giving it a few good thumps around the lower middle area of the hatch while trying to open it. Might loosen things back up.
DropTopGSX@reddit
Depending on model many times water can get into the latch either from a leaking rear wiper assembly, rear window, spoiler, etc and rusts up the latch.
To fix you would need to gain access to the latch directly by removing/breaking panels (sometimes they are only able to be properly removed with the hatch open) and then replacing the latch and fixing whatever was letting water get to it.
GeneralCommand4459@reddit
Why is it that the majority of automatic cars I've owned all have jerky gearboxes, especially in the lower gears. And this only gets worse after spirited driving. Admittedly a lot of them were German premium cars...And I did get the fluids and solenoids replaced on many of them but no difference.
brinmb@reddit
That's how DCTs usually behave.
trolllord45@reddit
Interesting, I’ve mostly noticed this on manuals. When you let the clutch all the way out but don’t apply and throttle it can be really herky-jerky
spekt50@reddit
Thinking they mean hard shifts. Which is more common in higher performance ATs. At times, people like harder shifts because it makes the car feel higher performance.
Weary-Bit7386@reddit
Hello people of Reddit, I was looking to buy my first car b/c I need something to drive to work with as I don’t have any other options. I was looking to get a 2001 Toyota Camry V6. It has 260,000 km and is selling for $2300(I think I can negotiate the price down). Is this a good deal, is there anything I should know about this car/ look for when I go to inspect it ?
Retarded__furry@reddit
If I drive 2houres every day, would buying an ev/hev/diesel be a good idea? My car doesn’t drink that much fuel(it’s a i4 1.8L) but it’s still expensive. So which type would you recommend and should I expect a big difference economically long term? I live in Quebec, Canada. Thank you.
DropTopGSX@reddit
A small diesel can be more economical in fuel mileage but depending on what year/emissions equipment the diesel has it can have expensive repairs when, not if, the aftertreatment system has issues. If you can get an older model that is pre-dpf/def they will be much cheaper to operate but obviously in canada rust on models that old would be a major factor.
Hybrids dont really shine all that well in highway driving. They do generally get better mileage than non hybrids but the margins between them are pretty thin and the upfront cost is quite a bit higher typically so the payback period on highway driving is gonna be pretty long.
Straight EV would depend entirely on your range requirements and if you can charge at work/home for a reasonable cost or if you would be relying on supercharging which has a higher cost and eats up a lot of time.
Retarded__furry@reddit
Damn there really is no perfect option, diesel would be nice but the market is god awful right now so I think I will check for an ev
scarletts-orchard7@reddit
I'm doing a full upgrade on my 2007 Dodge Charger 5.7 r/T Hemi RWD. I want to wrap it in a deep glossy maroon vinyl, what are your best websites to order wraps from?
yellowbirb@reddit
I have to jump start my car everytime i want to turn it on cuz the battery doesn't hold the charge. How long can it last like this considering winter is coming up? I dont wana buy a new battery cuz the car is scrap and i'm giving it away to insurances soon due to a recent car accident.
Lugnuts088@reddit
It will eventually kill your alternator. How long is anybodies guess.
I ran a car with a dead battery for 3 months and just always parked facing downhill so I could pop start it. So my guess for you is 3-6 months.
yellowbirb@reddit
Doesnt the car need to be a manual to pop start it? What happend after 3 months for you? My biggest anxiety is that it will die somewhere super fucking random and i'll have to call a truck to take it... :(
Lugnuts088@reddit
Yes it has to be a manual to pop start it.
After 3 months I spent the 60 bucks on a used battery.
yellowbirb@reddit
Damn where do you love that a battery is 60$ , mechanic told me its 250$, its easy to change by yourself?
N546RV@reddit
As /u/Lugnuts088 said, they're often easy to change, but not always. I replaced the battery in my truck this past weekend; it took me maybe 20 minutes.
The basic procedure is:
The big question is whether you've got to remove other stuff to get access. For example, on my truck I have to remove a cross brace (two bolts) and loosen a coolant reservoir (one bolt) in order to maneuver the battery in/out. This is where things become very car-specific.
There's a good chance if you google your year/make/model followed by "battery replacement," you'll find a Youtube walkthrough of what needs to be done on your specific car. Most likely it only requires basic hand tools.
Lugnuts088@reddit
Used battery on craigslist for $60. New batteries are $150-200.
Batteries are normally easy to change but some vehicles have them in weird places that make it a touch more difficult.
puremptiness@reddit
If you dyno a car, and see the resulting graph, is the top of the hpxrpm curve the best point to shift to have the best perfomance?
megapickel@reddit
It depends, but in general, no. You want to go past peak torque/hp because you have more effective torque in a lower gear than a higher gear as well as staying in the largest area under a curve which typically would be below, at and above peak torque/hp.
rudbri93@reddit
yea unless it falls on its face right after peak power, you can run it out past peak.
mr_lab_rat@reddit
Rarely. You need to think about what the RPMs are gonna be AFTER you shift.
So typically the ideal shift is past the power power peak, often close to redline.
TheRealCVDY@reddit
What matters more (assuming both have perfect service history), age or mileage?
Random_Introvert_42@reddit
Of the two, age (unless it's crazy high or crazy low mileage). But generally condition is important, not really age of the car (that's kinda dictated by the model you want) or mileage alone.
gsasquatch@reddit
Age.
Where I am, cars rust out after about 20 years.
Rust will kill a car. Whether or not to restore, replace all the mechanicals etc. is a decision made on the amount of rust it has. All the cars I sent to the junk yard were some minor mechanical problem and copious amounts of rust that made it not worthwhile to fix the minor mechanical problem. Most of them would start and run even after years of questionable service history.
I've bought cars with more than 200k miles, driven some with more than 300k miles. They were fine, it is just a matter of which parts were replaced or not. Frame and body are a bit tough to replace. The cars I had that were older than 20 years were garage queens not driven in winter.
Master-Start6687@reddit
Age in my opinion. Bushings start to go, rust gets worse, electronics can have issues. Maintenance becomes worse to do as things age. Parts become less avaliable.
ivovivovi@reddit
To add to this, low age with high mileage often means a lot of highway drives, which put least stress on the car