The Automotive Thread

I'm 6'4 and morbidly obese, trust me you can fit in a WRX fine.

 

I'm looking for a cheap, reliable car with good mileage. I don't drive too much, at most 200 miles a week, so I'd like to have this car for at least a good 7-8 years. Performance is not an issue. I'm thinking of the Honda Fit, but there have been 2 recalls on it in the past few years, so I'm hesitant. Anyone recommend anything else? Maybe the Toyota Yaris? The Ford Fiesta doesn't seem too appealing.

 

I am having an a/c problem in my car. When I turn the fan on to make the air come out, nothing comes out at all, but the light comes on. This is the case for all 4 speeds. When I open the vent for the outside air to flow in and turn the fan switch on, it cools the air but doesn't make it blow any harder. I've determined that the cooling components work just fine but either the fuse to the blower is out or the blower itself is out.

I took it to the shop yesterday for routine maintenance. They said that the blower motor was bad and needed to be replaced. They quoted me about $300 for the part and labor, including a new cabin a/c filter. But the thing is, they got the blower to work somehow. I can turn it on and off and all the speeds work. Which makes me think the blower motor is really ok.

I went back in to ask the guy how they got it to work. He said they just cleaned it out a bit and will work for a short while, but still needs to be replaced.

Does anyone have any experience with this? I am reluctant to drop $300 if I don't need to.

 

I don't know how many people already know about this, but I discovered something cool this past Friday.

I had a half day at work and it was beautiful outside--over 60º. So I took a little joyride around a large lake near my house which eventually, thanks to my phone with GPS, turned into about 50 miles of driving through some seriously fun backroads.

When I got home, I sat down at the computer and figured out the route I took on Google Maps. I really wanted a way to chart where I drove so that I could have the route on my phone for the next time I wanted to take a drive. Turns out that you can create your own maps by going to Google, clicking Maps at the top, and then going to My Maps at the top left corner.

Now, I can go to Google Maps on my phone, select Layers, More layers, and My Maps. Next time I want to take that route, I don't have to watch for any specific street names and just follow the route on the map as I go along. Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to tether that to navigation so the phone will tell me when I need to turn without having to look at the screen.

Anyway, for people who like to just drive around and find some fun roads, this is an easy way to keep track of where you've gone if you want to save it.

 

It will be one of two things, one already mentioned is your wiper switch, the more common problem would be your wiper pulse board. The pulse board controls all the delay settings, so when it goes, you still have your low and your high speed, you just dont have the delay.

I called the dealer ship, they told me the wiper pulse board is build into the wiper motor. Hope it is your wiper motor and not your multi-function switch. There is avaibility on the wiper motor and it is fairly cheap, the multi-function switch on the other had, all three big warehouses have never carried that number and they are normally pretty expensive.

 

Here's a pretty little article comparing the 2 (and the Camaro as well, but that wasn't on your list) that basically mirrors exactly what you said regarding the differences between the 2, stylve vs. performance.

That being said, I just recently bought a brand new Mustang GT with the 5.0. I'll first admit that I'm biased and have been a Mustanger for all my driving life until this point, so the Challenger never even entered my thought process. However, I have been in and had a chance to drive the new Challengers, and while as a muscle car, they are nice and definitely do have a bigger interior, unless you're routinely planning on have more than 1 passenger in the car, all that extra space becomes a moot point. Now I didn't go with any of the fancy upgrades like the SYNC system, or the multi-color display or the Shaker sound system, because frankly, I just wanted a fast, good looking sports car which is what I got. I did, however, and would also recommend, getting the upgraded wheel and brake package. I got the 19's with the brushed aluminum wheels, and those have become the thing more people have commented about on my car compared to anything.

Back to your point about style, I actually prefer the body styling of the Mustang to the Challenger, but again, that's a personal preference. It's just a more simpler style that pays homage to the early models of the car, yet still has that 'fresh' look of today's cars. There are options you can add to maybe up the style points, such as their upgraded exterior package that has the different front end fascia and grille.

I'm at work and can't repost them here, but if you go back to my last post in this thread, I put up a picture of my new car for reference. If you want some more shots to look at, PM me and I can send them to you when I get back to my home computer. Or if you have any other questions about the new Mustang in particular, I'm happy to share anything about my own personal experience.

 

You should look at Infiniti. I drive a G37s that compares to all the "muscle" car's today, as well, if not better on some parts. A G come's stock with a 3.7L 330 HP V6 and you have the option of the auto trans with possible paddle shifters or the manual trans. You can also get the AWD version which now comes as an auto or manual. In my mind, the styling is a ton better than the boxy Mustang or the Challenger. Also, the G comes with leather...sexy, sexy leather and an awesome interior. No cloth bucket seats here.
The main differences between the cars are the price, a Base G is $36,6, while the mustang gt's start at 30. A sport'd G could be upwards of 50 if you get the "performance" package which comes base with 348 hp and some upgrades. That being said, the G doesn't have the soul or history of the other two, but it definitely has the performance and style.

If you had to choose between just the Mustang and the Challenger, I'd easily choose the Challenger. It looks better, it's infinitely rarer, and it's got a hemi. Plus, when it comes down to it, there are more chicks driving mustangs than there are guys...do you really want to drive a chick car around town?

Ps, my v6 powered car is faster than the v8 mustang.

 

I'm 6' 2" and theres a huge difference between the leg room in the 02-03 era WRXs and the new ones. Night and day. The seats are also a tad wider and far more comfortable. We drove from MA to the STPR Rally in PA in an 03 WRX and I wanted and even though I sat shotgun the entire ride I wanted to kill myself because of the lack of legroom. Went from MA to Raleigh NC in a 09 WRX again sitting shotgun and had no issues whatsoever.

All-Roads are awesome though.

 

I looked at the G37. It's a nice car but it just doesn't do it for me. A G37s would outrun the previous generation Mustang GT (2010 and earlier) but I think a 2011 with the new 5.0 beats it 0-60 by almost a second.

I've noticed that a lot of girls drive mustangs which frankly doesn't bother me and it might even be a bonus; if girls like mustangs maybe they like a guy in a mustang (?). It doesn't really matter because I've never tried to pick up a girl using my car, even when I had an old muscle car. (Pick up in the romantic sense, not pick up as in give her a ride somewhere, that I've done)

I think I've settled on the Mustang. I definitely prefer the way the Challenger looks but it just feels slow when driven back-to-back with the Mustang.

 

Good choice. The new 5.0L is pretty beastly from all of the reports I have read, and I would pick one up over a Challenger any day of the week. I really like Ford's grabber blue color too, since it is somewhat close to Audi's nogaro blue.

Also, the Mustang aftermarket has historically been pretty extensive, so if you want to go fast(er) you will have plenty of options. These guys were running 11s on an auto (boo) with typical bolt-ons, and high 10s after throwing on a 100 shot:

 

Wait a little bit, save some money, and get one of these.

 

The Boss 302 looks sweet but the 40,000 price is a little more than I can justify. If I planned on tracking the car extensively it would definitely be warranted. I plan to hit either some open track days or a HPDE event but mostly it will be a daily driver. Like magz said, the aftermarket is so extensive it won't be a problem to turn my car into a Boss clone later if I decide I want to.

Now I just have to get the best price. I've got a couple of dealerships quoting against each other and I'm already a little bit below Edmund's TMV price so I think I'm getting a decent deal. Any tips on negotiating a new car price are appreciated. This will be my first brand new car and the first car I'll have to make payments on.

 

I got my catback exhaust in the mail today!! Can't wait to put it on in a little bit, I'm so excited!

 

My 2000 S-10 (4.3L) is throwing a code and driving like shit. Started misfiring yesterday, under throttle, and kept misfiring all the way home, including idling at stoplights. Read the code today, and it was a Misfire in #2. Cleared the code and let it idle, and it threw a generic P0300 Multiple/Random misfire.

Something similar happened about a year ago, and I had the crank and cam sensors replaced, so I'm thinking (hoping) it's not them. Any other ideas? I saw on one forum that the gasket around the MAP sensor could cause a similar code/misfire. I'm thinking I'm going to try that today.

Any other ideas? Thanks in advance!

 

Two questions: Has your area had a lot of rain lately (edit: just saw you're in the Seattle area...) and does your engine have coil on plug ignition? I ask because my old car, before I finally got rid of it, had a problem where heavy rain would cause the engine to misfire on one of two problem cylinders. The coil packs were the culprit and, once replaced, worked well until one of them shit the bed again about a year or so later.

It was a Mazda, but your problem sounds really similar to the one I had.

 

Thanks for the suggestion, but it's regular coil + plug setup (and, ironically enough, it's sunny here today). I can't remember if I've ever done a tuneup, so I might try replacing plugs and wires, it's probably overdue. Cap and rotor have been replaced (the last time I had this issue...)

 

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Posted this in the main help thread but it should have been posted here.


I have a car repair question for any experts on here. I have a 2008 Toyota Corolla and it's got around 46k miles on it. I noticed recently that a belt is starting to squeak. It only happens when the car is idling. It's a standard transmission. When in neutral and I press the gas a little bit, the squeaking goes away.

Any idea with this info what belt would most commonly be making that noise or do you need more info? Also, is it an easy belt to replace and what is a fair repair cost? I'm definitely going to take it to a local mechanic, I just want to try to have a little knowledge before I go.

 

It will only have 1 belt, a serpentine belt. Older cars would use separate belts to drive each component. I don't believe a motor mount needs to be removed on that car so any half decent mechanic should be easily able to swap it out in under an hour. Generally if it's the belt it should be replaced, the squeak comes from the belt not being able to grip hard enough. It's possible it could be a bearing on one of the pulleys though, too. When bearings go bad it takes extra work to spin them so the belt will slip on the pulley[which is mounted on the bearing]. Might wanna set your parking brake and listen under the hood to get a better idea of where the squeak is coming from. You can also try some "belt dressing" spray. It will give the belt some extra grip.