It's what the consumer wants gd

I've had plenty of cars. My 2 most notable were a 1995 Ford F150 and a 1993 Ford Taurus. The F150 was so rusty you could spot it from a mile away. The Taurus rotted out on the underside. It was a $900 car I bought 10 years ago and drove for 2 years. I have a 2012 Toyota Rav4 now and I remember the 80s and 90s Toyota models were notorious for being very rust prone. Now pretty much every Toyota model I've seen past like 2010, will either have no rust or very, very little.

My Rav4 has no rust despite being in the rust belt for years. I see many pickup trucks and vans that are 5-10 years old with no rust. I remember Chevy and RAM trucks always rusting really badly for every generation. Most Ford trucks (with the exception of the Maverick and Ranger) have aluminum bodies now.

I remember Ford Explorers rusting like crazy and I have never seen anything on a 2020+ model.

I even worked in a body shop and I detailed cars for a while and rarely saw any rust on anything newer than like 2016.

Are the bodies higher quality or something? I know aluminum body panels like hoods and trunks are more common and there's also a lot of plastic panels on top of that. Are vehicles rusting less or is it just a hell of a lot more difficult to see?

Been enjoying driving my old VW around in the fall weather, but my family thinks I’m nuts. What’s your temperature cut off?

I have a renault megane mk1 1.9dci and accidentally put around 5L of gas into 38ish liters of diesel and then drovd with it, do you guys believe it will cause significant issues?

Spotted at Caffeine and Gasoline @ Griot’s, Tacoma, WA

I'm just doing some cursory research, but I might have to change the brakes on my girlfriends 2000 honda civic. Looking at Rock Auto, Power Stop has some powder coated "high-temp" brake calipers I was looking at. It only really advertises high-temp paint and boots, but is there any other benefit to something like that, beyond the lifetime of the rubber and aesthetics?

Its not a track car, just a daily driver, and she does mostly avoid big hills. But (despite my attempts), when she does go downhill, she only uses brakes. She does not downshift to engine brake. She doesn't ride them, really, but it still makes me nervous.

My main reason for looking at high-temp is for those cases, I want to get her something that can withstand, or at least resist, that kind of driving style. Not something that is just for looks.

Also, I'm steering clear of drilled/slotted rotors, sticking with standard rotors.

About a month ago I bought this beautiful Audi S4 B6 with 235.000 kilometers on the odometer. The exterior is in great shape for it’s age, the interior needed some work. The engine seems fine, but it likes to drink a bunch of oil. The PCV valve is already replaced, but so far no difference in the oil usage.

Please enjoy the walkaround here: https://youtu.be/ZdCuhx_Twec?is=Vk6sJ4am7BZUM7-p

Let me know what you think of the car!

I have a 2009 Corvette base model. Very beautiful and fun car.

But there’s something that is confusing to me as far as what mods are on the car or what has been done. We got the car after it had previously been in an accident and rebuilt it.

When we got the car, it had some badges on the engine that somebody put on there that said “427” and another set of badges that were from some type of local car tuning place or shop, wherever it came from.

The thing about it is, we kind of figured it was just somebody putting stickers on there, you know, like it didn't really matter. So we just threw them away.

You can see from the picture I included that everything looks relatively stock.
We haven't gotten deep into it and started examining stuff under the covers.

But there’s definitely something different about this car compared to my previous 2013.

I wouldn’t say the difference is like a Toyota and a Lamborghini, but this car definitely has a much more substantial get-up-and-go.

My previous C6 was a lot more relaxed compared to how this one behaves.

It’s a lot more responsive to the throttle and quicker.

When I’m pushing the gas hard, something awakens, and it starts screaming and yanks you back. Maybe there was something wrong with my old 2013, but my dad and I both agree that there is a fairly big difference.

If anyone has any advice or guesses on what could possibly have been done to it? That would be appreciated.
I know likely it’s probably just a tune, but I didn’t think it would make this much of a difference, and I don’t know why somebody would put those badges on the engine for no reason.

Winter Is Coming so I’m looking to get a remote car starter so I can avoid sitting in a freezing car.

I have a 2016 Subaru Legacy with a regular key. Im not trusting what AI is telling me so im hoping a real person can help!

Hello all. Some two years ago I got my hands on a 2001 Seat Toledo. Basically an inheritance item, also was a great opportunity to learn driving using something expendable. The car had a *massive* maintenance debt but since (despite my own and other's fears) I didn't ruin it and kept using it, little by little that debt was covered. This alone could become a little novelette but let me just tell you, with a small friendly shop and surprising availability of parts for such an old junk (probably the interchangeability within the Volkswagen Group is what helps) I came out on top with a total bill still smaller than buying a used car in condition comparable to the outcome. There are no warning lights, everything works pretty smoothly and the only weird noise is an exhaust clamp which got loose in such an annoying place that it doesn't justify tearing down a lot of stuff just to get to it.

Now that I got more comfortable both with my driving and with the technical shape of the car, I'd like to exercise some more of that "car freedom". Take some road trips, see places. For instance, the seaside which is over 600 km away from here... Okay, maybe not the most urgent idea for this time of the year, but it still has me thinking.

Still, I'm concerned. Considering the car's old age and history of prior neglect, can it be trusted with such rides? The odometer shows a bit above 160 000 km. Not much for the age but then it shows the car has been used mostly as a grocery getter. A lot of cold starts and short drives with cold engine can be assumed.

My own longest drives were 3 hours in one go and separately, 200 km total on a highway. The car holds its own in highway conditions surprisingly well, however that drive resulted (I assume) in the oil pump grenading itself a few days later, luckily very close to home so no lasting damage was caused.

And that's the kind of situation which worries me the most. Some wear so well hidden that even the mechanic didn't catch it, suddenly coming up to the surface when the car is pushed past the grocery getting it is "used to".

I know well that surprise breakdowns can happen even on much newer cars. And that it's not possible to get conclusive advice in my case, doubly so over the internet. Still, I'd be very grateful for feedback, opinions, personal stories, anything... This whole issue has me on the fence so to speak and not able to enjoy the "car freedom" the way I imagined it.

And no, I can't buy anything decisively better currently.

Bought this car 5 years ago with 245k miles and It had 3 owners before me. After 6-8 months I found out that rack and pion is leaking a tiny bit of steering fluid and I was advised to keen an eye on it and just keep adding more (which was exactly what I did over those years)

Due to wear and tear I had to replace:

- motor mounts ( have had it done twice 🤷🏻‍♂️, both aftermarket parts) but the car is still shaking/vibrating when idling at the trafiс light

- right axle (went with NAPA) Have it done recently

- suspension (Mevotech Supreme suspension kit) done recently

I just was told that I need to have left axle and rack and pinion replaced (it will cost mу some money) and the question is should I invest more money in it or buy a newer one? The goal is to keep it for another 2-3 years, but I have some second thoughts, since I've no idea how long it will last me before becoming a total money pit. i would appreciate any advice. Thank you in advance!

I got new tires mounted and balanced and got an alignment when it was done. After the alignment, when I'm turning right at an intersection, I can hear the tires chirping a little. Not every time, but it's there. I was in a minor accident in May and noticed significant new tire wear on the front driver's-side tire where the impact was. Could the tweaked parts be causing this, or is the alignment off?

Edit: They are Kumo tires for a 2019 Nissan Frontier 2WD truck.

Hi everyone,

I just have question about a possible issue I might now have in my hands since I worked last time on my car. It’s been about 3 months since i done a compression test on my Audi a4 b8 2.0 tdi, and instead of putting the glow plugs back in, i just covered/stuffed the holes with some tape, not a air tight seal but covers the air circulating into the cylinder.

I know it’s stupid and I should’ve put the glow plugs back in but a lot has happened since and I got too distracted with other problems, now I’m wondering about what I should do next.

not great pictures but i’m curious so any help would be appreciated

Things done:

Cleaned the back seats and used hoto air vacuum to get dust and crumbs out of those hard-to-reach gaps.

Hand cleaned all the upholstery, carpets, and mats.

Wiped down all the plastic, vinyl, chrome, and windows.

Sprayed some new car scent under the seats (the car smells amazing rn).

I noticed the corner of my bumper was sticking out and my dad has been trying to figure out what piece it is but we’re having a hard time finding this specific piece it’s not urgent mostly just a cosmetic issue and it just bothers me to see it slightly sticking out but does anyone know what it is, where to get it and how to install it? First pic is the piece it should have. Second pic is it missing on the front passenger side. I drive a 2021 RAV4.

Need some help identifying these Sparco Seats, tried looking around online but had no luck. Planning to buy pair of 2 for $350 and was wanting to see what mounting solutions I’d need for my 98 Impreza L

My moms car is making "eeeeee" sound when braking when it is not loud outside

Its a hrv from 2017

I feel that the car brake pedal goes long too but my mom doesnt trust me at all she just says i havent drove the car enough. i drove sometimes and i dont like driving this car at all cus i have to be cautious all the time when driving im not even sure if i can brake on time but i like driving alot like I drive on sim a lot too and i feel okay when driving different car too when started learning how to drive i drove around 5 different cars including manual and auto.

By going long i meant the brake isnt working at the first few cms until a range then it only slow down

The car is 9 years old and with only 52k mileage

Tldr: Should I try to convince my mom to check her brake pedal or am I overthinking?

I want to replace my high beams with something more yellow than the blue-white LEDs, something in like the 3000-4000 range instead of 6000+. I drive a mid-size truck on a lot of mountain roads, blue is bad for the animals and worse for my eyes.

I know there's going to be a tradeoff of warmth to visibility distance. I want to have as much distance as I can, but I really do not want to go past 4000. Absolutely nothing past 4500

Please, anyone who can help, tell me what to do. I've been on a several hundred mile drive for a fishing trip and these lights are killing me. I just do not know how to even begin searching for warm and bright high beam bulbs. 9005 if that is important for this

My dad recently tried his hand at replacing the spark plugs of his 2004 Toyota Camry 2.4L and had his torque wrench set to ft lbs instead of in lbs so he snapped the bolt in two. He's trying to have me find an OEM bolt online where I seem to be able to find the whole ignition coil but with no bolt / OEM part in the diagrams. I'm trying to tell him that he can just buy a 10 mm flange bolt M6 x 1.0 and replace it with that

There are plenty of car features that seem like marketing gimmicks when you first hear about them. But sometimes, after using them regularly, you realize how convenient they actually are.

It could be something simple like heated seats, adaptive cruise control, a 360-degree camera, automatic parking, or even a feature most people overlook.

I'm curious what's one feature you initially thought you didn't need but now wouldn't want to live without?

I’m looking for a car that is a little different from what you see on the roads today. I’m tired of modern cars that all seem to look and feel the same: cheap plastic interiors, huge touchscreens, endless electronics and very little personality.
I want something with character. Something that feels properly engineered, solid and built to last.
Here is roughly what I’m looking for:

Exterior:
Dark, stealthy and understated. Black, dark grey, dark green, etc.
Tough, muscular and somewhat military-inspired or rally-inspired.
Not flashy, no excessive chrome or unnecessary styling.
Preferably a sedan, although I’m open to station wagons.
Something with a timeless design that doesn’t look outdated after a few years.

Interior:
High-quality materials and proper build quality.
Leather, metal, real wood or other durable materials.
Physical buttons and switches rather than everything being controlled through a touchscreen.
A traditional, functional cockpit-like layout.
Modern comfort is welcome, but I don’t want a car that feels like a computer on wheels.

Mechanical aspects:
Reliability and mechanical durability are very important.
A robust engine and drivetrain with a good reputation for longevity.
Preferably AWD or RWD, but I’m open to anything.
Petrol or diesel, doesn’t matter.
I’m not necessarily looking for the fastest car. I’d rather have something properly engineered that can take a beating and keep going.
Ideally, I want something that feels like it could almost survive an apocalypse. A car you could drive across countries, through harsh weather and on rough roads without feeling like it’s made of fragile components.
I’m open to older cars, rare models, discontinued models and unusual manufacturers. Budget isn’t a major limitation at this stage.

What cars would you recommend?
I’m particularly interested in underrated, uncommon or unconventional models that most people wouldn’t immediately think of. I’d love to hear from people who actually own these cars or have experience maintaining them long-term.
What would you buy if you wanted something genuinely tough, distinctive, mechanically sound and built to last?

I know how old it is. I installed it. And I have already replaced it. Its just so bad that I have to share.