The Car Thread • Page 7

Need to replace my rack and pinion, fix a gnarly rattle in my front suspension, and get new tires and alignment. After that, my car should be in good shape for a while - or until something else goes.

 

Greatest car of all time

 

Can anyone comment on 2014 Prius? Plural? I'm wondering how much maintinence costs are over time, how expensive replacement parts are, etc.

 

I always hear how the prius is one of the most reliable vehicles out there

 

Brakes basically went out on me last night. Thankfully I was still in my neighborhood. Guessing it's the master cylinder.

The repairs are mounting.

 

Starting my rack and pinion today. Hoping it goes smoothly, knock on wood.

 

My new steering rack has turned into new tie rod ends and a new axle. I'm so glad I have help fixing this stuff because I get frustrated too fast. I fought with a bolt for 15 minutes yesterday only to find out it was the wrong one haha.

 

Similar to any other car thus far (brakes, tires, oil changes, etc.). No need for any odd ball maintenance for it yet.

 

Steering rack is finally in. New tires are mounted and balanced. Now comes putting all of this shit back together and an alignment. Hoping to be back on the road next week.

 

Does anyone drive a Prius? Or more specifically, a Prius C?

 

Resurrecting a dead thread. Thinking about getting a newer car (2010) with low mileage that has salvage title. Would still need to see cost of insurance. But If I'm not mechanical would this be an ok way to go?

Have cash in hand and my budget is hard lined.

 

It depends on your budget and what you're using the car for. If you plan to use it for your daily driver and you're not mechanical, I'm not sure a salvage car is the best way to go. What's the damage on it?

 

I had a leak in my tire a few months ago, so I had it plugged at Lubestop. It was like $8. Fast forward to Friday and the same tire was down to 8 psi, presumably because the plugged hole was leaking. I took it to Conrads and they told me Lubestop had done an 'illegal plug' and that they definitely had to replace the tire. The thing was (and maybe this was mechanic trying to rape me) he said since my Rav4 was all wheel drive, they had to replace all four tires. And I was like, no way. And then he's like 'well, I can't legally authorize them to put one tire on an all wheel drive so I'll put the spare tire on and you'll have to figure this out elsewhere.' Then he goes 'you can take it to Toyota but they'll just try to sell you on 4 tires anyway and it'll be a lot more expensive there.'

So then I asked him if he could just put two new front tires on and he said it wasn't recommended, but he did it anyway. It was only $200 for two tires, which isn't bad, because my last car (Camry) I did have a flat tire and Toyota charged me $189 for just one tire. I lease my cars, so there was no way in hell I was going to spend $400-$500 on all new tires a year before turning it back in.

So was this guy screwing with me about not replacing just one tire on an AWD?

 

No, he's right, when you replace just one tire the uneven tread length on your tires can really damage the drive train on an AWD vehicle. It's not like the car wouldn't be driveable, a mechanic just isn't going to put their name behind a job that's gonna fuck your car up down the road

 

I think this guy is right. Since all 4 tires on an AWD are always engaged, it's probably best to replace them all. However, if you don't plan on having the car much longer, it may not be too big of a deal.

 

what kind of car is it?

 

I get it. It just seems excessive. One flat tire and you're fucked.

I know it sounds bad, but if the car is fucked up 'down the road' it won't be my problem. It's why I always lease my cars, so I don't have problems with them down the road.

 

Personally, I would buy an older car or something else. I would never buy a car with a salvaged title unless I needed parts/planned to drastically change it.

Have you considered something like this?
Cars for Sale: Used 2014 Volkswagen Jetta SE Sedan for sale in Temecula, CA 92590: Sedan Details - 462489624 - Autotrader

Cars for Sale: Used 2012 Mazda MAZDA3 i Sport Sedan for sale in LaMesa, CA 91941: Sedan Details - 458602175 - Autotrader

 

Don't mess around with a salvage title. The car market is completely screwed up right now for everything but trucks, crossovers and SUVs – regular cars aren't selling, which is dropping prices across the board for both used and new. Keep looking and expand your search if you need to. You should be able to haggle thousands off of used. I recommended using CarFax so you can see the history of the car as well.

 

Thing is $6k is about my high for budget. Can't take on payments at the moment.

 

This does look pretty sweet though

 

Also wondering when a used car is too high on mileage to buy as my primary vehicle.

 

I'd feel comfortable about a higher mileage Japanese or German car than a higher mileage American one. My GF has the focus and it's had nothing but transmission problems lately. I'd be looking at Mazda, VW, Subaru, Toyota, and Honda if I were you. I wouldn't buy a car with more than 100,000 on it... Ideally less than 75,000.

 

If you're looking for total reliability in a daily driver, my first suggestion would be Toyota, then Subaru, then Honda. Bought my 2002 Toyota Celica with 150K on it and it lasted until 230K (might still get a new engine put in it for my dad to drive.) Subarus are great, but their resale value is higher so it might be hard to find something around $6k with lower miles.

For best performance/practical/fun factor, I'd recommended an older Mazda 3 hatchback. I'd also recommend the standard stuff: Corolla and Civic (hatch). Lots of them on the road, great reliability, lots of parts available everywhere if anything goes wrong. If you drive stick, a 2012 Cruze Eco might be a great buy with less than 30K miles on it with a ton of newer features, but it's still a Chevy.

 

I'm trying to get 2008 or newer so I can leave the open the opportunity of driving for Uber