Karl writes:

Sajeev, I am not sure if this has been covered before, but I am writing about washing cars in winter. I finally have a car that is new enough and nice to worry about keeping the body in good shape for a long time. It will not be driven that regularly, so I expect to keep it for a decade–I tend to keep my cars a long time. I remember reading long ago (okay, long, long ago) about not washing vehicles in freezing weather. Well, I live in Wisconsin, so that is a third of the year. I want my new purchase to last, so what should I do to preserve the paint and the body?

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TTAC Commentator NN writes:

My wife’s 04 Mercury Mountaineer (V6, AWD) recently hit 65k miles. The transmission had been clunking around noticeably lately, and I realized that:

a) These trannies are prone to fail

b) We hadn’t yet changed the ATF on the vehicle.

I am aware of the argument that some people make that when tranny fluid is old not to change it because the varnish build up, etc. helps to hold things together. But I thought 65k was still pretty young so I told my wife to take it in and get the fluid changed. She took it to a local non-franchise, non-dealer mechanic–just a fluid change and flush, no filter change as the mechanic said it wasn’t needed. The very next day the “O/D Off” light starts flashing constantly, which suggests that the transmission needs service. This is the first time we have seen this light.

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Dave writes:

The bottom of the steering wheel in my A6 is starting to fade and crack a bit. I was hoping you could give me the definitive answer on what to use to clean and protect a leather steering wheel, as I would like to keep the damage from getting any worse. I’ve searched a number of forums, and every suggestion has been immediately followed by “never use that on your steering wheel!” so I’m unsure what to do.

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TTAC Commentator sastexan writes:

Hi Sajeev,

Long time fan, never called in.  Here’s my problem hope the TTAC community can help with – my sister’s ‘01 Escape 2WD 68k miles with the Duratec 3.0 V6 threw a P0304 (Cylinder 4 misfire) as she was driving up to Dallas from Austin for Thanksgiving (as she was stuck in traffic around Temple).  She said car was running fine, so I said no worries keep driving but keep engine speed down.  Indeed, the misfire was apparent when the engine hit around 4000 RPM – violent stuttering.  Replaced the ignition coil, no effect, and the spark plug was clean.  Ford dealer pulled valve cover off and said no springs broken, so did compression test – one of the exhaust valves is leaking, 22%.  Rest of the engine is fine.  Maintained perfectly.

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Jeremy writes:

Hello Sajeev, I have a 1993 Mercury Grand Marquis that I picked up from a family member a couple years back. I registered the car in my name with only 37,000 miles on the clock, it now has just over 51,000. The car was garage kept for years. I have updated the fuel filter, spark plugs, tires, air filter, and the regular oil changes.

After driving the car for a while I noticed the transmission shifted with a slow “shudder” from 3rd to 4th gears. The transmission seemed to shift smoothly under light acceleration but mild to brisk acceleration is accompanied by the transmission shudder.

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Michael writes:

Sajeev, you always hear the advice to have a used car inspected before purchase by a reputable mechanic. But how do you implement that advice at your typical car lot? Dealer or independent, I can’t imagine they are excited about having someone drive off for several hours.

How does the B&B make this work? Leave your existing ride? Partially fill out a purchase contract? Leave your kids the showroom? Ideas, please, on how I phrase this “request” and what is reasonable to guarantee my return with their vehicle.

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Anonymous writes:

I love this column, great advice every time. That’s why I decided to ask for your opinion on something that’s been bothering me for a while. I have a ‘07 Mazda3 hatchback with a 5-speed manual. Currently I’ve crested 23,000 miles and the car is still under warranty.

Ever since I bought the car (brand new), the shifter has been a bit notchy going from 1st to 2nd. It could also be smoother from 3rd to 2nd. Another thing that bugs me is that during our cold Chicago winters, until the car/transmission warms up, the shifter is very mushy and stiff. Otherwise, the car is a blast to drive.

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Fast Driver writes:

I used to be a major hooligan, taking cloverleaf offramps every morning at speed in my E46 3 Series with tires squealing and occasional stability control intervention. I also enjoyed revving the German machinery to about 3500 rpms and dropping the clutch for a warp speed launch. After 20 or so launches like that with the car, nothing broke, fell off, or otherwise malfunctioned. It’s like the car was made for that kind of abuse.
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TTAC Commentator PG writes:

Sajeev, In their December 2009 issue, Car and Driver has a great article about how extended warranties — such as those offered by U.S. Fidelis and others — are largely scams that deceive customers, don’t really cover the cost of repairs at all, and don’t give refunds at cancellation.

My parents own a 2002 BMW X5 4.4. They bought it from Carmax and have the extended warranty from that dealership. It’s a fantastic car, but it’s had some very costly repairs — thankfully, those have been covered in full or at least in part by Carmax’s warranty. The thing is, that warranty expires this month and can’t be renewed.

The ‘rents are thinking of getting an extended warranty for the Bimmer, but after reading that C&D story I’m pretty convinced they would be throwing their money away. My question: are there ANY extended warranties out there that they can use? What can they do to help avoid the full cost of repairs?

Buying a new/different car isn’t really an option right now, because they want to keep the X5 as long as they can. The car has about 80,000 miles on it and still runs well, except for the occasional hiccup, but those can be pretty pricey on a BMW.

If you or the best and brightest have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them.

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