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By
Sajeev Mehta on October 28, 2011
George writes:
Sajeev, I enjoy TTAC and your writing. Okay, I succumbed to the blandishments of you Panther lovers (and to fond memories of my father driving his Fords and Lincolns), and bought a 1996 Lincoln Town Car Cartier. The car has about 143,000 miles on it, all in North Carolina. The previous (2nd) owner was reportedly a little old lady, and because of the condition of the driver’s seat she could not have weighed much more than 90 or 95 pounds. It is well taken care of and straight.
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By
Sajeev Mehta on December 28, 2009
Shawn asks:
I have a 2006 Mazda5 GT which has blown it’s second rear shock in less than 87,000 km. My question is whether I should just replace it with yet another Mazda part, or whether I should go aftermarket and replace both rear ones at the same time. My concern with this option is whether or not the ride quality will be maintained. I do not want to end up with a harsh ride with an aftermarket part. Does anyone have any suggestions? What is a good brand for shocks? Does anyone have any experience with the Mazda5 or have a suggestion for shocks? I am also tempted to just rid of the car altogether :( This would be the fifth repair related to the suspension in three years of ownership.
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By
Don Gammill Jr. on November 27, 2009
In times like these, folks keep their cars longer (just ask Comrade Fidel’s oppressed masses of loyal subjects). Unfortunately, faster-spinning odometers have the nasty side effect of more quickly chewing up your car’s normal wear items. Some of these components (like brakes) can get downright demanding as they die. Others, like shock absorbers and their MacPherson strut cousins, just blend into the woodwork and stay there. Much like the guy in your high school yearbook that you can’t remember, your vehicle’s shocks and/or struts get Rodney Dangerfield-levels of respect and even less attention. Symptoms of worn shocks or struts include excessive floating after traversing even small bumps in the road, greater-than-normal body roll during cornering, increased braking distance, and extreme front end dive under moderate-to-hard braking.
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