#advice

Christopher writes:

Are you familiar with the Land Rover Three Amigos? I have a 2003 Discovery SE. The ABS, hill decent and traction control lamps all on at once. My mechanic says it’s the ABS module and the fix is $1200-1500 and may not solve the problem. What’s up with this? Sell the vehicle? How do you sell a broken car?

Steven writes:

I’m in the midst of an automotive dilemma: I’ve got two cars: a 2007 Nissan 350Z and a 1998 Volkswagen Jetta. I picked up the Jetta this fall to serve as a winter car. The Jetta turned out to have a brake problem (fixed), leaking shocks and a hole in the muffler. I really wanted something a little sportier for the winter. The Z is my baby, and I want to retain money to continue refining it into an AutoX menace, but the Jetta is killing me, Smalls! I see three alternatives: 1. Fix up the Jetta with nice suspension parts and a new cat-back, making the daily drive less slow. 2. Sell the Jetta, buy something else in its place. (Focus ZX3, GTI 1.8T, E36 BMW, Civic?) 3. Fix the Jetta to OEM specs, save money for the Z. What should I do?

Sunil Shah writes:

I am wondering if you can give me some advice as I search for a used car. By way of background, I previously had an E46 330i w/sport package and manual transmission (purchased used at 35K miles and sold at 89K miles). It was a great car, but I sold a while back as I moved into a city and had a short walk to work. Now, I’m back in the suburbs and am looking for something that may or may not exist.

TTAC Commentator MontanaVista writes:

Sajeev and Steve, I have a good one for you guys. I currently own a 2007 VW Rabbit 2dr Automatic. On average I put about 23,000+ miles on my car a year due to my commute to work. This car has given me no problems at all, however my commute often includes a lot of stop and go traffic and shotty road conditions, which I fear has aged some of the components. I drive ~25 miles to JFK and back everyday. I have exceeded the manufacturers warranty (50k) and extending my warranty is out of the question for me. The VW warranty will only extend it another 28,000 miles which will be a little over a years worth of driving for me. And people I know have had bad experiences with third party warranties, and I’m not sure I want to get myself stuck in something like that. I financed the VW for 72 months, I owe around $8000 on it but it is definitely worth around $10000 (craigslist and Autotrader).

I am not in the ‘keeper’ business. Cars to me have always been an investment asset, like stocks, bonds, and a good accountant are for most other folks. My daily drivers are supposed to make me money. But then I have to balance this against one other unavoidable fact: I’m married.

Anthony writes:

I currently own a 2006 Acura TSX, 6-speed manual, with 32,000 miles. I’m also leasing a 2008 Mazda Miata for 2-years. I’m giving the Miata back in September of this year and it’s way under milage. I have two questions about my TSX:

1) Because of the mileage, I want to drive the leased Miata as much as possible. How little can I drive the Acura without it becoming detrimental to the car’s health? Is there anything I should be doing when I am driving it? Currently I drive it about 1 day every 2 weeks and make sure the A/C compressor is on.

2) How similar is the 6-speed transmission in the TSX to the 6-speed unit in the Civic Si. I’ve heard that’s a problematic transmission and that you should not skip-shift it. I’ve had no problems with the TSX’s transmission thus far. Your thoughts?

TTAC Commentator Shane Rimmer writes:

I have a 2002 Ford ZX2 5-speed with about 80,000 miles on the odometer. For peace of mind, I plan to change the transmission fluid soon. The book calls for Mercon automatic transmission fluid, but I have read that synchromesh is the better choice. I’d like to get the thoughts of the best and brightest on which I should use or if I should just leave it as is since there are no problems.

Joel writes:

I have a manual transmission car and am traveling on the highway at a speed that has my RPMs low for mpg. Now say I come to a hill, and my car can hold its speed and rpms, but I have to floor it or nearly floor it to keep my speed. I could downshift, where my engine rpms would go up, and I wouldn’t have to give as much gas through the pedal. My question is, is downshifting using more gas than keeping it in the same gear?

Now, I do realize that this is pretty much an OCD kind of question, but then again, if the answer is rather large, it would be good to know. And, if the answer is negligible, that would be cool too. So, if you know the answer, or is the kind of thing to put on the website, I’d love to know the answer. Thanks in advance.

FYI: the cars in question are a 2001 Honda Civic and a 1985 Volvo 245, and a 2007 Honda Fit, and all are sticks. That said, I even converted the wife to driving a stick, the Fit is hers!

Andy writes:

Hello, my wife and I are looking for a new car. We have a 20 month old and another on the way in April. Anyway, we’re looking for a sedan that’s roomy, reliable, safe and quick. Our budget is in the $40s. For new cars I was looking at the Taurus, Genesis and M35 (due to the incentives). On the used side, I was looking at Audi A8s and Volvo S80s. We live in Northern Indiana so traction is occasionally a concern. Do you have strong feelings about any of these candidates? Any other cars you would consider? Thanks!

TTAC Commentator cc-rider writes:

Hi Sajeev- I am a huge fan and advocate of TTAC. I have a co-worker and friend in dire need of some good advice from the best and the brightest. She has a 2002 Jeep Liberty with 110,000 miles. Last week her car had to be towed to her mechanic. She found out the engine is toast.

Turns out it is a victim of engine sludge. After the fact, it seems that this is a fairly common issue with the Jeep 3.7 V-6. It seems that a new engine would be $3,000 in parts and at least another $2,000 to be installed.

In my opinion, it seems pointless to spend that sort of money on a car that’s maybe worth $4,000. She doesn’t have a lot of money to spend on another car- maybe $2,000 at most. She doesn’t put many miles on in a year and goes mostly to and from work. I am very familiar with the Nissan SR20 engines and am partial to them. I was recommending she find a used 1st generation Infiniti G20. They seem to give a huge bang for the buck at that low price point.

I’d love to hear everyone’s take on her situation. By the way, she is in the NYC metro area for anyone with a cheap ride for sale.

TTAC contributor jrominski writes:

My close relative is professional engineer, leaving his posting in the rust belt at a soon-to-closed, Tier 1, UAW supplier factory. Not wanting to move to Detroit, he accepts a promotion out of the quickly settling debris implosion, to run engineering in a component plant in Saltillo. Which was formerly the Athens of Mexico, but is now the Detroit of Mexico. So he stays employed. But wait, it gets better: a car allowance, 45k USD. He loves RWD and AWD in that order. Had plenty of FWD. He is an AWD drivetrain engineer. Taste runs to BMW and Audi.

What to buy? Cars there are 30% more than in US for comparable. Not quite the same lineup. Below are his first thoughts and my responses.

Jon writes:

Hi Sajeev, I own a 2002 Subaru WRX wagon, and live in Tennessee. Last month, Subaru and the NHTSA issued a recall for certain 02-03 WRXs in northern states. The recall states that in cold weather, there may be an underhood fuel leak. Tennessee is not considered a cold-weather state, so my car is not officially part of the recall. But I’ve noticed that if the temperatures get down to the 20s (not particularly cold, in my book), I can definitely smell raw fuel coming from the engine bay. I’ve called two dealerships in my area, and neither of them have heard anything about the recall. I called Subaru directly, and they are insisting that I take my car to a dealer for an inspection. Naturally, the cost of this inspection will only be refunded if the car is then included in the recall. I do not at all like this option. Any ideas on where else to turn?

TTAC Commentator Libertyman03 writes:

Hi, just wanted to say that this is one of my favorite posts on TTAC. I look for Piston Slaps everyday. And since I value the advice, and the comments from the others, I decided to write in with my question: I have a Jeep Liberty (hence my username), and I like it a lot. But it uses SO MUCH GAS.

I have tried changing my driving style, change the oil regularly, change air filters and what not, and still it sucks down gas. It’s an ’03 with 82,000 miles, so it still has lots of life, but I can’t help but think getting rid of it for something more fuel efficient would be a good idea.My question then; what else could I do to stretch the Jeep’s fuel mileage?

Or should I just trade the Jeep on something smaller and more fuel efficient? My parent’s are leaning toward the latter, but I like the 4WD of the Jeep (I live in Pennsylvania, and winters can be pretty bad). If I get a new car, what should I get? I want something pre-owned, preferable 4 or 5 doors, and manual. I would also like to keep it under $8000.

Andy writes:

Sajeev, I enjoy your posts on TTAC and I wanted to ask a quick lease negotiation question. Currently BMW has very good lease rates on their 5 series models. Is there a smart way to renegotiate the 10k mile/year limit? That just seems like a lot of money for 10k miles per year.

Steven writes:

Hello Sajeev, I have a question along the lines of the Piston Slap article “ Save Me From My X5.” I have a 2007 four door GTI with DSG that I purchased new on October 12, 2006. The car has just about 35,000 miles and the factory warranty is expiring October 12, 2010. I really like the car and would be happy to keep it for a few more years. I’m dreaming of no car payments.