Ray Magliozzi
Click or Clack
What’s the Sweet Spot When Buying a “New” Used Car?
When should a person move on from a car? And what is the sweet spot between price and age of a car when buying a “new” used one?
The Story behind Our Pixar “Cars” Characters
Is there a story behind the cars Tom and Ray were depicted as in the “Cars” movies?
Saab Heat Problem Takes a Turn for the Worse
You might have a bad check valve or a cracked or leaky vacuum reservoir. Or you might have a small vacuum leak somewhere else in the engine that’s dra ...
Did I Set the Van a Rockin’?
It’s so possible that a “rockin’ van” is a cliche. When we test shocks on a customer’s car, the way we do it is by simply pushing down on each corner ...
Savings Pennies Isn’t Worth Risking the Safety of You and Others
My wife thinks I should use the turn signals on my 2018 Ford Explorer Platinum every time I come to an intersection, even if there is no one else at t ...
RAV4 Owner Needs a Break from Annoying Squeaking
My 2013 Toyota RAV4 has a very loud and annoying rotational squeak coming from the front passenger wheel. The noise stops when I apply the brakes.
Stick with Dealer for Oil Changes on European Cars?
If your owner’s manual says to use 5W30 oil with a particular European specification, the ideal thing to do is follow that requirement. Especially whi ...
Carburetor Concerns Are a Thing of the Past
The idea of “blowing out the carburetor” is an old-husband’s tale that’s been handed down from father to son over the years. It used to have some vali ...
Rear-Seat Safety Improving but Still Lagging Behind
I have never seen any data on a car’s safety in a rear-end collision. Are there standards? Are modern cars like this safe?
Economics Not Always the Driving Factor on Trade-ins
My husband and I have an ongoing disagreement about when to sell or trade in his 2016 Toyota Tacoma. I say with the reliability of these trucks, he w ...
It Might Be Time for a New Luxury Ride
I own a 1998 Cadillac Eldorado with a V8, 32-valve Northstar engine. It’s in pristine condition and has only 48,000 miles. While driving back home to ...
Get Another Estimate
Should I repair or replace my 2004 BMW 325xi with less than 24,000 miles on it? It’s red and the body and exterior are in excellent condition.
The Best Measure of a Car’s Useful Life Is Mileage
The best measure of a car's useful life? Mileage. It’s not perfect, because some people beat up their cars with stop and go traffic and potholes, and ...
Shift in Buyer Preferences Limits Manual Transmission Options
Are there any mid-sized sedans that are still available with a manual transmission? The last one I drove was a Saab 9000. If so, could you recommend a ...
Spilling the Tea on an Irreproducible Experiment
Reader takes his tea for a ride around town and is surprised to see it survived the trip.
Modern Engines Work Differently
Since the computer and its associated sensors constantly maintain the optimum fuel/air mixture, it seems that a dirty air filter (within reason) would ...
Reliability isn't Everything
You also might tell your son this: Reliability isn’t everything. There’s also fun. And cute. And the image of adventure. And being in love with your c ...
Reader Is on the Right Track
Normally a fuse blows when an electrical device is drawing too much current. The whole purpose of the fuse is to sacrifice itself and cut off the powe ...
Why All the Boring Car Colors?
A casual look at traffic shows you that almost all cars are either gray, black or white — with a few red sprinkled in. OK, some people call their gray ...
Timing Belt: Rubber vs. Chain
The reason car makers switched from chains to rubber timings decades ago is because they’re cheap, lightweight and simple. Obviously, a rubber belt we ...
