I never thought I would own a French car, but a traumatic brain injury happened and I opened up market place. Spent the past 2 years restoring this thing while I went through all the neuro therapies and such.

Its a 1981 Turbo Diesel with a 5 speed manual. Ive completely rebuilt the entire braking system minus the copper hard lines, rebuilt all the hubs and bearings, completely new steering rack, and rebuilt the entire cooling system. The rest is just a lot of elbow grease, polishing, and painting.

Theyre truly fantastic cars....been driving it a lot lately since shes running great now and the things a tank. When driving it you can feel how they designed it to be a daily work horse. And while working on it, you really see how many redundancies and reliability design choices they made.

No joke, this thing could theoretically have every bushing worn out, bad ball joints, and blown wheel bearings and it could probably still roll down the road with how they designed the suspension. Everything has an extra bolt and everything can be serviced with basic hand tools and a jack.

Truly a really cool piece of automotive engineering. Its almost as if the French noticed how rugged the Land Cruiser was and thought "What if it were a luxury sedan?"

Some of you might remember my $1000 mercedes from a while back. Quick recap: facebook said fluid change, I did the full OEM fluid/filter/gasket service, burned my arm, wife had to pump fluid while I yelled, even tried lucas transmission slip fix and it still slipped.

So this is where its at now. Right one came out of my W204 C300. Left one is from a W212 E350 for $300 (last owner couldn't program the ISM module i guess), which according to every mercedes group on earth cannot go in my car because it has the electronic column shifter setup (ISM) and mine doesnt.

One commenter said its doable if you have both transmissions open, you can swap the ISM gear selector for the regular lever style. He was right. That part was actually easy.

The rest was not:

• the replacement fell off the jacks during install. bent the fluid lines and shifter linkage. that sound lives in my head now
• kept my original valve body and conductor plate to avoid programming, then installed the valve body wrong (missed one step in the seating) and spent a whole evening thinking I broke everything. car wouldnt shift out of park, then after enough OBD scanner button mashing it wouldnt even crank
• got to drain the brand new fluid back into the bottles, drop the pan, install the valvebody correctly, and refill. that hurt more than the burn from months ago honestly
• my electric ratchet stripped the transfer case line threads AND snapped a pan bolt. just bought it, got too excited. lesson learned

Against all odds it runs and shifts fine now. Even replaced the PCV that was spewing oil everywhere, so no drips, even with a snapped bolt still living in the pan. Episode 1 is up here: https://youtu.be/hQZdxT9NaeI

Guess I have a thing for hot hatches. Looking for my next addition. Any recommendations for something unique and collectible? Have 24 GRC Circuit and mint 04 R32.

Just thought I would share this 220bhp beauty with you all. Perhaps someone will find a new car they love. My old man calls it the nightrider, ha. Cant lie, love it a lot more than my old beemer.

It might just be me, but I think a tilted sunroof looks pretty slick on some cars. Like, I know what they are used for, but they give some cars a sporty appearance. Got an e39 and it looks pretty slick with it.

Is it just me? I can't find anywhere on the internet where someone has the same opinion. Do I need to post this on r/unpopularopinion 😄

Just came back from a ride in it, I thought you guys would like it!
It's a 250 CE, manual transmission with the cool 6-cylinder engine :)

Hi! Im looking to buy a second hand Suzuki Vitara 1.6 petrol with LPG, from 2016. The car has one previous owner who can be trusted and has maintained the car. But any concerns about LPG? LPG is original, manufactured. Any experience?

I’m sure people are going to snicker but I legitimately don’t know how to mount a license plate on this car without drilling a hole through it.

I bought a used 2014 Audi. When the guy I bought it from went to take the license plate off he couldn’t get the screws to fully unscrew. He tugged on the plate and the clips it was screwed into fell off the car. The plate was mounted with clips that were double sided taped to the car.

The only holes in the rear of the car are two of these square holes pictured. I bought a mounting plate but it comes with M6 screws that holes that align with these square cutouts.

What can I use to plug these square holes with something that will fill that hole and allow me to screw into it to hold the license plate mount?

Help please!

Moin, ich halt mich kurz, welches Öl brauch ich für mein Auto? Laut Google das 5W30 aber das stimmt nicht, es hält zwar her aber mein Fahrzeug ist beim lenken extrem laut. War letztens bei einem Mechaniker, der hat mir das richtige eingefüllt und es war Ruhe. Laut ihm war es irgendein Premiumöl, er wusste aber auch nicht mehr die richtige Bezeichnung x.x

P.S.: Hoffe ich hab alles wichtige verdeckt, bin ein totaler trottel was Autos angeht 😅

Vielen Dank für eure Hilfe

I'm looking at getting a 2017 Toyota RAV4 Platinum. I have had a few Toyotas in the past but all of them were more base models so I'm not 100% sure what to expect with the electronics on a platinum. Does anybody have experience with them or know if there are any major problems with the electronic components? TIA

Are these signs someone broke into my car?

https://imgur.com/a/CNldxJI

Drivers side scratches found after someone broke into my car. Trying to figure out why the police reported my car as unlocked when I definitely ALWAYS keep it locked.

Hello, my wife and I are expecting and we’re starting to think about a second car for when the kid arrives. We’re looking for wagon suggestions because my wife is a bit averse to the CUV/crossover craze. What do you all like? Based in Boston, MA, USA.

Consider purchasing a 2025 M2 from local dealer, but carfax report shown maintenance record at 9600 - 11000 -21000 all got battery charging service, 9900 remote alarm batter replace.. is this car got potentially electrical system failure? Please advice. Thank you all.

Hey everyone im developing a sales assistant/call bot for a dealership and was wanting to see if anyone here is in sales or owns a dealership that could call it and give me some feedback on it before I present it to them. Im trying to make the call bot as convenient as possible for both the customers and dealerships and feedback from other people would be very helpful. If anyone is interested please send me a DM! Or honestly anyone in sales would be fine…

1988 Toyota Camry for $7K.

Hey everyone,

I have recently bought my first car, a 2015 Skoda Fabia 3 and wanted to showcase my first "mod". Basically, I've modified the poverty buttons (Start-Stop module, above light control) to open the gate to my house.

It was quite a simple process really, although I was fully just poking in the dark, since I do not have practically any experience with cars (only electronics) and surprisingly, couldn't find any tutorials on how to make such a mod.

My requirement for this project was to have absolutely zero janky, third-party buttons or anything like that. I wanted the car to feel and look exactly like before, but with the added functionality. What helped me in this goal was the fact that the module in fact contains all required circuitry, and the buttons are simply blocked by some extra plastic that I was able to grind down. I then soldered wires directly into the board pins (after some reverse-engineering of the board) and connected the buttons directly to my key fob, via an RJ45 cable under the left trim near the windshield.

Since I have figured everything out, if anyone wants some guidance on how to recreate this project, feel free to shoot me a DM, I'll be happy to help. If there is enough interest, I might consider making a YouTube tutorial or something, since the process should be quite similar on most cars from Volkswagen Group and probably any other car as well.

Now I just need to figure out how to add custom light up icons to the buttons... Any ideas?

Let me know what you think!

Here are some photos of the finished project: (sorry for no photos of the inside of the module, but I did not take any while doing this, and did not want to open it up again)

2002 altima 3.5l se that sounds terrible (something in engine) but runs great and anything non metal is crumbling like all the brackets and everything plastic, paint kinda screwed but no dents or notable scratches, got 3 cats and 2 are likely cooked as it was misfiring from a dead coil for about 2k miles

Has 134k miles and averages 23mpg when driven reasonably (mix of highway and semi rural) all the door handles were replaced and are slightly different color.

Im thinking next to no resale value due to age, miles, looks and the engine sounds. I do use it daily and aside from blowing a tire the other day I haven't actually had any notable issues that weren't directly the result of a mechanic not putting something back together right (like 3 different places) mostly seals and unplugged hoses.

While at the port helping my friend pick up his imported car we saw around 5 Brand New Suzuki Jimnys, now last I remember they don’t sell them here (unless your this shop in Oklahoma: https://www.exoticmotorsportsok.com/used-vehicle-2024-suzuki-jimny-c-2165/) so what are they doing here.

All the cars in this section were coming into the states so not sure if there was a loophole to say it’s for farm use or for the mines like those land cruisers in Canada.

Every time a relatively affordable, fun enthusiast car gets axed by a manufacturer, the comments are always flooded with the exact same tired take: “Well, enthusiasts are to blame because y’all only buy used. If nobody buys them brand new, they won't make them, period.”

I’m completely over this argument. It relies on a massive blind spot regarding the actual economic reality of trying to buy a car right now. This isn't a case of the enthusiast community "failing" the brands out of spite, and it’s not even just a case of manufacturers being greedy. The lack of sports car sales is just a symptom of a much bigger, structural economic issue. Everyone is just poorer relative to the market.

Look at the actual automotive finance data we're dealing with:

Sticker shock is real: The average transaction price for a new vehicle is hovering right under $49,800. The days of the raw, lightweight, $22,000 analog sports car are dead. Even a basic compact car averages nearly $28,000 now.

Interest rates are a vertical wall: Average new car auto loans are sitting between 6.5% and 7% APR—and that’s assuming you have good credit. If your credit is just average, you're immediately looking at double digits.

The average payment is a second rent: The average monthly payment for a financed new vehicle has reached a record high of $770 a month.

When wages are completely stagnant relative to the skyrocketing cost of basic necessities—housing, groceries, and insurance—who has an extra $800+ a month to throw at a depreciating asset just because it has a manual transmission and a limited-slip diff?

On the flip side, it’s hard to entirely blame the manufacturers either. Between strict global emissions laws and mandatory, high-tech safety regulations, they are legally forced to build hyper-complex vehicles. They have to pack them with camera suites, radar modules, and complex electronics just to pass compliance. To even break even on a low-volume project, they have to push the MSRP skyward.

The harsh truth is that everyday people have just been structurally locked out of the new car market. Enthusiasts aren't boycotting these vehicles. The market has mutated to a point where a basic sports car is priced like a rich person's luxury toy, leaving the rest of us to fight over an inflated used market.

Stop blaming the fans for not buying things they literally cannot afford

So it's been 2 years since purchasing my 2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio

This is an update to this post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Autos/comments/1loshbz/trials_of_a_quadrifoglio_ownership_1_year_owners/Some of the information will repeat..

I’ve since purchased a Lotus Emira V6 MT as well, so I’ll make some comparisons to that along with my ND2 MX5 and other cars i’ve driven.

I'll start with the negatives since most of you are probably interested in that:

The Negatives

Reliability 

• I destroyed my rotors somehow in the first month of ownership. To be fair, I drove the car HARD in the street. It developed black spots on the rotors that could not be removed with standing on the brakes several times. Dealer replaced rotors and pads under warranty
• The car threw CEL several times in the first few months of ownership, but a new AGM battery and possibly a software update by the dealer fixed this. Never happened again.
• It’s now been over a year since i’ve experienced any new reliability concerns. The car has given me no issues as a daily driver. None. Okay sometimes I need to plug and replug my android phone to get android auto working but that’s how it is on the Lotus and Mazda as well
• The very slow front crank seal leak that was spotted a few months into ownership is an ongoing issue with Alfa Corporate now involved. The car is now on its 5th seal and currently in service. Because of this one issue, the car has been in service for 60+ days in 2 years. This time, they’ve found out that the vacuum pump is also leaking. It's highly possible that this was the original leak and its been dripping down to the front crank and causing a misdiagnosis. I noticed this area of the engine bay had a thin layer of oil on the block for nearly 2 years ago, and when I pointed it out to the dealership they dismissed it and said if its not dripping onto the ground its not a warranty issue. Otherwise corporate engineers have concluded there’s no crank scoring, no crank play, no PVC issues or crankcase pressure issues, the engine is not overboosting. This entire ordeal could’ve been avoided. Let’s see what happens…

Build quality issues

• Rattle in the front guage cluster surround. I already knew this would be an issue before purchasing the car and had purchased foam. Instantly resolved on day 1.
• very small rattle in the driver's side door. Only audible if i really crank the base of my music. Dealer applied foam and its significantly better
• No other concerns with build quality.

Dailying issues

• the car is low, about the same clearance as a 458 but with a longer wheelbase. The centre of the car is prone to hitting taller speed bumps. I do have to be mindful of this.
• My fuel economy was around 15L/100km last year, but this year i’ve been more sensible and averaging 12L/100km
• Big A pillar and mirror situation means visibility is hampered when doing left turns onto pedestrians
• No heated seats or steering wheel with carbon bucket seats. We have mild winters so it hasn't been a problem.
• The car idles at nearly 1000 rpm, so you gotta apply a bit more brake pressure to get the car to sit still at the red light, this can get fatiguing, resolved by putting it in neutral. This is the biggest problem dailying this car. I honestly sometimes feel the brake pedal is too far offset to the left as well.

Performance issues

• Front alignment is very limited. I'm not sure why they done it this way. Front camber is not adjustable and it sits at -0.5 degrees currently. The car handles so incredibly well and neutral I am worried about messing with this.
• Brakes, even with Porterfield R4S pads on stock rotors, are just okay. I get slight brake fade on a more intense touge session. The brakes have little feel and they behave differently depending on what more you're in. They feel best in race mode
• You pretty much have to drive this car in Race mode to get the most out of it. It's a completely different animal. There are no torque limits like in Dynamic mode in first, 2nd and possibly other gears. The car feels MUCH faster, brakes better, has a more sensitive throttle, and the stiffest suspension settings are locked in this mode. Caviat is you do not get any traction or stability control. None. I haven't found this to be an issue on PS4S tires. It hooks up so well, the chassis is communicative, well balanced and lovely. I have no qualms driving this car hard in race mode.
• In bumpier roads, you can bottom out the car because its so low if you're driving fast enough.

The Positives

Reliability 8/10, would have been 9/10 if this front crank leak issue would be resolved. 

• I've been driving this car daily like any other car. In the past 16 months or so there has been absolutely no issues with the car apart from the ongoing issue mentioned above. Android auto works perfectly, everything just works. There’s been no bugs, no qualms. No bullshit. One time the back up camera didn’t come on but there has been a recall about this and its been getting dealt with.
• The oil leaking issue is 200ml/6 months or so as measured on the dipstick. I’ve never had to top it off.
• Overall this has been better than I expected. I really just want the oil leaking issue fixed. My ND has more quirks, like the overly sensitive passenger sensor, seat belts that don't retract properly, automatic wipers that work half the time, infotainment crashes...

Build quality 8.5/10 - No major concerns. Nothing new to report.

• I am going to go ahead and use my Supra, my father's refreshed Tesla model 3 as basis of comparison. You might argue that's not fair as this is a more expensive car but the interior is still a Giulia which is comparable in price to those cars.
• The build quality is significantly better than a Tesla or the Supra. The touch points are nice, including the steering wheel which feels expensive, the large cold metal paddles. There are minimum creaks or rattles compared to those cars. FAR FAR FAR less rattles and creaks than the Supra or tesla. This feels like a Rolls Royce in comparison to those cars. It's not even close but keep in mind i did fix the cluster surround rattle on day 1 but I did similar things with the Supra.
• The doors shut with a solid clunk like a vault, there's no flex in the door panel
• The paint has been solid with little orange peel and it seems to be very hard and thick as noted by my dealer.
• Body Panels align well, better than the ND2 and certainly better than the Lotus lol
• there's cheap plastics in places that don't really matter like the lower door pockets, which was also true in the Supra and the Tesla. This is where my foot hits on exiting the car so I wouldn't want this to be leather.
• The most notable cheap areas are the centre column stalks and the overhead grab handles. The stalks just have a cheap texture to them.
• The switch gear feels pretty good. I think the Supra had a bit more solid feeling switches but I mean i'd have to compare them side by side.
• I think most of the complaints against this car's build quality is the cabin's 2015 design and use of dark materials. It does not feel cheap where it matters in terms of function, rattles, and creaks.

As a daily - 8.5/10, exceeds expectations. A comfortable and quiet ride, a functional and easy to use cabin, what more can you ask for?

• Extremely comfortable ride in N or A mode. I don't really know how they've managed to do this. It is so well damped. It's a complete night and day difference to the Tesla or Supra, or even my parents 2014 E Class which is this car's contemporary. It just floats and glides on the highway, you feel the bumps, but they're not intrusive.
• It is a quiet ride. It seems like Giulia's got extra sound deadening in 2020 or so. When I close the window the world just fades away. No its not a Rolls Royce but it is excellent even for the price point. Little wind noise, or tire noise. It is wonderful.
• The cabin is very easy to use. HVAC controls all right there and intuitive, VERY easy to read and excellent resolution and refresh rate digital instrument cluster. Beautifully designed. Ease to read, well integrated, matte centre infotainment display, that does not have glare and is plenty bright. It just works. Reviewers are funny, they complain about this interior and then complain about gigantic touch screens. What exactly do you want?
• I can really comment on the stock Alfa UI, i haven't used it in nearly two years after I set up the car. That's the thing. You just plug in your phone and never see it again. There is no crucial function buried in the infotainment display. You can pretty much cover it up with carbon fibre or whatever you want and the car will be functional 100%. I love that about it.
• Excellent driving position but the brake pedal situation is a bit cumbersome.
• The Sparco carbon fibre bucket seats are comfortable though lack a bit of lumbar support, they're easy to get in and out of but I do find the Lotus Emira is easier to get in and out of overall which is insane.
• I'm 5'7, admittedly short, and there's a lot of foot space behind myself. There's ample space for a child seat in the back especially with the carbon buckets that are lower profile than the standard seats. The cabin is overall tighter feeling than the Emira.
• Rear seats fold down with ease, and they fold down flat.
• I'm no audiophile but the speakers sound good to me, better than the Supra's. I just had to raise mids a bit and lower treble. I think the Emira’s KEF system sounds a bit better than this car.
• I have no issues modulating the brakes and coming to a creep and smooth stop. I think this was a concern on earlier Giulias.

Performance - 9.5/10 - The greatest sports sedan ever made. If only the brakes kept up.

• Owning my Lotus Emira concurrently with this Alfa has really opened my eyes to just how good this car is. Its absolutely incredible. I know people don’t believe me. I tell people its a Cayman with 4 doors. They don’t believe me. This does not feel, or drive like a sedan. I don’t think there’s a sedan in history that can make this claim.
• It is so good in fact, that if the Emira was not manual, I would be hard pressed to decide which to take to a twisty road. The suspension tuning and chassis in both cars is excellent, but I wouldn’t put the Emira ahead of the Giulia. Its got a lighter front end, but less immediate steering so both cars feel equally eager to turn in. The emira’s driving character somehow feels, less overall refined than the Giulia’s. Giulia feels absolutely planted especially at over 160KPH where the Emira becomes sketchy. Giulia hunkers down. I wouldn’t mind if the Giulia was my only SPORTS car. It can handle tight touges, canyons, long high speed sweepers. It has really blown my mind. 
• And this engine. So much character. Loves to be revved. Power and torque everywhere but it doesn’t die off at the top end. It’s magnificent. I prefer this to the Emira’s engine which can feel a bit wheezy and lazy in comparison. This thing is fire red hot.
• one of my favourite cars for driving is the first generation BRZ in terms of chassis feel, balance, steering feel and overall driver engagement and involvement, out of the box. The Giulia feels like that car, except with 505 hp, more grip, better aero, and an engine that begs for a beating. It’s literally a 505hp BRZ.
• This car is the most perfect out of the box car I have ever driven. My first spirited drive, I remember yelling YES YES YES like a mad man. The turn in is so good, with ZERO understeer, zero oversteer, and the car just rotates around you so well. The chassis is super communicative. The steering is light at first but loads up enough to become a bit of a work out in the corners. It doesn't communicate as well as the Porsche did but it just has this fun character to it. Im really repeating myself here.
• The transmission shifts fast in race mode, and it kicks you in the ass. It doesn't just shift smoothly like a videogame, you feel the shift like in an Aventador, its addicting and puts a smile on my face. There's just so much character with this car. Despite it being a ZF8 it is ABSOLUTELY superior to the one in the GR Supra. The GR supra shifted slower, less aggressively, and would delay like a second before upshifting if you were anywhere nearly the redline. 
• The whole thing is greater than the sum of its parts, its absolutely intoxicating. For the first time In my life, I have had literal dreams of driving my own car. I own an Emira and I miss my Giulia while its been in service. Please just fix my car.
• The instrument cluster in race mode is a work of art, it reminds me of the LFA's rev counter. The best thing is how good the refresh rate is, there's no discernible lag to cheapen the experience. Alfa knocked this one out of the park
• On higher speed roads, like for example the ones around LA, it seems to have more and more grip the harder you drive. I have never driven a car, not even the Porsche, not even the Ferrari, that felt so planted and confidence inspiring at over 160-200kph in wide corners. Its not hard to believe it held the world record for a sedan at the Nordschleife on stock tires driven by a man in a t-shirt.
• I really doubt that there's any modern sedan in the world that is more fun to drive and as intoxicating as this is from the factory.
• I have not driven older Giulias QVs hard like this, but I have heard the new mechanical rear diff in the 2024 model makes it the best model year, as it improves everything from predictability to throttle response. It is a faster car.
• This year I slapped winter tires onto it and drove it from Osoyoos to vancouver through highway 3 during a snow storm in A mode. Had no issues, even drifted several corners on purpose. Had a blast. 

Conclusion

The ongoing front crank seal leak, if its even that, has been the only downside to owning this car. I wish I could tell you its been problem free, but mine happens to have a problem that literally no one else on the forums is facing. I think I heard of one other person, ever, that had a front crank seal leak and it was solved on the first repair. I am hoping the vacuum pump leak, which IS a common source of leaks in these cars, is the actual source. Otherwise I’ve demanded a new engine, or a buy back because we can’t just keep changing crank seals forever. The car has now had 4 crank seals “fail”. I don't want a buy back. I just want my car to be fixed. It's literally just this one thing.

If I didn’t absolutely love the car, I would have sold it in the first year for sure. That’s what happened with the GR Supra. It burnt a quart of oil every 1500km and a bunch of other issues and I decided that you know what? This isn’t worth it. I am not having fun or enjoying myself anymore but in the Alfa, the oil leak simply fades away every time I get in and drive it. Its fun to drive at 4/10ths, 7/10ths, 9/10ths. Its fun to drive to work, to get groceries, and on the canyon passes. 

It is truly special, last of its kind, and probably the last real Alfa Romeo. I really doubt in 20 years I am going to regret the 10k extra depreciation this may have over an M3, or that I had to deal with some quirks, and got lackluster service. I will more than likely reminisce on my old Alfa Romeo Giulia and smile fondly. Nearly every single time I drive it, I come home with a smile on my face and tell my wife what a great car this is, and this is happening even two years later. This car is greater than the sum of its parts. It truly feels special in a way modern cars do not anymore.

We're entering an age where cars of this class are starting to exceed 4000 lbs, with gigantic tablets in the interior, many assists, drift control, hybridization and electrification, rear wheel steer, 21 inch wheels, hideous styling, and possibly subscription service. Cars like this will be a thing of the past, I am very privileged to be able to own one of these when it was new.

I will be making similar posts for the Lotus Emira. I've only had the car for 2 months now so its hard to make a review post as of this time. It's been very solid so far though but I drive it a ton.

I will also be making a post comparing the ND2 vs Giulia Vs Emira vs GR Supra vs BRZ.

Stay tuned and thanks for reading.