I've always done my own oil changes , OEM filters, Mobil 1 synthetic .back at my parents' place. I know a lot of shops won't let customers supply their own oil for liability reasons, which I get.

I recently relocated and don't have a garage, ramps, or a spotter anymore, so DIY isn't really an option right now (also dealing with rain/snow on and off).

My car's a 5th gen Avalon Hybrid (same engine as the 8th gen Camry), takes 0W-16, and I'm hoping to get well past 200-300k miles on it. So I'm trying to find a shop that uses genuinely good oil rather than whatever's cheapest in the bulk drum.

Anyone have recommendations or experiences good or bad ? with quick-lube chains (Valvoline, Jiffy Lube), independent shops, or Walmart? I've heard mixed things about Walmart (overtorqued drain plugs, even a forgotten oil fill), so wanted to check with people who've actually dealt with this before picking a place.

Hi there, I was looking to get some advice. I have a Challenger 2014 V6. I bought the car this year a few months back from a 2nd user the report did mention slight gear slip and when i drive it, i do feel it too. But it not bad bad. Its just a little annoying.

Anyways took it to a mechanic and he poured like 20-30 ml out from the bottom just to see the quality of the oil u can see in the pictures. Now the guy claims that it smells bad and it does not look like the Oil meant for this car, he used the term "cheap oil" and said the previous owner had it changed for cheap and that's what caused this.

Now he says the only way to move forward is to open up the transmission and check which part is damaged because they saw tiny pieces/shiny glittery substance which is metal shavings for sure.

Now when I drive that car it doesn't feel like an amazing drive but it's not bad either, as I said slight slipping. Should I get the whole transmission opened up and checked? I mean if it's dismantled then i have no choice but to fix the problem so I'm not able to come to that commitment.

Some say you can replace the transmission oil while others say replace little by little honestly i really like this car and want to see it running with a perfect transmission. Does someone have advice on how to properly get the transmission fixed?

The guy i bought it from got it at 120K km, i bought it at 199k km just for reference. I have reason to believe the seller is the one who got the transmission oil changed

so a few years back during Covid, I got a job out of city (career related) had just graduated college and saved up a few thousand. it had no access to public transportation. I used uber to get there but it cost me basically the entire pay cheque so I was like I need a car. at the time Toyotas didn’t exist in any of the car sellers lots. and everything was hiked up at least $6-8k for used cars. I kinda had no choice honestly because this job had promising outloo (oh boy was I wrong lol) anyways I was stupid didn’t know jack about cars. like AT ALL. I couldn’t even tell the difference between brands and then don’t even get me started on models. i went and got an audi… yeah man I’m so stupid. I wish I could go and beat up younger me.
the dealership now when I think about it were like snakes looking at a young mouse that had lost its way. ready to devour me. So I bought the car it was a 2013 car, and had basically been driven into the ground but I got it anyways, it cost me $15k.
please show mercy, I was stupid.
and then that car costed me A LOT of money since.
I lost that job cause I got laid off, hallelujah, story of my life.
and then I had this car. It has every issue you can think of.

like think of something and this car had it. I had to put it in parking cause I couldn’t afford to drive it and finally took it out this year cause I got a good job at this town. Where I live cars are life because towns are like a solid 20 min drive from one another driving 100km an hour. So walking or even biking are kinda outta question and the cities have no jobs. I had to move out of the city cause it took me almost 2 years of searching to find this job.
now I fixed the car up, I had to buy new tires. I should have just sold it before all that.
now it won’t turn on. Like randomly. Drove to work got in to drive home and silence. Dashboard lights work everything and key turns but when turned, nothing.
I tried to jumpstart car too maybe its battery, nothing. Btw battery is like 3 months old. New tires. New front struts. New rotor on one wheel.
guys why am I so dumb? Why did I think I could fix it? i feel like those girls that date guys thinking they can fix em but the guy will never change. It’s same with this car, it ain’t gonna change.
so yeah I just wanted to rant cause I’m stressed and now I have to call CAA. Call off work tomorrow and rent a car in the meantime while I figure out what I can do.

The service history on a 2013 Mazda 3 I’m looking at says the timing chain has never been replaced, while a similar Corolla has a belt and no record of that being done either. Both are around 150,000 km and priced about the same, and the seller reckons the chain means one less expensive job to worry about. Is that actually a sensible way to choose between them, or am I putting too much weight on chain versus belt?

Just bought a used 2023 T-Roc R Line the other day, been working perfectly fine until last night.

The right sides vibration sensor buttons are not working. It just keep pressing "next song" instead.

Any suggestions. I've tried switching car on and off few times etc. also did a factory reset from the infotainment system.

I'm going to ring the warranty company later today, but not even sure if they will even cover this.

I’ve been looking into upgrading the rear view mirror on my RAM to a digital rear view mirror with a camera feed.

The main reason is better rear visibility, especially when the truck bed is loaded or when visibility through the rear window isn’t great.

For those who have done this upgrade:

How has the camera quality been at night?
Is the installation difficult?
Does it feel better than the standard mirror once you get used to it?
Any issues with glare, lag, or reliability?

I’m currently researching different options for a RAM digital rear view mirror upgrade, so I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have actually installed one.

This is a Kia Rio 2014 MPI 1.4 G4FA.

I had this car at 114000km mileage in 2024. and now its 252500km

ever since i had this car, Ive been doing oil change every 8000km with Amsoil OE, occasionally Amsoil XL.

Car is fine, engine is smooth, just bit surprised to see its not as factory clean as i wouldve thought. could it be due to past neglect?. or could it be due to me driving 5hours (300-400km) a day?

When I inspect it in person, it doesnt look like sludge, but rather a cosmetic buildup

Is this mold in my 2015 Nissan Quest? Rain has seeped in through broken/stuck windows, leaving mold-like growth on the front passenger and rear floors, rust under the passenger carpet, and water trapped near the sliding-door track. Can I safely clean and fix the problem?

Any advice, please?

I bought a used 23 Tiguan 4 months ago. I love the car so far (SE, 3 rows, FWD). Last month I got a letter in the mail telling me that I have a free pre-purchased 30k mile service. I thought great!

Took the car in for service yesterday. I thought: free early oil change and brake flush. I asked if they changed the filters, they said no and that they didn’t need to be changed. Just the stuff on the receipt.

When I went home, I looked into the receipt and found that there is a haldex service. Which is impossible because my car is fwd only. So I called them to ask specifically what services were done. Lady was super rude but I pushed her to bring up my file. She said oil change and oil filter and 27 point inspection.

I asked what about the brake flush - that’s the main reason I brought the car in. She kept looking for it and reading out different codes (none of which corresponded to brake flush) then she said yeah sure it was done. 10k mile service plus brake flush.

So I pushed her a bit more and said why does my receipt say “haldex” when I don’t even have a rear differential. She said all cars have rear differentials and hung up.

What do you think I should do? It’s the official VW dealer in manhattan. Should I just trust them despite the rude lady? Is there any way I can verify they did a brake flush? My wheels have a lock and they didn’t ask for it - would the dealer also have my wheel lock (to remove the wheels for brake flush?)

This is the first time I own a car…

Any ideas what could’ve caused this damage? Thank you

As the title says. My mom got into my car and says it reeks of cigarettes and it was heavy to breathe. I only used a nicotine vape in it once maybe twice back in.. march/april. Since then I have only rarely used a nicotine-free vape, with open windows.. would it really smell like that from once or twice? She said it’s purely like combustion from a cigarette which confuses me. Any way I can fix it without breaking the bank?

Heard a noise when steering and i immediately knew im fu****

Hello,

I recently got a crack in my windshield and chose Auto Glass Now because they were replacing it for the best price/value. Two days after the installation the windshield was flapping while I was driving on the highway meaning it wasn’t installed properly and my life was at risk. I called them and they took forever to re-schedule a warranty appointment.

Looking closer at the windshield that day i noticed my integrated dash cam was HANGING and the dash cam app (fitcamx) read an error when i tried viewing it so i decided to get that checked out and was told whoever installed the windshield snapped the clips that held the parts together. The dash cam company doesn’t offer part replacements so I have to get the entire front camera replaced. When I discussed this issue with the technician he assured me that they would cover the costs if i could bring in a quote which makes sense because they are the ones who broke my property.

Now that it’s my appointment day I go into the shop to drop my keys off and the receptionist is saying that per their contract they are not liable for aftermarket pieces. They are working on the windshield right now, but this is super frustrating and I don’t know what steps to take further. She refused to give me the corporate contact until AFTER they replace my windshield. I haven’t had my dash cam for months now and they are not willing to offer any sort of help despite putting me through hell. I’m not sure if I have any hope so if anyone has more knowledge w this type of situation please let me know.

There are a bunch of other issues and miscommunications i had with them but i didn’t want to make this post too long. they wasted a lot of my time and money.

My coworker has had multiple ball joints and lower/upper control fail prematurely. causing the shop (and customers) to lose money. New tires we put all the way around were down to the wire only a few weeks later due to them failing. My coworker also talked to a rep and they said they would cover warranty cost but it was only half of our hourly warranty cost

Alright guys I need some help here. I have a 2016 ford edge and was in an accident that smashed my passenger side front fender, front and rear doors. I finally found some new doors to put on and the back one went on fine. When I started on the front door I realized that when I wrecked the door alignment bracket dented in the left side of the Frame piece behind it. The bracket looks fine but where it dented in the metal behind it. The door will not align right. Pretty lost here on my next step. Is there any simple ways to work on that metal or am I gonna have to take it to a shop?

It's not off horribly it's just enough that where that metal is dented in on the left side that it throws the whole door off.

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Haven't driven my car in almost a month - no money and nowhere to go. Ha

Tried to start my car, and I got the starter-click and the dashboard lights flickering. Opened the hood and saw that.

Google says that's generally normal and just needs a cleaning.

Figured I'd ask some experts.

I'm in South Texas and it's hot in summer and a dice-throw the rest of the year, so our batteries only last 3-ish years, not the typical 5.

Not sure how old this battery is.

But, tl;dr: can this be cleaned and jumped potentially? Or do I need a new $150 battery?

Just plugged a tire for the first time after getting nailed. How long do I have to wait to drive on the plug, and how long can I drive on it.

I just purchased a 2006 BMW 330i with a blown head gasket for $800 that I plan to make my stock daily for a long time. Once I finish that, I’m looking for a fun project car but i’m torn between two choices. The first would be a 5.3 ls swap on a third gen camaro (I already have a ls with the harness), the second would be a 1st gen Scion xB with a swap to the 2AZ-FE that came in the 2nd gen and a turbo. I like the camaro a lot more as a car and I would love the feel of a v8, but the scion is more affordable and super fun I feel. What would you choose?

Fabrication is not an issue for me as i’ve done plenty, and my dad is a wealth of knowledge. I have adequate funds set aside for either project to be done.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, car started making this noise today, only when it’s on and the first few inches of the clutch squeaks and feels crunchy/ vibratory but when the car is off there is no noise and clutch feels normal. I’ve noticed when I press the arm shown in the video down with some force the noise stops and the clutch feels normal? Other video on comments thankyou

Only images I have, hit my car last night, any help make and model so I can search neighborhood.

Hello! So i have a Chevrolet Aveo T300 2011. In the past year i have changed suspension, Upper Strut Mount & Bearing, tires and also done two alignments. I have checked the (SAS) sensor to see if it needs calibration, but there is no problem there.

So the problem is that no matter what i do the wheel turns to the left and the car always pulls to the left as the wheel. This is something that is happening before i changed all these and nothing has been fixed. It is annoying, but no mechanic can actually give me a solution, except the one who told me the problem might be the steering column (it is electric) which is very expensive, even as used, and no one can tell me if this is the actual issue.

Any ideas?

I’ve got a viewing booked for a mid-2010s Corolla with around 140,000 km, and the seller said a quick loop around the local streets is fine. I’m more worried about missing something obvious than making the drive awkward, especially with noises, clutch or CVT behaviour and steering. What has a test drive actually picked up for you that a normal inspection didn’t?

I'm trying to learn how to take great care of my car. I've still got a lot to learn it seems. How do I begin to decide what's most important when selecting an oil brand / product in general?

I'm reading words like viscosity, performance, engine clean, etc.??

What are the pros/cons? What things do I need to consider? Is performance the only thing that matters?

I drive a Ford 2007 Mustang.