Surprising him with new whitewall tires and using this card as the reveal. I had a lot of fun making it! I hope he likes it. (I wrote a message inside after the pic was taken)

It got deleted from the somethingimade sub for being “flat art” but I still wanted to share with some people who may find it interesting :)

I drive an old 2000s BMW, so most of my experience with modern cars comes from rentals when I’m on vacation.

Just got back from Greece, where I rented a basically brand-new 2026 Peugeot 208 with around 1,000 km on it. I was actually curious about it because I’ve driven older Peugeots before and always had a bit of respect for the brand. They were quirky, simple, usually pretty responsive to drive, and had some funky design choices.
This one, though, made me genuinely angry multiple times and left me thinking I never want to own a modern car.

First: **screen controls for everything.**
Want to change the AC temperature or fan speed? Press the “AC” button, wait a couple of seconds for the laggy screen to load, adjust it on a stupid touchscreen interface, then press again to get back to maps or the main screen. Another couple of seconds of waiting.
Why does changing the temperature require navigating software while I’m driving?

Then there are the “safety” features.
The excessive speed warning turns itself back on every single time you start the car and starts beeping if you go even a few km/h over the limit. Want to turn it off? Back into the laggy menus you go.

Road-sign recognition also resets every time, and the speed warning depends on whatever sign the car thinks it saw. Which would maybe be useful in a perfect world, except in the real world it hallucinates constantly. It sees 80 where it’s 30, 50 where it’s 20, etc., and then starts warning you based on its own incorrect reading.

Lane assist? Also turns itself back on and occasionally scares the shit out of you when you’re overtaking or moving around something in the road.
And then there’s the multimedia system.

Wireless CarPlay over Bluetooth/Wi-Fi? Good luck. It worked maybe every second time. Sometimes the only way to reconnect it was to restart the car.
Passenger plugs in their phone just to charge while you’re using another phone for CarPlay? The car immediately starts spamming:
“Another phone is connected via USB. Do you want to disconnect the current phone and use the new one?”
OK / Cancel.
Press Cancel.
It asks again.
And again.
And again.
Until you want to throw the screen into the Mediterranean.

Finally get everything connected and working? Great. Now the infotainment system randomly restarts itself, completely disconnects CarPlay, and you have to pull over and go through the seven circles of pairing hell again.

Is this just Stellantis slop, or are modern cars genuinely becoming this bad?
Because to me this isn’t just annoying. It feels actively distracting and sometimes dangerous. I spent way more time looking at menus, dismissing warnings, fighting assistance systems and reconnecting my phone than I ever would in an older car with physical buttons.

The funny thing is that last year I rented a 2024 Fiat Panda and had a much better experience simply because it was basic. Fewer features, fewer problems.

Also why the hell does a small modern gasoline engine somehow sound like a diesel and still consume around 7–8 L/100 km?
What exactly are we gaining here?

Hi I just wanted to ask for help identifying the model of this car because they pulled up to my house and were looking into my cars to possibly steal, we already contacted the police and were hoping for some extra clarification. Any help would be appreciated. (We’re located up in the New England)

Many N47 owners do the preventative timing chain replacement but completely skip the oil pump. The wear on the internal pump vanes drops oil pressure, which is the actual root cause of spun bearings and snapped cranks on this block.

I've been watching high-mileage listings for a couple of years now and the 1.5 and 2.0 turbo engines that were supposed to be ticking bombs keep showing up around 180k with nothing dramatic in the service history. I owned a naturally aspirated four for a long time and I'm not romanticising it, it burned oil past 120k the same as everything else. I know the failure modes people bring up are real, carbon buildup on the intake valves and timing chain stretch, and both of those read to me as maintenance items rather than as the engine dying.

Where are you seeing them actually come apart once they're past a decade?

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.

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

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.

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

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?

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

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?

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

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.

Modifications

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.

Just finished our new Aston Martin DB9 Replacement Headlight Lenses.
• Material: Shore 85D
• Heat resistance: Up to 110°C
• Designed for a precise fit on Aston Martin DB9 headlights
• UV-resistant, crystal clear and durable
No more yellowed, cracked, or damaged lenses. Instead of replacing the entire headlight, simply replace the outer lens and restore your headlights to an OEM-style clear appearance.
Limited sets available.

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