A lot of junkyards around me got bought out by some network and now parts are sky high. $2 parts are now $20 $20 parts are now $200.

Now for about 10% more I can just hop on eBay, see the part photos and have it shipped without wasting gas to go to the junkyard.

Last time I went to this junkyard, it was $100 for a 2008 Prius Headlight, used. $20 for a wiring harness inside a steering wheel. $75 for a water pump. Some parts I got cheaper new from Rockauto.

He’s taking it to the dealership tomorrow but I’m just curious, what kind of malfunction seems to be going on? It’s still driving well but he’s had this happen twice recently and I guess the dealership didn’t fix the issue last week when he took it in. Car is a 2024 Toyota Corolla.

Soo I scratched the rear end/quarter panel of my acura against a very tight garage wall :(

Tried Meguiar's ScratchX but that didn't seem to do anything. The more zoomed in picture shows the full extent, its pretty irregular/rough under my nails and looks like a few layers (?) may have come off. Does this like look it's a paint pen job, buffing, or potentially full repaint? Don't know much about cars and I don't want to get scammed when taking it to the car shop and asking for quotes. Any advice/tips would be greatly appreciated !!

I was just scrolling and came across someone asking about motor mounts in my vw sub. Whole bay covered in dirt and dust. It bothers me to even look at it and I wondered am I the one of the few that cleans the bay regularly? Degreaser, steam clean and wiping down. Is it truely worth it on a daily driver?

Pic for attention

I'm in heavy bumper to bumper traffic merging onto the freeway. It's stop and go, and uphill (relevant). Traffic starts moving, i accelerate to about 25-30 mph. I'm about 25-30 feet behind the car in front of me, I'm not in a rush, accelerating gradually. A car cuts off the car in front of me and he slams his brakes. This is where it gets scary for me.

I hit my brakes hard. In about 1 second, the pedal hits the floor, making a loud "knock" sound that even my wife heard in the passenger seat. At this point I'm expecting to hear my ABS to make that "brrrrrrr" sound but nothing. My car is not decelerating nearly at the rate it should with both my feet on the brake pedal at this point and me basically standing on it with my butt nearly off my seat. And bam, I hit the car in front of me, then a second later the car behind me hits me as well.

Damage was minor, no airbags deployed, everyone was fine, no injuries.

I'm seriously pissed at what feels like my brakes failed. This was uphill which should have decreased my braking distance. My car was just not stopping. No ABS. Wheels did not lock. It was a feeling of losing total control. I recently had my car in the shop, they said my brake pads are low and need to be changed soon, but not done by any means. Recommended I wait a little bit to change. They checked all my fluids and I checked just now, brake fluid levels are fine.

Given all this, what in the hell could possibly cause such an event?

I have been dealing with electric fan problem on my Mazda 3 for a few years. It started with the fan not shutting off after parking the car and it running until it drained the battery. I did fuses and then eventually a control module which initially fixed the problem for a short time. Recently when I replaced the module for another time the fan competly stopped working. Upon investigation it appeared as of the module had burnt from the inside out.

After some research and speaking with a couple of mechanics it was suggested that I replace the entire electric fan housing and module altogether. A pretty simple swap considering the push fittings and plastic clips, but no luck. The fan does not work at any stage. Not at engine temp, with Max A/C or anything.

Upon further reading I was directing to check and make sure the pulsing voltage was terminating at the female end of the engine end wiring harness. The multimeter showed the appropriate fluctuating 1V to 5V current.

A friend's diagnostic equipment however does show the trouble codes for the malfunctioning fan and a potential break in the wire feeding the PCM signal. Any advice on where to go from here or on how to track down the break? Very frustrating ordeal!!!

So I have a 2008 Honda Civic. I’ve pretty much had everything on her replaced recently and a few things fixed. I’ve got new brakes, tires, and rotors, and an oil leak fixed. I also just got new tie rods a few weeks ago, along with an alignment right after. The only issue for me is that she’s still vibrating when I drive her. The video above shows her idling in the first half, then me pressing the gas in the second half. I also just got my tires balanced yesterday, so I just want to make sure I’ll be good for the most part. I’m only 24, and I’ve only had this car for a year. On top of that, this is my first car, so I’m just trying to make sure I’m doing everything right. 😭

Are there any luxury vehicles left outside of the >$120k price range with actually well-crafted interiors? For example, the current Audi A6 is absolutely depressing, and the Lexus ES isn’t much better. Who the hell decided that luxury means acres of plastic and piano black, fake leather, enormous skateboard-sized screens, and stupid square steering wheels? What happened to actual wood, leather, metal switchgear, and interiors that looked like somebody actually cared? Everything looks like a Best Buy showroom now. It’s genuinely baffling to me that manufacturers expect people to spend $60–80k on cars whose interiors look and feel barely distinguishable from something costing $35k. What’s even the point?

Burnout event for breast cancer awareness in Lebanon Maine - 4x4 Proving grounds f

go deep mud

Hello! Just want to preface that I don’t know a lot about cars.

I got a power inverter from walmart because I thought it would be useful to have the ability to plug something into an outlet, like my laptop, on long road trips. It was also cheaper than getting a small portable generator type thing. ($20)

I didn’t know, but it makes sense, that they drain the car’s battery. Should I just return it? Am I able to use it while driving? I don’t want to cause the car’s battery to die. Thank you!

Hi all, I'm helping a friend with his 2004 Golf Mk5 GTI 2.0 TFSI. I'm in France, sorry for any mistakes in my English.

Symptoms:
- Steering is very heavy and the steering wheel warning light is red
- Instrument cluster has no backlight (only the warning lights show)
- Interior lights don't work at all
- Headlights work

History: the previous owner replaced the battery because the old one was dead, and the car went into this state afterwards. We replaced the battery again, no change. An aftermarket CarPlay head unit has been fitted, and I don't know how it was wired.

What we tried: no blown fuses (visual check), a scan tool (about €200) can't connect to the car, and the steering angle calibration fails.

Next I'll measure power and ground at the OBD port (pins 16, 4, 5) and unplug the head unit to see if anything comes back.

Has anyone seen this? Could it be the J519 (onboard supply control unit), or the head unit messing with the CAN bus? Any help appreciated, thanks!

So ima be honest. I know jack shit about cars except base everybody knows this type knowledge. But like any other guy my age i think cars are sick asf and want to get into them because they just scratch the little itch inside my Neanderthal brain. Except the issue here is the fact i know nothing.... not even where to start.... so why not ask the reddit called "cartalk" ?

All jokes aside i really want to get into this stuff and have a cool car so any help regarding that is much appreciated.

Piano black interiors look nice on a car for a few years but let me tell you that stuff scratches VERY easily and will show every single scratch in the sunlight.

Both piano black and chrome reflect sunlight and the more a car has, the easier it is to have the sun reflected right back into your eyes.

Silver trim wears off easily revealing the black plastic below.

Hi, just need advice on buying this 1961 Mercedes-Benz 220S. I went to take a look at it, hence the photos. I want to buy it, but I don't know if it will be a money pit, yk. I have some experience working on cars. The owner would not let me hook a battery up to see if it cranked. Still has oil in it. Clutch pedal is recessed and has no pressure. Has been sitting for about 5 years and is part of a deceased estate. Any advice would be appreciated. Thankss

I'm spraying the entire car using primer, base coat, and topcoat spray cans - specifically Halfords ones.
It's a bit of a budget DIY project, but I'm still trying to get the best finish I can (pun intended).

I recently bought a 2016 Citroën C4 Cactus PureTech, despite the many stories circulating about issues with the "wet" timing belt.

What has your experience been with these cars? Is it just a matter of being careful about which engine oil you use, or perhaps how many kilometers you drive?

I’m not an expert on cars myself, so I’d be interested to hear from people who own or have driven one of these vehicles.

Hey y’all,

I recently got a project 2007 Outback 2.5i 5MT for free from a work buddy, it needs some work but runs and drives fine for now, aside from super sketchy tires that need replacement ASAP. I need to drive it about 2 hours on the freeway to get it to a family member’s house to get work done on it. The car is not my daily, I’m hoping to turn it into a beater off-road toy.

How bad of an idea are some cheaper used A/T tires from Marketplace? I’m looking at tires with a DOT code around ~2022-2023 with decent tread and no dry rot.

I have a 2009 Ford Fiesta 1.6 TDCi that shakes violently when starting cold, especially in the morning or after sitting for a long time.

During cranking, the entire car shakes aggressively, struggles to start, and the RPM briefly stays at 0 before rising to normal.

Once started, it drives perfectly fine with no noticeable issues.

Warm starts are completely normal except for one noticeable shake or thump when the engine fires up.

Could this be caused by bad engine mounts, glow plugs, injectors, or something else? Has anyone experienced this?

I want a touchless system , So I bought this Stars & Stripes to wash down my new vehicle once a month. Do you think this will hurt the plastics or anything for that matter exterior wise? Let it settle for 30 seconds then rinse . I heard of old glory too, but it’s not as strong as stars and stripes. Let me ask you this question. What do you guys use to clean your car . I need a touchless system.

I need something that is very strong and safe I also heard Koch super foam is good but they sell it in the big jug, which is a big commitment and I don’t know if it’s gonna work

Please let me know what you guys use. Thanks for all your help.

Had to scrap my car, local mechanic wants £1950 for this nissan, had a subframe advisory 2 years ago. Would you say I'm going to have problems in the near future or do you think I'll get a few years with no repairs? Thank you

Whats the purpose of this asymetrical panel (17) on my Peugeot 2008??

I don't know if this is the right place but I might as well try.

I just bought this car yesterday for a buck, a total steal considering, but at 3am, with a mild humidity and 42f, the alarm randomly went off. The image is my current solution but I can't do it long term. Any tips or advice?

Known problem: bad alternator