Dear Car Talk:Every time my wife fills up her 2008 Mercedes CLK 350, the garage reeks of gasoline fumes. We have had our local mechanic (not the Mercedes d
Car Talk: Element in hand likely worth two on the used car lot
Dear Car Talk:
I’m going to college in the fall, and my parents want to give me their 2004 Honda Element. The Element has 140,000 miles on it, and my grandpa says it’s going to fall apart and that cars can’t be trusted after 100,000 miles. My dad says the Element could go to 200,000 miles.
I don’t want to get to college and have a clunker that falls apart. I like the car well enough, although my first choice would be a Jeep. Should I sell it now and try to get something with fewer miles, or should I hang on to it? Thank you. Genevieve
Car Talk: When it comes to headlights, safety outweighs cost
Dear Car Talk:
My wife always drives with the headlights on; I do not. I try to tell her the lights only last so long, so use them just when you need them. Plus, with cars these days, you can’t just pop out the lens, plug in a new bulb and pop the lens back on. She says that’s ancient thinking, and that today’s lights last far longer than they used to. It’s been a while since high school auto shop, but help me out here. There is a week’s worth of cooking and dishwashing riding on your answer. Steve
Car Talk: For Cruiser’s squealing problem, look at the driving surface
Dear Car Talk:
I have a 2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser Limited Edition with 225,000 miles. It is running fine, but when driving at lower speeds and turning, like in our condo parking garage, it makes all kinds of squeaks and squeals. They are not heard when driving at higher speeds on the road.
I think in the old days, new grease plugs and a lube job would have taken care of this. Is there a way to quiet things down short of replacing ball joints? William
William, we love having customers like you at the shop. Guys like you come in, having already diagnosed the problem and tell us you need grease plugs (whatever they are), a lube job and ball joints.
Ray Magliozzi, syndicated columnist
Dear Car Talk: I have a 2010 Mazda Miata. It now has almost 40,000 miles on it. Ever since I bought it (with 18,000 miles on it), I have had a problem when I go over speed bumps. It makes a loud screeching sound. It sounds like metal rubbing against metal.
My mechanic is stumped as to what is causing this noise. I have replaced the front brakes and all four struts, but the noise continues. When they work on the car, they always add extra grease (somewhere?), but the noise always returns. The mechanics don’t think the noise is causing any harm, but it is very annoying.