r/Autos

Context:

I just sold my beloved 2015 Subaru Outback after 156k miles of hard use as a daily driver. It was used and abused as basically a cargo van 6 days a week for most of that period and it performed flawlessly until just the last 1-2 years. It recently was threatening to join the Fraternity of Expensive Sounds, but my concern was that all the repairs I'd had done in last 24ish months were all 20-30% of the cars KBB value at the time, which really made me wonder if it was worth it to try and keep her on the road.

Now, I don't expect cars to maintain value forever, especially if they're being daily driven, but that leads me to wonder, are there any modern (2010+, preferably with a stick shift) cars that can be repaired/maintained for a reasonable yearly cost, or do modern shop rates just mean that I'm going to need to learn to wrench on my own cars? Or do I need to just suck it up?

I love the idea of buying a good car and keeping it running well for as long as possible. Every time I see a clean 90s Corolla or Miata or Accord it brings a huge smile to my face. But with how much technology is shoved into new(ish) cars, are the days of 20 year old daily drivers that run as well as they did new a thing of the past?

Thanks for your input.

Hallo,

ich habe ein Problem mit meinem Reifendruck bei meinem Dacia Dokker, der auch Reifendrucksensoren hat.

Dieses Auto ist quasi ein Minicamper, sprich, ich habe eine Campingbox hinten drin mit einer zusätzlichen Batterie, somit also schon etwas schwerer vom Gewicht (aber natürlich im Rahmen).

Letztes Jahr hatte ich noch meine alten Reifen drauf und musste jede Woche den Reifendruck bei fast allen Reifen wöchentlich nachpumpen. Nun habe ich seit November neue Reifen auf dem Auto und wollte im Zuge dessen auch die Ventile tauschen lassen, was allerdings laut Mechaniker nicht möglich war, da diese Ventile eben an den Sensoren dran hängen und man das wohl nicht so einfach mal tauschen kann- er verwies mich auf die Fachwerkstatt von Dacia/Renault.

Problem ist, dass ich trotz neuer Reifen weiterhin zumindest 3 Reifen quasi wöchentlich aufpumpen muss, da ich jeweils über 1 Bar verliere...ich denke halt nicht, dass sts ein Thema von den Reifen ist.

Meine Frage ist nun, wohin ich mich am besten wenden soll, an eine Reifenwerkstatt (können diese auch Ventile mit Sensoren tauschen?) Oder muss ich zur Fachwerkstatt oder zu einem üblichen Mechaniker?

Habt ihr außerdem eine grobe Ahnung, was mich das kosten könnte?

Post ist aus Österreich, wäre also super, wenn Leute aus Österreich antworten würden.

Herzlichen Dank schon mal von einer ratlosen Frau :))

In general, how long do you keep your cars. This question is based on your typical intentions and not so much on some exceptions. It also assumes typical scenarios such as the average financing period being 5 years. This will help gauge such things as mechanical repair practices. Do you keep for 5-6 Years, 7-9 years, 10+ years or until you can't drive it anymore (this would include things like write-offs, engine failure, theft or any other reason to replace it)

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Someone at work asked me this a few days ago and it stuck with me.
What does "dumb" even mean here? Slow? Ugly? Wrong for you? All of the above?

Mine would be a Toyota Sienna. I have one girl. I live on tight streets with zero parking. It drives like nothing. Nothing in the car talks to anything else. It's boring. Makes absolutely no sense for my life. I'd take it tomorrow.

What's yours?

I’ve been researching dash covers for my sedan and have a couple of questions. Is it just the color (dark gray vs beige) that affects how much heat they absorb so they’re not also “baking” the dashboard underneath? Are custom cut carpet covers better than universal ones made of suede and less prone to slipping? My friend picked up a molded polypropyelene cover via alibaba, and said it was super easy to install with just a few velcro strips. However, he talks about how the reflection off the surface bounces sunlight onto the windshield - is that a shared experience? For fabric, how do you clean them without fading? Some people use a dash cover for a mounting surface for cellphone holders - some even use a glued on magnet on the underside! Is that safe for the dashboard? Any specialty models you recommend especially with a cutout for the airbag compartment?

I have a 2019 Toyota RAV4 XLE with a little over 82k miles. It still starts fine most days, but the battery is close to 5 years old and I’ve got a few longer summer trips coming up.

I had it checked at a local shop, and they said it was still okay, but they showed me the battery health, CCA, and charging system results instead of just saying “good” or “bad.” That made me realize those numbers are actually more useful than just waiting for slow starts.

Battery prices are all over the place too. Regular replacements seem to be around $120-$220, while AGM options can be closer to $190-$300 depending on brand and store.

After seeing the shop’s test results, I started thinking about getting a simple tester like the bt100 to keep at home. I don’t need anything too advanced, but checking voltage, CCA, battery health, and charging before a trip sounds pretty useful.

For a 5-year-old battery that still passes, would you replace it before a road trip, keep using it, or just carry a jump starter?

Forget Montana tags for this discussion.

I get sales tax on initial purchases.

But when a car changes owners 5x sales tax has to be paid and repaid over and over and over.

Seems ridiculous.