Official Car Inquiries Thread

[Frank E]

So as soon as I finish my 30 minute drive to the college this AM, my battery light came on, I assume its the alternator that's bad?

How much does this typically cost to replace? :s

Any other suggestions on what it could be?

Alternator for sure. Its about 250 plus labor.

Now you just hold your horses there...It could very well be the battery. 

Have them do an AVR test on the battery, as well as check the charging rate of the alternator.  Could be either or.

The pricing of alternator replacement varies since the manufacturers parts prices vary, as well as the placement of the alternator and accessibility differs from car to car.

 

[Bullfrog]

Ya, I wouldn't jump to conclusions. Could be a loose connection or corroded terminal among other things.

 

[Mikhail Bloodnovsky]

So as soon as I finish my 30 minute drive to the college this AM, my battery light came on, I assume its the alternator that's bad?

How much does this typically cost to replace? :s

Any other suggestions on what it could be?

Alternator for sure. Its about 250 plus labor.

Now you just hold your horses there...It could very well be the battery. 

Have them do an AVR test on the battery, as well as check the charging rate of the alternator.  Could be either or.

The pricing of alternator replacement varies since the manufacturers parts prices vary, as well as the placement of the alternator and accessibility differs from car to car.

Battery light indicator indicates a battery charging problem. Battery itself being at fault is extremely low (though still worth investigating). Hopefully it's just the alternator belt that snapped.

 

[Bender]

Other than the Carrolla, does anyone know of a car that's dirt cheap on insurance?

 

[Rick C.]

We just picked up a 2007 Mazda5. Standard.  65,000 kms.  Very well maintained.  $9000.

We're looking for a second car for around town, kinda for our kids.  Saw a nice 2002 Hyundai Elantra in really nice shape. 140k kms, $3500.  Not sure we'll get it. We want to stay under $5k.

 

[Manson]

We just picked up a 2007 Mazda5. Standard.  65,000 kms.  Very well maintained.  $9000.

We're looking for a second car for around town, kinda for our kids.  Saw a nice 2002 Hyundai Elantra in really nice shape. 140k kms, $3500.  Not sure we'll get it. We want to stay under $5k.

What the hell, 9K?  I'm no expert on the value of Mazda 5's but that's got to be a good deal for an '07 with such low km's.

 

[Leafaholic99]

So my battery lasted about 30 mins after class, first the stereo shutdown so I decided to pull over, then the power steering shut down and the car died as soon as I parked, good timing as I was in rush hour traffic lol

Its the serpentine belt that needs replacing, so they say, waiting for a call back after they replace it.

 

[moon111]

Usually if you're battery charging warning light comes on, it's a good idea to use as little accessories as possible.  eg.  no stereo, headlights if you can, heater fan as low as possible.  Good thing it was just the belt.  Can change that yourself relatively easily.

 

[Leafaholic99]

Yea, I had the stereo off and fan off as well, I wanted to at least make it to the arena last night, no luck, we were a few minutes shy, good thing my gf's mum was able to come get her so she got to see the last period. They won and move onto the next round.

Got my car back, running smoothly now, I can't wait to trade it in, that's the second thing to go in 2 weeks, and I have a list of at least $2,000 more work :s

 

[Heroic Shrimp]

Any advice on the best way to dispose of a mostly dead car?  I have a 2001 Honda Accord with almost 290,000 kms that abruptly had the rear brakes seize up completely on the weekend and the ABS light came on.  Presently it's parked in my driveway and I don't think it's even worth paying to have it towed to a mechanic to have it looked at.  Time to buy another car.

What are my options?  Do wrecking yards come and tow away your car and pay you anything for whatever salvage value of the car?  I know the Kidney foundation will tow away a car and give a tax receipt for donation value.  Is that the way to go?

 

[Bullfrog]

If you're not looking to recoup money, Teen Challenge is a great choice.

If there's not anything else wrong with it, put it on kijiji, someone might want it for parts.

 

[Rick C.]

If you're not looking to recoup money, Teen Challenge is a great choice.

If there's not anything else wrong with it, put it on kijiji, someone might want it for parts.

Fully agree.  We had a piece of crap Dodge Caravan that needed a tranny, brakes, tie rods, etc etc.  250,000 kms. Body was okay, but it had sat for a year when I put it on Kijiji.  I was very upfront with all it's issues in the ad and said "best offer".  Basically I just wanted someone to drag it out of our driveway.  Ended up a bidding war between 2 dudes - sold it for $600 when here I thought it'd cost me money to get rid of it.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Canadian-made, armoured luxurious SUV with a price tag of $629,000...yes, even the tires are bullet-proof...

http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/technology-2/this-canadian-made-629000-luxury-suv-with-ipad-controls-is-awesome-video/

 

[CaptainObvious]

A different perspective on cars and driving. Learned a couple of things...
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Unknown-Art-of-Driving/132582806932896