How’s the parking lot at your local auto parts store?
How much longer will auto parts stores be around?
In college I worked the parts counter at a national auto parts chain store in Seattle. I loved my job. I worked all day on Saturdays and Sundays and from 5 pm to 10 pm two to three times during the week. I loved helping out and learning about the customers’ project cars, learning about different parts for different cars and occasionally helping stranded motorists by changing a battery, doing an electrical test, even breaking the rules once and changing out an alternator right there in the parking lot. In the dark.
This was in the late 1990s, and the auto parts store was a busy environment of shared enthusiasm for cars and ambitious DIYers taking on repair projects for their beloved vehicles.
I have a feeling that culture is gone… or quickly vanishing.
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Car Accessories, Car Minded, Car Parts, General Chat
auto parts stores, auto parts stores going away, auto stores, empty auto parts stores, parts stores
Imagine buying a used car, getting it home, parking it in the garage, then waking in the middle of the night to flames caused by that car.
It’s not a likely scenario, but it is possible. If you recently purchased, or plan to purchase, a used GM SUV, be sure to check for recalls before signing on the dotted line.
Fires caused by a defect in a car are rare, but around 200,000 2005, 2006 and 2007 SUVs made by General Motors are being recalled because of that risk.
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Car Industry News, Car Minded, Car Safety, Car Shopping, Domestic Cars, General Chat, Trucks & SUVs
General Motors recalling SUVs, GM recall, SUV recall, used car shopping
A 2004 Lexus RX 330 should run forever. Especially one that’s well taken care of, undergoes regular oil changes using synthetic oil, gets its scheduled maintenance done, has just 77,000 miles on the clock and was purchased in 2008 as a certified used car with just over 30,000 miles.
The car has performed well, gone on many road trips across most of the Western United States and carried many loads of Costco groceries, football gear and horseback riding equipment. It has never let its owner down. Even amidst all the positives, the car has had certain issues and, now, they’ve reached a point where the owner wonders if she should keep the car or sell it and move on to something newer.
The car still has about $12,000 owed on the bank loan. Based on similar vehicles posted on the CarGurus used listings, this RX 330 is still worth somewhere between $14,000 and $18,000.
Here are the issues facing this RX:
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Car Minded, Car Shopping, Foreign Cars, General Chat, Trucks & SUVs
lexus rx330, rx330 transmission issue, transmission problems, used car problems, used cars
If you’re like me, when you hear the name Dodge, you still think of beefy pickup trucks. Never mind the fact that Chrysler took all of Dodge’s trucks and moved them under the Ram brand back in 2009.
That shift left Dodge with nothing more than a couple of cars, two SUVs and a van. The plan was to turn Dodge into a sporty car brand, but so far the new Dart is as close as we’ve seen to anything new and exciting. With some recent news about some Dodge vehicles getting discontinued, is it possible Dodge will cease to exist?
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Car Minded, Car Shopping, Domestic Cars, General Chat
discontinued dodge vehicles, dodge, Dodge Avenger, dodge discontinue, dodge grand caravan
I’m not exactly sure why this is news, but NBC News has posted a story on the astonishing fact that young people shop for cars online, not in showrooms.
The story is full of facts and figures and percentages confirming that those belonging to Generation Y don’t begin at dealers when they shop for cars. Well obviously at CarGurus we know that, considering it’s what we do. Vehicle research, new or used, absolutely must begin online these days.
The opinions of others are just as much a part of vehicle research these days as checking spec sheets and reading professional reviews. Who has a better opinion to trust than someone who owns, or has owned, the same car?
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Car Industry News, Car Minded, Car Shopping, General Chat
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Uh-oh…
A few nights ago a tired drive home nearly ended in catastrophe. Not for me, but for the fuel system of my car.
I pulled into the station, popped my fuel door, swiped my card and picked up the handle before I realized it was green. That realization woke me up very quickly, as I uttered a mild profanity and then proceeded to move to another pump, one with the 92 octane my car requires, not the diesel I almost filled it with.
Despite being clearly labeled, and the fact that diesel nozzles are typically larger than those dispensing unleaded gas, people mistakenly fill their cars with the wrong fuel occasionally. Doing so won’t necessarily cause serious damage to the fuel system or engine, but the car won’t start, and the fix could cost a lot of money.
When a moron like me makes that mistake on his own, the cost is an obvious consequence of a bone-headed mistake. But when the mistake is made by a fuel company, who should pay?
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Car Industry News, Car Minded, Gas for your car..., General Chat
filling up with wrong fuel, filling with diesel instead of gas, fuel mistakes, wrong fuel
I miss cars.
I miss cars that are just cars and nothing else. I miss cars that don’t drive for us. I miss cars that don’t respond to our voices. I miss cars with dials and knobs and levers and manually adjustable heat controls.
I miss cars that aren’t just drivable iPhones.
I miss cars without touchscreens, without heated steering wheels and without cooled seats. I miss cars that go fast just for the sake of going fast. I miss cars with a certain unrefined nature, the kind of cars where the smell of gasoline and the sound of exhaust find their way into the cabin.
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Car Minded, Car Shopping, General Chat
car nostalgia, cars, older cars, used cars, what I miss about cars
2014 Toyota Corolla S
The Toyota Corolla is boring.
It’s somewhat bland, dated and uninspiring. It’s also one of the top-selling cars in the world each year, and Toyota has sold over 40 million of them since the car’s inception.
Obviously, people are drawn to the car’s propensity for predictability and reliability. Changing the formula could be a risky move, but seeing as how the current car doesn’t have much in the way of cutting-edge technology or engineering, the time has come for an all-new Corolla.
But if the draw to a Corolla lies in its simplicity, maybe a used model would better suit the needs of some drivers.
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Car Industry News, Car Minded, Car Shopping, Foreign Cars, General Chat
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Photo courtesy MellowWave Surfboards
This past weekend, temperatures in the Boston area topped the 90-degree mark for the first time this year, sending the CarGurus team and thousands of other Bostonians to the area’s many beaches to cool off. While many were stuck searching for parking at the most popular beaches, others were able to simply pull up to the beach, let some air out of the tires, slip their car into 4-wheel drive and find a prime spot right next to the surf—with no one else in sight.
This is the going to the beach that I grew up with and one of the primary reasons that I still have a 4WD pickup. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of changing from pavement to sand. You pull up to the beach, make the change into 4WD, and you’re off. Instead of hearing the tires whining against the pavement, you get the gentle sound of them pushing through the sand, with no more pedestrians and bicyclists to watch out for, just shorebirds, sunbathers and fishermen.
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Car Lists, Car Minded, Car Shopping, Classic & Vintage Cars, General Chat
The Porsche 911 celebrates 50 years
The Porsche 911.
I can’t think of any other car that can be described as undergoing continual development since 1963, but with little change to the concept over that time. Yes, the legendary 911 celebrates 50 years of existence this year, and Porsche has marked the anniversary with a special edition. If you can’t quite afford the $125,000 starting price for the retro-themed but modernly designed super-Porsche, why not celebrate by owning a piece of 911 history?
Each model has a unique spot in the car’s history, and many are affordable for just about anyone. Sure, older models won’t have the same 430-hp 3.8-liter flat six and PDK transmission that can lay down a 0-60 run in 3.8 seconds, but you will get that iconic 911 style and enough fun to keep you and your right foot entertained on city streets for years to come.
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Car Minded, Classic & Vintage Cars, Foreign Cars, General Chat
50th anniversary porsche 911, 911 50, 911 model history, Porsche 911, used porsche 911
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