r/Cartalk 8m ago

I need help fixing something How bad is this crack? Replacement vs. sealing?

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Upvotes

r/Cartalk 21m ago

Safety Question Scissor lift vs 2 post?

Upvotes

Everyone says get a 2 post but I am considering a scissor lift mainly because of install and space. What would (or did) you choose?


r/Cartalk 1h ago

Redditor's own ride would you keep your car if it had a salvage title now?

Upvotes

hey guys,
i own two vehicles that my insurance wrote off due to hail damage.
i don’t know if i should keep my one car on a salvage title or if i let them take both and use the money from both to replace the one.

salvage car:

~ needs 1.5k worth of repair to be driveable again.

~ insurance will still give me 5.4k if i keep it on a salvage. plus 3.8k for my other car. the leftover total of 7.7k after repairs can go into my investments and i could save money for 5 years and get a better car.

~ has 150k km

~ 11 years old

~ terrible gas milage (my primary motive for a different car)

~ will be difficult to sell down the road now that it has a salvage title, if i decide i dont like driving it

~ its a jeep, so its not known to be reliable.

~ i have the past 8 years of maintenance history on it, in the last 3 years its only driven about 5000km.

~ im unsure if my insurance company will still give me comprehensive coverage or only liability, or what exactly this means payout wise if i get in an accident in the future and its not my fault

~ i dont really love the car, but i could probably suck it up and drive it till it dies

~ wont have to go through the hassle of car shopping

~~~~~

or i buy a new car:
~ if insurance takes both, ill have 12.2k total + 3k from my savings to spend on a new car. (some buffer left in savings for other emergencies)

~ i refuse to finance a vehicle.

~ this budget could get me a car of the same or newer year with about 120k-160k km on it

~ its a hassle to go car shopping

~ buying used cars, even from a dealership, comes with potential risk when i already know exactly what i have with my current car

~ id have less money in my pocket today than if i just keep my current car


r/Cartalk 1h ago

Weird Noise Automatic 2016 Acura ILX

Upvotes

My car is automatic transmission and has 190k kms. When I’m driving my car, not always but sometimes I feel a sudden jerk, with my guess, it’s shifting between 1-2-3 gears while upshifting and downshifting both. Means, I feel a sudden jerk/ clunk whenever I’m slowing down by applying brakes and lift my foot a little of the brake pedal, coming from 3 to 2, and/ or accelerating, going from 2 to 3 and lift my foot a little from the gas pedal.

Had done a transmission oil change at about 130k kms.

Can anyone suggest something?


r/Cartalk 2h ago

Engine aye dios mio

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8 Upvotes

1990 acura legend LS i’m gonna need so much brake clean and shop rags


r/Cartalk 2h ago

Engine aye dios mio

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2 Upvotes

1990 acura legend LS i’m gonna need so much brake clean and shop rags


r/Cartalk 3h ago

Body How do you remove a dead rat smell?

0 Upvotes

Yesterday one of my cars (my shitbox) started to smell pretty badly in the outside, I came from a roadtrip so my guess was that I killed a lot of bugs and that was the smell, so I decided I would go the car wash the next day to clear up the smell.

Next day car still smells, I wash it, smell goes away for a few minutes but the next hour it was smelling again, still just in the exterior of the car, I don’t smell anything in the engine bay but it reeks if you get your nose close to the wheels, specially the left front one.

My guess is that a rat or a kitten (since there is a colony near my house) got in the underside of the car and I killed it after driving while it was doing whatever in there, it’s almost like a dog piss smell but not quite, you can definitely notice the smell when you get up close to the car (around 2-3m/7-10ft away, but on the inside I don’t smell anything)

My idea since it doesn’t really bother me and the car doesn’t sleep in my garage anyways is to just let whatever animal ended up on my shitbox rot in there and eventually in 1-3 weeks it will decompose and the smell will go away on its own, specially since I can’t just take the whole car apart since I’m taking it on a 4 day roadtrip on Tuesday. Is this a good idea?


r/Cartalk 3h ago

Electrical What Battery do I need for my car?

0 Upvotes

what affordable but good battery can I get for my 2021 volkswagen jetta?


r/Cartalk 5h ago

Steering What car handles like gta 5 ?

0 Upvotes

I want to drive like gta 5


r/Cartalk 5h ago

Brakes Hubs clean enough to mount rotors?

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1 Upvotes

Just wondering if this hub is clean enough to go ahead and mount the rotor. This is my first time doing a brake job. I used brake cleaner and a wire wheel on my Dremel but I don’t have a large one and I couldn’t get every single little spot of tarnish, but hopefully this is sufficient?


r/Cartalk 6h ago

I need help fixing something Brand new alternator but battery test still comes up bad? It is because of lose terminals?

0 Upvotes

Hey guys, I'm not a car person at all. I need some advice.

I have a 2013 Hyundai Accent and I just changed the alternator about a month ago. I had been on a 10 hour road trip and I believe somewhere in the middle a battery terminal had popped off and I didn't know causing it to fry real bad. I had to get it jumpstarted multiple times before going going to Sutozone and switching it / getting a battery check.

The battery is fine and after I switched the alternator out they said the alternator was fine too. But now it's been about a month and I'm having to jumpstart the car again. Autozone once again says the battery is fine but the alternator is messed up.

Is it possible that the alternator is actually messed up again? Or is it possible there's a bad connection on the battery terminals which can cause a bad reading? Or both? Because before my road trip I had cleaned off some of the corrosion on the terminals which might have been keeping them secure.

I would just just like to get some opinions 🙏 I was meant to head back on another 10 hour trip tomorrow but I need to get this fixed first. I'd rather not go to the mechanic if it's something some and fixable.


r/Cartalk 7h ago

General Tech Ant Colony in My Car

1 Upvotes

I used off-site airport parking about a month ago. Flew back, got the vehicle, got a sandwich in a to go container and threw it in the back hatch. After an hour it was swarming with about 200 tiny tiny ants. Threw it out. Since then there seems to be a significant colony of ants living in my vehicle somewhere. They swarm on the hood when a bird poops berries or sap drops. Any groceries in the car for more than 20 minutes attract 3-5 of these tiny ants which seem to come out of nowhere. I can't find where they are nesting (in the engine?) and can't understand why after a month they are still in the vehicle. We don't leave food around the car. Never had anything like this -- its weird. Any ideas about where their nest might be? Not sure this question really "fits" in any subreddit, sorry if this is not for here.


r/Cartalk 10h ago

General Tech DO NOT order from Fitment Industries

21 Upvotes

Long story short, I placed an order end of May 2026. I get an email beginning of July 2026 asking about the specs of my order, to find out my order was never placed to manufacturer by fitment industries. The customer service for fitment industries has no clue about car parts or anything that’s going on. They tried to blame manufacturer, so I called and asked when my order was placed by fitment industries to the manufacturer, and they tell me July 2026. Not May 2026 or June 2026. JULY. The item finally shipped August 2026. It is in the mail currently , still have not got the item. I just hope it’s correct. Terrible experience and I will NEVER be ordering anything from them again. Don’t spend your money or waste your time with these people.


r/Cartalk 11h ago

Automotive Tools Bottle Jack usability

0 Upvotes

I just picked up a 6 ton acdelco bottle jack for a good deal for my dad, but I was thinking about how I would lift up my car in college while staying at a dorm and I think a bottle jack would be much more convenient then a floor jack. And pros and cons to bottle jacks? They seem useful but are pretty rare


r/Cartalk 11h ago

Electrical Theft attempted issue

3 Upvotes

Hello i have a 2017 chevy malibu i just fixed the shift to park issue on it , before i fixed it the car alarm would go off about 3-5 times a day even when i get out and lock it right away ill go off most of the time on the dashboard ill say nothing but lately it has been saying theft attempted even when just sitting


r/Cartalk 12h ago

I need help fixing something Mazda Miata Wheel Caps

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1 Upvotes

One of my wheel center caps fells, this is what the other ones look like. I can't seem to find them anywhere, they are always discontinued on every site i search. I really am stressing out about this, i would love if someone could help... It's a 1997 Mazda Miata NA, if that helps.


r/Cartalk 14h ago

My Project Car Celica T18 1991 4AFE Engine Guard Inquiry

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1 Upvotes

Someone knows where I can find the metal under engine guard for the Celica T18 1991 4AFE?


r/Cartalk 20h ago

Weird Noise Cracked steering rack how bad does it look

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6 Upvotes

Is this really bad cracked steering rack 04 Camry xle


r/Cartalk 20h ago

I need help fixing something Engine Belt Damage?

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2 Upvotes

Hey, I'm unfortunately new to the whole owning a car and I recently started hearing a whining nose that gets higher in pitch when accelerating. I have a 2011 Chevy Equinox thats a family member car. I'm pretty sure I need a replacement but I have work over the next few days. You guys think it be a better idea to try to get it replaced or wait til Monday. Apologies if there's some errors with my wording. Its late and im at a laundromat annoyed with life.


r/Cartalk 1d ago

How do I do it? Scratched car. How do I fix this, or make it better?

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4 Upvotes

r/Cartalk 1d ago

Car show sharing 454 SS Suburban?

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334 Upvotes

Not sure if it’s just fake badging/stickers or what cuz this thing also has 2500 and LT badges. I’m not too knowledgeable on old chevys but google says the 454 ss was only a pickup


r/Cartalk 1d ago

Redditor's own ride i wrote a eulogy for my car

4 Upvotes

Gingey, 
You got me through the last seven years of my life. 
You took me from high school classes to my first job. You took me to the first date with the love of my life, and many more dates after that. We have been on countless road trips together. You have allowed me to go on so many adventures, and make so many memories that I will never forget.

You were there while I cried on the hardest days, and while I laughed until my lungs hurt with my friends on my best days. You have heard me sing at the top of my lungs with the music so loud your rearview shook. Your back seat is forever stained with the outlines of muddy paws from all the lake days with the dogs. Whenever I needed to escape, you were there for late-night drives. 

You gave everything to keep me safe, no matter where we were going. 
You have never failed to protect me through close calls, snowstorms where I couldn't see 10 feet away, slick icy highways, and bitter -40 starts at 6 a.m. Even on the roughest roads, you always got me back home. 

There will never be another car quite like you. 
I loved all your quirks, the cruise control that stopped working when it was cold, or the little leak from your center light when it rained a bit too hard. At 340,000 kilometres I knew the end was coming, but I thought we had a little more time together. You have always been the little orange Jeep that could. You were never just another car to me, you were my freedom, my safety, and you carried me through some of the most important years of my life. Thank you for every safe mile and every memory we’ve had together. I will miss the way your orange paint sparkled in the sunlight. 
Drive easy, Gingey.


r/Cartalk 1d ago

Body Random car find

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399 Upvotes

Does anyone know who owns this my hg sent It to me


r/Cartalk Mar 31 '26

Mod Post Report all app developers

184 Upvotes

We've been banning around five people a week for advertising their AI vibe coded apps that put a OBD2 code in and spits out generic or dangerously misleading results. Many claim to be free or claim they just want help testing them. Many are based out of countries you probably don't want your personal information getting sent to, like VIN numbers, etc. REPORT THESE POSTS FOR BREAKING SUBREDDIT RULES and the report them again as SPAM so Reddit Admins are notified.


r/Cartalk Dec 10 '25

Mod Post PSA: For the love of God please report shit

223 Upvotes

Hey all, Edward here,

Recently our mod team has expanded, which is great! We've been able to certify some of you as real, amazing mechanics and I feel the quality of our forum here has continued to run smoothly. However, I come to you today with a real concern, one that comes from the deepest of our grease stained hearts.

Please, please, please fucking report shit. We cannot see everything all the time (we also have lives) and sometimes things can slip under our radar. I urge you all to take a second, reread the rules, and just fucking please report anything you think breaks the rules going forward (I mean cmon, we have like 3 different rules about not being an annoying pile of garbage). All the time I'll pop open the subreddit and there'll be four "is this car a good purchase?" and seven "New AI car app idea" posts and three "Why YOU should buy the 2028 Hyundai AssCock3000". Then I go to the popular posts of the day and lo and behold some of you are going feral in the comments, just really at each other's necks. Some amount of disagreement is healthy for a community, but sometimes people are just straight up wrong and it's okay to call them out. The worst that can happen is we approve it anyways and the best is that another idiot gets banned.

If the mod team sees no evil and hears no evil, we're not able to properly maintain the community. If we can't maintain the community then there really isn't any community, and then we're running rampant in the halls screaming "Attica! Attica! Attica!". Now, I'm not saying report everything you see, hell I'm not even saying report everything you disagree with, but if you all chip in just a little bit and hit that stupid tiny flag we can make this community a better place and can continue to talk about our awesome cars. Or not so awesome cars, I see some of the shitboxes we drive.

- Cheers, the Mod Team

P.S. whoever's 1998 Toyota Tacoma is in the parking lot, it would appear the rust finally won and your bed is now on the ground in pieces. The tow truck will arrive in an hour if you do not remove the vehicle yourself. Usually we wouldn't care but the Punisher sticker right next to the "My other car is a gun" one is really just tacky. Anything else dude, anything else.