Dan H.

Allentown, PA

Dan,

If you are referring to one of those real small shoe box looking cars then the fuel mileage can be as high as 90 MPG. I personally have not driven one of those small cars and honestly would NOT feel comfortable driving one of them here in Texas with all the big trucks on the road with me.

I WOULD how ever drive a Toyota Prius any day of the week and with a fuel economy in the 40 MPG range its a nice alternative to the shoe box smart car. Now, if you live in a very dense city and do not plan on getting on a fast moving freeway….then one of those smart cars might be a good idea just to get around the city. I bet they are popular in Europe where they do not have tons of Ford F250 4X4 trucks on the road.

Blessings,

Austin Davis

I got my oil changed last night.. and as I was driving away the oil light came on and then my whole engine died… the owner came to check on it and the mechanic had forgot to put oil in my car! They have said they will fix the problem but I was just wondering is the whole engine shot? What would you do in this situation?
Thank you
Connie

Hello Connie,

I have seen this happen twice, and both times the engine was toast. How do you know if the engine is damaged? If you hear anything knocking or clicking inside the engine area with the hood up and engine running, smoke out the tailpipe, lack of power or sluggishness etc. etc. I would be HIGHLY suspect of internal engine damage.

You could have gotten lucky since the computer system shut the engine down once it realized there was no oil pressure. Fill the engine with oil and take it for a test drive and see what happens. At any rate, the mechanic is liable, and hopefully will either call his insurance company and file a claim or pay for the repairs out of his own pocket.

Blessings,
Austin Davis

My 1998 for Taurus idles a bit then shut off. it has also cut off at stop lights and stop sighs. the check engine light has been on for a while but I did nothing because my husband left the gas cap off before and it came on and the ford technician said that was the cause and said I could unhook the battery cables and it would go back off.

I did this and it went off but came back on. Also this started happening when I let my daughter drive the car and she put fuel in the car and said she experienced the problem I described and then went to advanced auto and they told her to put some fuel injection treatment/cleaner which she did. . what could be the problem.

Hi there,

I would first have your local mechanic or a fast lube place clean your throttle body and idle control motor and see what happens. Here is more about it on my blog

Car dies at stops

Blessings,

Austin Davis

My name is Debbie, I am fifteen years old and there is a van that was offered to me for “free”. The transmission is broken, but everything else is fine. I need to pay for the transmission to be fixed. It is a 2003 Ford Windstar. I would like to know if it would be possible to fix it and how much it would cost to get it repaired.

Thank You,
Debbie

Hi there Debbie,

The BEST way to approach this would be to see if your local Ford dealer parts department offers a rebuilt “AER Rebuilt Transmission” for this vehicle, if they do that would be my highest recommendation. You will pay a little more for it rather than having your current transmission overhauled BUT you will get a Ford warranty guaranteed at any Ford dealer in the US and I have had the best luck with their rebuilt transmissions rather than the local transmission shop.

You buy the part from the parts department and have your local mechanic, or any repair shop install it for you. I would charge you about $575 to install it and take 1-2 days…..a transmission shop will keep your car for 4-5 days to overhaul your transmission and the warranty you get is only good at their shop, so if you are out of town….you are on your own.

This repair is going to cost a lot of money….like $2200-2500, BUT if you are sure the rest of the vehicle is ok, you will probably get your money back when you go to sell it one day. If you are not sure about the rest of teh vehicle, you might want to spend that money on a down payment on a new or 2 year old used vehicle that still has a warranty.

Last alternative, buy a used transmission from a junk yard and have your mechanic install it, this is risky because you don’t know the condition of the transmission BUT sometimes the junk yard will sell you a warranty.

Best of luck!

–
Blessings,
Austin Davis
http://www.trustmymechanic.com
http://www.myhonestmechanic.com

Hi Austin,

I’m a student in the market for a reliable, cheap car to get me from home to work and back. I have been offered a 1991 Eclipse (manual) with a rebuilt engine (90,000 miles) by a local mechanic for $2500. On a test drive, when I accelerated heavily and pushed the car, the engine suddenly jerked and the car lurched and the “check engine” light came on.

This happened about three times, everytime after I pushed the car (once in third, twice in fifth). I returned the car and the mechanic thinks its an electrical problem that cuts out the engine, but something he can fix. I dont know if I should trust this guy, or if I should trust a car with a replaced engine. Im a first time buyer with no idea what Im doing. What are your thoughts?

Thanks a lot,

Dhruv

Hi there Dhruv,

I would steer clear of this car, its too old, has a known problem, and if the mechanic really knew what the problem was he would have already repaired it….unless it costs BIG bucks! If you can afford $185 a month for a car note, I would HIGHLY suggest you visit your local KIA dealership and see if they have an 08 Rio or an 09 Kia Rio you can test drive. You also might check to see if there is an 07 Rio on their used car lot.

These cars are great for first time car buyers, they are roomy, plenty of power, very fuel effiecient, and economical with a super warranty. As a student you can not afford costly breakdowns, and I would rather pay $180 a month for a NEW car with no chance of breakdowns than an older car you know you are going to have to put big money into.

Kia usually offers first time car buyer and college student discounts, and with your $2,000 downpayment it should get the monthly payment at the $180 or lower level and you will have a brand new car. NEVER pay sticker price, which you can usually deduct $3000-5000 from the sticker price, so dont worry what the sticker says on the car, its a total lie.

You can probably get a new 09 Rio for $11,500 with electric windows and locks and auto trans and a/c. Play hardball!!!! Buying a new car is not easy, its a total con game. I usually make a super low ball offer and then tell them I am leaving and they can call my cell if they change their minds and accept the price.

Blessings,

Austin Davis

Gynecologist who became a mechanic

A Gynecologist had become fed up with malpractice insurance
and Medicare paperwork, and was burned out. Hoping to try
another career where skilful hands would be beneficial, he
decided to become a mechanic. He went to the local
technical college, signed up for evening classes, attended
diligently, and learned all he could.

When the time of the practical exam approached, the
Gynecologist prepared carefully for weeks, and completed the
exam with tremendous skill. When the results came back, he
was surprised to find that he had obtained a score of 150%.

Fearing an error, he called the Instructor, saying, ‘I
don’t want to appear ungrateful for such an outstanding
result, but I wonder if there is an error in my grade.’
The instructor said, ‘During the exam, you took the
engine apart perfectly, which was worth 50% of the total
mark.

You put the engine back together again perfectly,
which is also worth 50% of the mark.’ After a pause,
the instructor added, ‘I gave you an extra 50% because
you did it all through the muffler.’

I had a bit of a disaster. My friend borrowed my car and put brake fluid in my coolant reservoir. He drove the car about 100km to my house before I realised what happened when I could smell a strong smell from the exhaust. Please help!!! How bad will the damage be! I am having it towed tomorrow to have the system flushed but I am still really worried. Its a 2004 Landrover Freelander

Hey there,

I don’t think any real damage has occurred, just get the cooling system flushed out and new coolant installed. Doing the reverse, coolant in the brake reservoir is a disaster!

Blessings,

Austin Davis

I have a 2001 Suzuki Grand Vitara 6 cyl engine with a blown spark plug. What are my options? Please advice.

Jose

Hey there Jose,

I am assuming the threads of the hole are messed up now and you can not install a new spark plug. If so, you can have your mechanic try to install a heli coil insert into the hole or if that does not work….you will have to remove the cylinder head and send it to a machine shop.

http://www.emhart.com/products/helicoil.asp shows a picture of the helicoil insert

Blessings,

Austin Davis

My son put 6 oz of brake fluid in the radiator of a VW Cabrio. Will it mess up engine?
Thanks
Jerry

Howdy Jerry,

I would have the radiator flushed out at your local fast lube place. It really shouldn’t hurt anything….but it wont help either. the more you drive with this…the more potential harm it COULD do.

Blessings,

Austin Davis

Hello Mr. Mechanic ! I’m hoping you’ll be able to help me out. I’ll
give you the scenario and maybe you can help with telling me what
might be wrong.

Two weeks ago I replaced my water pump, my thermostat, changed my oil and refilled my coolant tank with coolant/antifreeze. What prompted
all of that was my assumption that my thermostat was sticking.

I had plenty of coolant and wasn’t sure why the temp guage would go
into the ‘danger zone’ causing my check guages light to come on. After
about 10 minutes of driving the needle dropped the guage light went off, it was all good. That’s when I changed my thermostat just to be on the
safe side.

As long as we were in the engine we replaced the water pump as well.
It had been acting up a few mnonths prior and I bought a new one. I
didn’t replace it right away because the squealing noise stopped.

Yesterday and today I’ve been having temp guage problems again.
Yesterday it happened when I drove my car to work and then drove my
car home. The guage would rise and steady itself in between the danger
zone and the normal zone, no guage light.

After a few more minutes the needle would sit in the danger zone for another 5 or 6 minutes, guage light on. Again after another few monutes the needle dropped, light went off, all was good.

Today’s what got me… started my car up to drive to work. On the
way to work, the guage sat as it did before, right between danger and
normal for about 6 minutes. After that the needle went into the danger zone and was there for another 6 minutes.

At the end of that 6 minutes I slowed to turn onto the highway ramp, my car had no get up and go it was in a lull I freaked out, I mean wtf ?! I proceeded to creep down the ramp and as I stepped on the gas a little more the needle dropped and my car went flying down the ramp…. The remaining 3 minutes of my drive was fine, guage was at normal.

While the guage is up and in the danger zone I have cold air. Once
the guage drops to normal, there’s the heat. What the heck… really.. I need your help telling me what might be wrong.

Thanks SO much !!
Angie

Hey there Angie,

Did you read my overheating article?

Engine Overheating

I can only highly suggest that you get a cooling system pressure test
FIRST before you do anything else. it sounds like this is either a
restriction in your radiator, or there is an air pocket in the system
that needs to be bled out, or you have a coolant leak somewhere which
the pressure test should uncover.

When the engine is hot, feel the upper and lower radiator hoses….they
should both be about the same temperature. If the top is much hotter
than the bottom, most likely your radiator is restricted at the bottom
with rust or dirt etc. etc.

You have cold air coming out the vents because there is NO hot
antifreeze circulating throughout the system. the heater blows hot air
because the heater core has HOT coolant circulating through it. the
heater core is like a small radiator inside the dash of the vehicle.

here is more info on the heater just so you understand how it works.

Car Heater Not Working

Keep me posted as to what you find out.

Blessings,
Austin Davis

Hey there Austin,

Thanks for getting back to me. I did in fact read over the articles…
They were very helpful. I ended up taking my car in that very next day
and it was in fact an air pocket in my cooling system. They bled it and
all is fine…. The only thing they suggested was next time around I
need to change my lower intake manifold gasket… But since it’s an
expensive job, I’ll hold off

Thanks again !

Angie