Car accelerating on its own
twinklenose
18 years ago
Featured Answer
Comments (46)
bulldinkie
18 years agobrianl703
18 years agoRelated Discussions
Uncontrolled acceleration
Comments (7)I was witness to an event in front of my house about 15 yrs ago. A dear, very elderly lady lived next door. She was the daughter of one of the town's pioneer founders, was well known, had been a school teacher, and people looked the other way at her sometimes haphazard driving. (She was loosing control of her legs.) She was hard of hearing, but did not wear her hearing aid when she drove nor used the seat belt - we've seen these before. Both these factors played a role in what happened next. She had one of the last models of a rear wheel drive Buick. She starts her car. Meanwhile, I guests are getting into my car for trip to a museum. It was misting rain and everything was wet. The rear wheels of my neightbor's car was sitting in puddle filled with leaves. The wheels spun as she gave it gas to back out of her driveway - she couldn't hear what was going on. The car began creeping slowly backward so she gave it a bit more gas pedal, and then the tires moved out of the slick leaf puddle and grabbed pavement that had more traction. The car lurched backward surprising the driver and throwing her into the steering wheel AND her right foot to the floor. Recall, she is not hearing much of this. She did not have enough strenght in her arms to push her body back - a seat belt would have been handy right then. The car launched across the street heading for the house on the other side. The lady recovers enough to make an abrupt steering correction. The car slowed in the soft, muddy yard, but the rear wheels are still spinning. She cuts half of a doughnut in his yard, the spinning tires making a rut about 5 inches deep and now the car is coming back across the street toward my car and my guest - PANIC. I junp behind a large tree; I thought for sure either my car or house was going to be the target, but then another steering correction and the car turned to brush against a tree at my front property line - It took off an outside rear view mirror. Her car shot down my propetry line and found another tree, an old 100 year old one with a huge root bole. Her car bounced off these roots using its rocker panel as a skid. This impact turned the car and it took off back across the street this time nailing a light pole. The car stopped. The top of the pole swung wildly like in the movies, and after 5 seconds, the hood of the light fixture popped open and the big sodium vapor bulb crashed to the ground. MInd you, this all took place with the car in reverse gear. My wife was yellng at me to go over and help her out. I hesitated, and said, "I'm not so sure. Her engine is still running and I have to cross in front of her car." But, I did make my way over fearful of what I might find. As I approached the driver's side, she timidly rolled down her window and as I was starting to inquire if she was injured, she looked up at me and said, "Do you suppose this means that I will loose my driver's license?" The week before, she had been ticketed for running the stop sign at main street....See MoreOT: Certified Pre-Owned Cars
Comments (18)I will say that in the "which is better, Honda or Toyota" question, they are both pretty much equivalent. I have a 2001 Honda Accord with 105k miles on it that was NOT maintained by my husband (when he was the one primarily driving the car). I made sure that the major services were done every 15k miles but he never did intermediate oil changes. Even being abused such as it was, I STILL get 30mpg highway and even though I do have to throw a quart of oil in between oil changes and have never had a non-wear related problem with it. Ever. I would guess that if it were property maintained I would not even have to throw in the oil every 1500 miles. Toyotas are similar and honestly I would be extremely comfortable recommending either one to anyone. The whole discussion reminds me a little bit of those bumper stickers I'd used to see along the lines of "I'd rather push a chevy than drive a ford" etc. I know people have extreme brand loyalty sometimes but they are both very very very good and reliable cars (I would also add nissan and mazda to the list btw, they might be a tiny bit less reliable over a large sample set than honda and toyota but they are still very very reliable cars). I have also heard that Hyundai of the last few years is what Honda was when it first came out... extremely reliable and extremely economical with a lot of bang for the buck. Honda is still extremely reliable but you will pay for it (both new and in higher retained resale value, same with Toyota). All that said, my BIL is in the used car business and has lots of friends in the new car business too. I will probably never drive a new car again because of it - he just has access to too many resources and no matter what kind of a deal I have been able to track down for new, he has always been able to blow it away with used. But even without someone like him as a resource, he does have a few "tricks" that have yielded very good results. He does buy most of his cars privately and through auction but there are times when he will go to a dealer to purchase a car also... usually when he is trying to track something specific down for a family member. Here are the things I have picked up over the years. 1) get the carfax report. Make sure the car has clear title and few owners (1-2 depending on age of the car.. if a car has changed hands many times it is usually an indication of annoying problems). Many carfax reports will list the dates of services performed if they were performed at the dealer... although I have seen many that don't show anything about service either. If it's not reported it doesn't mean it wasn't done but if it IS reported, it's great for peace of mind. It will also list any open recall items and remaining manufacturer warranty. He doesn't buy anything without checking the carfax. The other thing it will tell you is the date of all of the title transfers, including the transfer to the dealer - so you can see how long the dealer has had it. If it's over 90 days chances are good they will be willing to deal... they don't like holding cars much longer and will likely be putting it in the auction soon to get rid of it, where they will have to pay to insert it and will probably not get all that much over trade in value... why not save them the hassle by buying it (then they will at least be able to get doc fees off of you too)? If a car has been sitting at the dealer for a while you can really go for the jugular in dealing price and maybe get it for $500-1000 over dealer trade in values. 2) Don't go to a toyota dealer if you want a used toyota. You will pay the highest prices there and really they will be trying to convince you to just buy new anyway. I've been looking to replace my accord, maybe with a subaru and you would not believe the crappy junk they had there at ridiculous prices and for everything i looked at he just kept telling me how much better a deal the new cars would be (although agreed that things are weird because of the japan situation, they can't get subarus either). The BEST place to buy a used car, especially in the "average person price range" is, believe it or not, at a luxury car dealer. People trade in their newish mid priced cars (hondas, toyotas, hyundais etc) all the time for upper end cars when basically they realize that their car that was reviewed as being the poor man's bmw is still a poor substitution for an actual luxury car. Luxury car dealers take them in as trades to make the sale obviously, but they are not really in the business of selling used hondas and toyotas... it seems to be easier to get a deal there because they just want to get rid of the things. Even better if they are holding the car upward of 90 days. The other nice thing about buying from dealers like that is that their detail shop does not discriminate based on the type of car... if you want a used car that has been put as close back to new condition as possible, the luxury car dealers are the place to go. We bought a 2008 hyundai santa fe from an import dealer (they deal in bms, mercedes, aston martin, rolls royce etc) and the thing was immaculate (both mechanically and cosmetically) and because they had been holding it for 90 days we got it for pretty much $500 over what they paid for it (including the mechanical work they did like new brake rotors and tires etc). Now my BIL bargains like no one's business but I would think that if you say "i see on the car fax that you have had this car for a while, what's the best you can do on it?" that you will find them ready to deal. 3) Don't forget the "hidden costs" of buying a used car... like the replacement of wear items (like tires, you can easily spend $1k on new tires) or major services that may be soon required. It will be less expensive to buy a car at say 105k miles that has had the timing belt and water pump changed (for cars that require that) than a car with 95k miles that will require it very very soon. That only really applies for older used cars and I think the OP is talking newer cars but I figured I'd throw that in for completeness. Anyway, good luck! I am looking to trade up my accord a little bit too (tired of driving manual, tired of burning oil) so I'm back on the hunt myself (and want to pay cash as well)....See Morecar insurance - rental car coverage
Comments (3)The liability might not automatically cover the rental car because somebody else could be using your car while you are gone, meaning you'd be insuring two cars for the price of one. It depends on the laws of your state. If your agent says that liability DOES extend to the rented vehicle, ask them to point it out in your policy. When it comes to insurance, if it's not in writing it isn't true. Credit card coverage is usually very good, but again be sure to read all the fine print. There are likely to be "exceptions" and "exclusions." Plus, it usually covers damage to the rental only. Keep in mind that even though credit card coverage would pay for repairs, the rental company will still want to collect the daily rate from you while the vehicle is out of service. Typically, the insurance will NOT cover that....See MoreBest used car and where to buy it?
Comments (22)I'm a Honda zealot also so I'd vote for that. I've had four of them and none have ever had any type of problem and required nothing more than regular maintenance, new tires, etc. I've heard Volvo maintenance and repairs are very expensive. Not sure if that is true or not but I noticed when I had a Lexus all the maintenance was 2x the price of the same maintenance for essentially the same vehicle - Toyota Highlander. I also heard similar reports from someone I work with about another luxury/high end brand - I think Volvo fits in that category. I also haven't gotten the impression Volvo reliability is as good as Honda but that's based on my experience with Honda only and anecdotal reports from a few Volvo owners. I'm not sure what new cars are going for these days but I bought a new 2003 top of the line, everything but naviagation Accord for well under $30K. It's the best value I've ever gotten in a car (we always buy new). In fact, I guess that's the model you are looking at 2003 EX-L - if that's the 6 cylinder model. This is a fabulous car in my opinion....See Moretwinklenose
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