The Dodge Caravan is a type of vehicle called a minivan, which is designed to carry families and their belongings. It's known for having a lot of space inside and being easy to drive.
The Chevrolet Blazer is a type of vehicle known as an SUV, which stands for Sport Utility Vehicle. SUVs are larger than cars and can handle rougher terrain, making them great for outdoor activities.
A CV joint helps connect the wheels to the car's engine, allowing them to turn while still moving. If it breaks, it can cause problems with how the car drives.
A thumping sound in a car usually means something isn't working right, like parts that are worn out or broken. It's a sign that you should have it checked out.
The Chrysler LeBaron is a car that Chrysler made from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s. It was popular for being comfortable and came in different styles, like a two-door or convertible.
The Porsche 944 Turbo is a sporty car from the 1980s that has a turbocharged engine, which means it can produce more power and go faster. It's well-regarded for how it handles on the road.
A turbo is a part of some car engines that helps them go faster by pushing more air into the engine, which lets it use more fuel and create more power.
The air conditioner in a car helps keep it cool inside by blowing cold air. Sometimes, it can use up some of the car's power, making it feel less powerful when it's running.
The Dodge Colt Vista is a small van made by Dodge in the 1980s. It's known for being reliable and having a lot of space inside, making it good for families.
The Volkswagen Golf is a small car that many people like because it's easy to drive and has a lot of space inside. It's been around for a long time and is known for being reliable.
If a car pulls to the right, it means that when you drive straight, the car wants to go to the right side of the road instead. This can be a sign that something is wrong with the car's setup.
If a car pulls to the left, it means that when you drive straight, the car wants to go to the left side of the road instead. This can be a sign that something is wrong with the car's setup.
A 'parallelogram' frame means the car's frame is bent in a way that makes it not square anymore. This can cause problems with how the car drives and wears out the tires unevenly.
The Toyota Tercel is a small car that Toyota made from the late 1970s to the late 1990s. The 1986 version is known for being dependable and good on gas.
The Toyota Corolla is a small car that many people trust because it lasts a long time and doesn't use much gas. It's popular because it's easy to drive and usually doesn't cost a lot to keep running. People often talk about it because it's a good choice for anyone looking for a reliable vehicle.
A 'pump noise' is a sound that can come from different parts of a car, like the fuel pump or tires. It might mean something is wrong, so it's good to check it out.
Spalled means that a part has started to break or chip away, which can happen when it gets worn out. In wheel bearings, this can cause problems with how the wheels turn.
The Chevrolet Avalanche is a type of truck that can also be used like an SUV. It has a lot of space and is good for carrying things, making it popular for families and work.
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Hey, it's Ray Maliozzi here. You know, somehow we are almost to the end of 2025 and there were times
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And here at the Best of Car Talk, we will keep bringing you the same questionable
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Hello and welcome to Car Talk from National Public Radio. With us,
click and clack the Tappet Brothers and we're broadcasting this week
from the Department of Divine Justice here at Car Talk. This is a little note from Bill
Hobbins from out there in cyberspace. Hi guys, in light of your Drive Now Talk Later campaign,
my friends encouraged me to tell you what happened to me on my way home from work a couple of
Fridays ago. I was approaching an equipment rental business in my aging dodge minivan
when a man who was talking on his cell phone pulled out of the rental store parking lot right
in front of me. I slammed on the brakes and managed to get the caravan stopped. Annoyed,
I slammed my hand down on the horn and held it for a good while as he continued his left turn
across a busy street. The guy's talking on his cell phone and a left turn with a trail.
I've got it all mapped out, man. When I blew my horn, he attempted to make an obscene gesture
with his left hand, the hand holding the cell phone while propped up in the open window of
his blazer toward me. I don't understand all that. And so doing, lost control of the phone
which flew out of the open window directly at me. Wait, it gets better. The phone flew a short
distance, bounced and came to rest right in front of me. As I rolled forward, I heard the phone
crunch under the left front and then the left rear tire of the van. A feat I couldn't duplicate in
a hundred tries. As I continued, I glanced into my rear view mirror and saw the remains of his
cell phone in a small pile of high tech particles on the street. I can only hope the driver of the
blazer attempted to retrieve his phone. Moral of the story, there is justice in the universe
for those who talk in a cell phone while driving. Isn't that great? Wouldn't you love to have seen
that happen? Oh, man. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry again. And by the way, look, if you would like
to talk to us, and we'd love to talk to you, our number is 888-KART-TALK. That's 888-227-8255.
Hello, you're on KART-TALK. Hi, my name is Ben. I'm from Colchester, Connecticut.
Hey, Ben. What's going on, man? Colchester. Yep. So what's up, Ben?
All right, I got an 89 Volkswagen Fox. Oh, man. That's what I'm talking about.
Things ain't been so good in Colchester, huh? Oh, it's been beautiful.
The Fox was not one of Volkswagen's greatest moments. I always thought they were rather chinsilly
made. You got it. Everything was teeny. Everything was bare bones. You would think the general
motors had made it. Oh, jeez. Another low blow. Well, I mean, this day saved every ounce,
every penny. I mean, iron is about the cheapest thing on the planet. You can buy iron less than
you can buy anything. It ain't cheaper than air. And if the car consists mostly of air,
it's a heck of a lot cheaper than almost anything else you can use. Yeah, you got it.
So go ahead, Ben. We're sorry to have interrupted like this. I can't help myself
when it comes to editorial comments. We noticed. Yeah. So you got an 89 Fox. Good for you, Ben.
Oh, yeah. One of the latteries there. So driving on a highway on the way to work one day,
front tires lock up, skid, sparking. It's a beauty. Get a tow to the garage. Garage tells me
that I blew both CV joints amazingly at the same time, seizing my axles is what they told me.
No, it doesn't sound good to me. It doesn't sound likely. And if it is true, man, you have to be
the luckiest guy on the planet. So they tell me, God, you can't keep the axles, gotta have them both
replaced. Yeah. So I said, all right, had the work done. About two months down the road, I started
getting this thumping sound underneath the footwell of the driver's side. And it's only when I drive
straight or turn left, the minute I turn the wheel to the right, the sound stops. Yeah. Cool.
I brought it to the dealer. They said you need a CV joint. They exactly. Yeah. You just had that
done, though, two months ago. Two months later, they tell me you need a whole new thing. And I'm
sure you reminded them of this little thing. You're dang skippy. I'm gonna use that. Dang
skippy. I love it, man. I pointed that one right out. Hey, oh, yeah, it's about two months old.
To which they responded, not our problem. Really? Really? This was a dealership or a
Joe's garage? Joe's garage. Yeah. What's their warranty anyway? Did they have any clue?
They had a 50. Were they making it up on the spot? 50 feet or 50 seconds from the door.
You got it, buddy. You mean dang skippy. Dang skippy. But I think by law in Connecticut,
there has got to be a minimum time period for a warranty. Connecticut must have some kind of
consumer protection laws. I'm sure they do. Well, when I asked the guy about it, I said,
this has got to be under warranty. He's like, hey, you've had it for two months. That'll outlast any
warranty. Gee, I don't think so. I mean, there are lots of places that have 30-day warranties,
but CV joints should last years. I'd be willing to bet the manufacturer's warranty on the part is a
year, at least. And if nothing else, he ought to give you the part for free. Since we both expressed
consternation when you said that both of the CVs seized up. That didn't happen at the same moment.
One of them broke and he figured, well, it might as well sell this guy both of them.
It would be a one-in-a-million chance that both of them would lock up.
See, he told me because one locked up, that the tension locked up the other one.
No, the tension's in his brain. I don't like that story. What I do like is they put only
one of them in and now the second one, which he claims that he put in, has to be put in.
Oh, that's a likely scenario, isn't it? That's what I like. He might have just cleaned up the
other one and made it look like a new one. You might want to just crawl under there and take
a look and see if one of them looks a lot newer than the other. In which case, instead of going back
to him, you go right to the Attorney General's office. And I think you have to tell this guy
you're taking him to court. Yeah, I think so too. Do you think so?
Yeah, but in the meantime, get it fixed. And the reason he can't warranty it is he never bought
it in the first place. Oh, man. I think so. That could well be. That could well be. I like that
scenario too. I like it the best. But take it to another shop, ask them to diagnose it and then
have them put it on the lift and ask them if, in their opinion, both axles were replaced and then
ask them what the warranty is from the manufacturer on the axles that they sell. And I bet they're
all buying it from the same place. And if he bought a rebuilt axle for this, there's more than a two
month warranty on it. Yeah, absolutely. You got taken. Yeah. It's a bad day in cold chester.
It sure is. Dang skippy. Dang skippy it is. Dang skippy. See ya, Ben. Good luck, Ben.
Thanks, guys. See you later.
1-888-CAR-TALK or 1-888-227-8255. Hello, you're on CAR-TALK. Hi, guys. I'm Scott
Rice from Grover Beach, California. Hi, Scott. Grover Beach? Yeah, known to some as Groovy
Beach. Groovy Beach. In what state? California. Where is Groovy Beach? Well, you probably know
Pismo Beach better. We are like the little brother of Pismo Beach. No kidding. What's a Pismo?
It's a little thing on the end of your watch. No, that's a gizmo. I don't know.
All right, Scott. What's up? Well, what I got is what I thought was a good deal.
My stepmom's uncle had passed away and he had an 85 Chrysler LeBaron with only 70,000 miles on it.
What year? 85. 85. Yeah, I'm visualizing it. Okay, yeah. Visualize and now take it down a notch.
Is this one of the ones with a turbo? Yes. Yeah. 4-cylinder turbo. All the
bopping power you could ever want. Well, we happen to know a guy that owns one of these.
Yeah, we do. I'm sorry. Yeah. He's our father. Right. He loves it. He bought it on my brother's
recommendation. My father, I thought it was your father. So go ahead. So how about it? What about it?
So here's what it is. You get on the freeway and it's kind of like when you have the air
conditioner turned on and you can literally feel it click on and off with the power in the car.
Yes. It does this all the time except for more times than not. It's clicked in the
no power mode but the air conditioner is not on. Oh. It gets better. If you drop it into
second gear when you're trying to come up the on ramp onto the freeway, you'll get up to about 45
miles per hour and then it flattens out. When you refer to the click, is this an actual click
or are you imagining that? I can feel it and hear it. I suspect that when it's done one of its
clicks and I don't know whether there's a negative or positive click that the turbo isn't working.
Let's call one of them a click and the other one a clock. So when it clicks in, the turbo must be
working and you should feel that. I mean that's a very distinct kick in the rear end. Yeah.
But I understood you to say that there are times click or no click when you stop on that gas pedal
and the car doesn't go. Right. When you stop on the pedal, that turbo should always kick in.
Right. So I'd have to conclude that the turbo isn't always working. Yeah. And you don't want to
replace the turbo, Scott. No. No. Too much, huh? Oh, yeah. Oh no. Big money. What else would you
be interested in driving? Did you take the car scope? I gotta go to car scope. You gotta go to
car scope. I've got to figure out exactly when to sell this car though because the trunk leaks.
You know, we gotta sell it when it's not raining. During the dry season. Yeah. Yeah. Dry season in
California, that's most of the time. And I guess make sure I park it on an uphill on the top of
the hill so the downhill, it seems like it's got a lot of power. Right. And then you should be looking
for, forget the car scope, you don't need it. You need a nice 87 or 88 Dodge Cold Vista with one of
those wonderful Mitsubishi engines. Yeah. They're great, man. They last forever. Good luck, Scott.
Well, so your big advice for me is get rid of it. Get rid of it because I think the turbo is kaput.
Got it. And I don't think you want to replace it. All right. Good luck. Thanks guys. Bye bye.
All right. Do you remember Tommy last week's puzzler? All right, just give me one little hint.
Well, I will. It has to do with something I said about somebody's mother. Oh,
you didn't insult the chairman of the FCC again by the chance. No, I didn't. But I'll have the
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Hi, we're back. You're listening to Car Talk with us. Click and clack the
Tapper Brothers and we're here to talk about cars, car repair and the answer to last week's
historic puzzler. And here it is. Which of the following presidents' mothers by her own admission
would say that she did not vote for her own son when he ran for the presidency of the United States?
What kind of a mother would not vote for her own son? And what were the choices?
John Fitzgerald Kennedy? Well, Rose might not have voted for her own son. William Jefferson
Clinton? Didn't know he had a mother. He does? Or Thomas? You didn't know that was his first name?
I did know that. He did? I know everyone whose name is Thomas.
Thomas Woodrow Wilson? Yeah. And I did give a hint that my teenage son, who was a brilliant student,
did not know the answer. Did not get it because it's out of his time frame. Yeah. And the answer is
Woodrow Wilson. And not because... She didn't like him. Woody's mother didn't like him. It's,
believe it or not, for all you youngsters out there, until 1920, women were not allowed to vote
in this country. No. And because Wilson's term ended before women had the right to vote,
she could not have legally voted for her own son. 1920? 1920, I believe, is when women,
yes, got the right to vote. 1920! What barbarians! I mean, what kind of a democracy is this? All men
are created equal. Well, that's not women. Well, and that's exactly what the Constitution said,
all men. All men, it said that. And it's specific parenthesis. Not women. Hey, Mabel, what do you
think you're going? Who's our winner this week? Wow! The winner is Lou Shirley. And only judging
from the handwriting, we named Lou, L-U, is female. Oh yeah, for like Lulu. Lulu, yeah. She's from
either Papillon or Papillon, Nebraska, and for having her answer selected at random from among
the thousands of correct answers that we got, Lulu is going to get a copy of our brand new CD
about fathers and cars called Why You Should Never Listen to Your Father When It Comes to Cars.
The thesis of this collection, by the way, is that 98% of the world's misinformation about cars
comes from fathers. The other 2% comes from who? From us. We provide ample evidence of both
in Why You Should Never Listen to Your Father When It Comes to Cars. Anyway, we'll have a new
automotive? No. Non-automotive? No. Yeah. Quasi-automotive. You missed. No. We haven't had quasi-automotive.
This puzzle, if you remember, back to last puzzler season. Yeah. This is another in the series of the
famous string puzzles. That'll be coming up in the third half of today's show. Hey,
do you know what it's time for? Time to go shopping for my Ray Suarez Halloween mask? No, no, no. The
one you're wearing is scary, you know. It's time to play Stump the Chumps.
Stump the Chumps is that portion of our program where we bring back a previous caller and find
out just how bad the injuries were. That's right. So who's this week's chump stumper? Well,
the little card here says it's John from Gloversville, New York, which I believe thought was the place
where Orson Welles did the World of the Whales thing, and it isn't. No. John is back with a 1990
Volkswagen Golf that he recently bought from his sister. His sister? That's a stupid idea. Wait,
what's done is done. Apparently, it pulls to the right when he's going uphill. I remember this call
and pulls to the left when he's going downhill or straight away. Remember that? I remember,
this guy had a so completely stumped, we had to go on a bit of a fishing expedition.
It's been doing this ever since you got it from your sister. That weird sister of yours?
Now, let's not get too far into my sister. But yeah, it's been doing that pretty much
ever since I got it. Just because we have a weird sister doesn't mean that everyone does.
No, I've got a great sister. She took very good care of it. Did your sister ever have an accident
with the car? No, he said she never had an accident. She didn't tell him about it. No,
that she's right. I mean, does your sister tell you all the accidents she has? She's got a brand
new car. One day, she says, it's funny, you know, those those extra driving list that I had in the
front. They're not dragging on the pavement. They're dragging on the ground. And I said to her,
oh, how did that happen? What did you hit? Hit? I don't know. They just fell out.
Hey, if John's sister is anything like our sister, she probably just forgot to mention
the time that the tree jumped out in front of the car. She's driving along. trees do that.
So our best guess for John was an accident. We figured that if the golf was in an accident,
that would explain the pulling in the different directions thing. So we're basically accusing
his sister of wrecking the car and then selling it to him under false pretenses. Is that what our
position was? Yeah, basically. All right, John, are you there? I'm here. All right. Before you tell
us that your sister is suing us for defamation of character and lost income from the sale of her
used car, we have to be sure that this is on the up and up. Can you confirm for us, please, John,
that since your last appearance on car talk, you have not been contacted by any members of our
staff, the staff of National Public Radio or the National Association of Sibling Rivalry or
Ray Suarez. That is absolutely correct. All right. Did you go right out and accuse your sister
of cracking up the car? No, guys, I got to confess here. Confession is appropriate. I actually
work as a pastor here in Gleversville, but the car was actually involved in an accident that
totally slipped my mind. You're going to love this. I was involved in the accident, too.
And you forgot, having a little senior moment, were we? Exactly. I was in the passenger seat.
My brother re-rendered my sister. In a rented Cadillac. You're going to love the
the front of the Cadillac was destroyed. The golf had only had a little dent. It had to have
the bumper replaced. And you thought that's all that happened to the golf until now. Exactly.
Now you're finding out that the whole frame is no longer square. It's a parallelogram.
You're never going to be able to get... Better that than a trapezoid, but yeah.
Better that than a trapezoid, but you're never going to get it to track right.
So have you had anyone look at it? No, I didn't have anyone look at it since we talked.
Sounds a little dangerous to me, John. I know you have a special connection with the big one up
there, but the big guy. You might have to use it sooner than you think. So I mean, I would really
have someone look at it. It's possible if the frame is really even a trapezoid. It might be
possible to straighten it out. Okay. And if that's the case, I would really do it. And it's not
going to cost thousands of dollars to do that. It's going to cost hundreds. And if the handling is
really that squirrely, it could be dangerous. So you should get it fixed. I'll definitely check it.
Thanks for playing Stump the Chumps. And for being so honest with us. Of course,
you would be honest. Man of the cloth. I mean, of course, what else would we expect?
We didn't even know that. Thanks, John. Thank you guys very much.
Bye-bye. Now, if you want to take the first step toward being on Stump the Chumps,
you have to call us because you can't be on again unless you were on once. That's right.
My definition, you can't be on a second time unless you are what? The first time. There you go.
And that number is 1-888-CAR-TALK. That's 1-888-227-8285. Hello, you're on CAR-TALK.
This is Susan from Utah. How are you? Susan from Utah. We're about to Utah.
Escalante, Utah. Escalante, you know? That's elevator, right? Or escalator.
Yeah. No, it's a language that the whole world is Esperanto. Escalante, Esperanto. What's the
difference? In Esperanto, anywhere. In Esperanto, anything works. If you can sort of figure it out
knowing nothing, then like escalante would certainly be an escalator. In Esperanto.
Or a person who likes to climb mountains. Yeah. Or a climber. A climber. Escalante.
Yeah. No, that would be an escalantadora. Escalantador.
Escalantador. Tu es un escalantador? No, I'm Swedish.
Isn't that sad? All right. Well, Susan, you've used up all your time.
So it's sad to say. So what's up, Susan? I have an 86 Toyota Tursale.
Runs like a dream. Yeah, they all do. Except it makes a pump, pump, pump, pump, pump noise that
has come up recently that I thought might be tires that I realized that the pump noise was not
consistent with the speed of the tires. Is it like three times the speed of the tires?
No, the tire goes faster. So the tires are going boom, boom, boom, boom, and this noise is going
boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Yeah. Oh man, does this make it hard? Oh, well, go ahead. Your dime.
So that's the only problem and I don't know what it is. And of course you haven't taken it to anyone.
No, not an escalante. No. Well, I don't even know where escalante Esperanto is, but
but did the noise appear all of a sudden? Yeah. Well, it always does. Was it? I mean,
I was on a lot of dirt roads. All noises appear all of a sudden because prior to them, they're not
noises. Well, no, some noises start out, you say, oh, that's what that used to be. That's what that
tires. I can't remember, can you? No, no, no, I can't. It wasn't when I bought them, but I had,
when I bought the car, there were a bunch of tires with a car, so I finally went about two
months ago and said, pick the four best tires, leave me a spare, and put the four best tires on.
Does it sound like it's coming from one of the front wheels? Yes. Okay, good, because I think I
know what it is. Do you? Thank goodness. And I don't agree, by the way, whatever he says. Oh yeah,
you're going to agree. I'm not going to agree. You're going to say, oh, all right, okay, go ahead.
Brilliant. Yeah. You have a bad wheel bearing. I knew you were going to say that. And what you have
is one spalled, spelled S-P-A-L-L-E-D, ball bearing. Yeah. And one of those front wheels, and I'm going
to guess it's the right front wheel. Yeah. I think that's what it is. You should have your
mechanic throw it up on the lift. And unfortunately, in order to replace this, to look at this bearing,
you must destroy it. Yeah. So you can never prove that it was good. Well, you can. After the fact
you can, when you put it all together and the noise is gone. Well, is it something that I could take?
Are they expensive? Could I buy one in Salt Lake City where the car is now? Take it down to a person
in Escalani who might be able to do that? Well, you better check first to make sure he can do it.
Because it requires a press, a hydraulic press to press the bearings onto the hub.
And I mean, what? Which any? Are you the only one that lives in Escalani? I mean, how much of a one
horse town is this? One horse. Oh, there are many houses. There are many horses. They just aren't very
many people. No, I think this is a job you need to have done in Salt Lake. Okay. Yeah. I would take it.
It would be a lot safer there. Okay. You guys are wonderful. Well, you won't think so when you are
on Stump the Chumps in a couple of weeks. See you, Susan. Good luck, Susan. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.
All right. It's time to take a short break. Yes. And when we come back, my brother will
hold us spellbound with this week's new puzzle. I will. Yeah. We'll be back in a minute.
This is Ira Glass. On This American Life, we tell stories about when things change.
Like for this guy, David, his entire life took a sharp,
unexpected, and very unpleasant turn. And it did take me a while to realize
it's basically because the monkey pressed the button. That's right. Because the monkey pressed
the button. Sprising stories every week, wherever you get your podcasts.
AI data centers use a lot of electricity. And you may be paying for it. I think it's almost
inevitable that ordinary people are going to end up subsidizing the wealthiest industry in the world.
On the latest Planet Money podcast, how data centers might be hijacking your electric bill.
Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
This holiday season, the team at a first is still hard at work with all new episodes,
but the news does not take a holiday. And we know it's harder than ever to keep up this time of year.
Listen for three essential stories in under 15 minutes. Get caught up and get on with your day.
Up first, listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Ha, we're back. You're listening to car talk with us. Click and clack the Tapper brothers.
And we're here to discuss cars, car repair, and the new puzzler. Now, as promised, this is the
second in the series of two of string puzzles. You may remember. You might refer to it as string
theory almost. You could. You could. Yeah, you could. And will the story here be spellbinding
as you promised? Riveting. Riveting. Like blue jeans. Riveting. No, really. You may remember
the other puzzler in the spring regarding string. Two pieces of string and burn something. There
you go. Time goes by. You have two pieces of string and each of them will, if you light one end,
will burn up in an hour's period of time. Right. Okay. But at an unpredictable rate. At an unpredictable
nonlinear rate. So you can't say, OK, look, I'm going to cut the thing in half and light one
piece of it and that's going to burn up in half. And all you know is that from beginning to end,
the burn time is an hour. Got you. Okay. And the old puzzler was, how could you measure
15 minute period of time? And you did so by lighting three ends at once. Three. It's only got two
ends. It's one piece of string. No, you have two pieces of string. Two pieces of string. Got it.
The first piece burns up in half an hour. Okay. And it's lighting from both ends. Both ends. Okay.
The second piece burns for obviously a half an hour because it's what lit at the same time
to the other two ends. And then what you do is you light the fourth end as soon as the first
two flame fronts have met. Boom. And that's 15 minutes. And there you go. Okay. That's good.
That's good. And a lot of people got the answer to that. Sure. Okay. I like it too. So now you're
armed with the same two pieces of string. Yeah. You're a zippo lighter. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And
that's it. And the question is, how do you measure six minutes? Six minutes. Yeah. In other words,
I want you to tell me you might be cooking an egg. And that would be important. How could you
tell me, okay. Boom. Right now, six minutes has elapsed from the right. Okay. All right. All right.
You got it? You got it? We get it. If you think you know the answer, write it on the back of a
$20 bill or a block of Parmesan cheese. Imported. Yeah. And send it to Puzzler Tower, Car Talk Plaza,
Box 3500, Harvard Square, Cambridge. Our first city. Matt 02238. Or of course,
you can email your answer from the Car Talk section of cars.com. 1-888-CAR-TALK. That's 888-227-8255.
Lawyer on Car Talk. This is Mary Ellen in San Diego. Hi, Mary. Mary Ellen. How are you? San Diego.
Yeah. Or a little known suburb of San Diego, La Jolla. Oh, you know, we've heard of it. We've
heard of it. And my brother and I were supposed to go to La Jolla some years ago and have lunch
on the pier. On the pier? Yeah. There's no pier. That's why we didn't go. Well, maybe we did go.
We couldn't find the pier when we went back. Maybe that was Santa Monica. I don't know. It was one
of those laws, something or other. I don't know. One of those places in La Jolla land. Oh, God. Is it
La Jolla or Lola? La, La. La Jolla. Because it ends in A. Yes. Of course. La Mesa. La Mesa. We have
La Mesa, too, here in San Diego. Yeah, I know that. Yeah. Oh, you know this area. And you have a Mesa Grande.
And you have the dining room Mesa. That's it. And the kitchen Mesa. And the kitchen Mesa.
Doesn't anyone screen these calls? And you could have a Mesa on the dining room Mesa.
You guys have got to give your number a little more slowly because I call the wrong number and I got
somebody talking dirty. Really? What was the number? Tell us. You got someone who wants you to pay
to talk dirty to them. Really? For them to talk dirty to you. Was it a male voice or female voice?
It's a female voice. Oh, you got Catherine then. Yeah. I figured that's what got me in. Yeah,
it probably was. So anyway, Mary Ellen, what's the nature of your call? My major problem,
I want you to be on my side and to settle an argument between my husband and me.
We're there. That's good. Okay, we have a daughter who lives 65 miles away with our
only grandchildren and we're up there on that road back and forth every week and sometimes
twice a week and that we have a 95 Camry and we have a 97 Avalon. Both of them have over 35,000
miles and he says these will be our last cars because we're so old we're never going to need
to buy another one. I said, you got to be kidding. He says these cars can go 200,000 miles with no
trouble and we can just drive back and forth and wherever with 200,000 miles on this car on these
cars and I'm saying I'm getting a new one when it gets around 70 or 75,000 because there's 17 miles
there where there's nothing but marine helicopters and tanks doing war games and that sort of thing
and I don't want to break down there. No, or anywhere actually. Sure, but especially there.
How old's your husband? He's 72. He's old. I'm only 71. I'm not that old. Oh, you don't sound that
old. So you're going to live another 20 years. Well, that's what I'm hoping. Oh, easy. Easy,
breathing that nice clean air out there and enjoying the sunshine. So how many miles a year do you
drive? Well, twice a week you drive 150 miles. That's 300 over 15,000. Yeah. 15,000 miles a year.
Right. And you got two cars in which to do it. So you can alternate. Right. That's what he does.
Well, wait a minute. The Camry, which is yours. No, the Avalon is mine. Oh, excuse me. Of course.
Okay. So the Avalon is the one you've been taking more recently on these trips when you have been
using the Camry. Right. And then we got, then we started got the Avalon and we kept using that
until we caught up to the Camry. Ah, so now you're going to alternate so the both of them will have
exactly the same mileage on them. I get the idea now. Well, that's his idea. I think we ought to
keep one. So if you were able to get 200,000 miles out of, that's only a... Well, I just did a quick
calculation. If you use both of these cars for your driving, you keep both of them. Uh-huh.
In order to get to 200,000, you're both going to have to live to be 107 and a half. Yeah. Oh,
you did it already. Well, I think so. I made it up, but I think it's close. Yeah. I think he's
right that you, that these could be your last cars. But it is, it is a lugubrious thought.
Isn't it to say this is my last car? Geez, that's kind of depressing, isn't it? It's not depressing.
No, because you can spend all the rest of them on you and thinking of spending on trips to Hawaii.
Well, that's, that's kind of what he says, except, uh, yeah, he wants to spend them on
trips everywhere, but not to Hawaii necessarily. No, because why would you want to go to Paradise
sooner? I said he could keep his for 200,000 miles. Our minds are going to be
on the way out at around 75. Well, unfortunately, you, you have two cars which have a pretty good
record. Right. And, and a good chance to make it to 200,000. Yeah. I mean, if you have an avalanche
or a camera, you get a good shot at getting 200,000 miles out of both of them. But trouble-free,
not breaking down. Oh, no, no, no. Trouble-free, but I mean, it's always better to have almost a
brand new car. Yeah. But toward the end there, don't forget, when you're in your 90s, you're not
going to be driving twice a week to see your daughter. We're not going to be doing that anymore.
Because the grandchildren are going to be 50. Yeah, don't forget, the grandkids are going to be
driving, they're going to be flying in their own private little helicopter is down to see you.
Right. And you, I don't think you have to make any decisions right now because you're certainly,
your, your estimate of 75,000 is way, way too conservative. 75,000, both of these cars is
practically brand new. Really? Oh, yeah. Yeah. However, there is, there is another approach here.
And there is hope, Mary Ellen. Hope for the new car. Yes. There are many unfortunate automobile
accidents every year. And if your car should happen to have one of these accidents, if you lent it
to somebody or it happened to slide into the lake sometime, things happen. You forget to
put the thing in park. And the next thing you know, it's in the lake. Well, maybe I'll drive
right on that pier in La Jolla. Yeah, the pier. Exactly. Hey, we thought it was there. You could
say you thought it was there too. Before I knew it. It could be a senior moment. You could say,
well, there used to be a pier. What happened to the pier? Not in my lifetime. So I would, I would
say go to 100,000 and you can do that certainly not with no repairs. And you'll have to replace
things. But the likelihood of you breaking down on that stretch of no man's land will be very low,
even at 100,000 miles, assuming that you keep the cars well maintained. Yeah. But I don't
like his plan of alternating. Then you end up with two cars, both of which have high mileage on
them at the same time. I told him that. You were right on that one. Use one of them. Good. And
put all the miles on that one. When that one gets to a point where it starts to have things wrong
with it, you switch to the other one. Yeah. And you have to buy a new car because the one with
all the breakdowns has to be replaced. There you go. Oh, well, that's very good. So I would
definitely pick one. I would take the Avalon. You would. That's a nice big comfortable car.
Would you use it just for trips back and forth or would you use it around town too?
I'd use it everywhere. Everywhere. Yeah. You want to get as many miles on it as possible.
So then when it gets up to like 125, you can say, Wilbur, he says, yes, dear. You say,
we're going to buy a new car. He says, whatever you say, hon. Okay. That's why I do that now.
My wife says, we're going to buy a new car. No, whatever you say, hon. Oh, yeah, right.
My wife now has me saying yes, dear. Yeah. And it's working. It's working. I'm getting you. I
kind of like it. Oh, that's nice. It saves a lot of problems. It sure does. No more arguments.
Whatever she says, I just say, yes, dear. Say a merry out. Maybe. I don't know. Bye. Bye. Bye.
Well, you've wasted another perfectly good hour listening to car talk. Our esteemed producer
has dug the subway fugitive and that case is still on the books. Yeah, it is. Oh, one of these
days, I don't think there's any statue of limitations. Statue? Statue. Of limitations on
what he did. That's what grandma used to answer when she answered the phone. How a statue?
The subway fugitive, Berman, our social producer is Ken, the diaper slayer, Rogers.
Our assistant producer is Frau Catherine Fenolosa. Our engineer is, did you hear something?
Our engineer is Dennis de Menesfoli. Our senior Web Blackie is Doug Sheepboy, Mayor,
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And our director of sickle-fantic activity is Eileen Yourway, and our chief counsel from the
law firm of Dewey Cheatham and Hawes U. Lewis Dewey, known to the ASPCA as Huey Louie Dewey.
Thanks so much for listening. We're clicking clack to tap the brothers. Don't drive like my
brother. Don't drive like my brother. We'll be back next week. Bye-bye.
And now, here is Car Talk Plaza's chief mechanic, Mr. Vinnie Gumbaz.
Hey, thank you very much. Now, if you're listening out there, I want to copy this
year's show, which is number 43. Just pick up your phone and call this number, 1-888-CADJUNK.
And what if I wanted the new Car Talk CD, you know, why you should never listen to your father
when it comes to cars? Why call that same number, Vinnie?
No, you'd call Good King Wenceslas, you dope. Of course, you'll call the same number. You'll
call the Shameless Commerce Division at 888-CADJUNK, or visit it online at the Car Talk
section of Cars.com, you know. Thank you, Vinnie. I enjoyed that little seminar
extremely very much. Hey, seminar this, will you pal?
Car Talk is a production of Dewey Cheatham and Hawes and WBUR in Boston.
And even though a little trick or treat is scream when they hear us say it,
this is NPR, National Public Radio.
As we say goodbye to 2025, our reporters are looking back at some of the most memorable
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About this episode
Ray and Tom tackle a variety of listener calls, sharing their signature humor and questionable car advice. A memorable story involves a driver losing his cell phone after making an obscene gesture, leading to a discussion on road rage and karma. The brothers also dive into car troubles, including a listener's Volkswagen Fox with CV joint issues and another's Chrysler LeBaron with turbo problems. They emphasize the importance of warranties and consumer rights while keeping the conversation light and entertaining.
