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Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor - August 16, 2025 - Hour 2 - Florida Heat, Maine Winters & A Single Mom’s Daily Grind - (855)560-9900 24/7 Hotline
Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor - August 16, 2025 - Hour 2 - Florida Heat, Maine Winters & A Single Mom’s Daily Grind - (855)560-9900 24/7 Hotline
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About this episode
Ron Ananian tackles listener questions about vehicle maintenance and reliability, focusing on tire pressure and brake issues. A caller from Florida discusses the nuances of tire pressure in hot climates, while another from Maine shares concerns about premature brake wear on a Toyota Prius. Ron provides insights on proper tire inflation and the importance of checking brake components. He also emphasizes the need for diagnostic checks before replacing parts. The episode highlights practical advice for everyday car problems, making it relatable for listeners facing similar issues.
Topics:
tire pressure
brake wear
Toyota Prius issues
diagnostic checks
regional vehicle maintenance
cooling system problems
used car buying advice
vehicle reliability
maintenance tips
Cars:
Ford Escape
Honda Accord
Honda CR-V
Porsche Cayman
Toyota Camry
Toyota Highlander
Toyota MR2
Toyota Prius
Toyota RAV4
From Florida heat to Maine winters to a single mom’s daily grind—this week’s Car Doctor covers it all. Tom from Lakeland asks if tire pressure should follow the placard or the sidewall in the Florida heat. Paul in Maine is burning through Prius rear brakes, and Ron explains the factory fix every Prius owner should know. Then Alicia from Illinois, with 227k miles on her Ford Escape, wonders if it’s time to repair or replace. Ron delivers practical tips, industry insights, and honest advice that every driver can use.
Keywords: tire pressure tips in hot weather, Toyota Prius rear brake wear, Ford Escape overheating and AC failure, K-Seal head gasket sealer, certified pre-owned car buying advice.
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Grab your Car Doctor gear – T-shirts & more at CarDoctorShow.com
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Follow the wrench – Instagram @ronananian for shop life & behind-the-scenes
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Watch & learn – Auto repair tips & videos on our YouTube Channel
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Got a car question? Call the Car Doctor Hotline 24/7 – (855) 560-9900
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Filter:
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Technical
Too Afraid to Ask
Car
Toyota MR2
"...y and stuff like that. And my friend has a Toyota MR2 and he takes it down Woodward Avenue. Yeah."
Car
Porsche Cayman
"...e this guy I read about who bought a 2020 Porsche Cayman GT for on eBay. It was well loved."
Car
Toyota Prius
"... Paul. I'm calling in reference to my 2012 Toyota Prius. I've already used within a year's time rear roto..."
Car
Honda Crv
"work for you? Does a little Honda CRV work something, you know, and, and, and something..."
Car
Ford Escape
"...g with Alicia out of Illinois about her 2013 Ford Escape. Alicia, so far what I'm saying makes sense to yo..."
Car
Honda Accord
"...er, a Toyota Camry has a good track record. Honda Accords, Honda CRVs. Right. Toyota Highlanders, RAV4s."
Car
Toyota Highlander
"Honda Accords, Honda CRVs. Right. Toyota Highlanders, RAV4s. All all vehicles with good track records."
Car
Toyota RAV4
"...a Accords, Honda CRVs. Right. Toyota Highlanders, RAV4s. All all vehicles with good track records."
Select text to request an explanation
This is an iHeart podcast.
You're listening to Ron Nainian, the car doctor, nationally-recognized auto expert, trusted
by mechanics, weekend wrenches, and vehicle owners alike.
Ron brings over 40 years of hands-on experience and deep industry insight to help you understand
your vehicle.
Join the conversation live every Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern by calling 855-560-9900.
That's 855-560-9900, your direct line to honest answers and practical advice.
Looking for more?
Visit cardoctorshow.com for past episodes, repair tips, and Ron's latest insights.
And be sure to subscribe to the Car Doctor YouTube channel for exclusive videos, real
repair footage, and more.
Now, start your engines.
The car doctor is in the garage and ready to take your call.
Let's go to Lakeland, Florida.
I got a feeling this is my buddy Tom.
He's my new best friend from Lakeland, Florida.
He called in at a different time.
We're talking about Amsoil and Mobile One.
I got a feeling he's got a different question.
Now, Tom, what's bothering you today?
Well, it's about tire pressure.
And you know I'm in a heated climate.
Right.
You're in Florida.
Is it...
Are you calling...
Is it nighttime now, or are you on the enclosed...
Are you in the enclosed porch you were telling me about when we were off air there
a little while ago?
Yes, I am.
Now, what happens if you're not in the enclosed porch?
Are there alligators, Tom?
No, I'd be in my house.
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
See, that's why I can't live in Florida.
I can't live in Florida when there's something outside that would eat me.
Well, in Lakeland, alligators are a little bit further away.
All right.
Okay.
I'll believe you.
I'll take your word for it.
You're not in the jungle.
Right.
I'll take your word for it.
So, what's going on with tire pressure, Tom?
Let's go back to that.
The manufacturer says 30 PSI, but my tire recommend, you know, says the maximum is 44 PSI.
Okay.
Where are you looking?
Where does it say 44?
On the tire.
On the tire.
And where does it say 30?
Yes.
On the manufacturer decal on the door pillar.
On the door pillar.
Right.
Yes.
Right.
So, what's going on with the manufacturer calls for now a couple of a couple of ways this changes.
I've seen people, they will take and put an incorrect tire on the car.
What do I mean by that?
They'll put the right size, but it will be the incorrect load rating or speed rating.
And that can affect how the vehicle handles stability, tire wear, traction and so on.
So, as long as you have correct tire size, whatever it is, 205, 55, 16, load range or speed rating
T, and if the placard says 30, even though the tire says maximum pressure 44, and you notice
it says maximum, right?
If it says maximum pressure 44, you want to go by the 30 that's on the door placard.
Would I bump it up two pounds?
Sure.
I might make it 32.
How does the car ride?
All right.
I might play with that a little bit to see if I get a little bit better traction, a little
bit better handling, depending upon what kind of vehicle we're riding in.
My plow truck, I've got a 22 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD, and when I plow with it, I'll run
50 pounds in the front, 72 pounds in the back, but when I plow, I'll drop the rear
tires at least 10 pounds, probably closer to 15, and put some weight in the back
and I'll get a little bit better traction, but I'll pump the fronts up because they're
carrying the weight of the plow, and the plow weighs 1500 pounds.
So it's a guide, it's recommended, but there are times that you will play with tire
pressure.
But in the heat of Florida, wouldn't you want to keep the PSI lower?
Well, so let's understand this, all right?
When do you put the air in the tire?
All right.
What's the temperature swing?
What was the temperature swing in Lakeland today?
Where did it start and where did it end?
93 to 82.
It went from where?
93 to 82?
Yes.
That's a one-pound change.
Okay.
So if they're calling for 30, I would have put 31 depending if I did it later in the
day when it was warmer out, and it's going to fluctuate, it'll drop the 30 when it
cools off.
Well, I'm an old truck driver for 40 years in delivering and all that kind of good
stuff.
Right.
And we always do like PM and on the tires and stuff before we left.
Right.
So we always make sure that it was that when it was cold, you checked your PSI.
Right.
That's right.
But now keep in mind, let's talk about the Northeast.
This is why I always say auto repair is a national event with regional consequences.
In New Jersey, all right?
You bring me your car in New Jersey in July and I change the oil.
I'll bring it from the outside where it's 103 degrees and I bring it into my air
conditioned shop and it goes up on the rack.
Oh, yeah, Ron's in air conditioning all day.
Let's not even go there.
Let's not even have that conversation.
So you couldn't imagine me in Florida, all right?
I'd have to be able to hang meat in the shop in order to ... And that's a whole
another conversation.
All right?
But I'll bring that car in.
We will do tire pressure on a car that comes in for an oil change in July within the first
eight to 10 minutes.
We make sure we do it early because we want to catch the temperature outside.
We want to let it stabilize a little bit inside and then send it back out the door.
But in three months, July, August, September, we get to the end of September.
We've got October.
What happens in October?
We start to get frost warnings, right?
We start to get cold.
And my point is all cars, regardless of whether or not they've got tire pressure monitoring
systems on them or not, all cars, and if you read any manufacturer's owner's manual,
it still tells you the same thing.
Check your tires at least once a month from fancy to simple, from old to new.
The science, the laws of physics are still the same.
And guess what?
Very few people do.
I have a tire gauge by my side driver's door.
Yeah.
But because you're a retired over-the-road trucker, you understand the value of tire pressure.
You get it.
Yeah.
Right?
Most people do not because they're very just, they're oblivious.
There's no other way to say it.
Okay.
All right, sir?
Ron, I enjoy your show and you're very knowledgeable in your credit to society.
Oh, listen, Tom, I appreciate that.
I'm just, you know, I'm, you know, well, look, I'm just, I'm just, I'm just a lucky mechanic
that got a radio show and I just, just trying to help everybody.
But I appreciate the comments.
I really do.
If you ever want to come down to spring training, call me and I'll put you up.
Are there alligators?
Will I be in an enclosure?
No, you'll be at Lakeland Stadium watching Detroit Tigers.
Okay.
You will do that.
Oh, I forgot to tell you, I'm from Detroit.
Okay.
Oh, then I'm going to have to, I'm going to have to call you back.
I'm sure we can get some Detroit street racing stories out of you.
Yes, we can.
Yeah.
I'm sure.
So did the factory really come out at night, Tom?
Let me do it right now.
Did the factory really come out at night?
Do you recall the 60s, the 70s, the 80s?
You sound like you're of that generation or of that ilk.
Did they really?
Oh, yeah.
I'm ordering you, bro.
Yeah.
Did they, did they, did they really come out?
Yeah.
You know, the stories are guys like the Lorian would come out at, you know, midnight and go
street racing down, down Woodward and.
It's pretty close.
Yeah.
It's pretty close.
I'm in the city.
I'm a downtown guy, so yeah, it's close.
Yeah.
A lot of, a lot of things that don't happen now, you know, a very, a very different
culture.
So.
Yeah.
We're not cruising down, well, in Detroit would be Woodward Ab or do you know.
Right.
Woodward Ab was the big cruise, right?
Yes, sir.
It was.
Yeah.
It still is.
How many, how many cars do you think was, was there on Woodward in the heyday and a night?
100, 100, 200, 500?
I would have to say more than 400.
Really?
Yeah.
I mean, because we had this little strip from downtown Woodward up to Pontiac and
you had a burger joint, you know, where everybody would be and they still do, I think, coming
up now or maybe I missed it, but they had that Woodward strip going on.
And they're still doing the cruise.
Well, listen, there's a lot of.
Yeah.
I got a friend, I got a lot of friends still in Michigan, family and stuff like that.
And my friend has a Toyota MR2 and he takes it down Woodward Avenue.
Yeah.
I don't know if I could, I don't know how cool I'd feel cruising Woodward with my elbow
out the window, but I guess.
I think you'd fit in.
I'd probably enjoy it regardless.
Yeah.
Where you're at in New Jersey?
Yeah.
My daughter lives in, I think it's called West New York City.
Yeah.
She's over, she's over in Union County over by the, by New York City and the river.
Yeah.
She works for the company called Amazon.
I've heard of them.
Yeah.
I can't meet you.
No.
Hey, Tom, I got it.
I got to go.
You and I, you and I could chat all day.
It's like, it's like old home week.
So.
I'll listen to the program at six o'clock in Lakeland.
We appreciate that, Tom.
We appreciate you.
You be well, my friend.
I appreciate the knowledge.
Oh, well, thank you.
I got to go, Tom.
I really do.
All right.
You be well.
Bye-bye.
I'm Ron and Annie in the car doctor.
We'll be back right after this.
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Lately, car buying has become a pretty dull experience.
But on eBay, behind every car and part is a story waiting to be shared.
Like this guy I read about who bought a 2020 Porsche Cayman GT for on eBay.
It was well loved.
I mean, there are plenty of Caymans in great condition on eBay.
But this one needed some work.
That's just the start of the story.
So after this guy gets a great deal on his dream car, he rebuilds the whole thing with
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Next thing you know, this nearly scrapped Cayman was out there on the track as a
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Welcome back.
Let's do an email.
And I tried doing this via phone.
I actually called Paul.
Or we called Paul.
I know that we called him back because, and let me take a moment and mention this
again.
8-5-0-9-9-0-0 or 24-7 phone number during the week, odd hours, whatever.
Leave a message.
We're not on the air.
We're on the air Saturdays, two to four PM Eastern time.
We tell you this all the time.
Well, if you call and leave a message at 8-5-5-5-6-0-9-9-0-0, like Paul did, we will call you back.
Paul didn't get the memo though because we called him back to get him on the air
and I'm not sure if we got through to him.
So in any event, I want to answer his question knowing the hopes that he's listening because
he's a regular listener, he says, hey, Ron, my name is Paul.
I'm calling in reference to my 2012 Toyota Prius.
I've already used within a year's time rear rotors twice and brake pads.
I'm using ceramic brake pads and the product I'm using is Powerstock.
My question is why are my rear brakes running out so quickly?
I didn't think it would.
I believe I'm buying high quality brake pads.
I don't know if I should do this myself or just have a
mechanic do all four rotors.
I don't know how we got to rotors from rear brake pads, Paul.
And let me stop there for a second.
If you're only doing rear pads and not rear rotors, depending upon what the rotors look
like, especially the interface, because after all, this is main, right?
We know there's a high salt content there and there could be issues.
We want to be sure that what we're doing, we've got a good smooth, clean surface rotor
to work from that.
It'll do the job it's supposed to do.
So by all means, if you have to put rotors on it is what I'm trying to say nicely.
Don't just try and save some money.
Rotors are mandatory.
It's don't do a pad slap.
Because just doing a pad slap, if the rotors are beat up or rotted or rusted, that can
cause an issue for you premature pad where it happens all the time.
But that isn't where I think we're going here, but I just want to mention that, all right?
You then go on to say, I don't think I should do this myself or have a mechanic do all four
rotors, getting them all done at once.
I'm just simply baffled as to why I'm going through rear brake pads.
What you say, and rotors in the rear one, my front rotors, I've been good for well
over and you give a date.
I hate to replace them.
That's all okay.
And then he gives me his phone number and he lives in Madison, Maine.
Paul, first of all, all right?
If you're listening, get a look at Toyota Bulletin and this Bulletin came out a long time
ago.
All right?
Get a look at Toyota TSB 0248-12 and it talks about uneven wear and accelerated wear on rear
brake pads on this generation Prius.
And they go on to talk about things that you might have to do with measurement and
to see what runout might be.
But they also mentioned the fact that there is an updated rear brake pad kit.
And I believe what Toyota did was change the compound.
They changed the material of the pad to compensate for weight distribution on the vehicle.
So you know, first things first, this Bulletin talks about a new design brake pad kit, which
I would assume PowerStop is doing.
PowerStop is a very good brake pad.
We use them all the time in the shop for disclosure.
But I just want to cover the bases.
My obligation is to give you all the information.
The other thing is I'd like to try and diagnose this.
So you know, if you are replacing rear rotors, I'm a little fuzzy about that on your, based
on your email.
But if you're, if you're replacing the rear rotors with the pads, are they being properly
lubricated to the slide pins work?
What kind of condition are the calipers in?
So there's a couple of things you have to think about there.
The other issue is, are the front brakes working?
Because typically the Priuses, we will change two sets of front pads before we even get close
to the rears.
And, and we've got some Priuses out there that are running around with 200,000 miles
on them and original rear brake pads.
So my, my other question becomes, are the front brakes working like they're supposed
to?
You know, if you go out there and hit the brake hard, does the car nose dive?
Does it, does it pull down like it's, like it's going into a hard stop?
You know, something you could do if we were going to diagnose this is to get a thermal
imager, you know, a temp gun, take the car for a ride.
Is it, do we have even temperature on both front rotors?
Is one more than the other?
Do we have any kind of heat?
What sort of heat are we generating?
And you know, it's easy enough, find another car, take it for a ride, measure the
rotor temp and you'll be close.
I mean, it won't be the same as a 12 Prius unless you haven't have a 12 Prius there.
You know, what's known good, known good, known bad, right?
So do we have correct operate operation and application of the front brakes?
So that comes to mind.
And then for that matter, what's the temperature of the rear rotors?
Are the calipers causing the brakes to drag?
So my point becomes, Paul and everybody else, just, just replacing pads and rotors on a
repetitive basis doesn't necessarily get us anywhere.
We've got to do some sort of diagnostic.
We've got to do a few things here to see is, is what we're doing correct?
Do we need to do and think outside the box?
Brake pads and rotors are pretty clear cut.
If you can get them on the vehicle, if you're using a good quality part, if you're lubricating
the caliper slides, lubricating the, the, the pins and the shields and the hardware
that the brake pad sits on, chances are you're doing it right.
Now we've got to start to get into the minutiae.
We've got to get into the little itty bitty, right?
Does the caliper drag?
Does the front brake work?
Does the back work, back brake apply evenly?
So don't assume it's parts.
You've taken it this far.
I encourage you to go further.
And then last but not least, don't rule out that bulletin from Toyota 0248-12.
It's older, but, you know, it's, we've got to look at everything.
Because I always say, don't tell me what's, don't tell me what's bad.
Look for what's good.
If you look for what's good, you'll figure out what's bad.
And what's causing the premature brake wear issue on this 12 Prius.
All right, Paul, I hope that did it for you.
I hope you got something out of that.
If not, call us at 855-560-9900.
And then when we call you, please call us back.
We'd love to chat about this on air if we need to.
But I think this will get you going in the right direction.
I'm Ronan Ani and the car doctor.
I'll be back right after this.
Don't go away.
Car buying has become a pretty dull experience.
But on eBay, behind every car and part, is a story waiting to be shared.
Like this guy I read about who bought a 2020 Porsche Cayman GT4 on eBay.
It was well-loved.
I mean, there are plenty of Caymans in great condition on eBay, but this one needed some
work.
That's just the start of the story.
So after this guy gets a great deal on his dream car, he rebuilds the whole thing
with all these parts he found on eBay.
Performance brakes, suspension, body panels, the works, guaranteed to fit.
Next thing you know, this nearly-scrapped Cayman was out there on the track as a full-blown
race car.
You're ready to go daily driver, your next rest-o-mod, Hello Lotus Elon, and the parts
to finish it.
eBay has thousands of cars and is the largest online selection of vehicle parts
and accessories.
eBay.
Things.
People.
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Hey, we're back.
Let's go to, let's go to Illinois.
Let's go talk to Alicia, 2013 Ford Escaping.
It looks like a multitude of problems.
Alicia, you're talking to the car doctor, Ronanini, and how can I help?
What's going on here?
I've had my car for about a year, and I've had a lot of coolant issues, and
I have a lot of myologies on my car, the used car, and-
Right.
How many miles around this car?
Uh, 227,000 miles.
You're right.
You do have a lot of miles on this car, so, um, okay, so we-
This is my second vehicle.
Right.
Right.
Used car.
Right.
And I need reliable transportation.
My coolant has been going in and out in my AC, and I obviously need transportation because
I'm long.
Right.
So-
I knew you were a mom.
I could tell by the sound of your voice you were a mom.
You're a single mom, right?
Yeah.
How could I know?
How could I tell that?
Smile, kiddo.
We're going to take care of this.
All right?
I promise.
So, so, you've got a 2013 Escape.
It's got over 200,000 miles on it.
Now when you say you've got cooling, coolant problems, are you losing coolant or the
engine overheats or both?
Both.
All right.
And then when you say you have AC problems, what do you mean the AC stops-
The air conditioning stops working or it doesn't work at all?
Yeah, like it goes in and out and along also with my heat too.
Okay.
So, when you say- when you say the AC goes in and out, you mean sometimes it
blows cold and then it blows hot or it doesn't blow air at all?
Right.
It doesn't blow or sometimes it does blow.
Okay.
But when it blows, it's cold?
Sometimes, yeah.
Okay.
And what else is going on with this car?
And I had a transmission leak in December and I got that fixed.
Right.
What did that cost, do you remember?
A good like $300 and probably $50.
Right.
So how, for lack of a better way to put it, how upside down in this car are you?
How much more do you owe on it?
About $3,000.
Right.
You know, the issue is it's not going to get any cheaper to fix from here.
So if I said to you, Alicia, you know, go buy a different car, what's in the budget?
What do you have realistically?
I mean, I'm okay with staying within $10,000, but it's just the fact of having to buy a new
car constantly every year.
Like I'm between decisive, if I should just say, to get like a brand new car year model
or just stick with the older used cars.
But with the newer cars, only the shop can fix it.
Like you can't get a side mechanic to fix it.
Right.
And the older cars, you know, that was the nice pro with that is that, you know, anyone
can fix it.
Right.
Do you, let me ask you this.
Do you travel a lot?
Do you put a lot of miles on a car?
Yes.
You do.
How many, you know, how many miles, I mean, how many miles a year do you drive?
Honestly, I don't know.
I try to like, I share a car with my boyfriend because we've always had car problems
and you know, talk that I try to do side hustling with like Uber Eats and stuff.
Right.
Gotcha.
Gotcha.
Gotcha.
Gotcha.
Gotcha.
Gotcha.
So, you know, this is the problem with cars is sometimes it becomes life-altering stuff,
right?
You're always married to this car that you're fixing.
So how do you get, how do you get out of the cycle?
And part of what I was thinking about was, do you lease something, a real inexpensive
basic simple car?
You know, do you go for a two or $300 a month lease if it exists?
I haven't looked at leasing in a while, but the fact that you do a lot of miles, I don't
know that that's going to help you, right?
And you're right.
You'll probably spend every bit of, you know, $7,000 to $8,000 on that used car and that's
going to eat up all your savings and then in a year, you probably need another one.
I don't know that the escape is worth fixing.
I'm a little scared by the mileage, right?
Is it, is it losing coolant like you're always adding coolant to it?
Yeah.
And you don't see a leak, right?
So it sounds like there's an internal engine problem.
Has anybody tried to diagnose it and come back to you and said something along the
lines of maybe it's a bad head gasket?
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, you know, the one thing you could try and it may not be effective, but if you want it
to gamble up, I think it's approximately between $50 and $100, accompanied by the name of K-Seal.
You'll find it at most auto parts stores.
K-Seal makes a cooling system sealer.
They make one rated for head gaskets.
All right.
It's called K-Seal Ultimate and it's a, it's a pouring solution into the cooling
system.
You might have to take some coolant out or your, your mechanic could add it.
And what it does is it, depending upon the severity of the head gasket leak or failure, it, it
stands a reasonably good chance of sealing the cooling system and solving the head gasket
issue.
At least, you know, maybe long enough to get you another year, a year and a half,
two years.
I mean, we've had some great success with it where some cars we've, they're still
driving the car three years later.
My hesitancy for that is I don't know if that's your only cooling system problem.
You know, it goes low on coolant and then it overheats or it overheats and it's got enough
coolant in it.
You know, I'm questioning in my mind, is the cooling fan coming on, right?
It's like I'm trying to figure out which came first, the chicken or the egg, right?
Which, which, which happened first.
And it's, that's kind of tough, right?
The AC issue sounds like a separate problem unrelated to the problem with the cooling system.
Because you're saying, you're saying the AC problem is the blower, the fan inside the
car.
You turn the blower on full speed and sometimes it cuts out and it doesn't work and sometimes
it does, right?
If I understand you correctly, right?
If this was, hey, Ron, the, the, the cooling system starts to overheat and the AC starts
to blow warm, but it still blows, I'm going to say that the two are related because that,
if the radiator is superheated, it's going to affect the effectiveness and how well the
air conditioning works.
So from a practical point of view, we're, we're almost into September.
Let's say we could cheat and get away without air conditioning for a little while.
But the problem is you'll need a blower for winter, right?
You'll need, you'll need a defroster, you'll need heat.
So that almost sounds like a problem in either the blower resistor or the blower motor.
Both of them are not cheap to replace on that vehicle, all right?
The blower motor, if you've, have you gotten any prices on this?
Has anybody tried to diagnose any of this?
The blower motor, right, because this is the newer body style escape.
The blower motor on that car corkscrews in under the passenger side, it's, it's really crazy
how they put it together.
And that blower motor repair is upwards of two grand just to give you a ballpark if
you were at the dealer or an independent repair shop, all right?
The blower motor resistor is just as difficult to get to, but regardless, I think my vote
is to replace this vehicle.
If I have that vote, right, you know, if, if, if you wanted to try a bottle of KCL ultimate,
you know, get down to your local auto parts store, you know, and it's, it's real simple
and easy to do your, whoever your mechanic is, do you have a reasonable relationship
with your mechanic that you could go in and talk to him and explain what you're thinking?
I'm just trying to band aid this back together to see if I can buy you a couple
of months.
Yeah.
Right.
Yeah.
You know, that's, that's what I'm thinking for that.
And in the meantime, while this is band-aided back together, if KCL ultimate buys you that
time, which I'm going to give you a better than average odds that it will, it depends
on the severity of the failure, at least you've got, you know, two months, three
months to go out and try and find something.
And you know, we want to look for something, you know, I mean, does a Toyota Camry
work for you?
Does a little Honda CRV work something, you know, and, and, and something in that
category, you know, a hundred thousand miles on those cars doesn't scare me if you
can find something in that, in that range.
Right.
And they've got some longevity.
Obviously I want a mechanic to look at it.
Okay.
And I want somebody to, you know, try and look for the obvious faults and
failures.
It's hard.
I feel your pain, kiddo.
All right.
So, um, but that's what I would advise you to do.
I think you've got to replace this, try and patch it back together as best you can.
But I think putting money in this, it's only going to get more expensive as
time goes on.
Okay, Alicia, I know you have a second question or some secondary comments.
Let me pull over, take this pause.
We'll be back right after this.
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We're talking with Alicia out of Illinois about her 2013 Ford Escape.
Alicia, so far what I'm saying makes sense to you.
Yeah, a little bit.
OK, I just think you try and cobble this car back together to buy yourself some time.
Because I think to put bigger money into this is a folly.
Because here's here's the concern I've got.
The other concern I've got is you've already had one transmission repair.
If that transmission were to fail, don't faint.
But that transmission, if that transmission fails,
that transmission in New Jersey dollars in a repair shop is about five grand to fix.
Right. So yeah, you know, how much how much more do we want to put in this?
Oh, honestly, trying to keep from spending that five thousand.
Right. Right.
That's why I say, you know, go talk to your mechanic.
Tell him, ask him, ask him about it.
You know, you have you have an O'Reilly or an advanced auto parts or an auto zone or something.
Right. Go down there and look for a bottle of K-Seal Ultimate.
It has to say ultimate on it because that's the stuff rated for head gasket.
All right. And see if that solves it.
And if that doesn't solve it, then your problem is much more severe than you realize.
And the car has really got to go because it's only a ticking time bomb at that point.
OK. What cars do you suggest that I look into after this?
Or should I get a newer car or still try to continue?
We use cars and just try a different if you can get.
Listen, you know, if you can if I don't know how you'll I don't know
how I don't know what the budget is. All right.
But it's a lot more than 10 grand.
If you can find what we call a CPO car, certified, pre-owned.
All right. From a manufacturer, a Toyota Camry has a good track record.
Honda Accords, Honda CRVs.
Right. Toyota Highlanders, RAV4s.
All all vehicles with good track records.
But, you know, to find something decent used, you're probably in the twenty
to twenty five thousand dollar range. Right.
So, you know, you got to see what's the down payment.
You've got to go look at.
And then the other thing to think about is when you buy a used car,
you will pay a higher interest rate.
So so what you've got to consider is let's say you buy a twenty
thousand dollar used car, right.
And it's it's used.
So there's less of a warranty on it.
And the interest rate is probably seven percent.
But if you buy a new car, that's thirty five thousand dollars.
Your monthly payment may be higher, but your interest rate will be lower.
And you'll have a warranty from three to five years, depending upon the car.
So it kind of puts you into a better spot.
Does that make does that make sense? Yeah.
What I'm what I'm trying to do is figure out what's the best way to
give you some breathing room.
So as you continue your climb up the mountain, you're going to,
you know, slowly get ahead, get to the point where, you know, you're on top.
But a CPO car, if you can find a good certified pre-owned,
the dealers always advertise them as CPOs.
A CPO car comes with it'll it'll have it'll have a better warranty
on it than a regular used car.
You pay a little bit more money for it.
All right. But you'll get a little bit of a better warranty.
And it's been checked out and verified.
You know, they do that.
They do the hundred point check.
So you're not buying some clunker or somebody else's problem.
And if there is a problem, they've they're going to warranty it.
The other piece of advice is whatever you buy.
You know how to tell when the salesman's lying?
Sort of, yeah.
When his lips move.
Remember that. All right.
So whatever they tell you, get it in writing.
You know, I don't care where you buy it from.
I don't care if you buy it from Bob's used car lot or Bob's Toyota on Main Street.
Oh, yeah. You know, listen, you come back every Thursday.
We'll give you a free oil change. Yeah. Put it in writing.
And if they don't want to put it in writing, don't buy the car.
OK. Makes sense. Yeah.
I got to go. Listen, if you need something, you know where to find me.
All right, Alicia. All right.
You be well. I'm running any in the car.
Doctor, we'll be back right after this. Don't go away.
Lately, car buying has become a pretty dull experience.
But on eBay, behind every car in part is a story waiting to be shared
like this guy I read about who bought a 2020 Porsche Cayman GT4 on eBay.
It was well loved.
I mean, there are plenty of Caymans in great condition on eBay,
but this one needed some work.
That's just the start of the story.
So after this guy gets a great deal on his dream car,
he rebuilds the whole thing with all these parts he found on eBay.
Performance brakes, suspension, body panels, the works, guaranteed to fit.
Next thing you know, this nearly scrapped Cayman
was out there on the track as a full blown race car.
You're ready to go daily driver, your next resto mod.
Hello, Lotus Elon and the parts to finish it.
eBay has thousands of cars and is the largest online selection
of vehicle parts and accessories.
eBay, things, people love.
Back pain and stiffness in morning's rough.
He made it tough to sleep until I started Cosintiq.
Cosintiq Secu Kenyumap is the number one prescribed treatment
for adults that targets I L 17 a a molecule that may play a role
in inflammation that contributes to ankylosing,
spondyloarthritis or non radiographic axial, spondyloarthritis,
two types of inflammatory arthritis of the spine.
Don't use if you're allergic to Cosintiq's before starting,
get checked for tuberculosis and increased risk of infections
and lowered ability to fight them may occur like tuberculosis
or other serious bacterial, fungal or viral infections.
Some are fatal.
Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms like
fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough had a vaccine or
plan to or if inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or
worsen, serious allergic reactions and severe eczema
like skin reactions may occur.
Learn more at 1-844-COSINTiQS or cosintiqs.com.
Ask your doctor about Cosintiqs.
I got real relief with Cosintiqs.
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Well, that about does it for me this week.
I was very excited and happy to talk to each and every one of you,
whether it was directly on the phone or by virtue of just this broadcast
or this podcast, however you're listening to this show.
Let me just remind you that there is an ongoing stream of information
that we put out there available for you.
You can check out our YouTube channel.
Just go out there to YouTube and search Ron Anini and the car doctor.
We've got fresh videos going up on a regular basis.
We've also got our Facebook page, Ron Anini and the car doctor.
That's there for you as well.
Alicia, she's sitting in the back of my mind that I'm thinking about.
That's a tough spot.
And I realize how hard it is today for people just looking for a vehicle.
And what do you do?
I think, and I hope my words meant something to her in the sense
that she sits down and plans, I think you have to plan the attack.
I think you have to get a basic vehicle.
And that's how you climb up to the top of the mountain
by just having some nothing flashy, nothing beyond transportation,
which is what cars were meant to be back and forth to work.
And you can climb out of that pile.
It's out there for you and everybody else, Alicia.
You can do it.
I have faith in everybody.
Cars, it's funny, right?
Cars, if they do one thing, they humble us to the point of teaching us
some of the extremities of life, I think.
And they become a necessary part of what we have to do
and they help us get there.
So I hope what I said, and I really mean this,
she was probably one of the most impactful callers I've had
in the last couple of months,
but I really hope what I said made sense.
And I hope it works for you.
So get out there, find that CPO car.
And I hope you do well.
I've got to go.
I'm running out of time.
Until the next time, I'm Ronan Aining in the car.
Doctor, reminding you, good mechanics aren't expensive.
They're priceless.
See ya.
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