Recent content by Tornado Red

Old: no airbags. Really old: no seat belts. Old: bias-ply tires. Old: carburetor(s) Old: drum brakes. Also old: no ABS Old: AM/FM radio. Really old: AM radio only Old: sealed-beam headlights. Really old: high-beam switch on the floor. Old: no remote control. Also old: separate keys for ignition...

I have one Mk4 Golf TDI currently and sold another one to my nephew, both 2003s. They were both built in Brazil. Jetta sedans from that era were made in Mexico and Jetta wagons in Germany.

What is a German car built in Brazil with a 5-speed transmission made in Argentina?

I wouldn't buy stock in any auto company, but I'd especially avoid GM and Volkswagen as they seem to be wasting the most money on EVs.

If you own enough cars with manual gearboxes, you'll never need to "move on" not matter how old you get.

I've seen one Holiday station where diesel was 10 cents cheaper than regular, and another Holiday where they were the same. But there are many stations where the spread is 40 cents or so. Gasoline goes up relatively this time of year because of switch to summer-grade fuel, while diesel goes down...

Delvac 1 ESP 5w40 is nearly identical to Mobil 1 ESP Turbo Diesel Truck 5w40. For the last several years gallon jugs of Delvac 1 have been about $2 cheaper than TDT at Fleet Farm stores. Currently Delvac 1 is $30.99 and TDT is $32.49. Rotella T6 is $34.99 but most stores are out of stock.

A 2003 model is not old, but I'm still adding 250 or 300 miles a day on my DD.

Not really a safe car for a new driver, no matter what kind of title it has.

I was told by an insurance adjuster (for Progressive) that they will "total" a car if the cost of repairs is 60% or greater than the estimated value of the car. With the higher costs for parts and labor, lots of very fixable cars are being totaled by insurance companies. Especially if they can...

Upholstery tacks. Not simple thumb tacks.

In normal times the greatest cost of owning a vehicle is depreciation -- not fuel, not maintenance, not repairs, not insurance. It is impossible to know when normal times will return. Probably not until there is a surplus supply of affordable vehicles. Hardly any manufacturers still make them...

Synthetic HDEO is in pretty good supply compared to six months ago.

In the GasBuddy poll from a week ago, 42% of respondents said their primary vehicle gets 15-25 mpg; 32% said theirs gets 32%; and only 14% gets over 35 mpg. As someone who is currently averaging 43-44 mpg, and with the current price of diesel around $5.10-$5.30 per gallon, I'm paying about 12...

I just picked up a 2003 Jetta TDI wagon with a SouthBend Stage 3 Endurance clutch. This is a real theft-deterrent clutch! If you don't push the clutch FIRMLY all the way to the floor, the clutch interlock won't allow the engine to turn over and start.