The Best of Car Talk - #2675: Gas and Go

Episode Date: September 19, 2026

Leo’s a busy guy. He pulls to a screech in front of the gas pumps, jumps out, slides across the hood of the car and starts pumping gas before his feet hit the ground -all while the engine is still running. His wife is used to Leo’s ‘Dukes of Hazard’ routine but draws the line at gasing up with a running engine. Click and Clack are ‘Boss Hogg’ and ‘Roscoe P. Coltrane’ laying down the law on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. Car Talk's perks include full archive access, new call-in bonus episodes with Ray, and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Hello and welcome to Car Talk from National Public Radio with us Click and Clack, the Tappert Brothers, and we're broadcasting this week from the Pearls Before Swine Department here at Carhart Plaza. So I guess that means you want me to speak first this week? Actually, I do have pearls of wisdom that someone sent us. Someone. Really? We don't know who. They're probably all stolen. But here they are. I gave my son a hint. On the door to his room, I put a sign.

Checkout time is 18. And I think George Collins said this one. How come we choose from just two people for president, but 50 from this America? Home is where you can say anything you like because nobody's listening to you anyway. I knew that one. Regular naps prevent old age. Did you know that? Yes.

Especially if you take them while you're driving. Yeah, that'll be old age preventative. Here's the one I like the best. I have learned that there is very little difference in husbands, so you might as well keep the first one. I've convinced my wife of that. Yeah? Yeah.

Which wife? Well, I obviously didn't convince the first few. But the current one. The current wife thinks that we're all the same. Well, she's probably right. Well, look, if you're looking for pearls of wood, isn't about your car. You can't go the wrong place. Right, but call us anyway, because, who knows, you never know. Something good might happen.

Our number is 888-car talk. That's 888-2-25. Hello, you're on car talk. Hi, guys. This is Sam from Scranton, Scranton, Pennsylvania. Hi, Sam. How you doing? We're doing great. What's happening? Branton, PA. That's like steel country, isn't it? Well, Cole. Cole, that's it. Cole, that's it. Cole. The other end of Interstate 84 from you guys. Oh, and that's where it's... Go west on 84, you end up in Scranton.

I always take that cutoff that takes me down south. If I didn't do that, I'd end up in Scranton? Thank God you'd take that. Hey, hey, watch it. Right. Scranton's a wonderful place. It's black, but it's good. It's good.

Yeah, from the coal. The coal industry is still going on in Scranton, isn't it? Yeah, they're still mine in a bit. Yeah. All right, what's going on, man? I got a problem with really family. Family relations here. Yeah.

Tell me about it. My brother and I need help. We're getting desperate. We need a creative solution to keep my father from taking apart and wrecking mom's car. Really? Why? What does he want to do? Oh, he's just handy, or he thinks he's handy. The car's a 98 beetle, one of the new Beatles. 98? He wants to take it apart? Well, yeah. Moms had the car just about three weeks. My nephew had it, since it was. was new, ran perfectly, not a problem. Came off the lease, transferred ownership over to mom. And within days, Dad's calling, I got a problem.

There are 13 drips under the car. Something's leaking. He rolls a car in his garage, and you have to understand, Dad's got a grease pit in his garage. He does, huh? How sweet it is. Is Dad retired? Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Dad, that's a 1919 model, red-blooded, All-American, grease under your fingernails, got to keep your hands-on things kind of guy. Oh, 1919 model. Yeah. He's got about 800,000 miles on him. And what did Dad do for a living?

He had been a steam fitter maintenance employee at a local manufacturer. Oh, that guy, he's got to do it. You've got to do it. What do you want to do? Kill him? Well, that's why we don't want to kill the car. We got a call from him about a week ago. Car wouldn't start.

Had to have the car towed 60 miles to the nearest VW place. Battery was dead. Dad had been playing his polka tapes, got the tape jammed in the radio, and when he shut it off, the tape player was still running, idling, and it ran the battery down overnight. It's a good thing the car wouldn't start, because the leaks had been coming from the past.

power steering unit. Uh-huh. Dad saw that, fix that, topped off the fluids. But he didn't top them off with VW-approved fluids. He put some other stuff in there. And he had leftover from 1941. Could be. Yeah.

And had the car started up, he would have wrecked the seals on the power steering unit. Well, I don't he would have done that, even though they told you he would have. But next time he will. But he'll find some way to wreck the car. So how do we keep him busy? Can we super glue close the hood so he can't get at the goodies in there? I don't think you want to stop him from doing this. I know you want to, Sam, but you can't.

Because think if you do discourage him or even thwart him, he might start like rewiring the house. I mean, what would be worse? Now, the guy's got a grease pit in his garage. You're not going to stop him. He's been waiting to retire so he could do just what he's doing. And if he puts the wrong fluid in or he overtightened something or he listens to too many Bud Hundinsky and his poker corsairs tapes in the car,

so what? You've got to let him have some fun. Oh. Yeah, let him go, man. But make sure that your mother doesn't drive this car anymore. Oh, yeah. Because it's going to be a death trap. No, no, I have faith in dad.

I really do. Anyone who listens to Pocas is going to be all right in my book. But I would get him. You know, I would get him the factory shop manual. All man alive. That's an idea.

That is an idea. Go to the VW website and order the thing. And this way, he'll have no excuse for breaking stuff. And furthermore, he'll know the jobs

that he should and shouldn't tackle. All right. He'll love you. Shop manual. Good idea. See us. See us, Sam. Thanks a lot.

Bye. Bye-bye. 1-88-8-8-8-2-27-8-25-5. Hello, you're on Car Talk. Hi, this is Heidi. Heidi, Heidi, Heidi, Heidi, Heidi, Heidi, Holly, Heidi, Hol. You must you that all the time. Are you from the Alps?

No, no, I'm from Brookline, Massachusetts. Right around the corner. Oh, really? Yeah. Who song was Heidi, Heidi, Heidi, Heidi, Heidi. Heidi, Heidi, Heidi. Louis Armstrong, wasn't it? No, I believe it was Cab Callow.

Cab Callow, you're right. Was it really? Yeah. Yeah. Man, you are old. No, I'm done. Not you, my brother. I'm telling you.

I mean, the guy died 50 years ago. He did? He didn't even though he was sick. Anyway, Heidi, what can we do for you? Well, I have a serious mystery, and I need your help. I have a 1991 Toyota Camry, L.E. And when I'm driving slowly, and I'm turning to the right, and I have my foot on the brake, my car makes this hallowing noise.

And it only happens when my foot's on the brake, and it only happens when I turn to the right. And I thought it was my brakes at first, because it sounds like it's coming from the front of the car. So I brought my car to my mechanic, who's an amazing guy, and he looked at the brakes, and he said, they're fine. The pads are only halfway worn down, and it doesn't appear to be a problem with the brakes.

And I have no clue what it is, and every time I bring it to him, he either doesn't hear it, or he hears it, and he checks the brake, and he can't figure out what's wrong with it. And this howling, it's a continuing. When you say howling, it's a continual. It's not continuous. It's only as long as I have my foot on the break.

And the minute I take my foot off the break, it stops. So this must be happening when you're moving along at a fairly good clip. No, no. It only happens when I'm going like into a parking lot or into a parking space. It's a... Yeah, except that it's never that long. It's just a minute I take my foot off the break. Right.

What if you left your foot on the break? Yeah. You'd stop. You'd stop. That's what the problem is. You just left your foot in your brake and you're going slow. You'll stop. And then the noise goes away.

You got it. And the noise is coming from the left front when that happens? It sounds like it's coming from the right front. Right front on right turns. Right. See, I don't think the turn has anything to do with it, quite honestly. Really? Oh, you're going to have a problem with that.

I mean, I don't think she's going to go for it. I mean... Hey, we're never going to see her again. Hey, I'm looking good on you right. She just told you. I mean, she's described. I'm the problem. It happens, she said, when she turns to the right.

Well, look, your mechanic, Fred, to whom you've taken the car. Right. Has found nothing wrong with the brakes. No, he actually just took them apart again, and he said that the pads are still half good. Okay. Well, I'm going to predict, and maybe you'll bear me out, that if you were to step on the pedal a little harder when it's doing this, that the noise goes away. Okay.

Is that true? I haven't tried it out. Well, because the car stops. No, but for example, if you were on an exit ramp and you were slowing down. Right. And the noise were there. If you stepped on the pedal a little bit harder, I'm going to predict that the noise is going to change dramatically or probably just go away completely. Why?

What is it? Oh, wait a minute. Have you never experienced this noise on an off ramp, which is on the big wide right turn? Well, I sort of have to confess, usually when I'm driving long distances, I have the radio on, and then you can't hear it. Oh, I'll put it out, though. Ah, so it may well be that what my brother says is correct. It may be. I haven't experienced it.

It may be a momentary noise, which you misdescribed as a howling, trying to mislead us. Never. Well, what I think is going on is you're getting, and I don't know why it happens on right turns. I'd be willing to bet if you tried it enough on left turns, you'd get it to do it then, too, or even going straight. but you're getting just the right dynamic where the disc brake rotor is vibrating. We often get a noise just like this when we machine disc brake rotors.

We have a lathe which we attach right to the car to machine these discs right on the car. And sometimes if conditions are just right, as that tool is machining it, you'll get this o-o-woo-woo-noise. Someone says, go let Peter out. he's locked in the bathroom again he locked himself in the bathroom again and and usually what does it is increasing the depth of cut or changing the rate at which the tool is moving

but in your case what's what's causing it is the squeezing albeit gently of the disc by the brake pads that's why i suggest if you we know of course if you take your foot off the break it goes away but similarly if you step on the brake a little harder it will go away So then the car is perfectly safe. It's perfectly safe. What your mechanic can do is to take the brake pads out and clean them up, i.e. sand them down with an abrasive. Okay.

And then put this chemical on the backside of the pads called Disc Break Quiet. Okay. What an innovative name. Isn't it very clever? Yeah. So that sometimes helps. And if nothing else, it'll probably change it enough to let you know that it's that kind of a problem and nothing to worry about.

Wow. Cool, huh? Incredible. You guys are awesome. See you, Heidi. Good luck, Heidi. Hi. Okay, bye.

Okay, Tommy. Are you ready for your puzzler hint this week? Ready and wedding, sir. Yes. Okay, here it is. It's an easy one. And I'd be amazed if you don't get it. In the spring, our young mechanics' thoughts turned to blank.

Thoughts of love. No, you dope boat payments. Come on. It doesn't get any easier, man. I thought I had it. Hi, we're back. You're listening to Car Talk with us, Click and Clack the Tappert Brothers. And we're here to talk about cars, car repair,

and the answer to last week's puzzler. You may recall, maybe you don't recall, that this was from my hat in the river series of Puzzlers. Throw your hat in the ring or in the river. Yeah. Oh, here it is. It's the first day of spring or summer or whatever, and you decide to rent a little boat at the dock

and go for a little boat ride. You're rowing upstream. Okay, you're with me? Upstream. Okay, that means there's a current. There's a current. And you get a mile from the dock and your hat flies off and lands in the water.

It's just a car talk cat, so you say, forget it, and you keep rowing. Then 10 minutes later, you realize that your two tickets to that night's Sleepy LaBeef concert are tucked inside the sweatband. So you turn around and you start rowing downstream. You're now chasing the hat. And, of course, you're rowing with the same number of strokes and the same intensity that you were rowing with upstream. And you catch up with the hat right at the dock. Yeah. The question is, how fast is the speed?

current. So let me go over the salient points here. Whoa, yeah. You go upstream for a mile. A mile. Against the current. The current is working against you. The hat falls off into the water. Yeah. Okay. You say forget it. You keep rowing for 10 minutes. Yeah. At which point you remember the tickets. You turn around. You turn around. During which time the hat is... All this time the hat's been going the other way. Going the other way, baby. Because the current is pushing. And you catch up with the hat right at the dock where you in fact rented the boat. Yeah.

So the hat has actually traveled a mile. Travels one mile. Okay, that's the only thing you really know. Yeah, because you dropped it when you were a mile away from the dock and you caught it at the dock. So the hat has, I got that. The hat has traveled. That's a key point. That's a key.

Well, and good thing, we gave you that information. So the hat traveled a mile. So we want to find out how fast the river's going. If we only knew how long the hat was traveling that mile, we could use the famous formula, distance equals rate times time. And we do know. And we do know. We do know.

Because imagine that there is no current. And your hat falls off into the water. If you rode away from the hat for 10 minutes, how long would it take you to get back to the hat? It would take you 10 minutes. Exactly. Right? Well, it turns out the current doesn't make any difference.

Because the same current that's pushing the hat downstream, once you've turned around, is pushing you downstream at the same rate. So, in fact, if you roll away from the hat for 10 minutes and then turn around when you've decided to go back and retrieve it, it takes you 10 minutes to get back to the hat. What was the question? What row were those sleepy LeBeat tickets in? The question was, how fast is the river flowing? Right.

So what we found out now, you roll away from the hat for 10 minutes. It takes you 10 minutes to get back to the hat. So, in fact, you've been rowing for 20 minutes, and so is the hat. Right. been drifting for 20 minutes downstream, during which time it's gone a mile. So in a third of an hour, it went a mile. The current must be going at three miles per hour. And that's all you really had to know because you know that the hat has gone one mile in 20 minutes.

You know that. That's it. There you go. And that's how fast does. And you don't need any else. The river is flowing at one mile in 20 minutes. No one says it's going to be in miles per hour. You didn't tell us that.

Okay. Do we have a winner? I don't know. Yes, we have a winner. It's Eugenia. Ooh, that was my grandmother's name, you know. You're not going to believe this. Yeah.

But I'm not positive. I think it was my grandmother's name, too. No. Yeah. What are the chances of that? Pretty slim. The winner is Eugenia Tillinghast from Lubbock, Texas. And for having her correct answers selected at random from all the correct answers that we got this week,

Eugenia is going to get a $25 gift certificate to the shameless commerce division at the Car Talk section of cars.com with which she can get our brand spanking new evolution of the modern mechanic t-shirt. This is a beautiful thing. If you have a question about your car or anything else, we'll be happy to give you the wrong answer. The number is 888 Car Talk. That's 888-227855. Hello, you're on Car Talk. Hi, this is Angie from Mount Pleasant Michigan.

Mount Pleasant Michigan. Right in the center. And how mountainous is it? Oh, boy, we're still looking for the mountain. I thought so. So your real name is Angela. Yes. Okay.

What can we do for you, Angela? Well, I have a 1994 Saturn S-L-1, and I bought the car from the then president of the university that I work at. It only has 64,600 miles. Well, in the wintertime, I started noticing that I wasn't getting very good gas mileage. and I thought maybe it was because I was running the defrost, you know, Michigan winters. Yes. Well, that was a 99. I'm getting about 150 to 170 miles per tank, and I have a 10-gallon tank.

Wow. Yeah. Kind of a dog is it you have? Oh, my goodness. I have five. It's not a Shih Tzu, is it? No. No.

You really can't fool around with too much. The one you're hearing is a black lab weiner dog. A weir dog has another name of you. A black lab with a little wimpy little bark like that? Well, she looks like a dash hound, but... Oh, she's a combination. Oh, oh, oh, oh. She just looks...

Wait, how did that ever come about? Oh, I don't want to know. Yeah. Let's not go there. Well, it might be more fun than the SL-1. Five dogs, huh? Yeah. So you have this lab, doc shunt mix.

And what else you have? Oh, my goodness. A black lab chow, a golden retriever mix, a black lab something, and then a golden retriever, Cocker, Spaniel. Oh, so that black lab has been around. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yes.

Except for not anymore. Put the smile at you. I made sure. No, he's out of commission, eh? He's been decommissions? All of them are. Oh, really? No one time.

That's good. It's good to decommission pets. Yes. But so five, huh? Yeah. 17 miles to the gallon, huh? And I've taken it to everyone I could possibly take in Mount Pleasant and they've tried everything. Does this car have a temperature gauge on the dash?

Yes, yes. Yeah. I'm going to take a wild guess here. Yeah, I like it. I like it already. That the thing is running well below the midpoint, that needle, no matter how far and hard you drive it, it never even approaches the halfway point. Okay.

And that would absolutely explain the drop in mileage and with no other symptoms. Okay. Because the engine isn't getting hot enough, and because it's not getting hard enough, the computer is being told to send in an amount of fuel which you would need for a cold engine. Okay. Which is too much fuel for a real engine that's warmed up. If, in fact, you notice that the thermometer on the dash is indicating low operating temperature, then have someone change the thermostat.

Do you get good heat in the winter? Pretty good Pretty good It's pretty good But it's a little bit Disappointing Well I just always kind of figured

That it's a no-frills car Ah Ah The heat should blast you out No the heat No matter how Inexpensive the car The heat should still be hot

Okay Hot heat Yeah so I'm Even if they say We don't think this is it Replace the thermostat anyway I guarantee you it's gonna fix it Exactly say

Ray said He doesn't care what the hell you think. Just replace the thermostat and shut up. Okay. I can do that. All right. See you. Thank you. Thanks for your call. Bye. 1-888-8-8-2-27-8-255. Hello, you're on Car Talk. Hi, this is Leo from Pennsylvania.

Leo. I got sort of a family issue. It's a small question, but it causes a family problem here for me. Yeah. When I go to the gas station, especially in the winter, since I have a car with heated seats, I like to keep the car running and just fill it up with gas and never turn it off and, you know, just zoom out. It's illegal, isn't it? I don't know, but the problem is the wife immediately turns the key. You know, she always insisted we're a danger of blowing up or something, and I've never blown up,

and I just wanted to know who's running. Well, most people who have blown up haven't mentioned that way. We haven't had any calls of them to warn us. Yeah. Okay. I don't think the danger is that it's going to blow up. Mm-hmm. Well, here's the danger.

At some level, that is the day. But I think the larger danger is this. If the car is running, it just removes one more step of the process of getting the car moving. Mm-hmm. So that if somebody were to nudge the shifter, for example, it's possible then for the car to jerk. Let's say you're the standard shift car. Right. And while it's sitting there running in neutral, somebody, like your dog, jumps to get its

play thing and shifts the thing into first gear, at which point the car would shoot forward. Uh-huh. And it would yank that hose probably right out of its socket at the other end of the pump. Right. And it would begin to spray gasoline all over the filling station, including your pants. I see. You got it? Yeah.

I think that's the primary reason that you shut the car off. And it is illegal in most states, I believe. Oh, oh, okay. I mean, isn't there a sign that's when you pull into the gas station that says turnoff engine? But it's kind of like, you know, those, you know, the cups, you know, you go and you get a cup of a hot drink and it says, careful. Yeah, don't spill this on your lap, you may have to sue us. All right. So you recommend, so you side more with her.

Not more with her. 100%, Leo. I mean, let's get it straight. We're not on your side at all. All right, so I won't be doing any more misdemeanors then. So you're taking the basic guys of problem. Let me get this. right now.

Yeah. The basic guys approach is, you know, there are rules about lots of things. Right. And we don't really have to pay much attention to most of that stuff. No, you know why? Because it's for idiots. Exactly. Most guys believe the rules are from morons.

Exactly. Just like most speeders are guys because the speed limits are made for people who don't know how to handle their cars. That's right. But I have great reflexes and I can see 10 miles ahead of me. And I can drive on the sidewalk. So there's no reason for me not to drive 75 miles an hour, even though it says 50 miles an hour. The limit is for little old ladies.

The logic is irrefutable for me. All right. I'll just tell her it's a guy thing. You do what you think is best, Leah. You have a garage with heat. You can sleep in? You'll be sleeping. All right.

Thank you. That's a good question. Thanks for calling. I appreciate it. See you later. All right, bye-bye. Bye-bye. Well, I think it's the case that I think if you surveyed people, you're, you'll be

You would find that most guys obey the rules selectively. And most women obey all the rules. My wife would never think of parking at a meter without putting money in it. What was the last time you put money in a parking meter? Parking meter? All right. I respond. Well, look, we're at that point.

Don't you have a little three-by-five card that says meter broken? I got it with the duct tape stuck right to it. Dimo labels. Stuck right to the dashboard. Well, look, we're at that point of the show. You know that point? Is this where the NPR higher-ups parade two real mechanics by our studio and glare at us threateningly? Is that it?

No, no. This is where we take a break to prepare for the new puzzle. Ah, good. We'll be back in just a minute. We're back. You're listening to Car Talk with us. Click and Collect the Tappert Brothers. And we're here to talk about Cars, car repair, and the new puzzler.

I can hardly wait. And this is from Malcolm Ross McDonald, who was the designer of the most recent Car Talk T-shirt. Yeah. This is, I believe this is going to elicit from my brother when I give the answer next week. A, bo, oh, oh, Gus. But just remember. The puzzlers of late have been quite, oh, they've been quite good.

Oh, no, no, I think called just a few short weeks ago. Well, there was the little incident with the number two. Oh, no, that was a long. It just seems like yesterday. We don't have to discuss that. But the past few weeks at least, which is as far as my memory goes, I think the puzzles have been pretty darn good. Well, that's about the change.

So this one is a pre-bogest one. Well, this will give you a finer appreciation for the better ones. Oh, I think. Okay. All right. Go ahead. I'm going to take a plain sheet of plain white paper, no lines on it. Yeah.

Okay, just a blank sheet of paper, like eight and a half by 11. Got it. Okay. And using a fountain pen with black ink, I'm going to write my signature on the paper, any place on the paper. My ex. I know yours is too much because you're a professor, my essay. And I'm also going to write something else on the paper, okay, which will be plainly visible. Both will be plainly visible. Yeah. When I look at my signature through the magnifying glass that I have, I'm not surprised to find out that it's enlarged. Duh.

But when I look at the other thing, it isn't. So if you think you know the answer, write it on a postcard, or an 8.5.1 sheet of paper, or tape it to the bottom of a Panasonic Zero Gravity Shiazhu Massage Loungeer, three-speed. Send it to Puzzler Tower, Car Talk Plaza, Box 3,500, Harvard Square, Cambridge. Our Fair City. Matt, 22238. Or, of course, you can email your answer from the Car Talk section of Cars.com. If you'd like to call us right now, the number is 1-88888-Cart talk.

That's 888-227-8255. Hello, you're on Car Talk. Hi, this is Karen from Fletcher, Vermont. Fletcher. Where the heck is that? It's about 25 miles east of Burrull. Burlington. Oh, so that's like right in the middle of the mountains. Yeah.

What a God-forsaken place. What the hell are you doing up there? Well, actually, I'm studying French. Where? At UVM? No. I'm actually doing it at home right now. I just got back from four months in Paris. Really? Oh, tough job. Yeah. You know, I was just... You just couldn't wait to get back to Fletcher, huh? Right. It's a little bit different life. Did you notice a different lifestyle?

Well, maybe the lifestyle is not that different. The lifestyle is very different. Well, not in this sense, though. I was just reading today's paper, and a study was done by Roper, one of those guys. This was an international study to find out who works the hardest and who works the least. And the most hardworking... We're talking about in this room? No, no, no, no.

All right. Countries, whole countries. The most hardworking country. Korea. I could believe that. I could believe that. Number two is the U.S. of A, I think. Well, I don't know about number two, but I know about the last one.

Who's at the other end? The Italians. You got it. And the French. They're about equal. Neck and neck, so to speak. Neck and neck at the low end of not really busting up. But the French, amazingly, get a lot accomplished.

I mean, they actually, like, put missiles in satellites and satellites and outer space. Have you personally ever seen one of their missiles in the air? Well, no. They may just have a great propaganda system. Oh, maybe like that moon landing that we faked? Like that moon landing that we faked, exactly. Yeah, okay. And so I suspect that in Vermont, the work ethic is similar to France.

Well, we enjoy having a good time. My brother used to live in Vermont, and he told me that the gas station was open by a point. appointment only. That's definitely possible. Right? Yeah. It was, yeah. So anyway, Karen, what's going on with you and your car that you abandoned for four months?

Well, I've since abandoned it even more because it died by the side of the road the other day. Wow. And so now I'm in the market for another car. Okay. Oh, really? And my question is moral, financial, and structural. All right, go ahead. Near Fletcher is a salvage company, and they make cars by putting together parts of cars that have been in wreck.

I love it. Oh, from base metals. Like alchemists. This is great. I mean, every time you go to a junkyard, and if you want, if you're going to buy something of the car, they always tell you that the accident occurred at the other end of the car. Right. Exactly.

Which means there are cars with fronts that are okay and backs that aren't. And left sides, right sides, middles. Yeah. So what if you get your eye on? Well, so I was looking at a Subaru, which was hit in the back. Of course. And which was remade from two other Subaru. So what year is this?

Well, we don't know. It's 91, 92, 93. This is great. What year is it predominantly? 99 The front of the back It's predominantly a 99 Subaru

Wow And what do they want for it About 14,000 And it's got 11,000 miles on it The front does The front What's the back? Like a Chevy Monza

Or is it another Subaru? No It's seamless It really is beautiful It does look like a new car But my question is Yeah You know

Is it as good as a new car? This is a Subaru what, first of all? Is it outback? Forrester. A forester. A forester. Oh, no. Too much money.

You can buy a brand new one for 20. Well, that's the moral part of the question. I really believe in recycling. Well, you get one of your friends to buy it. Well, I mean, this is not an impossible thing to do. And it's quite likely that they can make. make a car out of two or three, it's very likely. And it's done all the time.

However, bear in mind this. The original car was hit so badly that it was totaled by the insurance company. That's how these guys came to own this car. So do you want that car that was cobbled together from a total? It's possible that the thing got hit so badly that the frame is twisted. And, you know, the thing may look great and it may run great, but it may chew up tires. It may not handle correctly. But see, those are things that you could find out.

Maybe not. Not easily. Don't forget. She's in. Fletcher. Yeah. Ah, that's true. Yeah, find out from whom.

It is a lot of money. It's way too much. You would think that if they were doing what they're doing, they ought to be able to sell it to you for nine grand instead of 14. That's what I would. off of them. I think that's too much money. The moral issue, I don't know about morality, and the structural

issue we've already covered, so we're all set. Are we done? Okay, bye. Hey, Karen, it's a pleasure to talk to you. But shop around for use one, and then you can go to these guys and say, look, I can buy this one that has never been hit. Maybe it has a few more miles on it, but I can buy this thing for like 14-8. If you'll sell me this thing

for 8,800, you've got a deal. Call me. Okay. But that's what it should be. I think it should be less than 10 for sure. Okay. Good luck. Thanks very much. Bye-bye. Bye-bye.

It can't be less than 10 because they put $11,000 into fixing it because it was totaled. Not going to be less than 10. Well, it's happened again. You've vaporized. You're another hour listening to Car Talk. Our esteemed producer is Doug the subway fugitive Bongo Boy Berman. Our associate producers are Louis Cronin the Barbarian and David Gibraltar. There's a story there.

There is. Our engineer is the laughing Tad Paul, Tad Masamon Kari. There is a story there, too. There is, evidently. Our senior web lackey is Doug Sheep Boy Mayor and our technical, spiritual, and menu advisor. Just back from his triumphant rematch at the Trenton Transmission Rebuilder,

topas entangled tournament, is John Bugsy Lawler. Our public opinion poster was Paul Murky of Merkey Research, assisted by statistician Margin Overa. Our customer care representative is Haywood Jabuzov. Our in-house literary critic is Al Ligori. Oh, very good. Our director of allergy research is Teresa Pollinating. Director of roadway resurfacing is Sylvia Potholy.

And our air traffic controller, of course, is Yulanda Yulucky. Our sexual harassment investigator is Hank Pankey. Our New York-based dispute settlement coordinator is you talking to me. Our Elvis impersonator from the Cairo offices, Amal shook up. Our Russian chauffeur is peek-off and drop-off. And our seat cushion tester is Mike Easter. Our chief counsel, of course, from the law from Dewey Cheyman-Hau. is you Louis Dewey, known to the Ben Affleck Warnobees

in Harvard Square as Ui Louis Dewey. Thanks so much for listening. We're clicking and clack to Tappert Brothers. Don't drive like my brother. Don't drive like my brother. And if I forgot to mention it, don't drive like my brother. We'll be back next week. Bye, bye.

To get a cassette copy of this show, which is number 124, you can surf by the Shameless Commerce Division at the Car Talk section of Cars.com. Or if your computer is tied up downloading Vladimir Putin's 4-Alarm, chili recipe. You can always order by phone. The number is 1, 888 car junk. That's 888 car junk. Car Talk is a production of Dewey Cheatham and Howe and WBUR in Boston. And even though Leona Helmsley hacks up a hairball whenever she hears us say it, this is NPR National Public Radio.