AAA Car Doctor, John Paul
Bostondotcom: Welcome to the Boston.com chat with AAA Car Doctor, John Paul. Send in any car questions you may have!
hondo: I have a 2000 Honda CRV which just hit 90,000 miles. When should the timing belt be replaced? or is there a relatively inexpensive way to see if it needs replacement. THanks.
John_Paul: The timing belt should be changed at 105K or 7 years. The belt is about $70.00 and takes about 3.5 hours to change
MotorMike: How do you feel about the new Ford Shelby's? Are they worth the money?
John_Paul: It is worth the money if you can buy it at list price. The problem is the dealers are marking them way up. I drove one for about a week, one of the best rides ever
John_Paul: If you could be one for the list price it would be worth it. The problem is the dealers are really marking them up. I drove the Shelby GT500 for about a week and it was one of the best rides in a long time
MotorMike: When getting my oil changed they always try to sell me new air filters. I only buy them every few oil changes- is this the right thing to do?
John_Paul: Buy an air filter when it is dirty. This could be every 6 months if you drove in dirty dusty conditions or up to every 30K miles. It really depends on how and where your drive.
newbuyer: What car do you forsee being the top seller this Presidents' Day weekend?
John_Paul: My crystal ball says that fun economical cars should do well. This might be a Mini, Scion some Mazdas. The cross-overs (CUVs) are certainly popular
saab: How are 2003 saab 9-3's in the snow and ice?
John_Paul: The 9-3 is a great car in winter. But like all cars they get better with snow tires. I remeber driving an older 9-3 in realy snowy weather in Vermont, it had four snows and it was great.
winter: how long do you reccommend waiting for the car to warm up before you start driving?
John_Paul: Not long at all. With new cars once you get in adjust the heat, put your seatbelt on and adjust the mirrors that is about all the warm up your car needs. What I would suggest is drive nice and easy until the car fully warms up.
John_Paul: New cars don't need much. Start the car, put on your seatbelt, adjust your mirrors and that is about all your car needs. You are much better off driving nice and easy until the car fully warms up
mattoni: Hi Doc, I'm thinking of either purchasing a new Audi or Lexus. Which would you recommend for a long term investment?
John_Paul: Cars don't make good investments. Depending on which model the Lexus may do a bit better. The overall quality of the Lexus is a bit better. That said no one makes a nicer interior than Audi
mattoni: Is it really necessary to buy winter tires now or do you think I could sqeak out the rest of the summer with the normal ones I have now?
John_Paul: Depends on the car and when you have to get up and where you need to go. Most cars will do okay in Boston with all season tires. But think of tires like shoes, you wouldn't run a marathon with dress shoes. I'm cheap so for me unless I was the guy driving the snowplow I would try to get through the next month and a half without snows if my current tires are in decent shape
cargal: Is presidents' day really a good time to get the best deal, or is it a trumped up sales day?
John_Paul: Its a little hype to get people into the showrooms. But there are some deals to be had. If you are shopping, check all the websites for pricing. This should include all applicable rebates. Don't get pressured into any rush deals. Most rebates are running until at least the end of the month
BigRed: Hi John, what would you recommend as an affordable car with a GPS? They're mostly either expensive or not very good. Thank you.
John_Paul: Of the cars that have GPS, I really like the unit Honda and Nissan use. For my personal car I have a portable Maggelan and have found it to be very good. Not perfect but for $500 it has not dissapointed me
SuzyQ: Hi Paul. What do you think of the Hyundai's? My neice is getting one and I'm hoping it's safe and reliable.
John_Paul: I use to recommend Hyundai based only on price and warranty. Today they have all that and are good cars. The Sonata is great and the Santa Fe is a nice SUV
Bigwhun: Doc, what kind of car do you drive? What would you recommend for a first time buyer?
John_Paul: Now keep in ind I drive a different car every week. My wife has a VW Cabrio and I drive a (don't laugh) Kia Sorento. When I was shopping several years ago I was looking for a small SUV for weekend projects and to deal with bad weather commutes (about 100 miles per day) The Sorento met my needs and was priced right and had the big warranty
larry: Does Mazda have any new offerings at the car show?
John_Paul: Mazda has all kinds of cars and CUVs Thier crossovers are very good (except they need premium fuel). The Mazda speed cars especially the 3 is lots of fun for the money. For a small car with practical space the 5
LR2000: Hi, I have a 2000 Land Rover Discovery that I bought in Nov. 2004. The water pump needed to be replaced and was done at the dealership. I work from home and have only put 13,000 miles on it in 2 years. The water pump needs to be replaced again. Is that normal? The warranty for the waterpump was 12 months or 10,000 miles so I'm past warranty.
John_Paul: That is not normal. the new pump should have lasted as long (at least) as the old one. Perhaps there was an installation issue. I would think the dealer should offer some sort of help. Perhap offer to pay for parts and you pay for labor
tirechains: Do people still use chains for their tires in the snow?
John_Paul: Not around here. You still see chains up in upper state NY and in the midwest.
SuzyQ: Here's a question I'm almost too embarassed to ask: How important is it to warm up your car in cold weather? What can happen if you don't?
John_Paul: Popular question. Get in the car start it up. Adjust your seatbelt, mirriors and radio and that is plenty. The trick to avoid and damage it to drive nice and easy until the car warms up. This will reduce wear and tear to the entire car
oldiebutgoodie: how much longer to do you think i can hang onto my 1991 honda civic hatchback with 140K miles
John_Paul: Mechanically it should be okay as long as you do regular maintainence. The bigger issue may be rust. Almost any car today can last 175-200,000 miles with just a little care
John_Paul: My hour is just about up. You can always email me at jpaul@aaasne.com Read a new column evey Thurday in the Boston Globe and www.boston.com and tune into the Car Doctor radio program on WTTT am1150 Saturday mornings from 8-10
Bostondotcom: Thank you for all your questions today. Visit http://www.boston.com/bigdrive
