Whirring, rattling, clanking, screeching, squealing, and grinding—All are sounds you might hear as the mileage adds up on your car. Chances are, you know your car’s noises well enough to know when it’s got a new one.

Sounds can mean there’s a broken or worn part that needs replacing, or that a part is starting to wear. They can also mean nothing, and may be a harmless peep that innocently comes with time and age. Part of doing your own repairs means knowing how to diagnose issues. Of course, there is no guarantee a certain sound will point to a specific part, but it can narrow it down to some possibilities. From there, it may take some additional troubleshooting to find the cause.

Here’s some common sounds and what they can mean depending on their location.

Location: The Wheel

Read More

Want to squeeze more mileage out of an older vehicle? While not every car is built to last beyond 200,000 miles, some models are known to endure with proper care. This list in particular includes mostly Toyota and Honda models, but also a Ford F-150.

Of course it’s nice to hear about cars and trucks that can last that long, but what about the ones that actually have? I caught up with one of our interns, Cristian Hera, who answered some questions about his Corolla, which has already passed the 300,000 mile mark. He shared some tips of what to look for in a used vehicle, how to take care of it as it ages, what kind of repairs he’s done and expects to do, how long he expects it to last, and other neat facts about his cherished daily driver.

• About Cristian’s Car
• Cristian’s Tips to Make Your Car Last
• Quick, Fun Facts

About Cristian’s Car

What do you drive?

1995 Toyota Corolla DX Station Wagon, 1.8L 7A-FE, 5-speed manual. It was made in Japan (most were made in the US).

What drew you to it?

Read More

October 5 is Global James Bond Day, in honor of the release date of Dr. No, the first James Bond movie in theaters. Bond has great taste in suits, cocktails, and, let’s say companions, but especially in cars. Here are the ten coolest cars from the James Bond movies.

10. 1974 AMC Hornet

Wait? We’re starting a list of cool Bond cars with an AMC? Are AMCs even cool? They are when Bond’s driving. In The Man with the Golden Gun, Bond jumped the little American hatch off a collapsed bridge and completed a full barrel roll. The actual car used to film the jump was sold at auction in 2017 for $110,000, in “as-jumped” condition.

Check out this interview to find out how they put the corkscrew jump on screen.

Read More

1A Auto held it’s annual car show on September 9, 2018. Even though the skies were grey, 165 people brought their cars to show. You could see everything from cleaned up classics, to complete customs, imports, and rat rods. It was an awesome show. I was lucky enough to talk to many of the owners of this interesting pieces. Here are some of my personal favorites. They may not necessarily be the rarest or most valuable, just the ones that piqued my admittedly idiosyncratic tastes.

Read More

When you buy a car from a dealer, you expect it to work and run at its best. Sometimes bad things happen too soon. The clear coat or paint fades. The body is prone to rust. Misfires keep happening to everyone’s bewilderment. A haunting check engine light reveals the same codes that just won’t go away. You’ve taken it to the shop or dealership under warranty, and after several tries, nothing works. The car is no longer driveable, safe, or as valuable. Now you have a sour taste in your mouth. So, what do you do?

Read More

At 1A Auto, we just don’t sell parts, we live and love everything automotive. That’s a big part of why we’ve been putting on a charity car show for 9 years. Of course, the main thing is to give back to some great causes, but it’s always fun to show off our favorite pieces of machinery. If you come out to the car show in Pepperell, MA on September 9, there’s a good chance you’ll see some of these cool cars that belong to members of the 1A team.

Read More

The dashboard is about the last thing you’d expect to break on your car. It’s just a big piece of plastic after all. What could go wrong? Well, hundreds of Dodge Ram owners have experienced this problem. Some Ram dashboards develop cracks and can eventually break into pieces.

How Common is it for the dashboard to crack on Dodge Rams?

CarComplaints.com has recorded over 600 complaints for the 2001 model year alone. According to the website, it’s the most common complaint for that year. The problem persisted for several years. Car Complaints points to the 1999-2003 model years, but DodgeProblems.com notes cracking dashboards in models from 1998 all the way up to 2006.

The New York Times found over 200 complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration about the problem. Keep in mind these numbers just represent the people who took the time to file a complaint.

How Bad Is It?

The problem can start with hairline cracks, but in some cases entire chunks of the dashboard come off. One of the NHTSA complaints the New York Times found noted that a piece of dashboard flew off and hit the owner in the face. Holes in the dashboard can also let moisture and debris into the equipment underneath. In one report, this resulted in shorted wires, horn, and lighting failures.

Read More