Journal-News

Dear Tom and Ray:

Would you discuss the ins and outs of "stocking up" on cars as a hedge against future inflation? For instance, I just bought a 2009 Honda Fit that I love and that is basically considered the best car in its class — with high-quality workmanship, excellent safety features, high miles per gallon and so on.

My point is, if one could live with the stylistic and other changes that will have occurred in cars by that time, one would have a "brand-new," high-quality car that represents a huge bargain when compared with the undoubtedly highly inflated prices of those future cars. Do you agree? — Steve

TOM: Steve, I think you've solved the problems of the American car industry. All the automakers have to do is stop selling their cars right now, put them in storage for 15 years and then sell them as gigantic bargains in 2024. Of course, it would mean that in 2024, they'd be selling cars with 15-year-old technology.

This sort of idea works well for things like toilet paper, Steve, where technological innovations are few and far between. But it's less predictable with cars. Fifteen years ago, no one would have predicted that electronic stability control would be a standard — and very effective — safety feature. Or that an inexpensive car like your Fit would come standard with side AND side-curtain air bags.

RAY: And while the Honda Fit gets excellent mileage now, compared with other cars on the road, it might not look so good in 15 years, when safer cars are getting even better mileage. So you're taking a significant risk.

TOM: For some people — like you — that's fine. I drive a car that's more than 30 years old, and it's good enough for me. I don't need any of that fancy stuff like ESC, anti-lock brakes or electronic ignition. Of course, I don't have to drive much. And having a bus stop near my house as "Plan B" helps me maintain that carefree attitude!

RAY: And then there's the opportunity cost of the money. If you sink $16,000 into an "extra" Honda Fit now, in 15 years, even if it's perfectly preserved, it's going to be worth a lot less than that. You'd be lucky to get $5,000 for it in 2024 if you needed to sell it.

TOM: Whereas if you invested that $16K in the stock market, by 2024 it could be worth $5,500!

Duct tape is great,but not for exhaust pipes

Dear Tom and Ray:

My son, 16, bought a '77 Pontiac Grand Prix. It's loud, with a big motor (muscle-car-type motor, original everything). Anyway, he sawed off the exhaust pipe to make it even louder, even though I told him he could get a ticket for this. He proceeded to tell me that this car "deserved" to be loud. Well, he got pulled over by a police officer, who told him he needed to make his car quieter. He tried to put the clamp back on it, but it doesn't hold. This brings me to my question: He asked me if duct tape will be OK to hold the pipe to the rest of the exhaust system, without starting some type of fire. I'm not a car expert, so we agreed to ask you guys. — Rob

RAY: Duct tape is pretty hearty stuff. But I don't think it's any match for pressurized, 800-degree exhaust, Rob.

TOM: Traditionally, we've always used frozen concentrated orange juice cans to patch up exhaust pipes. But sadly, they're now made out of cardboard. So we now recommend empty tomato paste cans.

RAY: Better than that, your kid can go to his local auto-parts store and buy an adapter. Almost all auto-parts stores sell metal sleeves that are either slightly larger or slightly smaller in diameter than your exhaust pipe.

The sleeve serves as a coupling, where you stick the severed pieces of the exhaust pipe in either end, and then clamp them down to hold them in place.

TOM: It's a cheap repair, and it won't last forever. But based on your son's approach to this car, I don't think you're going to need to plan for forever.

RAY: If you want something a little more permanent, or if he cut it too close to the muffler for the sleeve to work, take the car to a garage or a muffler shop, and ask them to butt the pipes together and weld them.

Send your comments or questions for Tom and Ray to: Car Talk Plaza, P.O. Box 3500 Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA 02238. Visit them on the Internet at www.cartalk.com.