The Best of Car Talk podcast artwork

PODCAST · comedy

The Best of Car Talk

America's funniest auto mechanics take calls from weary car owners all over the country, and crack wise while they diagnose Dodges and dismiss Diahatsus. You don't have to know anything about cars to love this one hour weekly laugh fest.

Publisher-supplied feed metadata · PodParley refreshed Apr 4, 2026 · Source feed

  1. 4

    #2653: Mechanic with Benefits

    John is in the early stages of Ferrari ownership. Along with the exorbitant bills he’s noticing a certain ‘extra special attention’ from the dealership mechanics. Click and Clack help John decide if his mechanic’s intentions are pure on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.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

  2. 3

    #2652: Bozo's Garage

    Rob’s family cross-country vacation has turned into a disaster: Black smoke is pouring out of the back of the car, transmission fluid is pouring out from under the hood, his mother-in-law is giving him dopeslaps from the back seat and the only help within 20 miles is a place called “Bozo’s Garage”. Could things possibly get any worse? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.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

  3. 2

    #2651: Baddabing! Baddabang!

    Livinia hears explosions every time her Dodge minivan hits a pothole. In an effort to zero in on the source, Click and Clack have to suss out the possibilities: one of which, it seems, has to do with an Italian-American neighborhood somewhere. Join us for this episode of the Best of Car Talk.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

  4. 1

    #2650: Non Impediti Ratione Cogitationis

    When Mary Jo told Click and Clack that her windshield was pitted and hard to see thru, Tommy entered a trance-like state and rattled off an amazing string of successful predictions about Amy, her car and her driving habits. Did Tommy’s moment of near-divinity include any actually useful information? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.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

  5. 0

    #2649: Look Out for Those Gila Monsters!

    Goria is about to cross the Southwestern US in her Honda that she is told needs a new timing belt. Will she make it or will she get stranded and end being buzzard meat on the side of the road? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.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

  6. -1

    #2648: Where's Fred?

    Bob’s extended family drove home from a recent outing, climbed out of their BMW and shuffled back into the house. A half hour later, someone finally noticed that grandpa was nowhere to be found. He was stuck inside the BMW, unable to get the locked doors to open. Handy feature or dangerous design flaw? We discuss on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.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

  7. -2

    #2647: Service With a Smile

    Raegan was doing a nice thing and brought her boyfriend’s Jeep to a local mechanic for a tune up. The mechanic not only tuned-up the vehicle but he also had it detailed and he refused to accept payment for any of the work, saying that he was simply glad to have Raegan as a new customer. Has Raegan found that unicorn, “the altruistic mechanic” or did this grease monkey have the hots for her? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.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

  8. -3

    #2646: Rent a Mongoose Dot Com

    Brian’s kid is a typical, curious 8-year-old who brought his new buddy, a snake that he had just caught, into their car where it promptly escaped. The little guy pokes his head out from under the dash from time-to-time and Brian wonders if they should start feeding it or sell the car. It’s another episode of Click and Clack’s Wild Kingdom on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.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

  9. -4

    #2645: Stink Bug

    Ashley called us to say that when she takes long trips in her ’74 Volkswagen Bug she feels nauseous and has trouble staying awake. Sounds like a drive with Click and Clack after a chili dinner, but could this be more serious? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.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

  10. -5

    #2644: Who's the Bigger Slob?

    Julianne called Click and Clack hoping to get a clue in hunting down a nasty smell somewhere in her car. Instead she ended up on the wrong end of a sweeping generalization regarding whether men or women are the bigger automotive slobs. Judgement rendered on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.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

  11. -6

    #2643: Breaking-in the Brakes

    Colleen’s 85-yr-old dad was told by his mechanic that to properly ‘break-in his brakes’ he should be varying his speed between 30-50mph and applying the brakes periodically for several days of driving. So dad has been dutifully out on the local freeway causing mayhem by applying the brakes willy nilly and going well under the speed limit. Is dad’s mechanic correct -and is it time to plan dear old dad’s final services? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk. 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

  12. -7

    #2638: Melissa Strikes Back

    Sherlock Holmes has Professor Moriarty. Superman has kryptonite. And Car Talk is cursed with… a little girl from Seattle who says mean stuff to us. That’s right: Melissa Peterson is back for another round in the ring with Click and Clack. The smart money is on that little twerp for this episode of the Best of Car Talk.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

  13. -8

    #2637: Meet the Staff

    It’s not often we get a call from members of the Car Talk staff during the show. And you’d expect that call to be from our chauffeur Pickov Andropov or perhaps our automotive seat tester, Mike Easter, but instead we hear from Pat McCann of our HR department. Somebody’s in trouble on this episode of the Best of Car Talk. 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

  14. -9

    #2636: In Praise of Cleveland

    Marian’s Ford pickup is bouncing all over Cleveland, so she had a local shop replace her shocks and… it’s still bouncing around Cleveland. Click and Clack figure it out in about 10 seconds and proceed to work on the bigger problem: ‘Why Cleveland?’ on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.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

  15. -10

    #2635: Knock, Knock...

    …”Who’s there?” Debra with her impossible knocking noise, that’s who. All we know is that it isn’t coming from the engine compartment. Wild guessing ensues on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.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

  16. -11

    #2634: Bug Bomb

    The Brothers suggested Bob from Texas could rid his car of horseflies by using a ‘bug bomb’ to flood the passenger compartment with insecticide. Bob returns for our in-show ’Quality Control’ program, “Stump the Chumps”, where we all get to find out if that suggestion met the standards of sound mechanical advice or, as is more likely in Bob’s case, a negligence lawsuit. Order in the Court! for this episode of the Best of Car Talk.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

  17. -12

    #2633: Hacker Heaven

    Larry’s 14-year-old kid wants the two of them to find an old car to rebuild so kiddo can drive it when he gets his license in a few years. What a great father/son bonding experience, right? You’d think our two hosts -who used to run a DIY repair shop years ago- might be all for it, but maybe not. Find out what Click and Clack think on this episode of the Best of Car TalkSee 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

  18. -13

    #2632: Brilliant or Crazy

    Rebecca’s Honda won’t go into reverse, but that may not be her biggest problem at the moment because Tommy can’t decide if Ray’s answer is clever or just nuts. And since Tommy himself may be one entree short of a combo platter where does that leave the rest of us? It’s a fine line between brilliant and crazy on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.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

  19. -14

    #2631: The MechanXfiles

    The 'Speed of Darkness', a 'laying on of hands' and paranormal activities in the Pentagon parking lot. This episode of the Best of Car Talk is definitely ‘out there’, somewhere.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

  20. -15

    #2630: Private Mag Lee Ozee!

    Back in the days of compulsory military service here in the US, there was, for a brief time, a certain ‘Private Magliozzi’ struggling mightily to keep his sanity through army basic training. ‘Drop and give us 20’ while you listen to this episode of the Best of Car Talk.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

  21. -16

    #2629: The Babysitter Tells All

    Faith from Washington wants to make a trade: car advice in exchange for embarrassing tales from our wayward producer Dougie Berman’s childhood. It’s a deal on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.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

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

America's funniest auto mechanics take calls from weary car owners all over the country, and crack wise while they diagnose Dodges and dismiss Diahatsus. You don't have to know anything about cars to love this one hour weekly laugh fest.

HOSTED BY

NPR

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does The Best of Car Talk have?

The Best of Car Talk currently has 21 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is The Best of Car Talk about?

America's funniest auto mechanics take calls from weary car owners all over the country, and crack wise while they diagnose Dodges and dismiss Diahatsus. You don't have to know anything about cars to love this one hour weekly laugh fest.

How often does The Best of Car Talk release new episodes?

The Best of Car Talk has 21 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

Where can I listen to The Best of Car Talk?

You can listen to The Best of Car Talk on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts The Best of Car Talk?

The Best of Car Talk is created and hosted by NPR.
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