Me & My Car
[Columnist Jonathan Welsh answers readers' questions about automobiles]
专栏作家Jonathan Welsh就汽车问题答读者问题
Q: My BMW dealer advises me not to rotate my tires so that they can develop a 'set' and grip the road better. I would welcome your thoughts.
-- Marc Hyre, Cleveland
问：我的宝马汽车(BMW)经销商建议我不要进行轮胎换位，这样它们会形成一个“模式”，实现更好的抓地性能。我想知道你的看法。
──克利夫兰Marc Hyre
A: This advice doesn't make sense, especially when I consider the number of complaints I have heard about short-lived tires on BMWs. Rotation is a good practice because it helps drivers extract the most mileage from their tires. If doing so compromises performance, the effect is so slight that you will never notice in everyday driving.
答：这样的建议没什么意义，尤其是考虑到我听过诸多有关宝马汽车轮胎寿命太短的抱怨。轮胎换位是个好习惯，因为这样能让驾车者增加轮胎的行驶里程。要说这样做会影响性能，其影响也十分微小，你在日常驾驶中根本不会注意到。
Q: I'm interested in buying an Audi A3 compact. Since my budget is capped at $20,000, I am looking at certified pre-owned 2006-07 models. The reviews in Consumer Reports on Audi's reliability record are unfavorable. Are the problems serious enough that I'll be in the shop every month?
-- Andrew Au, San Francisco
问：我想买一辆奥迪(Audi)A3小型车。由于我的预算最多只有2万美元，我在考虑买2006-07年生产的原厂认证的二手车。《消费者报道》(Consumer Reports)杂志上对奥迪的可靠性评价不高。这样的问题严重吗，我会不会老得去修车？
──旧金山Andrew Au
A: I think you should go for the A3, which happens to be one of my favorite cars. It's true that some Audi models do not have the highest reliability scores, but I don't think a used A3 would necessarily need frequent repairs.
答：我觉得你应该买A3，它也是我最喜欢的车型之一。一些奥迪车型的可靠性得分确实不是最高的，但我觉得二手A3并不一定总要修理。
It is often the case with used cars that the first driver has already addressed maintenance problems associated with mechanical defects and other shortcomings. I also think that if we based our buying decisions strictly on reliability ratings, the road would become a boring place.
二手车常常有这种情况：最初的车主已经处理过与机械缺陷和其他缺点相关的维修问题。同时我也认为，如果严格依据可靠性评级来做决定，路上的景色也就没那么多姿多彩，而会沉闷不堪了。
Jonathan Welsh
