Pick a Car, Any Car

Pick a Car, Any Car is the first half of Episode 6 in Season 7 of Arthur. It first aired on November 25, 2002 with "Jenna's Bedtime Blues."

Summary
The Read family car breaks down again, and this time the mechanic tells them fixing it would be more expensive than buying a new car. Determined to help his family save money (really because of his childhood memories of the car), Arthur tries to find the problem, and even calls some professionals for help.

Plot
Arthur and his family always had the same car, their purple station wagon, even since he and D.W. could remember. But the car now appears to have broken down, but Arthur hopes it's fixed, since he likes the car. Meanwhile, the parents call a mechanic named Joe and he tows their car in to get it fixed at Best Repair Shop. Joe says that the engine's serpentine belt is overloading the transmission, and that the head gasket and piston rods are also in bad shape. But unfortunately, any attempt to fix the car, the cost was too high. At home, D.W. wonders if they're going to get a new car, but Arthur objects it, and would rather keep the car they have, despite mechanical problems; but the parents say they can only afford cars that have been previously used, but that they're new to whoever buys it. D.W. asks for an RV, but their mother says it's too costly and that they would rather get a smaller car, which is shown to be a 2-passenger roadster (closely resembling a first-generation Mazda Miata) in the dream sequence. Their father pictures himself driving a charcoal gray SUV (closely resembling a 1993-1998 Jeep Grand Cherokeemodel), driving on the road on the rocky cliffs. Later at night, Arthur's father says that if they can't sell their purple car, it must be delivered to the junkyard. Arthur wonders what the junkyard is, and his mother tells him the junkyard is the place for vehicles that have completely broken down and cannot be fixed. Then Arthur has a nightmare about the car having been taken to the junkyard, and is dressed as a bandit, attempting to salvage the car from being discarded. Arthur then gets inside the car through the open window of the driver door and rolls up the window before the guard dog attempts to go after him and get inside. Arthur then attempts to start the car, but the crane grabs the roof of the car and lifts it above the ground. The man operating crane is revealed to be Joe the mechanic who was attempting to fix the car in Arthur's reality. Arthur quickly jumps out of the car and watches the car get thrown into the incinerator. Arthur then wakes up and finds out it was just a dream. The next morning, when Arthur and Buster are walking to school, Buster hints to Arthur that his family could get a better car, like Buster's mother Bitzi's. However, in the flashback, Bitzi's car turns out to be a dilapidated car which had a knocking sound from the engine, the body bouncing up and down; and the interior had worn-out upholstery and seat belts, although some of the tear in the upholstery were duct taped, plus Buster was jumping up and down in the car while Arthur was sitting still. When Arthur finally returns home from school, his family's car is back from Best Repair Shop, but is surprised to see the "FOR SALE" sign on the windshield inside the car, but Arthur wants his family to keep the car.

The next day on Saturday, Read family then goes to Crosswire Motors, owned by Muffy's father Ed Crosswire to test drive some cars. The parents try out a station wagon that is slightly larger than theirs, but Arthur says the seats are not as comfortable as the ones in their car. Then they try out some more cars including a yellow hatchback, a red minivan (closely resembling a 2000-2006 Mazda MPV), a blue pickup truck, and a convertible (only with Arthur and D.W. in it), but Arthur objected them all, since he only prefers the car they still own. The next Monday, when Arthur and Buster are heading for school, a green station wagon driven by Bailey pulls up and then Muffy in the back seat asks Arthur if he would like a ride to school, and he accepts it, and then Buster attempts to get in too, but Muffy only wants Arthur to ride with her, leaving Buster rejected from the ride. While Arthur and Muffy ride to school, they both argue about cars, plus Muffy fiddles with the power window switches on the door panel. Muffy persuades to Arthur that his family would enjoy the car Bailey is driving, but Arthur disagrees and actually prefers the car his family owns that he doesn't want sold or discarded. Muffy then humiliates Arthur by telling him that cars die time after time. Arthur then quickly asks Bailey to stop so he can get out of the car and quit listening to Muffy put her pressure on him over which car she suggests. As Arthur gets out of the car, Muffy threatens to tell Arthur to apologize, because the car she believes that would be great for his family won't be around for long.

Back at the Read's house, Arthur's father and Joe are having a conversation about the broken down car. In Arthur's room, Arthur overhears his father and Joe talking about the car, and tells Buster that his father is going to sell it the mechanic who will take it to the junkyard. Outside, they hear a rattling noise from the car when Arthur's father is attempting to start it. Buster then suggests that Arthur should call The Car Talk Guys, Tom and Ray Magliozzi (celebrity cameo) (nee Click and Clack: The Tappet Brothers). When Arthur calls the Car Talk guys, he panics about the problem with his family's car, and asks for help on saving the car from being sold to the junkyard. Then, Buster holds the phone and makes a burping noise, imitating the sound the car made when Arthur's father was attempting to start it. The Car Talk guys suggest that the sound was literally a baby's rattle, which could be in the exhaust system. Arthur then tells his father and Joe that Baby Kate's rattle is in the exhaust pipe. The problem was proven correct, and Arthur's father pulls the rattle out of the exhaust pipe, and then Joe leaves. The car turns out it did not really have any problems at all. Then, Arthur's mother asks if they could go out for pizza, ice cream, etc., and Arthur decided that they would rather just go out for a drive. The Read family then goes for a drive in the car, and the car turned out to be in great condition.

Goofs

 * In the scene where Arthur goes to bed, you can see he has some clumps of hair like his father, despite the fact that Arthur is officially depicted as bald in the series.