It’s a special moment for any car-lover when they finally get their hands around the steering wheel of their dream car. Unfortunately, the dream doesn’t always live up to the reality. Just ask the guy from Stephen King’s Christine, whose vehicle turned out to be alive and evil. And talking about cars being alive, Em’s own experience buying her dream car took a nightmarish turn when she turned on the ignition and the engine made a peculiarly human noise.
TikTok user @em07078 went viral for a short but hilarious video in which she recorded herself putting the keys in the ignition of her new car. Well, new old car. Em explained in the caption that she had just bought a second-hand 22-year-old Volkswagon Beetle from Facebook Marketplace. It seems now she’s having second thoughts about the purchase, however, as, um, well, just watch the video for yourself.
Yes, it sounds like Em’s new jalopy has the sniffles. At least she’s kind enough to say “bless you” to the car after it sneezes. For many in the comments, though, it’s not the sneeze but the random scream that sounds at the end of the video that’s the most noteworthy thing about Em’s car. “Why did it scream?” asked on, while another giggled, “The scream took me out.” In the comments, Em clarifies that it’s her kid’s scream, and honestly now we have even more questions. Is her child Goofy?
Others could relate to Em’s predicament all too well. “MINE TOOOOOO, i replaced the belt and the girl started to smoke???” one commenter/owner of a diva of a car shared. “Like honey one thing at a time please.” Another sleep-deprived user indicated that this exact sound is drilled into their brains forever more: “are you my neighbor?? 5am every day.”
OK, for the curious out there, let’s solve the big question here: why is Em’s car sneezing? The problem is actually a common one for VW Beetles — the sound is caused by a sticky starter motor. “Due to the location of the starter (over the top of the gearbox) they get alot of internal dust which i think comes from the clutch. common on vws,” one comment helpfully explained. The only thing is the mechanics of TikTok are split on whether this is an immediate problem or something that you can learn to live with.
“That can destroy the whole starter because a starter is designed to spin at around 250-350 RPMS and it being stuck on the flywheel makes it spin 4 times faster shortening the starters lifespan,” warned one, even as someone else assured Em: “It’s the starter motor not retracting in time. Apparently it doesn’t actually affect it. Mines been doing it for a year. It’s about 150 for a new starter motor so might as well do it till it breaks.”
Em clarifies in a reply that she knew all this already, and a glimpse at her account makes it clear that she was aware that this beetle would be a fixer-upper: she bought it for just £400 via Facebook and she outlines in another video how she’s going to restore it to its former glory as she’s wanted to own such a car since she was a kid. On closer inspection, then, Em’s story is less like Christine and more like the British Bumblebee spinoff we didn’t know we needed.