When should I use a car?

[Axiom]

Now that I have a car, I'm guessing I probably shouldn't just roll it down main street to go exploring. I'm wondering if anyone can give some tips on the best time to use the car for some loot runs, or exploration... vs when not to use the car. Does it essentially just reach a point where you can only go so far on foot... so you of course start to take the car out further?

[Bambi]

Honestly, using a car is imo something you shouldn't be afraid of. I know cars are spooky for new players cus they make a lot of noise and attract a lot of attention, but they're probably the single most useful tool you'll have in your apocalypse.

Unfortunately you can only do so much on foot, you'll loot all your nearby buildings and find yourself going further out, misjudge time one night and find yourself spending the night in a very questionable location.

Most of the time if I head out of my bases, I take a car or my truck. It helps to know in advance WHERE you want to go so you can plan how you're going to arrive at the location. I use the interactive map found here: Here.[map.projectzomboid.com]

Don't be afraid of the cars and the noise they make, sure the noise they make can get you killed but it's also very helpful at luring zombies away from the location you wanna hit. Lure them away with the engine noise and the horn, do a quick U-Turn gun it back to the place you're aiming for and you should be golden to deal with the stragglers. I tend to turn the car engine off before I've arrived back at the building and coast in to a stop, not sure if it helps but I like to think it does.

Hope this helps!

[Axiom]

Thanks, I'll try some of that.

[miscellaneous unc]

Don't be afraid of the car or of sound in general. You can use the horn to pull zombies away from your area and into a fireplace or just into a forest somewhere. Zombies are pretty dumb.

[VANGUARD]

A decent muffler helps with reducing engine noise.
You'll have to train mechanics up, though, if you want to install one.

@Bambi, rather than turning off the engine I think it's already enough to just not step as much on the gas pedal.
I've had it several times where I could just coast behind zombie's backs without alerting them.

[Cult of Nobody]

Use the car and you'll find other cars and then you'll end up with about 30 cars at your base.

We are currently playing on a server with Low car spawn and most of the cars are in poor condition. We made a run to Ekron and came back with 2 more cars.... Granted one of them would only go a few feet before it died but we still got it back.

Even playing solo I always had a fleet of vehicles so I never had to go anywhere on foot.

[bulbatrs]

I think cars are overrated, they are not the holy grail many speak of. Once you reach higher sprinting skills you can jog 70% of what you can make on a car. In general jogging is easier to get around and with medium strength you can haul 2 large backpacks without any problems. You can literally jog around the whole map and never use cars.
Cars do make some things easier, but also involve it's own risks. Their best use is to get generators around.

[Retro]

Originally posted by bulbatrs:

In general jogging is easier to get around and with medium strength you can haul 2 large backpacks without any problems. You can literally jog around the whole map and never use cars.

No, you cannot simply jog around the whole map. Not only will it take forever to do it, but you get tired, you have to rest. And depending where you are, it won't be safe and you'll be exposed to the elements.
Then there's that whole thing of having no place to put your loot. And no, 2 large back packs don't cut it. Even if your loot haul isn't that much, you're still hauling it, therefore you get tired much quicker.
LMAO, "cars are overrated"

No offense, I say some very dumb things too...but your post might be the dumbest thing I've read on here in a long time.

[AlexSledge]

Dunno about others, but cars are one of my main weapons.

[bulbatrs]

I jogged around the whole map. carried loot from 3 backpacks. Obviously you can and it's very efficient and surprisingly fast.
I also use cars, so I can compare both and that's my conclusion from using both methods.

[Larus]

Originally posted by bulbatrs:

I jogged around the whole map. carried loot from 3 backpacks. Obviously you can and it's very efficient and surprisingly fast.
I also use cars, so I can compare both and that's my conclusion from using both methods.

Jogging from places like Riverwood to Louisville can be descripted with many words, surprisingly fast isn't among it ;)

[bulbatrs]

There is no riverwood, but from riverside 3-4 days of jogging.
I wonder if it's doable in 2 days with maxed out sprinting and fitness skills.

[Swiftbear]

When to use a car? Besides finding a weapon and a bag / backpack a car is is tie with finding a bag. It's that important to me, I can use it as a weapon against a horde, I can use it to escape, travel, mobile base, sleep, storage.

[bulbatrs]

Originally posted by Bender24k:

Yikes. Jogging from town to town? No base building? No looting runs? The good stuff is always so far away. To each his own playstyle, but that's 100% not for me.

How is jogging tied to not base building and no looting runs? quite the opposite as you would want more bases around the map for easier travels.

[Axiom]

Originally posted by Bender24k:

Yikes. Jogging from town to town? No base building? No looting runs? The good stuff is always so far away. To each his own playstyle, but that's 100% not for me.

Oh no I don't plan to jog town to town. I'm mostly just trying to understand when I should use my car, and when I shouldn't. I took it on a little test drive and had a massive swarm on me. I was lucky to lose them.

[matheus-mfp]

Originally posted by Axiom:

Originally posted by Bender24k:

Yikes. Jogging from town to town? No base building? No looting runs? The good stuff is always so far away. To each his own playstyle, but that's 100% not for me.

Oh no I don't plan to jog town to town. I'm mostly just trying to understand when I should use my car, and when I shouldn't. I took it on a little test drive and had a massive swarm on me. I was lucky to lose them.

The cars have different levels of engine noise. Check the bonet of the cars, click in the engine icon and there you can see the engine noise lvl.
If you want a more "sneaky" car you should find one of those little hatchs, its something like 27 noise, while a pickup truck is about 70 noise.

You can store things in the seats of the car so you have more storage plus the boot