no, not really. my car is a lease! only has to last me 36 months until i can pick up my ferrari (or 2005 civic DX, depending on how life goes..)

I did recently wash my car this last time so that might explain it (although i doubt it is freezing there since I live in cali and I garage my car). Glad to know!

 

To reiterate, there are two very different clunks that can happen when moving the car after sitting for a while.

The first is when putting the shifter into gear. If the engine had been idling with the clutch out (such as during a warm-up), the clutch side shaft of the gearbox is spinning at engine speed (or some ratio of that speed). When you put it in gear, the syncros have to slow down the shaft to a stop (because you are not moving) to engage the gear. This can cause an audible "clunk". You can avoid this by putting the clutch in, waiting 10 seconds or so (for the shaft to slow down on its own), then putting it in gear.

The second "clunk" is the sticky brake pad noise. This will happen when you actually start to move the car, as opposed to putting it in gear. Recent washes or nasty rainstorms followed by sitting for a while will cause this. As others have said, the brakes rust a bit when wet and let sitting for a while, and the "clunk" is the pads breaking free as the wheel starts to move. If you see rust spots on the rotor before you get in, you're probably in for a "clunk".

 

Rusty disks sure sounds terrible, is it? I also get this and it is definitely car wash related. Shouldn't I use the emergency brake after I wash the car?

Today, I brought it in ('00 with 23,000 miles) because it was making a noise as I came to a stop and they resurfaced both front brake rotors (no charge). Anybody else experience this?

Could the clunk from rusty brakes and this problem be related?