When filming began, they only had one 1964 Chevy Malibu. It was stolen a couple of days into filming, forcing the film crew to scramble to find a replacement. Shortly after finding a replacement, the original was recovered by the police undamaged. This was fortunate timing because about a day later Fox Harris severely damaged one of the Malibus by accidentally ploughing it into a gasoline pump. In the carwash scene, one of the gas pumps is clearly severely dented up and damaged. This is the pump Fox plowed into in a previous take.
Harry Dean Stanton wanted to do a 'baseball-type signal' to Emilio Estevez in a scene where he had to show him where to park a car. Cox - a notorious sports-hater - refused the suggestion. According to Alex Cox on the DVD commentary, Stanton lost his temper: "I've worked with the greatest directors of all time. Francis Ford Coppola. Monte Hellman. You know why they're great? Because they let me do whatever the fuck I wanted!"
Alex Cox visited Iggy Pop personally at his apartment, to explain the movie to him and request that he do a song for the soundtrack. Iggy's career was going through a rough patch at that point - prompted in part by the singer's 'wild lifestyle' - and he needed some money and breathing space. It also helped that Cox gave Iggy carte blanche to do whatever he wanted with the song. "It was like a gift from God to express myself," said Iggy of the opportunity.
No special effects were used to make the Chevy Malibu glow while parked at the repossession lot. Instead, the car was completely coated with 3M reflective paint, at an approximate price of $600 per bucket.
Zander Schloss, who plays Kevin the Nerd, ended up joining the punk band Circle Jerks after production ended. They play on the soundtrack and appear in the movie as the lounge act that Otto "can't believe [he] used to like."