[Skitterpop]

Yah John!

Originally Posted by JohnR

Yep - the $10 per hour guys check them out, not the $15-20 Flat Rate guys... Otherwise the FR guys would be cranking out checklists in 30 minutes a pop (and finding stuff that the Used Car Department would need to fix and pay for)...

One thing to keep in mind - all car makes brake - some more so than others and some more conspicuously than others.

Couple things I noticed in 7 years of working in dealer service departments in the 80s-90s with Toyota, Nissan, Subaru, Buick, & Jeep:

American Cars run well despite tune ups inthe sense that it is usually a problem with something that causes a poorly operating car.

Japanese cars are more dependent on tune ups to run well and are more susceptible to run like crap when not tuned up.

Japanese cars will last longer on the engine less so on the body (though that has improved considerably)

American factory paint jobs usually suck (far diffferent environmental regs).

Every manufacture has had BIG problems. some, like Toyota, hide them well, sometimes...

Most Tercels from 86-91 went thru expensive carburetors for years. The carbs would run rich and burn out the catalytic converters increasing the cost. A small handful of exceptional carb mechanics could overhaul them - once - and extend the life by about 18 months...

Most - as in MANY MANY MANY - V6 Toyota trucks, Tacomas, and especially the 4 Runners from 88-93or 94 (when they went from 3 liter to 3.4 liter V6) would blow thru headgaskets at dizzyingly expensive cost to the owners as it often happend a couple years after the warranty expired. This went on for years of 2000 dollar headgasket jobs until Toyota came out with some "fixes" and started buying some of the headgasket jobs

There was a recall on 87-90something Camrys to add a heat sink on the radio. Little problem was the radio would overheat and start a fire. - Happened to my mother's car outside a store in Westwood Mass....

Subarus leak like seives - oil and anti-freeze and often at the same time. Chew thru CV boots and axle shafts like Skoal in W Virginia

GM Quad 4s went thru headgaskets almost as fast as Toyota V6 trucks

GM Iron Duke 2.5L 4 cyls eat timing gears (pull up next to 80s-90s GM small & mid sixe cars sounding like marbles in a coffee can from the engine).

Ford power steering sucks

GM power steering REALLY sucks

Ohhhh could go on and on...