american cars suk!!

[PurpelNoon]

I read recently that car manufacturers are all using very sophisticated technology in their vehicles and the high-end German manufacturers as well as the Americans are having lots of problems with it. The article continued to state that the Japanese seem to be getting it right.

Whenever I can, I purchase American goods, especially if it means NOT buying something made in China. As far as American cars go, I think they have gotten better, but I still buy Japanese cars. I would love to buy an American car, but I'm not going to do so at my financial loss. Unfortunately.

[Pete_G]

Originally Posted by PurpelNoon

Whenever I can, I purchase American goods, especially if it means NOT buying something made in China. As far as American cars go, I think they have gotten better, but I still buy Japanese cars. I would love to buy an American car, but I'm not going to do so at my financial loss. Unfortunately.

Same here...

[Karl F]

they all suck, american, foreign, that's why mechanics and autobody guys have job security. new cars are overpriced, so if you can figger out which one will break down less, buy it, 'cause your payin' thru the nose, right up front, no need to continue the agony after.

that being said... How many purchase the extended warranty.. and is it worth it?

[thefishingfreak]

karl i bought it on my durango for close to 2 grand thank god. trans went. intake gasket.abs controller.a/c pump. and a host of other things. all under 60k miles.
if you don't just pray you get a wedsday made one. 'cause the monday and friday cars..........

[vineyardblues]

Karl , got the 7 years on my ford ...lol
It should pay for it's self......

VB

[thefishingfreak]

ohh try this too..
everyone go out to there car/truck.. right... open the drivers door and bend down to look at the bottom lip of the door, whear they fold the door skin over..i betya money there's allready rust there if it's more than a year old

[MoroneSaxatilis]

We got the xtended warrenty on our 2004 Trailblazer, but I haven't got it yet on the Silverado. I can still get it and probably will, it'll just cost a bit more. I have a soliticitation from GM on my desk right in front of me asking me if I'm interested as we speak.

Originally Posted by thefishingfreak

ohh try this too..
everyone go out to there car/truck.. right... open the drivers door and bend down to look at the bottom lip of the door, whear they fold the door skin over..i betya money there's allready rust there if it's more than a year old

Nope. Definately not here. We wash & wax these things VERY regularly, even this time of year. When we do, we detail them inside and out, and always take care to treat ALL the nooks & crannies.
Sure we want them to look good, but also NEED to protect our expensive, overpriced purchases (it cracks me up when people call a new car an "investment". It's NOT; it will make me NO money. It's a straight-up purchase).

[Raider Ronnie]

(it cracks me up when people call a new car an "investment". It's NOT; it will make me NO money. It's a straight-up purchase).[/QUOTE]


"straight up purchase"
More like a Necessary evil !!!!

[Vectorfisher]

Originally Posted by thefishingfreak

ohh try this too..
everyone go out to there car/truck.. right... open the drivers door and bend down to look at the bottom lip of the door, whear they fold the door skin over..i betya money there's allready rust there if it's more than a year old

Well my Ford is 10 years old and I dare you to find rust under any of the doors(all 3) You gotta take care of them and they will care for you, how many people actually wash the salt off the bottom of there doors 1x a month??? I do and that probably why my truck looks new still with nearly 170k on the odometer and started as my work truck for my business and now takes me hunting in Maine and pulls the boats all summer It is like anything else you get out what you put in, granted some vehicles have engineering prob's from the get go, you do your homework and avoid them. And before you tell me I got lucky and got a good one DONT because I can take you next door to my neighbors and show you the 93 E-250 van I sold him a year and half ago that had 276K on it and now has well over 300K and is driven daily :-)

[mikecc]

I have a 97 Chev 1500 only replaced a water pump on rust no rattles.
regular oil with Mobile 1
my fathers 97 Totota T100 has had the top end redone (recall)and front end done 3 times. Steering box(recall)also the bed is rotted thru at the wheel wells & replaced the rear bumper

I think I'll stick with the American

[Pete_G]

Originally Posted by thefishingfreak

ohh try this too..
everyone go out to there car/truck.. right... open the drivers door and bend down to look at the bottom lip of the door, whear they fold the door skin over..i betya money there's allready rust there if it's more than a year old

Yep. And I'm more meticulous then almost anybody out there when it comes to car care. Anybody who's been to the shop has seen the shiniest silver paint ever on my truck in the lot. A few have even been treated to me yelling at a tourist opening their door into it. My door jambs get waxed regularly, nevermind the rest of my truck. I'm up in the wheel wells with a brush and everything (especially the bottom lip of the door since it rusts there) gets dried carefully after a wash. The truck, top and bottom, gets hand washed almost weekly even during the winter. Yet there's rust...

[thefishingfreak]

squirt PeNaTrating oil in there from day one, with the straw

[Raider Ronnie]

American auto engineers are some of the most brilliant people in the world !!!
Sure, Toyota can (and does) build a vehicle that will last forever !!!
But the way American car makers can design and build a car that will start to fall apart after the warrarty or length of the auto loan is up, so they can keep taking your money!
Now thats brilliant !!!

[Pete_G]

Originally Posted by Karl F

that being said... How many purchase the extended warranty.. and is it worth it?

I bought a bumper to bumper 6year/100k warranty for my Tacoma and I've actually had occasions to use it. Several times though, imo, something that should have been covered was denied. Starting this past summer, I've had to be careful with the truck on warm days since it will occasionally overheat. When it was brought in for diagnosis they said it had poor coolant flow, yet they wouldn't replace anything suspect such as the radiator, water pump or t-stat. They just left me hanging. The ultimate kick in the nuts was that the next step in finding out what is wrong would be on my dime, pulling the radiator for a flow test to the tune of $600. This is a '01 truck with 70k warrantied to 100k. I was ready to blow stuff up at that point. The additional bonus is that in a couple cases some of the dealerships acted as though it was a huge chore, complete with an eye roll in my direction, to contact Toyota to get clearance for a warranty item.

Overall customer service has been a disappointment nevermind that the truck hasn't exactly been a Toyota. Now that I'm thinking about it here's another little gem. I bought the truck as a "Used Certified Vehicle" with the whole "bumper to bumper 115 point inspection" they brag about. A week after I drove it off the lot the brake pads were scraping the discs. Some inspection. Later I discovered it had an aftermarket windshield that was leaking water into the inside of the truck. I had to pay to have it resealed, they wouldn't cover that either. Only "the best of the best used vehicles" my ass. I love Toyotas but at this point they probably won't be getting any more of my money unless I really fall in love with that new FJ.

On the customer service front I may be forced to buy another Mercedes just so I can enjoy service visits at Viti Inc. again. That company BY FAR understands customer service and the concept of repeat business more then any other business, automotive or otherwise. I always left with an empty wallet, but I always felt it was worth it. I even had a few unrelated small things fixed for free that I didn't even ask to have fixed while my car was in for service, and this was on an out of warranty car. I honestly model SWE customer service after that place, it's that good. 90% of it is the way they treat you, which was with respect, something seriously lost in most of my recent automotive experiences. I really don't care to be treated like my warranty service visits are a chore for the dealership after I drop 25k on a vehicle...

ok, that's enough ranting for tonight. I'm sure I'll have something new to be fired up about tomorrow.

[fishaholic18]

Originally Posted by Pete_G

I bought the truck as a "Used Certified Vehicle" with the whole "bumper to bumper 115 point inspection" they brag about.

That's a joke, it's just another word for "Used car". I worked as a tech for Chrysler since '87, they have the kids. that don't have a clue, do the inspections on the Certified vehicles because it is cheaper to pay them to do it rather than having us, higher paid, techs do them. The only difference between used and certified used, is the friggin' checklist, who needs a checklist to check a car out if ya know what the %$#@ your doing?

[TheSpecialist]

I just bought the 06 Honda Pilot 3 months ago for the wife. I got it loaded with leather and navigation, I think the thing is made really well, It came with a 5 year powertrain warranty, so I opted not to buy the extended. It only costs me 200 more a year for full insurance on it, than it does my 97 Ford Expedition, don't ask me why I still have full on it, it's all paid for ..

[Gpinder]

Originally Posted by TheSpecialist

I just bought the 06 Honda Pilot 3 months ago for the wife. I got it loaded with leather and navigation, I think the thing is made really well, It came with a 5 year powertrain warranty, so I opted not to buy the extended. It only costs me 200 more a year for full insurance on it, than it does my 97 Ford Expedition, don't ask me why I still have full on it, it's all paid for ..

She really wants an Odyssey just because all her friends have them but I think the Pilot is a better option. She also thinks the minivan is more kid friendly. That thing just looks so huge! I grew up in Boston and I can't imagine parallel parking that Odyssey.

[JohnR]

Originally Posted by fishaholic18

That's a joke, it's just another word for "Used car". I worked as a tech for Chrysler since '87, they have the kids. that don't have a clue, do the inspections on the Certified vehicles because it is cheaper to pay them to do it rather than having us, higher paid, techs do them. The only difference between used and certified used, is the friggin' checklist, who needs a checklist to check a car out if ya know what the %$#@ your doing?

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...

[fishaholic18]

All good points John.
Fingers tired now???

[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...