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Forgive me if I'm repeating someone as I haven't read all the replies. But I think one point needs to be made here, AMERICAN CARS ARE NOT LESS RELIABLE!!!!
Granted, they were a decade or two ago, but not anymore. My father is a mechanic and I've worked with him for years. We've worked on every car under the sun and have found that modern cars are all pretty much equally reliable.
Sure there are specific lemons you want to stay away from but that's on both sides of the isle: American and foreign.
I have two European vehicles and two American. I buy my cars to keep for a long long time. The only truly disappointing experience I ever had with any car was a GM product. It was so bad I sold it after two years and have never bought another. My oldest vehicle bought, new in 1988, now has 200,000 miles on it and is my daily beater. My 1993 Taurus SHO has nearly 100,000 and still looks new. My other cars are newer and I'll see how the reliability on them pans out over the next few years. I'm not a mechanic but I religiously change the oil in all my cars every 3,000 miles and I really believe that helps extend their lives. Beach
For Judge Colt, In the 60s my family drove American cars and I did so in the 70s. (I still own 3 Plymouths and 1 Dodge). Never had a problem with them and they were easy to work on. But now, I'd be afraid to by another Dodge what with all the transmission problems they have had.
Rembrandt, your system is scientific. It expresses, fit, finish, trim, to what degree of tolerances the car was built. Cheap materials and sloppy tolerances equate to a car that begins to deteriorate more rapidly than a car put together with quality parts and more attention to detail. I have noticed the relatively short life span of the paint jobs of American cars I have owned compared to those made in Japan. I am still perplexed as to how guys making $100,000 can build such poor quality cars. Also, resale value is a much stronger indicator of the public's opinion and experiences with an automobile than sales pitches and nationalistic loyalties. Like you said, the European cars just seem to be of a higher quality.
NOTPARS, what Dodge transmission trouble? There was a problem with the Crysler Corporation Minivan transmissions in the late 1980s but I have heard nothing since that problem was corrected. (It was a supplier defect as I recall.) DC guarantees the transmissions for 70,000 and you can buy a longer warranty if you want. Our Chrylser T&C transmission (which would be the same as a Dodge) has over 200K on it and has never been touched, except for normal maintenance. If it quits today, I would not feel it had let me down because I am still in the 1950s-1960s mindset when automatic transmissions failed at 100K or so. I remain thrilled by the service I get from the American cars I have bought in the last 15 years or so.
Let me eat my hat and stop paying homage to Honda for a moment. I just picked it up from the dealership after an oil change and tire rotation and took it over to the car wash to give it a bath and a special loving coat of Zymol. I was almost done washing the car and had worked my way to the grill in order to rinse off the last bit of soap when "zip"....a 2" by 2" piece of paint just zipped right off the grill. I've been using that car wash and their sprayers for a few years now on my work vehicle (Ford Taurus) and my former vehicle (Toyota Tacoma) and have been using similar systems for years. I have NEVER sprayed off a piece of paint before. I drove about 6 blocks back to the dealership and griped. The service people told me that a small ding (i.e. rock strike) that goes down to the bare metal (but may be invisible to the naked eye) may cause a weakness in that spot and such a thing might happen when washing the car!?!?!? I griped some more and they are going to have my grill re-painted on Tuesday and they are paying for it. Grrrrrrrr.....
Have owned only Chevy converted vans since the mid-eighties. Pulling a full sized bass boat at least 30,000 miles each year. Wife makes one trip a week (without the boat) to buy groceries, seldom any other trips in it.
Usually trade out at about 50-60,000 miles so we've had several in the last 20-years. I've had one bad transmission, and one (three trips to the dealer) AC problem. That's it.
My first car was a used '87 Toyota pickup. Ran good and only had trouble with it after 230,000 miles.Second car was a '90 Toyota 4Runner. Man I loved that rig. Everything a guy could want. It was the perfect snowboarding, camping, offroad vehicle. I eventually traded it in on a new 2002 Ford Ranger 4x4 though cause the need for a truck presented itself. Been driving it for the last year and a have with no problems whatsoever.
My next will probably be a Ford/GMC/Chevy though. More room in the cab and easier to get your hands under the hood.[;)]
Comments
Granted, they were a decade or two ago, but not anymore. My father is a mechanic and I've worked with him for years. We've worked on every car under the sun and have found that modern cars are all pretty much equally reliable.
Sure there are specific lemons you want to stay away from but that's on both sides of the isle: American and foreign.
Frog
GO NAVY, BEAT ARMY
Usually trade out at about 50-60,000 miles so we've had several in the last 20-years. I've had one bad transmission, and one (three trips to the dealer) AC problem. That's it.
Guess we've been more than lucky!
My next will probably be a Ford/GMC/Chevy though. More room in the cab and easier to get your hands under the hood.[;)]