Never buy a VW New Beetle, then. Major electrical issues. Count how many of them are driving with the passenger side light out. I had to change mine five times. And that’s not even going into the sensor issues.
But I’ve got to tell you, my Civic, though it departed the world early, really saved my life in the two crashes it had. (One not my fault, one my fault for going too fast for conditions… I rolled it at 20 mph… and stopped moving about fifty feet down the road)
But the car I wish I still had was the old CJ7. What a beautiful monster that was. Perfect for city driving.
A few years ago, I needed to buy a new car because my beloved Geo Metro convertible was well over 100,000 miles and slowly dying. I wanted a cheap, reliable econo-box, and I would have loved another Geo convertible, but Chevrolet had quit making them. I looked around and comparison shopped and wound up getting a Hyundai. It actually has been pretty reliable except for the transmission dying at around 20,000-something miles, and Hyundai’s roadside assistance worked. (It’d better have – I’d been trying to get the thing into the shop but had one appointment rescheduled because it was for 7:00 pm New Year’s Eve and the rescheduled appointment lost!) Given a friend of mine’s experience with a similar type of Ford (sorry, I can’t remember the model at the moment), I’m not sure I would have been better off buying American. When this car dies, I’m not sure what I’ll buy. I’m not into SUV’s; I don’t need a pickup truck; I’m still cheap; and I still have a weakness for convertibles.
Duffer made a good point. I’d like to buy American and I tried to when I bought this car. When a foreign manufacturer is giving me better perceived value for my money, though, I’d be a fool not to consider buying the car I think is best, regardless of where the headquarters of the company which manufactures it is based, especially given the number of so-called “foreign” cars being made in America (my Geo was effectively identical to the Suzuki Swift).
Siege, it’s funny you should say that about your Hyundai. I owned one awhile back, and my transmission kicked the bucket at about 30-35K miles. Which is (among other piddly reasons) why I will NEVER buy a Hyundai ever again. I do concede that I believe their quality has improved since that piece of shit 1990 Excel, but I’m not chancing it.
Hah, I’ve only junked 2 cars in my life, a Toyota at 120K, a Honda at 120K.
Now, the Toyota started breaking down around 90K and would either need a new radiator, this fob, that fob, head gasket, head resurfaced, etc. roughly every 6-8K miles until we just decided it wasn’t worth the hassle. Same thing with the honda but started at 100K.
I almost junked my Saturn when it threw a rod at 108K but then somebody bought it off me for over a grand. The Saturn until 108K did not have a single malfunction, mechanical or electrical, except for a coolant pump that decided to slowly quit(practically wear and tear since the car was still driveable, just a little leaky).
But based on comfort and handling and general convinience I will never buy a japanese car again. I’m sick and tired of little plastic pieces breaking off and having to contort myself to get in.
I think that this guy has a pretty good pit thread.
For god sake’s Big Bad Voodoo Panst, he didn’t even pit you really, and it was certainly more called for than your recent little attempted pity-party in this same forum.
There’s a lack of objective data on actual car reliability numbers because these reports are no doubt in some way influenced by people’s perception of their cars.
Sure, I still believe that Jappanese cars are more reliable, but when somebody raves on and on about a product that’s just perfect beyond that fact that it has just failed entirely for some stupid reason, I have to crack a bit of a smile myself.
I was rather suprised by the level of vitriol and defensiveness that this thread raised.
To be completely fair, the Ford Festiva / Mazda 121 was a rebadged KIA Pride built for Ford in Korea. You should perhaps mention something like the Pinto or the Escort or the Fiesta. Those were crappy Ford-built Fords.
You know, I always wondered if Japanese cars are really more reliable than American and European cars (in my family’s experience, the answer is yes. By far).
One thing I thought of and haven’t had much success at is to compare the reliability records of Japanese/American twins, like the Dodge Stealth/Mitsubishi 3000GT, Toyota Corolla/GM Prizm, etc.(according to Consumer Reports, the GM record is just as clean as the Toyota). Maybe someone else with better google-fu can do this.
My guess is, Japanese cars ARE more reliable, but mostly just Toyota and Honda. I never saw Mitsubishi, Mazda or even Nissan as all that more reliable than American cars. And certainly not Suzuki and Isuzu.
I wonder if there’re any Europeans in the forum who can chime in on what the general consensus is over there on American and Japanese cars.
Perhaps VW owners are secretly more realistic when cornered by a survey. But it doesn’t matter. All data gathered by Consumer Reports is based on owner recollection, not on actual facts. A study that examines repair records from mechanic shops might yield a better look on actual reliability in various vehicles.
I own four cars for me, Mrs BD, and the Bubbapups. Two Toyotas (built in the Japanese states of Ohio or Kentucky, I believe), one Nissan (built in Nippon-Mississippi if I’m correct) and a fucking POS Ford F150 pickup (built in some state possibly inhabited by raging alchoholics). The Ford is hands down the biggest money pit in the entire Bubbafleet.
The F150 is one of those stories where, each time it breaks down, I mistakenly calculate that its cheaper to fix it than to junk it and buy something else. After numerous $600 repairs to the engine, one brand new engine ($4500) and various power steering, waterpump, transmission issues I just recieved a recall notice that says the “speed control” may spontaneously combust! :eek: Ford’s right on top of it though. They said I could bring it in during November when they finally get around to providing replacement parts.
don’t you be dissin’ my flamebox ford pinto wagon. Family fucking heirloom. My Dad had it new, my bro got it, and then I got it at 120,000 miles. I drove it through high school and college to 165,000 miles. Replaced the u bearing. The radiator leaked like crazy and I had to fill it every 100 miles. Other than that, I put oil in it. Original clutch. No fan of 'Merican autos, but that ford pinto wagon was one helluva car.
I mean, really, don’t you think your objection “you can’t trust these reports because VW owners could be more honest than other car owners” is kind of absurd? I can feel the wind of flailing arms all the way over here.
I think I’ve got a reference to some of the sorts of data you might accept if you’re not trying to blow smoke up people’s arses. Here. I suppose you’ll complain because it’s a British report, but they drive American cars too.
That is indeed a much better cite as it relies on data not opinion.
I’d leave it at that but I’d hate to disrupt your mind reading attempt, so I’ll wonder aloud about how they dealt with makes of cars that were more numerous than others. In other words, fewer Lamborghinis get repairs than Toyotas but only because there are fewer Lamborghinis. There are mathmatical ways to deal with this problem of course, and I have no reason to think that the article you linked to failed to take this into account. I guess that’s more of an observation than a complaint, but this being the pit, perhaps you can run with it.
(Tough I’ll give you.)