i posted a thread some days ago saying that we should spend our money on american cars. some of you guys jump all over me and said, american cars suck. my 96 maxima is my second car that i've ever had. so i never really had much experince with american cars like some of you guys.
i was considering maybe getting an american car next but you guys say that i will probably regret it, why?
can you guys tell me your nightmare stories with U.S cars.
maybe witch ones you like and which you don't.
i was thicking about the new impala or my first choice the f-150 harley davidson pick up.
let me know what you guys think.
right now my 96 maxima se has 89k miles on it with no major problem
except that it has an oil leak that may cost over $1,000 to fix. i do take care of my max. i dont race it and i maintain it in good workin order.
i would hate to fix it and then something else big breaks. if i knew that if i fix it it would last another 100k, then it would be worth it.
what would you do?

 

US cars do suck big time. I had '95 Max Auto w/160,000 ml., and i street raced in it many times for fun. All i ever replaced was the O2 Sensor ($100 replaced) and Alternator ($300 installed). other then that, i changed oil every 5-6k, and tran. fuild every 40k (I got the car in '97 w/ 74k, crashed it a month ago). right now i got '99 Chrysler 300M w/45k (my friends, for sale, driving it while i look for my next car). The car has noises comming from everywhere, some belts need to be replaced, power window is broken, power seat is broken, suspension noise. I suggest u go to edmunds.com and read Car Ratings and compare them to 95-99 Max. The only great cars that US makes are trucks, and some powerful SUVs...well maybe also Cady.

 

And i also wanna add that good Japanese cars like Max, Interga, Prelude are more reliable then Audi or even BMW (not the Benz). U can also do a small research on Audi A4....the car is a ****box. And one of my friends has BMW 540 and even he can agree with me here that BMWs are great cars for people that have money to fix them.

 

I thought I did tell you my nightmare story in the last post. If you're thinking of a 2wd ford truck do the Lightning, not the HD

 

american cars arent really that bad - alot of the so-called jap cars are being made here now - i wouldnt mind pushing a grand prix gtp around (steering is a bit stiff though)

 

i have drove a lot of american and japenese iron over the years. american stuff is getting better. if you have only put $1000 in your Max in 90K, you would be a lucky guy if that were a car from detroit. at least an american engine will go over 100K these days....i personally feel ford makes the best engine from a longevity point of view..their power is getting better. GM is the HP and MPG winner these days....even honda has a hard time matching GM V-6 fuell economy....but somehow GM can't make a 4-cyl. I am not a dodge fan at all, not even a little....i know too many engineers that work for them that tell me not to buy one.

as for horror stories.....
my 96 ranger fell apart at 60K...needed every ball joint, tie rod and axle seal replaced...it was $500 in PARTS and a long *** weekend...by 90K i had a radiator, water pump and thermostat in it. My 98 Tahoe only has 70K, i've had a rear axle leak, needed new shocks, two serpentine belts, the AC quite working this fall, the tie rods are wearing out, parts for a tune up were almost $200, a front brake rotor warped at 40K. My wife had a 94 saturn SC2...american made honda my a$$. at 70K that thing fell apart...front struts, rear wheel bearings, all the rotors were warped, tie rods, EGR valve, O2 sensor, a $500 transmission problem. my family has had a couple taurus/sables....transmission at least 1 time by 100K, for a measily $2000, and the rebuild just might last through its warranty.

aside from the money you will dump in an american car, they depreciate like a stone....in the first three years their value will drop faster than you are paying them off....around year 4 you will even out....new my tahoe was listed at $37K...i bought it three years old with 38K for just over half that, and it is still depreciatign really fast....

 

Stick w/ stuff that holds the resale. I had a ford probe GT as my 1st car. GREAT, but many little problems, and no resale.

If you're in for the long haul, and want a truck. F150 is the way to go though. They truly are "BUILT FORD TOUGH" lol

Seriously, they are nice trucks though.

 

american cars are horrible. i had a 95 grand prix. motor went at 45k, tranny at 65k, and was goin again at 73k. along with alternator, battery, struts, manifolds, and whatever else. my mom have a 97 cadillac with 54k on it. its been in the garage for the last 2 months replacing the heads and pretty much rebuilding the motor. i wont even drive an american car unless im forced to. ill stick with nissan or even toyota as long as i have a choice in the matter.

 

ok now think about this for a bit your car has almost 90k miles on it and your going to have to spend a $1,000.00 dollars to fix it to me i think that is not to bad, I worked at a ford dealership for over a year, and i have never seen s many cars come in for repairs that had under 50,000 miles on it, now don't get me wrong i think ford makes a prety good car but they don't last. And just a little info. at ford they called there cars (disposible cars they have 100,000 miles on they just salvage them.) I know that they are a bunch of us that way over that many miles and still there cars are running great..
Just my two cents

Mike

 

My family owns 3 cars. My max, my dad's 99 altima and my mom's 2000 Dodge Caravan. The caravan has by far the least miles and has had a broken parking break forcing us to leave it an hour and a half away since the parking break wouldnt disengage. A transmission problem that kept it stuck in 2nd gear and there was one other thing I don't remember but this car only has about 15,000 miles on it right now and the only thing needed to be replaced on the nissans was my alternator under recall and they both have more miles. In general American cars are worse than foreign. I remember seeing Consumer's Reports most reliable used cars and almost everyone was Japanese or other foreignmake and the least reliable were almost all American with not one Japanese car on there. I know how there is no such thing a purely Japanese or American car but the design and engineering makes a difference regardless if it's produced in America or overseas.

 

if you are gonna go with a full size truck, I think GM or Toyota is the way to go....the ford can't get out of its own shadow despite burning the most gas, and the dodge, well, nevermind.

I have driven newer silverado's and a tundra...the tundra is a nice truck, albeit a little smaller, but is cheaper, and you know it will last and hold its value, its powerful, tight as a drum and dead silent on the inside....and what a gem for a motor. I think GM trucks have better parts on them than other american stuff. I think GM is the only american manufacture that has learned american's are expecting longer like than 70-80K out of their vehicles, especially trucks. I like that GM uses greasable suspension/steering parts (ford does not) and so IF TAKEN CARE OF will likely last longer....(the previous owner of my tahoe never did a thing to it, hence the tie rods are a little loose). There are a lot of trucks in my family, and all have done OK except the dodge's....most of the GM trucks are coming up on the 120K+ mark, with routine parts like I mentioned earlier, which I can stomach.

what I think of car's:
honda, reliable, low maintenance, great resale, generally a little bland

toyota, overpriced vanilla (but damn good vanilla), incredible resale, expensive parts

nissan...i drive a maxima over an accord or camary for a reason.

subaru...lots of money for a slow 4 cylinder, but the newer stuff is nearly bulletproof.

mazda....iffy reliability, but priced to sell.

 

My dad owned a 91 Lincoln Continental...for the price he was paying for it you'd think he'd get a good car, but lets run down the horror story list shall we?

*All digital dash would die all the time, leaving you with no clue of how fast you were going, how much gas you had left, engine temp, etc.

*Back seat footwells would fill up with water all the time - we presumed it was something wrong with the air conditioning/dual climate zones, etc, but no mechanic, including the Lincoln dealer, could ever figure out what it was.

*various electrical problems

*random engine woes

*When you loaded up the trunk, the suspension would compensate to maintain a level ride height, which is nice, but after clearing it out, the suspension would stay raised, and the rear end would be about 3-4" higher than the front...for days.

All told, we sold the car in 98 for a Lexus ES300, which needless to say has never had a problem yet. After 7 years with the Lincoln, how many miles did it have on it? 30k. Why? Because it had to be towed out of garage more times than we drove it. In short, I'd buy a Kia before I bought an American car.

 

As for american cars, they can make some pretty decent cars, but from what I have seen that "decency" seems to wear off at 50k. Don't get me wrong, some of the designs are ok, but they are poorly executed. I urge you too just take a look at the build quality of any american brand before you buy it. I guarantee every shut line will be slightly off, and every piece of plastic will be poorly molded. Being an Industril Design student, AND living in Detroit makes it hard for me to say but american cars just plain suck in the long run. My philosophy- american car makers are too obsessed with making cash off women buying up SUV's rather than trying to compete in the car market.

 

I think it all depends on luck...ive heard good and bad news about american cars....but mostly bad. my friend has a 93 chevy c series truck (i think thats what they call them) with 139k and the only thing he needed to replace recently was the starter, on the other hand, my neighbor's 2003 escalade ext has already replaced the entire motor.. realllly sad if you ask me

 

Damn! that sucks!