I'm looking to get a Ford. I've heard the quality of their cars has even surpassed the asian and european companies. I want to get a compact car around the size of a Camry or a little smaller. I guess what I want to know what are the best car companies out there, and what models this year are looking to be the best and most reliable for years to come. What are some good car review sites as well?
Correction, I mean a mid size sedan. My first time to buy a car so I'm inexperienced with all of this.
Go read forums dedicated to the car you're looking for. Go to edmunds.com and research. Look for reviews on the major magazine sites like Automobile, Road and Track, Car and Driver, and Motor Trend. With regard to reliability, I'm scared to death of Ford, but I hear they've gotten better. Look at the 2010 Buick Lacrosse - I don't know what it will cost or how reliable it will be, but other than the grill, it's a pretty nice looking car, I think. Of course they stole that tail from BMW, but... hehe. I'm still sticking to Hondas and Toyotas for now... maaaaybe Nissans. I stay the hell away from most German makes. Hyundais have even gotten pretty reliable and have a good warranty.
japanese cars are still way ahead in terms of reliability ... lower end american cars still blow.. but they have improved in the mid class range.. pontiac has a car that is very highly reviewed .. the Pontiac G8.. i would suggest looking at that car if you want a domestic.. it handles like a german car.. great styling and reliability suppoviely is greatly improved.. plus its fast for a under 30k..
Whoever thinks Fords are "lower end" American needs to go out and price them against GM and Chrysler. And then look at which of the big 3 did not take the bail out. Then look at world wide market share.
I've rented the Fusion and the Focus. The Fusion was alright, but the Focus blew. Did you pick Ford for price or you wanted to help Detroit cause there are better car companies out there.
My bad - in my previous post, I meant 2010 Buick Lacrosse, not Lucerne. http://www.leftlanenews.com/buick-lacrosse.html
Friend of mine just bought a Mercury Sable (twin of Ford Taurus - which was once an iconic name). It's mid- to full-size by my estimation. Don't know about reliability but the Taurus/Sable scored 5 star crash rating. It's Mercury so it's higher-end than mundane Ford label. They got it for ~24k (V6 equipped with moon roof, leather, MS SYNC, electronic seats, other creature comforts (like 4 cupholders for passengers in the back). Only drawback, it's not sexy. It's more of an old folks kind of car. But nicely equipped for the price.
Fwiw, whenever I need to rent a car I try to get a Sonata -- those things are nice, fast as hell with the V6. I would definitely look at a Sonata before a Fusion and the 100,000 mile warranty is awesome. I heard an ad for 125,000 mile warranty and the assurance program, but that may have been a local deal. Hell, i'd probably look at a Kia Optima before a Fusion as well - Optima/ Sonata are basically the same car.
For more car reviews, check out http://autos.msn.com/ Also, do this... Register at CarsDirect.com. They will contact all dealers in your area, who will email you with prices for the car you're looking for. You can get them to work against each other, lowering their prices a LOT. The trick is: respond to their emails immediately when they contact you. When they offer you a price, reply with "I'm still interested in buying from you, but another dealer has offered me the same car at a lower price." etc. And... Ford and Chevy are crap.
I wonder how much different the reactions here would be if you had posted that you wanted a Mazda 3. I think they share like 80% of their parts. I have two friends with Fusions. They are nice cars, way better than my 10-year-old Accord.
Generalization. I own a chevy truck, and it's made of win... and I hear the same from friends who own Ford. That said, I've always been afraid of Ford due to various recall and incident issues that have cropped up in the past. I hear these days things are better there as well... but who knows. Would I buy one now? I dunno, I'm looking to buy a used car in the next month or two, and I'm not so sure right now. I do know that the generalizations against american cars are often funny, especially since, as weslinder pointed out, they are often more than similar to foreign cars in terms of parts and construction. My guess is that right now, the bit of truth that there is to that public sentiment is that it's tough to get as good a deal on an american company's equivalent car due to the UAW and the agreements that they've been able to secure. Labor is only 10% of the cost of the average car's construction, so I hear, but that's enough to give the other side an edge in an apple to apple comparison. Multiply that by millions of units sold, and you've got an issue. Problem is, they're not going away, won't concede what they've gained unless the auto industry in America files bankruptcy, and they are the ones who lobbied Congress for the bailout of the Big 3. They need to concede that, where they negotiated from a position of power in years past, that their seat is not so plush anymore, and concessions need to be made for the American Auto Industry to compete in this globalizing market.
You can get a Honda Accord EXL leather package for 19,995 plus TTL...my sister just purchased one from goodson honda...you just have to be smart and know the invoice price You should look into something other then Ford..IMO Chilcutt
