This is quite possibly the smartest post I've ever read here re: American vs. foreign cars. It is certainly true that Detroit rested on its laurels, reputation, and massive wealth to sit back and put out an inferior product for several years. The result was Japan taking over the US market and the Michigan economy going into the toilet. Detroit automakers have progressed leaps and bounds vs. what was happening twenty years ago, and the main thing they are fighting now is a poor reputation that simply isn't fair anymore, and hasn't been for quite some time. My whole family has always driven Fords. Sure, we've had trouble from time to time with a car or two, but the vast majority of our experiences have been as positive as positive can be. I've had a 1988 V8 Mustang GT for 15 years. It runs great with nearly 170K miles. I replaced my transmission at about 96K and have been through a clutch or three, but that had more to do with street racing than anything else. My mom's 2001 Taurus has 98K miles on it and she hasn't had any trouble out of the ordinary outside of general maintenance. Same story with my aunt's Taurus and my grandfather's Taurus. I drove a 2001 Focus as a company car for about a year. I never had any trouble with it, either. The point is, you're taking a rather large gamble if the only thing you go by is some combination of "American cars suck" or "foreign cars are better." The Germans make good cars. So do the Japanese. So do the Italians. And so do we. There's a lemon in every bunch....do your homework and make the best decision for you and your family.
True dat. I realize that my experiences are purely anecdotal, but I've owned four cars in my life: three American-made and one-Japanese import. Guess which one was the biggest lemon? Yup, the import. Not all foreign cars are road warriors. Not all American cars are junk. There's good and bad on both sides. Currently, I drive a 2004 Ford Explorer with a crap-load of miles on it (over 115,000 in just 4.5 years), and with the exception of one small part recall during the first year, it's never given me one single headache. So as the say, YMMV.
The old Focuses weren't too bad. The 2008 Focus, however, sucks big time. The only thing it has going for it is the Microsoft Sync thing. It has been panned by critics everywhere. You can do much better with your money. And yes, every brand has quality issues. Some just have issues more frequently than others. There's always a probability that you buy a Kia and have zero problems with it for 150K miles (if anyone missed the inference, yes, Kia is one of the absolute worst companies when it comes to quality). Like someone else said, don't base your decisions on anecdotes -- go look at the data. GM, despite their reputation, have actually improved significantly recently in the quality department. And yes, Toyota has taken a bit of a hit recently. But all things considered, when you look at initial quality, customer satisfaction, lifetime quality, sometimes that extra investment is worth making for future peace of mind and value.
I've had great luck with Ford and Mazda. This is a reliabliltiy ranking from consumer reports. I tend not to recommend buying cars in their first year of a redesign. The manufacturer doesn't have all the kinks worked out. I think the best small out there right now is the mazda3. Its good looking, fun to drive, and reliable. Above Average Toyota Yaris Hatchback* Honda Fit* Toyota Yaris Sedan * Toyota Corolla Honda Civic Hybrid Mazda3 Hatchback Subaru Impreza (2007) Honda Civic Coupe Hyundai Elantra* Honda Civic Si Volkswagen Rabbit* Ford Focus (2007) Nissan Versa Hatchback* Volkswagen Jetta (5-cyl.) Nissan Sentra* Below Average Hyundai Accent* Kia Spectra Chevrolet Cobalt Chevrolet Aveo Volkswagen New Beetle Volkswagen Jetta (4-cyl. turbo) He
I had a 98 Taurus up until last year. I starting having multiple problems with it when I hit about 110K, such as battery connection problems, overheating/hose problems, and other crap I forgot about. I still can't believe my dad sold it for 2500 with 130K miles and all the problems it had.
I'd stay away from the Korean cars for reliability reasons - go with either Japanese or American. Euro stuff is going to be too expensive
Well, it's built by the same company that everyone here is trashing. Besides, most of the differences are skin-deep, but in terms of mechanical 'quality' and its stealth reputation as a fine compact vehicle in Europe is difficult to overlook. The Focus (and some other Ford products, in fact) has been one of the most liked and successful models in Europe, a car that competitors have a lot of respect for. Again, this whole "oh my godz american carz is trash" silliness is overstated and overdone; many of you are apparently still stuck in the 80's/90's. Even those who argue that there is a difference it's -- in reality -- a 'marginal' one, and in recent years the so-called 'experts' have come around to realize it as well. But anyways, that's not what the thread is about. My whole point is this: the Corolla might be a better car than the Focus (let's assume for the sake of argument that it is), but it's certainly not 50% 'more car' than a comparably equipped Focus, or ANY car in its class for that matter. In the compact sedan segment, $4000 is a LOT of money, enough even for him to get a decent used Corolla to use on the weekends, should he desire to do so.
Just took a peek on Fords website, the cheapest 08 Focus with no options is $14.3k. The European is $16k pounds. Instead of trying to argue about your silly point, why don't you try to prove what I said is false? They are different vehicles and it's stupid to compare a European counterpart. 1. You can't purchase the exact same vehicle here. 2. Their different cars. 3. Corolla > Focus in reliability. You're one of the few who believe it is w/o any hard facts or proof. I'm not going to argue/debate with you until you take off your Ford fanboy goggles and post something other than your opinion.
damn, sony fan boy hating on a microsoft sync car! go tell them that a Sony Xplod system is better! ... back to thread. yeah get the toyota.
For trucks and muscle cars i would say ford is top notch. however when it comes to compact cars, i would stay away from domestics. it seems they dont put as much emphasis into them. all cars will give you problem though. i drive an 02 civic and its been in the shop at least twice a year. nothing major, im assuming i just drive the crap out of it. when i used to work at dominos pizza in 2001 or 2002, the gm there, who has a lot of experience seeing how cars respond (the delivery cars) said that Japanese cars are way more reliable.
My experience is that american automobiles tend to have pretty good reliability at the engine/transmission. It's all the other stuff (electrical/ac/dashboard/etc) that tends to crap out.
If you do buy an extended warranty, it's best to go with that car companies warranty. Alot of times 3rd party warranties don't cover what they should and sometimes you have to pay out of pocket up front for the repair then turn around and get your money back from the warranty company when you have to put your car in the shop.
if anyone is considering a VW, make sure you purchase one that was assembled in Germany. VW has a assembly plant in Mexico. the cars coming from that plant seem to have a lot of recalls due to electrical problems. if i were in your shoes, id go w/ the the japanese car (but probably the honda fit). you may save $4000 now but youll pay for it while owning the car and when its time to trade it in for a new car. a warranty will cover any extra money youd have to spend on repairs... but you have to remember that time is money also. think of the work days you might have to take off to take the car into the shop. also the extra gas... american cars have improved vastly over the years but are still lagging. hence the price premium on the toyotas, hondas... one more thing, not all japanese cars are good. STAY AWAY from mitsubishi. theyre way worse than any american brand.
I can't speak on this subject, because I have only owned Ford Mustangs and Ford Trucks/SUV's. All have been ultrareliable.
how do you quantify trouble then... it's alost the same or worse. when you're driving, look for stalled vehicles and tally them for your own stat. you'll see what brand of cars have most problems. American cars. that's a fact.
