11th Jun 2014, 13:32
I just stick to cars that are easy to maintain, not cluttered under the bonnet, and easy access with hand tools. I've been working on cars, trucks etc for nearly 30 years, time is money, so like many front wheel drive cars, the simplest repair can cost the earth as they are VERY time consuming, therefore very expensive to change parts when needed.
This why I end up doing all the repairs on friends' and relatives' front wheel drive cars when they get the shock of a repair quote, and they have new cars not old, with annoying build quality and cost cutting designs. People generally judge a car by appearance etc; big mistake.
5th Jul 2014, 13:10
Hi, I have owned many cars. Four have been Falcons that I have LOVED. I am a muso and travel a fair bit, and all my Falcons have been fab cars. Power, size, comfort, grunt and reliability... and besides that, I really just smile when I hop back into one. I am about to buy myself a 2005 BA II, and can't wait to hop in and GO FOR IT!!
My first 2 cars were Falcon XY and XW wagons, Big Square and Wonderful. They were old when I got them, but served me well. I love Saabs (had a 900 and 9000, I'm a sucker for the Saabs), 2 Subaru wagons (currently a Forrester YUK, both trouble and will never buy one again), 2 Volvos (145 and 245 wagons, good cars), a Honda Civic (loved it), and even a Fiesta (mmm, that one I kinda got stuck with).
In the last few years I went back to a couple of old Falcons, ED and EL wagons. Wanted a cheap car that I could flog and didn't wanna think about. I replaced the brakes on the ED and that's all. The EL travelled heaps of km for me. Wow, what great cars. Old but really reliable, fun, handy, and piled on the already big km with ease, and CHEAP to buy and maintain.
I love cars and also am a bike rider; opting for old BMW R series and Yamaha sports. I have never been interested in buying a new car or bike as I live in Sydney, where every car is pretty well demolished while sitting parked. I go for something I can jump into and it goes. BTW I am female.
27th Dec 2012, 20:52
The only reason why you can deduce that those 'cars' are 'better' than 'any' Japanese car, is because you saw both Holdens and Fords far more frequently, to sort out constant glitches and running issues, due to poor design, and being built on the cheap. If it wasn't for Ford and Holden, your 'mechanical' business wouldn't have existed, if that's what it actually was.