8th Jan 2009, 21:09
"No one can tell me that an import is not good as a domestic and expect me to believe it."
Yes, we've come to accept that nothing can get through to die-hard import fans. Over the past 30+ years my family has owned over 30 domestics and 3 imports. NO domestic ever had a mechanical problem before 100,000 miles. Only one of the imports even MADE 100,000 miles. Look at the math: 30 domestics with ZERO problems, 3 imports ALL with major problems. What are the statistical probabilities that I'd just happen to get 30 good domestics and 3 BAD imports if ALL imports are superior to domestics. Do the math.
No one can tell ME an import is as good as a domestic and expect ME to believe it because I've OWNED THE PROOF!!
9th Jan 2009, 20:57
14:14 I had a 1990 Bonneville, and the girl that bought it from me now has over 250,000 miles and commutes daily with great reliability. The engine in this vehicle is one of the best ever made. I also had a 1990 Pontiac 6000LE; same story, bulletproof.
Maintenance and not neglecting oil changes driving habits are also a big factor on life. My sister in law kept breaking flywheels due to her backing up, throwing into drive without completely stopping. I kind of wish she should buy a Camry or a Tacoma and drive like that and report on how great her new imports are. That is an issue never fully grasped on here. Drive like an idiot and blame the car.
It's best to go to consumeraffairs.com, read 20 or 30 reviews by actual owners, not just 1 or 2 that could be making a political statement just as much as a solo commentary. Even my comments, take as one person. Do yourself a favor, drive, test many makes and don't buy a label. Sometimes the last "label" was OK and then the new one is total junk. Test them all and decide. It's your money and no one elses.
10th Jan 2009, 02:12
I've never advocated purchasing ANY older vehicle. I'm speaking from my own personal experience in owning both domestic and import vehicles new. My imports have been lots better than the domestics, hands down. I simply have yet to own a domestic vehicle that has been reliable enough for me to recommend to anyone. Also, even if I do pay more for parts, the intervals between repairs on our imports have been far longer than has been the case with our domestics.
Parts for a Nissan Altima will not me much more expensive than they would for U.S. vehicles. I believe about 55% of the contents on that car comes from the U.S. and roughly 25% are foreign materials. An Altima is essentially a domestic vehicle with a foreign name.
10th Jan 2009, 02:35
I'm sorry you have had such bad luck with imports. Fortunately, our family has had very few problems with theirs! Besides, what is the need to have had 30 domestic vehicles over a 30 year period if they are such good cars. Basically you are saying you purchase an average of one car per year. I must say that something must not be going well for me if I purchased that many vehicles in 30 years.
"Look at the math: 30 domestics with ZERO problems, 3 imports ALL with major problems. What are the statistical probabilities that I'd just happen to get 30 good domestics and 3 BAD imports if ALL imports are superior to domestics. Do the math."
Your logic is flawed. You are one customer and for a good probability of imports to be considered bad, a sample could be taken from five to ten people. So I've done the math and according to your calculation, domestics suck.
No one can tell ME a domestic is as good as an import and expect ME to believe it because I've OWNED THE PROOF!!
I bought my car brand new, just before I finished college (in 1987) : a 1987 Nissan Maxima SE. The car gave me so few problems that I was NEVER forced to buy a new car due to repairs and kept driving it daily until it totaled last year. The car was worth EVERY penny I spent on it and more. I had NO regrets with this purchase and would do it all over again if I had to. People used to still complement me on how nice my car looked and sounded when they rode in it, even when it was old. I bought a truck new in 1996 (a domestic, much to my dismay!) because I was tired of borrowing every time I needed to move large items. This turned out to be a nightmare. Once the truck was seven years old it seemed to just fall apart all at once. Could not wait to send this thing to the junker! I'd take it to the service department to have one thing fixed, they'd find five other things wrong (and I maintained my vehicle meticulously), NEVER had this problem in a Nissan.
So while you've been through 30+ cars in 30 years, I had the same exact vehicle for just over 20 years. This to me supercedes your explanation and shows durability and reliability and quality. My Nissan NEVER stalled ONCE. Can't say the same for my domestic. My 2004 Sentra, bought brand new has YET to give me a single major problem and its nearly five years old!
10th Jan 2009, 23:04
Basically since Japanese cars are no longer imports. The quality that they once had no longer applies. Mighty Toyota and Honda are just the same as Chevy and Ford in my opinion.
11th Jan 2009, 09:32
So 30 GOOD domestics = BAD, and 3 bad imports = GOOD?? Very creative "math". I'd love to see a statistician come up with THAT conclusion. If domestics are so overwhelmingly bad, getting 30 that just happen to be good defies the laws of probability...PERIOD.
As a mechanic and car enthusiast, I love cars. We have always owned 3 or 4 at a time, which is why we had 30+ in 30+ years. Some where kept for nearly 20 years. We owned cars from all three domestic manufacturers that got well over 200,000 miles (one over 300,000) with virtually no problems. We have never replaced an engine or transmission in any Ford, GM or Chrysler product, nor even had the heads off the engine of any of them. None of the standard or automatic transmissions were ever touched.
I simply don't buy into the fabricated myth that imports are somehow better. The new car rating for the Fusion (which I just bought) is one notch higher than Accord and two notches higher than Camry. It has the highest overall rating of any vehicle Consumer Reports has tested. I'm also a member of two domestic car clubs (Pontiac and Mustang) and no one I know in these clubs EVER has any problems with their domestics. Past experience with both Japanese and German imports has convinced me that they are not worth my present consideration. If the quality should improve, I'll give them a look. I test drive all sorts of cars before buying to compare performance, features and overall build quality. That's why my last two car purchases have been Fords.
8th Jan 2009, 11:55
"No one can tell me that an import is not good as a domestic and expect me to believe it".
No problem... but you never know how an older vehicle has been taken care of--domestic or foreign--so higher foreign parts cost has to be weighed against your belief that an older foreign vehicle will be more reliable.
By the way I own 1 foreign vehicle (an 08 Nissan Altima 2.5SL) and 1 domestic (an 07 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon). But I've had older cars (2 Hondas) in the past. Parts cost and, earlier on, rust were the big problems I faced. Just keep these issues (and maintenance) in mind if you are looking to purchase an older vehicle. Cheers!