10th Nov 2009, 21:59
"The Honda Accord was on top for over 20 years running"
The Key word here is "WAS". Have you checked out all the Honda/Acura reliability issues LATELY??
12th Nov 2009, 08:00
14:26 GM sales are up and I have 1 Honda left. I do not buy your theory. If Honda and Toyota are as perfect as you claim, having a standard 100000 mile normal warranty would not cost a penny more for a manufacturer. If the cars never need it, the manufacturer can be proud to stand behind every perfect vehicle. No claim is no claim, so I would have not quit buying. I have one left and it has had issues as well. Advertising does not pay service dept costs. All 2010 vehicles should have 100000 mile warranties standard as I am not paying big bills anymore in the service dept. It's ridiculous and I use to trade them in anyway. I looked at domestics because of that very issue.
12th Nov 2009, 10:47
Whether or not a car has certain problems, people who like that car will buy it. When it was the Japanese brands on top, it was the domestic guys who were still completely convinced that they built crap, even though every source of information out there said otherwise. Now that Ford has managed to actually build a vehicle that runs decently, the shoe will be on the other foot and it will be the import guys who are still convinced they are crap. It doesn't matter who is on top, some people are going to love them or hate them.
12th Nov 2009, 12:00
Why are you looking at domestics if the warranty is so important to you. Might as well go for a Hyundai or Suzuki who, with the 10 year 100K mile warranty, have the best plan out there! A 5 year warranty is a five year warranty, and you will only get a certain number of miles out of it. GM might as well market it as a 5 year 1 million mile warranty. It is the same thing.
Who said Toyota or Honda was perfect? My point is not that they are perfect, but that they don't have to put out the extra warranty coverage, which is a marketing tool to attract more customers, because their sales are obviously not suffering enough for them to do this.
You really need to be in advertising and marketing to understand how these warranties benefit the car makers. Hyundai started this even before they were considered one of the better Asian brands. It was a huge gamble that paid off well for them, and gave them the capital to increase their quality.
12th Nov 2009, 12:44
I work next to a GM dealer and I see the cars that get towed in everyday, so let's forget about warranties for a minute. Who wants to be left stranded with a car that breaks down. My store is a Honda store and I almost never see one coming in on the hook! When it happens, my guys rush to help the customer because his or her car is very old with lots of miles and they may just need a new one.
Ron Hirzel.
Sale Manager.
Lompoc Honda.
12th Nov 2009, 15:11
This guy is spot on. Warranties ARE only used as a marketing item. And he's also right about Honda's warranty being the exact same as Chevy's. For the national average, a 5 year, 60,000 mile warranty is the SAME as a 5 year, 100,000 mile warranty, because either way, if you drive the national average, you're only going to get 5 years! Chevy's warranty would only benefit you if you drove more than the national average. I happen to do double the national average of 12,000 miles each year at 25,000 miles every year. But I drive a Hyundai with the 10 year, 100,000 mile warranty.
12th Nov 2009, 16:35
12:44 Tou apparently know Hondas. How many V6 sedans from Honda and Acura have you seen towed in repeadedly over transmission failures?
I have owned at least a dozen Hondas and am not buying anymore. All bought new. I have not required a single tow out of my GMs also bought new. Is the first Honda trans failure at under 30000 miles reasonable life? I would like to hear more.
I have sat next to other owners in the service dept waiting area. I asked and found out my issues were not an isolated occurrence.
13th Nov 2009, 09:52
Seems to me if you can get away with something and offer less (warranty), is that the way to do the right thing? People will buy, so do not offer them anymore than is necessary? Is that the impression that is what a new shopper is supposed to shrug and say oh well?
If the product fails prematurely, there are service costs avoided by the manufacturer that are on the consumer. What amazes me is that there are buyers who actually feel it's fine to do so. How do you feel when your low mileage import that can fail as a mechanical product, and you have to pay out of pocket when you may be kicking yourself for getting a similar price product backed by the manufacturer for longer duration and mileage standard?
I use to think I have a new import with some sort of import mentality/cachet (as made overseas) When I no longer had the durability, I once had the cachet or import thinking went out the window. I use to actually walk into a new import dealership, never looked at anything but... and drove out with another. In some cases I recall there was very little actual difference every few years other than maybe getting a different color. There was absolutely no reason to switch (then) as long as it wasn't having problems.
I will repeat buy over and over new cars every few years, and it's all about great service and not costing me personally. I value a warranty, and if it's out and I pay, it stays with me. I will even pay a couple times just in case my last car was an exception. Third time I look around.
I only blame it on my level of satisfaction dropping to look at domestics as an alternative. Hyundai is one import that in all fairness that I will consider or maybe if all offer what I feel should be standard in 2010 not extended... just a basic 100000 mile warranty as all cars should be reliable enough new to offer this. Maybe sales will skyrocket if 100000 miles is the norm... for all imports? But what are the back end service costs, and are the manufacturers banking on seeing low mile just out of warranty work appear? Until I see it 100000 all... I am not buying a new model without any less, average driving considerations or not. I sometimes drive more, especially if I really like the car. A short warranty is zero when it quickly runs out, and I am automatically not trading it in again, I am looking around anymore.
10th Nov 2009, 18:24
Upon reading the Consumer Reports magazine at my local library, I discovered that even though the Fusion is at the top of the rankings, it's the only Ford on top right now. Across the board, the Japanese are still far ahead of the Big 3. Boasting that 90% of Fords have nearly caught up to Japanese reliability doesn't say much when "nearly" is part of the equation. Also, for you Big 3 fans, by saying that Ford has caught up to the Japanese, you're still agreeing that the Japanese are the gold standard when it comes to car manufacturing.