28th Jul 2007, 13:38
I guess I better sell my Buick to the Smithsonian because it has over 130,000 miles on it and it has still not had any major mechanical or power train issues. I can't say the same for my father's Toyota which has had to have a head gasket replaced for over $1,000 and numerous other problems. But somehow Toyota is better. That logic just doesn't make sense to me.
28th Jul 2007, 17:31
The Grand Prix has an old engine that is reliable. It is the rest of the car that cannot drive well. The car is in a mid life crisis and will need to be replaced as it is almost 20 years old.
28th Jul 2007, 22:38
An older aunt of mine, who practically never drives, just bought an '89 Camry with 150,000 miles on it because her '89 Cavalier, that has been a headache for her for 19 years, finally died altogether at about 100,000 miles.
I looked at these two cars, again, both '89 models sitting side by side, and it is easy to see why GM is now falling apart and Toyota is on top. The difference in build quality is embarrassing for the Cavalier. That Camry is built so much more solidly inside and out that it is almost funny to sit in the Cavalier afterwards. You sit in the Camry, which still runs very well and look at the interior quality, and then sit in the Cavalier, and it looks and feels like a generic toy car that somebody bought at the toy section in Walmart.
GM and Ford have been trying to play catch-up to Toyota for years, and they still have a LONG way to go.
29th Jul 2007, 08:22
I would rather have a V8 engine... with overdrive and not driving aggressively I still attain high mpg with my domestic. I also like the better ride, features and warranty. It's also nice to have performance and handling available as well.
29th Jul 2007, 15:33
My 1999 Honda Accord; 1997 Accord; 2000 Civic are domestic cars and they run great too. Almost 200,000 miles on all of them. Great cars I tell you. Same as our 1996 Avalon which is a domestic car w/ 260,000 + miles. Buick stands no chance.
30th Jul 2007, 14:51
That is clearly your opinion. Buick still sells more full-sized luxury cars in it's segment than any other manufacturer, and for good reason. But I am sure you are not biased considering you own 3 Hondas and a Toyota, Ha. My family has a Toyota and a Buick among others, the Buick is by far the best of all our cars.
30th Jul 2007, 15:49
We had an '83 Chevy Cavalier, and it was a little puddle-jumper, perfect for a cheap runabout. In other words, it was exactly comparable to the Toyota Corolla, right down to the bland interior made of 1-piece vinyl and utilitarian dashboard, and small, uncomfortable seats.
However, we bought this Cavalier for only $350 and drove it to 208,000 miles before retiring it. It ran good, got great gas mileage, and never stranded us despite the beat-up condition and high miles. I see no evidence of it being "poorly built" with that service.
I have seen no shortage of junky Toyota puddle-jumper Corollas with pulled-out inside door handles, broken outside mirrors, cracked dashboards, anemic-sounding pathetic, wheezing engines, blowing smoke, with squealing brakes and non-working emergency brakes. It just isn't worth it when you can buy a good used Chevy or Ford.
30th Jul 2007, 18:31
17:57...It would be interesting to also see all the security cameras replaying all the vandalism at the specific GM plant parking areas you have mentioned. The cameras are virtually everywhere in all the parking areas. What plant are you discussing? I also suspect that employees like having the direct employee discount for a loaded new vehicle instead of longing for a non qualifying vehicle. But thats just an opinion of course.
30th Jul 2007, 21:51
16:22 I left imports for the complete opposite reason. At 36,000 miles my time was up. As great as Toyotas must be by the import fanatic rationale, why not set the bar higher and offer a 200,000 mile unconditional warranty? If gas stabilizes/lowers dramatically, it will be quite interesting to see what the American public actually chooses to prefer driving. In the interim I feel very fortunate to not be a prisoner of the gas gauge in determining what I have to buy.
31st Jul 2007, 14:44
21:51 Guess what; you are a prisoner of the gas gauge just like everyone else. The more oil that gets used, the more the price goes up, and therefore so does the price of every single commodity out there, because it costs more to ship it. You might not care that you have to pay more, but you WILL pay more, and you have no choice in the matter.
As far as the '200,000 mile unconditional warranty'; don't be asinine. An incompetent person can break a Toyota; it's just a machine. If you forget to put the oil drain plug back in and then leave for vacation, and the engine seizes up miles down the road, it's not Toyota's responsibility to pay for that person's stupidity. However, if you maintain a Toyota properly, it will outlast a GM or a Ford by many years and many miles. Most of us already know this, that's why we buy them.
31st Jul 2007, 15:53
Okay Okay Okay... I have been eligible for the GM family discount for a while and it is not all that great unless you are higher up in the company, ie, free car ever six months, but after a few cars, etc you have to buy one, etc etc.
I am the one with the three Hondas. I had two Buicks before them; unfortunately it was a 1983 Buick which I loved dearly, but the newer Buick we had was crap. It was a 1992 Roadmaster and with all the garb put into it like any GM car, it was falling apart at 80,000 miles, even the 5.7 liter was falling apart and it was driven by my grandma. I did not see any reason to buy any new GM cars after that because of problem after problem.
What is so special about Buicks? Sure you might get a nice 3.8 liter V6 that will need three manifold seals in 200,000 miles and then some. But in all reality, the car is suffering from poor engineering. All it really is, is a box with four wheels designed by GM to make profit. A Honda on the other hand is designed to be a driving car, something to be enjoyed...
And I scratch my head at the man or woman who says the engines are little putt putt. At least the Toyota and Honda engine sound good, and sound great at any RPM, whereas the GM motor makes odd straining sounds. Just go out and hear a Grand Prix from Pontiac. Do you really think the sounds coming from the muffler sound good? Sounds like a trumpet with inconsistent air flow, and it sounds ridiculous.
208,000 miles? Try 300,000 miles which I have seen on many Japanese cars that have had little work done to them.
28th Jul 2007, 13:31
To 16:22, up until just a few years ago GM only offered a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty on all of their automobiles and they still easily outsold Toyota in these United States. So apparently there are millions of people who are out of their minds buying new cars. I wish people would stop making comments like you did that are not founded in fact at all.