10th Aug 2009, 21:28

I've taken my Rangers off road in the past. None of the 4 I owned ever had a single problem regardless of how they were treated. 300,000 miles out of Rangers is typical.

11th Aug 2009, 06:46

Go to the Honda V6 and TL threads on here and look at the issues. Major issues.

I liked earlier Hondas too, meaning 10 years ago and had new Legends. How many on here can comment lately.

I see mud hops as senseless and it tears up empty trucks and the environment. To me the bed and towing function is why you buy in 2009. Full size tricks having function and practical applications. Changing the geometry, adding massive tires and needing a step ladder is a waste.

I felt like the road warrior in one I went fishing with. An overkill vehicle. The tire noise alone was tiring to hear.

11th Aug 2009, 07:43

I am not seeing booming repair shops with mechanics in Rolls Royces. But the import repair facilities at the dealerships seem to be swamped. I had to call for our appts or drop off

11th Aug 2009, 12:29

I totally agree. I'll purchase imports for myself because they are of higher quality, but I hope people keep buying domestics because the frequent repairs keep me in business.

11th Aug 2009, 21:06

My mothers boyfriend owns a busy shop and I have never heard the import domestic factor being what puts food on the table. There is repair work either way. What I do here is complexity of repairs, people holding off on expensive repairs getting paid fridays after payday. I have seen vehicles scrapped over a single major repair many imports by the way.

12th Aug 2009, 20:39

I do all of my own maintenance; can't say I do my own repairs because I've only ever had ONE with the three Toyota's I've owned (one starter), but I do go to one particular mechanic, a very good one; he services fleets of vehicles, and while he admits he hates to say it..."those Toyota's and Honda's are tough to destroy". My last visit, he actually said, (quoted roughly)..."you just don't see any American cars come in here with the same high mileage as these Honda's". He went on to tell me about ONE old GMC truck with about 220,000 miles on it, but then finished by saying that he has many Toy's and Honda's come through with more miles on them than that. I already knew this. Which is why I buy them.

13th Aug 2009, 09:00

An elderly mechanic in our town retired several years ago. I'm also a mechanic and I often visited with him and exchanged car stories. He told me he never made a lot of money until the early Nissans (Datsun then), Toyotas and Hondas started hitting 3-4 years old. He said they literally started falling apart at that point and he made a fortune repairing them.

That has been my experience as well. I see domestics from all three of the Big Three that date back to the late 70's and are still in good shape. They are, frankly, far more ruggedly built. I saw a near-mint 1978 Chevy Monte Carlo yesterday with 316,000 miles on it with the original drivetrain. I've never seen a Honda, Toyota or especially a Nissan (one of the most unreliable brands on the road) with anywhere NEAR that mileage with the original drivetrain. There may be a VERY few isolated cases, but I've never seen even one.

Japanese car companies build their vehicles with flimsier materials. Even frame components are not designed to last as long as any American vehicle. This is especially true of larger pickup trucks. The Tundra is pretty much a joke. I know of no one who bought one that ever bought a second one. They all went back to Silverados, F-150's or Rams.

13th Aug 2009, 09:57

I am sure you can pay and pay and get 150000 miles on Hondas and Nissans. I had them and got whacked at 100000 miles with front end work, failed air conditioning, water pumps, timing belts, power electrical issues, on and on. Better to dump and find a cheaper low mile one and start over. I see one big repair a waste to fix.

13th Aug 2009, 14:24

You should've seen my '73 Honda Civic. It had 400,000 miles on the original drivetrain when I finally got rid of it. You don't have to believe me, I know what cars are well built and which aren't. So I'll stick with my Honda's thank you.

13th Aug 2009, 14:28

I agree with this completely. I have the same reason for purchasing Honda's. They last so much longer than domestics.

13th Aug 2009, 18:50

Ha ha! Tell that to my friends who proudly bought a brand new Honda only to have the transmission die within three months! They learned better than to buy that junk again.

13th Aug 2009, 19:43

Did I forget the heater core on my Honda at 100000 miles destroyed my cabin; leaking and stench in my Legend after the sunroof motor went. Dumped it too.

13th Aug 2009, 21:42

09:00 the joke would be on the person that goes back to any domestic truck or car after owning a Toyota. I certainly never will.

As soon as I bought my first Toyota, the much higher quality was evident the first day. This was reinforced by the fact that it never broke down, or my second one, or my third one, which, as a previous Ford and Chevy owner, was a nice change. I know of no one that has switched back to any domestic brand after a Toyota or a Honda. You domestic fans would love to believe otherwise; sorry, not true. It has happened somewhere I'm sure, but I have yet to see it.

What I see is people getting tired of cheap domestic junk and finally being smart enough to buy a better product. It's been happening for a couple of decades. Funny part is, sales figures and quality ratings back up my observations. Must be some truth to it??

Ha. You Ford and Chevy fans keep right on buying them... I get a laugh out of it. I can see buying one if you expect to dump it when the warranty runs out, which is about as long as those disposable cars and trucks last. I buy good stuff and keep it a while.

14th Aug 2009, 00:32

Autopart International, an autoparts provider here in New England, uses Toyota vehicles ONLY, as their delivery trucks. So it's not entirely true that nobody uses Toyota's as fleet vehicles. I'm not sure about other parts of the U.S., but here in New England, Autopart International is a HUGE autoparts store chain. So, obviously Toyota makes a good truck if an Autoparts store is using them to deliver parts. And no, they aren't using them because they have the parts to fix them, just to end a weak argument before it starts. An autoparts store isn't going to want a vehicle that they have to repair constantly, they want to sell parts, not use them on their fleet vehicles. So don't try to pull that card domestic lovers.