19th Oct 2010, 12:23
You are making your assessment based on what?
The following cars are made in Canada, so they are Canadian and NOT American:
Chrysler - Town & Country, Caravan, 300, Challenger, Charger.
Ford - Crown Vic, Grand Marquis, Edge, MKX, Flex.
GM - Camaro, Impala, Allure, Lacrosse, Equinox, torrent.
Your beloved domestics are actually imported from Canada.
21st Oct 2010, 10:36
That's hardly an argument. If I bought a car every 2 years I'd be broke, even if it was used. Any vehicle owned for a mere 2 years by no means indicates its reliability, simply because the time its owned is barely enough time to prove long-term reliability.
I own the same truck I bought in high school - a '96 Tacoma. That was almost 15 years and 245,000 miles ago, and so far the most expensive thing that needed replacement was the original clutch that went out at 210,000. I replaced it in an afternoon. The parts were $300. Big whoop. Had I done like you, I would be on vehicle number 8.
22nd Oct 2010, 10:32
No way you can do that. Most GM vehicles have average or above average deprecation. 30%-40% deprecation in 2 years is the norm with most GM vehicles.
According to IntelliChoice, Lexus and Toyota is on top or near the top in more or less any class, whereas GM is usually ranked low in most classed with some few exceptions. Ie; GM vehicles have the lowest resale value (highest deprecation) of the major brands.
19th Oct 2010, 09:23
Where did this misconception that imports cost more come from? Pretty much any comparable car domestic vs. import is just about the same cost these days. This may have been true 10 or 15 years ago, but not anymore. The last couple of imports I have purchased had MSRP prices within a couple hundred of their rival domestic cars. I priced both. If you are purely going on rebates and incentives, then the domestics may be at an advantage. That is the factory making decisions to unload their cars for less, and not a true price point. They also fluctuate, so you can't really go by them as an accurate gauge of price.
In reality I have done as good or better on the imports I've purchased over the past decade. I find that domestic dealers don't want to budge too easily after the rebates, and the imports drop down to invoice or less pretty readily, which usually comes close to the rebates anyhow. 6 of one, half dozen the other overall for me.
Nowadays it almost makes sense buying new cars, as used ones come with higher prices than they used to, and the financing available on a new car is much better. Many times you'll get at or close to the payment of the used car, so it just makes more sense to have a brand new one.