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40 years ago people didn't drive nearly as much as they do now, hence why not many cars made it over 100k.
No, I didn't. It's a simple fact that the older cars simply didn't last as long, and the mentality of a used car buyer was that a car with more than 100k on it was too old to be a viable choice. That's not the case anymore.
It's not that people didn't drive ofen enough to get over 100k, it's that the cars didn't LAST much over 100k without major work. the survivor cars we see today survived BECAUSE they didn't get as many miles on them as modern cars. Or because when they were wore out at 100k miles, someone took the time to restore them. When my '62 Falcon was 36 years old, it had only gone 110k miles, and it was wore out. My BMW isn't wore out at 180k miles. I rememebr how hard it used to be to sell anything that had over 100k miles on it. Cars that had 70k miles were considered nearing the end of their lifespan. Now, 70k miles is barely broken in, no matter where the car was made. I used my PT Cruiser HARD and at 70k miles it was still like new in and out, with no rattles.
Sorry but I would never own a vehicle that required that much maintainance.
Is it really that much, though?
2 radiator fans x $90
2 control arms x $45 (easier to change the whole thing vs pressing in bushings)
2 pr tie rod bushings x $20
1 pr sway bar bushings x $20
So over 178k in 7.5 years, that's an extra $330 out of pocket for maintenance. It doesn't include the regular stuff found in the manual. I've probably spent an additional $100 in turning rotors because I bought junky ones. And the actual repairs I mentioned totaled to about $220.
If I kept an Asian car that long, it probably wouldn't need fans or brake jobs, but might still need $50-100 in bushings. If it was a 4 cylinder, the harmonic vibrations will probably have loosened up the 2-3 motor mounts to the point of being uncomfortable in city driving, which are $250 a piece.
I'm assuming alignment plans are a standard thing after you replace the first set of tires.
Full synthetic oil is done on extended OCI's, which pays for itself.
If you can research to get a fairly solid American car, and aren't afraid to tackle a few minor repairs yourself, they can still be pretty good. There's a price you pay for having a big-body, easy-going type of G-ride only found in American cars. Again, I can't complain being a $16k car. I actually still wish they made them.
No, I didn't. It's a simple fact that the older cars simply didn't last as long, and the mentality of a used car buyer was that a car with more than 100k on it was too old to be a viable choice. That's not the case anymore.
It's not that people didn't drive ofen enough to get over 100k, it's that the cars didn't LAST much over 100k without major work. the survivor cars we see today survived BECAUSE they didn't get as many miles on them as modern cars. Or because when they were wore out at 100k miles, someone took the time to restore them. When my '62 Falcon was 36 years old, it had only gone 110k miles, and it was wore out. My BMW isn't wore out at 180k miles. I rememebr how hard it used to be to sell anything that had over 100k miles on it. Cars that had 70k miles were considered nearing the end of their lifespan. Now, 70k miles is barely broken in, no matter where the car was made. I used my PT Cruiser HARD and at 70k miles it was still like new in and out, with no rattles.
Well i guess I must be lucky then because I've personally owned a few old cars that had right at, if not over 100k and they were far from being considered "used up". And they weren't restored either.
Well i guess I must be lucky then because I've personally owned a few old cars that had right at, if not over 100k and they were far from being considered "used up". And they weren't restored either.
Me, too. When I got my '66 Dodge Dart GT V-8, it already had 109,000 miles. It kept running and running. Didn't need a fuel pump until 1990 (at about 170,000 miles).
My brother's '66 Plymouth Fury III, also. Had around 110,000 miles when he got it and ran it to over 250,000. He drove that car a lot and it never came home on a tow truck. Never.
After 40 years of screwing me and all their other customers, I WIll not ever buy a Detroit vehicle again. American built Japanese makes keep our workers working, (and they are not lazy good for nothing UAW workers), and gives the customer well built, reliable cars.
Just like I would never go back to a restaurant that gave me food poisoning, even if they got a clean bill of health from the health department, and i would never rehire an employee that stole from me, even if he did jail time for it, I certainly won't trust tens of thousands of dollars to companies that shafted their customers for decades, only to panhandle the taxpayer to continue making their crap.
Most reliable car I've ever had is a 7 year old Chevy. Corvette Z06, only problem it's had in it's lifetime was a $300 failed O2 sensor, other than that it's just need filters and fluids. My NSX on the other hand, while a fun car, was a nightmare for reliability.
If you want to see how far American quality has come, drive a Ford Fusion Sport. Fun, fast and the Sync system is awesome. Absolutely perfect for a daily driver.
In the mid 90's the Japanese probably did have better quality than American makes. Now this is just a myth and (while not Chrysler or GM) recent Fords have been shown to have better quality than their Japanese counterparts.
If you want to see how far American quality has come, drive a Ford Fusion Sport. Fun, fast and the Sync system is awesome. Absolutely perfect for a daily driver.
In the mid 90's the Japanese probably did have better quality than American makes. Now this is just a myth and (while not Chrysler or GM) recent Fords have been shown to have better quality than their Japanese counterparts.
Your assessment is premature. The Fusion has been out four years. Yes it is a quality car. However, I cannot forget all the transmission problems in the Ford Tauruses and Windstars that I had to replace in my fleet PREMATURELY, the poor performance of my Mercury Topazes and the like.
I could care less about the Sync system. I would like to see a car that could make it to 200k without bankrupting the driver. I would like to see cars that do well on resale. Ford trucks have done that pretty well. The cars have not.
No, I didn't. It's a simple fact that the older cars simply didn't last as long, and the mentality of a used car buyer was that a car with more than 100k on it was too old to be a viable choice. That's not the case anymore.
It's not that people didn't drive ofen enough to get over 100k, it's that the cars didn't LAST much over 100k without major work. the survivor cars we see today survived BECAUSE they didn't get as many miles on them as modern cars. Or because when they were wore out at 100k miles, someone took the time to restore them. When my '62 Falcon was 36 years old, it had only gone 110k miles, and it was wore out. My BMW isn't wore out at 180k miles. I rememebr how hard it used to be to sell anything that had over 100k miles on it. Cars that had 70k miles were considered nearing the end of their lifespan. Now, 70k miles is barely broken in, no matter where the car was made. I used my PT Cruiser HARD and at 70k miles it was still like new in and out, with no rattles.
That is the case with my 2003 Nissan Altima. I have had it a little over year, and almost 19k later at 75,900 miles its running great, when I purchased it in March 2009 it had 57k. Though that could be because the motor was replaced at 61k? But I dont have any rattles or other mechanical issues to worry about. Best $8500 I ever spent
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I could care less about the Sync system. I would like to see a car that could make it to 200k without bankrupting the driver. I would like to see cars that do well on resale. Ford trucks have done that pretty well. The cars have not.
Your assessment is outdated. As with most arguments against domestic autos, they are based on experiences of models years ago, usually at least a decade old. In some cases they compare their old Domestic to their new foreign-based car with far newer technology. Of course I also want the best vehicle I can buy, but there's no question that modern domestic vehicles, especially Fords are at least equal to other automakers.
Regarding resale values there's some new articles out within the past week such as: Ford Leads Resale-Value Gains, Auto Lease Guide Says (Update1) - BusinessWeek
which states, "The Fusion’s resale value after three year is now $1,600 higher than that of Toyota Motor Corp.’s Camry, according to Automotive Lease Guide."
It's also unfortunate to see just how many people think the foreign auto companies do as much for the U.S. economy as the U.S. auto companies. Most of them do have assembly plants in North America now, where they ship over their foreign-made engines, transmissions, etc. and assemble the car with about 25 paid working-hours. Most salesmen also greatly exaggerate their U.S. assembly footprint. According to this recent article: Likely new UAW president says workers should share in gains if auto industry rebounds - latimes.com (http://www.latimes.com/sns-ap-us-uaw-king,0,3530520.story - broken link)
"In 2000, the automaker made 57 percent of the cars sold in the U.S. in the United States, but that is now headed below 40 percent. ... Toyota denied that figure. Spokeswoman Mira Sleilati said that last month, 68.2 percent of the Toyota vehicles sold in the U.S. were produced in North America, which includes facilities in Canada and Mexico."
Let's not get carried away. Foreign-based auto companies do provide American jobs. But Domestic auto companies have a far greater percentage of U.S. and North-American assembled cars, U.S.-based supplier parts, U.S.-based engines, U.S.-based transmissions, and in some cases even U.S.-based hybrid batteries.
40 years ago, a car was mostly used up at 100k miles. 50 years ago, getting a car to 150 or 200 k miles was cause for national recognition.. Now, 150-200k is NORMAL.
people tend to forget this, but it's definitely true. there was a reason that odometer only went to 100K...
IMHO, American cars started going downhill in the early to mid 70s, sincerely sucked [with some exceptions] through the 80s and finally began to improve in the mid 90s.
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Now, 150-200k is NORMAL.