I own a 2014 Kia and it's a really good car. In my family, we've always had foreign cars such as Honda and Toyota. I think they are more reliable, they still don't make american cars that reliable. Do you guys think american cars have improved their reliability?
The last American car I had was a 98 Ford Contour, a vehicle that gave me no end of trouble. So since then I've mostly had Hondas and have been very satisfied with them. Reliability is the number one feature that I'm looking for and the Japanese cars seem to have gotten that aspect down.
Somewhat.. Love my new F150...but yea nothing just keeps running and running like a Japanese car, bought a 1996 Nissan for $1,000 bucks in 1999 and I couldn't kill that little car .
You have to define "American". Toyota Tundra and Tacomas are made in Texas. Mercedes and Nissan have plants in Alabama. BMW builds cars in South Carolina. I have worked at all of these plants. Many "American" cars are built in Canada or Mexico. I think you can find well made vehicles with almost any foreign or domestic nameplate. I've had the best luck with Toyotas, and lean even more that way since their US headquarters is now in Texas. Toyota seems to stand behind their vehicles and will bend over backwards to fix a problem and avoid a public image of poor quality. The drive train of every Toyota I've owned has been very sturdily built. My son is driving my old 4Runner and it has almost 200k miles and is going strong. He frequently drives it between DFW and Wichita, KS, where he is stationed. My Nissans haven't been built as well. They will do the miles, but there are more failures and remedial maintenance. My GM products have ran great, but the interior falls apart and I get frequent "'Check Engine" lights, which have to be repaired to pass inspections. My Fords have done OK. They aren't fast or efficient (trucks), but they work dependably and are well insulated so that they are quiet and pleasant to drive. Fords seem to have crap mounted all over the engine so that everything is hard to work on, but they are my favorite domestic truck. I loved my Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen TDI. The maintenance was a little pricy. If I had kept it longer, I would have learned how to do it myself or get a 3rd party shop to do my work. The car got 40 mpg in town and my best tank was 48 mpg on the highway. I've never owned a Korean vehicle. I've heard good things and they are inexpensive.
American cars are as reliable if not more. German cars have become POS in terms of reliability, which really makes a difference for the absurd repair and parts costs. They appear designed now to fall apart rapidly when the warranty has expired. The British started making decently reliable cars, but also high repair costs. Generally, Asian cars are good.
I have 3 Ford trucks - V6 and 2 diesels. 2 over 200,000 and one over 300,000. They just keep going and going. Repairs are FAR less than Euro imports. Asian cars tend to be reliable, but lack personality.
Ever person I know who owns a KIA likes it. Isuzu is junk. I think they were fined every year for lying about their fuel economy.
Performance and driving pleasure rank much higher on my scale that reliability.. I also enjoy wrenching on my cars and tweaking.. None of my cars have an automatic and haven't driven a front wheel drive car in years.. Everyone buys these new $ civics and malibu grocery getters for new car reliability because they are scared and insecure.. I know every one I pass, even in my rusty winter car, secretly wishes they were driving my car rather than theirs but are terrified to own one even though my cars cost me 1/4 what theirs do.. My cars turn heads and spark conversations.. The dirtier my winter car is the more attention it gets at gas stations.. The thing that impressed me the most about my girlfriend is that she was driving a stick when I met her.. Oilfield life, all these guys with their big diesel trucks.. I like to compliment them on how many bags of groceries they will hold and remind them that they won't get around a corner, and I'm twice as fast on ice and in snow.. All the while getting awesome gas mileage on accident because the less you have to slow down for corners the less you have to speed up afterwards.. Did you know that full throttle acceleration at lowish RPMs to cruising speed to high gear cruise is the most fuel efficient? Can't do that in an automatic.. Do you know how much HP/MPG a slushbox wastes? Actually having full control of your car when you want to be fast, put it in the powerband and keep it there.. Not to mention a manual box will usually last twice as many miles especially with some hard driving.. When I think of reliability I don't think about how many miles it will go putting around, I think how long it will last at WOT if you keep it under the redline.. Sure that Kia might be able to putt around more miles with no problems than that Porsche or BMW, but would its engine and breaks survive hours straight of wide open to full break corner over and over? Life is too short to drive boring cars..
Yes, they have improved, but they don't build them as well as the foreign manufacturer. Kia gets excellent reports. I own a Mazda CX5, made in Japan. Great car.
My uncle owned a 2011 BMW 328-I, of course he let his drunk G/F drive it and wrecked it, don't ask. Anyways, it was still under warranty and he didn't have it long enough to see if their were any reliable issues.
Will stay with the 4 door Jeep Wrangler, no major issues and a solid SUV. We also have a 2007 VW Rabbit that looks and runs like new and outside of tires and brakes its been a very good car. My favorite for slumming is our 1987 Suzuki Samurai, the jeep wannabe is so dam fun in the mountains and was the first new vehicle we bought after getting married in 1986. The answer for the Op for me is treat your vehicles good, do the normal maintenece and don't abuse them. Both Foriegn and Domestic manufactures have good and lemons.
Damnably smart those Germans - 3 years then stuff starts dropping off their cars. I've just extended the warranty for a fourth year on mine, and it only cost £220, which I thought was reasonable to ensure peace of mind.
Ford is the only American car company I will even consider. GM can suck it because unlike Ford they needed mommy to bail them out cause they can't handle their ****. Best cars are Honda and Toyota for everyday stuff, Subarus are the best for the zombie apocalypse, Fords are probably the best deal since now they are basically almost as reliable as many foreign cars and if you want a used car they are cheaper because they don't yet have that automatic price increase from just having a Toyota or Honda badge.
For the driving experience you want to buy an European car. Over the years their manufacturers have placed their focus on the driving experience and they show it. Their problem is that reliability is sketchy and repair costs are high. For reliability you want to consider Japanese. When they first broke into our market of American cars they put strong emphasis on quality. The American manufacturer had been resting on their laurels for a long time making so-so cars. That's how the Japanese gained favor in a relatively short time. They still hold the reputation for the best quality, It can be said they leave something to be desired when it comes to their driving experience. For the most part they're considered grocery getters. Korea has caught up with the Japanese, American cars improved a lot over the years but pretty much fall in the middle between European and Japanese/Korea made cars when it comes to driving experience and quality.
I have an 08 FJ and they have a design flaw Toyota will never address since it does not affect safety. The engine compartment inner fender can tear all the way from top to bottom and can eventually tear the outer fender. They addressed this through the years by adding another wall of sheet metal to the inner fender and changing the frame to a stiffer frame. Washboard roads can cause the tear even if you never take it off-road.
I own a VW Rabbit, and what you say is exactly true. It's built to drive, but repair/maintenance is expensive. I've owned a Ford, and it was ok, until it wasn't, then it went downhill fast. Now, my fleet is three Japanese cars (Suzuki, Mitsubishi and Scion) and the Rabbit. I will probably try Korean next, as they are assembled close by--Hyundai has a plant about 3 hours away, and Kia about 4 hours away. My brother has a Sonata, and loves it.
The difference is reliability VS durability.. Japanese reliability is about designing ok performing parts that will last under normal conditions for a very long time. When they degrade and come to the end of their useful life they fail in a way that they can still be used but performance suffers.. Most people wouldn't even notice worn parts.. German durability is about designing parts that are designed to be used up to maximum performance level and be durable under the most extreme conditions, but when they pass their useful life they lose performance severely and sometimes can cause catastrophic failure if they are let go too long.. Parts need to be replaced.. Their is no reason durable German cars won't go 300k miles, but you have to replace parts when they wear out or serious damage can result.. Unlike japanese cars that you can just run forever on sloppy worn out parts with massive failures being less likely..
I think I might have consumed all my interest in cars as a child as i had about 2000 of them. Today, I have absolutely no interest at all in cars. But, of course I have to be patriotic and vote for European cars.
