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Both Cadillac and Buick are in the top 5 of the J.D. Powers and Associates list of initial quality.
Initial quality. There's a meaningless term if I ever heard one. Almost any new car will be dependable when its new. True quality is how dependable a car will be with 100,000+ on the odometer.
Initial quality. There's a meaningless term if I ever heard one. Almost any new car will be dependable when its new. True quality is how dependable a car will be with 100,000+ on the odometer.
1992 Buick Regal 3800 - 16 yrs old next month - 244,000 miles - orig. engine/trans.
WHAT HAVE I DONE TO IT, probably a little excessive in the maintenance:
oil change every 2,500 miles and trans fluid change every 20,000 to 25,000 miles. But cheaper than an overhaul, so this is my "diet" for my cars.
Repairs (beyond normal wear items like brakes, tires, struts) - and all of them beyond 150,000 miles:
- 1 water pump
- 1 alternator
- 1 exhaust donut, cheap
- 1 blower motor fan, replaced with junkyard part with a friend
- 1 thermostat by-pass, hard to get to, so a little pricey
- front wheel bearings, tie rod ends, bushings
- 2 sensors for engine management system
That is it. I am keeping it alongside my new Buick LaCrosse. It still has the original radiator and muffler (no changes there).
My 2 Oldsmobile Cutlasses. Both had about 175,000 when I sold them. No engine work, ever. Transmissions in both replaced between 125,000 and 150,000. But still, not many problems in either of those cars.
The trick with GM is you have to buy a vehicle with a proven engine/trans combination and not bet on one that is a newbie.
Initial quality. There's a meaningless term if I ever heard one. Almost any new car will be dependable when its new. True quality is how dependable a car will be with 100,000+ on the odometer.
thank you sir, something i mentioned a few posts ago, initial mean when new, initially lol
Initial quality. There's a meaningless term if I ever heard one. Almost any new car will be dependable when its new. True quality is how dependable a car will be with 100,000+ on the odometer.
Maybe that explains why Mercedes isn't in the top 5.
That seems to be the mystery here. American companies make great pickup trucks. Chevy and Ford seem to be able to make trucks that will last forever, but it never seems to carry over to their cars. Are the engineers who design trucks for GM and Ford just more competent than the engineers designing their cars?
I don't know, but even with todays American trucks I've heard they leave some to be desired, but all in all I would have to say the trucks are probably built better than the cars are. Which is why if I were to buy a new vehicle it would most likely be a truck.
If you like Japanese quality and design, but don't like putting Americans out of work, you could choose Subaru. (and there are a few others) My 2008 Outback has a sticker on a window that says "Union Made in Indiana". (I heard that some Toyotas are also built in the same plant)
Japanese engineered quality....American made....
Bud
Same with Honda. Accords sold in the US are made in Ohio. The same plant in Marysville, OH, also makes the Acura TL and RDX.
I would own nothing but american ,thankyou very much i currently drive a 94 ford escort with 219.000 miles on it and the only thing i've done is change they oil and timing belt. oh yeah and the a/c recharged. and i also have a 96 ford windstar van that has 189.000 miles on it that im rebuilding the engine in, only because it blew a head gasket . so american is not that bad. anyone can bring out the bad in anything. everything has bad and good .
Last edited by JFRRACING; 04-14-2008 at 07:34 AM..
I would own nothing but american ,thankyou very much
How American are the "American" car companies anymore? They're increasingly moving their operations OUT of the U.S., while the "foreign" companies are making more and more of their cars IN the U.S. I'd rather give Americans in Ohio a job by buying a Honda, rather than driving a Chevy and giving Paco and Jose in Mexico a job.
Although I guess you will be giving Americans jobs by driving a car from GM, Ford, or Chrysler.....and those Americans are MECHANICS and TOW TRUCK DRIVERS!
My '96 plymouth grand voyager. Literally something broke down on it every 2 months. I finally gave up and bought a foreign car to replace it. Now I can’t even give the thing away.
I would own nothing but american ,thankyou very much i currently drive a 94 ford escort . . .
Guess what, Mr. "I would own nothing but American" . . . your "American" Escort car is a re-skinned, re-badged Mazda (though without the far superior Mazda engine unless it's an Escort GT).
Last edited by Drover; 04-14-2008 at 09:53 AM..
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nothing foreign please
