Gov’t giving you $4500 to trade in your old car,

[svelte]

[quote=bsrsharma]Another amazing thing is people selling Volvos & Saabs with 200K, 300K and even 400K miles on them! Most US engineered cars would reach old age by 100K and surely die before 200K. [/quote]

That’s a horseshit generalization.

I never sell any of my American cars before 150K and they go on for years after that (I know – my friends snap them up from me).

My son has my 89 and it is still going strong at 250K miles. He has no plans to trade it in as it costs him next to nothing to run (tags and insurance are dirt cheap) and it still has most original parts. Shoot, it even has its original alternator!

[bsrsharma]

svelte:

Obviously, my comment was a generalization; but not entirely wrong. Many imports have a record of lasting more miles than many domestics. The high mileage domestics are usually large engine truck & truck like vehicles (suburban, explorer, tahoe etc.,). Cadillacs are probably an exception (in being longer lasting US cars).

As a test, just pulled a sample from a craigslist ‘for sale’ list:

A sample of “low value” vehicles with mileage:
———————————————-
Kia 88K
Mercury Sable 76K
Toyota Celica 212K
Chevy Cavalier 50K
Ford Explorer 194K
Nissan Pathfinder 210K
Kia Sephia 85K
Mercury Tracer 85K
Nissan 300 101K
Hyundai Excel 96K
Lincoln Towncar 86K
Ford F150 90K
Pontiac Grand Am 137K
Ford Taurus 126K
Dodge Van 66K
Cadillac Seville 122K

Observations:

1. Not a single European car in the list
2. Only cars > 200K are Toyota & Nissan
3. US Cars > 100K are Ford Explorer & Taurus, Pontiac Grand Am, Cadillac
4. Dodge & Chevy Cavalier = scrap?
5. Kia & Hyundai are comparable to US brands
6. Toyota & Nissan better than US brands.

If you are interested in vehicle longevity, a good site is http://discussions.consumerreports.org/n/pfx/forum.aspx?webtag=cr-2kmileclub

[bsrsharma]

svelte:

Obviously, my comment was a generalization; but not entirely wrong. Many imports have a record of lasting more miles than many domestics. The high mileage domestics are usually large engine truck & truck like vehicles (suburban, explorer, tahoe etc.,). Cadillacs are probably an exception (in being longer lasting US cars).

As a test, just pulled a sample from a craigslist ‘for sale’ list:

A sample of “low value” vehicles with mileage:
———————————————-
Kia 88K
Mercury Sable 76K
Toyota Celica 212K
Chevy Cavalier 50K
Ford Explorer 194K
Nissan Pathfinder 210K
Kia Sephia 85K
Mercury Tracer 85K
Nissan 300 101K
Hyundai Excel 96K
Lincoln Towncar 86K
Ford F150 90K
Pontiac Grand Am 137K
Ford Taurus 126K
Dodge Van 66K
Cadillac Seville 122K

Observations:

1. Not a single European car in the list
2. Only cars > 200K are Toyota & Nissan
3. US Cars > 100K are Ford Explorer & Taurus, Pontiac Grand Am, Cadillac
4. Dodge & Chevy Cavalier = scrap?
5. Kia & Hyundai are comparable to US brands
6. Toyota & Nissan better than US brands.

If you are interested in vehicle longevity, a good site is http://discussions.consumerreports.org/n/pfx/forum.aspx?webtag=cr-2kmileclub

[bsrsharma]

svelte:

Obviously, my comment was a generalization; but not entirely wrong. Many imports have a record of lasting more miles than many domestics. The high mileage domestics are usually large engine truck & truck like vehicles (suburban, explorer, tahoe etc.,). Cadillacs are probably an exception (in being longer lasting US cars).

As a test, just pulled a sample from a craigslist ‘for sale’ list:

A sample of “low value” vehicles with mileage:
———————————————-
Kia 88K
Mercury Sable 76K
Toyota Celica 212K
Chevy Cavalier 50K
Ford Explorer 194K
Nissan Pathfinder 210K
Kia Sephia 85K
Mercury Tracer 85K
Nissan 300 101K
Hyundai Excel 96K
Lincoln Towncar 86K
Ford F150 90K
Pontiac Grand Am 137K
Ford Taurus 126K
Dodge Van 66K
Cadillac Seville 122K

Observations:

1. Not a single European car in the list
2. Only cars > 200K are Toyota & Nissan
3. US Cars > 100K are Ford Explorer & Taurus, Pontiac Grand Am, Cadillac
4. Dodge & Chevy Cavalier = scrap?
5. Kia & Hyundai are comparable to US brands
6. Toyota & Nissan better than US brands.

If you are interested in vehicle longevity, a good site is http://discussions.consumerreports.org/n/pfx/forum.aspx?webtag=cr-2kmileclub

[bsrsharma]

svelte:

Obviously, my comment was a generalization; but not entirely wrong. Many imports have a record of lasting more miles than many domestics. The high mileage domestics are usually large engine truck & truck like vehicles (suburban, explorer, tahoe etc.,). Cadillacs are probably an exception (in being longer lasting US cars).

As a test, just pulled a sample from a craigslist ‘for sale’ list:

A sample of “low value” vehicles with mileage:
———————————————-
Kia 88K
Mercury Sable 76K
Toyota Celica 212K
Chevy Cavalier 50K
Ford Explorer 194K
Nissan Pathfinder 210K
Kia Sephia 85K
Mercury Tracer 85K
Nissan 300 101K
Hyundai Excel 96K
Lincoln Towncar 86K
Ford F150 90K
Pontiac Grand Am 137K
Ford Taurus 126K
Dodge Van 66K
Cadillac Seville 122K

Observations:

1. Not a single European car in the list
2. Only cars > 200K are Toyota & Nissan
3. US Cars > 100K are Ford Explorer & Taurus, Pontiac Grand Am, Cadillac
4. Dodge & Chevy Cavalier = scrap?
5. Kia & Hyundai are comparable to US brands
6. Toyota & Nissan better than US brands.

If you are interested in vehicle longevity, a good site is http://discussions.consumerreports.org/n/pfx/forum.aspx?webtag=cr-2kmileclub

[bsrsharma]

svelte:

Obviously, my comment was a generalization; but not entirely wrong. Many imports have a record of lasting more miles than many domestics. The high mileage domestics are usually large engine truck & truck like vehicles (suburban, explorer, tahoe etc.,). Cadillacs are probably an exception (in being longer lasting US cars).

As a test, just pulled a sample from a craigslist ‘for sale’ list:

A sample of “low value” vehicles with mileage:
———————————————-
Kia 88K
Mercury Sable 76K
Toyota Celica 212K
Chevy Cavalier 50K
Ford Explorer 194K
Nissan Pathfinder 210K
Kia Sephia 85K
Mercury Tracer 85K
Nissan 300 101K
Hyundai Excel 96K
Lincoln Towncar 86K
Ford F150 90K
Pontiac Grand Am 137K
Ford Taurus 126K
Dodge Van 66K
Cadillac Seville 122K

Observations:

1. Not a single European car in the list
2. Only cars > 200K are Toyota & Nissan
3. US Cars > 100K are Ford Explorer & Taurus, Pontiac Grand Am, Cadillac
4. Dodge & Chevy Cavalier = scrap?
5. Kia & Hyundai are comparable to US brands
6. Toyota & Nissan better than US brands.

If you are interested in vehicle longevity, a good site is http://discussions.consumerreports.org/n/pfx/forum.aspx?webtag=cr-2kmileclub

[temeculaguy]

I used to have a bad impression of American cars as far as reliablity but since about 2003, I’ve changed my tune. I’ve owned about 20 cars in my time and honda, toyota and infiniti were my favorite for reliability until my recent experiences with a few domestics, now it’s an all domestic garage at casa de TG. It’s anectdotal but my current and recent domestics have gone further with fewer repairs than my german or japanese cars.

People sell cars for a variety of reasons, those for sale are not a good indicator of which vehicles are problems. I’ve owned almost all makes and my old Ford Expedition was the most dependable car I’ve ever had, I miss her, I regret getting rid of her.

[temeculaguy]

I used to have a bad impression of American cars as far as reliablity but since about 2003, I’ve changed my tune. I’ve owned about 20 cars in my time and honda, toyota and infiniti were my favorite for reliability until my recent experiences with a few domestics, now it’s an all domestic garage at casa de TG. It’s anectdotal but my current and recent domestics have gone further with fewer repairs than my german or japanese cars.

People sell cars for a variety of reasons, those for sale are not a good indicator of which vehicles are problems. I’ve owned almost all makes and my old Ford Expedition was the most dependable car I’ve ever had, I miss her, I regret getting rid of her.

[temeculaguy]

I used to have a bad impression of American cars as far as reliablity but since about 2003, I’ve changed my tune. I’ve owned about 20 cars in my time and honda, toyota and infiniti were my favorite for reliability until my recent experiences with a few domestics, now it’s an all domestic garage at casa de TG. It’s anectdotal but my current and recent domestics have gone further with fewer repairs than my german or japanese cars.

People sell cars for a variety of reasons, those for sale are not a good indicator of which vehicles are problems. I’ve owned almost all makes and my old Ford Expedition was the most dependable car I’ve ever had, I miss her, I regret getting rid of her.

[temeculaguy]

I used to have a bad impression of American cars as far as reliablity but since about 2003, I’ve changed my tune. I’ve owned about 20 cars in my time and honda, toyota and infiniti were my favorite for reliability until my recent experiences with a few domestics, now it’s an all domestic garage at casa de TG. It’s anectdotal but my current and recent domestics have gone further with fewer repairs than my german or japanese cars.

People sell cars for a variety of reasons, those for sale are not a good indicator of which vehicles are problems. I’ve owned almost all makes and my old Ford Expedition was the most dependable car I’ve ever had, I miss her, I regret getting rid of her.

[temeculaguy]

I used to have a bad impression of American cars as far as reliablity but since about 2003, I’ve changed my tune. I’ve owned about 20 cars in my time and honda, toyota and infiniti were my favorite for reliability until my recent experiences with a few domestics, now it’s an all domestic garage at casa de TG. It’s anectdotal but my current and recent domestics have gone further with fewer repairs than my german or japanese cars.

People sell cars for a variety of reasons, those for sale are not a good indicator of which vehicles are problems. I’ve owned almost all makes and my old Ford Expedition was the most dependable car I’ve ever had, I miss her, I regret getting rid of her.

[bsrsharma]

Ford Expedition was the most dependable car

I too believe some of the most dependable cars are domestic V8s. My Buick had all kinds of problems but never refused to run (except when it ate the battery). But I think there is general agreement that the domestics voluntarily ceded ground on high MPG autos and hence when there is a consumer/government inspired move towards efficiency, they are looking obsolete and losing out. Most clunker trade ins seem domestics and new ones are usually imports, with the Korean brands/makes (like Chevy Aveo, Pontiac G3 etc.,) doing well. (My dealer sold off all Vibes and was selling G3’s).

[bsrsharma]

Ford Expedition was the most dependable car

I too believe some of the most dependable cars are domestic V8s. My Buick had all kinds of problems but never refused to run (except when it ate the battery). But I think there is general agreement that the domestics voluntarily ceded ground on high MPG autos and hence when there is a consumer/government inspired move towards efficiency, they are looking obsolete and losing out. Most clunker trade ins seem domestics and new ones are usually imports, with the Korean brands/makes (like Chevy Aveo, Pontiac G3 etc.,) doing well. (My dealer sold off all Vibes and was selling G3’s).

[bsrsharma]

Ford Expedition was the most dependable car

I too believe some of the most dependable cars are domestic V8s. My Buick had all kinds of problems but never refused to run (except when it ate the battery). But I think there is general agreement that the domestics voluntarily ceded ground on high MPG autos and hence when there is a consumer/government inspired move towards efficiency, they are looking obsolete and losing out. Most clunker trade ins seem domestics and new ones are usually imports, with the Korean brands/makes (like Chevy Aveo, Pontiac G3 etc.,) doing well. (My dealer sold off all Vibes and was selling G3’s).

[bsrsharma]

Ford Expedition was the most dependable car

I too believe some of the most dependable cars are domestic V8s. My Buick had all kinds of problems but never refused to run (except when it ate the battery). But I think there is general agreement that the domestics voluntarily ceded ground on high MPG autos and hence when there is a consumer/government inspired move towards efficiency, they are looking obsolete and losing out. Most clunker trade ins seem domestics and new ones are usually imports, with the Korean brands/makes (like Chevy Aveo, Pontiac G3 etc.,) doing well. (My dealer sold off all Vibes and was selling G3’s).

[Author]

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