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The Current State of the US Auto Market

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  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    "Most of the top passenger car manufacturers continue to reduce their warranty expenses, as calculated by the size of the expense per vehicle and as a percentage of their automotive revenue.

    The good news spreads across Europe, Asia, and North America, as we reckon that six of the top eight automotive OEMs saw decreasing warranty expenses in their most recently completed fiscal years.

    1) all of the European OEMs plus Ford and Toyota managed to successfully reduce their warranty expense rates in their most recent fiscal years, 2) Honda is back over $250 per vehicle for the first time in five years, though it still has the lowest vehicle warranty expense rate in the world, 3) Ford has the second-lowest vehicle warranty expense rate in the world, 4) Fiat once again has its warranty expenses under control, and 5) Toyota is now fifth out of eight, after holding second place from fiscal 2002 to 2006, but continues to recover from the massive recalls of 2009 and 2010."

    Warranty Week
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    At least I know now that my constant harping on Mercedes reliability is backed up with some solid stats. Benz owners don't like to hear this.
  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,724
    If Daimler learned anything from Chrysler, it was how to make an unreliable car! :D
    '15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,072
    Could it be reliability, or parts and labor costs? I'm not seeing many of these vehicles on tow trucks or stranded alongside the road.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Point is they are in the shop I think, a *lot* more than other cars. I bet it's mostly fussy electronics---a German weak point, IMO.

    I would fully expect if I bought a new Mercedes or VW that I'd be in for warranty work of some kind in short order. I don't mean "break-down" but some niggling thing or another.
  • tlongtlong Member Posts: 5,194
    Looks like GM's claims are higher even than Ford's.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    "Both Fiat and Ford are cutting their warranty costs to within range of longtime low-cost leader Honda. Ford had the second-lowest accrual rate per vehicle, and that GM and Fiat were almost in a tie for third."

    Sounds like all the Big 3 are doing pretty good with their claims.

    Wish we could see Nissan's accrual rates.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Well it helps if you deny them a lot :P
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    edited July 2013
    I was thinking the same thing. Can't duplicate...famous words of a GM service advisor.
  • busirisbusiris Member Posts: 3,490
    Well it helps if you deny them a lot

    That same thought crossed my mind, too...
  • circlewcirclew Member Posts: 8,666
    Those words from GM were the foundation of the :lemon: Law!
  • tlongtlong Member Posts: 5,194
    ...and it looks like Honda leads the industry in low warranty claims.

    Pretty amazing since the transmissions keep blowing up all the time according to some posters. :P
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    And AC compressors. :)
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,381
    well, they don't replace those under warranty. so of course the claims are low.

    and there is a difference between "good will" and technically under warranty.

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,072
    I don't know about that, as this data measures cost rather than frequency. When labor and parts cost twice as much, the results will show.

    No doubt Germans like complexity for the sake of complexity, and my car needed a couple of fettling visits, but on the forums I read, there aren't any real horror stories, or issues greater than mine.
  • tlongtlong Member Posts: 5,194
    And AC compressors.

    Yes, forgot about those, too. :blush:
  • tlongtlong Member Posts: 5,194
    I don't know about that, as this data measures cost rather than frequency. When labor and parts cost twice as much, the results will show.

    As I recall the MB claims were well more than 2x the D3. Correct me if I'm wrong.

    Perhaps related to that spate of poor quality earlier in the 00's?
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,026
    I haven't heard of anyone getting used to an Aztek.

    The Aztek looks like Maria Sharapova compared to a Cube or a Juke, although few here will actually admit it.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,026
    I was thinking the same thing. Can't duplicate...famous words of a GM service advisor.

    Uh...oby...GM's warranty costs are apparently higher than Ford's. It would be Ford most-likely denying them. ;)

    And Ford has had lots o'problems with their new vehicles in the past couple years.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,026
    Just to clarify...I think the Aztek is ugly, too. Predictably though, it's used as the poster-child for ugly when contemporary Nissan vehicles are at least as bad, IMHO.
  • tlongtlong Member Posts: 5,194
    The Aztek looks like Maria Sharapova compared to a Cube or a Juke, although few here will actually admit it.

    Taste is in the eye of the beholder. I would much rather look at a Juke or a Cube than an Aztek.
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    And Ford has had lots o'problems with their new vehicles in the past couple years.

    I can only speak from experience. Between the '99 vette, '00 Silverado, '00 Yukon Denali, '02 Yukon Denali, and '10 Acadia you can believe that I've heard my share of can't duplicate. so much so that I insist on a test drive with either or both the tech and service advisor. That's when you find out little details like the dealer's balancer can't balance 20" rims.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,026
    Taste is in the eye of the beholder.

    Boy, apparently.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,026
    I don't know where you live, but I have a great Chevy service department. I don't go in there pounding on the counter, and I give a written description, very specific as to what I think is happening and what I want, and presto...it's done right.
  • fho2008fho2008 Member Posts: 393
    VW cheapened the Jetta name with the Jetta VI, but with almost 65k I have no electric gremlins on my '08 Jetta V.

    Warranty work? A recall that was a non issue with my car.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    kiss the ground it rolls on. :)
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,072
    As the data apparently goes back to at least 2002, you're no doubt right.

    Even for simple jobs too, if you have to replace some little thing like a loose handle or fitting, I am certain it will cost 2x+ as much in an imported premium car than in others.
  • tlongtlong Member Posts: 5,194
    Even for simple jobs too, if you have to replace some little thing like a loose handle or fitting, I am certain it will cost 2x+ as much in an imported premium car than in others.

    There must be somewhere that money goes. Perhaps some 1%-ers in Germany? :P
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,072
    Big overhead costs both here and at home (compare a mainstream facility to a premium facility - usually a big difference), and probably to help fund the German system that gives workers there far more amenities than they have here. Their 1%ers haven't become as treacherous as some of ours, just yet.
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    I don't know where you live, but I have a great Chevy service department.

    That could be where the problem lies. My most problematic vehicle was the '00 Silverado however knowing one of the dealership principals had everything expedited in fact they went to bat for me on a buyback under the lemon law. I had invested too much time and money customizing the truck and had settled for an extended warranty from GM in lieu of the buyback.

    The most problematic dealerships has and still is the "Professional Grade" dealers meaning GMC. I noticed you don't have any experience with those Professional Grade Service Advisors. You might, just might change your tune once dealing with them.
  • circlewcirclew Member Posts: 8,666
    edited July 2013
    The most problematic dealerships has and still is the "Professional Grade" dealers meaning GMC. I noticed you don't have any experience with those Professional Grade Service Advisors. You might, just might change your tune once dealing with them.

    Some tunes were never meant to change, apparently. :blush:

    The Chevy dealer is a throwback from the '60's and reminds me of a chop shop!"

    I can tell you the local Honda dealer service is so much better organized than the GMC dealer 1/2 mile from each other. As for Mazda, I can't know since the CX-9 has not a single issue since inception. :shades:
  • iluvmysephia1iluvmysephia1 Member Posts: 7,704
    edited July 2013
    hankerin' for the unique, boxy little CUV Nissan Cube. I would take my sample with Nissan's 6-speed manual transmission and row my own.

    image
    2013 Nissan Cube-this look is quickly growing on me!

    With sales slow and this bodystyle sort of down and out I have a feeling Nissan dealers would dicker down a grand or two. The 1.8L 128 horsepower 4-cyl. with the 6-speed manual transmission is going for $19,740 at a Nissan dealer about 150 miles east of me here in Alamogordo, NM. That is a dealer called Permian Nissan in Hobbs, NM, right by the Texas border. My offer would be at least $2,000 less than that. Nissan is offering $500 cash to the financing pot now for this car. I like it's funky styling and what is said to be a large, cavernous interior, along with it's unusual rear hatch door that opens from the right and swings towards the left. Unusual and Nissan says it is to make the urban load-in and load-out experience easier for people. I also like the front "mini-bulldog" look and, the look in the rear with those thin horizontal taillights. Really a cool-looking CUV to me.

    Since trading in the '08 Lancer GTS would be necessary for us a deal anytime soon is not very likely at all, but the little rolling box remains a source of leisure time study pleasure for me. But that's just me.

    image
    2013 Nissan Cube 1.8L S - rear view...nice!

    Estimates for mpg are 24 in the city and 30 on the highway. Not great but definitely acceptable numbers as far as I'm concerned. I think I could beat those numbers, though.

    2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick

  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,638
    My uncle briefly considered a Cube when he was on a car hunt a couple weeks ago. He had me go with him one day to get my opinion. It's not my thing, but it didn't seem like a bad little rig. The seating position was decent for a small vehicle, and visibility was decent.

    However, they had a used '09 on the lot that didn't give me a good vibe. The coloring on the top of the dash, where the defroster vents are, was peeling off. I think it was simply painted, rather than dyed, I guess. A minor thing actually, but it just made me wonder where else they might have cheaped out, in building this car.

    Plus, it was kind of a hot day, I was tired, and a bit aggravated from driving my Park Ave with no brakes, in rush hour traffic, to the mechanic to get it fixed. So I wasn't really in a good mood to look favorably at cars in general. And, with all the plastics and stuff in modern cars, when their interiors heat up, they really don't smell that good in my opinion. Hate to disagree with the movie (and novel) "Christine", but that is NOT the finest smell in the world!
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,026
    2013 Nissan Cube 1.8L S - rear view...nice!

    I know that everyone comes to the table with their personal biases, myself included, but I simply cannot think of an uglier rear end than that, and I include the Aztek. I am always reminded of a '98 Taurus with a box..literally...placed on the decklid.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Well, I like boxes and like the Cube just fine. The Aztek and Rendezvous never appealed all that much because the rear angle messed up the boxiness. But that's my issue with a lot of SUVs and crossovers. May as well just get a sporty hatch if you are going to give up that room just for "style".
  • circlewcirclew Member Posts: 8,666
    I think of engineers on quaaludes when I look at this:

    image

    Nothing uglier that was actually produced.
  • iluvmysephia1iluvmysephia1 Member Posts: 7,704
    Umm, I'm totally with ya as far as the Pontiac Aztek! I like the Yugo more than the Aztek.

    2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    The Prius sort of copied that split rear window look.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,638
    The Prius sort of copied that split rear window look.

    I think the Aztek got that split window idea from the 2nd-gen Honda CRX.
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    Other than aesthetics and mpg I often check out the crash test ratings of smaller vehicles when considering for purchase. Always curious how I would survive in a crash driving on average a smaller vehicle than the rest of the population.
  • iluvmysephia1iluvmysephia1 Member Posts: 7,704
    good point concerning the Nissan Cube. The boxy vehicle with a nice design flair actually gets a really good safety rating overall, with an emphasis on rollover safety. I have looked up Cube's crash test results and they are really good.

    As far as driving, the Cube's suspension is set to absorb urban bumpiness, and here in Alamogordo, NM, the streets they are a bumpy. So I like that fit. The Cube has speed-assisted-power assisted steering, which adjusts steering help for speed. I wouldn't know about that until test drive day.

    I am going to continue to study and tuck away knowledge on the Nissan Cube and who knows, one day I may go test drive one.

    2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick

  • berriberri Member Posts: 10,165
    Tailgate looks like a kitchen appliance to me, but I'm kind of surprised I haven't seen more of them on the west coast. Beats the PJuke.
  • iluvmysephia1iluvmysephia1 Member Posts: 7,704
    edited July 2013
    than on the net or on paper. Someone bought one at a SE Arizona hospital I worked at back in 2010. I was out walking the grounds out back during a break and just saw this funny looking boxy rig. Nissan's answer to compete against the Honda Element and Scion xB I spose. But the little Cube looked rather cool ta me in person. I was hoping the owner would come by and hop in but they never did. Ever since then I've thought of the little CUV now and then, and right about when my interest in the A/C-less 1967 VW Bug was waning, well, lo and behold can you all imagine that, interest started sparking in the Nissan Cube for me. :P

    The '08 Lancer GTS is a tad over 108,000 miles and showing no signs of slowing down. Plus, it's paid off - so trading it in now would really be sillyness cubed. I mean silliness squared.

    2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick

  • busirisbusiris Member Posts: 3,490
    I don't know where you live, but I have a great Chevy service department. I don't go in there pounding on the counter, and I give a written description, very specific as to what I think is happening and what I want, and presto...it's done right.

    I'd say dealership quality has a direct input on perceived quality/owner satisfaction for any make, even if the vehicle build quality is mediocre.

    There are 2 Chevy dealers located relatively near me, both about the same distance away. Dealer #1 is a modern dealer, much as the dealership described above. Dealer #2 would find it challenging to change the wheel on a push mower, IMO (and, I might add, in my own experience, as well). However, if you want to talk NASCAR, that's the place to go. It's the one thing they can do relatively well there.
  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,724
    and there is a difference between "good will" and technically under warranty.

    I put it at 75% Honda accounts for goodwill costs under the same ledger number of warranty costs.

    I could be wrong, 25% of the time. :P

    I think the point people are making is that while Honda's have issues, the problems are rare, even when they get mentioned a lot.
    '15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,724
    I'd say the VW electrical gremlins were mostly worked out by the end of the 20th Century.
    '15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,026
    The rear of the Aztek was actually done first by Honda on the Civic hatch.
  • tlongtlong Member Posts: 5,194
    I haven't seen any comments on a few stories on the internet in the past few days:

    1 - Ford is selling more vehicles at the coasts, and especially in California. People are liking what they are making.
    2 - The Cruze redesign is being delayed for a year because the current model is selling so well and GM doesn't want to botch the new model a la the Malibu.
    3 - Detroit is the biggest city in the US to go insolvent. I guess the UAW didn't bring prosperity to the area after all.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    or GM packed it on a ship and sent it out of town... :P
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,122
    edited July 2013
    >I guess the UAW didn't bring prosperity to the area after all.

    I don't see your point that the UAW was responsible for maintaining solvency of the City of Detroit. I believe their financial problems go to the problems they built into their city starting in the 60s and 70s along with poor fiscal mismanagement including selling bonds to pay off current spending and overspending. Couple this with city leaders who felt they were above the laws, legal as well as fiscal management laws, and you have collapse. Amusing is that the president claimed to have saved Detroit from financial ruin in 2012. Some blame white flight for the current plight of Detroit, but that is a paper tiger question. Proper management would have a city still operating. But Detroit was not the perfect city.

    The UAW is still operating.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

This discussion has been closed.