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And by the way, they warrantied most of those either another 36K or to 100K miles.
Moving our college age kid, senior year, out to school 800 miles one way.
We are taking 2 vehicles, kid's '04 Escape and the '13 Fusion.
Good news:
My sister lives about halfway there on the route we would take anyway and I am stopping to pick up a table and 4 chairs she got cheap at a tag sale.
Bad news:
I have to drive the Escape to pick it up. That sucker is noisy on the highway.
Wife and daughter get to drive the Fusion and it will get much better mileage.
The only complaint is that it's a little jerky at parking lot speeds; something we hope is unique to our pre-production test cars.
www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupes/1209_2013_honda_accord_first_test/viewall.ht- ml#ixzz2bUlmMoex
I've read quite a few blogs on the VCM and using oil seems to be a frequent complaint. For whatever reason, it seems cylinder #3 gets soaked with oil. I think Honda, like all manufacturers, has its share of problems. What keeps their value up is the incredibly low fleet number sales - about 1 percent - which is very small compared to other companies. Three years down the road if you want to sell your car you have to compete with the fleet sales and that's where Honda really shines - very few fleet sales to compete with.
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
And yes that was a math error. Redoing the math says the difference between 3rd place and 27th place on a single vehicle over 3 years is 2 problems instead of one 40% of the time.
That's pretty close in my book and wouldn't sway me away from something I liked. Or are you just looking for an excuse to bash Detroit?
JD Powers is pretty much a paid-for advertisement. Doing pseudo studies on 3 year old cars works well for Detroit's short bumper to bumper warranties and "planned obsolescence" methodology and culture.
CR routinely reports on 7 year old cars; which provides much more useful and relevant data on what dependability really means.
Frankly, even my Dodge in the mid-nineties might have garnered a blank dot from me on its 3rd birthday, but by the 4th year it would have had a solid black dot from me.
While I was waiting, my service writer showed me the cabin air filter, (shockingly) full of debris and said it cost $59 for the filter, plus $20 to put it in. I found it for $7.99 at Advance, and put it in myself in less than 5 minutes.
The blunder is that they left a 10" part of the cabin filter system lying on top of my dashboard, and screws in the cup-holder. I found them after already driving halfway back home. Also, they my car on a busy street with all the windows down - greasy fingerprints everywhere, in the drivers side of the interior, keys in open view and with my Garmin on the windshield, smudges all over the hood, no protectors on the floor or steering wheel, and 5 more miles on the odometer. I only told them about the left out parts and whanot and they were cool about it. I never got angry or combative and was really nice to them, and they made it right......but, I am going to a different Kia dealer next time. No more Fairfax Kia.
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
Hey, thanks everyone for the wiper blade advice. I went to Advance to select new blades, but they were all overpriced, based on research I did prior to visiting the store.
I am going to price them at Walmart today, as I really need to buy at a local retailer since my vacation trip is Sunday and I have no time to wait for shipping. The blades are streaking though, and are two years old. I need new ones.
That sounds like revenge--didn't get commission on the filter and labor for the mechanic, so he/she left it disassembled. Sort of equivalent to the urban tales about UAW workers sabatoging cars on the assembly line?
I would have been furious about the grease and the keys on public street parking.
Is the latch problem a symptom of a really poor/cheap design for that latch, or is it an anomaly that just went wrong. Sounds like dealer problem that it didn't get fixed the first time and the dealer experience is hurting the car quality experience.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I looked for the freshened 2014 Optima, but there were none as they had 50 of the 2013's still on the lot. The 2014's are due to hit the showrooms starting in October but this was a guess from the salesman. The Optima's big brother Cadenza is a beautiful car in person. I am still not thrilled with the grill, but other than that it is gorgeous. I sat behind the wheel for a few minutes, adjusted the seat, and checked out how it lights up. Very classy.
Sticker prices ranged from $35,900 to $42,400. An Optima SX-L tops out at $35,000, making Cadenza an attractive alternative.
The average is 126 problems per 100 vehicles.
So if your vehicle is rated 100 or 200 you're still making a visit to the dealer to get something fixed. If you have a Lincoln you say "Please fix this"...if you have a Dodge you say "Please fix this, and that".
As long as the problems aren't critical, i.e. your tranny, then I see no problem choosing one lower on the list (for whatever reason).
What typically happens is you get a bad part that's either manufactured incorrectly (by mfr or usually an outside supplier) or doesn't meet spec or was engineered incorrectly. Once that is identified and fixed the problem doesn't reoccur.
My 06 Fusion would be 8 years old now and it was still in mint condition inside and out. Nothing worn out and no rattles. Only one repair in 7 years - a broken door handle. $60 and 15 minutes to repair.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
One interesting thing I noticed was that the Mondeo, Euro version of Fusion, is available with the 2.0 Ecoboost and a 6 speed manual trans.
Turning wrenches for Kia was a place you start your career, or end it...(which is worse) . So, now they have to train and get better quality people that know the product. I had a problem last time I was there because of mechanic error, and that was a warranty issue so he gets paid for that...and this time the kid was all of 20 yrs old and rushed through the job. It was just a center console latch, but they installed the cover from an LX, not an EX. Then tried to tell me that was the right part number, until I walked 5 feet and opened the door of an EX an showed them. The THEY had an attitude.
I do have the option of going to the Hyundai dealer across the street. So, this dealer struck out, and it's nice to know that I didn't burn any bridges with Fairfax Kia in case I need them (god forbid) in an emergency for warranty work. I just need to make them walk around the car with me before I accept the keys 100% of the time.
My neighbors bought a 2004 Camry as a second car. It has 130k on it. a month ago we swapped cars and went for a drive down some twisty roads nearby, as he was concerned about vibration at the wheel and squealing noises.
His front end is shot. Both half shafts were worn out, and the reason for his visit to the shop is the water pump died. Also, the CV joints were shot too.
Bearings are wearing down every time we drive our cars, whether it is wheel bearings or the bearings in the alternator or water pump, or the main bearings at the crank, there is constant degradation.
Internal combustion engines operate by controlled explosions forcing pistons down and rotating a crank which drives the wheels...it is going to wear out, some faster than others.
I know you know this kirby, but I couldn't let the comment stand. Cars wear out.
I realize you know
I finally went with the new blade style Bosch wipers; and man I am totally happy with them. They work better than my OEM old style metal frame units...and one wipe did the work it would take my stock units 5 or 6 wipes. Working in conjunction with the Rain-X I use, all I have to say is "mother nature, bring it on"!!
Money well spent, and the Bosch units are a long-wear design, guaranteed to work twice as long as the other brands. We will see about that claim.
I'm now a wiper snob. Considering how much rain we've had in the southeast this summer, it's money well-spent to me.
I'm spoiled by my Accord with its large interior and quality materials and attractive gauges and center screen in lower-mid-level Sport trim.
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I don't think that. I think they fall apart after 3 years when the bumper to bumper warranty runs out!
In all honesty, I don't think Chrysler has changed one iota, but GM and Ford have improved a lot. Also, I don't think GM and Ford ever sunk to the depths of Chrysler, at any point or time in history. Grouping them all into the lousy Big 3 does a disservice to GM and Ford.
Feel free to offer all takers a free extended warranty on all domestic car purchases for forum participators here though. Put your money where your mouth is; at least to 103,000 miles. On my Audi it would have cost me about $600 to provide that warranty from 50,000 miles.
The Mazda 6 is vastly improved, but it's still less horsepower, higher real world cost, and less bang for the buck than the Honda.
The Honda Accord Sport has a good notch better interior, in materials, styling, and fit & finish. More HP. The transmissions were very close, but I'm going to side with the Honda. The Honda just felt lighter and swifter on its feet, but it's close. Both good cars, but Honda's got it all over Mazda.
Mazda dealer wanted sticker. Honda dealer willing to give away at invoice.
Of course they do. I was referring to what we used to have in the 80s where the entire vehicle would fall apart before 100K miles. Literally. A modern car can go 150K miles with only normal maintenance and replacement of wear parts like shocks and brake pads. As for the water pump failure - had he ever changed the coolant? Or checked the CV boots? Without proper maintenance you'll have more failures.
But implying that cars fall apart after 3 years is ludicrous.
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What makes you think the problems are not critical? JD Powers doesn't distinguish between normal brake dust and short-lived Chrysler transmissions.
I can't remember a repair that cost me less than $200, and they came in at a rate of 3 or 4 per year; without fail after the warranty was up.
I'm 5'11" 250 and I have tons of knee space and leg room.
I'm not certain if JD Powers just 'counts' problems or assigns a weight to the problem.
I do agree, giving equal weight to an Audi glove compartment latch that needs adjusting and a Chrysler tranny blowing up does seem to make the ranking useless.
Of course, even if the problems were the same (such as a tranny), there's cost too (out of warranty that is). I suspect the Porsche trannies will be more expensive to repair than the Chrysler's.
There doesn't seem to be one established source that can give a definitive answer on reliability. With most repair shops (the legit ones) being computerized I'm certain all the data is available; somebody just needs to access it all and merge it into a central repository...maybe the NSA can do this for us
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
"The first Hyundai recall involves approximately 240,000 Sonata and Azera sedans manufactured between 2005 and 2011 and sold in the District of Columbia and 20 US states: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
According to the NHTSA filing, the salt used on roads during colder weather in these states could rust the steel undersides of the vehicles, which could cause misalignment of the rear wheels.
Affected models include 2006 to 2010 Sonatas manufactured between March 1, 2005, and Jan. 21, 2010, and 2006 to 2011 Azera sedans manufactured between Sept. 27, 2005, and Nov. 22, 2010."
More evidence that you get what you pay for.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
The first couple of years, I didn't get my primary winter vehicle washed and ended up replacing 2 pinion seals and a rear axle seal.
This last winter I took it once a month and no leaks.
Could be coincidence.
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
http://www.guajardolawfirm.com/faq/in-texas-and-nationwide-which-car-company-has- -issued-the-most-recalls.html
True, Toyota has ultimate responsiblity, but this is why it's smart to buy the one's made in Japan, not the one's made in the USA. Another example is the US made gas pedal assemblies were the ones that may have caused some SUA incidents (but not accidents; that's driver error, put it in neutral or turn off the car!).
Lexus is number one on JD Powers and is widely accepted as the most reliable car brand in all of history for decades now. Their IS 350 is 100% made in Japan with 100% Japanese parts and assembly; that's impressive. All Lexus' are apparently made in Japan except for a few RX's.
Doesn't surprise me why they are always number 1 now. Makes sense. I've never seen 100% Japanese on a car until the 2014 IS 350.
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
We already liked the smooth electric drive-off feel and the fact that the Sonata hybrid forgoes the usual wheezy CVT for a more-pleasing six-speed step-gear automatic, but Hyundai really hit the books to work out the kinks and smooth transitions between electric and gas-engine hybrid modes.
That is why I wrote about the Camry reliability in the first place. They have won the hearts and minds of many, even though their product needs just as many repairs as it's peers on average.
Personally Kirby, I have never needed anything other than regular maintenance on every car I have ever owned while still making payments, except for my 1987 Chevy Z24. I have had cars break down less than 30 days from my final payment. Many times.
Things that make you go Hmmmm. LOL.
The Bosch Advantage beam-style wiper blades I installed are killer, especially in conjunction with the Rain-X. Today was the first morning that I got to use them, and I was blown away. I am buying them for my wife and my mother as soon as we get back from Myrtle Beach.
Of course they were. :grin
>and shown to not meet Toyota specifications.
Of course they didn't. :grin
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,