I voted 'classic'. I don't have much issue with import vs. domestic, but I waiver between new vs. classic (old). I sure like the dependability of owning a new car (did it only once) but like the ability to repair my own when it is a classic. Some day I will be too old to make my own repairs but for the time being, it is classic for me.

 

Voted Domestic. If I buy another truck (have an `01 F150) I would buy new. Price between new and used is so small it just makes sense to buy new.
If I buy a car it would be a used Fusion Sport, used G8 GT or maybe even a low mileage Aurora.
Love to drive a classic for a DD but snow and salt love to eat them up here in the north.

Wayne

 

Huh ??

NEW Cars depreciate massively just rolling off a dealer lot brand new.
IIRC Mercedez Benz for the longest had the lowest depreciation keeping 83% of it's new value.

Makes far more sense to buy 2-4 years used or more with very low mileage. (~25-35K)
Makes even MORE sense to buy after 7 years old when Tier 1 Lending from Banks won't touch them.
Cars depreciate worse then anything out there.

Many vehicles in 3 years lose close to 40-50% of their initial COST
Even a 1 year old Z06 goes for $25,000 less with only 15,000 miles on it USED.
It does make more sense to buy 2010 model years right now for closeout deals however.....but not 2011's.

 

Yeah, Aces, That's just a weird thing to say.

Kind of like saying, "It's 8° out and windy, so I'll go out wearing my bathing suit today."

Maybe it's opposite day.

- Eric

 

That would be my choice for a new everyday car too Mingus, so I'm jealous! I ended up getting a Silverado for the family. It was the 1st new car I ever bought, and I only did it because they were giving them away - got 11k off of window sticker(Gas was $4.39 gal then) Didn't want a minivan! Eventually, I would prefer to go back to an older everyday car. Going to look at an 85 Olds Delta 88 2dr coupe tomorrow.

I asked my friend who is a salesman at a Ford dealership and he told me that domestic parts content = USA and Canada. Mexico is not part of it. He also told me that if you look at a new Fusion window sticker, it says 40% DPC and then largest other country of origin is Mexico at 45%. (They make the Fusion, Milan, and MKZ at the same factory in Mexico) If their is a significant source of "other parts content" coming from another country, they will list it.

 

Where I live in Ontario trucks tend to keep their value and with all of the incentives, I can spend $3000 more and get a new truck instead of a 2 year old truck.

Car values are exactly the opposite.

 

Buick's are a GREAT buy IMHO.
They've broken out of the stereotypical retiree car category with their new vehicle designs.

The new 2010 Buick LaCrosse looks like a Lexus / Infiniti competitor in style and design. I told my wife, I hope old people
keep buying them because I'd LOVE to get my hands on a 2010 LaCrosse CXL in 5 years with 20,000 miles on it
for 1/3rd of the new asking price from a retired person that upgraded. This is most DEFINITELY a Domestic on
my consideration list.

 

Over the years I have become a HUGE fan of anything front wheel drive....My daily driver WILL be a front wheel drive car.....


That being said I have the "HOTS" for the Buick Lucerne...THE CXS model is quite the vehicle....Looking the right car, with right options and then will purchase it....(used) not new

 

One of the main reasons that I voted "Import."

I will not drive front wheel drive, and BMW and Mercedes are about the only two companies (okay, Volvo, but who takes them seriously?) still making a decent rear wheel drive car.

- Eric

 

Voted......I buy only GM when buying new. I love my GMCs and will be getting a new Terrain next year for the wifes DD.

 

Do you mean rear drive?....Volvo? If you're talking from the stone ages, they're front drive or awd! Besides the fact that they run longer than anything else out there! I should know....got four in the family, 3 of them with 200-300k on them....

 

More praise for Buick. This is from 2009, (2006 model year) but they are continuously in the top 5 annually.
First time any manufacturer beat Lexus, and it's because of the Toyota sticking throttle issue mainly.
2008 Buick tied Lexus IIRC.

http://editorial.autos.msn.com/artic...umentid=435214

Even the worst production vehicle out there can be shown to make it 200K - 300K randomly.

I've seen Cavalier's going 200-300K. Yet Cavaliers as a whole have a horrendous history of failures.
Volvo's are continuously below the national average for first 3 year warranty repairs.

(on a side note I'm running a mid 90's Volvo fan controller in my Olds 442 clone with my 4500cfm Taurus fan)
http://www.nastyz28.com/forum/showthread.php?t=200028

Plenty of guys who claim their 1994-1996 GM trucks go 300,000 miles flawlessly too.
Yet our entire fleet of '94-'96 GM single cab service pickups were huge pieces of crap that were just all
replaced with Ford F150's now. That's how bad they were. Most had repair files an inch thick before 150,000.
GM lost the contract. Point being.......not all vehicles from a lineup are bad. There's always a % that go
the distance. The difference here is the % of failure rates is measurable as the better quality control built vehicles.

 

Guess I'd better put away the club and the saber tooth tiger skin .

I stand corrected.

Yeah, I know they do (though the 144 we had in the early '70's was a piece of cr@p), but they're still, y'know, Volvos.

- Eric

 

So I guess I'm just lucky huh! I knew I should be playing lotto! By the way, do your "national average charts" break it down by demographics also! I also don't remember Volvo, having the safety or recall issues of Lexus! Toyota does a much better job of marketing than Volvo does, reason why there are probably three times or more Lexus cars on the road than volvo....thus, a bigger sample size to survey.....could skew #'s a bit! Yes, I'm a bit biased, as you seem on the Lexus, but to each his own....

 

Just went to the Indy Auto Show yesterday and one car stood out above ALLL the rest:

2012 Boss 302

That's my 1st choice. Honorable Mention choices:

(Ford F-250 King Ranch, F-150 Platinum, F-350 Power Stroke), Dodge Challenger, Cadillac CTS, Corvette, Ford Focus, Edge, Buick Lucerne

I couldn't get into any other car. I checked out the Porsche 911, Lexus hot rod, new Charger, all Chevy's, Genesis, Camaro, Tundra etc and I just can't see myself in any of those. They're good for other people. The Mustang is so far ahead of any of those for me. As I was getting out of the Genesis, this guy was like: Soooo whaddaya think? I said: "I'll keep my Stang."

 

"is it better for wages to go outside the US if profits stay here, or is it better for US workers to be paid by a foreign company?"

IMO, wages are a small part of the total cost. engineering, management, etc. have to be counted. So, I bought new Mopars in 2004, 2007, 2009. I've seen too many parts where Ford cheapened out and the stuff has a history of failure, such as Taurus door latches and planetaries. I won''t buy another new GM ever, since their mismanagement killed Olds. For at least 4 decades Chevy and Pontiac used GM mgt. to lead Olds around by the nose and kill Olds projects like the W43, while they got their good stuff out the front or back door. Pontiac sold the 455 Super Duty after the W43 was killed, for example. The Cosworth Vega used similar heads to the W43 and came out afterwards too.

 

Looks like our next will be a Subie Outback for the Mrs.
Built ~ 30 mins from here in Lafayette, IN.....by local line workers..some who I know!

 

I like those Outbacks. A buddy let me borrow his to take down to Florida once and it was great. He had it forEVER, 300k miles at least!