PalmSpringsOlds

Crap isn't very specific. I just wanted to know what the parameters were for qualification into the crap category.

The HHR was decent for a car that was under 25K. It served well. My only complaints with GM is that the dealers can really SUCK bad, as well as the salespeople. Buying a new Cadillac was not the same as when I bought the Audi A4 convertible, though they were about the same price, same target market. The Audi was a class act, and Cadillac made me feel like I was at a buy-here, pay-here lot. They have a long way to go to overcome this.

I actually bought the HHR through the Audi/Bentley/RR/Ferrari/Maserati Dealer in Rancho Mirage. I couldn't get one through the Chevy dealer that wasn't purple (this was the first few weeks that they were on sale). The guy I work with at Desert European made a few phone calls, and one was delivered to me...I had to pay a 1500 broker's fee, but this was still less than the 4K oversticker price that they were asking at the time...

Finn5033

To the original topic of this article I think that owning cars has to do with wether you buy new or used, and how new or how used it is. I have had very good luck with all the cars I have had. I have bought some new and some very used. I personally would not buy foreign cars especially new because for the money there are very nice domestic cars that will run just as long if taken care of. I have only owned two foreign cars a late 90's mazda Mellinia and an early 2000's VW Jetta. The Mellinia was a lemon and the Jetta was a nice car. But they both were expensive to work on. My family bought a brand new 98 cavailer 4-banger back in the day that was a very good car and got 180,000+ miles out of it before any serious work was needed. My mom bought a new 92 bonneville that got passed down through myself and my brothers. We had 350 to 400,000 miles on that thing when the body had fallen apart around it so bad it couldn't be used any more. Never had to do any serious drivetrain work to that one either. I guess the point is you don't know what your getting with a used vehicle. You take a chance anytime you buy one that isn't still under warranty. Foreign or domestic it doesn't matter. Currently my wife and I bought a used 2008 Equinox v6 AWD with 29,000 on it that she drives over 100 miles a day commuting to work. We have put 60,000 miles on that in the last 2 years and haven't had to put a dime into yet. Myself I get a different vehicle every couple of years just because thats the way I am.

cutlassjoe

Living and working in the Detroit area I have always bought domestic. Mostly G.M. and the last few have been Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep products. All have been a couple years old when I bought them and all were bought through major dealerships. I maintain all the vehicles and keep them clean. I have not had any major problems other than brakes etc. My daily drivers rack up miles real fast because of my job so I keep them for 2-3 years. Because I take such good care of them I have a list of people waiting to buy these when I'm done with them because they know they are good cars that have been taken care of.

For the most part it comes down to maintenance and how you treat them. If you don't take care of them and beat the crap out of them they just won't last....

Finn5033

Could not agree more. I almost always buy GM, I did buy a brand new 2010 ram quad cab with a HEMI a couple years ago. I loved that truck, so sharp and powerful, but the gas mileage was terrible I was averaging 15.5 mpg on the highway cruising 75 mph. I know numerous people with the same truck and the same problem. I bought a new silverado after that and get 17.5 doing the same driving.

cutlassjoe

I love the Hemi. I have one in my 07' Charger. Around town the mileage is about 16-17 on the highway I can average about 25 if I stay around 70 mph. I know with a truck it's a lot different...those things cut the wind like a bread box

oldsguybry

Oh God , Don't bring this thread back to life !

OLD SKL 69

I owned an 08 Silverado and now have a 11 Ram. I liked them both although I would say the Ram is like a musclecar. Much faster and just sounds awesome when I nail the gas. That said, I would say the gas mileage was within 1-2mpg with the better mileage going to the Silverado. That's the trade off. I am averaging about 16 with it in mixed driving. (I am running full synthetic oil + tonneau cover so I was hoping for a little better than that.) My Magnum R/T was getting at least 20 mpg in mixed driving. Wish I did not get rid of it.

oldsguybry

For the most part , if it was wasn't for the stupid transmission , that Chrysler mini van would of been great .... Unfrotunately it cost me approx. $8000.00 in about 6yrs total to keep that thing moving down the road ! I'll be paying for that the rest of my days .

oldsguybry

You got lucky or.... I take care of my cars , and the transmission would not last more then 15,000 miles no matter HOW you drove it or cared for it ! I took the van to a transmission specialist that was around for many years , and the dealership ... no one could fix it or give an explanation why this is happening . I kept taking the van back after I picked it up , because it would not change gears right . They would call me back and say it's ready , and it would still have the same problem. I finally had to sell the dam thing to someone who was willing to buy it minus the cost of the tranny from blue book value , and that's where the final figure stops at about 8 grand

oldsguybry

me too , until my wife bought the mini van .

scumdog

Maybe that's the case now, I dunno....

But I have a few (and have had others) American cars that have one thing that the other brands rarely have - style.

So I don't give a fat rats **** about build quality to the same extent some people do - a boring unstyylish car with build quality is still boring and character-less.

So if my '66 T-bird and my mrs '83 Ciera have a few quirks I can live with them...

Aceshigh

Where was this information derived from ???
Personal 1st hand experience or 2nd hand relay or an article ??

66ninetyeightls

OMG that almost made me spit out my coffee this morning. Domestic car and style in the same sentence! Lately yes, 1980 - 2010 not a chance!

Aceshigh

An '83 Ciera has style ??? LOL
I don't even think pimps from 1983 would call that "Style".

It's just a plain jane sedan.

Allan R

I was thinking exactly the same thing. Now the 66 Bird on the other hand I happen to really like! One of the guys I worked with had one and it was the floatiest car I ever rode in, but it had oodles of power. Sorry I know better but IMO this is a really gorgeous example:

at3reg98

A good place to get first hand reviews on cars is carsurvey.org..

rustyroger

I can see where Scumdog is coming from on this, my '87 Olds is just another old grocery getter on American roads, but over here it gets a second look and sometimes people will ask me what it is just because there are very few on British roads.
I wonder how many American cars are driven in New Zealand?, not many I'd wager.
The T Bird would turn heads anywhere including North America just because it's an old car in great shape. A clean '66 Morris Oxford would get attention over here now, but in its day it was just another everyday car.

Roger.

Diego

I think you'd be surprised how many American cars are in NZ. Think about how popular American cars are in Oz and then imagine it in a smaller scale.

QMaster

Wow, Interesting topic. I have owned Oldsmobiles, Chevys, Fords, & VWs. Of all those, My 1991 VW GTI was a POS. 1994 Ford Explorer - 174,000 w/no trouble; 1979 Olds 88 - 120,000 no troubles; 1998 Ford Explorer - 150,000 no troubles; 2002 Ford Escape - 79,000 broken sunroof & not happy; 2004 Mercury Monterey Minivan - Trans went at 79,000 (out of warranty), Ford paid half; 2008 Impala - 65,000, current daily driver with 100,000 mile powertrain warranty - car has been great. Just bought my first Chrysler - a 2012 Town & Country with a 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. Great car so far. My sister is on her third with no issues. I have friends with Toyotas complaining that their sliding doors do not work and interior parts are falling off. I have friends with Audis who have heart attacks when they have to pay for service. American cars have improved greatly since 2000. Trucks were always well built because they had to be.
Companies cannot afford 100,000 mile warranties unless they are building solid products. They watch warranty numbers as close as anything because it goes right to the bottom line.
I worked at Chrysler when daimler bought them. You can thank the Germans for cost cutting and crappy quality - they gutted the company - surprised?? Daimler gave them a couple of good architectures but that is about all.
Bottom line is "Do your research before buying".

Diego

True, Chryslers were never crappy until the Krauts got involved.

QMaster

Wow, Interesting topic. I have owned Oldsmobiles, Chevys, Fords, & VWs. Of all those, My 1991 VW GTI was a POS. 1994 Ford Explorer - 174,000 w/no trouble; 1979 Olds 88 - 120,000 no troubles; 1998 Ford Explorer - 150,000 no troubles; 2002 Ford Escape - 79,000 broken sunroof & not happy; 2004 Mercury Monterey Minivan - Trans went at 79,000 (out of warranty), Ford paid half; 2008 Impala - 65,000, current daily driver with 100,000 mile powertrain warranty - car has been great. Just bought my first Chrysler - a 2012 Town & Country with a 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. Great car so far. My sister is on her third with no issues. I have friends with Toyotas complaining that their sliding doors do not work and interior parts are falling off. I have friends with Audis who have heart attacks when they have to pay for service. American cars have improved greatly since 2000. Trucks were always well built because they had to be.
Companies cannot afford 100,000 mile warranties unless they are building solid products. They watch warranty numbers as close as anything because it goes right to the bottom line.
I worked at Chrysler when daimler bought them. You can thank the Germans for cost cutting and crappy quality - they gutted the company - surprised?? Daimler gave them a couple of good architectures but that is about all.
Bottom line is "Do your research before buying".

Diego

Echo?

scumdog

Well instead of the image you posted (as above) imagine a coupe with one of those 'half' padded vinyl roofs, dark tinted rear side windows, more factory chrome mouldings, lowered and on polished 16" Centreline 'Spyder' wheels, deep gunmetal bluw/grey paint and you would have what my wife has.

So not quite a plain jane sedan - and I was in the States for two weeks about 10 days ago and never saw anything close to it in appearance.

scumdog

Well ain't that lucky to have a very tidy '66 Thunderbird Town Landau ready to use in our garage - being a bit thirstier on the gas we don't use it as much.
And a rompin-stompin custom '55 F100 with a good warm big-block in it!

scumdog

Heaps of them in our little town (less than 5,000 people) including a Superbird, a GTO Judge, a Hemi powered '56 DeSoto etc etc

Allan R

Pics Please!! Y'all can't say dat and not show us the real McCoy!! I wanna see dis gem!! It's not that often I get excited about a Ciera cause MOST of them are *sigh* kinda boring. Would be nice to see one that isn't!

Would it by any chance look similar to this?


Bloody hard to find the Centerline Spyder pic on the web.

66ninetyeightls

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Sorry I fell asleep with my face on the keyboard just from looking at that pic! LOL

oldcutlass

Lol!!!!!!!!

olds 307 and 403

2004 Corolla 259,000 km one front wheel bearing, rear seat belt, one belt, filters, oil and many sets of tires. Uses nothing, can drive 5000 km between oil changes and never add anything but washer fluid and gas. Our 2010 Challenger has had key fob issues and exhaust drone at low speeds. Otherwise a very nice car but only over 40,000 km. Our 81 Delta was an awesome car, over 400,000 km, very good car, few problems. It maintained very well since new.

Aceshigh

LMFAO.....

I guess I didn't realize he was a Kiwi, so that makes more sense since it's
not as common over there. It's like driving a Mercedez in the US vs Germany.

Over there, they're taxi's. Over here, they bleed your wallet but people look
at them as luxury auto's.

scumdog

Your pretty dang close - if the vinyl roof was bone coloured and it was lowered down over those Centrelines it would be spot-on..And while some get bored with a car like that we are happy to use it as a daily runner since gas is $10 a gallon over here!

scumdog

Dead right, I cannot tell you where the next nearest Oldsmobile is around here - probably at least 50 miles away (or more).

So the little Ciera really stands out around here.

ah64pilot

^^^^^ I wonder how Internet Brands will feel about that advertisement being on their website without permission.

And who in the hell drags up these old forgotten threads? Cheese and Rice!

oldcutlass

My take is that all newer cars are POS's some are bigger POS's than others. They all have the same problems at different times. I see 300 cars a month, all different brands come in here, all in different states of disrepair. Condition is generally based on how well or not, the previous owner maintained them.

My opinion is always buy what you like! Cars are like a wife, the only one who really needs to love them, is you!

Lady72nRob71

External ads are forbidden here. That one made me vomit into my mouth a little. No rice for me. The ones plaugued with SUA are should not be highly recommended either.
Oldcutlass seemed to have had the bottom word here. No need to beat a dead horse anymore.