In the next few years will you buy a domestic car?

Question

We are planning to buy a new car soon. I have always bought domestics but I have spent agonizing time again and again at domestic dealers trying to get things repaired. I don't blame the workers who build the cars but I think domestic cars have cheap parts within. I have had parts fail just after the warranty expired and some major power-train issues that intermittently operate improperly and the dealer just refused to repair it. I'm not willing to put up with a run around from some oxy moron service writer who's only playing games trying to get me to give up on my problem so the dealer can pocket the money that's reserved for my cars warranty. Now I'm retired and I cannot take a chance with a product that may break down or not last the test of time. If enough people can tell me that things have changed and I won't have to worry about these things anymore... I might change my mind.

Answer 1

amarican cars are c**p

Answer 2

90% of car sold in the U.S. are domestically made  

Answer 3

No, the parts are essentially about the same thing. I worked at the BMW factory in Spartanburg SC one summer and expected to be seeing metal radiators and steel cooling fans like an old Mercedes.

    Instead, the X5's had very brittle plastic radiators and flimsy cooling fans that would break or shatter if you barely bumped them on something while installing them. Aside from the engine itself it didn't look much differently made than my old 1995 Thunderbird as it too had brittle plastic radiators and plastic flimsy cooling fans.

  The 2003 models were selling around 50,000.00 at the time and the cost for BMW to manufacture one was around 8,000-10,000.  

   The difference is that BMW has inspectors at every stage of build to go over their vehicles with a fine tooth comb. There is a difference in after sales care too. If you find small manufacturing defects BMW would go crazy to make you happy whereas Ford didn't care if I was happy or not and usually blamed failures on the driver.

If you're asking if I would get a "Big Three Automobile" again the answer is a huge no. I had Ford vehicles for a few years. Service was horrible, premature failures. I bought a Chrysler two years ago and had even worse service and worse manufacturing problems. There is also the rising cost of fuel and the "Big Three" are way behind on fuel efficiency. More than likely I will be in a Honda next year as I've heard nobody in this area complain about them.

Answer 4

I would buy  a Nissan.  Between my family we have bought 5 Nissans in the past 7 years.  2 altimas 2001 + 2002  1 pathfinder 2005 1 maxima 2007 and 1 sentra 2008.  At the end of the year Dec. we will be trading the Maxima for a 2009 Murano.  The customer service at the dealership we go to is excellent.  We haven't had any major problems with any  of the cars.  I had a driveshaft issue with the pathfinder but warranty covered it no questions asked.  The service department is excellent.  You go in for an oil change and you get an oil change, not 2 page list of recommendations/ repairs that should be done or hidden charges.

Answer 5

I can honestly say that domestic automakers have come a long way in the past 5 years or so, whereas Toyota has gone noticeably downhill. I would buy a new domestic car.

As for the second part of the question, I've never bought a new car from a dealership, but my parents did once. They bought a Nissan in the mid 90's and they still have it. The dealership has been absolutely THE WORST in terms post-sale service.