subaru or volvo??

[reelapeelin]

Originally Posted by Destroyer

Only problem with the VW's is the cost of repairs. Same sis-in-law that now has the Outback had a Jetta before that. Loved the car, but when she went for brakes she was handed a $900 repair bill. Guy at work had a Toureg... needed a sensor replaced...turns out it was above the muffler and tranny... $2400 for the labor to replace it. (The part itself was $14)

Same thing with the Volvos. I love them mechanically...solid, well built...but like all vehicles, they require regular maintenance to keep them running right...and wait till you get that repair bill...speaking from experience..trust me.

Our Jetta ain't cheap to work on...dealer wanted $750 for the catalytic converter...got it elswhere installed for less, but dissappointed to find it had a PLASTIC dip-stick tube which ROTTED down to the engine...fun car to drive...5 speed...just drove it at the beach...but our camry w/TWICE the miles is a much more SOLID car...doors still close like a BMW..Personally I wouldn't buy another VW...we've already had the transmission rebuilt @ < 100,000 miles

Charlie...get the Subaroo!!...

[macojoe]

My son had a Jetta Had to be the bigest POS I ever seen! I have another with a outback, he likes it but its getting up there in age now and he has fixed a few things for $$$

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by reelapeelin

Our Jetta ain't cheap to work on...dealer wanted $750 for the catalytic converter...got it elswhere installed for less, but dissappointed to find it had a PLASTIC dip-stick tube which ROTTED down to the engine...fun car to drive...5 speed...just drove it at the beach...but our camry w/TWICE the miles is a much more SOLID car...doors still close like a BMW..Personally I wouldn't buy another VW...we've already had the transmission rebuilt @ < 100,000 miles

Charlie...get the Subaroo!!...

Yep....I completely agree Reel. The Camry is to Toyota what the Accord is to Honda.... Both are top of the line and are built like I wish American cars were built. My wife drives a 2004 Accord with just over 100k miles...only thing we've ever done to it is normal maintenance...

Charlie, ....Given only the choice of the Subaru or the Volvo my choice would be the Subaru every time.

[spareparts]

I guess this is the annual "Charlie wants another car thread" I'll stick with my recommendation from a year or two ago, 97-99 Tahoe/Burb. You can find them all day long for $3500-$5000. My wifes 99 is now my 99, she's got an 02 now. The 99 has 234k on it, runs great and is cheap to keep running, gets better mileage than the 02. I will admit, the 02 drives a whole lot better

[charlie_the_tuna]

Originally Posted by spareparts

I guess this is the annual "Charlie wants another car thread"

hey spare, have i become that predictable? well, HA!! because it's now a bi-annual thread.

[THEFERMANATOR]

It's a bit newer than your looking at, but look at an 06+ MALIBU MAXX wagon if your interested in a wagon type. They get good milage, and are a pretty nice ride I think. It's the same drivetrain as my wifes PONTIAC G6, and it has been as trouble free as anything could be.

[spareparts]

I always know you can take what ever we dish out, Charlie.
AS far as import vs domestic, there are far too many variables to say one way or the other, personally I believe the general public has been brain washed into thinking foreign cars are better built than American, there are far too many issues at hand to make that statement one way or another, country of origin? Country of manufacture? Parent country of manufacture? The lines are so blurred its hard to define whats foreign made or whats domestic built. I just find it wrong that because a company is a traditional American company, its assumed that they are inferior product. This country gave the foreign manufactures plenty of ammo to make statements against our manufacturing with cars built in the 70's-80's. I won't even get my soap box out about union labor(UAW) or socialized auto manufactures(Italy, France). Like I said, I have a 99 Burb with over 200K, a 99E350 with over 340K, an 02 Burb with 100K, I could add up every expense I've paid out on all three vehicles for repairs and it would be less than one years payments on a new Toyota. Does Toyota make a good car? Yes, But so does Ford, GM, and Chrysler. They've all built turds and they've all built good cars. I have friends that own independent car shops and the first thing they tell you is the Toyota's and Honda's are what keeps them in business. That emblem on the hood of a Mercedes is a target sight, it takes aim on your wallet, BMW stands for "bust my wallet". Its not just the car, but the attitude of the customer, just like the boats we own. I tell some one their four stroke Yamaha needs $500 spent on it for service, they usually don't balk, I tell some one their 2 stroke Johnson needs $250 spent on it and you'd think I was trying to rape them. I've seen every brand of motor fail at one time or another, they all break, if they don't, they'll replace it with one that will(6.0L Ford Diesel). Biggest pos car I ever owned was a Volkswagon Dasher Station Wagon, even a minor repair exceeded the value of the car, followed by a Nissan Hardbody 4wd pickup, with a four cylinder on a good day it got 15 mpg(my E350 gets better), parts for the ignition and fuel injection were obsolete about four years after it was built. My 02 E150 died a horrible death at 105k with jumped timing chains. Had a friend that had a Mazda Miata, crank position sensor went out, the sensor cost more that the car was worth. Toughest car I've ever owned with out a doubt, was my 96 2wd Cherokee, its got over 200K and my sister drives it everyday. I can fix just about anything on it with a paperclip, screwdriver and an adjustable wrench. To say one brand does far better than the other is hard to justify, take each one independently and look at the history. Throw the consumer reports out the window along with JD Powers, they are all advertising companies, they work on cash. Look at overall repair cost and parts availability, look at service options, talk to mechanics in independent shops, look at what they drive. I always thought Hyundai or Kia was POS, got a friend that works on Fords for a living and thats what he drives. The only thing you can count on is if they build a car that's too good, they will stop building it, whether its foreign or domestic.

[charlie_the_tuna]

well how 'bout this. . . . i had a 1957 ford slabside pickup with a 300 six and 3 on the tree. fell apart with half a million miles on it but still ran. had 9 camaros and a couple V8 vegas. never a problem. hooked up with my wife and it was one nightmare american car after another. never had a complaint with the smallblock chevy but some of the other crap i've dealt with was another story. had a couple camrys. my last one ran like it just came off the showroom floor. tranny shifted like it was brand stankin new. my father in law never let my wife drive anything but american and that's where it all started. head gasket after head gasket after slipping tranny after soft cams after this after that. . . . . . it just never ended.
maybe the good old U S of A builds a fantastic car these days but i'll never know it. bring me back to the days of nothing but a motor and a battery under the hood. used to buy cars for under $500. bucks all the time. once bought a 69 camaro for $575. that was cleaner than sh!t. same car goes for around $15,000. these days.
nope, my wifes next daily's gonna be a jap car. she loves her toyota mini-van but the thing drinks gas like a 600 pound irishman. my next one'll be a big chevy with a smallblock.
think about why some of the best motors ever built are no longer made. america made some motors that you could add sand to the oil and get another million miles. the 226 slant six. the chevy 283. just couldnt stop 'em. they wanted their motors to die so the comsumer would keep buying cars. problem is, it worked too good and they started producing nothing but sh!t.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Originally Posted by Destroyer

Yep....I completely agree Reel. The Camry is to Toyota what the Accord is to Honda.... Both are top of the line and are built like I wish American cars were built. My wife drives a 2004 Accord with just over 100k miles...only thing we've ever done to it is normal maintenance...

Charlie, ....Given only the choice of the Subaru or the Volvo my choice would be the Subaru every time.

It always bugs me when I read and hear things like this. I work on em for a living, and I would MUCH rather have an American car come in VS an import. The newer Amercian cars really aren't what people rememebr from the 70's and 80's. The imports give just as much trouble, but cost 2-3 times as much to fix. It hurts me as people don't want to spend that much money to fix em. Not to mention some of there designing is a real bear to work around and get parts for.

[spareparts]

I hear what you're saying Ferm, I had the 99 burb in to have the front end aligned, the tech came in and told me it had some slop in the steering box(nothing wrong with the box, just his alignment, but that's another story)=, I made the comment that with over 200K on it, it deserved to have a little slop. They was a lady standing there that commented, wow, i has over 200,000 miles, what kind of car is that? I told her it was a Chevy. She commented that she didn't think American cars would last that long. She had her Lexus in for over $1000 in maintenance. I told her the burb was just getting broken in good, I expected at least another 100K out of it, then I told her my van has 340K on it, she couldn't believe it. The majority of the American buying public has been brainwashed into thinking you have to have a foreign car to have a good car. There are good and bad cars from all manufactures. A good friend of mine is a service manager at a Honda dealership, I asked him if the cars were really that good. He said the difference is, most Honda owners do what the manual says to do, if it says you need to spend what ever on the front end at what ever mileage, they tend to do it, if the manual says you need to have the dealer change your oil at what ever millage, they carry the car to the dealer to have it done. That dealer ship does a lot of oil changes, tune ups and brake jobs, most people who own domestic cars either do the work them selves or take it to the quick lube on the corner. The fact that a factory trained tech looks over those cars at the dealer ship goes a long way towards preventative maintenance. If you start out with a solid car and take care of it, regardless of what brand it is, you should get good use out of it