Cheap Built Vehicles

[motley man]

Why does the auto industry cry for money to keep going when the sales are down. If they would build vehicles to last more than 5 years so it still running after the last payment. Most vehicles today are just junk. Bad tires, front ends, brakes, sensors, etc. My lady's car has had 3 sets in the 4 years and the company says it's normal. What a JOKE. Two different makes and the same problem with tires, I drive a 4 wheel drive and my tires are 4 years old and have same miles as hers.

[harvey lee]

My wife's PT cruiser has served her very well for the past 6 years from new. I could not say one bad thing about the quality of how they built this car. I believe there is about 160,000 miles on it and we have done normal maintaince to it. I did have to replace one cheap part on the rear end and thats it. That was replaced by Scott or 4wanderingeyes and he did a great job.

Time to replace it soon though.

I would buy another in a heartbeat if they still made them.

[MJ1657]

Why does the auto industry cry for money to keep going when the sales are down. If they would build vehicles to last more than 5 years so it still running after the last payment. Most vehicles today are just junk. Bad tires, front ends, brakes, sensors, etc. My lady's car has had 3 sets in the 4 years and the company says it's normal. What a JOKE. Two different makes and the same problem with tires, I drive a 4 wheel drive and my tires are 4 years old and have same miles as hers.

2-300,000 miles on a vehicle is not at all unusual anymore. It was not to many years ago when you had 100k and a vehicle was headed to the scrap yard.

[Scott K]

I would also like to add that in the last 2 years Ford has made huge steps in quality, and in my opinion has the best line of cars on the market today.

[harvey lee]

Yes I can remember the days when you got 100,000 on a vehicle and that was special.

Today, cars and trucks if maintained well will go a long long time.

[CAMAN]

Why does the auto industry cry for money to keep going when the sales are down. If they would build vehicles to last more than 5 years so it still running after the last payment. Most vehicles today are just junk. Bad tires, front ends, brakes, sensors, etc. My lady's car has had 3 sets in the 4 years and the company says it's normal. What a JOKE. Two different makes and the same problem with tires, I drive a 4 wheel drive and my tires are 4 years old and have same miles as hers.

If you are complaining about the stock tires on a vehicle, STOP going back to the dealer to get them replaced. Go to a reputable TIRE shop who specializes in tires. The stock tires on my Colorado were Generals and didn't last much more than 20k miles, I went to Tires Plus and got some Firestones installed and they now have almost 100k on them and will likely need to be replaced before next winter. Dealerships are not tireshops, nor do they care if you only get 20k on a set of tires if you keep coming back to feed them money.

Oh, and my truck has been fully paid off since last June and has almost 120k. It's still running like the day I drove it off the dealership lot and never gave me a problem. I change the fluids and normal wear and tear items and that is it. Not one part of the vehicle has failed me yet.

[MJ1657]

If you are complaining about the stock tires on a vehicle, STOP going back to the dealer to get them replaced. Go to a reputable TIRE shop who specializes in tires. The stock tires on my Colorado were Generals and didn't last much more than 20k miles, I went to Tires Plus and got some Firestones installed and they now have almost 100k on them and will likely need to be replaced before next winter. Dealerships are not tireshops, nor do they care if you only get 20k on a set of tires if you keep coming back to feed them money.

I will agree that quite often the tires that come with a vehicle are not always the greatest. Most dealers offer almost any brand if tire you would like. Saying most do not care if you only get 20k on a set of tires is not really fair. I have many friends that sell tires in dealers and that is not the case.

I will agree with you on the Firestones by the way. When I was at a dealership I almost exclusively sold Firestones for trucks.

[Jack Peterson]

I keep seeing more and more Chevrolet trucks coming into the shop with 300,000 and even 350,000 miles. These trucks now days are built to last! (Chevy that is)

My Impala is sitting right around 240,000 and after I installed the updated head and intake gaskets a couple years ago, I've never had problems! Big jobs are cheap when you do them yourself.

[BobT]

Yes I can remember the days when you got 100,000 on a vehicle and that was special.

Today, cars and trucks if maintained well will go a long long time.

I was thinking the same thing. I hear it all the time that they don't build vehicles like they used to. Absolutely agree with that statement! They are much better.

In 1975 when I got my first car it was a 1966 Chev Impala with 86,000 miles on it. You had to be careful what you put in the trunk and where you put it so it wouldn't fall through the bottom.

The next three vehicles I owned were no different. In fact, I remember my 1967 Ford Fairlane where the frame snapped in front of both rear wheels. The rear axle rolled and the only thing stopping it was the emergency brake cable. Towed it backwards to get it home. Had less than 90,000 miles on it.

My 1967 Ford F100 had to have the engine rebuilt at 86,000 miles. The floor was already a patchwork of sheet metal and the cab mounts rusted off at about 100,000 miles. I stuck a wood 2x4 in to support the cab so I could drive it. The next thing to go was the seat mounts and floor underneath.

A friend and I were driving along one day in his 1961 Chev when all of a sudden we felt the seat drop. The floor under the seat where the mounts were rusted through. We were lucky we didn’t fall through.

[LightningBG]

Last Xmas (14 months ago) I got a set of Michelin LTX A/T2.

Since then I've put on another 50K miles and they look just as good (tread wear) as the day I had them put on.

[TR21HP]

Agree fully Lightning those Michelins are incredible. I routinely get 85K out of that tire and the tread is fairly aggressive.

[Stringerless!]

Wifes car in the shop now. 2007 Saturn Aura. " Car of the year " in some magazine. Shifting cable snapped. not even 50,000 miles on it. They recalled the 09 auras for the same reason. Not considered part of the power train so not covered under 100,000 power train warranty. Dreading the call from the shop to say how much it is gonna cost to fix.

[bucketmouth64]

I had a '93 Dakota that wouldn't die until an accident totaled it. It had 395k miles. My '98 Explorer is will go over 200k by the end of the year. All I do is keep fluids changed and fix things as they break down. Both vehicles in my opinion aren't cheaply built vehicles. Yes there are some parts that are cheap and need to be changed often. What vehicle doesn't have that problem.

[delcecchi]

You do know that "Motor Trend car of the Year" is a marketing program of motor trend in conjunction with the advertising folks. Has nothing to do with technical merit.

[Esox_Magnum]

Both of my old mans trucks ( 97-98 Chevys) have well over 200K on them and I wouldnt hesitate to drive either anywhere, my 2001 has 108K on it and since I only put about 10K a year on will be driving it untill it tops 200K in about 8-10 more years.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

You do know that "Motor Trend car of the Year" is a marketing program of motor trend in conjunction with the advertising folks. Has nothing to do with technical merit.

This should be put in bold. I bet 99% of people don't know this is the case. HUGE $ for Motor Trend.

[zamboni]

My '98 Explorer is will go over 200k by the end of the year. All I do is keep fluids changed and fix things as they break down. Both vehicles in my opinion aren't cheaply built vehicles. Yes there are some parts that are cheap and need to be changed often. What vehicle doesn't have that problem.

My 97 Explorer flipped 170K the other day, and since I bought it a year ago haven't had a wrench turned on it. Won't be my last Explorer.