Imports vs Domestic - Pros n Cons

[Bargain_Junkie]

My family's vehicle was recently stolen so now we're forced to buy a new one.

I've heard it is really worth the extra $ to buy an import. What are the best import companies and what are the best domestic companies?

Also i've heard some bad things about Ford. Does anyone drive a Ford, does it give you any trouble? We've been looking at buying an Explorer but backed off a bit since some say Ford is a bad company.

Can someone list some pros/cons about Domestic companies like GM, Chevy, Ford, etc and some of Imports companies like Toyota, Nissan, Infinitie, and etc.

Thanks

[cipher]

Hyundai - best bang for the buck. Quality equals and betters most domestics. Kills the "imports are more expensive" myth.
Toyota, Honda - very high quality and you pay more for it. Typically best mileage across the line. Less room for price negotiation.
GM & Chrysler - quality varies across the line. Easier to negotiate a lower price because of loss of market share to imports.
Ford - I've never owned one. Probably never will because they seem to fall apart after a few years...IMO.
Mazda, Nissan - quality varies across the line. Not as fuel efficient as Toyota, Honda.
German imports (VW, BMW, Mercedes) - Quality is an issue. Whoppingly expensive to service. Other side of coin...usually very good ergonomics and very quiet inside.
Lexus, Acura - top of the line quality. Blows away BMW & Mercedes in quality...but they don't have the same feel of their German counterparts.
Infiniti - higher quality than Nissan, but not as good as Lexus or Acura.

THis is just my opinion and I'm sure others will disagree with me...

[frogger]

It really depends what market segment you are looking at.. body on frame SUV's like the Explorer are a different ballgame. So is new vs. used.

[TenzoR]

It's a gamble, you play by the amount of risk you are willing to take by the auto company's track records in terms of reliability

But remember this, even if you do buy Import (Japanese) there is still a possibility you will get a lemon, or a bad "copy" of the car.

However, lately with the recalls, Japanese Car companies aren't doing too hot in terms of reliability (compared with 1980 - early 1990). Then again most people are switching into new cars every 4-5 years so "long" term reliability isn't really in their criteria either.

I've looked at the underside of the Toyota Corolla (at DVNLT) and it looked absolutely pathetic (Design wise of course) compare to the Mazda 3 (at Agincourt).

[SkiD]

First, the most important point to remember:
Don't be a "sheeple", if you blindly pick a vehicle based on perception alone rather than considering ALL options available, you might get a vehicle that does not suit YOUR needs or isn't as good as previous history dictates.

General comments:
- Generally the more you spend on a vehicle, the better built it is (ie. a Yaris might have good quality when compared to competing models, but do not expect the same quality and reliability as a Lexus, the Yaris competes on price, so cuts have to be made somewhere)

- There are "bad" models within brands and "bad" cars within models with ALL manufacturers (yes, even Lexus builds lemons)

- Consumer Reports(CR) is not the bible for how good vehicles are, they are considered import biased and there are concerns about their rating methodologies, see here for more info

- JD Power(JDP) surveys are a little better than CR in their methodologies, but their indexes don't go far enough to consider "real" long term reliability, currently they rank manufacturers at 90 days and 3 years after purchase.

- When looking at JDP, one thing is obvious if you look at the rankings (and historical data) the gap between the "best" and "worst" manufacturers has been narrowing. Currently, on average, the "best" manufacturers have 2 problems in 3 years and the "worst" have 4 problems in 3 years (not a lot of difference)

- a good place for "real world" research is the Edmunds.com forums or sites like Toyotanation.com to see the types of problems people have with specific models and trim levels (remember EVERY vehicle has problems)

- In general with respect to reliability, (Honda/Toyota) > (other Japanese/Korean and Domestics) > (European), but remember this gap has become a lot smaller over the last few years

- Fuel economy estimates - in the "real world", generally domestics get close to or better than rated on the highway and worse than rated in the city, imports tend to do the opposite, get worse ratings on the highway and close to the rated amount in the city

- The best deal on a "new" vehicle is to buy one that is a couple of years old so that you aren't the one to take a hit on depreciation.

- On RFD there are a lot of members from metro Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, because of this you will find that there is a bias towards small import vehicles (because that is what works for them), so anyone asking for advice on which car to buy on this forum will get members blindly recommending Toyota/Honda without considering the OP's requirements.

[gherikill]

My advice is buy a domestic that is a few years old. Depreciation is your friend. GM's quality has been as good as Toyota's for about 3 years now. The Japanese quality argument is just a myth.

[KawaiiTentacleBeast]

Why don't you examine each car individually instead of trying to make blanket statements about an entire brand?

[DaLurker]

First, the most important point to remember:
Don't be a "sheeple", if you blindly pick a vehicle based on perception alone rather than considering ALL options available, you might get a vehicle that does not suit YOUR needs or isn't as good as previous history dictates.

Why don't you examine each car individually instead of trying to make blanket statements about an entire brand?

QTF!

It's highly ignorant of people to consider a cars merits based merely on their badges. That's like picking your employees based on their skin colour or gender.

In past reliability test statistics Domestics were ranked higher than Germans while Japanese ranked the highest but then again you can manipulate statistics all you want. It seems import and domestic reliability have both reached a point where picking any car from all brands you're chances of getting and excellent worry free car and a car that tends to break often in the first 4 years of owning it are equal.

Long term reliability is yet to be seen with the newer more reliable domestics however.

Really when you're buying a new car you need to make the following decisions:

1. What's my price range?
2. What features MUST I have (AC, Auto, Power amenities?)
3. What Type of car (Sports Coupe, 4 dr sedan, SUV, Minivan, etc)
4. So which of the cars in Question 3 with features from Question 2 can I buy with the money I've decided on in Question 1?
5. Do I want to buy new or used?
6. Test drive your options.

Then decide.

[VivienM]

As others have said, what matters most is what YOU like.

Decide what size/category of vehicle you want, then look at all the automakers that offer those. Go out to the dealers. Test drive the things. YOUR own attitude is the most important, not some professional reviewer's who may not share your taste in cars.

One last thing: although this is not as true as it used to be, beware of pricing for domestic automakers. They have a tendency to over-MSRP their cars, then make up for it by offering some very low financing/leasing rates. So it may turn out that a car with a higher MSRP on the manufacturer's web site is actually substantially cheaper...

[KawaiiTentacleBeast]

Forget all the other stuff. Buy the Z06 Corvette. Best car in the world in terms of speed/price. Everything else is just a minor inconvenience when you can go that fast.

[aquariaguy]

Forget all the other stuff. Buy the Z06 Corvette. Best car in the world in terms of speed/price. Everything else is just a minor inconvenience when you can go that fast.

But when you crash, you want some nice airbags. Not the dashboard hitting you in the face lol.

Damn, this thread is gonna be buncha people flaming back and forth lol

[Focus]

pick you few cars/SUV you like and go test drive those, and buy the one you like the most.

[KawaiiTentacleBeast]

It has airbags. So there's nothing to worry about. You can get the optional side impact airbags too but it's only going to slow you down.

[radeonboy]

These types of threads wont work. I just know it.

But I have something that is a little stereotypical but still works.

If you want mad torque = Go american

If you want high revving = go japanese like Honda

If you want passionate driving with luxuary = go german

[cipher]

These types of threads wont work. I just know it.

But I have something that is a little stereotypical but still works.

If you want mad torque = Go american

If you want high revving = go japanese like Honda

If you want passionate driving with luxuary = go german

If you love driving = Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini.