Cars- Japanese Korean

Nimick said:
Hyundai mechanics alway bitch about not being able to get parts [...] watch out for the fine print in the "amazing" warranty
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You better pay attention to this little gotcha. Nimick is absolutely right. You may suddenly find out that a part any sane person would consider under warranty is "normal wear & tear", and you're hit with a $700 bill for a $5 part that requires major disassembly. I know, it happened to me.

Stay with Toyota/Honda. Proven quality, no rattles or squeeks after a few thousand miles, and no bs from the dealers (Kia dealer service (Kia is owned by Hyundai) in my area has been the worst I have ever had to deal with - weeks of waiting and all you get is "we're trying our best, it will be here soon").

Alternatively, get a used Ford Crown Vic / Merc Grand Marquis. Reliable, cheap to fix, safe in LA traffic. A bit thirsty, but not as bad as people think.
 
hwyhobo said:
....a part any sane person would consider under warranty is "normal wear & tear", and you're hit with a $700 bill for a $5 part that requires major disassembly. I know, it happened to me.....
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I'd be interested in knowing which part that was - considering I had a similar experience - 30 years ago - on a Mercedes. I received a labor bill of $585. to replace a 69 cent lightbulb in the back-lit temperature adjusting thumbwheel of the air conditioning panel. Seems that to replace that bulb required the dismantling of the entire centre console!

After they revived me and I explained that, had I known what the replacement procedure entailed I would not have asked for the replacement, the manager of the dealership wrote off the bill! (Yes, that was then and this is now.) Now when I ask to have some minor part replaced, I always ask first what it costs. No more surprises for me! :eek:
 
cockroachfarm said:
I'd be interested in knowing which part that was - considering I had a similar experience - 30 years ago - on a Mercedes. I received a labor bill of $585. to replace a 69 cent lightbulb in the back-lit temperature adjusting thumbwheel of the air conditioning panel.
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It was a ball bearing somewhere in the clutch assembly. I never heard of a ball bearing being a "normal wear & tear". I've driven stick all my life (longer than I care to remember) and never had a clutch worked on for any reason. That's right - never. That included both Fords and Toyotas (okay, this is the first non-Ford-or-Toyota car I ever bought). My Celica GT had 250K miles on it before I got rid of it, and the clutch was in perfect condition. I do not ride the clutch and do not slap-release it. For it to fall apart around 30K is just crappy materials or bad luck, but for Kia to weasel out of it is enough for me not to buy one for a long time (read: until hell freezes over).

Besides, at some point you have to ask yourself - is this the image you want to project? No, it's not vain, it's just that having grown up, one has to start behaving one's age at some point. I may be 30 years late, but it's time to get on with the program. ;)
 
hwyhobo said:
Alternatively, get a used Ford Crown Vic / Merc Grand Marquis. Reliable, cheap to fix, safe in LA traffic. A bit thirsty, but not as bad as people think.
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If you keep your lead foot out of it, it will do 24MPG in town and 26.4 doing 80MPH with the air conditioning on on the Interstate. :)

However, I find F&F superior on the Camry.
 
Sid Post said:
If you keep your lead foot out of it [...]
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Yeah, right... we don't know me, do we?
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spyder10 said:
The Subaru wrx (or STi) is my favorite import. Great performance, safety, AWD, turbo, and its 4 door.
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Subarus aren't exactly cheap...

my STi has been great for the last 3.5 years though :D


in LA traffic i'd want something kinda zippy, like 150 HP or so at least, preferably more like 200

i drove a Hyundai in 2000 and was turned off by it, i haven't tried another one since. i've always heard good things about the Altimas, but i haven't driven one
 
Ford Crown Vic thats the cop car aint it? Anyone ever bought those off those Govt auctions? WOnder if its left supercharged.

Yeah Camry is on my list, so is the Altima, Sentra and Hyundai Sonata. I am only going to be driving it for about 2 years before I have to get rid of it so it would not make sense to buy a new one. I like the OLDE OLDE Celicas- the ones with Stick shift - feather light . I think that was the Clica GT when they still used it for Rallys a wonderful car to drive
 
warmglow said:
Ford Crown Vic thats the cop car aint it? Anyone ever bought those off those Govt auctions? WOnder if its left supercharged.
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Supercharged? Not the ones I have seen. However, my little 4.6L V-8 still has some real grunt and will move the 2.5 ton beast nicely. The cop car has suspension and electrical upgrades but, I don't think they have a lot more power in the engine. The rubber interior parts clean up nicer when you have a drunk in the back that can't keep their liquor/beer down.

The surplus governement vehicles I have seen were all used very hard and were very rough. They aren't what I would consider good to be values in general.
 
I just got my Toyota Matrix a few weeks ago, and I absolutely love it. I was looking for a vehicle with great gas mileage and with good versatility, and so far I have not been disappointed.

Of the cars I test drove, the next highest on my list (after the similar Pontiac Vibe) was the Honda Civic LX. Fantastic ride on that. On vacation a year ago I had an '05 Toyota Camry as the rental vehicle for almost a week, and I thought it was great. The new '07 Camry is supposed to be even better, although I have not taken one for a test drive.

Nissan makes great cars, but their reliability as of late has really gone downhill. As recent as just a few years ago, Nissan's reliability rivaled that of Toyota and Honda, but their newer vehicles have had a lot of issues with reliability. Hyundai has really improved their vehicles over the last ten years, but dollar for dollar I think you get a better car with a Toyota or a Honda.
 
Either a Honda or a Toyota. To me, there's really no other options. Well, maybe a Subaru. ;) :)
 
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