What's a car brand you would NEVER buy

[l0st]

Speaking of car sizes and fitting inside; I'm a big guy 6'-4"+ and about 270 (15E boots), so fitting inside a vehicle is a primary consideration for me (air travel in coach is pure misery).  One of the worst cars we've owned for foot placement (which is actually a big deal for any longer trip) was a Cadillac DeVille.  Monstrous car, with the tiniest, most awkward, foot well ever.  The rest of the car was pure luxury, but the foot well issue caused me to sell it.  Surprisingly, one of the roomiest cars to fit into is actually a Subaru Outback.  Somehow Subaru has designed the cabin in such a way that there is a lot more room (both front and back seats) than just about any other "car" I've ever sat in.  People make fun of Subaru's (calling them Lez-baru's), but I don't care; I can fit inside comfortably and that's what counts.  Not to mention the fact that the Subies are true ALL wheel drive, and our drive is a 14% grade, and 17.5% right up by the house, so in wintertime in the deep snow the Subie will make it up with no issues.  It's an amazing car actually; we liked it so much we bought (2) of them for daily commuters (have a '15 and a '20). 

Our other vehicles are all trucks.  Have no issues fitting in the new Ram 3500 mega cab 4x4 (6.7L Cummins turbo diesel, bay-bee!).  But I literally cannot fit inside a standard cab half ton pickup.  The wife's truck is a F-250 crew, and I can fit in the drivers side of that, but not the passenger's side other than for a short trip (weird foot well in that one too).

I've never been a Subaru driver but I do understand they tend to have rather fragile transmissions and lots of problems with under-carriage bushings that are very difficult to replace.

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Friends had a small PIH a few years ago. I forget if it was a Kia or Hyndai but they absolutely loved it.  He mentioned 3 months between fill-ups!   

Hopefully they'll (any manufacturer) start making a semi-luxury sedan as a PIH, not just small subcompacts.  I'm sure it has to do with weight and required battery size/drive train and all that.

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About ready to ditch my GTI.  I've loved it for the 4 years I've had it but it's just not practical anymore.   It was more of a "adolescent dream car" thing for me so...bucket-list checked.

Previous to that I had a Jetta (2017) that I absolutely loved for some reason.  No major bells or whistles.  SE model with sunroof and nav.  (my only requirements back then).

Still a VW guy but I'm considering a Genesis G70 (V6, Grand Touring or Tech trim) and also an Atlas Cross Sport (SEL or better).

I dunno. I don't think I'd buy a Hyundai or Kia anything unless I planned on selling it before the warranty was over.

Friend of mine has a Kia Santa Fe that roached the engine at 56K and all of the maintenance was done by the book. He's an old man and drives like one.

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I know there is a certain potential for these kinds of discussion to veer into 'fanboi' territory... and frankly - I'm not one. 

If you enjoy performance, it's difference, it about the vehicles' operation - and all the art that entails...
if you are more utilitarian... it's a car... to get you reliably from point A to B and back again in safety.

But my last vehicle is a 2015 Jeep Cherokee... and she is both a tank, and a workhorse.  No significant complaints. 

She's not some fancy or refined piece of performance technology, she is a car... and she serves well (so far) without tiresome minutiae providing fickle repair needs.

Although I have never used anything but synthetic oil in her... I can't say it made a difference, but it sure seems to have.

(Actually, I just wanted to participate in the convo.)

My experience with synthetic is that ALL of the seals will leak post ~130K or so. No sludge deposits to plug the leaks.

I had a Civic that ran synthetic its whole life while I owned it. ~160K the rear main seal leakage reached about 1qt a wk. Pop the valve cover and the head looks pristine. Zero oil burn. Just leak leak leak. Whole underside of the car was covered with oil. Guess that's good automatic rust-proofing if you live in the snow belt.

I've had good success using Blue Devil Rear Main Sealer. Once wasn't enough. Twice resolved it. Until then, 1 cap full of DOT-3 brake fluid in the oil will swell the seals enough to stop the leaking until the next oil change. Been 2.5 years on Blue Devil and no leaks, yet. I only ran it the 2 oil changes and never again. I do still run "high mileage" oil which has crap in it to swell the seals. "Conditioners" as they call them.

[argentus]

There is no car brand I am aware of that I would NEVER buy.  Each vehicle transaction I have entered into has been a weighed measurement of the variables, as measured against the price.   When I was really poor, I cobbled together $550.00 for a 1963 Mercury Comet that had blown freeze plugs, and the back seat had a 12" tear.    I loved that car.   I wish I still had that car, because it would now be worth a [expletive] fortune, not to mention that it would be really quite super cool, and fast compared to the cars around it.  

Where I live, we all fantasize about EVs, but there is nobody to work on them, so we know we'll ultimately get screwed.  We buy vehicles on-line, and hope for the best.   Mostly, we buy Hondas.   There are dozens of white Honda SUVs around here.  I was looking at the Chinese trucks last year, and they look good and are fairly priced, but I couldn't bring myself to endorse the Chinese economy with my purchase.   Others here have done so, and the trucks look great.   I wish American cars were considered as good a value as Japanese cars, or even South Korean cars.   I really believe the U.S. can get back to the good place where they are making solid cars with good value and longevity, along with spiffy features that make us all quivver.

Short answer:   I am a vehicle whore.  I would buy any car at  any time if the price was right.

[l0st]

There is no car brand I am aware of that I would NEVER buy.  Each vehicle transaction I have entered into has been a weighed measurement of the variables, as measured against the price.   When I was really poor, I cobbled together $550.00 for a 1963 Mercury Comet that had blown freeze plugs, and the back seat had a 12" tear.    I loved that car.   I wish I still had that car, because it would now be worth a [expletive] fortune, not to mention that it would be really quite super cool, and fast compared to the cars around it.  

Where I live, we all fantasize about EVs, but there is nobody to work on them, so we know we'll ultimately get screwed.  We buy vehicles on-line, and hope for the best.   Mostly, we buy Hondas.   There are dozens of white Honda SUVs around here.  I was looking at the Chinese trucks last year, and they look good and are fairly priced, but I couldn't bring myself to endorse the Chinese economy with my purchase.   Others here have done so, and the trucks look great.   I wish American cars were considered as good a value as Japanese cars, or even South Korean cars.   I really believe the U.S. can get back to the good place where they are making solid cars with good value and longevity, along with spiffy features that make us all quivver.

Short answer:   I am a vehicle whore.  I would buy any car at  any time if the price was right.

The Chinese trucks aren't legal here. If they were, I might buy one, only because I could use a small, cheap, cheap to run truck for small load pickups. I doubt there's any longevity but they're dirt cheap.

Toyota sells the HiAce in other "developing" countries which is a basic small pickup, but not in the US.

The US automakers have gone way off the rails with the feature creep in what are supposed to be work vehicles. There are no work trucks anymore, unless specially ordered. They're all Cadillac Sedan De-Villes on a lifted frame with a body kit. I see people driving around in these all the time. Can you actually get work done in one of these? At $120K a pop I'd be worried about scratching the paint on a job-site. Cloth or leather seats... you're getting in there with muddy pants and boots on?

I don't get it. The people I know who have them only have them because there is nothing else new available and if they can get one, they actually prefer older, more basic trucks which actually still go for pretty good value around here. Like $6000 - $7000 for a 150K Mi+ beat up 2003 without a tow kit and worn out suspension and a cracked windshield. Seems like quite a lot to me considering 20 years ago such a vehicle would have been sitting in the junkyard or on someone's farm.

[FlyingClayDisk]

I've never been a Subaru driver but I do understand they tend to have rather fragile transmissions and lots of problems with under-carriage bushings that are very difficult to replace.

Yes, some of them do.  One of the few shortcomings I could cite on the Subies.  In fact, we just had one go out on the wife's car (which is newer than mine).  Fragged the trans at 88k.  And, they ain't cheap either.  They can't be rebuilt.

So yes, that is a risk with Subaru.  Thank you for reminding me of this.  (I'd probably pushed it out of my mind as it was kind of painful).  I guess it's kind of a dice roll.  My '15 Outback has been brutalized and it's pushing 200k without a major mechanical (knock on wood).  The wife's '19 Outback puked the trans at 88k.  So, I guess I'm batting 500, which isn't great (with cars).

Still, at least the Subies have never made me walk, unlike the damn Audi.  And you can get a wrecker under the Subie if they puke, whereas not so with the Audi.  The Audi just laughs at wrecker drivers and begs them to do about $15k worth of damage trying to get under it.  Last guy to come get the Audi had to break out the bottle jacks, remove both front wheels, jack up the suspension...and even then there still wasn't enough room.  He had to get the smallest bottle jacks he had (cute little 1 ton jobs) to get in there under something substantial enough to lift the damn car.  I swore I would never have that issue again, so I went out and bought a lift bag for the damn thing.  Lift bag lies flat on the ground and slides under the whole front end.  Once it's under there then I just inflate it and it picks the whole front end of the car up about 2 feet off the ground.  Only problem with that is, I need to be around a high volume air compressor to use it.  With one of those tiny tire inflation compressors you'd better pack a lunch cuz it's gonna' be a while!  They say you can use the exhaust from the vehicle to do this, but I've never tried it; can't imagine the back pressure on the valves would be good.

I guess if we were going to talk about longevity I'd probably have to cite my old Ford F150 pickup.  Bought it from my neighbor with 270k showing on the clock and a busted odometer.  I bought it as a throwaway for a job I had.  Wound up putting another 150k-200k on it (not really sure because the odometer was busted).  Only put tires on it and changed the oil once.  That old thing still runs, but it's been sitting out back for the past 18 years.  I can only hope the new 1 ton Ram and older 3/4 Ford SD will do the same!  Tough shoes to fill though.

[argentus]

 

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The Chinese trucks aren't legal here. If they were, I might buy one, only because I could use a small, cheap, cheap to run truck for small load pickups. I doubt there's any longevity but they're dirt cheap.

Toyota sells the HiAce in other "developing" countries which is a basic small pickup, but not in the US.

The US automakers have gone way off the rails with the feature creep in what are supposed to be work vehicles. There are no work trucks anymore, unless specially ordered. They're all Cadillac Sedan De-Villes on a lifted frame with a body kit. I see people driving around in these all the time. Can you actually get work done in one of these? At $120K a pop I'd be worried about scratching the paint on a job-site. Cloth or leather seats... you're getting in there with muddy pants and boots on?

I don't get it. The people I know who have them only have them because there is nothing else new available and if they can get one, they actually prefer older, more basic trucks which actually still go for pretty good value around here. Like $6000 - $7000 for a 150K Mi+ beat up 2003 without a tow kit and worn out suspension and a cracked windshield. Seems like quite a lot to me considering 20 years ago such a vehicle would have been sitting in the junkyard or on someone's farm.

I will build a modest house for $120,000, not spend it on transportation.   This is the thing that really burns me.   I should be able to ship an Arcimoto down here, and after cost, shipping, and duties, it's USD $30,000.  Arcimoto FUV: Let's Golf! (youtube.com)  Okay, fine, but if the battery goes kerpoof, then that's a major part of the cost of the frickin' car!  And the car SHOULD be plug-and-play, if they want to sell the [religious invective] things!!!!!  This is the problem.   Modules that require replacement should be plug-and-play.  

I came really close to buying one of those awkward-looking Japanese trucks, or South Korean trucks, like the Hyundai Porter. HYUNDAI PORTER II 2017 S/N 265858 Used for sale | JapaneseVehicles.com.    I need to haul stuff.   Still, they don't really corner well, and they are not great on fuel.   I have been looking at Velomobiles -- vehicles you pedal, and some have a battery-assist.    That assuages my desire for sustainability, but is also threatened by my sense of reality, which indicates I will get my ass run over.  
 
I redid this post, because I screwed up the previous one.

[l0st]

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I will build a modest house for $120,000, not spend it on transportation.   This is the thing that really burns me.   I should be able to ship an Arcimoto down here, and after cost, shipping, and duties, it's USD $30,000.  Arcimoto FUV: Let's Golf! (youtube.com)  Okay, fine, but if the battery goes kerpoof, then that's a major part of the cost of the frickin' car!  And the car SHOULD be plug-and-play, if they want to sell the [religious invective] things!!!!!  This is the problem.   Modules that require replacement should be plug-and-play.  

I came really close to buying one of those awkward-looking Japanese trucks, or South Korean trucks, like the Hyundai Porter. HYUNDAI PORTER II 2017 S/N 265858 Used for sale | JapaneseVehicles.com.    I need to haul stuff.   Still, they don't really corner well, and they are not great on fuel.   I have been looking at Velomobiles -- vehicles you pedal, and some have a battery-assist.    That assuages my desire for sustainability, but is also threatened by my sense of reality, which indicates I will get my ass run over.  
 
I redid this post, because I screwed up the previous one.

If it's a lithium battery it's probably just 18650s in series or parallel. I've seen some vids where they disassemble Tesla and Toyota batteries and that's what's in there. Relatively cheap to replace if you know how to change the individual cells. There was a guy on YouTube who bought a wrecked Tesla and did this. The car ran fine but Tesla sued him afterwards for modifying "their" battery. I believe they lost but the refused to update the computer with the new battery capacity so the owner could never realize the full range of the car even if it is now working.

I don't think batteries as the energy source are a threat do much as greedy corps disallowing third party parts which should be (is) illegal. Fill the "tank" with gas fill the "tank" with batteries "six in one, half dozen in the other" as the saying goes. People should be (are) allowed to fix their own equipment however they choose.This is what needs regulation IMHO ie "right to repair". A lot of these companies want you to believe that you don't own your car. I'm not sure of the regulations in other jurisdictions but in the US once you buy it you own it and the seller has no say. Say what you will about the "American Way" but I think this is one thing we have right.

IMHO if the vehicle requires service software to repair then it should be provided at purchase. I have no qualms "stealing" dealer software to fix my own vehicles. Luckily, the brand I deal with "accidentally released" to the public their dealer software after 10 years and has never prosecuted anyone using it. As far as I know, this continues to be their unofficial policy.