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Buying American Cars What Does It Mean?

18081 messages,  Last post on May 23, 2013 at 5:44 PM

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What is this discussion about? Car Buying

With parts coming from everywhere, does "Buying American" have much meaning anymore? Is quality and price the bottom line?

Messages Page 1432 of 1809

#14307 of 18081 Re: Self destruction [ateixeira] by andre1969

Sep 11, 2012 (10:52 am)

Replying to: ateixeira (Sep 11, 2012 10:47 am)
Good news - they're moving production to their Flat Rock plant, though that won't happen for the first year model.
 
That's good to hear. The whole Hecho en Mehico thing was, to me at least, the biggest deterrent to the Fusion. I always found the car to be pleasant enough overall, but would just have preferred a higher US content. The Fusion was usually around 35% US content, whereas the Altima, another midsize that I like about the same, was usually around 65%, and assembled in the US.
 
So if I liked the two cars equally otherwise, the content would have been enough to sway me in favor of the Altima.

#14308 of 18081 Re: Self destruction [andre1969] by ateixeira

Sep 11, 2012 (10:55 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (Sep 11, 2012 10:52 am)
They probably got tired of all the crossfire from the gangs.

#14309 of 18081 Re: Quality [lemko] by andres3

Sep 13, 2012 (2:18 pm)

Replying to: lemko (Sep 05, 2012 7:25 am)
Really? What about my 1989 Cadillac Brougham that still looks and runs like a brand-new car or my 1988 Buick Park Avenue, or my 1968 Buick Special Deluxe that was still running in 1992. My wife's 2005 Buick LaCrosse has yet to experience an unscheduled maintenance event nor has my 2007 Cadillac DTS.
 
That only answers half of French's concerns. He had concerns about depreciation as well. If I were to rear-end you at 55 MPH in a Hummer H1, how much would your precious GM's be worth then to my insurance company?

#14310 of 18081 Re: While I agree with cannon3 in [uplanderguy] by andres3

Sep 13, 2012 (2:19 pm)

Replying to: uplanderguy (Sep 04, 2012 4:41 pm)
He let it be known, pretty clearly, that Mr. Toyoda and the Japanese still run that company.
 
Hopefully that's a good thing, as it'll prevent GM disease from fully infecting Toyota!

#14311 of 18081 Re: While I agree with cannon3 in [andres3] by uplanderguy

Sep 13, 2012 (6:09 pm)

Replying to: andres3 (Sep 13, 2012 2:19 pm)
Hopefully that's a good thing, as it'll prevent GM disease from fully infecting Toyota!
 
Too late.

#14313 of 18081 Re: Quality [andres3] by lemko

Sep 14, 2012 (6:29 am)

Replying to: andres3 (Sep 13, 2012 2:18 pm)
For the umpteenth time - I don't give a rat's butt about depreciation. My cars are worth their weight in gold to me regardless of what some arbitrary assessor thinks of them. Buying a car I hate just because it's got better resale value is still wasting money in my book. If any of our cars were totalled in an accident, I would immediately replace it with another GM vehicle.

#14314 of 18081 2008 Chrysler 300C by motorcity6

Sep 14, 2012 (11:39 am)

This is my son's car that was purchased new and now has about 80k mi on it. Recently it developed a condition whereas acceleration and cruising speeds gave the indication of a slipping transmission..Finally after a week of off/on performance the "check engine" came on and off to the dealer.. Two maladies were found, fuel distribution problem covered by warranty, and they blamed the check engine light on the auto climate control system which would require removing the entire dashboard assy to repair the duct work/flappers, and etc..The fix was $1,700..I was called, my reply was fix the fuel problem and forget the climate control for I couldn't see any relationship to check engine light coming on..
 
Two weeks later the car is running like new, no problems, no "check engine" lights appearing and a/c, climate control is doing its job..$1,700 is still in the bank..Dealer scam!!!
 
He traded in a 2002 Caddy STS on this car which had a cracked block showing 160k miles..He would have gotten a CTS Caddy, however there were none equipped with sunroof at his favorite dealer..He likes Caddies and did the 1993 Allante route which was a loser..I think he has been the owner of 6 Caddies, all new and were driven to exhaustion..or wrecked..
 
The next time the Hemi-Chrysler burps. it goes away..It has had front and rear suspension problems, never thru a car-wash, only hand-washed and garaged every night..However it is driven in the Michigan area which is "chuck-hole" heaven..
 
Out of the 53 cars owned, only three were Chrysler Corp products, the last one being a 66 Barracuda S model..
 
In one of the recent auto mags testing the 2013 Caddy XTS Platinum stickering $59,430, they said "A $60K car that makes more sense at $44k." Since this Caddy utilizes the same body and engine as the upcoming Chev Impala LTZ, I think both car lines are overpriced, but GM needs the money to pay off us taxpayers. After all, GE and our Govt agencies can only buy so many Volts with our tax $$$$$s.. GM has turned into a "joke."

#14315 of 18081 Re: Quality [lemko] by andres3

Sep 14, 2012 (5:13 pm)

Replying to: lemko (Sep 14, 2012 6:29 am)
I suppose when you only drive 365 miles a year then depreciation doesn't matter
 
I drive about 15K miles per year, which means I'm exposed to bad drivers that rear-end vehicles at will on occassion. I'd hate to give an insurance company anything it could use to have its way with me. I need something that holds its value or I'd pay as little as possible up front as possible and buy "gap" coverage.

#14316 of 18081 Re: Quality [andres3] by lemko

Sep 14, 2012 (5:52 pm)

Replying to: andres3 (Sep 14, 2012 5:13 pm)
I live in the city where cars are in constant threat of accidents, theft, vandalism, etc. I'm not making payments on any vehicles right now. When I was, I always carried gap, especially for the modest amount it costs. If I plan to buy another vehicle, I always have a massive down payment plus a really nice trade. Next time, I might just pay cash and be done with it. The dealer doesn't even need to detail any of my trades. He can put it on the lot as is. One car I traded sold within a week. I recall a co-worker of mine telling me she wondered why I was in her neighborhood until she discovered one of her neighbors just bought my old car!

Messages Page 1432 of 1809

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