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Automotive News & Views Buying American Cars What Does It Mean?
7263 messages, Last post on May 27, 2009 at 4:31 AM
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With parts coming from everywhere, does "Buying American" have much meaning anymore? Is quality and price the bottom line?
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Replying to: freedomguy (Jan 10, 2006 9:28 pm) |
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Replying to: sidious6688 (Nov 04, 2008 2:44 am) Or do they??? When these studies show percentages of depreciation, it is vs. MSRP, and not actual selling price. So depreciation rates aren't as bad as you'd think. Now, if you want to debate why a Toyota sells for closer to MSRP than a Chevy, THAT'S a different story altogether.
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Replying to: cooterbfd (Nov 04, 2008 3:07 am) You can put your money on American. It's still a free country. Hope their cars improve, though. Regards, OW |
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Replying to: cooterbfd (Nov 04, 2008 3:07 am) 'American' cars tend to sell new at a lower price than their 'Japanese' counterparts so therefore they must also have a lower resale value - and vice versa. The truth of the matter is that over the shorter term (up to about 5 years) and/or on leases the 'Japanese' cars can very easily be less expensive to own than the cheaper 'American' car. If you subscribe to the the contention that there is no real long term reliability differences in most cars these days and are willing to drive that car for a long time then the equation will swing very decidedly into the favor of anything that costs less to buy up front - be it American or Korean (or whatever). Statistics, though, tell us that the average car BUYER is keeping a car 4-5 years and overall 'ownership' periods are even less than that when you also consider the 2 to 4 year terms of leases these days.
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It amazes me how many people miss the point. When considering Japanese vs. American, consider these two rules I live by. #1. Don't finance cars!! (pay a note to yourself until you can pay cash.) #2. If you and I can buy two similar cars, but I can pay 5 grand less up front, I will always pick the lower cost car. Take the 5 grand and invest it to appreciate, not depreciate. So now someone please tell me how you paying more for a car up front is a better deal than me paying less and investing the difference in something that grows. Even something with low growth like a savings account is better than a depreciating car. I don't care if it's American, Japanese, Korean, or Mexican made. It's your money, spend it how you want. But saying you're making the smart choice by buying Japanese due to resale value or reliability is not reality. It's one way of justifying your purchase decision. Reality is that all cars are VERY BAD investments. The more you invest in one, the less cash you have to put into a "good" investment. Tada. It's quite simple.
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Replying to: parkman50 (Nov 04, 2008 11:18 am) to even more pain if you choose unwisely. 1. Bad Investment 2. Car is unreliable 3. Car costs more to run over time. Choose wisely, grasshopper. Regards, OW |
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Replying to: captain2 (Nov 04, 2008 7:28 am) |
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Replying to: parkman50 (Nov 04, 2008 11:18 am) But as far as cheaper being better I think you need to look over CRs reliability ratings in this Dec issue - they rate 47 cars as being 'most reliable' (based on their surveys, of course) and 40 of them are 'Japanese' primarily Hondas and Toyotas. The only American iron that even makes the list are the FoMoCo Fusion triplets made in Mexico. You can choose not to believe any of this, and then go out and buy the cheapest piece of Americana you can find - betting, of course, that the thing will run long enough for you to recover some of that investment you talk about before you have to spend it on repairs  This is what 'buying an American car' really means, even discounting the fact that fewer and fewer of them are made in this country anymore anyway..
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Replying to: captain2 (Nov 05, 2008 9:51 am) Do you really believe this? Most all big 3 are still built in the USA with a few in Canada and Mexico. Hardly any are imported anymore (Aveo at GM soon to be built here and G8 also to be built in Canada with next version).
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Well, my "investments" are doing pretty well. My 1988 Buick Park Avenue is 21 years-old and my 1989 Cadillac Brougham is 20 years-old. My 2007 Cadillac DTS Performance and her 2005 Buick LaCrosse are also doing well. Sheesh! A car is never an investment. It's just another thing you buy.
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