10 worst used vehicle

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by MrPots

The missus has a 3.8l in her LaCross. No problems with the engine but the car itself is a POS. Door locks don't work, dash lights work sometimes.... crappy trim..... sometimes the heater quits working for no apparent reason.

I just cannot figure these things out, our two Impala LSs are fully loaded, power everything, RDS radio system six way heated power seat and everything works, what the heck do y'all do to your cars?

Mine will sit in the garage for a week or more but the engine fires on the first revolution.

[MrPots]

Originally Posted by merrylander

I just cannot figure these things out, our two Impala LSs are fully loaded, power everything, RDS radio system six way heated power seat and everything works, what the heck do y'all do to your cars?

Mine will sit in the garage for a week or more but the engine fires on the first revolution.

Nothing out of the ordinary. It has low mileage, maybe 50,000 miles on it, not bad for an 06'. It's also has a weird steering wheel creak since we got it. Took it in to the dealer, they had a service notice on it and fixed it. After it was fixed the front end felt like it was falling apart every time we went over a bump. After 5 visits they put it back the way it was and we just live with it. That black trim in the window, has discolored and browned. We had all the trim replaced and it's done it again. The driver door lock just quit working, and the dash lights and heater, sometimes they just don't work.

The engine is OK though. works fine.



Now the Mustang, I've not had any problems with it. Never had it in the shop.

[Ike Bana]

Originally Posted by merrylander

I just cannot figure these things out, our two Impala LSs are fully loaded, power everything, RDS radio system six way heated power seat and everything works, what the heck do y'all do to your cars?

Mine will sit in the garage for a week or more but the engine fires on the first revolution.

Well that's the point, isn't it? It's hit and miss. It's hit and miss with any car, but IMHO it's way more miss with the big three US manufacturers than with the Asians and the Europeans. And it's not the engines. So Ford makes the "best" engine...really? OK fine, who cares? Because the technology is so locked in that pretty much everybody makes engines that will last a long time without any attention but regular oil changes. (Although note that Honda has supplied the best racing engines to US open-wheel classes for years.)

But it's all the other stuff, like Mr.Pots is talking about. Auto door locks quit or one day the fucking thing just won't open up. Or the heater fan (like on a friend's Ford Escape) ends up being a one-speed (high) heater fan. And the car feels like it's still a relatively new member of the family and it's already out of goddamn warranty.

Everybody's got their anecdotal evidence about their wonderful F-150 or 1500 or Expedition or Denali. Congratulations. But in the long run, taking into account the reliability and frequency of repair of these things...find yourself one of the dozens of models that are recognized for reliability from one of the four big Japanese manufacturers (Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Subaru, Mazda)and you pretty much never have to worry about when the passenger side power window just quits.

But I have my anecdotal evidence as well. I have a '98 Honda CRV - 5 speed manual. It's a fucking sardine can. And last year I had to replace a failed front ABS sensor in one of the wheels. First non-wear and tear work I've ever had to do on it. (And it sat in the garage through two weeks of our single digit to -19 recent weather here in Chicago and it's 16 year old engine fired on the second revolution.)