Quote Originally Posted by HunterCO
Quote Originally Posted by JasonFRC
I was a huge import guy. I've owned: eight Volvos, an Eagle Talon, an Eclipse. Then I bought a Ford truck. That was good, so we bought a Lincoln SUV, then I bought a Corvette. I swore I would never own a domestic car or truck. Somewhere along the way I became a huge V-8 fan.

Our three domestic cars are the most reliable vehicles I've ever owned. I haven't had a big repair (other than maintainence) in over three years.

I still drive an older Volvo ('98) as my daily/beater. It has 208k and a few issues!

Our next vehicle will be German. The Wife's wanted a BMW 5 series for some time now.
Get in a wreck in that Navigator and the frame is toast if anything other than a VW bug going 5mph hits it you will need a frame. I have done several already. No repairs in 3 years? Why don't you tell everyone how many miles are on these vehicles? [wink]

Before I forget be sure to list all the repairs so we can each judge for our selves what is major or not major. [wink]

Last but no least what vehicles did you own before your domestics?


Quote Originally Posted by GearHead
A TRUE BELIEVER! Thanks for the comments, I needed a allied. My '02 F150 is still going strong w/80k and NO major work..(the sunroof motor fried) I expect 80K more before I upgrade to a new truck. The Big 3 have made huge changes to improve quality. But they started late.
I guess that is the difference you wish for 160K my Toyota will just be broke in. I will need to look for a new truck when it hits 300K. Your F150 is lucky if it makes it 15K on a set of brakes my Tacoma has 51K still factory brakes and last oil change they still had 40% left. I have never touched that truck other than fluid and filter changes.

My mothers Camry same thing over 100K and I have never had to put a wrench to it other than fluid and filter changes and brakes. Now my father, brother and sister christ one of them is in my shop every other day for something. Thank god at least my mother listened to me.

I guess we each have our own definition of reliability. [wink] :P
Okay. Wrong on the collision thing. My Wife was rear ended last week by a Nissan mini-truck. (guy had no license, no insurance, no English! but that's another rant..) She estimated him to be going 30-35 mph. The hitch reciever took the brunt of the impact. It scratched the rear bumper cover. I put it on the lift, and there is NO damage to the frame or undercarrige. The Nissan was DOA. I feel comfortable my Wife and Twin 3 year old daughters are in one of the biggest heaviest things on the road.

The '99 F350 powerstroke has 78k miles. I replaced my first set of front brakes at 55k. ($160) Rear brakes at 70k. ($160) Tires replaced at 36k. I've replaced the heat control knob ($6). The column mounted shifter ($60) The glow plug relay twice ($12 ea from NAPA) And the driver outside mirror twice (my mistake!) Front and Rear shocks upgraded to Bilsteins at 80k ($240). That's it. Fluids flushed at 30k and at 60k. I have a cone filter that gets cleaned every couple of oil changes.

The '99 Navigator has 89k miles. It had front brakes at 65k (when we bought it, $170) and rear brakes ($160) at 88k. I flushed fluids and replaced all filters at 65k when we bought it. It's about time again. No other repairs. Actually it needs a new set of 20" tires, that I'm not looking forward to replacing. The odometer flickers off once in a while, but I'm not worried about it.

The '99 Corvette has 41k miles. Fluids flushed, filters changed at 32k when we bought it. Tires at 36k, no other repairs needed thus far.

Imports I drove: mostly Volvo, as I own a Volvo shop, and they seem to just appear out of the blue. I have also owned a Civic, a Porsche 914, a '71 Baja Bug, a '92 Eclipse and a '93 Eagle Talon.

I stopped driving the "Import" performance cars, as I got tired of every kid stopping at a light next to me revving his car and trying to race. I still get that in the 'Vette every now and then...

Every car has its faults. I've been pretty lucky with the vehicles I own now. That being said, my friend's '01 F350 has been nothing but trouble. Replaced transmission, injectors, auto locking hubs...

My family has owned three Toyotas. My Mom's '94 Landcruiser was thought to be bulletproof for the last eight years, until it developed a bad misfire we attributed to a bad valve. It has 140k miles. My younger brother's '71 Landcruiser is a great truck, and has no issues other than a bit of smoke on startup. My Dad's old '87 4Runner was great, albeit very slow (4cyl, 22re) and never gave any problems until one of the timing chain guides broke and the chain rubbed through the front case, mixing coolant and oil. (120k miles).

You forgot to mention how difficult some Toyotas are to work on. Ever change a fuel filter in an early pickup? How about a early '90's Corolla with the fuel filter mounted low and next to the firewall? Just about impossible.

Some cars just last longer than others. To make speculations how long a car will last is just silly. Everyone takes care of their cars differently.

Some people will destroy a car no matter how well it's built. I have an uncle like that, he can go through a new Ford F series in about three years on his ranch. We call him acid-man!