# What cars not to buy



## saucy05 (Aug 23, 2015)

Anythhing that is not Japanese. 

Bought a used Ford fusion at an auction. Complete shit. Transmission is going out but I'm not spending another dime on it. Gonna trade it in and invest in a Prius. 

Why can't Americans make a decent car?


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## GhostOfTedgey (Oct 3, 2017)

Some cars just aren't very saucy.


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## Uberyouber (Jan 16, 2017)

especially ones bought at an auction...


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## UberDez (Mar 28, 2017)

What year and engine? 
First gen fusions have a lot of issues 
Also I'd never buy a Ford economy 4cyl type car with an automatic transmission. They have majorly high failure rates 

The ecoboost engines are much better and reliable


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## ReyesMX6 (Dec 31, 2016)

Uberyouber said:


> especially ones bought at an auction...


A lot of cars go through auctions theses days, doesn't seem to matter. Go to a dealership (even one that is well known, not just on the side of the road) and pull the Carfax or Autocheck on a vehicle and you'll find a lot of their used cars went to an auction at some point. A vehicle could have been purchased by a dealership at an auction, inspected then sold as CPO. Auctions are how millions of cars are moved now days and not necessarily an indicator of a poor quality car.



saucy05 said:


> Anythhing that is not Japanese.
> 
> Bought a used Ford fusion at an auction. Complete shit. Transmission is going out but I'm not spending another dime on it. Gonna trade it in and invest in a Prius.
> 
> Why can't Americans make a decent car?


Carcomplaints.com

When you want to look into the reliability of a car check this site out. It's reports made by actual consumers, so you really need to read through the complaints, but also contains the issues reported by the NHTSB.


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## backcountryrez (Aug 24, 2017)

saucy05 said:


> Anythhing that is not Japanese.
> 
> Why can't Americans make a decent car?


What are these issues people speak of? I have had and currently own American, Japanese, and German vehicles.

The only one that has been costing more in terms of repair and maintenance has been the Japanese car.


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## UberDez (Mar 28, 2017)

backcountryrez said:


> What are these issues people speak of? I have had and currently own American, Japanese, and German vehicles.
> 
> The only one that has been costing more in terms of repair and maintenance has been the Japanese car.


Every car company has Issues the OP never even specified what year and trim he had so it doesn't say much . The early fusions had a lot of issues that's why you can get a 2009 Fusion fully loaded for around $2500

My most unreliable cars in order were a 2000 Range Rover HSE, 2005 Outback XT, 2007 Outback XT, 2005 Legacy GT , 1996 Lincoln Continental and a 1996 Honda Civic EX .

My most reliable cars have been a 2005 Honda Element EX, 2002 Saab 9-5 Aero, 2014 Ford Explorer , 2007 Subaru WRX STI ,2007 BMW 335Xi and a 2008 Audi A4 Avant 2.0T

See there are Japanese, European and American cars in both lists


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## Chris1973 (Oct 9, 2017)

UberDezNutz said:


> Every car company has Issues the OP never even specified what year and trim he had so it doesn't say much . The early fusions had a lot of issues that's why you can get a 2009 Fusion fully loaded for around $2500
> 
> My most unreliable cars in order were a 2000 Range Rover HSE, 2005 Outback XT, 2007 Outback XT, 2005 Legacy GT , 1996 Lincoln Continental and a 1996 Honda Civic EX .
> 
> ...


Well I hate to paint with such a broad brush, but stay from everything European would be my advice. In general, the parts cost more and mechanics will rake you over the coals because they are harder to work on and just because.

My personal favorite list starts with a 1988 Honda accord (with a carburator) purchased in about 2003 with almost 200k miles. I sold it with over 300k miles on it for what was paid originally. Replaced a clutch for about $250 and the fuel pump which I did myself in under 10 minutes. Next was actually a ford probe LOL. Didn't have to do squat to it for over 100k miles, and it just looked cool I'm sorry. Going even further back I would love to have my 1981 Nissan 280-zx back and am thinking of purchasing one as a project car. Fuel injection in 1981 baby! Can't complain about a 2006 Chevy aveo other than it was too small, and should have got better gas mileage. Now I primarily drive a hummer h3 (the small hummer, 5 cyl motor). Fun ride so far so good mechanically.

The bad have been very few, thank God. I bought the first Hyundai model ever on US soil, an 85 excel. It was so weak one time I had to actually roll backwards back down a hill to get a faster start, having 4 passengers in the car.

Somehow I ended up with a couple of odd diesel cars which always had little issues, this is waaay back in the day. How about an 84 ford tempo diesel, and an Isuzu Imark diesel? Great gas mileage, but weaker than kitten piss, and the smell!


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## UberDez (Mar 28, 2017)

Haha wow all the way back to 80s cars

All. Of my 80s and early 90s cars were unreliable piles of crap with tons of character


From my expierence European cars tend to rarely have major catastrophic type failures such as engine and transmissions going out early. Most Japanese brands have a lot gf models with common transmission and engine failures especially Subaru and Honda. Both are prone to spun rod bearing and transmissions that dont last long

European cars will give you really annoying cooling system failures and electrical gremlins such as window regulators and lock modules however they'll rarely leave ya stranded

You are right about European car mechanics crazy expensive and parts are slightly more. It helps to be able to do the majority of your own repair and maintenance


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## Chris1973 (Oct 9, 2017)

I'm really still on the fence regarding Korean vehicles, IE Hyundai and Kia. The reliability reports from Edmunds, KBB, and the like are decent across the board, but the resale value is really bad. Also, just basic observation, the paint seems to fade faster, and the trim just kinda falls apart. Maybe half of that is cheap people with bad credit being their target market? I wouldn't mind owning a cheap 2012-2013 KIA Soul with under 75k miles for around 5-6k, but how much is it going to be worth in 2-3 years with 150k miles on it. Maybe 2k?


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## UberDez (Mar 28, 2017)

Chris1973 said:


> I'm really still on the fence regarding Korean vehicles, IE Hyundai and Kia. The reliability reports from Edmunds, KBB, and the like are decent across the board, but the resale value is really bad. Also, just basic observation, the paint seems to fade faster, and the trim just kinda falls apart. Maybe half of that is cheap people with bad credit being their target market? I wouldn't mind owning a cheap 2012-2013 KIA Soul with under 75k miles for around 5-6k, but how much is it going to be worth in 2-3 years with 150k miles on it. Maybe 2k?


Just look at 2010 souls and see what they're worth. My wife loves the Kia soul ever since she had one as a rental.


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## backcountryrez (Aug 24, 2017)

Korean cars have made some huge strides, I’ll give them credit for that. Once they become innovators where car tech is, then I’ll strongly consider.


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## PickEmUp (Jul 19, 2017)

Chris1973 said:


> I'm really still on the fence regarding Korean vehicles, IE Hyundai and Kia. The reliability reports from Edmunds, KBB, and the like are decent across the board, but the resale value is really bad. Also, just basic observation, the paint seems to fade faster, and the trim just kinda falls apart. Maybe half of that is cheap people with bad credit being their target market? I wouldn't mind owning a cheap 2012-2013 KIA Soul with under 75k miles for around 5-6k, but how much is it going to be worth in 2-3 years with 150k miles on it. Maybe 2k?


Hyundai and Kia should not be lumped together. I have owned a 2005 Kia Sedona, 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe and 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe. I currently own a 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe and a 2014 Hyundai Accent (uber vehicle). All of them were purchased brand new.

Kia is the cheap, plastic, wanna be little brother to Hyundai. The Kia required some major serving, like water pump and air conditioning. Two of the Hyundai's had minor issues like radio display and cracked tape around a window. I will keep buying Hyundai's but would not touch another Kia with a ten foot pole.


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## Chris1973 (Oct 9, 2017)

PickEmUp said:


> Hyundai and Kia should not be lumped together. I have owned a 2005 Kia Sedona, 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe and 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe. I currently own a 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe and a 2014 Hyundai Accent (uber vehicle). All of them were purchased brand new.
> 
> Kia is the cheap, plastic, wanna be little brother to Hyundai. The Kia required some major serving, like water pump and air conditioning. Two of the Hyundai's had minor issues like radio display and cracked tape around a window. I will keep buying Hyundai's but would not touch another Kia with a ten foot pole.


The wiki on Kia is pretty interesting. They are older than Hyundai, and made such turds as the early Ford Aspire and Fiesta for Ford, not to mention some Mazda's. Hyundai and Kia own a good portion of each others stock and are more like one company at the executive level.

You are correct though, 2 different companies when it comes to their manufacturing plants, they don't build the same vehicle and then just rebrand it far as I read, which was an assumption until I studied up for a few minutes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kia_Motors


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## PickEmUp (Jul 19, 2017)

Chris1973 said:


> The wiki on Kia is pretty interesting. They are older than Hyundai, and made such turds as the early Ford Aspire and Fiesta for Ford, not to mention some Mazda's. Hyundai and Kia own a good portion of each others stock and are more like one company at the executive level.
> 
> You are correct though, 2 different companies when it comes to their manufacturing plants, they don't build the same vehicle and then just rebrand it far as I read, which was an assumption until I studied up for a few minutes.
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kia_Motors


Hyundai and Kia are NOT the same vehicle with a different brand name. Fit, finish and overall quality are much higher with Hyundai. I think Hyundai gets the best design and Kia gets the second best. Kinda like Cadillac and Chevrolet.


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## UberDez (Mar 28, 2017)

Whoa we got a Hyundai fanboy


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## saucy05 (Aug 23, 2015)

backcountryrez said:


> What are these issues people speak of? I have had and currently own American, Japanese, and German vehicles.
> 
> The only one that has been costing more in terms of repair and maintenance has been the Japanese car.


The transmission is slipping and it's gonna give out anytime soon. *knock on wood* I'm gonna be looking at repair that costs more than the car. I've had a Prius, an Audi and fusion. Two of them turned out to be lemons.

American cars in general have a bad reputation and for a good reason. They just seem to have horrible realibilty compared to Japanese and European cars. Europe cars seem durable but if they break so will your wallet.

As uber drivers we have no business driving anything else other than a Prius. They are reliable as a tank and get great mpg.


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## backcountryrez (Aug 24, 2017)

saucy05 said:


> As uber drivers we have no business driving anything else other than a Prius. They reliable as a tank and get great mpg.


Might as well establish a rideshare platform where all the vehicles used are Priuses. Call it something gimmicky like "eco-green rides".


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## Showa50 (Nov 30, 2014)

Lol, you bought a car at an auction. What did you expect? Mint condition, well taken care of?


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## saucy05 (Aug 23, 2015)

Showa50 said:


> Lol, you bought a car at an auction. What did you expect? Mint condition, well taken care of?


I expected to drive it more than 4K miles. I paid extra for a return guarantee and had the car inspected by ford dealership ship who informed me the transmission was good.

From my experience public auctions should only be for people who expect to have major work done on the car. Dealership auctions is where one might find good deals but even they are riddled with lemon cars.


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## mikes424 (May 22, 2016)

One caution when buying a used car.
With the recent hurricanes, be very careful. Check the carfax or equivalent carefully. Pass on the car if something looks funny. There are ways to scrub a title to make it look clean


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## SkidRow (Nov 26, 2016)

Any Nissan with a CVT.
That whine you hear is a ticking timebomb.


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## Snowblind (Apr 14, 2017)

> Why can't Americans make a decent car


They sure know how to put one together.
My Mercedes ML 350 BlueTec was built right here in the US. (Tuscaloosa, Alabama)
Never had the slightest problem. (except some that were covered under warranty).

It's all about maintenance, I think. Even the lamest turd can do 100K miles if you take care of it.


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## Chris1973 (Oct 9, 2017)

I can buy an 8-10 year old Prius all day for under 6 grand, but most of them have 130k plus miles. How good are the batteries? Is there a way to drive it gas only if the battery fails? What kind of total miles can I expect from an older Prius before the main battery goes bad, at least 200k or more or I am dreaming?


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## Dammit Mazzacane (Dec 31, 2015)

saucy05 said:


> Anythhing that is not Japanese.
> 
> Bought a used Ford fusion at an auction. Complete shit. Transmission is going out but I'm not spending another dime on it. Gonna trade it in and invest in a Prius.
> 
> Why can't Americans make a decent car?


1) You bought straight from an auction.

2) You then use your auction car as an example that all American cars suck.

... c'mon man.

Auction cars are generally the crap that dealerships dump off their lots, AND/OR the donated "Cars for Kids"-type crapshoots. Your next auction should be a government surplus auction, where at least it was a government-maintained car.


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## saucy05 (Aug 23, 2015)

Dammit Mazzacane said:


> 1) You bought straight from an auction.
> 
> 2) You then use your auction car as an example that all American cars suck.
> 
> ...


I always hear people saying how shitty American cars are so I just wanted to test the waters. Sure an auction car is probably not the best example but all you have to do is go to online review sites and see how many people complain about their reliability.

I find it weird that the most powerful nation in the world can't figure out how to make reliable cars.


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## backcountryrez (Aug 24, 2017)

Dammit Mazzacane



Dammit Mazzacane said:


> 1)
> 
> Auction cars are generally the crap that dealerships dump off their lots, AND/OR the donated *"Cars for Kids"*-type crapshoots.


Thanks, you got their radio jingle stuck in my head.


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## Over/Uber (Jan 2, 2017)

PickEmUp said:


> Hyundai and Kia are NOT the same vehicle with a different brand name. Kinda like Cadillac and Chevrolet.


So who's Cadillac and who is Chevy?


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## PickEmUp (Jul 19, 2017)

Over/Uber said:


> So who's Cadillac and who is Chevy?


Escalade vs Suburban. You decide.


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## Over/Uber (Jan 2, 2017)

PickEmUp said:


> Escalade vs Suburban. You decide.


Oh, kinda like Audi v. VW? Lincoln v. Ford? Golden State v. Cleveland?


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## SkidRow (Nov 26, 2016)

backcountryrez said:


> Thanks, you got their radio jingle stuck in my head.


That and "Jimmy from Zeepah" are the main two reasons I dropped XM radio.


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## Wrb06wrx (Sep 20, 2017)

Chris1973 said:


> I wouldn't mind owning a cheap 2012-2013 KIA Soul with under 75k miles for around 5-6k, but how much is it going to be worth in 2-3 years with 150k miles on it. Maybe 2k?


So you're considering buying a car for rideshare on the cheap.... correct mindset

Worried about what a 5k dollar car will be worth after you double the mileage and it pays for itself and then some... absolute sillyness

If you arent going to buy a hybrid for this rideshare thing thats what you do buy disposable cars and run them into the ground...

As i stated before the car will pay for itself and then some if youre doing it right when you sell it you take what you can get for it as you should be putting money aside for your next vehicle every week anyway. This isnt my first foray in the transportation industry unless there is some sanctioning body that you must conform to buy the cheapest car you can that gets the best fuel economy run it til you absolutely cant and the rinse and repeat


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