7th Aug 2012, 17:09
My family has owned both domestic and imported cars. Not one import was half as reliable as the very worst of the domestics. We'll never waste our money on anything not bearing the Ford blue oval or GM insignia again.
8th Aug 2012, 09:52
A lot of us too are extremely proud to own our American-Made Toyotas, especially since some are actually more American than some of the domestics. Also - if one person has somehow had better luck with domestic brands, then that is clearly not representative of the larger population, because all of the Toyotas and Hondas we owned were nearly flawless.
8th Aug 2012, 21:44
My family has owned both imports & domestic vehicles as well - both the domestics and imports were equally reliable.
I currently own 2 domestics that I like very much, and are reasonably reliable vehicles - (no major issues), but in our case our imports were also very reliable (with the exception of a Lexus RX, which despite regular oil changes every 3,000 miles, synthetic, the engine needed to be replaced twice in 2 years due to sludge). However given the number of imports & domestics we have owned - one bad import wouldn't scare us away, as I've also owned imports and reached very high miles with nothing but routine maintenance.
By the way, in my opinion the claim that imports sag on their suspension and cannot be aligned, is not true.
That being said, again I'm extremely happy with my domestics.
9th Aug 2012, 09:14
Toyotas are not American, they are vehicles that are designed by an import branded company and are assembled in the same way, no matter where they are built.
9th Aug 2012, 17:36
Toyota just recalled nearly a million more cars because the rear suspensions could collapse.
10th Aug 2012, 17:44
Good point. Toyota is still considered an import, no matter where they are built.
11th Aug 2012, 16:19
Japanese import suspensions do sag due to the weight of the car. I've personally seen two cases of this; one on my own import.
11th Aug 2012, 16:53
Hey everyone, 1991 Honda Civic owner here. I will never buy japanese crap again. I've had my Civic for about 2 months, and it's already been in the alignment shop TWICE. Not only that, but the rear body panels match poorly and are starting to breed rust. Oh, and guess what, the tranny needs a rebuild!
Domestic = good.
Import = CRAP.
12th Aug 2012, 09:12
Please give the correct information about the recall - it has to do with if parts are not torqued to the proper specs during an alignment and become loose, rust may develop & the part might fail, and it's actually around 800,000 cars. Look it up for more details.
My Jeep recently had a recall of the lower control arms in the rear suspension because they say that they can rust and break - No big deal, I just took it to the dealer and had them replaced under recall.
It can happen to ANY manufacturer, import or domestic.
12th Aug 2012, 10:08
Wow, a 21 year old car that has rust and needs mechanical repairs. That is truly an outrage.
By way of a little perspective, within the last year, my dad, who also likes to think he can get something for nothing, bought a '93 Ford Tempo with about 100,000 miles for $250 and proceeded to spend about another $1,800 on it replacing struts, new radiator, fixing a starting/stalling problem, replacing wheel bearings, and other myriad issues, then sold it to a friend for 2/3rds of what he had in it to unload it after driving it only 6 months. When the engine seized a month later, he gave the guy half his money back, and his friend still wouldn't speak to him for months.
To replace that beater, what would make more sense than buying another beater? So next he bought a 1989 Chrysler LeBaron with around 100,000 miles for $2,500. Like the Tempo, it was also the "best car ever" and "well worth" spending another $2,500 to replace the window motor, struts, fix starting problems, and other things to "really make it nice." Thank goodness, he was lucky enough that it caught on fire and burned up by the side of the road before he could spend any more on that POS, because the transmission was clunking, too.
Now it should be recognized that the local garage certainly talked him into getting a number of unnecessary repairs done on both vehicles, preying on his desire to think he could have a really nice car without buying a new (or within a few years old) car, but the lesson there is: You buy a 20-year-old car, you are going to have to fix some things; you buy a beater for a few hundred dollars, that's fine, run it like a beater and get your money's worth out of it, but don't expect that a $500 beater is "just like" a brand new car.
Keep in mind my tale of two similar-aged domestics before you apply the blanket statement of "domestic = good" across the board, and don't listen to these guys who say they drove an old Ford 300,000 miles with only $15 in maintenance, because it is a fantasy. For any car!
13th Aug 2012, 11:18
Do you think the fact that your Honda is 21 years old just might have something to do with the mechanical problems and issues with rust?
14th Aug 2012, 13:09
Our 57-year-old GM car does not have a single spot of rust on it. The interior is also totally original.
20th May 2013, 01:09
I cannot agree more with the last comment posted. In the late 70's and into the 80's, the only numbers displayed in ads were the fuel ratings; I think they were better back then. There was a program called CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) that limited the amount of gas-guzzlers sold.
This seemed to disappear miraculously in the early 90's, if not earlier, and now it looks like a joke. I don't think a bail-out has taught them anything it seems, and change should be expedited to save us from ridiculous fuel prices.
23rd Nov 2013, 06:44
The owner is frustrated but he got a car with an issue, probably involved in a rear ending accident that affected the rear suspension geometry.
Rear cupping tires, alignment and shock replacement, all related to the same issue, perhaps the car chassis is deformed to the rear?
As a side note, Honda dealers are known to very quickly suggest repairs that are not cheap. I wonder myself, if you let them replace say rear shocks and this still doesn't fix the issue, why aren't you going back and ask for a refund? It's their responsibility to suggest the right fix; if that doesn't work, they've made a mistake and you don't have to pay for it. Many times dealers suggest a 'let's try fix'. Please ask a refund if it doesn't work.
30th Jul 2015, 01:41
I disagree with this review. A 100000 mile Civic is a car that will need many repairs to the suspension and several other components. Perhaps the original poster heard somewhere that Hondas run forever and purchased a well worn vehicle thinking there will be no repairs.
As for the constant alignment checks, more than surely that car was involved in an accident and poorly repaired; perhaps even the frame was bent to the point a geometry was impossible to achieve.
And they gave you $4000 for a 100000 mile Civic with plenty of issues? Perhaps you are not aware you had an amazing deal coming from a dealer.
30th Jul 2015, 11:10
We didn't touch the Honda suspension at all, but did oil and filter changes every 3000 miles. Did a timing belt and water pump just before 100k. Bought a battery. Upgraded the stereo. The EX has more expensive replacement tires than the others. We replaced a driver's door lock. We sold our 2003 for 5k. Red 2 door with rear spoiler with 121k miles. Pretty car and sold really quick. Don't feel it cost much to own it overall.
31st Jul 2015, 09:06
Maybe our roads are better here. Our EX was fine. I watch for potholes. The EX has big tires. So driving hard on bad roads and hitting potholes could damage the suspension.
If you wash and clean your car often, rust is less likely. Especially if you wash the undercarriage and keep good wax on the body. We have had 4 Hondas and all looked new. All manual trans.
The Civic EX is a great car. They can be uncomfortable on a long trip. But overall a fun, nimble little car.
7th Aug 2012, 16:52
Sounds like your mechanic charges around $200 dollars labor per hour.