The Drive-by Bitch

[duke jupiter]

Agreed!

x2

[me]

Rut ro........are we gonna have a snow storm in June? We're all agreeing on something. 

[Palehorse]

.  .  .  .Did someone say snow?  .  .  .  . 

[Palehorse]

Back on point:

So my wife and I decided a few weeks ago that we needed a new vehicle. I hate to say this but none of the big 3 auto makers models made our list of potential purchases. Why? WAY over-priced and most of them are only partially assembled in the US anyway. Not to mention GM's recall addiction and history. . .

While in Houston a few eels ago, we rented one of the potential candidates. As fate would have it, it was a brand new 2015 VW Passat. Now my wife was not wild about it at first glance, but surrounding value for the dollar I thought it was worth a test drive anyway. . . My reasoning followed the whole German engineering thing. . .

What a GIANT piece of crap! I absolutely hated that thing. Brakes were WAY too touchy, transmission was lethargic, and the layout of the controls and instrumentation left a lot to be desired. (It only had 500 miles on it).

That came off the list.

Despite our misgivings, the Chevrolet Traverse got a test drive too. We drove our daughters and while it was really nice, it's size was daunting to my wife. (This vehicle is for my wife to drive so her opinion carrys a lot of weight). Still, I priced them out with our "employee discount", and found the all wheel drive model was still over priced.

Off the list it came. (But at least I felt better about due diligence)

WTF is with American auto makers anymore? Pickup trucks now cost as much or more than a Camaro and a number of Cadillac models. WTF?? 

Anyway. . . We ended up buying a foreign model that is 35% American manufactured components and assembled in Mexico. . . While the name may be foreign the content supports economies in the Americas. . .  And we got a great deal and 0% on the balance after our down payment. . .

I sacrificed my steel horse to get the deal done. . .    But the things we do for love are priceless. 

[Bo D]

Back on point:

So my wife and I decided a few weeks ago that we needed a new vehicle. I hate to say this but none of the big 3 auto makers models made our list of potential purchases. Why? WAY over-priced and most of them are only partially assembled in the US anyway. Not to mention GM's recall addiction and history. . .

While in Houston a few eels ago, we rented one of the potential candidates. As fate would have it, it was a brand new 2015 VW Passat. Now my wife was not wild about it at first glance, but surrounding value for the dollar I thought it was worth a test drive anyway. . . My reasoning followed the whole German engineering thing. . .

What a GIANT piece of crap! I absolutely hated that thing. Brakes were WAY too touchy, transmission was lethargic, and the layout of the controls and instrumentation left a lot to be desired. (It only had 500 miles on it).

That came off the list.

Despite our misgivings, the Chevrolet Traverse got a test drive too. We drove our daughters and while it was really nice, it's size was daunting to my wife. (This vehicle is for my wife to drive so her opinion carrys a lot of weight). Still, I priced them out with our "employee discount", and found the all wheel drive model was still over priced.

Off the list it came. (But at least I felt better about due diligence)

WTF is with American auto makers anymore? Pickup trucks now cost as much or more than a Camaro and a number of Cadillac models. WTF?? 

Anyway. . . We ended up buying a foreign model that is 35% American manufactured components and assembled in Mexico. . . While the name may be foreign the content supports economies in the Americas. . .  And we got a great deal and 0% on the balance after our down payment. . .

I sacrificed my steel horse to get the deal done. . .    But the things we do for love are priceless. 

I have driven Toyota's since 1974 (except for a short time in the late 80's/early 90's when the kids were young and I drove a Dodge Caravan  ) for the very same reasons you outlined. I couldn't be happier. The fit and finish on every has been impeccable, they run forever, and the resale value is phenomenal. Plus my current and last trucks were made in the USA (Fremont. CA) with 60% American parts.

I have kept each one of my Toyota's on average 8 years each.

[Palehorse]

I have driven Toyota's since 1974 (except for a short time in the late 80's/early 90's when the kids were young and I drove a Dodge Caravan  ) for the very same reasons you outlined. I couldn't be happier. The fit and finish on every has been impeccable, they run forever, and the resale value is phenomenal. Plus my current and last trucks were made in the USA (Fremont. CA) with 60% American parts.

I have kept each one of my Toyota's on average 8 years each.

We ended up with a 2015 Nissan Rogue AWD SV. If it gets 80% of the mpg it is rated to, it will far surpass the 2004 Pontiac Grand Am GT Coupe it replaces as my wife's daily driver. (And now my summer time daily driver).

We've historically kept our vehicles about 6 years until the "economic downturn". My truck is now 12 years old and the Pontiac is 11 years old; both of which I am currently driving. . .

I wanted an all wheel drive vehicle for my wife to drive, simply because it gives me some peace of mind during the winter months. She doesn't have far to go each day, ( less than 5 miles each way), but in winter I still have this sense of dread expecting a call that she is stuck in the snow along the way. (Happened three times last winter).

Plus, we need a new vehicle for road trips. . . And Nissan stepped up to the plate, giving me just 1k less than what I paid for my steel horse 7 years ago new, (as the down payment it represented 50% of the price), and 0% on the balance. It was a no brainer.

She wanted a Murano but once she drove one she decided it was in the same category as the Traverse; too big. 

I cringed a bit surrounding the whole Made in USA thing, but in the end I did what I had to do to secure the best deal for my wife and I. The big 3 just weren't even in the same ball park. . . 

[Purplelady1040]

Palehorse, I never thought I would own a foreign made vehicle brand because my parents had always owned Chevy's and Fords but I have owned a Nissan, a Toyota and now a Mitsubishi. The Mitsubishi gets about 40 mpg and is a nice little cross over. I would have been happy with a Chevy but the Chevy and Ford dealers didn't want to work with us on what we wanted to pay!

[The Troll]

Palehorse, I never thought I would own a foreign made vehicle brand because my parents had always owned Chevy's and Fords but I have owned a Nissan, a Toyota and now a Mitsubishi. The Mitsubishi gets about 40 mpg and is a nice little cross over. I would have been happy with a Chevy but the Chevy and Ford dealers didn't want to work with us on what we wanted to pay!

  Thanks for being such a good American.  I suppose you do all your shopping a Walmart too.     If you knew me better, I could have got you on my family plan and you could have save around 14% on any car that Ford Motor Co. makes.     

[Purplelady1040]

  Thanks for being such a good American.  I suppose you do all your shopping a Walmart too.     If you knew me better, I could have got you on my family plan and you could have save around 14% on any car that Ford Motor Co. makes.     

Nope, hate to.disappoint you but we don't shop at Walmart. I highly doubt that you could have saved us 14% on any Ford because nowadays car makers aren't interested in who you are, who you know or who you were in buying a vehicle.

[The Troll]

  Would you like to put a little money where  your big mouth is, Sweetie Pie.  Let's say a $100 bill.     People who work at Ford or retired from Ford can have 4 people on their family plan.  Which will give them 12 to 14% off the price off of any any car or truck (except big rigs) built by Ford.

  I call into Ford and get a pin number, the person I chose presents it to the dealer and that will be the price.  No wheeling or dealing.  If you like the price, you buy it, no strings attached.    How you get rid of the old car is what you chose to do with it.     Want to bet Sweetie Pie.   

[Purplelady1040]

  Would you like to put a little money where  your big mouth is, Sweetie Pie.  Let's say a $100 bill.     People who work at Ford or retired from Ford can have 4 people on their family plan.  Which will give them 12 to 14% off the price off of any any car or truck (except big rigs) built by Ford.

  I call into Ford and get a pin number, the person I chose presents it to the dealer and that will be the price.  No wheeling or dealing.  If you like the price, you buy it, no strings attached.    How you get rid of the old car is what you chose to do with it.     Want to bet Sweetie Pie.   

Nope, because I don't bet ! Sorry but you aren't the only one with ties to the automobile industry and these days it doesn't matter that you use to work for Ford. After all, my husband's uncle worked for Henry Ford himself!   Ford isn't even the car dealership that it once was. Funny, I didn't see you offering Palehorse the same thing you are trying to peddle to me. I have owned Fords a couple of times and to be honest all they were were junk. I bought brand new and had nothing but problems, thank goodness I always had a warranty and took them back and went with something different.

[The Troll]

  Sweetie Pie, I have told pale horse about the plan.  But people like you don't care how much damage you do to the country buying foreign owned products.     You people just live in you own little world.     Get over yourself.   

[Purplelady1040]

  Sweetie Pie, I have told pale horse about the plan.  But people like you don't care how much damage you do to the country buying foreign owned products.     You people just live in you own little world.     Get over yourself.   

By the way, the plan only works with immediate family so doubtful that friends fly on that! You do realize, well,  probably not since you are stuck in your own stupidity that a lot of foreign made vehicles are now made in the States. When Ford or Chevy can last as long as most foreign made vehicles than I will go back to driving one! My very first car that parents got me was a Datsun made by Nissan and it last well over 200,000 miles and I only sold it because I wanted an Oldsmobile product which didn't las 6 months. The Datsun was used when I got it!
We buy American made as much as possible but sometimes necessity shows you buy something that will last. I don't purchase vehicles every other year like some people or even every 3 years but tend to keep one for 6-8 years. This Mitsubishi got us to South Carolina going and coming on one tank of gas. The last time we went, 3 years ago,our American made product didn't do that!

[Palehorse]

  Sweetie Pie, I have told pale horse about the plan.  But people like you don't care how much damage you do to the country buying foreign owned products.     You people just live in you own little world.     Get over yourself.   

For the record: Troll did indeed tell me about the plan with Ford and did indeed make the same offer, and my own father-in-law has made the same standing order to me; and it is one I have taken advantage of in the past with the purchase of several GM vehicles.

That being said, even with the employee discount I would get from GM, they could not touch the deal Nissan was extending to me nor the savings. GM wouldn't deal beyond what little they provide to employees these days surrounding a discount. And what they wanted to give me for the steel horse was a joke. (An American manufactured motorcycle too, which I owned outright).

Nissan did right by me, and even my father in law agreed with that.  (And he owns a Nissan too by the way).

I admit to not even considering a Ford though. I could not do that to my father-in-law, and would not. And I'm not trying to diss Ford either. As a matter of fact, if I were to buy a vehicle from the big American 3, I would give Ford a hard look first before deciding. Why? Because that company did the right things when it came to the "economic downturn" and did not take any money from the AIFP program; unlike GM and Chrysler.

Yes, they took a line of credit from the Government ($5.9 billion in government loans in 2009 to retool its manufacturing plants to produce more fuel-efficient cars),  however it was not part of the AIFP program. They also made the hard choices necessary during such hard fiscal times, and scaled back operations in order to remain profitable. And they are selling more vehicles now and were back then because of it.

[Locutus]

I had a Ford Expedition for 10 years and never had a stitch of trouble out of it until the 10th year.