Land Rover
 

I have made it my mission in life to tell everyone who will listen that Land Rovers are of poor quality, unreliable and over-rated (over-priced, as well). I have had mine for 5 weeks and had it towed to the dealership this morning because it wouldn't start. This is the third time it has been in!


There...I said it, I feel better.

I want my Benz back

I have a Toyota Land Cruiser that everyone calls a Land Rover - they are not the same!!!

I love my Land Cruiser!!!

Thanks for the warning. The lease on my SUV is up next spring and at this point I don't know what my next car will be...but I guess not a Land Rover!

I don't know if this is true or not but rumor has it that the first Range Rover Sport that came off the line ( about 2 yrs ago ) wouldn't start for the porter. I've also heard a lot of negative consumer reports about the Land Rover brands. BTW, Isn't Toyota looking to buy the brand from Ford?

I haven't heard that one, but that doesn't mean anything. Why would Toyota want to ruin their reputation for quality?

Hyundai....
 

Okay-if we are going to discuss quality of vehicles...Would anyone want to give me some insight on the Hyundai Elantra??? I'm buying one (I've already put the money down for it because I desperately need a car) and I just want someone to give me some honest answers....I have a Dodge Stratus and I've had nothing but problems with it...Sure, it's a 1995 but, hey-I just graduated and it's the cheapest thing I could find in a snap....I've had it less than 6 months and it too has been to the shop more times than I would like to admit...

I had a 94 Dakota when I was in HS, and I really think that in the mid 90's Dodge was going thru some sort of a funk. Nothing but problems with that truck and most of the people I knew at the time who drove Dodge's had similar issues. Since then I've pretty much haven't even considered buying another Chrysler.

Toyota has gotten some red marks of their own in quality in the past two years, and for as crappy as they are Land Rovers still sell. As of a few months ago Ford was looking to potentially sell the LR and Jaguar brands to the right bidder for the right price. Not sure why just those two because I haven't heard of them trying to sell Volvo, Aston Martin, or Mazda though.

Daughter Number One and first husband had a Land Rover and had continuous problems with it.

I wouldn't buy one on a bet.

I don't know about Elantras, but my fiance drove a Sonata, and I have a Tucson, and we both LOVE our Hyundais. I've driven Toyotas and Hondas, and while they were great, I'm definitely a Hyundai fan now. I have had just such good luck with them as a company - everything from zero problems with our cars to great people at the dealer when I go in for checks. I also SUPER love my 10yr/100K mile Bumper to Bumper warranty in case anything ever does happen.

I'm glad you posted this because I was seriously considering getting a Land Rover. Right now I'm driving a Mountaineer that I love a lot, but it's about ready for a trade in. I'm thinking of just getting another Mountaineer.

My neighbor recently got a new Ford Edge and she says it's the best car (truck? I'm not sure what they're considered) she's ever owned.

Must be a bottom-line situation to keep those three plus Lincoln and Mercury. It is intresting that the Ford website does not mention Aston Martin as one of its brands, but they are 100 percent shareholders of the company.

Oh and I love my Volvo.

According to Wiki:

The Aston Martin Vanquish and the DBS are two of the best designed cars ever.
http://static.flickr.com/80/242508869_cc5c2dc25b_m.jpg http://static.flickr.com/1235/115913...14e2576c_m.jpg

My dad has a Jeep Commander and they love it, they got the full package with it and they've had Jeep's before and had good luck with them too.
My mom has an Audi A6 and LOVES IT, she's had audi's for a long time and I got my '87 quattro when I was 17, and only got rid of it when the catalytic (sp?) converter went and it was too much to fix it... I LOVED that car. Now I have a honda civic and it's great too

I wasn't in the market for a landrover, but thanks for the advice:p ;)

I had a '93 Chrysler Cirrus (Cirrus:Stratus::6:half-dozen) and it had lots of problems. As did my Plymouth Sundance before that and my friend's Dodge Caravan that she permantly borrowed from her parents. They were all mid-90's and had the same problems.

I have owned several Chrysler products and have not had good luck with them.

my sister just traded hers in, because it wouldn't start. it has been three weeks since she purchased it... how wierd.

I've had 4 Mountaineers in the past and I loved them! I went to a Jeep Liberty because of gas prices and monthly payments and it doesn't compare to the Mountaineer.

The Edge is my next car. It's such a "mom car" but something about it attracts me.

My first car was a 1990 Dodge and I had to have the tranny replaced more times then I am comfortable admitting....

First car: 85 Honda CRX -- best car I ever owned. Drove it for 13 years and sold it to a friend who drove it for a year then passed it to his nephew who drove it for 5 years. I never had any problems with this car period.

92??? Nissan Sentra SE-- only had it for one year. Didn't like the way it drove, but didn't have any problems within that year

85 Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 -- This was my race car (see Screen Name). AC condenser went out twice. The other issues were to to mechanical problems on the track. I don't count those since I was driving it pretty hard. This car was the most expensive thing to fix since very few were made. Every part had to come from Germany

96 BMW 318 -- Everything was fine until the engine blew when it was 6 weeks out of warranty.

04 Mercedes ML 350 -- had it 4 years, never had any problems. Loved this car except for the gas milage. Turned it in when lease expired. I would have bought out the lease but the residual was too high.

08 Land Rover LR2 -- I should have bought out my Benz lease.

Arg, I agree!!! I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee and have had nothing but problems. It's ridiculous stuff too. All four automatic windows have had the regulator replaced in the past 2 years. It's pretty fun when you're driving down the freeway and your window starts going down on it's own. The classic was when I was driving back from getting one of the windows fixed and by the time I got home another had broken. Also, the engine fan assembly has conked out FOUR times. (To me, this says something about the quality of Daimler/Chrysler parts in addition to the vehicles.) Also, the water pump has gone out, the oil valve cover and oil pan gasket, the transmission had some sensor that broke, etc, etc, etc. Owning this car has made me never want to buy an American car again.

Ejection seat, front machine guns and James Bond sold separately! :D

Classic British motorcar joke:

Why do the British drink their beer warm?

'Cause they keep 'em in Lucas refrigerators! :p

I've actually had really good luck with my '96 Grand Cherokee. All the fixing we've had to do to it was minor (headlight replacement, fuse replacement, etc). I've only had 2 major malfunctions with it- once when the crank shaft sensor died and it just stopped on the road, and the second was when the fan motor died. As much as fiancee likes to complain about it and the little fixes, it's his truck that sits at home broke while he drives my Jeep to work every day :rolleyes:.

I've heard that the older Jeeps are better in that sense. All the newer ones have tons of problems. The issues apparently started on the Jeep models after the Daimler Chrylser merger in 1998....all the post 1998 models are crappy. You're lucky to have bought your car when it was just Chrysler.

My 2 cents
 

My best friend had a Land Rover Discovery in the mid 1990s. It was the coolest -- always people hovering around wanting to see what it was. Once the warranty expired, it was nothing but trouble and everything was very costly to repair.

My "second" car now is a fabulous 1989 Jeep Grand Wagoneer -- yeah, the kind with the wood paneling! I love it. It has 249,000 miles on it (2nd engine) and I'm the 3rd owner.

I don't really understand why anyone gives American cars a chance these days. Except for trucks maybe. I'm surprised so many of you drive one - my boyfriend (who's originally from Michigan) is the only person I know well that drives an American car, and even HE says he'll never buy another one after his Ford POS he currently drives.

After owning a Honda now for almost 10 years that has only had one trip to the dealership for a major repair, I'm sold on Honda. I would never buy a car that DIDN'T have a reputation for dependability, safety and sound design, which I'm sorry to say almost all American cars now lack.

Oh, and that one major repair? It was the catalytic converter, which Honda covered under a special warranty on its exhaust system. Other than that, the only thing my car's been in for is oil changes, etc. By contrast, my boyfriend's Ford, which he bought about six months after I bought my car, is falling apart inside and out - the dash is coming loose, the driver's seat back reclines on its own, the seat belts don't retract and now the rear defrost is broken. You would never know the two cars are the same age.

After my experience with my Grand Cherokee I completely agree with you. I bought American initially to support the US car companies, etc., but I won't buy another American car EVER. My car has become a money pit whereas my sister, who has a Honda Pilot, has had no problems with her car that's the same age.

I DRIVE A DODGE STRATUS!

I'm sorry. I had to. See here.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...37390781124986

My very first car was a Honda; last one made 100% in Japan.
I had three major recalls as well as a premature upper gasket failure.

After that, I have owned a Merkur XR4-TI (which a non-dealer mechanic messed up royally), a Grand Prix and now a 2001 Sable.

None of them had the same problems I had with my Honda.

Long story short, American cars have finally caught up with the imports.

Now they have to fight against brand loyalties, "old" POV's, and even Consumer Reports. CR has a problem with their writing Editors.

What they write is not alway supported by their annual Auto mag stats.

My next car will be a 2009 Lincoln or Mercury product.

And if anyone is look or thinking about a car; here is my list of car sites
Fightingchance is a very good site to use to save money. Saved my girlfriend over 4 grand on her Honda.
PRICING SITES:

www.nadaguides.com

http://www.edmund.com/

http://WWW.KBB.COM

http://WWW.INTELLICHOICE.COM

http://www.leasesource.com

http://www.leaseguide.com/index.htm

www.fightingchance.com *********

www.finacenter.com/newautos.htm

INFORMATION AND WEB LINK SITES:

www.carbuyingtips.com

http://WWW.CARTALK.COM

http://www.CARPOINT.MSN.COM

http://www.popularmechanics.com

http:// www.consumerreports.org

http://WWW.AUTOSITE.COM

http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp

http://www.carsmart.com

http://www.nctd.com

http://www.autodirectory.com/

http://www.theautochannel.com/

http://www.crashtest.com
http://wsf.carfax.com/
www.cars.com

But how long ago was that? When Hondas first were marketed in this country, they were like Hyundai in its earlier days - cheap, not well made or dependable. But then they caught on and got better, just like Hyundai is doing. Since you say it was your first car and you're several years older than me, I'm guessing your Honda was from maybe the 80s, when they weren't quite as dependable (though I still see a lot of 80s Honda Accords around). Sorry if I'm totally off, though.

At the time Hondas were NOT like early Hyundais.

My Honda from the 80s was the most dependable car, period. My mother bought an accord at the same time and drove it for ever. She buys nothing but Hondas now.

I buy American . . .
 

Gotta say - my last 3 cars have been Dodge/Chrysler, and I've driven the hell out of them. 1993 Dodge Caravan - traded in with 185,000 miles; 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan - this one had an initial "bug" (miscast piston) but after that was fixed (with no problem) drove to 135,000, traded it in on my 2005 Chrysler Town and Country - currently at around 40,000, and the only problem I've had is when Billy Joe Bubba Redneck decided to crash into me (as I was at a standstill in Nashville traffic) going about 50 mph. I don't think you can blame Chrysler for that - although his insurance company probably tried to :rolleyes:!
I am religious about oil changes and keeping on top of little problems before they become big ones.
My family has always been a Dodge family - I learned to drive in a 1978 Dodge pickup, and my first car was a 1976 Royal Monaco which lasted until I hit a log in the road going about 70 and cracked the frame! But I do know that Dodge went through a rough patch there for a while.

Our POV's/HO's are based in part on our experiences.
Having three major recalls, a water pump failure, a head gasket failure sort of leaves a port taste in my mouth;)
Those are the problems that I recall.
And, at the time, being told that I could take or leave the price I was given still bothers me.

And do not get me started on my mom's 800S.

All cars has wear and tear issues.
All cars should be maintained.

Every car type, model, brand, year et al is going to have great cars as well as lemons.

Thus there are those out there who love their car, as well as those who hate it.

The US manufactures have lost at least a generation of car buyers for many reason. Some of their own doing and/or making.

They have a hill to climb to get them back.

Buying "American"
 

This always interests me. How do you define "American"? Is it where the car is assembled? Or where the parts come from? Or is it where the company is based, as in it's an American corporation?

If I recall, my bf said most of the cheap components that went into his Ford were made in whatever foreign country brought the lowest bid, not America. Since he used to be an engineer at Ford, I'll take him at his word.

Along those lines, my Honda is just as much Canadian as it is Japanese. The parts are from Japan, but it was mostly assembled in Canada.

Toyota employs a LOT of people in this country. I believe the company now has several assembly plants here. In fact, the Toyota Tundra truck is apparently assembled at a new plant in Texas! While the plants in Detroit lay off Americans that have worked there for decades (and I think the automakers only have themselves to blame for it), Toyota is hiring Americans. If you're wanting to support companies that support American workers and employ people here, I'm not sure that Ford/Chrysler/GM is the way to go anymore - they're trending in the opposite direction nowadays, due to their poor design and business decisions. I feel they've let American down.

The only things about these companies that seem to differ are their philosophies and vision. But they differ in a BIG way.

I think everyone realizes that "American" and "Foreign" are rather dated terms, given the globalization of everything. Heck, Chrysler was really a German company there for a while (who has them now? Can't tell the players without a program!). I grew up with Dodge, so am comfortable with them, and have had good luck. The dealership here is awesome -they've taken really good care of me and my cars. That said, I had a Honda that drove forever, too. But for what I need - a minivan - and based on my experiences, I'm most comfortable with my Chrysler Town & Country.
Going back to the OP - Consumer Reports usually has good data on cars.