Your hatred for me is mis-directed.

I have been in the business of repairing cars/trucks since 1976. I have worked and been trained by numerous manufacturers, European/American/Japanese. I have an associates degree in electronics and 2 masters from 2 different manufacturers as well. I know cars/trucks inside and out. The vehicles that we considered the best of the best are complete garbage. We pay top dollar to buy those Honda's/Toyota's because they are dependable. Not anymore. The manufacturers of virtually every car are using Chinese/Korean/Mexican vendors. That is the only way they can compete. The beloved Toyota Camry is literally junk. Honda? Junk. Water pumps/starters/transmissions/ etc are dropping like flies. When i see 2010 Camry's barely out of warranty needing water pumps and check internet forums and see that it is very common it is very telling. If you want a reliable car, you must go back to pre 2004 on most. Further back on European cars. American cars? The best ones are re-badged Japanese cars.

You hate me because i bear bad news and dig deep into your wallet. It is however not my fault. I am honest and hard working. I am not saying that all technicians are. I am an anomally in that respect. I did not design that 2009 Toyota Camry that needs a water pump every 50k miles and requires 10 hours labor to replace. I did not sell you that 2008 Honda that needs a transmission already.

So, direct your attention to the real problem and research that new car. It may well be junk. Don't pay more just because it is a Toyota/Honda/Mercedes/BMW. On a positive note. Don't bother going to college if you want a career that will get nothing but increasingly more busy. Auto repair is a wide open field with never ending need.

This is why I drive older cars. Besides no car payments!

I have had several mechanics tell me that my Buick LeSabre will completely fall apart from rust, before it will quit running, as long as I keep up the maintenance on it. Which I do.
And it was free!!!!

reply to post by chiefsmom


My daughter had an 08 Honda Civic with 60k miles on it. It was falling apart. I was given a 1996 Honda civic with 300k miles on it. I totally rebuilt the 96 model and gave it to her. It gets 40 mpg and is almost bullet proof. One of the best cars ever built. Both of my daughters drive old Honda's. The old cars are of the highest quality. New cars are simply junk.

reply to post by jimmiec


Used to have an '89 Cutlass Ciera. Best Car I ever owned. That thing was indestructible. Made a HUGE mistake when I traded it for a 2004 dodge neon. What was I thinking. I regret it to this day.

This is the exact same car....I loved that car...

reply to post by jimmiec


I have no doubt that you are an honest, hardworking person. Unfortunately the ones that give your profession a bad name are the chain stores such as Canadian Tire, Midas, etc. You know the ones I'm talking about. You bring your vehicle in for a simple oil filter change and than, BAM, $1200.00 later. They hit you with everything, brakes, shocks, and all sorts of various lube changes, lol. But I tip my hat to you sir for keeping your profession honest

Originally posted by jimmiec
I have been in the business of repairing cars/trucks since 1976. I have worked and been trained by numerous manufacturers, European/American/Japanese. I have an associates degree in electronics and 2 masters from 2 different manufacturers as well. I know cars/trucks inside and out....
...You hate me because i bear bad news and dig deep into your wallet. It is however not my fault. I am honest and hard working. I am not saying that all technicians are. I am an anomally in that respect. I did not design that 2009 Toyota Camry that needs a water pump every 50k miles and requires 10 hours labor to replace. I did not sell you that 2008 Honda that needs a transmission already.

So, direct your attention to the real problem and research that new car. It may well be junk. Don't pay more just because it is a Toyota/Honda/Mercedes/BMW. On a positive note. Don't bother going to college if you want a career that will get nothing but increasingly more busy. Auto repair is a wide open field with never ending need.

Thanks, jimmiec!
Bought a Mazda CX7 in 2007, brand new... 4-cylinder turbo... Outstanding turbo design (as far as performance on the road - IMO), but had to sacrifice quite a few other kinds of performance to accomplish that.
Within a year, when I was getting the oil changed, the technician said "sounds like your lifters need adjustment". I asked them to "show" me the sound they were referring to, and after they did, I replied that it had sounded like that since I bought it (and it had)...
I took it back to the dealer, since I had paid a significant chunk for a "premium" Extended Warranty...they listened to it, and did whatever checking they did (away from my eyes)...and handed it back to me, saying nothing was wrong.
Went another year, then two, and when getting it "inspected", the service men said my lifters needed adjusting.
Had heart problems...didn't drive it much...but, the next year (with not many more miles on it than the previous - AND - with it performing & sounding as it always had), took it in to the same group that inspected it last - said "I would like you to do a major tune-up on it, and if you find that the lifters need fixing, fix them...".
They called me the following day saying - "There's nothing we can do for your car...It's beyond repair. There's metal all in your oil." (!!! WHAT?)
Didn't charge me a dime...but wouldn't do a thing to it, either. The car continued to drive and perform as it always had for another 3-5 months (when I traded it in on another vehicle)...

Anyway - I really have no idea what just happened to me.
Car drove great. Did everything I wanted it to do (except the A/C & Heater were below par, and it wouldn't tow ANYthing). Everyone who was not the dealer seemed to believe/know something was wrong... When I traded it in...they never asked to look at it (only asked "how many miles")...and never commented on it after we traded.

reply to post by jimmiec


Dude, you don't know how accurate you are about the new cars.

My family has been mainly Honda, Toyota has been here and there. But was strict Honda since 1990.

Honda has been great, each car pulls out 300km+ easily without problems.

Its crazy...you can still see Civic or an Accord from 1990 on the road owned by an average guy. But you can't say the same for Korean, European or American cars(other than the ones that are taken with extra care and collected).

My 2012 Honda, already has some problems(nothing too bad), but my dads 1996 Honda Accord has no problem in its life, its at 230km(other than the tire change and oil etc), no mechanical problems.

Newer cars does not have any quality to it, its all about "how can i beat competition A, should i make my interior a bit cheaper?"

Well we will know the reliability of Honda and Toyota in about 7-8 years.

I can still see Japanese car still holding up to it, but the quality is not what it was.

reply to post by RedShirt73


I totally agree. After rebuilding my daughters Honda Civic, she drove it back to Houston and had the oil changed at my request because i had rebuilt the engine and used breakin oil. They came to her with a filthy air filter and a long list of things it supposedly needed. The air filter was no more than a week old. My suggestion to those who fear getting ripped off is this. Get personal with the technician. They will find it harder to rip someone off that they actually know. That of course means you must find a good one first. Once you do, stay with them until you know for certain they are shooting straight with you. There are very few good technicians today. Techs like me are generally the ones diagnosing the cars and the other techs are simply turning wrench's. Tech's like me command high pay. This makes the bean counters say that we are not needed, we are paid too much. This causes the hiring of inexperienced technicians straight out of tech school at 1/5th the wage. This in turn causes poor workmanship and quality control. Guesswork. I worked on a truck the other day that 3 mechanics could not fix. It idled very high. I fixed it in 10 minutes with a $3.00 gasket. Most ripoffs are due to lack of knowledge/experience.

Originally posted by XLR8R
reply to post by jimmiec

 

Used to have an '89 Cutlass Ciera. Best Car I ever owned. That thing was indestructible. Made a HUGE mistake when I traded it for a 2004 dodge neon. What was I thinking. I regret it to this day.

This is the exact same car....I loved that car...

edit on 31-1-2013 by XLR8R because: (no reason given)

Bit off-topic but....when I see such an american car with such a long "nose" my first thought will be...that must be a very thirsty car. I live in The Netherlands which is some 200km wide and 300 km long. Most people here buy small cars if they have a modal income. 50 km from work is by our standards a long way from home.

Before the oil-price problems started I was told that americans have such big cars because they do not hesitate to drive 2 or more hours to work each morning, the US gas-price is low and because of that prefer the comfort of a luxurious interior.

Now that the oil-price is everything but cheap do most americans still do not hesitate to drive such distances to work and willing to trade their luxuious comfort and size for a lesser one? With other words.... is the car you own a significant part of the decision before accepting a job?

If so, would high oil prices change the american "car culture"?

reply to post by WanDash


They have timing chain issues. The VVT systems used today are part of the problem. Eventually the VVT solenoid screen will get clogged with metal shavings from the timing chain gear wear and will cause an engine miss above 3000 rpm. They are however easily removed and cleaned if you want to get more miles out of it before the inevitable timing chain/gears replacement.

Or how bout the dodge V6 water pumps? Now thats stupidity at its height, or just plain old greed on the manufacturers part......
Or the light stamped parts that now are used for motor mounts and other stress bearing junctures....
Or the cheap plastic that breaks off in sub zero weather when you jerk a frozen door etc....?
Or the utterly fabtastic prices that keep spiralling upwards without consequent increases in durability or fficientcy...?
I am with ya brother.....Detroit or Tokyo....we are getting the shaft big time....!
We always said a Doctor buries his mistakes, but a mechanic keeps getting them back again.......

reply to post by zatara


I have found that the aerodynamics of a car has a lot to do with gas mileage. That long,low large car gets 30mpg because of aerodynamics. Obviously engine size is a big factor but you can put a tiny engine in an SUV and the gas mileage will still suck.

reply to post by jimmiec


It seems ugly and unattractive cars get better mileage lol.

reply to post by stirling


Yea, Chrysler put the water pump inside the engine and it is driven by the timing chain. When the pump leaks it destroys the crankshaft bearings. Stupid design. As far as plastics. It is a little known fact that the Japanese developed plastic that breaks down in ten years. They did this because they have very little landfill space. Making plastic that breaks down in ten years helps solve that problem. The entire world adopted this plastic however. Your car is falling apart by design.

I own a 2011 Traverse. The thing is amazing, so far. We've had it a couple years. But I can feel the changes in the shifting, etc...but I hear they are "learning" cars. My wife drives it mostly. When I get in it, I'm a bit foot heavy, haha. We purchased an extra warranty, as I feel what you speak is the truth.

My dad and I build old "carbed" hotrods. Easy to work on, reliable, and strong. Maybe not as efficient...but...rockin headers with straight pipes isn't a sign of wanting to be efficient.

I feel there is a much larger "conspiracy", if you will, when it comes to cars, the mechanics of them, etc.

It is also nice to learn of a mechanic that speaks out, and doesn't want to charge my wife $100 to change her headlight fluid. haha. S&F

reply to post by zatara


Actually it wasn't that thirsty. One of the reasons I loved it. It had a 2.9 liter engine. That's a 6 cylinder. I kept it tip top. The neon was a 4 cylinder 2.2L. It guzzled more gas than the Ciera. I tried to keep it tip top but that was a major money drain. Now I have a 2003 Nissan Sentra Economical, low maintenace, coldn't be happier.
Now, as far as oil prices changing the American car trends, I'm not sure. We do love are big cars...for some reason. Of course there are hybrids now but they still run on gas. Not that much more "green" either. When it's on gas power they still get 23 miles per gallon or 10 Liters per 100 Km. If it were only up to me every vehicle would be electric. We have the technology, but you know big oil and their influences.

As for your question. No...well not for me anyway. A car to me is a tool. No more no less. It get's me from point A to point B. It's not a statement to my wealth nor is it a reflection of my trendiness. As you can see my 2003 Sentra is bitchin'. but that's just because it a Sentra. All kidding aside. Fuel economy is a big plus now a days but it's not the soul reason for me to get a car.

reply to post by Demoncreeper


Google "planned obsolescence". ..here let me...

Planned obsolescence.

reply to post by XLR8R


You are better off in the long run buying an old tried and true worn out car and throwing $10k into it. It is ironic that commercials tout their new car gets 30mpg while a pre 2000 model car gets 40mpg and will last much longer.

reply to post by jimmiec


My nephew has 2010 Civic. He hit a medium chuck of ice in the road a couple of weeks back. The whole bumper fell off. No damage, a few small scrapes but that's pretty much it. My brother and I put it back together. Let me tell you how cheaply these cars are made. It's ridiculous. The bumper was help up by 4 screws. Two of those screws were in slip slots. There was a metal brace under the bumper, maybe a quarter inch in diameter and two feet long...rusted to practically nothing. What we ended up doing is we tapped a couple more holes and put in bigger screws. Cost us 3$ to fix. We checked for a new bumper. 600$ for an unpainted bumper. All together with labor 1350$ My son has toys that has more plastic and better craftsmanship then that bumper.

reply to post by jimmiec


Did anybody else notice that the OP said "I" 11 times in 3 short paragraphs?