Brand Loyalty

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I have a great BMW dealer and a great Mazda dealer; I have been very happy with their sales, service, and parts departments. I also like their cars and SUVs, so while I may look at other brands the deck is stacked in favor of the vehicles from Munich and Hiroshima. And while I don't use a Jeep dealer for parts/service, I can't think of a truly off-road capable vehicle I'd rather own(aside from a Defender 90).
 
Having brand loyalty is the worse thing you can have. It's a form of closed minded ness, and rigidity that never belongs in the decision process for buying a car. This is because it often prevents one from looking at better models. The best way to buy is to do research to find the best car at the time needed, and across all makes.

The quality of makes rises and falls.
 
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Originally Posted By: lovcom
Having brand loyalty is the worse thing you can have. It's a form of closed minded ness, and rigidity that never belongs in the decision process for buying a car.


I don't call it "rigidity" as much as knowing what you like. Brand loyalty usually doesn't come out of thin air; rather, it comes from long-term good experience with a brand and/or a certain design preference for one attribute or another. Over time, brands USUALLY deliver consistent experiences. This isn't always the case, though, and I think your point that having a blind eye to anything besides "your brand" is well-taken.
 
Let's say I buy a new car of any given brand and it serves me well over a decade or more.
I'll naturally gravitate toward that brand when shopping for a new car.
Let's say that I buy of car of any give brand and it turns out to be a royal PITA to own and then has no resale value when I decide to dump it.
If I have any sense, I'll probably not give that brand another chance.
Once burned twice cautious.
 
Originally Posted By: lovcom
Having brand loyalty is the worse thing you can have. It's a form of closed minded ness, and rigidity that never belongs in the decision process for buying a car. This is because it often prevents one from looking at better models. The best way to buy is to do research to find the best car at the time needed, and across all makes.

The quality of makes rises and falls.


You mean I could have bought a Corolla or Sentra instead of my Mazdaspeed 3?
If only I had cross-shopped a bit!!!
Now I am terribly depressed.
frown.gif


Seriously, I look at other marques every time I'm shopping for a new/used car; the thing is, the only other cars that currently interest me are the Cayman GTS and the Boss 302 Laguna Seca.
And possibly a Golf R if my local VW dealers hired service techs with opposable thumbs...
 
Brand Loyalty is what a maker hopes you get so they can get more $ out of you the next time around.

People are all ripped at Hyundai for jacking up their prices since the late 90s and, well, they were good enough to earn it! They didn't take a vow of poverty when they started exporting cars to the USA...
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Brand Loyalty is what a maker hopes you get so they can get more $ out of you the next time around.

People are all ripped at Hyundai for jacking up their prices since the late 90s and, well, they were good enough to earn it! They didn't take a vow of poverty when they started exporting cars to the USA...


Excellent point! And dovetails into what I wrote above.

Hyundai was craaap until recent years. Even if you bought one 10 years ago and got burned, I would say looking at them again in 2014 could be a good thing.

My last car was a Toyota, and it gave me 165,000 miles of zero trouble and drove like new the day I sold it. And when I was in the process of replacing it, I did end up with another Toyota, but only after considering all other cars in the class I was looking in. It just so happened Toyota was the best offering for us. This time!

We all should make the makers earn our hard earned money every time we are in the market. Why reward them if they lose their edge!?!

Brand loyalty is for the birds!
 
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For me it was what I am used to and what my tool box, to include tuning software has in it. I tired. Honda, VW, and Ford. Seems my GMs and Mopars were always easier for me to live with.
 
Originally Posted By: ls1mike
For me it was what I am used to and what my tool box, to include tuning software has in it. I tired. Honda, VW, and Ford. Seems my GMs and Mopars were always easier for me to live with.


Same with me (regarding the toolbox and familiarity). Cars from the same home company all seem to operate about the same, have similar design features, use common fluids and filters, and even have the same "flavor" of driving style. I like that. The VSA button on our Honda works exactly the same as the VSA button on our Acura. They use the same oil. They use the same filters. All of the drain plug sizes are the same. Wheel bolt patterns are the same; I can swap wheels in a pinch. The steering wheel buttons are laid out in a similar manner. Radio controls are familiar. Window switches are familiar. Both cars, despite being three model years and about $15,000's worth of MSRP apart, somehow feel like "home" at the same time.

What cars do I miss the most? The late '90s Mopars/Jeeps. Those tiny and cheap-feeling, but utterly simple, window rocker switches. The glow of the green overhead console with the compass/thermometer. The gauge cluster with the green numbering and orange dials. It all feels so "natural" to me. My family had a lot of that era of Mopar. I miss 'em.
 
Brand loyality is good for people that expect consistency.

And ratings are only as good as the reviewers.

Imagine a Toyota owner that buys a new Ford Focus because the reviews are good.

After the second recall and three warranty repairs, he's going to realize Mr. Akio Toyoda didn't build his car.

But for the record, Ford owners seem to be the most brand loyal guys around.
 
My first car was a Triumph, after I had had it a few years it failed it's annual inspection due to rust, but I had so much invested in it, in the way of new parts,
It only made economic sense to buy another bloody Triumph.

Is that Brand loyalty?
 
Originally Posted By: nitehawk55
Brand loyalty has a lot to do with having a good dealer who really looks after you .


Exactly.
 
The 2011 E350 cutaway and our 2012 5.0L F150 in my work fleet keep [censored] out on us. Albeit small things: a coil, a window washer fluid pump, a transmission sensor seal, brake rotors needing turned every 8k miles, ECU reprogramming to get the transmission to shift correctly.

And my co-worker, who bought a 2003 V8 Explorer constantly talks about the work he has to do on his vehicle.

Yet he always blindly states, "Can't be a Ford for work."

Our Toyota Tacomas and Tundras are brilliant. Our 4.7L ram is great. Our 1999 6.0L 2500 Silverado is arguably the best truck ever made. They have only needed regular scheduled services. The Toyotas are so great we are only buying Toyotas from now on.

Why are Fords considered the best for work by so many people?
 
I am 51 years old and have owned 40 vehicles. All makes and models. Mostly American made. I do 99% of the work on them. I have become pretty loyal to Ford. Over the years I have put more miles on and did less work to the Fords that I have owned. I do always try to keep an open mind though and if I could afford one I would buy a Toyota Tacoma 4x4 quad cab.
 
I'm not buying it.That claims that Ford Five Hundred is popular.That model hasn't been made for years.Like 5-7.Flawed reports.
 
Loyal? Yes,I'm loyal.Loyal to what I know and grew up with.1980s Chrysler products.Wether it be K cars,Minivans or L bodies,I started my professional "career" around them,with them being new at the time.I was trained on them,and have driven them for years and years.Buy a decent one,treat it well,and it will last darn near forever.While my enthusiasm for the new Chrysler products may not be overwhelming (or any new vehicle for that matter),one thing they cannot change or take away...the 1980s have come and gone,and they cant mess what success they had back then.Customer satisfaction leaders model years 1986-1989,the least recalls of the big 3 US makers by percentage of total cars sold,and top American sedan in quality (the 91 Acclaim-4)...these cars cannot be denied their place in automotive history.A family of models that saved a corporation,and only improved as time went on.Whereas GMs X cars could have buried GM in the publics eyes,and Ford dragged its butt to FWD thanks to Fairmont/LTD jr/Granada II,Chrysler led its way to FWD,the highest CAFE MPG avg of the big 3,and did well enough to buy competitor AMC/JEEP.Overall,I'm satisfied.But they didn't ask me..
 
What I consider brand loyalty is, when it's time to buy a new car, I'll go to the brand I have had good luck with in the past. If it's not to my liking for whatever reason, I'll move on to another brand.
 
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