Car brand that burned you so bad on reliability you'd never buy again?

[WylieCoyote]

I like the idea of buying an older car, and bringing it back to life enough to make it a daily driver. But it will never be an Olds Calais. Bought it from the original owner, a technician at the Pontiac / Olds dealership where I worked. 5 years old, with 24,000 miles on it. Problems. Then more problems. Then even more problems. Leaks. Then more leaks. Lord, I hated that car. I swore off all domestics for a long while after this one, with my parents also suffering through a '82 Chevy Silverado, and my sister with her plagued '85 Bronco II.

 

[wander2039]

GM's and Dodge for us. I've had so many GM's with issues and don't seem to be fixable.. 88 S15 Iron Duke was the worst one by far. The 05 Express chassis still having pinging issues even after all the work earlier this year. Dodge's just don't care for how they drive, the 06 Ranger I had drove alot better than the 00 Dakota I inherited.

 

[alarmguy]

Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by Speak2Mountain
Car brand that burned you so bad on reliability you'd never buy aGAIN?

Honda.

Not so much reliability, but instead poor fit and finish leading to all sorts of annoyances and dealer incompetence in trying to rectify them. That was 20 years ago, and I haven't bought another Honda since.

^YUP^
1. Me either, owned a 77(?) Accord hatchback, LOVED the car, loved it, it was at a time people would stop you in parking lots asking me how I liked it, Honda was that new then.
Well, a VERY short time later both front fenders started rotting/rusting out on the top of the fenders. Honda acknowledged a design "mistake" and was faithfully replacing everyones front fenders, sounds great right? Nope, Metallic Gold was a hard color to match back in those days. SO I had a relitivily new car with fenders that were clearly "different" in color.
The above was my first Honda experience, think I would have learned my lesson?

2. Except for the fender issue I really loved the way the Honda was put together, sooooo ... I buy a new Honda CRX, wow, what a great little sporty kind of car to drive. I loved it and very rarely do I ever buy new cars, so this was my baby at the time. Plus I always really took care of my vehicles.
Well, fast forward to around 60,000 miles, almost down to the mile the timing belt breaks, pistons smack the valves whole top end of the motor has to be rebuilt at my cost.
At the time it was NOT clearly outlined about a timing belt inspection needed at 60,000 miles.
Anyway that was a big bill to get over.

The 2 above Hondas I owned disappointed me and never owned once since. Also note, this was decades ago and typed the facts as best I can remember. )

______________________
Ok, lets talk about my wifes Nissan 2002 Ultima, oh my god, that made Hondas look good. Nissan took the entire back end suspension system off the car and rewelded a new one on because of corrosion issues. Never mind the blown head gasket and a range of other issues, never again. that was years ago.
She now drives a very reliable Mazda 3
I just got rid of my 2008 Dodge Durango, to my surprise it has been one of the most reliable vehicles I ever owned. I was shocked, only right before I got rid of it did something start going nuts with the ABS system, I never fixed it, traded it in for a Chevy Traverse. We tow a boat and needed (like the Durango) Tow capacity.

I dont care what anyone says and I was always a big proponent of imported cars but one thing for sure, as far as I am concerned, you cant beat 6 and 8 cylinder American engines. The rest of the car may (or may not) fall apart but with normal care the engine will go on forever.

My 08 Durango at 145,000 miles never drank oil, always started and I LOVED the small V-8

My new to us 2017 Traverse (26,000 miles) with the V6 and factory tow package can tow 5,200 LBS at a reasonable cost compared to the imports. It tows like a dream, very impressed, as yesterday I towed the boat out of storage to my home, to get ready for this almost 90 degree weekend! YAY!
I am loving this Traverse like I never thought possible. We have been looking at multiple brands for months now, only criteria was factory tow package. We are so impressed with the vehicle.

Never thought I would say it but I have done a complete turn around as far as the way I look at vehicle brands. The imports used to be well priced and a lot of value for the money, not anymore and as far as I am concerned if you want an SUV with brute strength then American is the way to go and well priced.
Furthermore my daughters used 2002 Pontac Grand AM GT which we bought used when she started driving at age 16, took her through high school and 4 years of college to her new job in another state, at some point over 200,000 miles she got rid of it became troublesome. We were amazed how that engine kept going, even with everything else falling apart *L* (and an abusive driver regarding maintenance)


____

 

[super20dan]

just wait till that traverse with 3.6 I assume hits 100k. hope you got an extended warranty

 

[dareo]

I don't think it matters too much anymore because everything is pretty much made up of globally sourced parts made by other companies. You buy what you like and take your chances.

My house is starting to look like a GMC/Buick dealership right now but i have had a lot of different brands in the past.

I am weary of high end german, british, european cars but a basic VW is usually pretty solid.

I like small block based V8 GM of any kind but not GM 3.6 V6 based of any kind. Certainly no CVT transmission vehicles either.

 

[4WD]

I will not buy anything from FCA since my 1985 K car had a flat tire.

 

[alarmguy]

Originally Posted by super20dan
just wait till that traverse with 3.6 I assume hits 100k. hope you got an extended warranty


Ill be waiting and I am sure it will be a non event, much the same as the warnings when I bought my 2014 Harley Road King 5 years ago. Been the most reliable motorcycle I ever owned. Same with the 2008 Durango 4.7 most care free vehicle I ever owned..
Heck, you can look up anything on some of the largest selling products in the world and largest market share and find issues that you do not see with vehicles and smaller market share. The 3.6 had been in production for roughly over 15 years and more of these engines powered vehicles then any other engine the world, that's many years of refinements too.
Anyway, an engine can be researched and issues found on the internet. So far, never had an American built engine cause major issues for me but have had major issues with two foreign companies, Honda and Nissan. (you can find bad on anything but statistically you have no information to know if its real or not)

 

[4WD]

Yeah … the ankle biters have to do what they do … but I've been driving them for decades, have 3 now …

 

[tblt44]

I learned to never say never.
You never know.
Nissan should be mine, I bought a used maximal back in the 90,s. Car ran good but many problems

 

[super20dan]

. I am far from the only one who condemns the 3.6. look up the car wizard and see what he has to say about this gem, he,s on utube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUe0x9s9nyE
here is another on the 3.6 www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YaZLY91HD0&t=343s
research is the name of the game before buying ANY car nowadays

 

[LubricatusObsess]

The 3.6 has been very reliable for us in our 2011 Chevy. Bought new in 2011.

 

[gotnogunk]

Jeep. A Love-Hate relationship for sure, Two Cherokees, .80's models, and a 2005 Grand Cherokee. Diff and 4X. But I still want one.

 

[alarmguy]

Originally Posted by super20dan
. I am far from the only one who condemns the 3.6. look up the car wizard and see what he has to say about this gem, he,s on utube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUe0x9s9nyE
here is another on the 3.6 www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YaZLY91HD0&t=343s
research is the name of the game before buying ANY car nowadays


Ahhh ... you tube, now there is science for you.
Thanks but no thanks I dont do YouTube., Everyone can make themselves a "star" on any subject and there will always be followers. Your posts are the same as the YouTube people who posted about Harley Engines vs Indian Engines.
No science, no facts, no statistics on actual number of problems vs units in production, no percentages. Pick any subject in the world, you tube it and find an expert. Its laughable to me.

But never mind that, I would like to see, but not interested right now, real facts, from Consumer reports surveys on other vehicle's regarding their engines on SUVs that can tow over 5000 LBS and at a cost as low as the Traverse.
Here is some factual information -

Im in SHOCK that it is as good as it is on the engine! Not sure I every remember seeing so much "green" on the engines, keeping in mind they tow over 5000 lbs.
I really only looked into after your posts and YouTube links that I didnt watch.

 

[alarmguy]

Originally Posted by gotnogunk
Jeep. A Love-Hate relationship for sure, Two Cherokees, .80's models, and a 2005 Grand Cherokee. Diff and 4X. But I still want one.


Before we bought the 2017 Traverse from a local dealer a few weeks back, the week before we had a 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited delivered to our house from Carvana.
It was freaking beautiful, I loved it, loved it. Deep Blue color and even though I am not at all big on options, it had a lot.

Here was my issue.
1. Carvana missed a HUGE mark of missing paint off the back bumper in their online photos, believe it or not I was not as upset as my wife, because under the deep blue paint was black where the paint was missing and it was the lower quarter panel of a rear tire, so hard to see unless you looked for it.
2. One headlight was foggy/premature haze and would need to be replaced. Carvana said they would do that.

Last but not least, this KILLED my desire for the Jeep and I called Carvana 2 days later and told them to come and pick up the car, didnt want it, which they did and gave me full refund.
I found out, ALL productions models of Jeep Grand Cherokees have an issue with the leading edge of the front hood corroding and the paint would start to bubble up, which this 2017 had with only 26,000 miles on it.
Jeep is 100% aware of the issue in almost ALL model years and will repair or replace the hood during the warranty terms of the corrosion part of it.
It seems Jeep mated an aluminum hood top to a steel support under and is causing problems in a significant number of Grand Cherokees for YEARS *L*

Anyway, the last thing I was going to do was buy a almost new vehicle with 26,000 miles on it and start with the dealer doing major repairs like this. Not only that, but it is the body shops call if the hood gets repaired or replaced, anyway, we take pride in our vehicles appearance and last thing I am going to deal with is corrosion on a modern day vehicle which is almost unheard of today.

So I moved onto the 2017 Traverse LT with the factory tow package, just the right amount of options and at a killer price with the same 26,000 miles as the jeep had.
We LOVE the Traverse just as much as the Jeep, looks sharp with its 20 inch wheels and running boards, throw in the black metallic paint and people comment to me all the time about the look.
I doubt there is a foreign car company out there, offering the same size vehicle with the options and 5000+ tow package offered by the Traverse (family which includes Acadia and Enclave) at the price I was willing to pay and reliability. Except Ford and Chrysler/Jeep of course.

 

[4WD]

My niece has done back to back 3 year leases on Traverse …
… nicer than I expected and ideal for her real estate job …

 

[alarmguy]

Originally Posted by 4WD
My niece has done back to back 3 year leases on Traverse …
… nicer than I expected and ideal for her real estate job …


Same for us = much nicer then expected, Im surprised by how much.

 

[LubricatusObsess]

Any idea what got improved on the engine to produce higher ratings in 2014+?

 

[super20dan]

the utubes I posted are from highly respected professional mechanics. if you tow 5000 lbs you should be driving a truck-a real truck that's rwd. you really SHOULD watch those vidios.at the very least I will help you minimalize the problems that crop up on these engines as they age.

 

[alarmguy]

Originally Posted by super20dan
the utubes I posted are from highly respected professional mechanics. if you tow 5000 lbs you should be driving a truck-a real truck that's rwd. you really SHOULD watch those vidios.at the very least I will help you minimalize the problems that crop up on these engines as they age.


Not concerned at all, and again I dont watch YouTube on self proclaimed experts, never will.
I dont tow 5000 lbs, I tow 3000 lbs and its impossible for you to comment on tow ratings without knowing the conditions things are towed in. Flat roads, Mountains, Interstate, Local only driving of less then 10 miles.

Any vehicle I own, I always purchase a tow rating greater then needed, however with that said and some of the newer power train warranties, you can tow up to the max and be safe if your not keeping the vehicle forever since manufacturer tow ratings take into account various terrain in the country, my conditions are the easiest of all, except the 100 degree all summer temps.

My tow conditions are easy, flat land, 10 mile trips (max) to the boat ramp. I could have bought a vehicle with a 3000 or 3500 LB tow rating for my purposes however the Traverse is a bargain of American power with a tow rating of 5,200 pounds, add to that beautiful riding vehicle, looks great too, get many compliments, came with GM running boards and optional 20 wheels.

 

[alarmguy]

Originally Posted by LubricatusObsess
Any idea what got improved on the engine to produce higher ratings in 2014+?


I see what you are saying, I kind of put more weight on the "Engine Major" category where it looks like 2012 was a big improvement. I see what you are saving about 2014 but that can be anything from a sensor to other minor stuff, more or less a trip to the dealer to fix.