BF2S Forums GM and Chrysler dominate Forbes "Worst Cars of 2011" List

RTHKI wrote:

european cars dont cost a fortune. around here there are few because there are few euro dealers besides merc/porsche/bmw/audi and the cheaper companies.

also the monaro is uggly

Euro cars don't cost a fortune, but their upkeep can.

In general, American car parts and repairs are cheaper (at least, they are here).

Japanese cars tend to be cheaper to repair as well.

A hatchback is cheaper to buy, cheaper to run, smaller and often more practical than a saloon.

At least thats why they are popular over here, where petrol is £1.40 per litre. ($11.37 / us gal)

Well, if Ford keeps this up, I may have to consider them if I'm in the market for a new car in a few years.

orrr aston martin

they have reliability...ford of europe

well yeah, but then again like for like in a chassis you aren't paying the same for a ford as you do a beemer.

rdx-fx wrote:

RTHKI wrote:

they have reliability...ford of europe

Still a long ways to go before they're as reliable than a BMW, Mercedes, or Subaru.

How many car manufacturers do you know of where 300,000 miles on original engine/transmission parts is typical?

FULLY loaded Ford Fusion Hybrid: $33,500
FULLY loaded Ford Fusion Sport AWD: $29,000

CHEAPEST model of Mercedes: $35,000, the next class up is $51,000


Definitely not an equivalent comparison... lol

European cars aren't too bad.  Just don't own one beyond the factory warranty.  At least in the US.

rdx-fx wrote:

-Sh1fty- wrote:

Screw American cars

I want this! How much can I get one for? Subaru Impreza wrx sti 2004

iceman785 wrote:

Careful  with these. The sti has a pretty good tranny, if its the 6 speed then its absolutely solid. But the 5 speed the WRX's come with... Couple AWD launches and you can kiss that tranny good bye.

Also the insurance for a male your age is gonna be around 220+ a month... 

But they get pretty decent gas milage if you don't hammer it all the time.

QFE

strong grippy AWD and tuned turbo engine, you will destroy the transmission & drivetrain if you're abusive in the driver seat.
Strong engine/turbo and huge traction from the AWD system will eat the parts in between them, if the driver tells them to.

Normal to spirited driving, they're immensely reliable (my 1996 has over 300,000 miles on the original engine and transmission)
Start doing clutch dumps, missing gear shifts, over-RPM launches, or otherwise wanna-be Speed Racer bullshit, you'll break it.

The six-speeds these things can come with are solid, you can launch the fuck out of them and drive them really hard and they'll stay good.

The 5 speeds are shit though, I personally know a couple WRX owners who have destroyed their 5 speed trannies just doing auto-X and the occasional run up a windy mountain road...  They then bought the 6 speed tranny to prevent the 5 speed thing from happening again.

rdx-fx wrote:

RTHKI wrote:

they have reliability...ford of europe

Still a long ways to go before they're as reliable than a BMW, Mercedes, or Subaru.

How many car manufacturers do you know of where 300,000 miles on original engine/transmission parts is typical?

Most insurance records show that Ford has a better reliability record on most models vs. European cars.

Overall, three Japanese automakers have the best reliability ratings - Mazda, Honda, and Toyota.

Ford isn't far behind them.   European automakers tend to be mediocre on reliability ratings, although they usually are better than GM and Chrysler.

The main weakness in the design of a lot of European cars is the electrical system.  For some reason, European manufacturers tend to cheap out on wiring, which can lead to some expensive repairs later.

Also, it doesn't help that the parts for BMWs, Mercedes, and Audi tend to be rather expensive.

iceman785 wrote:

rdx-fx wrote:

-Sh1fty- wrote:

Screw American cars

I want this! How much can I get one for? Subaru Impreza wrx sti 2004

iceman785 wrote:

Careful  with these. The sti has a pretty good tranny, if its the 6 speed then its absolutely solid. But the 5 speed the WRX's come with... Couple AWD launches and you can kiss that tranny good bye.

Also the insurance for a male your age is gonna be around 220+ a month... 

But they get pretty decent gas milage if you don't hammer it all the time.

QFE

strong grippy AWD and tuned turbo engine, you will destroy the transmission & drivetrain if you're abusive in the driver seat.
Strong engine/turbo and huge traction from the AWD system will eat the parts in between them, if the driver tells them to.

Normal to spirited driving, they're immensely reliable (my 1996 has over 300,000 miles on the original engine and transmission)
Start doing clutch dumps, missing gear shifts, over-RPM launches, or otherwise wanna-be Speed Racer bullshit, you'll break it.

The six-speeds these things can come with are solid, you can launch the fuck out of them and drive them really hard and they'll stay good.

The 5 speeds are shit though, I personally know a couple WRX owners who have destroyed their 5 speed trannies just doing auto-X and the occasional run up a windy mountain road...  They then bought the 6 speed tranny to prevent the 5 speed thing from happening again.

By 5 speeds, you mean 5 speed manual transmission, correct? Just curious because I'm probably going to be getting a Subaru Outback pretty soon here. Can't have the six speed manual on account of the missus, so I have to go with the Lineartronic CVT transmission instead. This is fine, gives me the option to drive it like it's manual if I want. I have that in my Jetta and it's fun as hell.

Jay wrote:

FatherTed wrote:

can testify to that ^ my dads had two audis, neither had any mechanical problems, both had something wrong in the wiring that made them munch through new headlights

My fiancees old Jetta used to eat through tail lights. Lots of electrical issues with VW.

I guess I've gotten lucky so far with mine (2009). My friend had a VW Golf awhile ago and it had an electrical problem (car was absolutely dead) that VW techs couldn't even fix. He had it taken to like three different shops with no luck. I think there must have been a short somewhere that couldn't be found.