yea i totally agree

 

I own and have wrenched heavily on both. For myself and as a job. I prefer to work on the Imports hands down. They are just put togeather more inteligently. I can just about completely dissassemble a Nissan/Toyota with a 12mm , 15mm wrench and a good phillips screwdriver. Depending on the year of domestic you have to have a complete set of Metric AND STD wrenches

Then there's the better hardware that imports are put togeather with Just about all fastners on an import are plated fine thread high quality bolts. AKA no stuck or twisted off bolts.

Then there's the intelligence of engeneering. Why in the heck does a truck have the clutch slave cylinder IN THE %$%& BELLHOUSING

I've owned a half dozen Nissans with manny trannys from 1977 to 2002 THE ALL USED THE SAME slave/master cylinder, Trucks and cars. AND it's where you can replace it.

You can actually replace the clutch on a Saab 900 without jacking up the car or separating the engine from the tranny.

Generally speaking you don't have import models that suffer from drastic degsine flaws over a number of years. Ford 3.8 cyl heads and Chrysler FWD trannys come to mind.

Over all reliability about EVEN........BUT after the mileage gets up there 200,00mi a ways the imports begin to fair much better than your avg domestic.

How a nissan maxima has been treated is much more relivant than what the odometer reads. In fact other than price the milage is almost irrelivant

Parts price is about even, They're both expensive to fix, after all this is 2007.

In short if you trade in every 4 years it won't matter to you. But if you buy a car to drive untill it's no longer servicable or buy cheap high milage used cars than you will be better served by a "IMPORT"*


*whatever than means mexican fords and domestic toyotas. It's not who puts the thing togeather. It's who's engeneers degsined the thing.

 

I'll jump in here. I have 2 Domestic's and 1 import. Sorry if this runs long.

Domestic 1 I won't bother with as it's an Antique vehicle(65 Rambler Ambassador) that is rarely driven so it wouldn't be fair to throw it in

Domestic 2 is my 94 Ranger Splash extra cab 4.0 5 spd which I bought new, it now has 103k on it. I love it to death but it's had a few issues: speedo head unit had to be replaced, head gasket went at 59k, and it's gone through 5 radiators, 4 under warrenty. Cost of repairs have been average, I use a small shop here in town that charges 85 per hour. Easy to work on, I'm just a weekend mechanic and there are many things I won't try but:

To replace the speedo, radiator, oil, MAF very easy. Front brake pads average, I prefer the newer Ford capiler design over mine, plugs pain in the rear. Truck is still tight and rattle/rust free and all other major items are still original, even exhaust. Based on the problems I've had would I by another, yes.

Import is a 1990 Honda Prelude S, 2.0 carbed, AT has 57k on it. My aunt bought it new and I got it in 03/04 from her. Have every service record for this, in the time she owned it except for general maint(oil, filters,front pads once), all it ever had done to it was to replace the AC compressor in 01 at the dealer for a little over 1k, and they put R-12 back in, why.

Since I've had it all I've done is replace the original tires due to dry rot, had the timing belt/water pump replaced since they were original and I figured the belt could also dry rot, and front pads and plugs. Cost of repairs, hourly rate same as Ranger, parts cost: front pads were 5 more than Ranger, plugs and other items are the same. Easy to work on: plugs, front pads easier than slicing butter with a warm knife i wish the Ranger was this easy. Oil filter is a pain in the rear to get off-between the engine and firewall directly above the exhaust pipe.
Like the Ranger this one is also still very tight/rattle and rust free. Again except for the couple items mentioned above all major items are original, although I will probally need to replace the muffler in the next year or so. Based on this vehicle would I buy an import, for certain vehicles yes. Those are vehicles that offer certain items/body styles the domestics currently don't offer, it they did the yes might switch to a no

Dose this mean the import is better than the domestic, in my book no. Has the import has as many issues as the domestic, no, but you also need to consider in my case we are comparing a truck vs a car so they see different use's. Plus I also consider the mileage diff between the 2, which I think has some consideration

 

For me It's never been about longevity or durability.........I've had very good service from my Fords. To me it's Ford falling behind the curve. I'm very pissed the Marauder ended up a red-headed step child. I'm annoyed Ford has NOTHING to compete with V8 Chargers or 300's.... V6 Maximas and Camry's own our Japanese designed, built in Mexico bread and butter car.......something I hope the 260HP 3.5L motor will help with.

Mustang is a homerun............but what else is "best in class" from Ford???

Infinity? Lexus? Lincoln should be right there with RWD V8 cars like Mark VIII's.

I honestly fear the new Tundra in the 1/2 ton market......Even Toy admits the old Tundra was a 7/8 effort at best.


Recently bought a '95 Toy T-100 that I swapped a clutch and pedal bracket on...I agree 100% with Krochus on quality of hardware and smarts concerning the slave cylinder design. (not master cylinder)

I always do find it hilarious, though, how some people alway equate buying Ford to somehow being patriotic.

It's not about furrin' vs domestic, it's about who has the best car for the $$$$.

 

OOOPS! MY bad, I'm glad you caught that.

 

That's why after giving up on domestic cars after several decades of owning them, I now own a Maxima 2000 SE. I constantly get letters from the local Nissan dealer wanting it for a trade in, it still has very good resale value for a reason, and I figure why do so. I have yet to meet a dis-satisfied Maxima owner.

It is a pre-engineered product (not post fixed), still solid and reliable, still fun to drive, with a very loyal customer base, and still every time I drive it - I wonder why in the heck cannot the domestics equal it? And it had a fantastic engine introduced with the newer models, not promised in a few years after the introduction.

If Ford is wondering why it is laying off tens of thousand of workers, and closing multiple plants, while sliding to third place in sales world wide - it might reflect on the tens of millions of American ex-owners of their products they have alienated during decades of their post fixed products.

 

You should drive my 02 model 3.5 SE with the 6 speed. It's made more than a couple of SHO owners look really bad. It'll go 110 in third while still pulling like most sedans do at 55 yet it still manages 32 mpg on the hwy

 

Not to turn this into a Maxima forum, thats not my intention. But the 3.5 is an award winning engine for a reason. One of the first things that impressed me was the combination of performance and - economy on the highway. Not easy to accomplish.

But it was also to point out, with all the engineering brain power that resides in Detroit, why cannot Detroit's incestuous management team accomplish the same things. The only difference I can see between Toyota, Nissan, Ford and GM products today other than ownership is not in the workers, they're predominatly American, and increasingly located in America, except for the domestics which are moving overseas increasingly, but in - management. Products count, promises don't.

The losers are the towns that harbor the plants, and the employees who have not been responsible for the decisions of management that cannot seem to accept the fact that the '60's are over. The 1960's quality control management standards do not pass muster today. The look and feel of quality switch gear, as opposed to the lowest bidder matters. The look and feel of well fitted interior panels matter. The fact of switch gear that does not go - flooey - tens of thousand of miles less than expected matters. The fact that a several year old product can have resale value matters.

The only help we can hold out for in order for the domestic manufacturers to regain their status, is for an more open minded and receptive management team to assume control. You cannot downsize yourself into competetiveness.

 

I have seen many new Maximas and 350Z's burst into flames or explode on impact it scares me. They are not designed for accidents. Nice cars, YES. Deathtraps, YES. I'll never own one, or any other import for that matter. And yes, I do consider import brands made here imports. If it's daddy lives in Japan, it's a Japanese car, I don't care where it was assembled. In my business I tow just as many imports as domestics. Fords lineup is a little lacking right now, but I'll be buying a GT500 when they sell'em for sticker. I've have a 2000 S10 with 148,000 miles that never gives me any trouble, and doesn't use oil. Sometimes the beaters are the best cars. LS

 

an intersting point was made above in that the imports seem to produce cars which are somewhat exciting especially to young people while domestics offer dull average transportation for the most part. what they dont do is attract entry level buyers (read young buyers) with affordable vehicles with a wow factor to create brand loyalty in future purchases.
jim