A hush fell over the crowd when, mailinglists stepped up to the podium and announced:
My 93 Explorer didn't have the problem, neither did my Buick Skyhawk, nor did our 89 Toyota Celica, however both our 91 Prelude and 95? Accord had serious paint problems. The Accord lasted two years before every piece of black trim, (including the bumpers), either turned gray or white. Oddly enough, my 85 700 Honda Magna motorcycle had serious paint fade problems as well.
But I *do* agree that the paint on all vehicles have been significantly better the past 5-6 years.
I've got 300,000 on my '92. Same engine..no major repairs to engine.
1alt @ 200,000+, 2 t'stats, 1+ batt. cable. 2 clutches @ trans overhaul. ran two manual gear boxes out from under it over 100,000 on each. Need to replace shift motor (This is not a Ford made part is it??) It does have some minor problems paint (clear coat is bullshit anyway)_time to redo brakes, should prob. re-gasket intake, etc. All minor. Price for this car brand new with 2 miles...$18,000.000!!!!! Would you please explain how it is a pos and not reliable...I must have missed that part. This truck lives in Reno, NV. hard country. Dirt roads to my house. Hot in the summer, cold in the winter. Lots of mountain driving.....etc,etc.
My '99 had no mechanical problems, except for the recalled turn-signal lever (which was made by *Eaton*, not Ford), for the time I had it (about 37,500 miles). Nothing seemed like it was ready to fail, either. It was just as tight and solid as the day I bought it.
You're right---things *were* adjusted under warranty (or by myself). But all of the warranties in the *world* didn't make up for the fact that just about everything that could go wrong with it, *did* go wrong with it. I've never had a manual-transmission car where one of the gears became difficult to engage. Even the two Daytona transmissions, both 5-speeds, shifted fine after I sold them (especially the '93, after 43,000 miles). And the rust and corrosion problems were, in my opinion, inexcusable. I've never had those kind of problems on any other car I've owned.
I think 43,000 and 37,500 miles are still pretty good indicators of later reliability. And if I feel like buying another car, it's still my choice, unless some government law prevents me from doing that.
No, Honda is keeping its distance, and very nicely. $400 for a taillight assembly?
Mom's '87 Escort was painted because the clear coat separated leaving a white chalky mess. The wife's '91 Corsica was peeling before we traded it IIRC Chrysler/Ford/GM were all sued because of the defective paint in these years...Something to do with new water-based paints or somehthing like that mandated by the EPA.
I had 0 problems with my trans @ 40k. By 59k it needed rebuilt. 0 problems with the engine @ 40k. By 68k it started the famous timing chain rattle.
To fix the timing chain issue: Parts are ~$100 + ~$400 in special tools to reset the timing on the SOHC as it's not like the old days where you lined up the marks...
Fine. All of your cars fell apart and the paint was junk. You win.
Mine were all fine except for the Accord. I'm done arguing about why all of my cars (except one) were trouble-free and yours weren't.
Did you ever think that the way you treat them might have something to do with it? Do you know what *wax* is? Do you bother with preventative maintenance? Do you treat your cars like rentals?
I have to laugh at people that beat the *snot* out of things and then whine and complain when they fall apart.
You taking to me? I have had several high mileage Fords (still own one), it's just that my particular Explorer is a POS. In researching them, it appears as some are great and others are not so great. Ford also has a lot of design/manufacturing variances (defects) in the 4.0 SOHC and even the A4LD/5r55e.
Wax 2-3x a year. Meguiar's 3 step system - deep clean, polish, 2 coats wax. Cars look like new, even after 3.5 years and 72k. Oil changes every
5k, Mobil 1 5w30. Drive them normally, expect performance when I need it, but a properly designed engine should take it. The 2.3L in my Mustang has for the past 125k miles and still starts right up. (We're talking a car that: 1) cruises @ 75 @ 3000 RPMs, 2) has 2 modes - idle and WOT, 3) was my first car (hence, got the pi$$ beat out of it).)
DUH, read the article just a little more carefully, *moron*. Number 8 was the Ford Explorer *Sport*, not the 4-door (which outsells the Sport by around 50 to 1).
And, if Japanese SUVs hold their value so well, why are *EIGHT* out of the top ten *JAPANESE*?
DUH.
Your credibility, Herb, is in the toilet, just where it always was.
This is just my opinion... Isn't it all about supply and demand? If there are 6 million Explorers produced you better bet they won't hold there value well, reliability will always affect the depreciation somewhat but not nearly as much as the quantity of the vehicles produced. Mercedes-Benz for example is not the best quality or reliability (anymore) but they are produced in limited numbers, consequently if you decide to purchase a Benz it will hold its value better, which is not always the best for ME. If there were 6 million Mercedes E-classes produced would they still depreciate at the same rate? Hell NO. In my opinion I can buy a Explorer used with 45k miles as I did for $11,000, basically I got a $27,000 vehicle
4 years old for 11 grand no tax, fees or any other crap, that's pretty damn good, I think I'll stick with my All-American brand.
P.S. Am I the only one that has read Edmunds long term review on 2003 Honda Pilot? Well it seems Honda has produced a vehicle that has a state of the art engine that completely shuts down, going 75mph in the middle of no where because the "vehicle's water pump can interfere with the timing belt, eventually causing the belt to break (and possibly complete engine failure)" which required the vehicle to be towed 250 miles at a $500 expense. I would have expected they would have "bottomed out" smashing the exhaust pipe Honda conveniently located under the rear suspension, good thinkin!
Is it instinct one cant stop grinning when reading the Honda Pilot's long-term review? Don't you just love a fine evaluation? I highly advise everyone that believes Hondas are indestructible to thoroughly study this review, hell read it twice...
Nobody ever said Hondas are indestructable. No vehicle on earth is. But, you have to look at the severity and occurence of the problems (ask the 4.0 SOHC guys). Hondas have historically performed better than most others. BTW, I have never owned a Honda. It does seem that Honda has slipped recently (as has Ford). My experience is that newer Ford products aren't nearly as reliable as the early '90's models (comparing same model to same model). I have a '93 Ranger with about 140k mostly trouble-free miles. The way it's going, I don't think my '99 Explorer will live past 100k. With the poor resale value and impending major problems, the next one will exceed the value of the vehicle, effectively totaling it.
So, my next vehicle will likely be one of Japanese design, manufactured in the U.S., but probably not a Honda.
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