Funny story for you all...

Besides my 02 SC430, I also drive a FX35 Infiniti 2003 with 75k miles on it that once was my outside sales company car. From 2003-2005 I put 60k miles on it, since then it has taken the backseat for my company car to a brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee-which I am comparing to Japanese dependability.

In the three plus years of the FX35's life, normal brake pads, two sets of tires, bulbs, fluids, filters, wiper blades, battery and belts are all that has been done on it. It drives today as crisp and solid as it did in 2003, and I have driven the hell out of this car. It hangs with G35's and 350Z's and surprises many cars and SUV's off the line with it's 280hp and 20" chromes.

Of course, the 02 SC430 without saying has been even more reliable and maintenance free with even less issues than the FX35 it it's 4+ years of existence and with low 23k miles.

Now for the funny part...I have a 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 2WD with only 11k miles on it and it is falling apart! It drives like it is 10 years old and has 200k on it. Both my 4 and 5 year old Japanese cars feel tighter, smoother and better than this car. It has rattled since I drove it home from the dealer. One of the cheap speakers is popping, it's gone through a set of tires already. It only gets 15MPG and is so slow I have to floor it just to stay up with Camry's and Accords! I cannot believe it has 260HP, it feels like 160! It knocks and pings when you rev it up, the tranny shifts like it has 200k on it, as you can feel the changes to each gear. The front wheels make a loud vibrating noise out of them...AND THIS ISN'T EVEN A 4WD! The crappy interior will give you abrasions on your legs and arms if you happen to accidently bang yourself getting in/out it is so hard and cheap. The seats squeak when no one is sitting in them and finally my favorite...When you are at a light, the car has a little shake to it similar to a muscle car rumble with glass packs on it! What a P.O.S. american made hunkajunk. I totally understand why I have owned 24 cars in my life and only 3 of them have been american made cars and only because my company is too ignorant to buy japanese dependable fleet cars. They have paid over $3k in service on this car already with worn out maintenance things like tires, belts, hoses, wipers, bulbs, pads, etc. that would never go out at 11k on a Japanese car. Until the BIG 3 (Toyota is now in the big three, but I am talking about American Big 3) gets a clue and builds more quality vehicles, I will never buy another one as long as I live, nor will I ever recommend one.

 

Your sample set of 1 copy of 1 American made vehicle must be representative of the whole domestic offering I'm sure.

 

To be fair, I don't think he implied it is representative necessarily, he is just telling HIS experience, & we all base a lot of our beliefs on our own experiences . . .

 

Grand cherokee is a complete POS. In fact, all of Chrysler vehicles are nothing more than polished turds.

 

I agree. In Mexico, the Chrysler products hold up better over time than Ford or GM, but that's about it. I was driving a 1996 Dodge Caravan to work (until I upgraded my insurance for my Lexus down here), and it got a nickname of money pit from me, as we blew a tranny, water pump, had to replace every spark plug, shocks/struts. I didn't hate the poor little thing, but it shows exactly why Big 3 quality has gone in the toilet.

 

The new SRT-8 Jeep is badazz though!!!

 

Blah... Yeah its fast, but its about as refined as a 1960ies muscle cars. The sound of its engine alone makes me wanna puke.

 

Something does not add up. 11,000 miles and you have spent 3000.00 for tires,belts, hoses, and pads? Belts and hoses don't fail this fast and it would be a warranty item. Now you can smoke the tires and you can wear out the brakes pads but you got to really try to tear it up. No arguement on the driving dynamics though. Every one I have driven felt like it was very loose and sloppy.

 

hahaha pretty funny story there, nice read and a good laugh.

well to me? i guess it's already decided that there will be no domestic in our garage for quite a while to come

 

beating around the bush, american cars have been widely known to perform and have interiors like the above for ages, this is nothing new or surprising.

 

11k miles service history on the 2006 Grand Cherokee (stack of receipts are right on my desk as I type this):

1) Temperature Gauge showing 3/4 HOT=Flush/Fill Radiator, replace hose and gasket $300. Was told that this is normal wear and tear with stop n go.
2) Two sets of Goodyears (yuck), $940 at Discount Tire and $1056 at NTB
3) Replace rear brake pads, polish rotors and 4 wheel alignment=$600
4) Replace rear tail light and front turn signal bulbs (my wife took it in)= $36
5) Add freon to A/C unit-temperature at 46 degrees should be at 42. $150
6) Replace from brake pads, plish rotors and 4 wheel alignment= $534
7) Replace a/c belt-squeaking=$38.00

That is your $3k in service for 11k of good ole' american ride quality.

Don't get me wrong...I absolutely love the new mustang, 300HC Hemi, c6 vette, Yukon Denali, Caddy Escalade, even the F150 trucks, Lincoln Mark VIII trucks and more, but the bottom line is that they are just Taurus-Sebring-Ranger-Trailblazer-GrandAm shared parts POS's that will only last 1/4th the time as their Japanese contemporaries. Bottom line: I wouldn't buy one.

 

Um, I think they took you on that one.

So you're on your THIRD set of tires in 11K mi. and you're driving is mostly stop n go? R U doing burnouts at every light? Why the incredibly short tire life?

Sounds incredibly expensive - I don't get it.

And again! (I know, fronts this time, rears first time)

I think our F-150 has about 40K mi. on it and I think we've spent about $300 on maintenance.

 

^^^

 

I don't understand why the temp gauge and the ac refill is not under warranty

I can understand your pain.
My friend has the exact same model also, but an 05.

She picked it up this past Wednesday after waiting for 2 weeks for a part to come in. It left her stranded since she couldn't start up the car after many tries. Neighbor has an XLR and left him stranded on 3 different ocassions-another story.

What was worst than the car itself was the customer dis-service. And this was verified after calling 2 more dealers maybe we can get better treatment at another dealer. Wow, "service" there on the phone was even worst.

From day one when it was towed to the dealer, she received only 1 phone call (out of 2 weeks) to let her know that a part was ordered..........that was it. Even on the day when the car was finished, she never received a call as promised. All she got was "oh the, the car is done " Gee, thanks for letting me know.

Anyways, I got to check out the car again. OMG, horrible quality. Dash was hard with some weird popcorn material you see on those old ceilings. Panels around the door and windows both inside and outside were slowly coming off already I kept pushing on it but it wouldn't stay.

I tried pairing it up with her bluetooth phone. Let me say that after this feat, I will never talk bad about Lexus bluetooth
This was done all through voice command and you know how frustrating it is after the car won't recognize the command. Is my accent that bad?

Lots of features were missing-unless I am totally missing some functions here. It is nowhere user-friendly. No visible phone book, no caller ID (just lists the phone # even after you store the # under the name)...

I didn't bother wanting to drive it.

As for GS, the AC is still cold as hell, engine is strong, no trims or body panels falling apart...typical lexus stuff ..........still in good health at 134k

I am open minded to other car makers. I won't bash on everything until I get to see/touch/or even hear from my personal friends or families.
I don't know about other jeep/chrysler products, but the new ford/lincoln and gm seem to have pretty nice products now, finally.

 

There are some american vehicles that are reliable. The % of reliable Americans cars is much lower than the % reliable Japanese cars of course. Listed below are domestic Consumer Reports Good Bets. CR Good Bets are cars that have multiple years of above-average Used Car Verdicts...

Buick Regal
Ford Crown Victoria
Ford Escort
Mustang (V8)
Lincoln Town Car

I left out the Chevrolet Prizm & Pontiac Vibe for obvious reasons*

There are many more reliable American vehicles(like the Ford F150 for example) but we would have to go into great detail to differentiate which years were reliable and which years were not.