American Or Jap?

[jhong1226]

Im planning to buy a new car in a couple of months but i dont know if i should go for American made cars or Japanese made . a lot of horror stories with american cars and jap cars are a more expensive . any opinion would help.
thanks.

[JLad10687]

Where do you see Japanese cars that are more expensive? The allure of Japanese cars is that they are typically cheaper and more reliable. Fords entry level car, the Fusion starts at about 22G, Pontiac's G6 starts at 17G, if you look at Nissans Sentra, 13 G, Toyota Corrola, 15G. What are you talking about? Not to mention your post was extremely vague.

Another noob, another day

[SuperHighOutput]

Originally Posted by JLad10687

Where do you see Japanese cars that are more expensive? The allure of Japanese cars is that they are typically cheaper and more reliable. Fords entry level car, the Fusion starts at about 22G, Pontiac's G6 starts at 17G, if you look at Nissans Sentra, 13 G, Toyota Corrola, 15G. What are you talking about? Not to mention your post was extremely vague.

Another noob, another day

The Fusion isn't Ford's entry level car, the Focus is and it starts at $14,000, the Fusion starts at $17,800. Both the Fusion and G6 are mid-size cars, you're comparing them to compact cars, of course the compact cars are going to be cheaper. You should really get your info straight before you go around calling people names.

As for the thread starter I'll tell you this much, the quality of American cars has improved dramatically over the years both in reliability and build quality. At the end of the day you should just forget about where the car is made and go out and drive the cars you like and pick the one you like the best.

[harrymay]

i used to drive only imports, lately ive been considering buying a dodge.im waiting for the caliber. but ive driven a 300c and am quite impressed with the build quality, ive also got an impala and that its a pretty solid car, id compare it to a camry as far as quality.

the ford fusion seems pretty well built also. if you look at the focus theyre good cars.

it depends what you are looking for though. my best advice is the same as superhighoutputs. Test drive the car, and just get one you like, theyre all pretty much the same. and theyre all pretty much level on prices.

[JLad10687]

Originally Posted by SuperHighOutput

The Fusion isn't Ford's entry level car, the Focus is and it starts at $14,000, the Fusion starts at $17,800. Both the Fusion and G6 are mid-size cars, you're comparing them to compact cars, of course the compact cars are going to be cheaper. You should really get your info straight before you go around calling people names.

As for the thread starter I'll tell you this much, the quality of American cars has improved dramatically over the years both in reliability and build quality. At the end of the day you should just forget about where the car is made and go out and drive the cars you like and pick the one you like the best.

You got me on the Ford thing, I forgot about the POS Focus. But you will not find a Fusion for 17.8. Regardless of wether they are midsize or not, they are Americas entry level cars. You could argue the Cobalt but Id much rather have a Sentra, Corrolla, Tc. The Cobalt interior is like a Tonka trucks, all crappy looking plastic. There is also the Neon which is American, cheap and reliable, but ugly as shit. Im not telling him to get an Import, I'm just making the case that Japanese cars are no more expensive then American and many times cheaper.

P.S. Go BEARS! lol

[curtis73]

I'm still skeptical on American cars. If I were buying new, I would still go Japanese. Although superhighoutput's words are very true, I'm still frustrated by two big things. 1) first is the money that is there to back you up. GM is hurting bad. Their stock is an indicator, but its much worse than you think. The way GM runs their warranty is nothing short of criminal because the bottom line is they can't afford it. They will turn a legit warranty claim away hoping the customer will just pay for it and not put up a fuss. And having worked for all of the big three, as well as Nissan, Volvo, Honda and others, the Big three are the worst at it. Shady, underhanded, and backed by hundreds of big-shot lawyers. Every monday was our departmental meeting where award points were given to service departments based on how much money they made (saved) GM corporate. Not pretty, but the unfortunate truth.

American cars are catching up, especially since many of them are in bed with Japanese and German companies, but the other thing that maybe should be part of your choice 2) is that American labor practices differ greatly from Japanese. While neither is better or worse, right or wrong, it does produce different cars. What this means is take into consideration that many of the Japanese cars you buy are now assembled in North America, and some of the "domestic" cars you buy are assembled overseas. If you're curious, just look at the first digit of the VIN for the assembly country. 1 is US, 2 is Canada, J is japan, K is Korea. I think Mexico is 3.

[harrymay]

what kind of car are you looking for? that may help the argument

[DinanM3_S2]

You would be a fool to consider the Focus and the Cobalt as not being entry level cars. Toyota's own website's comparison feature states the Focus as a "similar vehicle" to the Corolla, and C&D compared the Fusion with the Accord and the Camry, not the Civic and Corolla.

My general rule on American cars v. Japanese cars is that modern American cars are generally less expensive then a modern Japanese car after you throw in incentives. American cars also tend to use larger, lower tech engines. Japanese cars tend to be a little more expensive, but pay off in reliability and build quality.

I would also be weary of throwing all American cars and all Japanese cars in one category. There are major differences between your average Toyota and your average Mitsubishi.

More specific information about a type or category of car would make this a bit easier.

[G-man422]

Jap cars used to be better (more reliable) but some american companies are getting better. I like dodge. but toyota or honda is good too.

[JLad10687]

Originally Posted by DinanM3_S2

You would be a fool to consider the Focus and the Cobalt as not being entry level cars. .

I did consider then as entry level. I would just take a Sentra or Corrolla over all of them for the price. However, I would take both of them over an Echo.

[Tonto Kowalski]

I'm just making the case that Japanese cars are no more expensive then American and many times cheaper.

Sorry but that's not true at all. In the entry level class, the Sentra, Corolla, and Civic are more expensive than the Focus, Cobalt, and Neon.

In the mid-sized class, the Camry, Accord, Altima, and Mazda6 are more expensive than the Fusion, G6, and Intrepid.

In the full size class, the Maxima and Avalon are more expensive than the Crown Vic, 300C, and Grand Prix.

In the luxury class, the Acuras/Lexuses/Infinitis are more expensive then the equivalent Buicks and Lincolns.

The only cars cheaper than domestics are Korean cars, for example a Hyundai Tuscon is way cheaper than the Ford Escape or Chevy Equinox.

So clearly Japanese cars are more expensive. Although I do admit they have higher quality in most cases. I own a Pontiac Sunfire and the interior build quality is a little low (although mechanically the car is very good). But I think the American cars are gaining in quality, ie the Cobalt is a big improvement over the Cavalier.

[harrymay]

in any case, i would strongly consider a hyundai, you get the build quality of a japanese car, but the price of a domestic, even less.

[JLad10687]

Originally Posted by Tonto Kowalski

Sorry but that's not true at all. In the entry level class, the Sentra, Corolla, and Civic are more expensive than the Focus, Cobalt, and Neon.

Sentra is 13.2, Civic is 13.4 and the Corrolla is 14. The Focus is 13.4, the Cobalt is 12.4, the neon is 13.8. To me, that doesnt sound like one is much cheaper, I'd probably say domestics but you get much more from a Sentra/Civic/Corrolla then a Focus/Cobalt/Neon so its worth the couple extra hundred.

Originally Posted by Tonto Kowalski

In the mid-sized class, the Camry, Accord, Altima, and Mazda6 are more expensive than the Fusion, G6, and Intrepid.

Accord is 20.3, Camry is 18.4, Altima is 17.7. Fusion is 17.1, G6 is 21.1, Intrepid is no longer is existence and the Stratus is 20.5. Sounds to me Imports take that one and you get more car for the money.

Originally Posted by Tonto Kowalski

In the full size class, the Maxima and Avalon are more expensive than the Crown Vic, 300C, and Grand Prix.

Maxima is 27.9 and Avalon is 26.6. 300(not C) is 23.2, Bonneville is 27.9, Crown Vic is 24.7, Grand Prix is a midsize car and should not be compared but is 21.3, more expensive then all the Import midsize cars. It looks like the large cars go to the domestics, but by no means to I consider a Crown Vic on the same level as a Maxima or Avalon. This was a hard comparison as Nissan/Honda/Toyota only have 2 fullsize models lol.

All in all, it looks like all these cars are close in price, Entry level going slighty to domestics, but as I said, its a matter of hundreds, and import entry levels are far better.

Midsize heavily favors the imports.

Fullsize goes to the domestics as well, but the only 2 full size imports used in this can also be considered luxury, the domestics cannot.

[harrymay]

ive been looking at all of the midsize and many of the compacts. overall, id give it to the imports. although not really imported. funny thing is, this weekend i was comapring an altima 2.5s w/spec edition to a fusion sel i-4. they were both fairly well equipped and mostly the same level. to take into context what this post is about, the altima is 65% us, engine, and assembly are here, they also use mostly us parts suppliers. the fusion however was built in mexico and most likely uses foreign contect as it shares a lot with the mazda 3/6.

that sticker was scary to see. sure your money goes to japan, but theyre keeping many of us in work.

im buying the altima this week. at a sticker of $23035, overall its a very good car and i strongly beleive in nissan's reliabilty and quality.
but to each his own

[JLad10687]

Originally Posted by harrymay

im buying the altima this week. at a sticker of $23035, overall its a very good car and i strongly beleive in nissan's reliabilty and quality. but to each his own

No more Max for you?