Good point... But I doubt JLAudio was aware of the fact (that they are not the same engine).

 

I am not worried about those problems. Also why are you knocking Ford? Take that negative comment to someone else. I am a DIE HARD FORD GUY! I own 2 now but have had MANY more Fords than other cars. I am sick of people talking about other brand cars as if theirs is the god of all cars. I don't hate any brand car. A car is a car. I have a favorite brand (Ford) but I don't talk bad about other brands. People are always talking bad about my KIA but I say F**K OFF my car has 120k miles and the only thing I have had to do is change the spark plugs, oil, and break pads.

FYI I am not mad at you just bitching in general.

 

i get a ford factory discount!
my step dad works at the ford plant in MN.

my mom drives a 2006 mustang GT, silver with gray leather. is a sexy car.

 

sorry erasmmuss,i have to agree with jlaudio_quattro on this,i too hate it when people trash talk other brands of cars,it doesn't matter what some stranger on a forum thinks about your car,same thing with people always telling you,what you should do with your car and if you don't do what they suggest,they have a fit about it and begin trolling your decisions.

Consider anyone Blessed,if they can afford to own,lease,maintain or make payments on a car in this acconomy!

I feel if you have a car that takes you from point A to point B,gets you to and from work,gets you to the market to buy groceries for your family,be happy and feel fortunate that you don't have to take a bus for all your transportation needs,like alot of other people that have been hit hard by this reccession,that can't afford a car.

I have 2 cars and even had 3 at once at one time,1996 buick regal,1997 vw jetta that i currently still own and my 2001 A4 B5,i sold the buick as i just didn't need her,i loved my regal though,she was a trooper and never broke down on me,even through 3 winters!

I had a friend that always used to talk trash about my regal,simply because it was an american car. go figure,it was the most reliable car i ever owned,the 1997 vw is doing pretty good too.

Think about it,the next time you think of bashing someone elses car,simply because it isn't the same brand,make or model your driving.

 

I'd also agree on the whole topic of bashing entire brands of cars. One thing to keep in mind also is that the various brands have changed over the years and for instance a new GM or Ford product is vastly different from say the stuff they made in the 80's. Mercedes used to be known for its quality and that their cars (especially the diesels) could go forever, I had a friend who owned a late 70's or early 80's MB diesel that went over 500,000 miles with few issues! Now, if you read Consumer Reports, where they do very extensive research on all of the brands and models and the issues people have with them, Mercedes is towards the bottom of the reliability scale, along with BMW and Audi. The Japanese, especially Honda and Toyota are near the top, but Hyundai and Kia, who used to be known for making junk cars, are catching up fast. Even GM and Ford have made big leaps in the long-term quality of the cars that they build.

Another thing to keep in mind is not just how many issues a given car may have, but what it costs to fix it. A while back, a friend had a Pontiac Sunfire that blew a head gasket at around 150,000 miles. He was able to get a whole new (used with only 70,000 miles on it) engine for $500 and had it installed for another $500. When I ran over something in the road a while back that cracked my oil pan, causing my engine on my A4 to blow up, even though I pulled over as soon as the oil light came on, it cost about $3000 to replace the motor with one that had 90,000 miles on it. Of course, it seems to me that generally the more a car cost when new, the more it will cost to fix as it gets older. I know another guy who has a mid 2000's Mercedes Cl600 coupe, that originally stickered for something like $160,000. (he bought it used with about 50,000 miles on it, I think he paid around $30,000 for it, quite a markdown from new!) That car sucks up $1000 bills like you wouldn't believe, even for minor maintenance work. It sure is a sweet ride though, the twin-turbo V12 makes gobs of power and is so smooth, its like a rocket.

Any car brand and model you buy can turn out to be a dog, especially if it was poorly maintained in the past. I've owned 2 Acuras and a Honda and had basically zero problems with them, but each one came with a maintenance history when I bought them used and they had been taken care of. If you skip changing the timing belt on a Honda, you'll blow up the motor just like any other car with an interference type motor. As great as I think Acuras are, the last one I owned, a 2002 CL was a great car that was known for one huge weakness, a poorly designed 5 speed auto trans that could blow up at any given time. They had so many problems, people were losing their tranny at 50,000 miles, 30,000 miles, some even less and Acura was ignoring the problems, so a group got together and filed a class-action lawsuit against Honda/Acura. They eventually settled and came up with a fix for the tranny (although even with the fix, people still have problems) and offered an extended warranty on the trannys. Other than the tranny, the CL's and TL's of that generation are great cars that should go for 200,000, 300,000 miles or more with few issues, but they still have that one fatal flaw, which costs $3000-$4000 to fix!

 

I have been watching this trend unfold in front of my eyes too,all the old thinking about american cars will go out the window in a few years.

 

I agree, I think the Americans will catch up sooner or later (hopefully sooner) with the Japanese (and now the Koreans) If anything, its the Germans who need to do the most work, according to Consumer Reports and other sources, they make the most problematic cars that are also the most expensive to repair. Every car maker has made its good ones and bad ones, too. For a short time, I owned a 1995 Cadillac STS that was a fun car with its 300hp Northstar V8, but I got rid of it because I knew they had their issues and could be ridiculously expensive to fix if certain things went wrong. If I remember correctly, the Northstar's starter was in the engine block and if it died, it was some ridiculous amount to get it replaced. Yet, GM was the same company that during the 80's and 90's made the 3.8 liter V6's that were known to go forever, they made good power and still got mileage in the high 20's on the highway, even in a big car like a Buick Park Avenue (a hell of a lot better than my wimpy 150hp A4!) and if anything went wrong, they were cheap to fix. My Dad is a GM retiree and gets the GM discount (actually I can get it too) which can be a pretty good deal, if you want to buy a new car. My parents have been leasing Cadillacs for the last 10+ years, getting a 2 or 3 year lease and then getting a new one. The last 3 were Caddy DTS's (also with the Northstar motor) and they NEVER had to take any of them in to have ANYTHING fixed! Of course, they don't put too many miles on them and they keep them dealer-maintained, but ZERO problems is pretty darn good! Their lease just came up again and they decided to go with a Caddy CTS instead, which I haven't had a chance to drive yet, but I hopefully will get a chance next time I'm home. Even though I generally prefer foreign cars, if I had $60k or $70k to drop on any car I wanted, I'd get a new Caddy CTS-V, with the 550hp supercharged V8, that looks like one killer ride! Anyway, their experience with recent GM quality has been exceptional, no problems at all!