Didn't read it but, there's nothing "mini" about that rant. Lol

 

You haven't seen me rant.

 

i had an '02 altima 3.5. one of the throttle butterfly screws came loose and went into the #1 cylinder and beat the **** out of the piston/head/valves and smashed the plug(obviously). i had powertrain warranty, but because the screw came from before the intake port, it wasn't considered part of the powertrain...i had an aneurysm.

 

the only new car I'd consider buying is a vette. I plan on keeping my jeep until it dies, then I'll resurrect it and continue using it as a dd. I'm down to 2 cars now, neither of which are newer than 97.

with that being said the Solara purchased in 06 now has 185k on it and the only thing that went "wrong" with the car is a front brake caliper and and shifter linkage came loose. this car has killed 2 deer and been female driven. I'd still have it if it.werent for my divorce. car was 22k out the door. 4 cyl 38 mpg red with sport susp and styling. 5 spd auto. great car. nice stereo, sunroof etc. worth every penny.

 

Unfortunately most the Japanese companies are terrible about goodwilling stuff like that. Subaru is the same way. They'll give you absurd stuff under warranty but if you're a mile or a day out of warranty they won't do **** for you.

Ford and GM on the other hand aren't like that at all. They goodwill and cover so much crap out of warranty that they have trouble keeping technicians.

Don't buy any Nissans with CVT transmissions either, they're having tons of problems with them. We were covering so many under our dealerships warranty plan (free oil changes, engines, and transmission for life, just had to do all your maintenance with us and had to do factory scheduled maintenance) at work that we got rid of it entirely.

 

early to mid 2000s Altimas are known for that. Though it is usually the 2.5L 4-cyl that have that problem not the V6. Make sure that locktite
was used on all the screws when they put it back together so it doesn't happen again (this was Nissan's eventual factory solution to the problem).

Most powertrain warrantees cover "internally lubricated components" only so basically anything in the head, block, trans case, and differential. But excludes engine accessories (water pump, alt, etc.) anything in the upper intake or before (i.e. your loose throttle body butterfly screw), most electrical and other non-powertrain related components. Of course wear parts such as a clutch in a manual are also excluded.

 

I suppose the advice could be don't buy a car with a CVT period. I don't think I've ever heard of a good CVT in a car, just "less-bad" ones.

At the very least they drive like crap, at worst they are reliability nightmares.

 

We have very, very few issues with them on Subarus at work and we have a lot of 2010s starting to come in over 80-100k miles now.

 

Yes, but they still have the CVT feel, though not as bad as the Nissan. I suppose it may come down to personal preference but I've never liked how CVTs feel and deliver power.

 

I can't say I'm a fan either. I hate how they are on city and backroads, but they're awesome on the highway and totally different. I hate driving them at work but it's nice when I get to take one out on the highway for a test drive.

 

Wow, I would have had a meltdown. I like how companies whether it be retail, insurance, whatever do whatever they can not to pay out. Yet they are so quick to take your money and if you don't pay or something happens to you it doesn't matter.

 

Volkswagen's, I've only owned German cars and Jeeps. All my VW's were fairly priced for what you get. Run great, and getting them to cover warrantees, they are great. Had an alternator go on a road trip, was just over mileage and VW covered everything. You can pickup a Nicely equipped Jetta for $18,000. Great gas mileage & dependable. My next car is gonna be a Jetta wagon, lower it with sport suspension & a nice set of rims. Great DD.

I would never, pay more than low $20k for a (new) car. Car prices are ridiculous!

 

The only problem is that in another 5 years or so you probably won't be able to get an entry-level econo-box for that price, given the rate that car prices have been going up.

 

You can't get much for under $20k now on a new car. Even between Rios, Fiestas, Souls, Versas, Accents, ect, ect that all start around $13-14k you get next to nothing but a cheap throwaway vehicle not suitable for much more than a graduation present or fleet service. Most aren't even coming with a spare tire and jack these days. Plus, by the time you factor in fees and financing and whatnot you're looking at an extra $2-3k on top of the MSRP.

 

I've had several VW and German cars, M3, Audi S4. Believe it or not, the M3, even though it was a 95, was the cheapest to repair out all of them. I don't know if I would buy another Audi, I like them for the AWD but they are absurd to fix, even if you do the work yourself. VW is pretty reasonable but still not cheap compared to other cars. Obviously if there is a warranty involved it doesn't matter as much but if you get stuck out of one or a repair is not covered it is not cheap.