611–620 of 1001 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
People drive horrible now. Running lights, crazy lane changes, excessive speeding etc. Here in the US is started during the pandemic and hasn’t improved.
Started during the pandemic? My friend, I think you just might not remember how terribly people drove pre-pandemic as well.
I'm in the market for a used vehicle, and I am looking at mid 2010's Toyota 4runner's and Tacoma's, maybe even Tundra. It's just hard to go wrong with a Toyota.
There are only 4 cars: Tundra, Tacoma, 4runner, prius. The rest are mere toys. Don't get a Tundra if you live in a big city though. Seriously just get a 4runner unless you regularly need to haul stuff.
As for the rest being toys, I have to disagree. Toyota makes fantastic cars too. A friend has a 2010 Matrix that's just great. And his 20+ year old Camry is very good too.
My 3rd Gen Toyota 4Runner is old enough to drink and outside of routine maintenance requires almost no thought. "It's time to get a new car" given that car safety has drastically improved and I have two younger kids in that thing a few times a week but I'm honestly having a really hard time giving it up, something so reliable and plainly functional. New cars with all their computers and smart technology only look lik…
Yes, I keep on thinking that a premium market will develop for Toyota and Honda cars from roughly ~2006-2010. Those cars were the height of internal combustion technology without all of the electronics.
I'm averaging 20-30% of a new car payment keeping them running and replacing big parts, but I would spend double (maybe lol) that so I can keep the experience. If I had a commute longer than a half hour maybe I'd look into a Prius or Leaf? Just waiting for a cts-v wagon to fall into my lap....
Note that these stats only account for reliability in the first three years: > Then the brand reliability score was calculated by averaging results from 2021 to 2023. As someone who usually buys ~10 year old cars and drives them into the ground I'm much more interested in long term reliability. It may correlate but these stats are not that!
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, I keep on thinking that a premium market will develop for Toyota and Honda cars from roughly ~2006-2010. Those cars were the height of internal combustion technology without all of the electronics.
Keep in mind if you're buying a used 2007 Toyota Camry that the oil burning problem was a Toyota Service Bulletin and not a recall. The TSB has expired. If the previous owner(s) did t do it in time, you can't do it for free anymore. You might need to "top up" half a quart of engine oil or do oil changes every three thousand to five thousand miles even with full synthetic oil, ignoring any Toyota assurances that you m…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
People drive horrible now. Running lights, crazy lane changes, excessive speeding etc. Here in the US is started during the pandemic and hasn’t improved.
Started during the pandemic? My friend, I think you just might not remember how terribly people drove pre-pandemic as well.
With the roads deserted people went faster and more carelessly. When things recovered and roads got crowded they didn’t tone their driving back down.
I do insurance things. It’s well known in the field.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
People complain about new cars being harder to fix because of electronics but I think post OBDII they are actually easier because they tell you what is broken with error codes and also forums of experts are just a click away. I do think its true that you can no longer be a diy hotrodder for most models because there is so much complexity with timing, emissions, fuel efficiency strategies, variable valve timing etc.
> also forums of experts are just a click away. I've found most car forums tend to drive the real experts away due to them being full of blowhards. The real experts get tired of getting told by these folks they don't know what they're talking about, and end up creating closed invite only forums to trade info and advice on that the casual shade tree mechanic has no access to. I completely gave up on Rennlist after I a…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do computers last 20+ years in cars? As others have mentioned, sensors and stuff related to safety fail all the time. I recently paid $800 to re-enable the safety systems in my (newer) car after a part failed. I've never had such expensive repairs on my 20 year old car.
My 2001 BMW with electronic throttle and fuel injection is doing just fine, the weakest point is plastic in the engine bay gets brittle and starts rotting (especially around coolant system).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If consumers wanted smaller cars, they would buy more of them. A car is still much less expensive than a larger vehicle. The data clearly indicates people want bigger vehicles. Anecdotally, I have personally heard many people say they want to sit up higher, or have a bigger vehicle because it is safer for them.
I think you miss my point. When CAFE standards drastically increase the price of small cars, it impacts choice. It's similar to house prices. The more regulations you pile on, the more things cost. While those things are seen as "good", it removes choice and increases cost.
When CAFE standards specifically carve out an exception for larger vehicles (pickups and SUVs), thus forcing only compacts and sedans and station wagons to be subject to the new standards, of course there's some price pressure that nudges people into bigger cars.
If CAFE was applied across the board, there'd be no impact on choice at all. But it's not.