Is one brand of car really better than the other???

[Real Riders]

I personally would only purchase a Honda, Toyota, or a Nissan.

[Jeremy1976]

I personally would only purchase a Honda, Toyota, or a Nissan.

Or Lexus. Which is just a high end Toyota

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[roguegeek]

Depends on what you mean by better, but I can tell you this. Having been in the automotive journalism industry for the last 16 years, I've been able to test and document over 8000 unique vehicles (yeah, I've been pretty lucky) and, without getting into too much detail, there are definitely manufactures that just create better overall vehicles. If you try to throw out blanket statements like "domestic vs import" or "Chevy vs Ford", you're going to be wrong. It's just not that simple. There are trends and patterns, but there's a whole lot of nuance as well and they can drastically change from model year to model year.

When someone asks me what car I should buy, I always ask the same questions back. What are you going to do with it? What's your budget?

[LEDetailing]

I own 2 Toyotas and work as a mechanic at a toyota and chevy dealer. I will say that there are about 5 times as many chevys towed in compared to the toyotas.

I've owned 3 Toyotas since 2008. I replaced one ignition coil on my 2006 Avalon. Other than that, I've spent zero on repairs. General maintenance, batteries, tires, brakes, not included. I'm not a huge fan of the styling of Toyotas but I love their reliability. Total of approximately 100,000 miles on the three Toyotas. All used with the lowest starting mileage at 56k.

[lee250]

I have an 86 camry with 260k miles and just bought a scion iM in december. I love my toyotas

[DBAILEY]

Toyotas do have the most boring styling. BLAH

[oneheadlite]

Thread: subscribed.

There are a lot of great responses so far. As mentioned, big factors are- what are you going to do with it? How long are you going to keep it? Are you buying new or just how used?

I've been working on Audis for 15 years (started at a dealership) and have been at an independent BMW/Mini/Audi shop for 6. I also have friends with exposure to VW and Mercedes, so all I can speak about is the German stuff. That being said, I can tell you that they all tend to like a little attention about every 80k-100k miles (meaning it seems like they like a cash injection around then, and are good for another 80-100k). No one is necessarily better (though it pains me to say I can't really recommend Minis).

General recommendations I would make- if buying just out of warranty, a GOOD extended warranty isn't a bad idea. See if you can get maintenance records, and remember that sometimes "I followed the factory recommendations exactly" isn't a good thing. (Dear BMW: I've been working on your cars, they don't like going 20k between oil changes. At all...)

That being said, I still love them. The fit and finish hold together great, I love the driving dynamics and the interiors. Here in Minnesota, the German cars overall seem to hold up better as far as rust.

The last thing I'll throw out is that I think overall any of the much newer cars are likely going to be more expensive to maintain then they used to be. As an industry, everything is getting more complex (direct injection, turbos, tons of electronics). I'm honestly a little afraid of what the current batch of cars are going to be like on the road in 10 years (what do you mean my car needs $3k worth of work?!).

I am really curious to hear more people chime in with their experiences with the other makes.

John

[rodneypierce]

I am an avid GM supporter, with that said, I now drive an E550 Mercedes. I can say with 100% certainty, there is no comparison between fit/finish/engineering.. The MB is light years ahead in every category. It has (thus far) been one of the most reliable vehicles I have owned. I have had it for 2 years now, and its got just under 90k on the clock. Car is a 2009.

[andy2485]

I work at Mini, and i would never own one! they are horrible. our service dept is always busy.

[oneheadlite]

Thinking about it, it's just like the huge variety of detailing products - Everyone will have their own preference, so you just find what you like and educate yourself on it. Poke around online and see what common problems are.

2 last suggestions for car buyers from a technicians perspective - If you're buying used, have a Prepurchase Inspection done. It may seem like a waste of money, but you'd be surprised how much it could save you. Also, buy slightly under budget to allow for little repairs to get the car up to snuff. Seen it too many times where somebody buys a ____ then can't afford to replace the water pump that went out a month later.

John