Assuming it is a good, reliable car otherwise I only have a couple brands with an ick factor that I'd have a hard time getting over.
Buick and Chrysler- They just are cars for old boring people to me.
Kia- I don't know if I can get over the cheapness. It always reads 'I couldn't afford anything else' to me.
There are other brands I have a deep seated distrust of, like anything Stellantis, but given the right car....
Appleseed said:All things German. I have an irrational distrust of them, and when repairs come, and there most certainly will, the parts cost will be 3x the cost of Brand Y.
This is me as well. I want a 911, the old ones are beyond what I want to spend but the newer ones scare me.
So what did I buy instead? A Foxbody Mustang, because those are known for build quality. 
I have no real brand loyalty, and believe that most car companies have both great and terrible vehicles. I've even bought cars against my better judgment (ahem... my Kia) but they have turned out OK. Other times, I've rolled the dice and crapped out (VW, I'm looking at you).
I think the one brand I have avoided the most over the years despite my experience with them is Ford. I've had 3 Ford products over the years (5 if you count two Mazda3's that were more or less designed by them) and all of them had really dumb and annoying problems or even Achilles heel issues that would kill the whole car. I liked them overall, but man, some of the issues made me question the sanity of the engineers who designed them. I'd buy another one, provided I know what kind of punishment I'm in for.
All cars have issues. It's a matter of choosing the issues you're willing to live with.
Tony Sestito said:I have no real brand loyalty,
So your a car tramp then??
Tom1200 said:Tony Sestito said:I have no real brand loyalty,
So your a car tramp then??
I would think most of us here are...;)
In reply to stan :
I would like to say I am a high end E scort
There are certain car brands that I won't give my money to directly by buying a new car from them and if I happened to buy a used one would be doing my best to not buy parts from them, but since I've bought exactly one new car for myself and the brand that made it no longer exists (The Dancer's truck doesn't count IMO, since that was entirely her choice) that's not really much of a problem since I tend to buy very used and on the older side. If it's a decent price and sounds/looks interesting, I won't likely worry too much about the brand- almost every car company has made something interesting/fun enough at some point in their existence that I'd like to get to play with it.
Amusingly, a ways back when I was thinking about the vehicles that I've owned I realized that despite having owned about 2 dozen vehicles at this point I have never bought a Ford/Lincoln/Mercury product. The Dancer owned an Escape when we got married, but other than that there hasn't been a Ford product that we've owned. It's nothing against the brand in general- and I did try hard to buy and SN95 convertible on a couple of occasions but the sellers flaked- but somehow I've just not ended up with any of their vehicles.
nsxmr2elises2000 said:In reply to stan :
I would like to say I am a high end E scort
So, a ZX2 S/R?
Ashyukun (Robert) said:nsxmr2elises2000 said:In reply to stan :
I would like to say I am a high end E scort
So, a ZX2 S/R?
That's a cheap E scort with a tape and stripes package.
Now, a high end E scort has RS in the title like RS1600 or RS2000 or Escrot RS Cosworth....
I refuse to buy German, which is a shame because they make the most beautiful wagons.
I briefly owned a GTI that was a disaster, though my Boxster ownership was drama-free
Tom1200 said:Tony Sestito said:I have no real brand loyalty,
So your a car tramp then??
Yes, yes I am.
Right now, we have a Mazda, a Dodge, a Pontiac, and a Kia. None of those are flavors that should work well together. If it's cool, it's cool, no matter who makes it.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
Thank you. :)
calteg said:I refuse to buy German, which is a shame because they make the most beautiful wagons.
I briefly owned a GTI that was a disaster, though my Boxster ownership was drama-free
I don't know if German cars are necessarily bad to own... but it seems you are often buying the previous owner as much as the car. German cars seem to be more needy than the typical American car buyer is willing to deal with (and pay for). And since we as GRMers tend to favor cars on the cheaper end of the spectrum, that can often be 2 or 3 or more previous owners - which greatly increases the chances of deferred repairs and ignored service intervals. While a German car may become cheap to buy it will never really become cheap to own.
In reply to Tony Sestito :
Hey, hey no judgment here; what you wake up next to in the garage is totally your business.
Now of course if you have a Kia tattoo on your lower back I'd say that shows a real commitment to the car tramp lifestyle.
In reply to Tom1200 :
If there's going to be any unwanted lower back tattoos, it will be in the form of a screaming firechicken. I think that car owns me at this point.
And man, this thread just took a turn.
Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:calteg said:I refuse to buy German, which is a shame because they make the most beautiful wagons.
I briefly owned a GTI that was a disaster, though my Boxster ownership was drama-free
I don't know if German cars are necessarily bad to own... but it seems you are often buying the previous owner as much as the car. German cars seem to be more needy than the typical American car buyer is willing to deal with (and pay for). And since we as GRMers tend to favor cars on the cheaper end of the spectrum, that can often be 2 or 3 or more previous owners - which greatly increases the chances of deferred repairs and ignored service intervals. While a German car may become cheap to buy it will never really become cheap to own.
Fwiw Germans have had their ups and downs. Modern BMW is way better than the era of bmw most GRMers would be buying. Modern Mercedes is garbage, but some of their older post Chrysler era were quite good. It really pays to do research on specific models, engines and transmissions.
Trent said:I'll admit it. I'm a GM hater. My automotive "coming of age years" were the years of the Corsica, the Celebrity, the big "B body" pensioner transport units and the used market? Well I wasn't cosplaying as a 70s New York cop so.... what did that leave? Chevettes? Iron duked FWD trash? Maybe a Fiero?
And then I bought an Avalanche and it was even more hateful than I ever imagined it could be.
I have had 50+ gm cars, and other than gmt400 tbi trucks and older stuff, I was also turned against them with the same era Avalanche as Trent. Staring at a tbi gmt400 in my driveway right now, and it's wonderful. It's been sitting a month and just fired on one crank to go get mower gas.
after 2 new 2016 chrysler purchases, never berking again. Love my truck, will keep it forever, because of the cummins engine and not the rest of it. The brakes on the 2016 charger(69k miles) have been done 3x front and rear already, has a howling front wheel bearing, the paint is see-through thin in the jambs, underhood color along fender edges peeling, console curling like a 30 year old lumina dash. There's a reason it was the cheapest new big trunk ~300hp awd sedan at the time, or i guess I outlined many reasons.
in 2016 I bought a 2002 wrx, then john's Q45, skyline, avalon. The japanese cars have changed me completely. The fit and finish is better than anything american I experienced. If I had my way, we'd be taking the $13,400 carvana offer on the Charger and pocketing some cash because my 257k mile 17 year old free Toyota is a better car and more comfortable to drive. Maybe I needed a change of scenery of being american car driver for so long, or maybe most of them are junk.
I'd never be caught dead in a tesla anything but that is most definitely not keeping me from missing out on quality vehicles.
Between my wife and I we're above 15 german cars owned. Currently we have 4. Nothing about them being German made them any worse or better than any other cars we've owned(my wife briefly owned a Civic, but otherwise has only owned VWs). The Mercedeses are a bit more complicated than American stuff of the same era but are built like anvils.
Would never own a Dodge/Stellantis product, but they don't make anything that interests me anyway, so that's a moot point.
My 135i turned me off any modern turbo BMW. Other than those there isn't a brand I specifically avoid. It mostly comes down to 2 things:
1: Do they make something I like.
2: Can I afford that car I like.
That's why I've mostly driven Mazda's and Subaru's as an adult. They make cars I like, that I can afford, AND that I can afford to maintain.
In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :
I used to think people were crazy for not buying the obvious Japanese choices. Then in 2012 I bought a then 10yr old E39 M5. Obviously this car is a bit of a shining star, but just the feel of quality and solidity cannot be compared to anything Japanese much less Korean or American. And I've been around many many other brands over the years, but after that M5, I was hooked. Multiple M3s (no 36s lol), and now daily driving the pinnacle of German unreliability - an X166 diesel GL350 while my wife has a gas ML350. They just 'feel' different and they feel nicer for longer.
Yes the parts cost is significantly higher, and they do things their own way, but once you're familiar you've got it licked. And on the used market they're CHEAP! Long live people who don't want used depreciated luxury vehicles!
z31maniac said:Would never own a Dodge/Stellantis product, but they don't make anything that interests me anyway, so that's a moot point.
My 135i turned me off any modern turbo BMW. Other than those there isn't a brand I specifically avoid. It mostly comes down to 2 things:
1: Do they make something I like.
2: Can I afford that car I like.
That's why I've mostly driven Mazda's and Subaru's as an adult. They make cars I like, that I can afford, AND that I can afford to maintain.
To expand on this, when I say afford to maintain, I mean pay someone else. I've done engine swaps and all that jazz and still can do it, I just don't want to anymore. I don't enjoy spending my weekends on my back on the garage floor anymore. I'd rather pay the premium to drop it off with someone I know is a pro, and pick it up later.......sans back aches, busted knuckles, etc.
These guys don't care that you don't like them, and they don't care what you drive, either.
nlzmo400r said:Long live people who don't want used depreciated luxury vehicles!
Preach! Bought my SKlasse for 0.8% of it's original price, adjusting for inflation. And even a 40 year old luxury car is quieter and smoother than a modern economy car. Even just in the way the doors shut tells you that the car is built better.
nlzmo400r said:In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :
I used to think people were crazy for not buying the obvious Japanese choices. Then in 2012 I bought a then 10yr old E39 M5. Obviously this car is a bit of a shining star, but just the feel of quality and solidity cannot be compared to anything Japanese much less Korean or American. And I've been around many many other brands over the years, but after that M5, I was hooked. Multiple M3s (no 36s lol), and now daily driving the pinnacle of German unreliability - an X166 diesel GL350 while my wife has a gas ML350. They just 'feel' different and they feel nicer for longer.
Yes the parts cost is significantly higher, and they do things their own way, but once you're familiar you've got it licked. And on the used market they're CHEAP! Long live people who don't want used depreciated luxury vehicles!
I love they way many German cars drive and the styling as well BUT it's just not enough for me to get past the extra time and expense.
z31maniac said:To expand on this, when I say afford to maintain, I mean pay someone else. I've done engine swaps and all that jazz and still can do it, I just don't want to anymore. I don't enjoy spending my weekends on my back on the garage floor anymore. I'd rather pay the premium to drop it off with someone I know is a pro, and pick it up later.......sans back aches, busted knuckles, etc.
This all day long....................................I only ever worked on cars because it made racing affordable.
I still work on the Datsun 1200 race car because it's so stupidly simple and most jobs I can do quicker than loading it up taking it to the shop and bringing it home again.
I'm to the point in life were time is more important than money (how the heck did that happen?)
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