No wonder Japanese cars last as they do..

[Wolfie]

Originally posted by: Pastore
My Mazda was built 100% in Japan and I'm glad for it.

What year is your mazda? I guess since Ford and Mazda start swapping parts in 88, it's kinda hard to say that it was all built 100% in Japan. You would have to look at the window sticker. It is required on that sticker to tell you what percentage of what came from where and was built where.

 

[psteng19]

Originally posted by: Strk
When did Nissan become known for their quality and reliability? Infiniti only recently became above average as far as both of those go. Also, Nissan is owned by Renault. Nissan did terribly before the French company came in and saved them. As for Honda ruling the market, well, as far as global production is concerned, Honda is actually one of the smallest of the global car producers.

Wrong, Infiniti has been in the top 5 (top 2 actually) for many years until recently when the QX56 brought them down.

And speaking from personal experience, my family has 4 Nissans, all extremely reliable.
In fact, my DD is a '96 Sentra w/180k, beat to hell and back, never left me stranded and still gets me 40 mpg.
But recently, the idle's become a bit rough 🙁

 

[SilthDraeth]

Originally posted by: zoiks

Originally posted by: Sunrise089
I test drive lots of cars for fun, and I can normally tell which Japanese cars were built in America versus Japan within 5 minutes of being inside. The quality control difference is normally pretty apparent.

I see no reason at all to consider a Japanese car over an America for reliability or fit and finish reasons in they are both built here.

Damn. You must have a really good eye or maybe possess great powers to detect that.

Actually all he does is read the label on the glass that tells where the car is manufactured, and then his mind manufactures faults in the American manufactured car.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: psteng19

Originally posted by: Strk
When did Nissan become known for their quality and reliability? Infiniti only recently became above average as far as both of those go. Also, Nissan is owned by Renault. Nissan did terribly before the French company came in and saved them. As for Honda ruling the market, well, as far as global production is concerned, Honda is actually one of the smallest of the global car producers.

Wrong, Infiniti has been in the top 5 (top 2 actually) for many years until recently when the QX56 brought them down.

And speaking from personal experience, my family has 4 Nissans, all extremely reliable.
In fact, my DD is a '96 Sentra w/180k, beat to hell and back, never left me stranded and still gets me 40 mpg.
But recently, the idle's become a bit rough 🙁

Yep, I've known a lot of people with Nissans, and they've always lasted a loooong time, even with significant abuse (Texas summer heat, missing oil changes, never changing tranny fluid, etc).

JD Power needs to just flat-out tell people that their studies are only for new cars and for approximately the first 20k-40k miles of the vehicles lifespan. I'd have a lot more respect for them if they had a 100k and 200k mile recap on the vehicles that they test. Drivetrain longevity has almost NOTHING to do with any small problems that are found in the first months and years of a vehicle's lifespan. Hell, a Dodge Neon looks decent enough if you only follow them through the first 3 years. But how likely are you to get 200k from one? Not very, even with careful attention to maintenance. The engine block may as well be made from cardboard. The head gaskets fail at the drop of a hat.

No, for long-term longevity, the only rule of thumb I've found is to pay very close attention to the market around you, both in friends and family, as well as used vehicles for sale.

 

[Summitdrinker]

well my 1994 mercury grand marquis with 214,000 miles on it is going strong, last weekend I pulled a 2500 pound boat 200 plus miles in the heat.....................................................

it's never had a major repair...............ya it's not new anymore, but it's no rattle trap.................in the last year I put 7 dollars worth of repairs in it, replaced the freeze plug in the block becuase the block heater plug was leaking.......................

america has made some great cars (well it's from canada i think)

 

[alkemyst]

Skill tests aside there is a huge difference in the work ethics of the Japanese vs American worker.

Too many Americans think "WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR ME" as an employee when it's the opposite they should be thinking.

The average American wants 8 hours of pay for a 2 hour workday at a rate insanely high for the task.

The average Japanese worker wouldn't mind so much putting in a 9 hour day for the same wage and usually feels bad about being overly compensated.

There are exceptions of course but most Americans then to put themselves at the center of any universe.

I will always remember the time we were out eating in a better than average restaurant. The hostess was passing and someone needed a drink. We stopped her to let our server know and got "Who do you think I am, what do I look like to you? I am the hostess here, not a server." She was quite loud about it and ended up attracting the manager's attention to be fired when she didn't think she owed anyone an apology as "it isn't my job".

 

[AdamK47]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
Skill tests aside there is a huge difference in the work ethics of the Japanese vs American worker.

Too many Americans think "WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR ME" as an employee when it's the opposite they should be thinking.

The average American wants 8 hours of pay for a 2 hour workday at a rate insanely high for the task.

The average Japanese worker wouldn't mind so much putting in a 9 hour day for the same wage and usually feels bad about being overly compensated.

There are exceptions of course but most Americans then to put themselves at the center of any universe.

I will always remember the time we were out eating in a better than average restaurant. The hostess was passing and someone needed a drink. We stopped her to let our server know and got "Who do you think I am, what do I look like to you? I am the hostess here, not a server." She was quite loud about it and ended up attracting the manager's attention to be fired when she didn't think she owed anyone an apology as "it isn't my job".

How do you know? Are you married to a women from Japan or something?

 

[Pastore]

Originally posted by: Wolfie

Originally posted by: Pastore
My Mazda was built 100% in Japan and I'm glad for it.

What year is your mazda? I guess since Ford and Mazda start swapping parts in 88, it's kinda hard to say that it was all built 100% in Japan. You would have to look at the window sticker. It is required on that sticker to tell you what percentage of what came from where and was built where.

2007 Mazda3 hatchback. 100% in Japan.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: Pastore

Originally posted by: Wolfie

Originally posted by: Pastore
My Mazda was built 100% in Japan and I'm glad for it.

What year is your mazda? I guess since Ford and Mazda start swapping parts in 88, it's kinda hard to say that it was all built 100% in Japan. You would have to look at the window sticker. It is required on that sticker to tell you what percentage of what came from where and was built where.

2007 Mazda3 hatchback. 100% in Japan.

Even though the Focus is built in Germany and Spain, the Volvos in Belgium and the Mazda 3 in Japan, their platforms share ?40% commonality of parts?.

Link
So I wouldn't make any bets that all of your car came from Japan, since it shares 40% of its parts with the Ford Focus and Volvo S40/V40.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: AdamK47


How do you know? Are you married to a women from Japan or something?

I believe you know that about me. However, that isn't my basis on my statement.

Almost everyone from her sphere of friends/family have this kind of ethic when we talk or interact.

I love the USA, I have no desire to move to Japan. However the people I deal with each day proves to me how self-centered most are here.

There is quite a few self-centered people in Japan, however; the majority there know their roles in life...while here many try to be the King while they are paupers.

 

[tcsenter]

Originally posted by: Arkaign
Nissan ranking below average just seems ridiculous, unless their measurement criteria looks at something other than actual mechanical reliability. A regularly-maintained Nissan will easily last to 200k miles.

Do you have any evidence to back up your claims other than your laughable personal anecdotes like "I see some older Nissans for sale in the paper"? What the hell does that prove? Do you go around gathering the maintenance records of cars listed in the classifieds to sort out which ones had drive/power train problems?

Since you reject a widely-respected survey and demand other's back up their claims with 'credible' data, did it occur to you how much of an asshat it makes you look by not having any to support your claims?

 

[Summitdrinker]

some of the older Nissans were good cars, but from talking to people who have ones 2 or 3 years old or less then have been not very reliable

i get my info from real people not the internet on this........................no studies or credible data

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: tcsenter

Originally posted by: Arkaign
Nissan ranking below average just seems ridiculous, unless their measurement criteria looks at something other than actual mechanical reliability. A regularly-maintained Nissan will easily last to 200k miles.

Do you have any evidence to back up your claims other than your laughable personal anecdotes like "I see some older Nissans for sale in the paper"? What the hell does that prove? Do you go around gathering the maintenance records of cars listed in the classifieds to sort out which ones had drive/power train problems?

Since you reject a widely-respected survey and demand other's back up their claims with 'credible' data, did it occur to you how much of an asshat it makes you look by not having any to support your claims?

Well, point me to a survey that reports on ACTUAL vehicle longevity, or % of units that make it to a benchmark point like 10 years or 200k miles, and we'll have something to go on. As it is, JD Power has truly no value in this regard, as almost no vehicle will have a serious drivetrain issue within their very short evaluation period.

Do you realize what an asshat you look like by posting rude comments with nothing but insults within? If reality and our perspectives on it are purely anecdotal, which philosophically and practically they are, then should we discount every common sense conclusion that we form from seemingly obvious patterns and events?

If anything is laughable, it's your bitter rude ass.

We DO need some hard data, but I don't see any studies that truly look at a car's reliability for the long haul.

And I think it should be obvious to you, if you pay attention to the used car market, what lasts and what doesn't. Are all these high-mileage Nissans available just a figment of everyone's imagination? I haven't personally owned one, and would rather get a Buick, Honda, or otherwise, so I'm no fanboy. I'm a pragmatist, and it would be foolish of me to deny the seemingly overwhelming number of these things on the market.

As to the last poster, that may very well be true. I have a friend with a recent Altima ('05 I think), and it's the 2.5 model. Nothing has failed in it, but it's a lot clunkier and noisier than the other Nissans I've ridden in. Wouldn't surprise me if it didn't last to 150k+.