I was in my car (A 2000 Honda Civic) at lunch listening to the radio. The talk show host was asking what is wrong with GM, and what can be done to improve their situation. He’s talking about unions, and healthcare costs, and all kinds of things. Never once did he mention the poor quality of the car. He talked about the employee discount sale, and happy customers, etc. He mentioned he bought a GM car. Fine. GM cars work great when you buy them new. What about 10 years down the road? They don’t last! It is one thing for the talk show host who probably buys a new car (probably at a discount because he promotes them), and trades it in every couple years for a new one. But for me and people like me who buy a car and expect it to last for years, GM cars are horrible! My last Honda was a 1990 Accord. I bought it with about 40000 miles on it, and at about 235000 miles it fried it’s valves. (And the reason it fried it’s valves I am pretty sure traces back to another mechanic who didn’t replace my water pump when I had my timing belt replaced which caused my car to overheat when the water pump blew a month later) After my mechanic told me the engine was most likely toast and telling me what it would cost to replace the engine, I traded the car and $2000 to him for a 1992 Chevy Lumina with only 100000 miles on it. Over the one year I had it I put money into it fixing this or that, until after about a year, the thing blew a head gasket! And I maintain my cars with regular oil changes etc. My wife had a 1989 Pontiac Sunbird also with relativly low milage, and that thing also blew a head gasket. What happened to the 1990 Honda Accord? The mechanic dropped a used engine into it, and it went back out onto the road. I donated the pieces of crap Lumina and Sunbird to a charity via the local junkyard! We ended up buying a couple 2000 Honda Civics which we plan to own for a bunch of years. My mechanic told me that the newer Hondas (like mine), have engines that will last for about a half million miles. He also told me that Honda’s from the era of my 1990 Accord had engines that didn’t last a long time. I’ll take 235000 miles. Thats way more than I have gotten from an American car! Honda cars last, GM cars don’t!

Posted by Rob in Getting Rich on November 21st, 2005 |