Non-Owner With A Dilemma

steveg78

Now THAT'S real troubleshooting... Or at least they tried to figure it out. And they did good by replacing it.

LunaZ

The road noise issue is becoming more fun than Miata doors!

As cool as I think the SRT8 Challenger, Charger and 300 are, I would never buy another Chrysler-Jeep-Mitsubishi product again. They're all poorly made crap and they seem to have recurring problems across different models and brands.

1995 Mitsubish Eclipse GS (basically a Neon in GT hatchback form):
- Fuel pump relay or some other electronic bit goes bad. Car sits for two weeks waiting for part because every other Neon and Neon-engined Eclipse or Avenger has theirs go bad at the same time.
- Sunroof sticks and tracks and motor fails. Replaced twice.
- Lower control arm ball joints seals are faulty, allowing moisture inside, causing rust and failure of ball joint. Ball joint fails and car falls to ground after losing front wheel at 45mph. Later that week, a recall notice for the part arrives in the mail, and I start seeing other Eclipses, Neons, Talons and Avengers parked alongside the road with a front wheel missing.
- Transmission self-destructs, sending parts through bell housing.

2002 Jeep Liberty Sport 4X4:
- Electronic sensor failure causes vehicle to go into limp mode. Diagnosed but not solved in three visits. Eventually, various sensors and command modules replaced.
- I hear grinding and clicking from my front end and check NHSTA website for info before letter arrives announcing lower control arm ball joint seals are recalled. Again, lengthy wait for parts as every Liberty in the country begins to experience failures.
- Transfer case fails, dropping front propeller shaft on road.

Jap crap what????

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2009 370Z Sport/Touring/Navigation | see my journal for mods
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kenchan

Professordave -

ImportConvert

I wouldn't own a japense car, or japanese made car ever again due to the quality issues I have had with the one I own now, along with the fact that nothing that has come out of Japan is of interest to me at this point. The whole "japanese is more reliable" thing is a myth as far as I am concerned. Unless of course we are comparing to chrysler/jeep. I have had a lot of friends who have issues with those vehicles.

I am not a chrysler fan, either.

You can try for a lemon-law buy-back. I know a guy on the GT500 forum that had Ford buy his GT500 back because of shifting issues that they refused to fix. He took a $2000 depreciation hit due to the miles he already had put on it.

I don't know what you should buy to replace it as I don't know your budget, or what kind of vehicle you are after. As to road-noise, the 370Z does have some, but it's a 3200# sports car. You have a 4,000#+ muscle-car. They are two totally different vehicles. It is like an F150 owner saying he chose the F150 because it could go over a 12" deep stream of water whereas a corvette would get flooded doing so. Well of course.

The road-noise in the 370Z is no more than I experienced while in a 911 4S. It's there, and you can hear it, and if you focus on it it might annoy you, but if you drive the car as intended you will forget about it.

shadoquad

I don't agree with much of your post, but I agree that this is not as true anymore as it once was. The domestic brands have stepped up their games lately, especially Ford, and Korean cars may not be as reliable, but they come with a much better warranty for the most part.

ImportConvert

I have only owned 5 cars in my 25 years of life, but the absolute worst car is my Infiniti. It is also the newest, with the least miles. The materials my '93 crown-vic was made from are vastly superior regarding the bushings, under-hood hoses, etc. Same for all my other domestics.

So far the entire driveline in my Infiniti has had to be replaced, sans engine. Never had that issue in a domestic. I have also never found myself under the hood of a domestic fixing all the cracked rubber intake tubing with permatex because it has rotted out and I don't want to spend a bazillion $$ replacing it all.

Maybe I just bought 3 good domestics and 1 decent one, and 1 horrible import, maybe not.

Either way, my case goes to show it's 1/2-dozen one or the other, no matter whos cool-aid you are sipping. The remaining point is that when a domestic is broken, it's a lot cheaper to fix than when an import is broken.

As to 2008 and newer, I would buy domestic no question. Some models are more prone to breaking than others, but as a whole, the reliability of american drivetrains seems to be way beyond that of their foreign counterparts. Japanese window-motors still might outlast those made by Gm, but I'm more concerned about my engine/transmission than a window motor.

shadoquad

Yeah, I tend to think that it was either a lemon in your case, or else maybe that model of Infiniti was just crap. Dunno. But I think the idea of basing a purchasing decision solely on country of origin, in this case the "Japan = reliable" leads to disappointment. My folks have an Acura with over 200k miles on it, and it's been very reliable. They also have a Chevy with over 200k on it, just as reliable.

domestics are cheaper to fix.

ImportConvert

It certainly did in my case. I bought into the "4 cylinders, Japan, RELIABLE!" myth. It has bit me in the arse. Now that I have replaced the axles,ignition,transmission,O2,cap,rotor,a few suspension bushings, all the motor mounts, transmission mount, radiator, I SHOULD be good for another 100K miles. Maybe.

shadoquad

ouch that sucks, man.

ImportConvert

It's fine. That is really what broke me of wanting a 370Z and sent me back to GM. I feel good about my decision. I jsut have to pipe up every time someone starts with that crap about how japanese cars are so good. I bought a 2002 Infiniti, and in my experience, they are just about the same as any other car, if not worse due to the inferior materials used. Nissan's paint is another such item. None of this shows up in the first 3 years or so of ownership, but after a while, cheap rubber, etc. rots, and you are left with very expensive repairs, a rattly ride, and in general, a piece of ****. SO yes, initial quality APPEARS very high as the panels in japanese cars are usually well fit, etc. It's how it holds up in 5-8 years that American cars show their superiority. Window motors are much cheaper than replacing all the motor mounts and every bushing in the suspension, etc.

shadoquad

Well, American cars can be really cheap to begin with, though. In fact, a Camaro I test drove had its interior literally falling apart on the test drive.

But anyhow, I hear you're buying a Vette? I'm a bit jealous. I love those things. Hope it treats you well, and I hope you love it to pieces!

ImportConvert

Thanks, yes, ordered a Z06 2 weeks ago. I always lusted after either a Z06 or a Viper ever since highschool, and when I came to this forum I was thinking maybe a TT 370Z as the TT kits had just recently become popular, but it seems they can't even get those tuned right half the time, so I passed.

I have heard a lot of bad stuff about the Camaro interior. The Vette interior is decent, but not as nice as the 370Z in my opinion. However, for the price of the car and the performance it offers, I would expect that GM cut a cost somewhere. I would rather it be in the interior than the driveline, so I'll somehow find a way to manage, lol.

If you don't have to have the Z06, you can get a regular Coupe in the VERY low 40's. 436 horsepower is still a whallop. Not much more than a Nismo Z regarding price.

jaedub

Maybe you should try to have it checked by a local dealer. It can be a minor issue. Im not saying "get a Z dude!!" but Z is a great sports car. The road noise doesnt bother me at all and i can tell you its much different from G37. Have you thought about lemon law?

SkyZ

i'm sorry to hear about ur problems with the infiniti, as well congratulations on the Z06 purchase. While i still believe that Japanese cars have better reliability than domestics it still all comes down to the luck. i have had the opposite experience of you in my family. dodge sprint, dodge neon, and while the sprint was okay, the neon was horrendous. My recently replaced subaru forester on the other hand was pretty much bulletproof in all aspects. Everything just worked and currently i have no problem with my Z, and i still see more old japanese cars than i do old american cars (old civic hatchbacks, corollas, etc.

Mt Tam I am

Two different cars. The Challenger is just for straight lines, while the Z is a better balance of straight and turns, albeit not as fast in the straight. If you did not like the G37 you might not like the Z either. How much did they ding you for the G37 trade in for the Challenger? This may indicate your approximate Challenger trade in loss.

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