What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

A kid at work was talking about how good of a car his saturn is and how they are much more reliable than other cars. I told him I thought hondas were more reliable but he was saying that saturns were much better and that hondas have many problems. This kid is really stupid but I wanted to see what everyone else thinks is more reliable. If you think other cars are better, post up what you think would be the best daily driver. Don't say a dsm. ;)

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

I go with theses 2 sayings:

Every car is reliable if it's taken care of the right way.

Cars are only as good as their warrenties. Big warrenties = little faith and needed. Small warrenties = lost of faith and trust.


Neither set is alwasy true, but a "starting" benchmark.

Saturns rule, but a Geo Metro will get the panties to FLY off.

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

Honda's need minimal maintainence to continue to run for a long time. Saturn's require a little more strict maintenance schedule (but not much more) to keep them running for a long time. Like AJ said, it depends on how they are taken care of and driven.

I would say a majority of Honda's would last longer than the same amount of Saturns. Just look at my old CRX. 230,000 miles (150,000 of which I put on, none were easy ones either) and mine finally lost it's rings in one of it's cylinders. It still runs, but I read compression on the oil pressure guage. And there's more gas in the oilpan than oil.

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

I have had both. The interior of the Saturn fell apart before 90,000 miles, but the motor is still going. The CRX I had had quite a few problems and eventually ended up with a cracked cylinder. Honda's are normally very reliable when kept stock, a lot of them are setup in the most very basic ways, so there is less to go wrong in the first place. Modded they can have their problems also.

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

On average, I see Saturns having more problems than Hondas. Like anything else though, neither will be reliable unless maintained. You also must keep in mind that when buying a Honda you pay a premium for the name alone since they have such a good reputation whereas you can get a comparable Saturn for 2/3 the price. Unfortunately, Saturn is becoming more and more absorbed into the regular GM lineup every year (this is a bad thing since they are no longer different which is how they came up so quickly and made a name for themselves).

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

According to JD Powers a Hyundai is actually #1 this year. My how things change!

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

..well, working at saturn, I can say that they are better then people give them credit for. If you need a cheaper, reliable source of transportation, then saturn is a great choice. true, it's no lexus, but they hold their own..they are also more gm then ever before..the cobalt? it's a copy of the ion..the saturn relay..chevy copied the same thing, and badged it as their own..perhaps this was usiing saturn to release the vehicle to see the public's reaction before chevy releases their versions, but meh. We are gettin all hyped up over the new convertable-"sky". I can't wait..anyway, I owned both a honda and saturn..they both have their problems. I never kept the car's long enough to face issues though...i went straight to a dsm.

-A. Swift

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

I would say get a saturn, then after you got it i would definatly question your sexuality.

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

sorry, but that's offensive. Just cause you drive a saturn doesn't mean you are gay at all. Whomever decided that saturns are the "gay" vehicle of choice..needs to be hung by his balls and shot. I see more homo's driving honda civics these days then any other vehicle..or sunfires. Nothing is wrong with gays, and nothing is wrong with saturns..I'd appreciate the comments kept clean. please. I may not agree with being gay, but I also don't slam it..I respect it. I would hope that you do the same.

-A. Swift

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

You haven't been around here long, have you Swifty? :P I don't think there is anything sacred around here that can't be made fun of!

That damn Nissan Sentra we have has been through hell and it still runs great. Toyota's are damn good too. I wouldn't put saturn at the head of the pack though, I would say they are above most american brands, but below most of the jap cars.

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

Ummm I think the gay vehicle of choice would have to be the Mercury Cougar, or if you see a guy driving a Grand Am and he actually owns it. Saturns are for bi-sexual chics in my book. And there is nothing wrong with a chic that swings both ways.

Swifty, don't be a little bitch. I think you have been in a car with guys so much these days you might be questioning your sexuality. Tom self admits hes gay so that should give him the right to talk down about it. Because he is only insulting himself.

I would definetly take the Honda though over a Saturn, parts for Hondas are cheaper and they seem like they would be easier to work on.

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

..yea, perhaps you are right. I should go pull the wrench outta my ass, and settle down. I have been antsy the last few days, but I leave to go to a cabin with 4 girls tonight, and only 1 other guy, who's datin one of them..that leaves 3 for me. So, It's all good.

Saturns are rather easy as fuck to work on. For example there are only 4 bolts that hold the subframe on the 3.0l and 3.5l motors. The 2.2 ecotecs are getting easier and easier to work on as I get more used to them. And the 1.9l are easier then shit. I can tear the motor apart in 15 minutes..not too bad (this with it being outta the car). The 3.0l motor's I'd hafta say are the biggest bitch to work on..I hate them.

-A. Swift

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

really??? I bought a 03 saturn wagon....

so am i questionable? if so let me know... we can discuss it sometime..

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

You see homos??? ;)

I am not looking for a car, I just want to see what kinds of cars people think are reliable.

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

I'll add a couple comments to this discussion:

My first car was a saturn, first year they made the crappy sl1, and by crappy I mean to this day with 260k miles and after being in two front end accidents it still runs and gets about 30 mpg. Thats reliability for ya.

Also, dsmstyle you mentioned something about warranties that I would like to point out is completely backasswards, if I understood you correctly. A company will not give out a warrantly on a shitty product, thats just bad business. If you are giving out really long warranties to shitty products you would over the life of the warranty be at a net loss on the product. And the people who run mega corporations aren't stupid, which is why they wont do that. Big long warranties generally mean better products.

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

Then why does Mitsu have a 10 year warranty and Mercedes is a 3 year? Are you saying Mitsu has better reliability than a Mercedes? The warranty is mainly a marketing ploy. Mitsu is hurting so you put a big warranty in there and worry about the extra costs later. New car companies usually run a big warranty to try and get people to try them and give an aura of quality since they have this big warranty.

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

didn't they stop using them?

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

Mitsu and Kia both with 10 year warranties, your point has just been disproved...twice. Then their is Chrysler with their 7/70 powertrain warranty when they are notorious for the weakest auto trannies in the business.

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

Take a business class its all a formula about sales vs cost plus the predicted marketing affect.

just because dsms suck doesnt mean all mitsu suck. but also you can look at the fact that i said a good business wont warranty something thats going to break, and as we have seen recently mitsu is not very good at the whole making money part of business.

there is a lot more that goes into it than oh kia has a 10 year warranty that means they think their product is going to break. mercedes has a 3 year so they are saying you will never have to fix it. kia is a brand new company and everyone thinks they suck so they are saying we will prove our product is good by paying for any repairs. In the case of Mercedes they have been around for, what a hundred years and people practically worship there cars, so they are saying, we don't care people will buy our cars no matter what and we will make a 50% profit on each car.

Here is another one for you guys. cadillac says you WILL NOT have to change the oil in your XLR the first year you own it. By what you are saying this means that cadillac must have something really wrong with the XLR.

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

Oh fuck! A business class? I believe you now. I have to go to bed before I fucking shoot myself.:rolleyes:

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

[QUOTE=xluciusx]Take a business class its all a formula about sales vs cost plus the predicted marketing affect.
QUOTE]

Damn I can't compete with a business class...I only have 4 years done, but I'm sure your 1 class was much more informative. Please, by all means though, share with us this formula. I won't even type a response to your comment since its quite obvious you haven't a clue what you're trying to talk about. Mitsu has the worst rep of any Jap car company in terms of quality and reliability. This is why they have to undercut everyone else's pricing plus offer a longer warranty in order to convice people their cars may be worth purchasing. If you think Kias are top quality cars, you should try talking to a few previous owners of them.

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

As for the debate of Honda or Saturn. I would never buy a Saturn again. As for honda, 1997 was the last good years of hondas. All the new models suck in the honda camp excluding Acura. Toyota is OK but after paying some 40k for an SUV made by USA Toyota makes me hate them more. I have more trouble with this SUV than I have with any other vehicle well next to a Saturn. I don't know who makes a good car any more!

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

Alright I'm done with this. You don't even read my full posts. You are only taking one line that wasn't even the majority of my post and commenting on that. I didn't take "one business class". And I'm obviously not saying oh there is a fomula that says if you sell 50,000 cars at x price and market shows blah blah blah. NO. I am saying it is FORMULATED off of analysts views. Thats all I'm done with this thread.

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

Good thing too, becuase you are probably the only one that thinks a long warranty is a sign of a reliable car.

You are right on one thing, companies do a lot of calculations on how to maximize their profit. BUT unlike you they look at everything, including the cost of fixing a crummy product for 10 years vs going under in 5 because they have no customer base and a horrible reputation.

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

Man, you are lucky I didn't get to reply earlier. Some of us have business degrees and have been in the work force for a long time. You are looking at a very narrow degree of what is involved in a business. Once you get out there you will realize that sales rules everything. You can attempt to formulate things, but in the real world it doesn't work that way. Now things aren't even formulated hardly at all. There is some forecasting done, then it is real time sales. So before you go spouting off to the rest of us, just because you are on the internet, think about it next time.

What we are saying is that cars known for quality don't need a long warranty. People believe they will last so a warranty isn't an important selling point. If a car is known for poor quality, it makes people more secure in their purchase if they get a big warranty. It all revolves around sales and marketing.

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

Hell yea, those things are piles. Expensive and German doesn't usually mean reliable.

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

Just remember, there aren't many car companies that put rainbow lettering in their bumpers ;)

Saturns are decent cars, but as was stated earlier, the older Honda's last much longer with less maintenance.

Terina just bought an '04 Hyundai Elantra and she couldn't be happier. She loves that car. Misses her DSM, but loves her new car. Hyundai has definately made a huge turn around from what they were. Still have an engine derived from the new Evo engines (I think).

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

Just buy a "Kia" (as good as Hyundai) and tell them I sent you so I can get my money.

Re: What do you think is a more reliable car?
 

Actually I have a story about Kia's. My boss worked at MTS and they make the shaker machines you see cars getting stress tested on. Kia had them put a car on there and sent over some engineers after testing was done. The engineers were actually going to weaken the parts that DIDN'T break!! They wanted the car to fall apart at 120k. The new hyundai's are a very good car for the money.