Experience with cars.

Hey, do any of you guys drive american cars? I'm thinking about getting a Chevy Impala but a little hesitant cuz its american. Our last american car is gonna fall apart in a year, its an 89 sundance. So whats your experience with cars? All types cuz i need a reference to go by. And please list the year and model as a reference. ------------------ ~Grizy Great, so how much is shipping? __________________ Well, I'd be hesitant to go by your experience: the sundance was never regarded as a great example of American workmanship OK, I've mostly driven American. My experience with Chevy was quite good: '96 Chevy Tahoe. Mechanically, pretty much flawless. The only problem I had was a worn parking brake which was fixed under warrenty. Superficially, terrific paint and materials. A few things broke, mostly just pieces snapping as opposed to being poorly designed: a cover of some sort in the passenger footwell, and the driver's seat became a little loose after two years. I am pretty sure all were resolved under warrenty. Additionally, I know my service turnaround times and dealer support were the envy of my friends, all of whom drove imports (BMWs, Toyotas and Hondas.) Other American: '99 Ford Expedition. Despite gimmicky interior (adjustable pedals? you gotta be kidding me) it was pretty well put together, felt very solid, no problems in one year of use. '99 Dodge Durango: VERY solid. HAve had no problems whatsoever except for a mysterious engine noise that turned out to just be an industrial stength cooling system for a gigantic engine (5.9L). In all, and this post is getting really really long now, we've been much happier with our American cars than our imports. My father just got an ML 55, and while it is certainly an impressive specimen, we feel the American's make a more substantial-feeling car. The operative word is "meaty": you really feel like the American cars will deal well with the abuse you dish out on a daily basis, while you feel like you have to treat some of the imports with kid gloves. Hope that helps. __________________ For the most part I dont think American cars have any more problem than forign cars. Sure there are crappy american cars, but there are forign cars that arnt exactly of the highest quality either. You just have to be looking at two equivalent cars. You can't compare a Porsche to some ford POS and expect them to be the same. If you look at the porsche and maybe a cobra then they become more equal. Impalas arnt some little S**tbox that lose parts while driving down the road. I wouldnt think that you would have many problems with a car of that caliber. Also keep in mind that the price of fixing an American car is often cheaper than fixing a forign car. (I am sure this isnt true for all forign cars but it many cases this holds.) I wouldn't let the fact that the Chevy is an american car hold you back. If Chevy consistantly made pieces of crap they wouldnt have stayed in buisness for so long. ------------------ <*{{{{<( ßÅĞfϧH )>}}}}*> __________________ Excellent point. I think much of the perception of American metal being crap stemmed from the very positive perception of Japanese cars from the mid 80's. The mindset was, if Japanese cars are really well made/reliable, then American cars must be the opposite. That simply isn't true, and really never was. Sure, they weren't on par with the Europeans or the Japanese, but they are now, and I'd wager to say they've passed them. Even clunky old Chrysler has gotten its sh!t together; I truly think there has been a lot of positive benefit from that DamilerChrysler merger. In fact, I've heard rumblings from everyone I know that's bought a Japanese car in the last year and a half that they aren't getting what they paid for at all, that the price difference between an import and an American car cannot be reconciled, even if the American car was as bad as their reputation. __________________ Thanks for the reassurance. I'm hoping i'm making the right decision with this impala, Unfourtunatly, only time will tell. ------------------ ~Grizy Great, so how much is shipping? Mavi forum