This is just a rant, but it will make me feel better.

I bought a 2002 Bonneville on 12/21/02. It was used, had 22k miles on it. It is, considering it's cost, and that it's supposed to be the top of the line, the biggest POS I have ever owned.
Took it in to the dealer today, it's making a growling noise on hard left turns. I bought a 72 month/75k mile extended warranty with the car, it currently has 58k miles on it. Well, they call me, the ps gearbox is leaking. Cost to repair, $950. My warranty? Oh, that was from the "in service" date of the car, not from the day I bought it. So, I'll just keep the ps fluid full, I am not putting another $950 in that POS!
This car literally breaks while sitting in my driveway. I've owned the car almost 6 years. I've put 38k miles on it. Since I bought the Corvette, I doubt I put even 4k miles a year on it. This top of the line Pontiac has had the intake replaced, 2 window motors, the secondary steering shaft, twice!, new front wheel bearings, and a couple other repairs I can't recall right now because I'm just irritated.
I will never, ever even consider buying a Pontiac again. And it's highly unlikely I'll buy another GM, unless I trade up on my Corvette.

That's it, just had to vent. But when I see Pontiac go down the tubes, no tears will be shed here.

Ya!

new ones arent any better.

Bought a new 99 S-10 took it back , sheer lemon.

Unwound the sale and leased another one. Fuel pump went out at 34k, heater core burst at 39k, some $900 module under the dash went out at 18k (thank God that was covered, same one went out on the Silverado). Tranny at 23k.

Step up to something nicer. Pay more get more right?
02 Silverado, 101k miles

Tranny #4
Steering shaft #3 going bad
AC all replaced, blower making noise again.
power mirrors replaced
DS window motor replaced, acting wacky again.
Leather steering wheel started peeling like a grape last year
CD player replaced, still acts up occasionally.

Financed 32k (upside down in trade in lease from my POS S10)
Paid off last year its worth about 6-8 right now.
Spent almost 2k in repairs this year so far, still needs a new AB$ module, Ujoints/carrier bearing soon.

When people give me hell about having XXX sunk into a classic or a C4 I just laugh...look at the alternative.

Guy at work was always a big foreign car guy. He decided that the Avalanche would fit his needs, and heard all the crap about GM being better, so he bought one.

He's had a similar experience to you with the Silverado. He won't be fooled again, no American cars for him.

Those idiots who run GM must see this stuff, and see the pissed off customer base. I guess they figure they'll get theirs, take their golden parachute and to hell with everyone else?

Sux.

The Vette is the best domestic car I've driven. The rest have treated me badly, or just sucked in general. Ford is no better than GM, IMO. The only Mopar I've owned was a '68, so that hardly counts.

If I were to buy a brandy-new vehicle for myself, I would surely test drive the Mustangs, Camaros and Challengers of the world, but would be scared to death of buying one. But I don't know that Hondas made in Ohio or Toyotas made in Kentucky are much better.

We bought my wife a 2007 Suzuki SX4 brand new, and it has almost as many rattles as the Vette. And it has a throttle by wire system that scares the bejeebus outta me. Step on the loud pedal and......

Me: Uh, Hello? [Waiting]..... Excuse me, there is a truck coming!

SX4: Oh, OK... So you want me to accellerate?

Me: Yes please....

SX4: OK, we're moving.... Doooo be doobie dooooo.

HATE IT!

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It's not where the cars are made. It's the engineering and bean counting, especially the bean counting. Hondas made in Ohio are fine cars. Highly rated. Same for the Toyotas from Kentucky.

I'm pretty sure my next car will be a Honda. There's a pretty nice looking Civic at the dealer, I'm 1/2 tempted to put the Vette and the Bonneville together and go get the Honda!

Ever owned one before?

It won't give you any trouble, but it will have about as much character as a Radio Shack calculator.

But if you just need an appliance to get you around, they're great!

I can say this because my Vette has not frustrated me the way yours has. :binky:
Maybe in a few years, I'll be sniffing Hondas again. But I hope not.

I took a nice bath on a '96 Aurora a couple years back. We had the car for a number of years and gave it to my son. I sunk a pile of dough into various repairs, and about two weeks later it thanked me by blowing its engine. I said screw it and gave the car to charity.

It's not just Chevy.

Bought a new 2005 F150.

Drivers window track jammed and power moonroof switch failed open (night before a rainstorm) within first two months. Later got an intermittent hard start/no start on warm starts. Then a brake shutter/vibration, known TSB on it for defective parts on the '04-05s. Front rotors and calipers replaced under warranty after arguing with dealer several times that its not wear and tear. Dashboard rattling against windshield, fixed by jamming a stack of business cards in there.

Sold truck after 2 years and 18,000 miles. Leather seat tops were already starting to wear through. Didn't disclose ongoing intermittent start problem to buyer because dealer wouldn't/couldn't fix it for me after several tries.


Now I commute on a 2-cylinder Honda.

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LOL!

I wondered a few times about the new Camaro a few years down the road. New ponycar, hmmm..
Thing is with all the electronics and nanny controls the thought of owning one scares the crap outta me, these seem programmed to fail and they can record everything on how you drive...."Er, we see on Oct 4th you didnt warm it up for over 26 seconds. 2.43 minutes later you ran the car W.O.T. says here. Warranty void"

Takes the fun out of it. Used to be cars were built to last.

I got up underneath the dash of the 67 last night to do some painting and after 41 yrs not an ounce of corrosion, same with the metal under the headliner. Hellz yeah!

My used 88 blazer was a good truck (over 200,000 on the body). My 96 s10 was a good truck (over 135,000 before I sold it). My 03 monte carlo (which I bought brand new) was the biggest POS ever. After that I vowed to never buy another new gm. I have two Nissan trucks sitting in my driveway now. Happy with them so far.

I'd upgrade to a newer corvette, but only after I knew the little bugs were worked out. Plus I like mine

Matthew

I bought a 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis back in January. I absolutely love that car. It's big, it's boring and it's peaceful but built like a FN tank. It hasn't so much as sputtered yet. I had an 89 Ford Crown Vic old police car with 266K on the clock I drove every winter. Couldn't kill that car and I beat the snot out of it. I bought the big Merc because I wanted something reliable and these cars are. Best part is sticker was 26K got it for 24K then the rebate was $6500.00 off of that. Brand new fullsize full frame car with a V8 for less than a Civic.

I have to agree with Matt and others who say there are some lemons but some good ones too. I have a 2005 Siverado 2500 diesel. 58K and it runs great. No problems, 2003 S10 V6 stick. 68K no problems, 99 Yukon 113K water pump , brakes a couple of problems but has treated me well overall. 90 Ford Bronco 2 trannies covered by warranties, 85 S10 145K I beat that sucker and it treated me great. I had a 80's T-Bird and a 83 Cavalier that sucked bigtime. These two Vettes haven't done me any great favors when it comes to parts. The two 80's Porsche 911s run like tops. I pay mechanics like some guys pay child support and alimony.

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Have an 02 Silverado as well. Has 92k on the clock. The only issue it gave me was when the water pump finally started leaking this past spring. No biggie.

But then again, it's basically a stripped down work truck, no power windows or door locks, cloth seats. Just a truck. Been happy with it so far.

have a 99 dodge dakota 135,000 miles front rotors at 28,000 miles warranty-water pump at 56,000 miles covered by extened warranty-a/c evap core at 85,000 miles cover by extened warranty and now a r/front wheel bearing 04 ram 1500 pinion seal at 8,000 miles and radiator at 78,000 miles
how much do horses cost to maintain and can you get heaters with them
if you buy a new car today you better get an extened warranty and beat them up the cost of it

I've only had one Pontiac, a '90 Firebird V6. Had it three years, wrecked the crap out of it three or four times, made a road trip to Visone in Marietta, GA, swapped it for the first vette I bought, the '87, and never looked back.

hm... 3rd gen f-bodies... the only car I know of to depreciate on the assembly line.

In reference to Honda's and Toyota's (and Subaru's!) that are built in the states. Don't worry, they are well built cars, but they are not perfect, either.

The difference is that only big pieces break (think automatics in the Honda) and they cover them. The rest of the cars are damned near bullet proof... you don't hear of all those niggling little problems, you know? They just don't exist with Honda and Toyota.

Now, Nissan... don't get too carried away there, since the Renault take over, there has been a serious cost cutting plan in place that has, in my opinion, effected quality. The 350Z has had transmission and rear end issues... just to name a couple of known problems. Top that off with junk interiors.

Mopar... that's hit/miss. travistymc is a member here and a close friend. He is a Dodge tech, and hasn't seen a lot of stupid issues with the big sedans (Charger/Magnum). On the other hand, the small cars are JUNK. The trucks are hit/miss, tho. The Cummins are good.

I have come to the conclusion that the Corvette is the best made car in the GM fleet. But the components still let them down.

Top that off with the junk quality of the replacement parts. This is one thing I have noticed from Mopar, their replacement parts seem very nice. ACDelco SUCKS. I have had as much issue there as I have had with shit from Autozone.

In fact, I have switched over to Kragen and have been much happier of late. I will say one thing, AZ does sell NGK and Denso....

My Vette has 168k miles. It hasn't been trouble free, but it hasn't been seriously bad, either.

My daily was a 72 Chevy truck for years. I have the typical So Cal 3 hour round trip commute. It served reliably, only needing maintenance over the years of reliable service.

When gas got above $2.80, I started driving my wife's old 1996 Tercel. I hate the friggin car, but it has been reliable. I've maintained it religiously. It currently has 206,500 miles. Aside from a radiator at 170,000 miles, brakes and timimng belt (preventative), it's been great. The heater core is plugged. I attribute the heater core and radiator problems to my wife running straight water for a year when she first bought the car as a salvage vehicle with 36,000 miles in 1999.

I drove the Tercel for two winters without fixing the heater, because I keep expecting it to die.

Our Vette is a friggin unreliable POS. Just luck of the draw I suppose.

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Coin toss, ya get a good one, ya get a bad one.

I bought my 2000 Silverado, 2wd with 64k on it. The 64k miles were all towing an 8,500 lb. travel trailer. The origional owner gave me all the receipts, never been in a shop.
It's now at 125k (mostly towing). Total parts replaced - one front wheel bearing - $125
I'm satisfied.

We've had good luck with Pontiac. We have a '99 Grand Prix with almost 200,000 miles and no troubles, it's been a great car. We also have a Vibe with 150,000 miles that has also been great, no troubles at all.

I must add, our beater Jeep, a 1993 Cherokee, has been nothing but a joy. It runs great (even with a hard start issue) and hasn't been much of a problem beyond regular maintenance... a rad, shocks, brakes, tires...