I keep my cars for 11-12 years. Will I still appreciate a domestic car after its 10th year? Will the interior hold up? Will the automatic windows still work? I had a 1987 Acura Legend until it blew an engine in 1999. I’ve had a 1999 Infiniti I30 since then. What should I consider for my next car…in the $25000 range. I need space for my golf clubs and bag and prefer a sedan.
I really don’t think you are going to find any real differences between cars built by different manufacturers foreign or domestic.
Any car can blow an engine, but most of them blow due to lack of regular maintenance.
My suggestion is to get a copy of the Consumer Reports New Car Buyers’ Guide from the local bookstore and use that as your guide to select something with a good reliability rating that’ll meet your needs. Then test drive those that look interesting.
I’m looking at a Fusion, top reliability ratings. I keep my cars 10-16 years.
I traded a 13 year old domestic car last year, a Chevrolet Cavalier which everyone is supposed to dislike. I drove it to 140,000 miles; it still ran fine and I did not spend a nickle on repairs by others. I replaced a leaky, rusty gas tank on a Saturday morning and the rest was normal maintenance. Another issue was covered by warranty plus one minor recall.
I suggest a Chevrolet Malibu. Our 05 which we traded in 08 had a huge trunk. They are currently selling about 2 Malibus for every 3 Camrys according to what I saw in the news last week. You can be proud again of some US brand cars.
My 1998 BMW 328i sedan has been one of my most reliable cars. Only scheduled maintenance and wear components for 100,000+ miles. Any vehicle (domestic or foreign) will last at least ten years if you drive it right and take care of it properly. Whether you will still appreciate it in ten years is up to you.
Twotone
No such thing anymore as “Foreign or domestic”. Ford/GM are as multinationals as any other car company. Consider buying the most reliable car that fits your needs in the price range you’re willing to pay. Consider the dealer reputation if that’s where you intend servicing it and pay little or no attention to whether it’s foreign or domestic.
Thanks for your input. I’m actually considering a Malibu. From most of the responses, I guess the domestic cars are everybit as reliable as their foreign counterparts. I haven’t driven a Malibu yet but it just jumped to the short list.
There is a ton of evaluative info online…and a ton is almost too much for me. I’ve been to the Kelly Blue Book site. Maybe a trip to the library to get the Consumer Reports would be a good next step for me. Thanks for the tip.
Now can you tell me how to edit my original post to correct my spelling of domestic? What a dolt I am to make a mistake like that my first time out. Can you spell newbie?
Differences between foreign and domestic cars are more blurred now than ever. Most domestic manufacturers sell at least some cars designed and produced outside the US. All mfg’rs foreign and domestic are producing “world cars” that with relatively few changes can be sold in many parts of the world.
Therefore take a look at any car in your price range that appeals to you. There are several newer Buick models that look nice. But there are lots of cars you can look at. Some research is a good idea. Edmunds.com is a site I like to use for researching makes and models. Narrow down your choices and visit some dealerships.
Alas, when it comes to the subject of websites I remain virtually clueless. I know not how to correct an original post.
God must love dolts. He made a whole lot of us. But only the truely intelligent ones know that they are one. If you refer to yourself as one, you therefore cannot also be one.
Have a great evening.
The 2 most American cars are the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.
Most new cars will fit golf clubs rather easily, so you shouldn’t worry there, you’d be surprised at how much room some car’s trunks are. On top of the Fusion and Malibu I’ll recommend the Mazda 6, Ford Taurus, Hyundai Sonata, Elantra and Azera. The Taurus and Azera will go over the 25k mark, but it won’t be too much. And witht he new models arriving daily, a left over 2010 model might come in under that if you negotiate really good.
Just remember when you look at Consumer Reports that the difference between “average” and “much better than average” is really negligible. Avoid anything that has consistent below average ratings, and you’ll be ok.
When you really dig into their ratings, you’ll often find things like one car with a good rating on the powertrain while another car with the exact same powertrain from the same maker gets only average ratings for reliability on the powertrain.
That’s why I say use them to filter, but don’t worry about the differences between anything rated average or better.
"The 2 most American cars are the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. "
No they aren’t. Both use 75% domestic content.
The top 10 vehicles all use 90% domestic content, and every last one is built by Ford: Focus, Crown Victoria, Grand Marquis, Town Car, Escape, Mariner, Tribute, Ranger, Sport Trac, and Explorer.
75% is good enough to tie for 41st place in terms of domestic content, and around 27th place if you limit the list to those vehicles assembled in the US.
N-E-W-B-I-E…there should be a pencil next to a red flag in the box your question is in, click it.*
*this is only a theory, i am a little new here myself, but it works for posts, provided you are signed in.
i edited this one twice
Final assembly location and part source content are only part of the picture. If you choose to be as patriotic as possible about your new car purchase, you should also consider where the car was designed, where the marketing people are located, the location of the corporate headquarters of the parent company and the location of the majority of stockholders. Another consideration is the location of the nearest reputable dealer.
If you buy used, all of the above matters little except possibly for the dealer location if the warranty is still in effect.
I just bought the perfect new car for my taste. Designed in the US, produced in Ohio by a US corporation and my brother works at the dealer.
When we purchase goods, it’s not the consumer who decides the patriotism of the purchase, but the manufacturer who wants to stay in business. Try being patriotic about electronics.
There are reasons for locations of assembly points, design locations and corporations listed on the US stock exchange that have little to do with patriotism. The big reason is profit…and if that means selling “patriotism” to unsuspecting consumers, that is American style capitalism at work.
I don’t believe you can edit the original post… just replies… how convenient, eh? 
I can’t be patriotic with most electronics… but I can try with cars.
Toyota has been a master at trying to sell “All-American” to people, and I see a lot of people falling for it. Unfortunately, their actions don’t match their words.
The US has a net trading deficit when it comes to autos. All of that comes from 5 key countries… Japan, Canada, Mexico, Germany, and South Korea (other than these countries, the US has a trading surplus with the rest of the world). Since 2003, the deficits have shrunk with all those countries with the exception of Japan, which has been steadily growing and now accounts for nearly half the entire US auto trade deficit. 12 years ago, the deficits with Canada and Japan were just about equal… not anymore.
But I do agree you can’t blindly buy from a company that may be headquartered in the US (say Nike) or wave the flag in their commercials (Toyota) and expect to be supporting US jobs.
(fwiw, the 5 countries which are the largest importers of autos made in the US are, in order, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and the UK)
I used the same process for my car, ww…
A Japanese brand, but large amounts of the design and development were done in the US by Ford, and it was built in the US, too…