One person, one story…not credible.
If the US made Japanese vehicles were so bad…not sure we (or many others like us) could have kept of them well past 300k miles with very few issues. They lasted as long or longer then our Japanese made vehicles.
If there are differences in the door gaps, I’d suspect the vehicle was in a collision and wasn’t repaired properly.
Frankly, I’ve owned three Hondas made in Japan and I’ve been driving the same U.S.-made Honda for 19 years. I find your secondhand anecdote less than convincing, just as you probably find my firsthand anecdote unconvincing.
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I believe she became aware of these differences, however I should add the caveat that less-perfect fit, finish, door gaps etc. do not mean that the U.S. built vehicle fit and finish gaps are unacceptable, only less precise. I should add that someone who spends her days inspecting vehicles for quality is likely to be much more aware of even insignificant differences.
I should also add that IMHO they’re still better than the competition. I know that’s an opinion that others disagree with and I accept that. Let the hand grenades fly. 
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Eight-year-old post, but I could not help but add my recent experience. Most of the Civics I have tested recently were not built in Japan or America. They come from the U.K. or from Ontario Canada. The most recent Fit I tested came from Mexico. The most recent new Accord Marysville, Ohio. The most recent Acura from Alabama. I always opt to buy American when possible. That’s just me. BTW, Buick’s top-selling vehicle is not made in North America. Korea, Spain, and other assembly points. Its second top-seller is built in China. By my estimation, Buick is the most imported brand in America today.
Both Honda and Toyota build special low volume cars in their Canadian plants for export to JAPAN!!!
The Cambridge, Ontario plant of Toyota even builds Lexus model for the Japanese and other small export markets.
Japanese models ASSEMBLED in such countries as Malaysia and other developing countries to get around the high import duties do not have the quality of assembly that US and Canadian made models have.
So, forget the rumors, Japanese cars made in Canada or the US are not as good as those made in Japan.
My exquisitely assembled Honda Accords (2005, 2017) were assembled in Ohio. It sounds so Japanese. Maybe the woman @Steve_Elliott mentioned was confused by that…
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I agree, made in Japan will still be my first aim.
I want to second both points:
US-made Japanese makes are definitely above competition in quality, especially when you look at them 7+ years down the road
Japan-made vehicles I touched personally really stood out: you get almost the same as US made, but better: more uniform gaps on body, seems that plastic pieces keep looking good longer, etc…
so far I had only Subaru Impreza and Mazda 3 with “Made in Japan” stamp, both stood our like this… not a head above the crowd, but you definitely see a difference
I own a Toyota 4Runner that was assembled in Japan. I am on my second Sienna. Both Siennas were assembled in Indiana. I cannot detect any differences between the 4Runner and the Siennas in the fit and finish of the vehicles.
Your Siennas were probably assembled on a Wednesday and your 4-Runner on a Monday. That’s the ticket, yup, yup. That’s it. Uh-huh…
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@jtsanders. My 4Runner couldn’t have been assembled on a Monday. When it is Monday here it is Tuesday in Japan.
Uniform gaps in cars/trucks - Most manufacturers use very sophisticated computer controlled equipment I’m surprised anyone has this problem any more. Especially within a manufacturing company from one plant to the next.
One gap story - My 84 GMC S-15 - I had a custom tonneau cover made for the truck bed. The guy doing the cover showed me how the width at the front of the truck was 4" narrower then the width at the back. He said all GM and Ford trucks were like this. Some wider in front, and some wider in back. Eye-balling it - couldn’t really tell.
No Mondays in Japan? Gracious me! They must have two Sundays instead. Yeah, that’s it.
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I dunno. I traded my Buick with 530,000 mile on it for a Pontiac. Both were made in the USA or at least partially. Seemed to hold up fine. Back when you wouldn’t be racking up 500,000 miles on a little 4 cylinder buzz box.
How many Buicks and Pontiacs have gone over 300k miles. Based on hundreds of studies over the past 40+ years…Asian companies made in the US or Asia have a MUCH higher percentage of vehicles that do and with far fewer problems. Doesn’t mean you can’t find a good Buick or Pontiac…just that the odds of finding a good Honda, Toyota, Nissan is higher.
Consumer Reports confirms this with a frequency of repairs in the 10th year. German cars have 4 times as many problems by year 10 as Japanese cars. American cars on average have 2-3 times as many problems by year 10. After the 10th year it’s downhill rapidly for European cars and a further steady decline for American cars.
Since 1965 I have kept track of this on all the cars I have owned. Typically, the Toyota is the most reliable, with the 1965 Dodge Dart the worst with 24 Items replaced per 100,000 miles. Our !994 Nissan Sentra, by comparison had only 11 items. The Corolla when it reaches 100,00 miles will likely have about 7-8 items replaced. On the 1957 Plymouth I lost track of how many items were replaced over the only 40,00 miles I owned it.
I came close to buying a Vega in the 70s but am grateful my wife did not like the noise and the cramped interior.
Bias enters into most things we do. We try not to but do anyway.
I lost a bit of respect for Consumer Reports years ago because they reviewed the Toyota Corolla and Chevy Nova. Both built in California on the Corolla platform in the same plant by the same workers with mostly the same parts and rated the Nova lower than the Toyota for quality and expected frequency of repair. Bias between Chevy and Toyota? Likely, as there was no other difference in the offerings other than the badge. Generally CR doesn’t let bias in, but in this case I’d have to say they did.
I bring that up because it speaks to a pro-Japanese bias, or pro-German or pro-Swedish bias folks can have. Do older Saabs last a long time? Or do people THINK they do and care for them better as they get to 100K miles? Do American cars only last 100K miles or do owners kill them with a lack of maintenance as they approach that point because they think they are on their last legs? Do Toyotas die of neglect at 125K? My anecdotal experience says, Yes, to all of this.
Many posters here have seen 200, 300, even 500K from their imports. Many of the same regular posters are great at maintaining those very same cars so they actually get to these lofty miles. But I personally know of 3 of the earliest Saturns to go over 300K and a Corvette C5 with over 400K still on its first engine. All were well maintained cars. I know of 2 Hondas on their second automatic transmissions in 100K miles and they were well maintained, too.
Are there bad cars out there from every country with every nameplate? Ohhh yeah, and we read about them here all the time. Rating companies like JD Power have Korean, American, Japanese and German cars all near the top of the roster (notice no Italian cars - my bias) so there are no clear losers by country and the winners are the consumers getting way better cars than we did in the 80’s and 90’s.
Consumer reports is NOT the only recognized survey that agrees Japanese companies make a more reliable vehicle…
That’s not what I said. I only used that as an example. And its a 30 year old example. Latest JD power shows more current numbers.
http://www.jdpower.com/cars/awards/Vehicle-Dependability-Study-(VDS)-by-Category/1882ENG
My personal experience parallels that of CR, True Delta and other rating organizations.
Way back in 1he 80s a fellow at work wanted to buy a Honda Accord. This guy was known to not take great care of vehicles. I carefully explained to him that Hondas were “precision built” unlike his Ford Country Squire wagon with the 427 engine, and that he had to follow the maintenance to the letter.
He bought an Accord and for the first 70,000 miles did the maintenance and only replaced the battery, much to his surprise.
The diehard Detroit Iron fan became a convert to Japanese cars.
In the 60s I liked well built German cars and Volvos, but never bought any after pricing out the cost op parts and maintenance…