I’m car shopping, hopefully by the end of the year and I would love to have your opinion. I’m down to two cars that I really like, but can’t seem to decide which one. I’m planning on buying, not leasing. When I get a car, I get one for the next 10 years or more, I don’t upgrade often. Mostly a car to drive to/from work, my full time is about 10 miles surface streets, but part times I have are around 25-35 freeway miles each way, so I do a lot of driving. Here are my two choices:
Nissan Altima
pros: very smooth ride, Nissans have a great track record on reliability and resale values, comfortable interior, AC seemed to cool down better than other cars I’ve test driven (a plus in Arizona’s 100 degree weathers)
cons: generic look, pricier than the other choice
Dodge Dart
pros: turbo makes it fun to drive when it kicks in, looks cool, cheaper than the Nissan, slightly better MPG
cons: it’s a Dodge.
I know Dodge is not exactly known for being reliable cars, and would it cost me more in the long run than the Nissan in repairs if it turns out to be crap? or if the turbo which is what makes it fun to drive, dies soon?
As I remember, the Nissan has a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). I don’t know how well these transmissions hold up over the long run. I did help a family friend shop for a new car a couple of months ago. This friend is a single woman in her late 60s. She keeps cars forever. She wanted a Honda and had narrowed it down to an Accord or a Civic. After testing both cars, she decided she was more comfortable driving the Civic. Two other factors weighed in–1) the car was easier to get into her garage as she has a sharp turn into the garage off an alley and 2) the Civic had a regular automatic transmission and the Accord had a CVT.
The reliability of the Dart is an unknown at this point, However, the quality of Chrysler products seems to be improving.
However, the quality of Chrysler products seems to be improving.
Chryslers quality has been up and down over the years. Seems they start to make headway…then boom…quality takes a back seat to something else. The new CEO seems to be a lot better…At least he eliminated those absurd management bonuses that IMHO really took a bite into quality control.
The Dart is actually an Alfa Romeo, so might find some Italian sites and check for problems. I am currently driving a rental Altima, It does handle well, nice brakes and AC. The interior quality is okay. The low end torque with the CVT does get a bit annoying when you want to merge. You really have to bring the engine RPM’s up to merge fast, and I am some place with a speed limit of 55 MPH.
The Altima has a better track record, The Dart is more fun to drive. It depends on which is more important. Of the two I would go with the Nissan for the long haul.
The Dart is only loosely based on an Alfa Romeo. None of the body or interior is shared, just a lot of the suspension and some of the drivetrain. I don’t trust it a whole lot. In a few years it may prove to be a great car, but completely new cars from new factories often have problems for at least a few years. I also think the quality of the interior materials is surprisingly poor and the bits don’t fit together very well. The dreary grayness of it all reminds me of a nineties Pontiac (others have made similar comparisons).
Since you keep cars for so long resale value is largely irrelevant. Reliability and cost of maintenance and repairs matters a lot more. The Altima is basically a reliable car. It has had very modest mechanical changes over the years, so its past history should be a good indication of its essential quality. Adequate air conditioning is also meaningful, and the European makes sometimes do poorly on AC (they don’t need/want it) . No idea where they sourced the Dart AC, so it may be fine, but in Arizona I’d not be wanting to take chances.
You guys give Dodge and Chrysler a bum rap. In my opinion, they build good stuff, but when they take foreign models and put their name on them, they mess up. We all remember the “K” cars of the '80s. I have an '09 Caravan now which is good except the suspension is not what I wish it was. The automatic transmission is the smoothest I have ever had, and I have had many over the 65 years I have been driving. I started driving when the automatics started.
In my opinion, they build good stuff, but when they take foreign models and put their name on them, they mess up. We all remember the "K" cars of the '80s.
Are you saying that the K car was a foreign rebadge?? If so you’re completely WRONG. The K-Car was a complete new design by Chryco. With the exception of some small production vehicles the K-Car was the first mid size fwd vehicle (which is now the norm). And the K car was also an EXTREMELY unreliable vehicle.
Dodge with the help of Fiat may have improved the quality of their cars (some reviews aren’t so sure) but from past experiences some of us just have better luck with Toyota/Honda/Nissan than previous Dodge’s
Actually, the K cars were pretty lackluster, but they were tough old birds. You say they were “Extremely unreliable”, but oddly you still see them once in a while, still kicking, even in the rust belt area in which I live. I can’t say the same for many other 80s cars. EVERY car of that era was not spectacularly reliable. This was a bad transitional period for all the automakers. I don’t think any were much better than a K car in build quality, reliability, or longevity.
I have test driven the Dart. It seems to be pretty well put together and drives very nice, but is very anemic without the turbo. If you buy one new, you will have a warranty. If you plan on keeping the car for a very long time, reliability might come into play. But I’ve known people with Altimas as well, and they don’t seem to hold up that great either once they get to be about 10 years old or so… everything is a crap shoot.
You’re going to live with the vehicle daily for at least 5 years. Reliability is important for sure, but it shouldn’t be the ultimate consideration. If you get sick of the car after 6 months so that you loathe driving it and it puts you in a worse mood just having to endure it, what does it matter if nothing ever breaks?
The only things I know of that Mitsubishi contributed were a 2.6l 4 and a 3.0 l v6 that were is a small number of the K-cars (and I’d guess some automatic transmissions to go with them).
Dodge used a couple of Mitsubishi engines in their lineup. K car and even the Caravan. But that was about it. The tranny and rest of the vehicle was all designed and built by chryco.
You say they were "Extremely unreliable", but oddly you still see them once in a while, still kicking, even in the rust belt area in which I live. I can't say the same for many other 80s cars.
Chryco sold a lot of those vehicles. There are sure be a few around. And the Asian cars really didn’t fix their rust problems until the late 80’s. But mechanically the K car couldn’t hold a candle to the Asian vehicles at the time. It’s I knew a few people who owned them. They were pretty much junk after 150k miles. No one I know who owned them ever thought they were reliable.
The K car wasn’t even in the same league as the Corolla.
My institution had about 10 Chrysler K-cars in its fleet in the early 1980s. They seemed to do the job and I don’t remember anyone stranded in one. I drove these K cars to conventions and, for a semester, was assigned one to drive to an extension class that I taught about 80 miles away from campus. I liked them better than the GM X cars (Chevrolet Citations) that were also in the fleet.
I had colleagues who owned Corollas and Datsun B-210 cars. These cars rusted out more quickly than the K-cars and were pretty much gone after 5 to 7 years.
I had colleagues who owned Corollas and Datsun B-210 cars. These cars rusted out more quickly than the K-cars and were pretty much gone after 5 to 7 years.
YUP…That was a problem with that era Toyota/Datsun/Honda…they all rusted out long before they were mechanically unsound. But if you lived in the South…then rust wasn’t a problem.
I knew several people who owned K-Cars. Engine and tranny was ok…But the other things that kept happening were humorous. Driving down the road…and the rear window just popping out.
" No one I know who owned them ever thought they were reliable. “
” The K car wasn’t even in the same league as the Corolla. "
Well, I did own them ! I’m not circulating hearsay. I personally owned 4 K-Cars.
I bought the first one used, from a relative. I bought the nest one because that one was so reliable and economical. I bought the next one based on that one. I quit buying them when they were no longer produced and the used ones were too old.
I ran these cars for hundreds of thousands of miles and kept each one to over 250,000 miles. They were terrific on gas and seldom needed any maintenance or repairs. I owned other Chryslers, two Intrepids and a Caravan, which we still drive almost daily in the summer, as we have for over 15 years. Every one of them was excellent and I’d put any of them up against any Asian car.
These cars were excellent in snow, too. They were roomy, comfortable and had practical trunk space. We had several rural mail carriers (one was my carrier) who drove them for all the same reasons I’ve mentioned. They were repeat buyers of these vehicle, too and like me quit buying them when they quit selling them.
The only reason I’ve switched and have become a loyal GM customer is because I’ve never been a big fan of Fix It Again, Tony.