I have known several people that bought cars they didn’t really want or like . . . they bought what they could afford, plain and simple
I’ve known plenty of people who would have liked to buy a new Camry or Accord, but had to settle for a new Cavalier or Excel, instead, because they simply couldn’t afford their first choice
I would argue that the Cavalier was a car that wasn’t particularly well liked. I’ll bet there were plenty of other buyers that I didn’t personally know, that bought a new Cavalier because they couldn’t afford something else
I bought a Cavalier around 1980 because I visited customers for the steel mill I worked for. I had a VW Rabbit built in Westmoreland, PA, but that wasn’t American enough. My Cavalier had the 2L engine with a 5-speed manual. It was actually a nice car, and even my customers commented positively on it.
Then there was my wife’s Cavalier. She bought a 1979 Cavalier 2 door sedan with the 1.6L engine and auto transmission. It Was a Pig. That’s probably more like what you remember.
Yup!
How else could you explain people buying Sterling sedans after they had left the US marketplace, or Peugeots after their US demise? In a town where I used to live, there was a storage lot of “new” Peugeots up until sometime around 1995. The suckers who bought those cars undoubtedly paid a very low price, but then learned–to their chagrin–that there was no dealer support and no warranty coverage.
And, then–more recently–we have people buying “new” or used Suzukis who were unaware that this manufacturer left the US marketplace a few years ago. And, there are people who are still buying Mitsubishis, despite the reality that none of their vehicles are even close to being competitive with other offerings in the US marketplace, and despite the probability that this company will soon be forced to exit the US marketplace (like Sterling, Peugeot, and Suzuki) as a result of very low sales figures.
People buy what seems to be appealing–solely on the basis of a low purchase price–but those folks frequently fail to look into the factors leading to those low prices.
@db4690
I had two surprises this afternoon: 1) I received an email that a grant proposal I wrote for one of my musical organisations was funded and 2) right after the email the Toyota service manager called and said my Sienna was ready to go and the cost was $600 less than the original estimate, so I got away for less than $1000. Apparently, the original estimate was for pulling the engine. Apparently, the service department used the method of just raising the engine. I had originally thought I needed the car last night, and had an appointment for 8 am this morning and the service manager thought the job would spill over until the next day. However, a friend offered to drive me to the gig we were going to play, so I accepted her offer and took the car in at noon yesterday to try to help them out. The service manager appreciated getting the Sienna early.
At any rate, it has been a good afternoon. I had planned to take Mrs. Triedaq out to dinner at McDonald’s, but I splurged and took her.to Steak and Shake. It cost me an extra $7, but sometimes it is great to splurge.
Wow! I read what some people are saying about GM cars and have to wonder if some folks are stuck in the 70s and 80s. I’ve got a driveway full of GM cars, most of which I purchased used. They are fantastic.
See that Grand Prix the little pic? I paid just over $4000 on Craig’s list. It has about 105,000 miles, no rust, and has been working just fine for two years now. It has needed nothing, but a battery and two tires that I replaced when I bought it (wear items), and oil changes and gas.
I love driving it. It’s comfortable (like sitting in a hand and good visibility). It’s quiet and performs well, big trunk, fold down back seat, and has the venerable GM 3800 engine like my Bonneville and our old Impala LS (over 300,000 miles on engine with only routine, occasional maintenance, purchased as a used 6-year-old car with 132,000 miles and went through two kids taking it to college).
So, don’t waste your GM bashing on me. I’m good, thanks. CSA
CSA, I’m happy that you’ve had good experiences with your GM cars. We all have different experiences and preferences. That does not mean that those who feel differently are stuck in the past. It only means that as humans we have different experiences and different tastes and preferences. It would be no less accurate for me to suggest that it is you who are stuck in the past, since you buy only GMs and try nothing else, but it would be just as wrong. At least I tried GMs.
Steak and shake is great when I find one, Happy for your good day! @common_sense_answer still happy with my 03 trailblazer, and to tell you the truth I do not think I have ever owned a more reliable dependable vehicle. 178k, planning on doing the 575 mile drive to the cabin, launching the boat with hitch, never any worry about being stuck in the snow, sure a few front wheel bearings, starter motor fan clutch idler tensioner, but really to think 178k and I am confident the vehicle will make the 1100 mile round trip then take the boat to the launch and back, ectasey as I paid 10k maybe 12 years ago, I am not a believer in gm sucks
Different strokes for different folks.
It’s great to live in a country with so many choices. Corollas are great cars, but I’m sure glad I had another option when I bought my '05 and its hard ride, hard seats, and bad seating position doggoned near crippled me. But, than, I know people with Corollas of the same vintage that love them. Go figure.
It had to be the 1982 version with the 1.8L engine since that is the only year they used it. The car was a yellow two door Cavalier for sure. It was over 30 years ago and I didn’t remember all of the details.
Did anyone here pay any attention to Ross Perot’s short stint at GM? He was very critical of GM’s quality and lack of effort to correct even simple problems
I recall dealing with radiators without drain pet cocks, undersized transmissions, secret warranties and massive coverups. GM deserved all that Perot threw at them.
I can attest that 2 out of those 3 situations still exist, to this day
Radiators without drain pet cocks
“secret warranties” . . . these come in many forms, such as customer satisfaction programs, campaigns, etc.
Some of these things have an expiration date, and unless the customer specifically complains about an issue, assuming the regular warranty is over, nothing will be done about it
Campaigns are similar to recalls, but I believe the dealer and/or manufacturer is not legally required to notify you?
As for technical service bulletins, some lawyers refer to these as secret warranties, which is incorrect and misleading in my opinion, and I don’t feel like getting into the reasons why I feel that way.
I just read that link, and it was somewhat disturbing, because in my opinion, GM continued to make many of those same mistakes mentioned for quite some time after that article was published
I think Ross nailed it on the problems with GM. The article was dated 1988. GM had put some rather poor products on the market: the Chevrolet Vega 2) the Oldsmobile diesel engine which was also an option on the Pontiac, Buick and Cadillac. There was the scandal in the late 1970s where GM was installing Chevrolet V8 engines in Oldsmobiles without telling the public. The buyers of the Oldsmobiles probably wondered why they hadn’t purchased the lower priced Chevrolet. There was the TMS 200 automatic transmission developed for the lighter intermediate size cars that was installed in some full sized cars and didn’t hold up well.
Ford was a little more honest. The engine in the full size Ford also went into the Mercury. Ford.didn’t cover this up.
When I was a kid back in the late 1940s through the 1950s, there was much more brand loyalty. It would take a terrible lemon in a particular brand to shake up the owner to the point where he would buy from a different manufacturer the next time. Most people today don’t stick with one make.
I would have thought that GM would have learned from Volkswagen’s success back in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The VW Beetles didn’t offer much in the way of.amenities–no automatic transmission, a rather weak heater, a windshield washer that robbed air from the spare tire for its power and headlights so dim that you had to match to see if they were on, but these VW Beetles were built to a higher standard of quality than the GM products of the day. Unfortunately, VW seemed to take its cue from GM with its Squareback and Fastback models.and later the Rabbit. GM has made improvements but past reputations are hard to overcome.
Volkswagon’s cult following seemed to have resulted from the car’s minimalist, basic transportation style with rare failures when properly serviced. And as John Muir mentioned in his “idiot’s” manual major repairs could be somewhat anticipated with even total engine rebuilds being a somewhat minor job that the owner could prepare for as he drove with the OIL light winking at hot idle for quite a few miles. And if properly greased the old king/wrist pin front end was good for the life of the car or owner, whichever came first.
My old boss had that trans replaced three times in his Chevy Caprice. I believe that GM paid for it twice, and then the third one was on him. And, to make the situation even more bizarre, IIRC GM was paying AAMCO shops to do these replacements.
Perhaps if a different shop had done the work, he might not have needed the 2nd and 3rd replacements.
