Was talking to a friend yesterday and she was complaining about how her American cars fell apart at 100 thousand miles. She finally got a Toyota, and her Husband got a Honda. The Honda has over 160,000 miles and the Topyota has over 240,000 miles. Both are still running strong, with only minor repairs and normal maintenance.
I was reminded of what the Service Manager at the local Ford dealership told me when my 1991 Ford Aerostar started falling apart at 107,000 miles. The engine developed a cracked head, both heater motors front and rear went out two weeks apart. The starter went out, the alternator quite, then the radiator split. All this happened in a three month period.
The service manager told me that ford and the other american car makers had it down to a science. Everything on the cars and trucks are designed to fail after 100,000 miles. That way they get to sell you a new car and no one is running around with an old car or truck that just keeps chugging along. He pointed to my 1987 F-150 and said Ford was loosing money on those trucks with those 300 cid 6 cylinder engines. They last too long. At that time my F-150 had 260,000 miles on it. The wife traded her Aerostar for a new 1997 F-150 against my wishes.
At 105,000 miles the front wheel drive went out and I had to have the front differential rebuilt. At that point Wife bought a KIA Sportage and gave me her 97 F-150. At 130,000 miles after replacing the Altanator, and the starter, I was on a trip to Anchorage. Midway, just outside Cantwell I had three spark plugs blow out of the engine, while running along at 70 mph. Went back to driving my old 87 F-150. Wife's KIA now has 160,000 miles and we have only had to have the autolocking front hubs rebuilt. I attribute that to the fact she drives around all winter (September to March) in 4-wheel drive, highway and city.
My son bought a 2003 Chevy S-10. At 50,000 miles the warranty expired. At 60,000 miles the transfer case went out. He paid for a rebuild. At around 80,000 miles the front wheel drive went out. Had to have the hubs and diff rebuilt. At 85,000 the transfer case went out again. Chevy dealer refused to touch the transfer case, or truck again. He said truck was too old and too many miles on it. The truck was only five years old at that time. My son took it to a four wheel drive specialist shop. They advised getting rid of the truck, since those transfer cases were of a real poor design and once they failed rebuilding did not last long. I replaced the transfer case with a rebuilt and have it on the sale lot. I and my son both say we will never own a Chevy again.
I finally sold my 1987 F-150 after it reached 360,000 miles. The teenager that bought it, wrecked it a year later. A local garage owner bought the wreck, pulled the 300-6 and put it in a 2003 F-150. The old technology was a lot better than the new.
My son now drives a Mitsubishi Eclipse during the summer, and a Suzuki Sidekick during the winter. My wife drives a Mazda RX-8 during the summer and her KIA Sportage during the winter. I drive a Suzuki Samirai as my daily driver year round, and I do own a F-350 diesel dully for heavy hauling. I get a hard time from the wife and kid over the Ford.
I hear complaints like this all the time from others that say they will not buy another American car or truck. This is where the American car makers need to focus their attention, and quite making disposable cars and trucks.
