Gofirstclass
Well-Known Member
The pleasure of owning a car comes not just from the fact that it makes it to a certain high mileage mark. Most cars today will make it to 150K miles. IMO the joy of owning a better built car is that the car runs smoothly, drives well without squeaks and rattles, the suspension is still in good shape and the steering is still tight.
A couple of months ago I rented a Chrysler 300. It was a current year model with under 10K clicks on the odometer and the car squeaked and rattled when going over railroad tracks, the steering was loose (the car was all over the road on city streets) and it wasn't a comfortable car to drive. I realize that comfort is a very subjective thing, but a car with that few miles should not have squeaks and rattles.
Anyone can find examples of foreign (or domestic) cars that have had rust problems or other issues that affected an entire line of vehicles. Those things happen and are because car makers are trying to find ways to make their cars less expensively. But when a car that's less than a year old has as many issues as that Chrysler had, that's symbolic of shoddy construction and/or cheap parts.
My car is 7 years old, doesn't squeak, doesn't rattle, the suspension and steering are tight and it's a very comfortable car to drive on a long trip. Those are the things I tend to look for in a car.
A couple of months ago I rented a Chrysler 300. It was a current year model with under 10K clicks on the odometer and the car squeaked and rattled when going over railroad tracks, the steering was loose (the car was all over the road on city streets) and it wasn't a comfortable car to drive. I realize that comfort is a very subjective thing, but a car with that few miles should not have squeaks and rattles.
Anyone can find examples of foreign (or domestic) cars that have had rust problems or other issues that affected an entire line of vehicles. Those things happen and are because car makers are trying to find ways to make their cars less expensively. But when a car that's less than a year old has as many issues as that Chrysler had, that's symbolic of shoddy construction and/or cheap parts.
My car is 7 years old, doesn't squeak, doesn't rattle, the suspension and steering are tight and it's a very comfortable car to drive on a long trip. Those are the things I tend to look for in a car.