Are you loyal to a brand (of car)?

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soundbitten1

Re: Are you loyal to a brand (of car)?
« Reply #20 on: 28 Mar 2017, 10:59 pm »
4 of last 6 happen to have been Toyotas but I'm open to other brands

DaveC113

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Re: Are you loyal to a brand (of car)?
« Reply #21 on: 28 Mar 2017, 11:05 pm »
I'm on my 4th Subaru Impreza, currently a '16 STi... this might be a keeper. It's not real fast by today's standards but the hydraulic steering, gearbox/AWD system + super stiff chassis/sus make it a great driver's car + it's very practical... And a built block costs about as much as a clutch on a German sports car, then 400 WHP is no problem.  :) 


nature boy

Re: Are you loyal to a brand (of car)?
« Reply #22 on: 28 Mar 2017, 11:09 pm »
Subaru.

NB

Jon L

Re: Are you loyal to a brand (of car)?
« Reply #23 on: 28 Mar 2017, 11:21 pm »
I try to lease a BMW that is on "special," the cheap one that each dealer advertises to draw people in.
Mainly, I do this because BMW is the only brand that still gives you free maintenance service during the life of the lease.  Mercedez, Audi, etc charges for maintenance service.

thunderbrick

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Re: Are you loyal to a brand (of car)?
« Reply #24 on: 28 Mar 2017, 11:21 pm »
59 Opel Caravan
60-something Falcon
63-ish Impala
67 Pontiac Lemans convertible, one of the most beautiful American cars EVER!   We kept it in the family until 7-8 years ago.
First wife had an Opel wagon
Massive Dodge sedan with a 383 engine
ANOTHER owner of a Buick Opel sedan, left that in Germany and came back with two Volvo wagons
'80 BMW 320 with 100K when I bought it.  Would STILL be running if it hadn't rusted to shit
Early 80s Buick Roadmaster Diesel wagon.  LOVED that car/engine!  Ugly as sin, but smoooooooth on the highway
One Saab 900, then two Saab 9000 hatchbacks.  Could carry ANYTHING in there, but $$$$ to service.
BMW 525 w/122k miles on it.  Wife and son added another 100K before it was t-boned
'93 Caprice wagon bought new, ran the wheels off of it
96 Buick Roadmaster wagon, again 100K miles on it, ran the wheels off of it
'03 BMW 525, used, 35k miles, had it for 11 years, expect it to go 11 more
Yet another 96 Roadmaster wagon (wood grain, of course)

New wife? 
New VW bug and now a Nissan Cube.   The Cube is a great little runabout.  Dirt cheap to operate.  6 years, no repairs.

I lean GM and BMW.   Both have been cheap to own.

Most of my cars had 100K on them when I bought them, and cost $3-4K.  Let someone else take the depreciation.  More money for audio and cameras.


guf

Re: Are you loyal to a brand (of car)?
« Reply #25 on: 28 Mar 2017, 11:35 pm »
I try to lease a BMW that is on "special," the cheap one that each dealer advertises to draw people in.
Mainly, I do this because BMW is the only brand that still gives you free maintenance service during the life of the lease.  Mercedez, Audi, etc charges for maintenance service.

Do you follow LeaseHackr?
https://forum.leasehackr.com

timind

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Re: Are you loyal to a brand (of car)?
« Reply #26 on: 28 Mar 2017, 11:36 pm »
No way can I name every vehicle I've owned through the years. I can say though, I bought a Toyota Corona brand new in 1976 (not sure why) and have owned at least a dozen Toyotas since. Currently drive a Nissan Rogue which I bought because they were offereing 0% financing.

The only brand I haven't owned is GM. And again, not sure why.

sandbagger

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Re: Are you loyal to a brand (of car)?
« Reply #27 on: 28 Mar 2017, 11:44 pm »
over the years not much brand wise I havent owned but GM and Ford in my earlier years with some imports in there, as of late its been the 3 BMW's I currently drive

If anyone ever needs a deal on a new Ford I can get you a friends and family X Plan deal as I am a PD Engineer  :)

SlushPuppy

Re: Are you loyal to a brand (of car)?
« Reply #28 on: 29 Mar 2017, 12:09 am »
No, I'm not loyal to any brand. I've never owned the same brand twice although that will probably change next year when the lease expires on my VW Golf. I'm seriously considering the new Ford Fiesta ST with the 3 cylinder engine. That would be my second Ford and only brand repeat. The Fiesta ST would be a potent and fuel efficient option for my 60 mile daily commute. Or maybe I'll go crazy and buy a Golf R and repeat with VW  8)

WGH

Re: Are you loyal to a brand (of car)?
« Reply #29 on: 29 Mar 2017, 12:20 am »
I guess I'm loyal.
I bought a  brand new Jeep Wagoneer in 1977 and still drive it everyday. The Jeep is my only vehicle, extremely reliable and goes everywhere from dinner downtown to taking the dogs up Mt. Lemmon.

Elizabeth

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Re: Are you loyal to a brand (of car)?
« Reply #30 on: 29 Mar 2017, 12:32 am »
I am a Ford person.
Last three Fords:
1999 Ford Contour SVT V6, manual transmission. Green Owned 13 years, 110,000 miles.
2012 Ford Focus 4 banger SE manual transmission. Yellow, Owned three years
2014 For Focus ST turbo 4 manual transmission. Recaro seats, Tangerine Scream, So far two years in..

Next car.. If Ford would make a Fusion, with the same engine and transmission of the Focus RS.. A 2.3 liter 350hp four cylinder... MANUAL transmission required. Would prefer a green or yellow.
Manual only for me.

Bemopti123

Re: Are you loyal to a brand (of car)?
« Reply #31 on: 29 Mar 2017, 01:51 am »
My first car was a 1996 Ford Escort Wagon LX....Piece of garbage.  Kept it for about 4 years, just 44K....had a plethora of problems, from a speedometer that used to track speed up to 45 miles and then the needle used to jump up and down.  The local Ford local dealer diagnosed it as a cable situation....it did not remedy anything.  Spent about $700 into fixing nothing.  Broken engine belt at 40K.  Also, left front wheel something went bust made loud noises.  Got rid of it when I put it as trade for my...

Honda Accord 2001, VP.  This one has been with me for about 16 years.  120K.  A cross country trip and local roads in NYC.  Fairly reliable asides from regular expendables, tires every 50K, belt change at 60K, shocks replaced at 90K, one transmission recall, fixed at 65K.  Entire engine gasket change for 1100.  Everything else is excellent.  Fuel sipping.  Newer Hondas have gone downhill in terms of recalls and reliability. 

Subaru Outback 4 Cyclinder with CVT and traction control 2011 model.  55K, this one saved the lives of my family back in 2015, when we were driving down 95 South in NC....Someone hit and ran us on the left back wheel/trunk side.  Flattened the back tired, never lost traction at 65 miles an hour, in the center lane.  Left lane faster traffic and center and right lane 16 wheelers barreling down at 80 miles an hour.  Got 4500K of insurance repair.  Made it new. 

Due to this, most likely our next Honda Accord replacement will be a Subaru Outback with Eyesight.  That is the only way to go. 

 :thumb:

WC

Re: Are you loyal to a brand (of car)?
« Reply #32 on: 29 Mar 2017, 03:05 am »
We have owned all variety of car makes over the years. 2 Dodges (still have a 1999 Dakota), 2 Hondas, a Cavalier convertible, a Saab convertible, VW Jetta and GTI, and a Kia Optima. Currently I have a Toyota 4-runner (my second, first one lasted for 11 years) and my wife has a Toyota Rav-4.

ZAKski288

Re: Are you loyal to a brand (of car)?
« Reply #33 on: 29 Mar 2017, 03:44 am »
I've owned several cars over the years. Still own quite a few (*) mostly VW's. Some day may restore the 914. The Fox wagon is pretty good shape. Just recently Sold the VW pickup. Still like my old VW's. Recently brought Toyotas great cars, very low maintenance and good gas mileage.

1966 Chevy pickup
1978 Chevette
1981 VW Rabbit
1981 VW Pick-up
1975 Porsche 914*
1984 GTI*
1990 Honda CBR 600*
1980 Mazda 626 12 Point deer casualty
1986 Pontiac 6000  deer casualty
1990 VW Fox Wagon*
1995 VW Cabrio*
1992 Grand Am GT
1988 Dodge Carvan
2000 Dodge Carvan*
2000 Chevy S-10*
2009 Toyota Pruis* daily driver My car
2011 Toyota Pruis* daily driver Wife's car
« Last Edit: 30 Mar 2017, 11:09 pm by ZAKski288 »

drphoto

Re: Are you loyal to a brand (of car)?
« Reply #34 on: 29 Mar 2017, 04:22 am »
VW guy here. Currently own Mk6 Sportwagon which is great. Love to have Mk7 GTI down the road.

There's a lot of great cars out there these days (competition is a good thing for consumers) but VW just checks all the boxes for what I want in an affordable car.

Folsom

Re: Are you loyal to a brand (of car)?
« Reply #35 on: 29 Mar 2017, 05:42 am »
I hold zero allegiance. I don't see the point. All companies make winners and losers. Some do it for a decade or more and then change.

Letitroll98

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Re: Are you loyal to a brand (of car)?
« Reply #36 on: 29 Mar 2017, 09:29 am »
It's more like I avoid certain brands than have loyalty to one or the other.  Never had a Ford or Toyota, don't know why I avoid those, just doesn't float my boat.

JohnR

Re: Are you loyal to a brand (of car)?
« Reply #37 on: 29 Mar 2017, 09:43 am »
No, it's not that I buy a car that often but I think I tend to start looking with brands that I've had "success" with in the past and then broaden the search. Things change pretty quickly (relative to car buying cycle) and there's just too much choice/options etc to ignore that. I suppose if you had a really good service person who specialized in specific brand(s) it would make sense to look at those first.

martyo

Re: Are you loyal to a brand (of car)?
« Reply #38 on: 29 Mar 2017, 09:55 am »
61 Pontiac Ventura
65 Pontiac LeMans convertible
69 Datsun 510
73 Toyota Celica
80 Ford Fairmont
86 Ford T-Bird
89 Ford Escort
94 Ford Taurus
99 Toyota Camry
2007 Toyota Camry
2008 Toyota Camry

If we were buying today it would be another Camry but with only 108,000 miles and 106,000 miles on our current Camry's, I would hope that won't be for awhile.

JLM

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Re: Are you loyal to a brand (of car)?
« Reply #39 on: 29 Mar 2017, 11:39 am »
I've bought every Consumers Report April car issue since the 80's (the 2017 edition is out now) and study them extensively.  IMO car advice is the most valuable service the Consumers Union offers, but I preferred the issues from several years past.  Most of their other advice is either too generic, appliance/electronics advice is outdated as models varying and constantly change, and some of their advice is simply too weak to be useful or just plain half wrong (like the recent article I found online for furnace filters.

I also use Edmunds.com which provides more information but lacks the unique owner reliability data from CR.

If dealerships and local service are all equal where you live I'd go for Kia or Hyundai as they seem to be hungry (offering the best value) and on the learning curve that Japan was on 30 years ago.  I currently own a Camry and an Outback.  The Outback provides hauling space and magnificent all wheel drive, but cost 4 times per mile what the Camry does for service (finally found a local garage for service after the dealer kept suggesting bogus service be done).  The Camry feels thinner/lighter but is bigger, more comfortable/powerful/fuel efficient, have had the same sales guy for nearly 30 years, and service is far more honest/available.  Being the largest Toyota dealer in the state they have always had the needed parts on hand.  Again, being in a small market I pick cars largely by available dealerships/service.