I just read this post by Paid Twice about the reliability of her Saturn.
I think reliability is more than a feeling. It’s a genuine quality intrinsic to the car and the way it’s built. It’s more than a worker’s pride in caring about the job they do.
Years ago as a student, I had the opportunity to tour GM’s Light Truck plant at Sparrows Point in Baltimore. Basically every GMC van came off that line. I’ll never forget that day. It was a fascinating culmination of my undergraduate studies learning about the culture of automotive companies. Years after that, I had a chance to tour NUMMI, GM’s joint venture with Toyota to learn Japanese manufacturing methods. In watching people at Sparrows Point use a rubber mallet to bang in interior body panels, I learned that my car isn’t as fragile as I thought it was and that Toyota’s low tolerance for manufactured parts from subcontractors fed into the quality and craftsmanship on its cars.
In shopping around this past summer for possible replacement cars, I asked myself about reliability. I came up with three cars I’d consider:
1. Mitsubishi Evo Lancer
2. Volkswagen GTI
3. Subaru WRX STi
All three cars are consider sporty performance cars. They all come in 5- or 6-speed manual engines with lots of torque and horsepower without a huge amount of engine displacement. They’re not super gas guzzlers, nor sippers. They do a respectable 19-25MPG, if not better.
In considering these cars, I basically ruled out the Evo. It’s a great little car, but I don’t think of Mitsubishies as 10-year cars. Pretty much all my guy friends who are into cars agree. It’s not something you’ll keep around for that long. You’ll beat it to death in 5 and replace it before Year 7 when everything really starts to go. Despite my happy experiences years ago with a Tredia-L I had briefly, I don’t think the Evo is a 10-year car.
The VW has a really well-appointed interior. The dash is way better laid out than the STi. My sibling had a GTI VR6 for many years which I got to drive on vacation in California each winter. I have to say, I love that car. But even for a shorty like me, it’s a cramped fit and I worry about the classic electrical problems that VW is known to have. My girlfriend’s German-made Jetta had problems. (Bought while she was stationed there.) My sibling’s North American-made GTI’s dash had a mysteriously unfixable short in the first 6 months. But is it a 10-year car? Definitely. V-Dubs last and last. I can easily see myself keeping one and fitting a baby seat in the back if it’s a 4-door. (My sibling got rid of the GTI because it sucks to put a car seat in the back with the 2-door model, hence the new Sienna baby wagon.)
Now the Subaru is clearly a 10-year car. But fully-appointed, it’s about $7-10K more than a VW and the dashboard and interior aren’t nearly as nice. However, the stock STi build has 305hp without any mods. It’s just what I like! I love the signature WRX blue color! The Momo steering wheel! Bembro brakes! And it’s definitely very fun to drive and will last. I’m certainly willing to pay for the reliability here. But is it worth that much premium? I’m not sure.
Last summer I was looking at new 2009’s. Right now, I’ve been surfing the net and looking at GTI’s and STi’s. I’m pretty surprised that I can find new STi builds for about $4K less than “last year”, i.e. 2009 vs 2010. I thought about a used STi, but they tend to be beat up in the first year. I don’t want some reckless kid’s cast off when he decided he could afford the car after 15 months, you know?
At any rate, I agree, Reliability matters. But so does fun and price. I’d rather pay for reliability and for fun, than end up paying a higher price for chronic repairs and have neither reliability nor fun.
Related posts:
- Scrooge I Am Not How much are the holidays costing me so far? $1560...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
This post made me realize I know very little about cars. Well except that some are “sexier” than others. I’m not in the market for a car, but my BF is, and I’m going to vicariously experience the car search through him. He’s looking at an Altima, a Ford Fusion, and a Mazda 6. The Lancer was up there for a while, but he eliminated it because it was too small. I’m funning for the Altima. Has been my dream car ever since I was 10 years old.
Wow, it’s such a pleasure to read someone considering Reliability as and important issue; I vote for the Subaru. Here is something I posted about my Forester this summer at subaruforester.org: http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f108/how-subaru-saved-adoption-56362/
Also, pics of the Forester: http://coldwhiteguyandarcticgirl.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html
Good luck with your choice!
My daughter bought an ancient Saturn four years ago for $100. She bought it from the sister of a good friend and their dad was a mechanic, so it was in good shape. She’s put some money into it, but not much, and it’s served her well and is still going strong. Saturns are just good cars, it’s a shame that they’re going, going, gone.