Look Out Toyota, Here Comes The Good Enough Chinese Car

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bronsin

I didnt say they use mind control to make you buy one of their cars.

By their commercials they make the public want fancy expensive cars. Like BMWs.

A large segment of the public thinks their social status is measured by their car.

Fortunately I am unaffected by this so I can warn everybody before its too late.

Or they chop my head off.

I agree with you. I used to live in Marin County, CA. I didn't grow up there, but more than one household on both sides of my family (but not the majority of my family) still live there. Marin County has more BMWs per capita than any of the 3,000 + counties in the United States (unless, unbeknownst to me, it has recently lost this dubious distinction). The climate there = . One of my relatives worries that she will be judged and, most importantly, her child might suffer socially if she doesn't shop at an expensive enough grocery store.. I'm NOT kidding! Some friends of ours moved to Fairfield County, CT and they say Greenwich, CT and parts of Westchester County in New York are worse. With the limited exposure I've had to Greenwich and to Rye, NY.... l'd have to say I agree.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by tk1971

Or... just get a Nissan Versa Sedan now:

From Edmunds:

$10,990 MSRP (base model with 5-spd) + $780 Destination Fee = $11,770

That's about $12k - $13k out the door with sales tax and $200 licensing fees.

I'd feel safer in a Versa than a Smart or even a Panda.

^^^^^ This

[edmscan]

I must have had a Monday or Friday car as well ... my waterpump went as well. But really, anyone that reads this forum knows that the waterpump on the Yaris is suspect. So .. one bad part, I would consider that pretty good. But .. a Chinese car, not likely to happen for me, I just don't trust them with my life. I want the airbag to work when I get in a crash. A Chinese airbag I just cannot take that chance.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by TPA5

Main problem with this? I value my life. VW may have built no-frill cars, but I actually trust a VW car to keep my butt safe. I'm not trusting the Chinese industry to actually build something that won't;

1) Randomly have parts fail or rip apart

2) Flake apart like a paper crane in a collision

I'll stick to brands I know. I'm good with being adventurous and switching up toilet paper and breakfast cereal brands every now and again, but I'm not putting my life in the hands of a country famous for shoddy goods.

"I value my life" 'I'm not trusting the Chinese industry to actually build something that won't (keep my butt safe)' ----- I agree. These were my first two thoughts while reading the article Bronsin posted.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by edmscan

I must have had a Monday or Friday car as well ... my waterpump went as well. But really, anyone that reads this forum knows that the waterpump on the Yaris is suspect. So .. one bad part, I would consider that pretty good. But .. a Chinese car, not likely to happen for me, I just don't trust them with my life. I want the airbag to work when I get in a crash. A Chinese airbag I just cannot take that chance.

I know. Failed water pump = possibly #1 on the 'things that could go wrong with a Yaris' list. I just like to rib Bronsin a bit because he likes to bring it up .

[bronsin]

Originally Posted by TPA5

Main problem with this? I value my life. VW may have built no-frill cars, but I actually trust a VW car to keep my butt safe. I'm not trusting the Chinese industry to actually build something that won't;

.

The VW Beetle had to be one of the most unsafe cars ever built. Gas tank in your lap, eggshell construction, manually adjusted drum brakes all around, and directionally unstable.

I put hundreds of thousands of miles on them and loved to do all the work on them.

If you can drive a Beetle surely you can drive a Chinese concoction.

[1stToyota]

Originally Posted by bronsin

Hmm interesting.

Cheapest Versa at the local dealer is over $16,000 though....

My brother was looking at a $13,000 Versa sedan, he bought the $16,000 hatchback instead.

[1stToyota]

Originally Posted by Hershey

" A water pump failure at this point is totally unacceptable from a car maker like Toyota. "

Agree . Had a '86 Corolla with 240,000+ miles and never an issue with a water pump . Had to get the alternator rebuilt twice and did the removal / install . The alternator had well over 100,000 both times it failed . The cost was reasonable as well . Ain't what they used to be .

Did the Corolla's head gasket hold up any better? If memory serves, didn't your Yaris head gasket already fail? I think it sprang an oil leak...

[junorico24]

They are already sold in Australia.Presently there is two Chines brands in Australia. Great Wall Motors and Chery. Great Wall Motors produce SUV's and pick ups and they are selling like hot cakes. They are cheaper but not by much.You would be surprise to know they are only a few grand cheaper than other makes.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bronsin

The VW Beetle had to be one of the most unsafe cars ever built. Gas tank in your lap, eggshell construction, manually adjusted drum brakes all around, and directionally unstable.

I put hundreds of thousands of miles on them and loved to do all the work on them.

If you can drive a Beetle surely you can drive a Chinese concoction.

My dad was a rep for Chevrolet in the early 70s. In dealerships they had these big clunky machines (covered in plastic) that would play different promotional videos that customers could watch. I don't know how they changed the videos (this was before Betamax). One of the videos was a promotional video for the Vega. It showed the Vega going around a fairly sharp corner and taking the corner just fine. Then the video showed a VW Beetle taking the same corner at the same speed and the Beetle ROLLED OVER and off the road into a ditch!

Beetle.....Chinese concoction.....what about the old (can't properly type this on an English keyboard) Citroen (the 2V I think) with the basket weave seats!!!......and of course the Trebant.....those polluted Germany for a fair amount of time after reunification.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bronsin

Hmm interesting.

Cheapest Versa at the local dealer is over $16,000 though....

You should also look at the inventory (can look online) of a dealership that has a larger inventory. Such a dealership might not be so 'top heavy' with heavily optioned cars.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by junorico24

They are already sold in Australia.Presently there is two Chines brands in Australia. Great Wall Motors and Chery. Great Wall Motors produce SUV's and pick ups and they are selling like hot cakes. They are cheaper but not by much.You would be surprise to know they are only a few grand cheaper than other makes.

How do Australians (government officials and consumers) feel about vehicle safety? Less of a priority than for Americans and for Germans?

[Hershey]

" Did the Corolla's head gasket hold up any better? "

Yes , original engine and tranny . Starting burning large amount of oil and put her down . Figure the rings went .

" If memory serves, didn't your Yaris head gasket already fail? I think it sprang an oil leak... "

Yes , all is fine since the repair . It's a love / hate relationship with the sedan . Everyone or everything has its days . Keeping it until the day it craps out .

[cali yaris]

@ nookandcranny:

Singling out Marin County with an anecdotal story or two is a misrepresentation at best.

I was raised in Marin and still have many, many friends there. None of them give a hoot about "car prestige". Doesn't mean there aren't people like that living there, but your sweeping generalizations are unfair.

Are you trying to suggest with your statistic about BMW ownership that everyone who buys a BMW is buying it for the label? It's a beautifully designed brand, awesome to drive and reliable.

The logic of including everyone in one bucket because of some single fact, statistic or story is just not valid.

/ rant

// Former Marin County Resident

[junorico24]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

How do Australians (government officials and consumers) feel about vehicle safety? Less of a priority than for Americans and for Germans?

They comply with safety.The biggest problem is drink driving like an idiot and speeding not the cars fault per say.If you can get past the mental paranoia about Chinese vehicles being unsafe.Then you will have a normal safe vehicle to drive around in.


Peace..Go scoop yourself a Great Wall.

http://www.greatwallmotors.com.au/de...ticle&ID=21794

There is 25 559 Great Wall Motors on Australian Roads and growing baby. So they are not as bad as you think. However it is by no means cheap buddy.$ 28 990 for a suv DIESEL. Which is not bad. The Panda is less than 10K. You get what you pay for..BTW you can purchased a pick up truck loaded with features power package, air con, air bag, abs and power windows etc for the same price as a midget YARIS. End of STORY.

[tk1971]

Originally Posted by bronsin

Hmm interesting.

Cheapest Versa at the local dealer is over $16,000 though....

My mom bought one in April with a CVT (she can't drive stick) for exactly $14,543 out the door. The price of the CVT model before tax/license was $13,250.

Being able to drive stick gets the same car for the $11k base price.

Of course, my mom promptly (2 weeks after getting it) sends the car into a fence, flipping it and totaling the car.




She blamed sudden unintended acceleration. The insurance found nothing wrong with the car.

My mom has more than 3 decades of driving experience with only 2 minor fender benders.

The insurance coughed up most of the cost of the car, which she promptly took to a Toyota dealer and got a '11 certified pre-owned Yaris sedan (no more new sedans, so she had to get used).

Don't know what happened, and I don't think anyone will ever know... but if I had to get a $11k car, I'd still consider the Versa. It's surprisingly roomy.

[bronsin]

Yes and the sedan has the 1.6 engine whereas the hatch has the old inefficient 1.8 133 hp gass guzzler.

The sedan was made hundreds of pounds lighter too which helps.

Gee if i could find one I might buy it!


But "good luck with that"

[tooter]

Originally Posted by junorico24

The biggest problem is drink driving like an idiot and speeding not the cars fault per say.If you can get past the mental paranoia about Chinese vehicles being unsafe.Then you will have a normal safe vehicle to drive around in.

My wife bought a cheap used Korean Hyundai for $3,400. She used it for 16 years, and it still ran great when we sold it in one day for $1,700 to get a new Yaris.

Needless to say, we're both big fans of really cheap vehicles. I'd buy a cheap Chinese car in a heartbeat... just not the first year of a model.