anyone owne these cars? (looking for owner opinions)

[vacuumfreeeke]

thanks!

Wow, I'm surprised at the amount of responses I got. I am actually looking at a different car that I hadn't considered before. An 01 Nissan Altima. It is in my price range and has most of the features I want (tilt, cruise, power windows)... the only thing it lacks that I want is a gearshift indicator display on the dash. I like that feature, and if I get an Altima will just have to go without it. I do not like the way the back of the car looks, but the front and interior are fine for me. I know several people who have had Nissans and they swear by them. If I wanted to pay cash for an Accord or Camry I'd have to get a mid-ninties model and I'd like something a little newer. I now 5000 isn't a lot to spend for a car, but I've been driving 500 dollar cars for the last 7 years so this really will be an upgrade for me. The best car I ever had was a 1990 Toyota Camry. It had 150,000 miles on it when I bought it for 400 dollars. I had it for two years and in that time put another 150,000 miles on it. I drive it to work and school, and to my ex once or twice a week who lived 70 miles away for two years. Then one night, some people here illegally from Mexico ran a stop sign (in an 87 Ford LTD Crown Vic) and smashed into me as I was going down the road. Their excuse was, "I sorry, I no looky, I no peaka English." It turned out that they didn't have insurance, or even a license and they were driving a car that wasn't even theirs! But, on that car, the A/C, cruise control, and all the power windows still worked. I never did anything to that car except oil changes and tires. It never left me stranded, and I miss it very much. Definitely a great car.

I still haven't made the final decision yet, but I'm having fun looking. It's kind of a frustrating process as well, but the first time I get in my "new" car and know this is the one for me, it will be worth it.

Thanks for your advice, and I welcome any additional comments )

 

[oxydolfan1]

The Altima is a pretty good, reliable car.

I like the styling of the Maxima better than the Accord or the Camry, too.

I'm very opposed to globalization, GATT, NAFTA, the North American Union, the Amero, etc., but I also realize I have to live in the here and now.

I bought a Dyson DC07 a few years ago...and took it right back, because I didn't feel the performance justified the price tag.

I'd always admired certain American-made Hoover "Wind Tunnel" uprights but I knew it would not last long, even if I took scrupulous care of it, and I really wanted to go "bagless".

Then came TTI....and I took a chance on a Chinese-made Hoover "Mach 5" and, so far, it has been the best contemporary vac purchase I've ever made! It was reasonably priced, works far better than the Dyson ever did, the build "quality" and design, IMHO, far surpasses that of Hoover's last bagless American-made models, and it is cheaper and easier to run.

I had the same situation when I bought a Kenmore "Iridium" canister vacuum cleaner. I think it works far better then the more costly Dyson canister, and it was made not in America or even China, but South Korea....

So what am I to assume from all of this? I no longer believe Chinese products are all junk, if you are willing to pay a bit more for the individual item.

Yet, how are we helping America to reindustrialize by automatically purchasing poorly-made and -designed American products and supporting the corporatists in their quest to further cheapen America's own brand name, and winding up with equally disposable American products that will not meet our needs anyway?

I own a Saturn, and at the time I bought it, I was aware it was somewhat inferior in quality, fit, and finish to the comparable Japanese and American models available at the time, but they had a one-price sales strategy and service facilities that greatly impressed me, and they also cost less back then.

Now, the Saturn dealers are just like any other, the garages are just as poorly run and far more expensive than any other manufacturer's facilities are, and the pricing has crept up to a point where they are no longer competitive with Japanese or Korean models, so I'm no longer loyal to Saturn because they're not what they used to be.

I believe many of us are in for financial challenges in the days ahead, and, if the new Chinese-made cars are aggressively priced and of decent quality, it wouldn't surprise me at all if they were a big hit here.

They may not be as good as Honda or Toyota, but they may just be good enough for me.

 

[spankomatic]

If your still gonna buy used.... The Nissan Altima is a pretty good pick. Another Toyota Camery would be good too. I would stay away from Honda's. Those old Honda's are trashed. Does the Nissan Altima have maintanence records ? Has it ever been wrecked ? Bought a used car many years ago that had all the maintanence records. Turns out it had been in a bad accident. Lots of major repairs. Blood seeping out of the dash board on hot days. Who knew ??? I traded that one in for my first NEW Toyota Tercel.

Keep us posted....
Jim