mikeq@tektronix.UUCP (Mike Quigley) (07/29/83)
Richard Kiessig writes a 7-page letter describing the irritations,
problems and complaints with his new ($30,000!) Corvette, then
closes by saying: "On the whole, I'm pleased with the car."
Mr. Kiessig exhibits a curious phenomenon intrinsic with American-made
car owners: they expect to have problems with their cars, and
are disappointed if they don't!
I used to work for VW, Porsche, Audi (pre 1974). Our biggest
complainers were first-time buyers who previously owned only
Detroit iron. We found that most of their complaints were unfounded, i.e.,
about problems that didn't even exist!
Apparently these people were so conditioned to expect problem cars, that
when they bought one that was (relatively) problem free, they had
to imagine that problems existed anyhow.
Anyone else notice this phenomenon among first-time foreign car buyers?
Mike Quigley
P.S. I own an '81 Subaru. No problems, irritations or complaints, thanks.wookie@alice.UUCP (07/29/83)
Since I am involved with cars a great deal and have been an instructor for auto maintenance and repair courses I get an awful lot of people passing by my office for solutions to their car problems. On the whole I would have to say I have had more questions concerning foreign cars than domestic varieties. It seems that most of the American cars I have run across will keep operating despite gross abuse and/or neglect by the owners. The foreign cars never seemed able to do that and so the ones that are carefully maintained do keep running fine. So I guess that is another observation; if you want to buy and run a car for three years with absolutly no maintenance (not even oil changes!) I think the American cars have been able to do that. Another observation I have made is that people who own foreign cars seem to expect they will have to perform maintenance while owners of American cars aren't sure what maintenance means. The majority of the problems with the foreign cars seems to be that they are not built to operate in all climates they encounter while the American cars seem able to cope with the cold of Alaska or Canada or the heat of Death Valley. It seems odd to me that English cars with Lucas ignitions won't run in damp weather, and people with Volvos are always asking me why their car won't start when it's cold outside. In defense of the foreign cars I have to say they are getting better while the American cars of the 70's certainly seemed to be going downhill. I hope that the Japanese have scared Detroit back into building quality cars that perform well. I think this has been happening recently and so my interest in American cars is rising back to old levels. Note that I leave exotic foreign cars out of this discussion as they are typically low production, very expensive and therefore bound to have some odd and expensive problems. That doesn't mean I wouldn't want a Ferrari because I am sure if I could afford one then I would enjoy tinkering with it to keep it going!! Sorry for the long ramble. Let us know your side! Keith Bauer White Tiger Racing
crc@clyde.UUCP (08/02/83)
I've had two English cars and they both ran in the rain. They also both leeked water into the cockpit when it rained. They also both leeked oil from the rear main seal.
eric@aplvax.UUCP (08/11/83)
I have owned a '57 MGA for several years, and in that time it has leaked far more oil than I ever put into it. My latest theory is that English cars are built with hollow bodies that are filled with oil at the factory. This is what still leaks after you have replaced every seal and gasket in the car. eric ...!seismo!umcp-cs!aplvax!eric
amyh@fluke.UUCP (Amy Heidner) (08/18/83)
Regarding the British car which leaked more oil than added: Some of my
(British) friends would say you have a "Friday afternoon car" - one
built on the last day when everyone's in a hurry to go home.
Amy Heidner John Fluke Mfg {microsoft|lbl-csam|uw-beaver}!fluke!amyh