I've had a Toyota Camry about 8 years. No problems. The car before that, a Camry, no problems.

Toyota are very good cars smmoth driving.

morning tilly

here's my 2 cents on gas versus diesel

gasoline is much more volatile than diesel. hence the riskier
reasonable caution when dealing with fuel and fueling cures that

typically gassers make power more quickly so they are zippier of the start, while diesels make more power more slowly so they will drag anything you want including the trunk full of dead scammers you are trying to hide

all else being the same the diesel will get better fuel economy.

gassers need lots more less expensive preventative maintainence,
but when the diesel finally breaks it's more expensive to repair.

warmup and cool down are much more important with the diesel for longevity.


the problem with treating a motor vehicle as an investment is that the normally wear out and depreciate. hence they should be considered a consummable comodity and be cared for to provide maxium service for as long as possible

In my experience, Honda and Toyota are reliable cars. However, recently I rented a Nissan in New Mexico and drove it to Los Vegas. It was one of the worst cars I have ever rented. On the way back, I rented a Hyundai Elantra. It was one of the best cars I have ever driven. It got 38 miles to the gallon doing 80 to 90 mph all the way. It had good power too!

I got home and did a little research. I found out the Hyundai had optional German suspension on some models, the best warranty in the business, and great resale.

A friend of mine told me (I don't know if it is true) that the South Korean government subsidizes the Hyundai for the the world market about 30% which is how they can sell a car of that high quality at such a low price. I went out and bought the Tuscon model for my wife.

I also have a 25 years old Mazda Miata. It runs like new and has very few repairs of any kind. Mazdas don't get the credit they deserve.

My main vehicle is a four wheel drive Jeep. It doesn't get very good mileage and it needs occasional repairs but it goes anywhere and will do anything.

the Hyundai is the best Korean brand, as far as i know... and the Tucson became the best seller over here as far as SUV's are concerned a couple of years back, and yes, the resale is quite good. but i think Kia is getting to be more competitive ever since the Sorento came out.

driven a Mazda 3 before, too. can't complain about the drive either, plus the body and the interior are pretty classy.. but i've heard that if repairs were ever needed on a Mazda, it tended to be much more expensive and that it was harder to get some of the parts available.

don't know much about Jeep... it's not yet readily available here, except under special importation, probably because of the more urban setting we have

seems like Japanese brands still dominate the automotive industry...

i see, i see... nice idea you gave me about hauling scammers..
*chuckle*..

ok, my problem is that i'm not too diligent when it comes to maintenance and detecting early car trouble... i mean, i can get the scheduled tune-ups done based on the mileage... but unlike some people, i'm not as sensitive or observant in detecting changes in gearshiftings, alignment trouble, break pedal pressure and strange car noises...

yes yes... i know, i know... the bane of the mechanic... lol..

I have a question...

Why do cars have daytime headlights? Its the daytime...its bright...wouldnt the automatic daytime headlights just be a waste of energy..??

the added load on the electrical system is miniscule to run the head lamps.

the health police logic for mandating drls(daytime running lights) is that you are more visible to people coming at you. not that you can see better from behind the steering wheel

Exactly...i dont even see them as turned on on other cars...and i often get flagged by some well meaning pedestrian to turn them off...

there is a reason my vehicles still have a crank on the front of them

If they had built in external speakers...those would be useful for me...

you kids and your loud music

my last 2 cars were bmw's and a volvo first a 2001 BMW Z3, loved the car unfortunately I totaled it a month aftrr buying it, a Nissan Frontier broadsided me on the drivers side, top was down, the truck hit me hard enough to bream his front axle, bu I have to give that car good safety ratings, I walked away with only minor scratches, for it's size it was built really solid.

my next was a Volvo c70, I was riding in the passenger seat and my brother-in-law was driving, we got broadsided (againnon drivers side) the three(my little sister was in thr nack seat) of us walked out with minor injuries (my sister wasn't buckled so a little more serious on hers) but that csr was built like a tank.


My other was a 2001 BMW 740i, I drove that pretty hard, it was surprisingly good on gas for a V8 I drove it up and down tbe west coast from San Diego to Cananada, really comfortable car for long trips. However maintenance wasn't cheap, simple things I'd normally do myself, weren't worth it...for example the alternator is water-cooled and a PIA to get too, also parts are expensive (headlight BULB is $99.00 (u.s.) ) however it did last, just got rid of it, it had 200,000miles on it.

I recently bought a 1994 Honda Accord Ex, only 75000 miles on it, I'm loving the gad milage on it, and drives well, my only complaint is the front-rotors are 'captive' rotors I've never owned a car with captive rotors, and the only thing I can say for sure about them, is they make doing tbe brakes yourself a chore, I guess only certain years have these captive rotors so maybe something to consider

And who said i'd be using it for music??

Ever tried sneaking up on someone from behind...