Why do people buy Imports

[bluezr1]

I was curious as to why people buy Import automobiles?

[GokuSS3]

“ Originally Posted by bluezr1 ”

I was curious as to why people buy Import automobiles?

Lol not sure as to why you made a thread for this , but i will answer imports an why would do them it is cause most people want that car in america. If you can't get the car out here in the US so people the import it from another Country. A good one would be like GTR34 Can't buy it here in the US would have to import to have one from Euro or Japan. I would never do it not worth the cost lol....... It works the other way around , you go to Euro or Japan and they want our cars lol. Kind of funny really

[littledaisy]

AND>>>>>>>LUXURY IMPORTS are beautiful...i own a German car myself (audi a4)..and i love it...havent had any issues with it and its very good on gas..and very nice looking if i may say so... ... to be honest i hate American sedans..they all look so boring to me..and some are just plain ugly...I DONT MEAN TO OFFEND ANYONE....but Chevy and Chrysler seam to have the worst ODD looking or weird shaped cars..with the EXCEPTION of the CORVETTE and CHRYSLER 300...once again no offense if you own one...thats just IMO...

[eklipz3]

My experience with imports and domestics have been a love hate kinda thing... the domestics ive had where good cars.. but bad on constant repairs and even one that i got right now down right stopped working(buick) because of a security problem with the key(vats system). On the other hand the imports i owned i never really had to do anything to them unless i wanted to or it was the normal tune up stuff needed every few thousand miles. I never had a problem with my nissan altima nor my infiniti g20 or my rx7(expect for heat) but i knew that already... now my monte carlo, escort, and f-150 all have had the share of problems to where repairs where high damn there thousands to fix. The only domestic that i owned that gave me no problems what so ever was my 2003 2 dr explorer that suv was the ishhhh . But from My personal experience i'd have to go with imports because they where the most reliable and least likely to break down on me.

[bluezr1]

“ Originally Posted by GokuSS3 ”

Lol not sure as to why you made a thread for this , but i will answer imports an why would do them it is cause most people want that car in america. If you can't get the car out here in the US so people the import it from another Country. A good one would be like GTR34 Can't buy it here in the US would have to import to have one from Euro or Japan. I would never do it not worth the cost lol....... It works the other way around , you go to Euro or Japan and they want our cars lol. Kind of funny really

I came on this forum to download Goku’s GSS rom and found out I had to have 15 posts to do so. During that time I had an article up about the cash for clunkers. So I thought that would be a good question to ask. I have nothing against people buying imports, just wanted to here what some of the reasons are. I used to work for American Axle and have always had American cars. I was a motor head in my younger years, “got love those Small block and big block Chevy’s”.

[iamdasht19]

“ Originally Posted by bluezr1 ”

I was curious as to why people buy Import automobiles?

well i could come back with the same questions of why do people buy american made vehicles?

[DJCaSpER]

i'm a import driver they r cheaper better gas miles and when fixing them up u can make then look so much cooler then an American car.

[ronaldsdv]

import cars are better looking and last longer .... dont know just a thought

[gadget945]

Actually, it's kind of interesting that you make mention of the cash for clunkers program as part of your reasoning for the question.

The purpose of the program was to sort of jump start interest in buying new cars, and hopefully domestic ones. But where do you draw the line at domestic? Is it cars that the manufacturer is one of the big three or does the fact that the car is assembled in the US help count as a domestic? In either case, that program didn't work like they thought it would, IMO.

As for personally buying a domestic or import car, I'd have to say that I have had both. Run the gamut from a XJ6 and a 560SL to an old Suburban with a modified motor and tranny. I would have to say that it just depends on what you want a vehicle for. I know that there are some folks that are diehard Mopar fanatics, and then there are some folks like my parents that have owned Hondas for the last 25 years.

For the time being, with the way the economy is, I'm guessing that if it's good on gas and easy on the eyes, it doesn't really matter who made it. I can make a Mustang look like an import, so does it really matter?

Kinda sneaky about getting to your 15 count though, maybe not sneaky, just ingenious. LOL

[fanaticny]

my first 2 cars were american cars(always problems with them), oldies but soft rides, until i crashed lol, the next day i looked up online for car specials and found an 03 Eclipse GT convertible for $14,500 with 15,000 miles, it was the best deal I found + 3g's are beautiful cars, so i bought it, didn't really think about it being an import, but i guess most ppl buy imports because they def look better + cheaper. If i start thinking about buying an american car I would only go for a Sky, Solstice, Mustang or XLR, but i dont have the money, so im happy with my import lol.

[iamdasht19]

“ Originally Posted by DJCaSpER ”

i'm a import driver they r cheaper better gas miles and when fixing them up u can make then look so much cooler then an American car.

“ Originally Posted by ronaldsdv ”

import cars are better looking and last longer .... dont know just a thought

how do they look better than american cars? (i know all personal opinion) but tell me what is better out there than pure american muscle? there is nothing, america paved the roads for these imports and there wanna be fast sports car style......... just my opinion and i own both amrican and import in bmw.

[GokuSS3]

“ Originally Posted by bluezr1 ”

I came on this forum to download Goku’s GSS rom and found out I had to have 15 posts to do so. During that time I had an article up about the cash for clunkers. So I thought that would be a good question to ask. I have nothing against people buying imports, just wanted to here what some of the reasons are. I used to work for American Axle and have always had American cars. I was a motor head in my younger years, “got love those Small block and big block Chevy’s”.

Very nice well i hope you like the rom , and it looks like a lot people are answering your question too !!!

[bluezr1]

Thanks, I didn't expect all the replies, at the time of this posting I really wanted Goku's rom. Thanks Goku it is awesome. The bigest problem I was having was that my phone would rotate causing WAY to much lag. I tried many programs out there to fix the problem, now that problem is gone.

Thanks to everyone who replied...

[GokuSS3]

“ Originally Posted by bluezr1 ”

Thanks, I didn't expect all the replies, at the time of this posting I really wanted Goku's rom. Thanks Goku it is awesome. The bigest problem I was having was that my phone would rotate causing WAY to much lag. I tried many programs out there to fix the problem, now that problem is gone.

Thanks to everyone who replied...

Rotate what do you mean ?

[BladeDog29]

I've always had Imports all my life and never really had any big issues but this is my first time to own an american truck (Tahoe) and damn, this would be my last, they just don't seem to build them the same, too many little issues and they need to be treated like babies or you'll be spending a lot of money to keep fixing them all the time.. IDK ya win some ya lose some I guess..

[HTCxFOREVER]

idk if its just me but i like some imports and some american cars,, they both have there pros and there con ,,like the honda ,,lets say u rearend someone doin 30 miles an hour ,, that lil honda is screwed lol ,,now if i had a a caprice or somthin id be better off lol ,,just puttin in my 2 cents

[NINE'SICKS]

“ Originally Posted by littledaisy ”

AND>>>>>>>LUXURY IMPORTS are beautiful...i own a German car myself (audi a4)..and i love it...havent had any issues with it and its very good on gas..and very nice looking if i may say so... ... to be honest i hate American sedans..they all look so boring to me..and some are just plain ugly...I DONT MEAN TO OFFEND ANYONE....but Chevy and Chrysler seam to have the worst ODD looking or weird shaped cars..with the EXCEPTION of the CORVETTE and CHRYSLER 300...once again no offense if you own one...thats just IMO...

Imma have to side with little daisy on this, it just realy depends on what u like/what u can afford and the purpose of the car. Iv never had a problem with HONDA (prelude/civic hb) or BMW (z4) when i had got my civic it was on milk carts collecting dust friends used to laugh at me bcuz there new American cars didnt need as much fixing up as i did, but years later not only was i saving gas (b4 it was trendy) but i was only needin to get tune-ups.. unlike my friends CHEVY malibu !!

[m260gt]

i own a mustang GT, and i agree theres nothing like american muscle. its never had problems, unless ive abused it. i wrecked it, and then the lower control arm bushings went bad. replaced those and it was good as new. then the tranny mount and rear differential blew up, but these were a result of me driving the crap out of my car. but got performance gears and a new tranny mount put on and now its good as new. throw some loud exhaust on and watch all the heads turn. i dont think ill have anything other than muscle for my life. idk what you all are doing to have the problems with american ones, but from what ive noticed theyve either been mopar or chevy....maybe its time to own a FORD

my gf owns an altima and its a very good car too. but she loves the muscle too! it is true that imports are better on gas, but to me, i wouldnt take the tradeoff of my car for a civic. id rather pay a little more in gas and still have fun. but thats just my .02

[benmiller]

I think its all about preference too, I have owned quite a few cars I think the best ride I had was in mt 84 el camino but the frame was rusted out and parts just started dropping off the car it felt like I was sitting on a couch driving down the road and boy even with just a 305 under the hood I could kick it sideways there are perks to having american muscle but they gotta be older I like antiques,

but then you get into my most reliable and I would have to say that was my 79 volkswagon golf I could fix that thing with no tools on the side of the road if it ever broke down one time I managed to fit a honda civic rim onto it when I blew the tire and dented the rim,

Then theres the 98 ford contour which was plagued by factory recalls and electrical problems and a shitty governor limit of 108 I owned a geo storm that was faster with only 3 cylinders and 80 something hp,

Then theres my baby that I was tryign to get fixed up the 72 datsun 280z mmm it had that old car look but that import feel pretty pissed that it only ran 70 miles but oh well it was the fastest car I owned in that short period of time and it was like sitting in a rocket ship.

--------- New Post Merged on 8/10/2009 at 1113 --------

oh and the datsun would get like 30's for gas mileage even being ancient so I think alot of them clunkers are better than most these new cars.

If I had the cash I would buy a Tesla Sedan why not go electric.

[rwcj63]

well. i'm probably gonna get bashed but here we go. i'm probably one of the oldest on this site and i've seen a lot of different make and model cars come and go. and as the years have passed, i've noticed that american cars aren't built the way they use to be. even if you take care of your american made auto, it's made to self distruct in about 5 or 6 years. i blame this directly on Detroit. The absolute worse thing that has ever happened (as far as industrializatio) in this county is unions. As long as they get their pension, paid time off and goodness knows all their perks, everything is fine. Let's not worry about making the cars great at a good price, let's make the price what ever it has to be to make sure our unions get paid what they deserve. Many americans are sick of all the union crap and the cars they make, so we would rather purchase a foreign car from a place that actually give a crap about what they make.

[benmiller]

I agree with you 100% rwcj63 I highly doubt there will be any collector cars coming from these past 2 decades or anything that could be considered a classic car later on in the future there garbage you here everyone complain oh that tv or toy was made in tiawan well we are like tiawan for cars.

[KJRain]

“ Originally Posted by bluezr1 ”

I was curious as to why people buy Import automobiles?

Some parts are a little easier to find and install yourself.

[m260gt]

“ Originally Posted by KJRain ”

Some parts are a little easier to find and install yourself.

from what ive noticed parts for imports are way more expensive than parts for my mustang. and as for ease of putting them in, how much easier can ig get than opening the hood and having the V8 sitting right there to work on.

my friend has a civic SI, and to work on anything you pretty much have to take everything off. looks very annoyiong. im happy with my car.

and my tranny has been running good since 2003

[benmiller]

alot of that has to depend on the year of the car msot my older imports where pretty wide open under the hood. I could almost crawl in there with the volkswagon engine and the datsun has been a pretty easy and cheap car to work on. Just depends on the manufactorer and if there was a following Datsun is Nissan so aftermarket or OEM parts havent been hard to find I would say its all about the year of the car the just dont build them like they used to.

[hctr68]

most peeps buy imports for the reason that they can basically run the hell out of them without any maintenance and the car will still run great and the fact that aftermarket parts are cheap and easy to get--- my first car was a honda prelude 89 already kind of beat didnt do any maintenance on it except for a oil change and ran it like that for a year and had no problems.

[PsyChoTk]

I bought a 2008 Hyundai Sonata for 24K loaded. I researced sedans and it had the most stuff for the money. I have not had any problems with the car and its FAST. Plus it's so quiet I've caught myself speeding 20-30 over because it "feels" like I'm going slow. It gets GREAT gas milage and I can get around 400 miles on a tank. I've loaded all my dive gear in the trunk and drove all over Florida.

[KJRain]

“ Originally Posted by benmiller ”

alot of that has to depend on the year of the car msot my older imports where pretty wide open under the hood. I could almost crawl in there with the volkswagon engine and the datsun has been a pretty easy and cheap car to work on. Just depends on the manufactorer and if there was a following Datsun is Nissan so aftermarket or OEM parts havent been hard to find I would say its all about the year of the car the just dont build them like they used to.

Yeah I have a Nissan Maxima and I can always find parts for good prices, and I had a Nissan Stanza before that and parts were dirt cheap.

[CrAshTaH]

Reliability, gas mileage, among other things. I think domestic based cars get better every day.

[roopull]

I'm a "cost of ownership" kind of guy. That means I consider gas mileage, resale value, and annual cost of maintenance in whether or not I buy a car.

I have owned 5 Honda products, one Chrysler product, one Volvo, one VW, one Mazda, two GM products, and two Ford products. Mind you, I haven't always had my "cost of ownership" mentality... but, with two kids and a mortgage, my wallet now insists on it.

The only thing that supersedes "cost of ownership" is safety.

If you look at IIHS and NHTSA rankings, JD Power, Consumer Reports, Carfax and a few other sources, the choices get narrow very quickly.

Like it or not, until recently, the domestics have had nothing to offer. Nothing.

In the last 6 years or so, though, they've closed the gap (at least in GM and Ford's cases.) Prior to that, in every measurable way, the domestics trailed Honda, Toyota and BMW by a wide margin for about twenty years. While the domestics may have caught up, it is going to take a lot of time for public perception to catch up with that reality.

It IS happening, you know. Ford, Cadillac and Buick have been at the top of JD's charts with Lexus for the past few years, and people are finally starting to learn that Mitsubishis, Subarus, and Nissans aren't as reliable as Hondas and Toyotas. Toyota's recent PR nightmares with their very public recalls isn't helping them much, either. And, while still popular, I think more & more people are figuring out that the premium Honda charges for their cars simply isn't justified... especially when you start raking out cash for timing belts and CV joints every 100K miles or so while the guy in the lowly Ford never replaces his (because Ford is smart enough to use timing chains.)


That being said, I loved each and every one of my Hondas. The only one I sold with under 225K was my Prelude, and I sold it because I wanted a backseat. But, I'm not fanboy... our 1997 Saturn SC1 has been the cheapest vehicle to operate I've ever had. Even in terms of reliability, it blows every single Honda out of the water. There's no contest. For example, I've not had to replace a single CV joint or timing belt (perennial weaknesses in every Honda.) My newest purchase was a 2004 mini-van. It's a Mercury.




As for "Buy American..."

I'd love to buy American, and when I can, I do. But, when the UAW and "Big 3" basically sold us crap cars for thirty years because they figured we didn't have any other option, they abused our patriotic loyalties. They took us for granted with colossal pieces of crap like the Ford Granada, Chrysler Cordoba, and Chevy Citation. Meanwhile, our little friends from Japan were offering cars that were cheaper to own, safer to drive, and had a 6th digit in the tachometer for a reason... they weren't designed to implode at 50k.



I have no sympathies for those responsible.

[only1penny]

options could be another reason. when i bought my latest car i wanted a 4 cyl. station wagon that still had some options, leather seats etc. there weren't any american cars to choose from. i wanted something that looked decent as well. i ended up with a saab 9-5.

[roopull]

Saab 9-5... A GM product.

Seriously. General Motors owns Saab.

[abcdefg]

Do you know that my sister-in-law has to pay 50% to 100% more for a Jap car. Why, because she was made in Japan and lives there. They pay these high prices while we don't . Why is this? The US keeps the prices down thru competition. But don't worry, soon there will be NO American car companies left because we loyal Americans buy those great foreign cars! When we have fewer choices, then the foreign car companies will be able to charge thru the roof. Oh, and don't look for a good paying job here. Check out how much those Americans who make those Hondas and Toyotas get for their efforts. Buying foreign and looking for bargains will soon change everything we know and love. Oh, do you know that 91% of the toys we buy now come from China! Enjoy the lead! Maybe we all need to see the complete picture.

[roopull]

Your "complete picture" is anything but "complete."

The Japanese domestic auto market is what it is due to Japan's huge imports on tariffs. That's why the only carmakers that export to Japan in large numbers are luxury brands that can overcome the loss in their exorbitant mark-ups.

And, if I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times... if you build a quality product at a fair price, people will buy it. That's why Chrysler is on the ropes and Ford is adding shifts. Nationality doesn't really count when you're talking about cars. The big automakers build cars and their components in any nation they deem to be the most logical. That new Ford Transit Connect? Yeah... built in Turkey and imported to the USA. That Accord sold in Mexico City? Yeah, built in Ohio USA. The US built car with the highest percentage of US sourced parts? Yeah... that's a Toyota Camry.


America was founded on capitalism and the free market. Both of those depend on free competition. Buying a product for any reason other than value is warping that... Buy American? Yeah... I do... I buy American, even when it comes from Japan.