Well, it’s happening again.

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1955moose

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Back in the late 90's I was a service dispatcher at a Dodge dealer about 25 miles south of San Francisco. I had 2 guys that did nothing but transmission rebuilds on the Caravans. I had so many of them with fried tranny's, can't remember a day, that they and 1 other tech wasn't gutting, and rebuilding an automatic. People buy them out of American loyalty, but the Japanese vans got them beat all to heck. The Sienna, and others aren't without problems, but they stand a better chance of pushing over 200k.

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Machete

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Well you can see the Koreans & Japanese are selling damn good cars and trucks for a realistic price compared to the big 3, and I'm not gonna lie even when everyone says SUVs are selling more the Japanese got this subject on lock with customer loyalty to the constantly seeking Rav-4, CRV, Pilot, Highlander and dont forget the two best selling minivans which seems Chrysler cant come close to the odyssey & sienna and to top it off they actually look good unlike what the big 3 are pushing out... theirs look like crap in comparison and what SUV's from them has stuck around to get its own loyalty crowd (beside the Wrangler)... none! they're always changing names hoping for the next big thing but the price vs quality... the imports have the upper hand and are the ones controlling the market in this segment.

Ps. Chevy is following in Ford's steps and cancelling the Volt, Cruz, Impala and all the Cadillac/Buick version of those shared platforms. They need more AWD wagons IMO, half of those crossovers are smaller than a civic inside and yet they have the same undercarriage clearance and storage capacity.... like wtf are they making nowadays?

Well I agree w the OP. The suvs you mentioned above aren’t really suvs they’re crossovers. Trucks seem to be selling well but they’re pricing us working stiffs out.

We just got rid of a 2003 Chrysler Town&Country AWD Limited I bought new. It had 235,*** original tranny and engine. I know plenty of folks w Honda minivans that blew trannys under 75,*** miles.

My experience has been *** vehicles are more expensive. We have a 2016 Explorer my wife drives and I drive my 2000 Eddie Bauer Expy w 185,***.

I’m thinking of handing it down to my son and find a good low mile f150 w the 5.0 v8.
 

Justinsc

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Back in the late 90's I was a service dispatcher at a Dodge dealer about 25 miles south of San Francisco. I had 2 guys that did nothing but transmission rebuilds on the Caravans. I had so many of them with fried tranny's, can't remember a day, that they and 1 other tech wasn't gutting, and rebuilding an automatic. People buy them out of American loyalty, but the Japanese vans got them beat all to heck. The Sienna, and others aren't without problems, but they stand a better chance of pushing over 200k.

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I work in the auto industry and my company does business with MANY (if not nearly all, in one form or another) of these import an domestics. The Japanese do crazy shit business wise. I’ve seen it first hand.

My experience has been that’s it’s cheaper to buy a used domestic if vehicle and repair as needed. That’s an understatement.
 

1955moose

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I'm all for American built too. It's sad that we still can't get our vehicles as dependable overall as the competition. Don't get me wrong, their a lot better than in years past, but vehicles seem to be getting more troublesome again. I know everything in life has a compromise. I have a good friend that bought his Toyota Tundra new back in 05. When I asked him Eddie, what problems have you had? His reply, Steve, it's a Toyota, nothing. He doesn't drive it a lot , but he's got over 100k, and nothing besides maintenance.

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Dorzak

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Back in the late 90's I was a service dispatcher at a Dodge dealer about 25 miles south of San Francisco. I had 2 guys that did nothing but transmission rebuilds on the Caravans. I had so many of them with fried tranny's, can't remember a day, that they and 1 other tech wasn't gutting, and rebuilding an automatic. People buy them out of American loyalty, but the Japanese vans got them beat all to heck. The Sienna, and others aren't without problems, but they stand a better chance of pushing over 200k.

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On the other side I drove my 2006 Caravan to 220k. Had to replace the water pump twice and alternator once. However it was starting to have more serious issues.
 

rjdelp7

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JExpedition07

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The waters have also muddied on what segment is what. A midsize pickup used to be a compact little daily driver. An SUV was a body on frame half ton truck, and then there were sedans. I’m eating lunch in my expy parked nose to nose with an 07’ Tacoma as I type this. The supposedly half size pickup is as big or bigger than my Expedition stock in most dimensions by eye. Yet it sports a naturally aspirated 4 cylinder while my half ton sports a V8 engine. Two different schools of thought in very similar sized and function vehicles. Mine the classic American body on frame heavy SUV with a 5.4L V8 engine and big radiator. Then a slightly bigger pickup with a small 2.7L 4 Cyliner engine and small radiator. I’m sure the expy runs circles around it with a trailer in tow or even daily driving but still. Back when they wouldn’t even be comparable on size or function. Now they size right up next to each other. What is better or more capable is up for debate. The Expedition has more power and capacity, but this comes with a bigger and heavier powertrain and overall curb weight. The tacoma may even be faster in daily driving with half the engine who knows? Interesting to me how all this stuff comes together. For me I’ll take the V8 and increased capacity all day. But there are a lot more options that overlap these days.
 
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Machete

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Price inflation is also due to artificially low interest rates and lax qualifying where if you have a job you can get financing by a 2nd or 3rd tier lender.

Take a look at college tuition inflation. Your hair will fall out!

I’m eyeing a 2011 f150 King Ranch w 88k mi. The used dealer wants $23,900 which is ridiculous. That truck has been in their warehouse showroom for 10 1/2 months. I can wait.
 

1955moose

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You can get a brand spanking new lariat for about 40k pretty much fully loaded. 24k for an almost 8 year old one, forget it. $15-18k sounds more in line. Always do a Kelly or Nada blue book, allot for mileage, accessories, etc.

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1955moose

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Actually if that 2011 is real clean, and fully loaded, like tow package, sunroof, 4 wheel drive, crew cab, Nada estimates it at $24,900. I punched in 6.2 engine and all the goodies. If you can get him down a bit, it's not out of line.

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