LEMONS!

[rumproast]

10 yrs ago bought a husky 55 rancher. After a 1 hour round trip drive, got home, went to start it up and the choke slide knob broke in my hand. You could see blow holes in the plastic (it was so obvious -who would assemble?) . Drove it back and ask for my money back. He told me I was the first one to return a Husky. sure. Went to a new Dolmar dealer 20 mins away and bought a 540. It has done more than I ever expected without a hiccup.

CARS: bought a Chevy Z28 new in 1985 that constantly broke down traded it EVEN for a brand new 88 Suzuki Samurai 4x4 (they were only $5995 brand new hard top $6995 for soft top because Consumer Reports said they were total crap that year). Beat the snot out it and got about 180,000 low maintenance miles..go figure... still sitting out in my "trophy"field. Replaced it with 2000 Chevy tracker (Suzuki) ...STD trans blow Twice before 100,000...nothing but problems. Had a ford 4x4 pu that totally sucked - died at 85,000 and a Chevy pu that gave me 190,000 great miles.

My point is that you find lemons in almost all forms of manufacturing. Great established companies sometimes stop paying attention to basic details. Meanwhile some others pleasantly or unexpectedly hit one out of the park.

Consumer Reports does not always get it right.
Funny CR story... signed up for CR online on aprox the 24th of one month for$9.99+/mo. One week later there is another $9.99+ charge on my credit card. I call up and ask why is there another charge and they tell me its a new month and charges are automatic. So I sheepishly say its my fault- I didn't read the fine print, cancel me at the end of the month. They cut me off the next day...so I therefore paid $20+. for aprox 8 days of CR..what a deal.. THEN they have the BALLS to email me saying WE WANT YOU BACK. I emailed them back saying I'll come back when CR DOES A STORY ON CONSUMERS BEING RIPPED OFF BY CR....still waiting.

I didn't say it was a short story ...sorry for the rant

 

[mjncad]

China's Geely bought Volvo, and India's Tata bought JLR Jaguar/Land Rover. These three brands were the brands that comprised Ford's Premier Auto Group PAG which has been completely disassembled.

Don't forget that Ford also had Aston-Martin as their PAG's flagship brand. I believe Aston is now back in private hands...again.

 

[BethesdaEC]

Don't forget that Ford also had Aston-Martin as their PAG's flagship brand. I believe Aston is now back in private hands...again.

I forgot about that one, Aston was the first to go. If I remember correctly it was purchased by some Saudi investors.

 

[Builder]

Sorry Pal, but I'll take the hundreds of thousands of repair statistics I have over your personal opinion. As I continue to say, and continues to fly over your head, I rely on actual facts and statistics rather than opinions and emotions. If you take it as a personal attack that I opt for science rather than your opinion, that's something you'll have to work out with yourself.

True, CR uses those statistics and fills out those cute little circles with 1/2 or full black spots. They may be usefull in depicting previous years reliability on used equipment. I guess if I were buying last years' model toaster that might help a little.You go ahead and buy your equipment based on those circles. :laughing:

I still can't help laughing picturing the career lumberjack running down to the store to buy a copy of C/R so he can figure out what brand of chainsaw is best. I mean..... C/R,,,, ORRRR consult fellow lumberjacks with 20-40 years experience with chainsaws on which brand to buy?????

DUHHHH!!!!! CONSUMER REPORTS OF COURSE!!!! What WAS I thinking???:laughing::laughing:

What would a lumberjack with 20-40 years experience know about CHAIN SAWS when I could buy one based on lab test by CR??? :thumbsup::laughing:

Keep 'em coming. I'll keep flying 'em over your head.

 

[seymojo536]

Two experiences;

In 1974 I bought a brand new Vega.... At 51k the engine melted. No it didn't just quit, it melted. Took about 3 months with numerous converations to get a replacement motor. Ended up having to dump it on somebody because I just couldn't bring myself to get in and drive it.

In 2000 bought a brand new Tacoma. Put just shy of 200k on it. Hauled and towed way more stuff with it than was smart. Basically treated it like a farm truck. When the frame recall was announced, spent some time under it with a screwdriver and a hammer and didn't find anything wrong. 9 months later, was replacing rear shocks and noticed a dime size hole in frame above the hanger. Only hole I could find in the entire frame. Took it in to dealer, 1 week later had a check for $12,500 (150% of the blue book value for a "cherry" tacoma, mine was a prune).

Moral of this, guess which company gets my business from now on?

 

[Ford tractor]

Meanwhile back at the ranch. LOL I found nothing wrong with Pintos as long as you had two of them, like I did. One to drive while the other one was being repaired, and vise versa. LOL zman :thumbsup:

Let's see, a Pinto had a 4 cyl engine, manual transmission, manual windows, no AC, no PS, no real power sucking options -- and it weighed about 2100 pounds. Must have gotten GREAT mileage, right?

Car and Driver magazine ecomods a Pinto: MPG up +25% - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com

Read the story and see what 35 years of progress brings!


On the bright side, even the pinto had free wheeling engines so when the timing belt broke with clockwork precision at 80,000 miles the engine wasn't damaged.

 

[HiTechTed]

I had a Pinto (can't remember the exact year) that had a 2.3L 4 cylinder in it, 4 speed stick. I honestly liked it, plus it would smoke the tires like mad if you put your foot in it. I kind of wish I had it now, it was a fun car to drive around.

I had a Ford Fiesta that had no rear brakes and a massive hole in the driver's floorboard that I covered with plywood. That car cost me $100 and I drove the crap out of it, and it never failed me. It was probably a bad accident waiting to happen but it was reliable.

I bought a 95 Ranger brand new and still own it. I've had the routine maintenance done but otherwise haven't had to replace anything other than the rear brakes and tires, and it has 200,000+ miles on it. The only thing that has gone bad is the odometer, it stopped working about 5 years ago. Oh, and I had to replace the factory battery 2 years ago (after 13 years of service, no less). It has started on the first crank for 15 years and I'd drive it across the country right now without hesitation.

The worst auto I have owned is my current one, an 08 Honda Element. I've had brake problems with it from the start. The dealership has replaced some kind of sensor in the antilock system twice, then it was recalled for the same sensor (it needed some kind of seal or something replaced). At 7,000 miles they had to replace all of the rear pads because they were defective. Then at 40k a rear caliper seized up and ate up the rotor, and I never even noticed it. No noise, and the brakes felt the same (as in weak and mushy, as usual). You have to apply the brakes quite well in advance because they never grab. The dealer says they are all like that but I have a hard time believing that. They fix whatever's wrong with it, and it has a great warranty but I can't stand the brakes. When you step on the pedal, it feels like the pads are made of cork. I have owned 3 other Hondas and loved them all, but this one has issues...

 

[Dargo]

True, CR uses those statistics and fills out those cute little circles with 1/2 or full black spots. They may be usefull in depicting previous years reliability on used equipment. I guess if I were buying last years' model toaster that might help a little.You go ahead and buy your equipment based on those circles. :laughing:

I still can't help laughing picturing the career lumberjack running down to the store to buy a copy of C/R so he can figure out what brand of chainsaw is best. I mean..... C/R,,,, ORRRR consult fellow lumberjacks with 20-40 years experience with chainsaws on which brand to buy?????

DUHHHH!!!!! CONSUMER REPORTS OF COURSE!!!! What WAS I thinking???:laughing::laughing:

What would a lumberjack with 20-40 years experience know about CHAIN SAWS when I could buy one based on lab test by CR??? :thumbsup::laughing:

Keep 'em coming. I'll keep flying 'em over your head.

Ya know, whenever I try to extend the proverbial 'olive branch' to you, you show your true side for everyone to see. I could play like you and state that, even though I'm not "A construction company OWNER", I probably own more construction equipment than you for the properties I personally own. That's besides the point here and has no relevance. Just like the total lack of relevance of your dogmatic statements on things you fail to understand.

You can continue to buy all of your equipment based on asking the crowd of county paid general laborers leaning on a shovel watching one person working as we see at every construction site. I'll continue with actual facts and databases of facts developed over the years from thousands of repair facilities on all makes and models. Maybe you're right and the shovel leaners know more than all the actuarials that even manufacturers use to improve their products.

Just like in any industry, past results are generally indicative of future results if all other factors remain the same. Manufacturers use this data to improve their products whether you believe it or not. You may notice that a heart surgeon has a wall full of books that tell them what happens given certain and specific instances. They use those "reference" books to help them in their work. They don't go down to the janitorial staff and ask their opinion. You keep doing things your way and I'll continue to use printed statistics and specific test data to make my decisions. I suppose of all else fails, I can use the equipment I have purchased for personal use and become a construction company owner just like you. :laughing:

Or, I suppose you also own a logging company too since you state that you "consult fellow lumberjacks". I suppose you are an experienced lumberjack as well and an expert in that field since you clearly indicate that you consider yourself a lumberjack? I have 5 chain saws for felling lumber on land I own. None have failed in the last 10 years. That must be amazing since I didn't stop and ask the guys leaning on their shovels what chain saw to purchase. I did my research based on statistics and the volume sold of specific models used for specific uses by what I consider quality companies. How silly of me...

 

[timswi]

I personally never pay attention to CR anymore. I've had no luck with their recommendations and have had great luck with the stuff they trashed.

I prefer to ask around. I don't trust anything that is assembled wholesale like that.

They say that they buy and test all of their products open the open market. How does a semi-limited publication come up with the money to road test Escalades and Benzes by payng retail and losing at least 15%-20% if they sell them in a few weeks....Just curious.

Nothing wrong with listening to them if you want...I just won't.

 

[TripleR]

I prefer not to limit my research to any one source whether it be publications or users.