Would you buy a car from a company in bankruptcy?

[mick e]

What do you think?

[Rick-o]

I'm considering buying a new truck within the next year. It will be GM.

[the_poochies]

If I was in the market for a new sedan, I'd probably give serious consideration to the Malibu. It's styled well and getting decent reviews. And it's not a Camry.

[Seacrest]

Bankrupt or no, car companies themselves aren't needed to make parts, nor do service.

[Racer X]

I'd buy a '71 Buick. Think I could gets parts from the dealer? Is it really any different?

[Filliam H. Muffman]

I would be less likely to worry about needing to get warranty work done on a Japanese car. Get an extended warranty of you are worried about it. My brother bought an extended warranty on his '92 Taurus and it paid for itself at least 4 times over.

[Zoidberg]

I'm not trying to start any kind of an us-or-them flame war, but I'm off the big three pretty much for good. I started driving in the early 80s and the cars I owned or drove were all GM, Chrysler, or Ford brands. And, inevitably, each one was a piece of junk. They all spent considerable time in the shop, either the dealer or an independent, trying to figure out what was wrong with each of them.

A week after I got my first post-college job, my car -- a late 80s Buick Regal in damn nice condition -- was stolen and wrapped around a phone pole. I didn't have a lot of money, had a lot of college debt, and didn't get much insurance-wise for the car. On a budget, I had to settle -- for a 1990 Nissan Hardbody King Cab pickup. It became one of the best automotive purchases I ever made; never had a single problem with it.

And though I no longer own it, it's still running. I drove it for about 200,000 miles, then sold it to my uncle, who drove it about another 150,000. He then sold it to another uncle, who lived in Arabi, Louisiana, across the street from Holy Cross High School. If you don't know the area, that was one of the completely submerged areas of New Orleans. The truck was under water for, what, a week? When my uncle made it back to the house, the truck was still there. He dried it out, cleaned up the engine, and is still using that truck. It has a little over half a million miles on it.

After that (flashing back to the late 90s, meaning after the Nissan truck), my wife and I got a Honda Odyssey and a VW New Beetle. Both were company leases. I went through two Beetles in a few years; they were not great. Much trouble with the electrical systems. I eventually traded it in for a Honda Element, which sat in my driveway in Metairie when Katrina roared through (we had left for Little Rock, Arkansas, in the van). When we eventually got back to Metairie -- about a month or so -- to retrieve things, the Element started right up.

Today, we have two Hondas: a Civic and an Odyssey (a different one, though; long story re/the company lease). The Civic is a good car; reliable, but noisy at higher speeds on the interstate. The Odyssey is practically bullet-proof. Both are Honda leases (another Katrina-related story) and will have to be turned in this year. We'll likely stick with Honda -- another Odyssey but a change from the Civic. Maybe a CR-V, maybe an Accord. Maybe another Element. Don't know yet.

I wish I could trust the American nameplates again. I really do. I see a few GM's (the aforementioned Malibu) and a Ford or two (the new Flex, and the Edge) that catch my eye. But I can't bring myself to invest, per se, in one of them, due to both my past with them and my stellar track record with their competitors.

YMMV, as always.

[mick e]

Again - this is NOT a foreign OR domestic issue. There are foreign manufacturers in the same boat as US automakers.

[lafinfil]

mick e wrote:
Again - this is NOT a foreign OR domestic issue. There are foreign manufacturers in the same boat as US automakers.

More so than most people realize.

I live in the heart of a state that is one of the biggest supplier of auto parts, and many folks don't understand just how closely
the domestic and domestically built "imports" are in intertwined. A state business news piece I heard this week said that
GM and Toyota shared about 2/3's common vendors for parts - things like axles, lighting, seats, and more.

As far as buying in bankruptcy - still would depend on the vendor. Chrysler probably not, GM maybe depending on model
but my current Ford truck still has another 100K left in it (based on my last one) It has only had one warranty repair
and everything else has been brakes, tires, and normal ware. Ask me again in 10 years.

: - )

[Zoidberg]

Sorry mick, went off before I read & understood.