Amazing how little quality is left.....

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by TnAndy, Jun 22, 2012.


  1. TnAndy

    TnAndy Senior Member Founding Member

    75,000 miles on my '03 Chevy 2500HD, and the cover on the rear differential fell apart from rust......just the cover. A cover that is oil filled on the inside. A cover that OUGHT to outlast even the seat belt "ding ding dinger", which as everyone knows, will be working fine 50 years after a truck goes to the junkyard. Rest of the underneath is fine. Cover was falling apart in big hunks and slices.

    Fortunately, Chevy makes a "kit" ( cover, gasket, bolts ) to fix it.

    Yeah, a "kit"......think they don't know they bought a boatload of crappy differential covers that were made from chitmetal from some subcontractor ?

    Think Chevy would even consider standing behind something that was an obvious problem ? You'd be wrong.

    Fortunately, the paint is still on the truck.

    My previous Ford, paint came off in sheets in about 3 years......not even bonded to the primer ( which WAS bonded on the bare metal quite nicely ). You could drop ( and not press down ) a piece of tape on the truck body, pull it up and a whole strip of paint the width of the tape would come with it. 100 frigging years in the auto business and don't know how to paint a truck.

    You think Ford stood behind that ? You'd be wrong ( and why I didn't even go on a Ford lot when I went truck shopping in '03 )


    Yeah.....buy American......bring your own vasoline.
     
  2. Redneck Rebel

    Redneck Rebel Monkey++

    WTF??
    The cover? Really?
    I've not heard of this being an issue and I spend a great number of hours on GM full size truck forums.
     
  3. Redneck Rebel

    Redneck Rebel Monkey++

    Was talking to a friend of mine from TN and he's saying since y'all had that flood a few years back he's seen all kinds of crazy rust problems TN vehicles generally don't have. Like a pair of Nissan Altima's both missing their floorpans.
     
  4. Harbin

    Harbin Monkey+

    I too make a real effort to buy stuff made in the US, so when my paint sprayer died I went and got a Graco from HD that said Made in US. Last night while priming drywall in the house we are building it died. Returned it to HD (after a healthy discussion with the manager because they didn't want to take it back), they agreed to exchange it, 2 hours later than one died. Obviously not contractor grade, but even residential grade should last longer. After work tonight, it's back to HD for round 2.

    Not meant to bag on made in US products, just at the lack of quality in so many things.
     
  5. VisuTrac

    VisuTrac Ваша мать носит военные ботинки Site Supporter+++

    Well, modern engines last a lot longer before requiring major (bearing,rings etc) service then they did in say the 40's - 50's.

    I remember G'pa complaining about having to tear down engines in his cars about every 50K miles (some times earlier) so I guess somethings have gotten better and other things worse.
     
  6. CATO

    CATO Monkey+++

    That's why I would never buy from the big 3 automakers ever again. It's not the workers that make crappy products. It's the production managers paying as little as possible for parts to squeeze out that $0.02 per share earnings to make the quarterly estimates. They don't want to sell quality for the long haul and have repeat customers. They want to sell junk today because they only think in quarters.

    That's why when the 'Cash for Clunkers' bs started...everyone turned in their POS American car and bought Toyotas and Hondas.
     
    tulianr likes this.
  7. -06

    -06 Monkey+++

    My everyday work truck is a 1975 F 350 Ford. New engine/tranny/suspension/brake system/ and fresh primer. It is 37 yrs old with the third set of fenders/grill, second set of doors, second utility bed, and who knows how much rewiring for lights/etc. The 96 350's engine is down, 2K's tranny is out, and my old 150 has a new engine ready to go in. I do not trade for new junk but repair, rebuild, and repaint the old stuff. The Monte Carlo was built in Canada with made in Mexico/China/etc. parts. Tired of buying their junk and paying high taxes/ collision/ and interest on loans. Have bought my last new auto. You may see me beside the road with the hood up but not in the bank parking lot trying to scrape enough money together to make a high payment.
     
  8. larryinalabama

    larryinalabama Monkey++

    The auto makers have alaways had prolblems complying with state federal and local regulations. I remembe the Camero plant in Van Nuys closing due to excessive lawsuites by the state and city of LA. It was the last US vehicle made on the west coast.

    The paint problems in auto manuficturing paint exisisted when they went to water based recycled systems.
     
  9. Harbin

    Harbin Monkey+


    This reminded me of my first car, all 4 of us learned to drive on it(I was last). My dad used to say by the time I got the 88 Buick Century it was a rippled potato chip, but it had that paint problem. By the time we got it the offer GM had to repaint them had ended, my friends would joke it was so fast the paint pealed off.
     
  10. TnAndy

    TnAndy Senior Member Founding Member

    And this afternoon it was time to change oil on the wife's 2011 Subaru.

    Decided to rotate the tires as well for the first time. One lug nut was cross threaded, and really hard to remove. Had to have been from the factory, since this was the first time the tires had been removed from the car.

    Guess I'll drop by the Subaru dealer and see if they will provide a new one, but I doubt it, since I'm the one that removed it. I can see the threads in the nut are fouled, hopefully it didn't mess up the stud too bad.
     
    larryinalabama likes this.
  11. UGRev

    UGRev Get on with it!

     
  12. larryinalabama

    larryinalabama Monkey++


    Subaru seems to be in selling the "green planet" and doesnt seem to market quality anymore.

    sO HOW many beeres does it take to rotate tires on a Subaru?
     
  13. Witch Doctor 01

    Witch Doctor 01 Mojo Maker

    Can't complain... 200,000+ miles on my element...
     
  14. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    It isn't so much "made in America" that is the problem so much as it is big business trying to sustain the economic spiral based on everyone having one of everything that has fueled our economy for the past several decades. Only in the dying inertia of the spiral, has designed obsolescence become a serious marketing ploy. If they made things to last, then we wouldn't replace them so often and those that make them would do without and those that suck on the tit of their earnings would have to steal what little you have left...oh.,..
    I bought a new garden tiller last year to replace the one my Father bought in 1962 from Sears. One year later, I went to replace the priming bulb on the engine because they no longer have a choked carburetor. I couldn't buy a single priming bulb but had to purchase a selection of assorted sizes and then choose the correct on from the $12.00 package. Then the plastic retaining ring (a part almost impossible to find) broke. I decided to change the oil but soon discovered that the Briggs and Stratton engine no longer lets you drain the oil...guess you just have to buy a new engine when it freezes up from gummy oil...but the carburetor bulb will **** the bed first, so one oil change should out-last the life of this wonderful American made product. I have since, refurbished the 50 year old tiller and will continue to use it until I die.
     
    Sapper John likes this.
  15. kckndrgn

    kckndrgn Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Well, my wife's 2010 Subaru apparently needed a new gas cap. We've only had the car for about 2 months, actually didn't even have the license plate when the dummy lights came on. Check Engine and Brake lights were on, the Cruise light flashed all for a "possible faulty gas cap" or other sensor malfunction.

    I looked at the old cap and it looked like the seal was split in two (to make 2 seals going around the cap instead of one). $10.00 at NAPA (only parts place locally that carries Subaru parts, PERIOD!) and we'll see if the code returns. Last time I reset the computer it took about a week for the code to return. On the plus side, the wife noticed a jump in the MPG after replacing the cap.

    In general, yes, I think the quality of a lot of the items we use in our lives has gone down the crapper, in favor of a more "disposable" life style. Why fix, when you can buy new?
     
  16. CATO

    CATO Monkey+++

  17. CATO

    CATO Monkey+++

    Is that the norm you think? Or, do you think you have a rare example of what should be?
     
  18. Redneck Rebel

    Redneck Rebel Monkey++

    I've seen one Element with over 300k on it and several in the 225k neighborhood.
    Honda's are good for that, they just don't build anything I like.
     
  19. CATO

    CATO Monkey+++

    So, if Honda can achieve that quality routinely, why can't GM, Ford, or Chrysler? Perhaps Honda's are **designed** to last that long and U.S. cars aren't.
     
  20. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Ford can and has. I was shooting for 300K on my Ranger until that deer said "No, you are NOT going there" at around 240K. Too bad they stopped making them. Also too bad that longevity is so dependent on proper care that most vehicles don't get.
     
survivalmonkey SSL seal        survivalmonkey.com warrant canary
17282WuJHksJ9798f34razfKbPATqTq9E7