Once Upon A Time I Bought An American Car

Once upon a time (December 2007) I bought an American car (2008 Saturn Vue).  It has not been a good experience.en,

While it was under warranty, the following were replaced/repaired: heater, remote  start/keyless entry transponder, O2 sensor, heater again, radio, and probably a few things I'm forgetting.

Then, I got new tires. Normal.

Then the power steering went. $800 later and a furious me, we replaced the power steering shindig and then discovered the battery was bad. Also replaced that and vowed to never return to that awful dealership in Plymouth even if they were the last place on the planet to have fresh water after the apocalypse.

The check engine light came on a few months later. It was repaired (another $400) and then came on again a few weeks later. I gave up. The noises got louder - the clunking in the front, the squeak when I drove through a puddle, the way the heat goes in and out.  The battery randomly dies so the car won't start. The radio doesn't work. For 6 months you had to jiggle a fuse to get the dash lights to work, and then suddenly everything worked (minus the radio) one day. I lived with it all.

In December of 2011 my car had less than 80k on it and I decided to get the light fixed. They figured out the clunking noise so we fixed that too at the tune of $600.

A week later that damn check engine light was on again. New problem. The dealership humored me and fixed the car for free, saving me another $200.  I still have the radio to repair, to figure out why the heat smells like burning plastic and is going in/out, and to figure out the underlying major electrical issues of the car.

So no, another American car isn't high on my list of desires unless someone else vows to foot the repair bills for the first five years. Because the honda I almost bought in 2007? It's 5 year repair estimate is $500 total.  I'm at almost four times that in four years with more to come.  I think it's time to trade this baby in.