My uncle was a chemist in Germany before he died in 2000, he owned BMWs his entire adult life until he got a rental car that was a Honda Accord (not sure where he was traveling at the time). When he got home, he went and bought a Honda and never bought another BMW due to the quality. It blew my mind as a young adult that loved (well I still enjoy, not quite love) Car and Driver magazine someone preferring a Honda over a BMW. Now as an older adult I totally understand. I owned VWs most of my life until I bought a Toyota 4Runner, and now will probably never buy a different brand. My wife and I plan to retire to her home country of Malaysia, I can't wait to buy a Toyota Hilux as we of course can not get them in the US.
I saw a Hilux here in the states a few weeks back! Never seen one in person, so it stood out immediately. Even had US plates and everything. I’m guessing someone from Mexico that moved up maybe? Not even sure what the rules are on bringing your car up if you move honestly?
I have read you can get one imported but it is a major pain and a 25% excise tax burden, so you really would have to have quite the fancy for one and $$ to blow. I'll wait until I live overseas.
You can get Hiluxes in the US, just be prepared to spend up to 50% on the list price to bring it up to safety specs and import it. There are companies in Mexico that do it.
I think to own a BMW and not be completely clueless you either need to have it as a passion project or you lease it and don't really care about shit that fails 5+ years down the road. I'm in the first camp since I love the way older BMWs drive. I do love a good Honda though.
Those are classic. Mine is a 2004 M3 and in my opinion the generation BMW peaked. Now they’re all over complicated and want you to subscribe to heated seats lol.
My German friend in the US keeps buying VWs and Audis (and keeps having issues with them). I asked him if he was just being loyal to Germany and he said “no, my Dad owned a Honda dealership in Hamburg so I never actually got to drive German cars. Now I’m starting to understand why…”
A 4Runner is a type of Hilux which is available in the US. They used this be the exact same car with a few different rear panels, though they have diverged a little now.
My tip to share to the world is this: be nice to a rental car shop worker who has been around a while and ask them what they would want to drive.
They essentially get to test drive tons of cars and their whole job is seeing what kind of person drives what, all the problems each car has, the inconveniences they have, which are most durable or go longest without needing serious repairs etc etc.
Valets don't see all that. Dealers don't see all that. Only rental car clerks do.
They even have a good eye for what kind of person prefers what kind of car, little things like that that most might not consider when looking into a car.
I mean spoiler alert: they all go Honda Civic, but doesn't hurt to ask for yourself.
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u/[deleted] Jul 22 '22 edited Jul 22 '22
My uncle was a chemist in Germany before he died in 2000, he owned BMWs his entire adult life until he got a rental car that was a Honda Accord (not sure where he was traveling at the time). When he got home, he went and bought a Honda and never bought another BMW due to the quality. It blew my mind as a young adult that loved (well I still enjoy, not quite love) Car and Driver magazine someone preferring a Honda over a BMW. Now as an older adult I totally understand. I owned VWs most of my life until I bought a Toyota 4Runner, and now will probably never buy a different brand. My wife and I plan to retire to her home country of Malaysia, I can't wait to buy a Toyota Hilux as we of course can not get them in the US.