I want to buy American

...but I am disappointed.

Part of me thinks that we should buy American products whenever we can.

Part of me thinks that we should vote with out wallets - buy the best product - no matter where it was made - that's how a free market is supposed to work. In the long run, I know that is the best policy.

Good products from quality companies will win out over weak products from poor companies - no matter their origin worldwide.

As you may know, I am a motorhead and I have owned a few cars over the years. I have had good cars and I have had not so good cars.

I have a 2002 Chevrolet Suburban that I would love to keep until it becomes the kids' car but now I don't know. It only has 66,000 miles on it. It has been meticulously maintained, in fact it still looks almost brand new. We only put just over 10,000 miles on it annually.

At 22,000 miles both front axle seals went within a couple thousand miles of each other and were covered under warranty.

Last year, a part in the steering shaft wore out and started clunking when you turned the wheel and went around a corner. Not covered. $300.

I want to mention that the service department at Village Chevrolet, where I have always serviced the vehicle, has been excellent overall. Unfortunately they bore the brunt of my rant the other morning.

I had it in for an oil change on Saturday and my service writer came in to the waiting room with that look on his face.

"Mr. (Roosh) can you please come with me?" I could tell he had an unexpected diagnosis to share with me.

He told me that my right front axle seal was leaking. He didn't know that they had both already been replaced once, and not that long ago in the scheme of a vehicle's useful life.

$420 Mr. (Roosh).

...and that's when I lost my composure...so to speak.

"How can you guys expect anyone to buy American anymore?! This is the third time this has happened in 66,000 miles! I buy American and I get spanked."

Tuesday morning when the service manager heard my request for GM to pay for it he asked me "How long exactly do you think is reasonable for a part like this to last?"

"At least until 80-100,000 miles" I replied. "It's a gasket! You'd think GM could have figured gaskets out by now!"

Maybe he shouldn't have asked me that but it was telling. It revealed that they had become expectant of their product exhibiting mediocre performance and quality. My service writer at Lexus or Honda or Nissan would have been embarrassed. Ashamed even. This guy was trying to put me on the defensive.

It's not as if I haven't had problems with my Japanese cars - it's just that it is rare, usually covered by warranty, and the service staff is actually surprised - because they have much higher expectations of their product.

I have a friend in my building with a Toyota Sequoia. "American stuff (cars) is crap. My Sequoia has 75,000 miles on it and nothing has ever gone wrong." And he's not surprised.

Between the aforementioned and the bad window regulator that has to be replaced in the driver's door soon I have a truck that apparently requires a $400 repair every 18 months or so. My brother had a new 2001 Tahoe and had just as many problems as I have had.

This is a Chevy Truck - America's pride! If we can't make trucks in America, our automotive industry is in worse shape than I thought. Previous posts on America's labor unions will reveal my theory on the cause, but I won't belabor (no pun intended) that point right now.

As it turns out, the GM warranty people covered most of the repair, but not without my making a big deal about it. I ended up paying $125.

The left side seal is showing signs of near-failure as well but they won't replace it until it does. I'll be back...with another $125 and not a penny more.

"Well, the new ones (Suburbans) have a 100,000 warranty Mr. (Roosh)" said the guy behind the counter.

As if.