I've had cars that were both. Reliable as an anvil for getting where you are going... but whether you could roll the driver's window down, use the AC, operate the wipers... etc was a crap shoot. In fact, that seems to be a Chevy/Ford thing for as long as I can remember. Make a solid basic car or truck that will run and run... then slap garbage components into the rest of it.
In reply to Huckleberry:
Sounds like my Range Rover. The important stuff works. The rest, not so much.
Our Mazda 5 was bought new in 09. Has 216,000 km now. Only failures have been a temp sensor for the climate control, (fixed under warranty), and recently the drivers side seat heater seems to have given up. I've done tires, shocks, brakes as maintenance items, but seriously nothing else.
My 2000 Silverado 6.0 2500 that I had for 7 years was also very near perfect. Sold it with 265,000 km on it, kid who bought it from me last year is still driving it every day. No issues.
My 2004 Duramax that I got a little over a year ago has been pretty good, it's got 240,000 km on it now. I think most of the stuff I've had to do is either typical wear items or catching up deferred items from the PO.
To be honest, I've really never had a bad vehicle. I think I've only ever been left stranded on the road twice. My near bulletproof Silverado 6.0 fuel pump crapped out (on a road trip, far from home), and my Duramax seized a belt idler pulley and smoked off the belt (on a road trip, far from home...)
In reply to Toebra:
How many times was the engine rebuilt ?
AC VW's didn't last that long.
Worked in the unit repair (engines)shop for a VW dealer.
My 99 4Runner and wife's Solara have both been reliable.
Her 91 Lincoln Continental was the turd. My Vega wasn't far behind.
Best, 1993 Geo Tracker that my wife bought new and we donated to NPR last year once rust from Michigan winters and offroading in the sand dunes killed it. Nothing ever went wrong with it. It had consumables (tires, batteries, brakes and exhaust) but the only things that ever went wrong were a stuck thermostat (which is pretty much a consumable) and the volume knob fell off the radio. Other than that it was awesome.
Worst by far, zero competition was out 04 Turdbota Highlander. Unmitigated POS that was falling apart expensively after 4 years and 100K miles. I've written volumes about it here before, but it just generate lots of posts about how awesome everyone else Highlander is/was.
While nothing to write home about I just turned in my 2016 Explorer Sport after 18 months and 50 k miles with zero issues. One Set of tires and front brake pads was it other than oil in 50K. Very happy with that one.
My 2004 Duramax that I got a little over a year ago has been pretty good, it's got 240,000 km on it now. I think most of the stuff I've had to do is either typical wear items or catching up deferred items from the PO. ...and my Duramax seized a belt idler pulley and smoked off the belt...
They all do that.
You have, or will also be purchasing a driver door regulator, a wiper control module, glow plug control module and occasionally... stuff like the AC or the cab roof lamps will just shut off in the middle of a drive somewhere. Those are the little relays in the fuse box telling you it's time to clean all the grounds on the truck. :)
And you should just pay someone to do the water pump right now if you haven't already. It's a terrible job.
Otherwise, agreed. My '04 was a rock solid truck.
From my own personal experience:
-Late 80's/early 90's Japanese cars were indestructible, save for rust.
-Ford products of the 80's/early 90's have left me stranded many times, but are usually easy to fix. Most of the time, a non-start issue was the remote starter solenoid acting up. Always kept a spare or two in the vehicle.
-Subarus are great, until you hit about 80k miles. They go south REAL fast.
-VW's, especially ones from the 2000's, were designed by Satan himself. Hard to work on, and unreliable.
My personal best is my 2012 Mazda 3. Just hit 133k over the weekend. It's been great.
Huckleberry wrote: I've had cars that were both. Reliable as an anvil for getting where you are going... but whether you could roll the driver's window down, use the AC, operate the wipers... etc was a crap shoot. In fact, that seems to be a Chevy/Ford thing for as long as I can remember. Make a solid basic car or truck that will run and run... then slap garbage components into the rest of it.
And this is why I like simple cars. The van I posted about earlier had manual everything, except the transmission.
Toyman01 wrote:Kreb wrote: It probably helps that Prius owners seem to be the most conservative on the roads. "Flogging" and "Prius" just don't seem to go together.That's an interesting observation. It must be a regional thing, because around here, they drive the crap out of them.
Yeah, I see Prii of all ages going 80+ on the highway, they also supposedly hold up very well in Taxi service. The only person I know with one uses it like a truck for her 100+ bird (they lost count) hobby chicken farm, hauls all sorts of heavy stuff in it, it could probably benefit from a pair of spring rubbers in the rear, it replaced a XJ Cherokee that was driven pretty hard.
I think most people buy hybrids because you can beat the crap out of them and still get good fuel economy since the car conserves momentum for you.
iceracer wrote: In reply to Toebra: How many times was the engine rebuilt ? AC VW's didn't last that long. Worked in the unit repair (engines)shop for a VW dealer.
The heads had to be done before it hit 30,000 miles because the dealer did not adjust the valves when they said they were adjusting the valves. That's it. Turned the odometer over twice, and is close to doing it again. Mom has it now.
Maybe the people bringing them in to the shop where you worked were not taking good enough care of them., don't know what else to tell you.
Best: Any 1988-2000 Honda or 1985-2000 Toyota. I have owned a 1996 4runner with 340k, 1992 Civic with 280k and 1998 Corolla with 150k that NEVER missed a beat. Basic maintenance and atleast 100k miles on each of them were mine. Case in point, brother owned a 1984 Toyota 1 ton pickup that he loved dearly. Was written off and then purchase back by my brother for parts. He ended up selling the tboned truck to his Honduran buddy with a bent frame and 290k on the clock. Picture of the same truck that was restored in Honduras was promptly sent to my brother about 1 month later. Crazy
Worse: 2000's VW/Audi. Owned a 2000 Audi A4 Quattro with 100k some odd miles. Was a hunk, so glad I got rid of it.
I'll go totally against the flow here. I've rebuilt 3 22re's. My 87 4Runner twice and a 94 pickup I bought with a toasted engine. I got tired of constantly working on my air-cooled VW's and got out of them twenty years ago.
Meanwhile I had a 1998 Neon R/T go over 450,000 miles before it developed low oil pressure and another 1998 Neon R/T that I sold with over 375,000 miles on it that still ran great. My 09 Cobalt SS turbo currently has 260,000 and has only needed a turbo and a clutch, both at about 240,000.
Anything german I've owned has been horrendous.
9th Gen Corolla has broken the least out of 25 or so cars I've been associated with. Something I noticed was how many seem to turn up as taxis in "The Amazing Race" show. Some of the plastic trim was thin or cheaply screwed together and the padding on both door sills had glue that came loose. Other than that, basic and boring motoring.
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