Most reliable car you have owned?

[WTurner]

The most reliable car I have owned is my 1998 Ford Crown Victoria. I bought it new with 18 miles. Currently at 204,000 miles with the original engine, transmission and rear end.

I have been through six sets of tires. I usually retire/replace all four of them right at 30k and get a new set.

I use Mobil 1 10w-30 synthetic engine oil and Ford filters. Oil and filter change every 10k, coolant change every 30k, transmission fluid change every 30k. I was using M-IV but now that M-V full synthetic is out I have used it for the last transmission fluid change.

The rear end gear oil gets changed every 30k as well (Royal Purple). I have been through four sets of 4 sets of brake pads, and I am getting ready to replace all four wheel's pads tomorrow. I use ceramic pads. I typically replace pads at 50k.

All of the engine parts are original save for one item, the IAC which died around 180k miles. $75 to replace.

The car gets about 20 mpg around town and usually 27 mph highway. On occasion I have seen 30 mpg on straight interstate driving. Speaking of gas I run 87 octane which is recommended by Ford. I dump a bottle of Lucas Oil fuel system cleaner in every 4th fill up.

Part of me wants to buy a new car, but this one is in super shape. Paint is still perfect; the car drives and handles great (rwd). No major wear on the interior items. The driver's seat could use a new cushion. The 4.6L V8 is smooth as the day I bought the car, maybe smoother.

Overall this has been a superb car and I haven't had a car payment since 2001 when I paid it off. I really am not looking forward to a car payment. I may stick it out to 300k miles just for kicks and giggles.

 

[thomsbrain]

If you still like driving it, don't bother with a new one. Run it till it dies or you can't stand it anymore.

I'm only on my second car, but I was very impressed with my 91 Accord wagon. I sold it with ~225K miles, still running great. At that point, I was driving over 30,000 miles a year, commuting up and over a 2000 foot mountain range twice a day through all kinds of weather. It also saw a lot of heavy musical equipment hauling, up to 1000 pounds with passengers, and never skipped a beat. And it was my teenager car, so I have to admit that I abused the throttle for most of its life.

It was leaking a bit of oil when I sold it, but otherwise ran great and the interior looked like new except for some scrapes on the rear headliner from band equipment. I did have to make some repairs along the way, including A/C parts, distributor cap, brake master cylinder, one front axle, and some other odds and ends, plus the usual brakes and tires. Most of that occured between 120K and 150K. After I changed out those "known weakness" parts, the car was bulletproof for the next 75,000 miles despite seeing the toughest usage of its life. I still see it around from time to time being driven by its new owner.

 

[BlackTigers]

Our '91 Cavalier. I can't recall the exact number, but I know we had it roll over 250k with almost no problems.

 

[Captante]

1986 Toyota 2WD pickup ... driven mainly into NYC as a courier-vehicle & stll went nearly 300k with very few problems.

 

[heymrdj]

1986 Lincoln Town Car (leather all the goodies ect). Parents bought used with 17,000 miles on it. Ran it up to 180,000mi I believe. Sold it. Needed new exhaust, ignition box (the thing that does the firing), and an overhaul (new piston rings, gaskets), and a new set of shocks all around. Still runs around here, last known was 495,000 miles. Original motor/tranny/rear end.

 

[PowerEngineer]

1996 Toyota Camry

Put 120,000 miles on it over 10 years. No special care (oil changes when I remembered). Aside from batteries, brake pads, and tires, the only work required was to replace a slightly leaky water pump. Absolutley reliable transportation. Burned a little oil towards the end...

Daughter "totaled" it into a tree. :brokenheart:

Air bags saved her from injury (or worse). Still think the 1996 was the best looking Camry.

Replaced it with a 2007 Camry Hybrid. Averaging over 35 mpg. So far, so good...

 

[Arkaign]

(1) - 1982 F250 Custom Longbed MTX. Logged somewhere north of 500k miles before my brother killed it. My dad used Mobil 1 from day 1, and when our mechanic took the valve cover off to look at the motor, he said it looked pretty much new inside. Of course, from what I hear, Mobil 1 isn't the same formula as it used to be.

(2) - My old Honda Civic, 91 model, still going with the 3rd owner, almost 400k miles, original motor/tranny. Paint looks good.

(3) - My old '95 Buick LeSabre, sold @ 210k miles, presumably still going strong, the motor/tranny still drove like new, but the paint was atrocious and various bits failed/fell apart.

 

[zerocool84]

1970 Beetle

 

[bctbct]

93 Chevy PU

 

[dug777]

'89 323

 

[radioouman]

75 Plymouth Duster with the slant 6.

 

[Iron Woode]

I had 2:

1977 Plymouth Volare station wagon with a slant 6 and automatic. It always ran and it was beaten on something fierce. Had over 300,000 kms on it, rustier than hell, ran dry of oil twice and a burnt exhaust valve, but still ran fine and had the original drivetrain in it when I junked it.

1984 Chev Caprice Classic 4 door sedan with the 305 and a turbo 350 automatic. This car racked up over 400,000 kms and was a great car until it rusted out. I sold it to a guy for parts as the drivetrain was still going strong.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Never really had a car long enough to call it the most reliable but I'll add another /6 to the group just to do it.
81 dodge mirada /6 190k or so when I bought. You just can't kill those.

 

[BZeto]

So far, my 98 Chevy Cavalier. Coming up on 110K and it runs the same as the day I bought it. Only maintenance I've ever done is replace a radiator hose and regular oil changes.

 

[SuperSix]

1987 Buick Riviera 3.8 liter.

275k when electrical gremlins made me get rid of it.

OMG - look at all the shitty domestic cars!

 

[DarkThinker]

1996 MT 4-cyl Honda Accord Coupe

 

[Colt45]

We had an old golf mk II (1988 i think). It was rusty, and a tin can, but it would not die.

 

[Kremerica]

I am currently running a 1998 Ford Mustang GT. it has 172k miles on it and still running great.
from about 50k to 100k miles I ragged the crap out of it at the drag strips, for the past 70k miles I have just used it as a daily driver.
the only thing that has gone wrong is the heater core started leaking coolant and I had to swap that out... pulling the dash is a pita.
change oil and fluids regularly including plugs and wires, filters, air and gas, change brakes when needed...

from all the mix of cars in this post, it looks like a car's reliability is more based on the person that takes care of it rather than brand...

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: Kremerica
I am currently running a 1998 Ford Mustang GT. it has 172k miles on it and still running great.
from about 50k to 100k miles I ragged the crap out of it at the drag strips, for the past 70k miles I have just used it as a daily driver.
the only thing that has gone wrong is the heater core started leaking coolant and I had to swap that out... pulling the dash is a pita.
change oil and fluids regularly including plugs and wires, filters, air and gas, change brakes when needed...

from all the mix of cars in this post, it looks like a car's reliability is more based on the person that takes care of it rather than brand...

Truth. I've seen cars die at 50k or less, even Camrys/Accords/Civics/Corollas, because the owners skipped oil changes. I've seen tons of cars with ~100k or so that die a permanent death because the owner doesn't get the timing belt changed, which can be catastrophic on many 4cyls.

On the flip side, I've seen truly atrocious cars (Ford Escort, Cadavalier, Neon, etc) occasionally last into the ~200k range because the owner actually took care of them.

Then there are the other anomalies, the rarest, where a reliable car dies early even with great maintenance, or unreliable makes/models lasting a long time even with terrible maintenance.

We see it all in the car world. But general truths remain, and the smartest thing you can do is take care of what you have, because it will generally take care of you right back.

 

[Dunbar]

My '03 V6 Accord which I owned for 3 1/2 years and just sold. Never had a single problem with the car. The only maintenance I did was oil and air filter changes, one set of tires and one set of brakes. I can only hope the '04 BMW 330 that replaces it will be anywhere close to that reliable...

 

[Analog]

1984 Honda CRx 1.3L 5 speed. 285,000 miles and 45+MPGs what else can I say?

 

[natto fire]

Me personally would have been my '87 Toyota Tercel 4WD wagon. It finally kicked the bucket at 217k when I screwed up the front differential. I could still put the thing in 4wd and move it around, but it was effectively dead. I got it at ~200k and my uncle owned it before me and kept very good care of it. While I did change the oil and tranny fluid and plugs/wires, I would not say that I drove it "carefully" as I was still young at the time.

And shens on a Neon hitting 200k.

 

[DivideBYZero]

1991 Honda Civic 1.6i-16.

 

[dud]

My 1995 Nissan Hardbody pickup. Until I totaled it in 2004 (not my fault) it had given nearly a flawless performance over 10 years of use. Only had one minor leak (fixed under warranty) and a new battery. I had to do absolutely nothing else to it in 10 years ...

 

[LordMorpheus]

Just hit 100k in my 1997 Town Car. Not a huge number, but I haven't had a single problem in the 30k miles I've owned it for (other than a dead battery after if had been sitting for a while).