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what's been your most reliable car?

rh71

rh71

No Lifer
got to thinking - it's a total crapshoot out there... the same model vehicle could have no problems for 10 years while another guy with it has problems every other month.
 
The car I owned the longest and did the least to was my Tundra - 3+ years and did nothing but tires and oil changes. Then again, I put less than 20k miles on it.

All of my cars have been really good - and if I hadn't cobbled a makeshift turbo setup together on my MR2, it would've been great as well.
 
Drove a 92 Jeep Cherokee (4.0l I6 engine) from somewhere around 120k to 213k. Replaced an alternator, and maybe one or two other things (other than normal wear items), and sold it to a cousin. He put another 10k on, but didn't replace the suspension that was not doing to well on the back end, and ended up getting rid of it.

Drove an '03 Impala from 70k to about 130k. Can't recall having any work done to it.

Currently have an '07 Impala that has had no major issues from 32k to about 84k right now. Rack and pinion had to be replaced, but otherwise has been a solid, reliable car.
 
Come to think of it, I had my Corolla from ~113k to 180 or 190k...it took a clutch and outer tie rod ends. Not too bad, IMO. 🙂
 
My 06 Mazda 3 has been pretty damn good for me. Oil/tire/air filter/battery change. Only thing over than that was the thermostat and a few lights. Still on original break pads after 85k miles.
 
Not counting new cars because that is not fair, my 97 Saturn SL1 was overall the best considering what I paid. only needed wheel bearings (common) and wear items. I replaced the rad and thermostat to get more heat in winter but they were not leaking. It was a preventative thing. (lazy thermostat and original rad) my buddy still commutes something like 60 miles a day in that car, still runs great. Miss it every time I think about it.
 
I've bought nothing but Toyota since 1980. Between my wife and I:
1980 4x4 pickup, 55K miles
1982 Landcruiser, 75K miles
1985 Van, 175K miles
1989 Camry, 190K miles
1998 Sienna Van, 165K miles
2004 Matrix XR, 55K miles so far.
2011 Highlander, 10K miles so far.

Other than routine maintenance I never had to do repairs on any of them. Nothing. A damn fine record IMO.
 
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Most reliable would probably be the 93 Taurus I had. Aside from oil and gas, all I did to it was replace the thermostat when it started sticking. It's life ended not because of the powertrain but the rust - rust took out the brake lines and parts of the suspension. I can't really blame the car for what 14 years of road salt does to a vehicle.

Second would be my Trailblazer. I've had to replace some stuff since I got it but most of it has been normal wear items for a vehicle that is well north of 100k miles (shocks, brakes, etc). It has had a couple things that really shouldn't have been an issue but oh well.

Least reliable, well, we won't go into details on that vehicle 😛
 
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1996 Firebird... Bought with 175k miles, put brakes and new clutch in, lasted until I got into an accident at 215k miles. Even thought it was a V6, it seemed to eat through the rear tires quicker than the fronts... ()🙂
 
'87 Accord - Owned from 124K to 280K and sold in very good running state.
'95 Camry - From 60K to 150K and still going strong. Amazing car.
 
I've owned my Maxima since I bought it new in 2003. So, 8 years and 105,000 miles with nothing but routine maintenance, tires, oil changes, and brakes. I did have the cam position sensors replaced at around 45,000 miles but that's been it. Oh, and I did replace the motor mounts this year too. The main hydraulic mount was cracked so I just replaced all of them. I replaced struts/shocks about 2 years ago just to tighten up the handling a bit. I think I may need tie rod ends done soon along with new tires.
 
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95 Maxima from 0 to about 200,000 without any major issues but did replace the clutch.
02 Maxima from 0 to about 150,000 without any major issues but did replace the rotors.
 
94 chev corsica
240 k miles and the garage I sold it to still uses it daily for a 'loaner' I sold it to them after it finally needed a steering rack at 210k miles
 
RKS said:
95 Maxima from 0 to about 200,000 without any major issues but did replace the clutch.
02 Maxima from 0 to about 150,000 without any major issues but did replace the rotors.
Click to expand...

Similarly:

1992 Nissan Stanza
1996 Infiniti i30t
2000 Infiniti i30

Were both quite reliable cars for our family when I was growing up
 
My 1963 Chevrolet Corvair has surprizingly been very reliable (165,000 miles). I carry AAA towing on it simply for the fact that if I cancel it I may jinks myself. It is in second place behind our 2009 Cadillac CTS (2 1/2 years and no issues other than a minor factory recall). Falling a distant 3rd is our 2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer with numerous warranty repairs and a recient transmission replacement with only around 78,000 miles. The champion by far was the 1993 Buick Regal GranSport I sold in 2009. We drove it for 16 years. Besides routine maintenance, the only component I had to replace was the alternator. 2 1/2 years after selling it, I still see it being driven since it was bought by a person that lives in my neighborhood.
 
2000 Ford Crown Victoria: 85k->176k all said and done.

Couple ignition coils.
Some sort of cover (TSB)
Power steering pump
Rear shocks
 
ive had my 01 dodge ram 1500 for a 5 years and 3 days. bought it used with 84k on it, it now has about 228k and still runs well. so far has been my most reliable vehicle, even tho it has had its little issues over the years. ac still blows a bit cold, havent touched the system in 3 years tho. now im battling sludge/ oil issues, but not too surprised with the miles that are on it. no amount of regular maintenance will make that not happen. replaced the clutch 4.5 years ago, tb is starting to make noise again. overall, best vehicle ive had.
 
1998 Acura 3.5RL 173k miles - Radiator had to be replaced because of salt corrosion, other than that, just regular maintenance.

2004 Lexus RX 330 42k miles - Zip, nada, aside from recall statements. But hey, the dealer gives us free gas! 😀
 
My hand me down Altima. Man, I treated that car like a POS. It never missed a beat. I hated it with a passion b/c it was really uncomfy to drive, but you could not kill that thing. I traded it in with 155K or something close like that. The guy said the engine was in awesome condition. Really? You have no idea how many times I did intervals of 12K-15K between oil changes with that car.
 
'93 Sentra - 220k+ miles

Only had the water pump, hoses/belts, plugs, and distributor replaced (apart from tires, brake pads, etc...)
 
1988 volvo 240 wagon

almost 300k miles working perfectly fine when i sold it in 2007

only thing that ever went wrong wiith it was the fuel pump died once.
 
88 745ti -- went 260k miles on original turbo... not much had to be done to keep it running until some bearings or something in the back end broke and my mech told me it wasn't worth fixing.
 
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