What's the most reliable car you've owned?

[Budmantom]

I've had 20-30 cars in the last 15 years, the best one was a 96 Mustang GT, the PO hated the car but the only thing that I ever did to the car was oil changes and an air filter. When I purchased it I knew I would be putting a lot of money into it but that would be ok because it was such a nice looking car that had been pampered...


I bought the Mustang for $8k and sold it for $9k about 2 years later, too bad I needed a 4 door, I replaced it with a 2000 Honda Accord Ex V6 with leather ++ and I knew it was going to last forever trouble free.. I was wrong.

What your most reliable vehicle?

 

[dud]

My 1995 Nissan Hardbody PU. Paid $13K for it in late '94 and totalled it in June of 2004. I never had a problem with it ever over the years ... and the lady who caused the accident's insurance company gave me over $6K when they totaled it.

I liked it so much that I went out and bought a 2004 Frontier 4 days after the accident. 3.5 years later and no problems at all. Thats 13+ years without a problem!

 

[woodie1]

In the Summer of '79 I bought a new Toyota Celica 5 speed for $6K. Owned it for 97K miles and all it required was normal fluid changes plus tires and batteries. Sold it for $2K and it still had the original clutch and brakes.

 

[desy]

94 Chev Corsica 200K plus miles Only thing was ball joints and an alternator but understandable considering the years and miles, then the steering rack went.
I could have fixed it but it was 13 yrs old so I sold it to the mech and he fixed it

 

[TimeKeeper]

1988 Mercedes 300CE (driven from 1988 to 1997)
Absolutely bullet proof, I put 160K+ in there. Besides regular service, it never choke once.

 

[andylawcc]

only owned two cars, but my last one was pretty darn near to bullet-proof - a 1996 Toyota Celica ST manual.

Got it in 2001 at 109k miles, crashed and sold it at 240k in 2006. It went through one transmission, 3 brake pads, and 2 timing belt w/ h2o pump. The guy whom I sold it to is still driving it, even though the radiator is going out soon.

 

[996GT2]

The 96 Accord we own has been totally reliable for nearly 200k miles now. My parents handed it down to me as a first car for the last 2 years of high school, so it's going to be sold since I'm going to college later this year in Baltimore. The car has had absolutely no unwarranted repairs, requiring only a timing belt/water pump change, oil/fluid changes, tires, and other wearable items in its entire life. The engine still feels like new and despite this car being an automatic, shifts are still quite nice.

Following the first Accord, we got a new EX in 2003 and it's going strong with 70k miles covered in 5 years. No problems there as well; even the interior still looks very new since the gar has been garaged and well cared for its entire life.

Parents broke the Honda trend last year when they bought an ES350...I've heard of the transmission issues some people have had, so I'll have to see how that one holds out in terms of reliability. To date, however, it's been problem free and is one of the most comfortable and quiet cars I've ever ridden in (easily beats out even an S500 Mercedes in the area of cabin quietness).

 

[amdhunter]

My 2006 Civic LX took a beating. If they didnt break into it and just f-it up, I'd probably still have it today.

 

[zoiks]

240k on my 1990 240sx. I've replaced the starter, master cylinder, water pump, power steering pump, fuel injectors and rail(twice), various sensors, brakes (5 times), radiator, fan clutch and a bunch of other things. Other than that its been bullet proof.

 

[Gibson486]

My old Altima. It actually went through 2 periods of 10K with no oil changes. Aside the cat and a few sensors, it ran great. To bad it was so dam uncomfy.

 

[zerocool84]

I bought a 70 bug for $700 5 years ago and it is still running to this day. It has made several trips from Los Angeles to Sacramento and back but it has recently taken a back seat to my new DD

 

[eelw]

I've only owned two cards, a 2000 Acura EL 1.6 and a 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid. Obviously no problems with the Acura which I then traded in for the Hybrid. The only problem with my Hybrid has been the gas tank cable release has ceised up. Had it repaired once under warranty. It has failed again. Since I only fill up once a month, it isn't a big deal for me to pop open the truck to manually open the gas tank cover. Other than this, it has been running flawlessly.

 

[BlackTigers]

'91 Cavalier. I believe it went through 100k+ miles (when we sold it it had 225) with only minimal maintenance. I believe the starter was all that needed replaced, man that car was a beast.

 

[livingsacrifice]

Originally posted by: BlackTigers91
'91 Cavalier. I believe it went through 100k+ miles (when we sold it it had 225) with only minimal maintenance. I believe the starter was all that needed replaced, man that car was a beast.

Kinda funny you mentioned that, I had a 91 cavalier and I couldn't even drive it to 60k without half the engine falling apart, hole in the exhaust system, leaky power steering lines, leaky ac. Transmission eventually went out. I immediately sold it and never wanted to see a cavalier again. Part of the problem is the car was sitting by the salt water for almost a year before someone bought it.

As far as reliable car, I have yet to own one. Well my present one might be one because majority of the problems to it are stuff I had tried to fix

 

[Vetterin]

Bought my first new car in 1971 (olds 442 W30) and to this day that has been my most reliable. Sold it in 77 (98K miles) and only replaced the shocks, tires and battery. This may be hard to believe but my 2nd best car was actually my 98 Contour SVT which I just sold in 06 and only had to replace the fuel pump. It also was, to me at least, my most fun to drive to car and that includes my 85 Vette.

 

[exdeath]

Every car I've ever owned, import or domestic.

 

[ayabe]

1994 Integra GSR

Had to change the radiator at 100K, but other than that just oil changes.

 

[AMCRambler]

Originally posted by: Vetterin
Bought my first new car in 1971 (olds 442 W30) and to this day that has been my most reliable. Sold it in 77 (98K miles) and only replaced the shocks, tires and battery. This may be hard to believe but my 2nd best car was actually my 98 Contour SVT which I just sold in 06 and only had to replace the fuel pump. It also was, to me at least, my most fun to drive to car and that includes my 85 Vette.

Another vote for the Contour SVT. Got a 2000 Contour SVT right now and while it's needed regular maintenance parts like brakes, oil, oil filters, belts, plugs etc. it has never left me stranded. The only time it came close was when the fuel pump started failing on a road trip with my grilfriend(fuel pumps are notorious on these cars). Stopped putting out full pressure and it was iffy whether or not we were going to make it to our destination for that night. It hung together and I was even able to drive it to the nearby dealership to get it fixed.
Only other problem it had was a wheel bearing that went bad. Of the three cars I've owned, it's the only one that hasn't left me stranded some where. Good old 2.5 V6 with DOHC and timing chains. Great engine.

 

[mrblotto]

first, an '87 Celica. Sold it running good with over 100k. Currently its a '97 Celica with a little over 200K......I'll run it in to the ground

 

[Xyclone]

I've only had one car (well, truck), as a hand-me-down from my dad. 2003 Toyota Tundra. It has about 78K miles on it and has required only normal fluid changes and a tune up at 60K (our choice). We put new spark plugs, tires, brakes, etc.

My dad had a 5th-gen (2000) civic as a lease, that was probably very reliable (I was a munchkin when he had it). He now owns a 2007 Camry LE V6. Fast as hell compared to other cars he's owned, but will it be reliable? He has 15K on it so far, and you can't tell the difference between it and a new one.

edit: grammar

 

[alfa147x]

nissan altima

 

[thecoolnessrune]

1989 Lincoln Town Car Signature Series 5.0L V8. Around 350,000 miles and still going out there somewhere with only a water pump and suspension change.

 

[Umberger]

1993 Ford Aerostar... we used it until around 275,000 and then donated it to a disadvantaged family. The only thinkgs done to it were some bodywork when I t-boned some stupid 16-year-old driver (her fault) and then a coil pack around 200,000 miles. We still see it driving around town from time to time. Makes you feel good to know that you helped someone, and seeing it driving around makes me feel like they really needed/appreciated it, as they didn't just sell it right away.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Originally posted by: Umberger
1993 Ford Aerostar... we used it until around 275,000 and then donated it to a disadvantaged family. The only thinkgs done to it were some bodywork when I t-boned some stupid 16-year-old driver (her fault) and then a coil pack around 200,000 miles. We still see it driving around town from time to time. Makes you feel good to know that you helped someone, and seeing it driving around makes me feel like they really needed/appreciated it, as they didn't just sell it right away.

Agreed. We donated our Town Car after 260,000 miles and 13 years

 

[LordMorpheus]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
1989 Lincoln Town Car Signature Series 5.0L V8. Around 350,000 miles and still going out there somewhere with only a water pump and suspension change.

1997 Lincoln Town Car (90-97 are different cars to the 80's, and 91 and up have different engines) almost to 100k and going strong.

Small leak in the vacuum system, haven't been able to find/fix but all it does is cause the AC to change which vents it blows from when I bury the peddle so I haven't tried too hard.

It's had the airbags in the suspension replaced, and it's had the plastic intake manifold swapped for a part aluminum one (the plastic manifold had a terrible record).

Other than that, everything is great. All the little gadgets inside work well, the engine runs and sounds great, the transmission is in great shape and shifts well, and the fluid looks good and and stays good.

Love the car. Easy to maintain, in part because it's easy to work on, and in part because it rarely needs more than the routine.


That said I'd like to replace the front struts. Well, the bushings, but i figure if I'm taking the struts off I could just put new (er) ones in while I'm at it. This'll probably happen in a year or so, it's not a huge problem but the squeeking at low speeds and full lock is starting to bother me.


Previous cars were a 1991 Sable that was very good mechanically through 15X, when the transmission went. Had the car in highschool, the non-essentials were failing one by one (tach, etc) but the car drove, stopped, the A/C worked, the stereo failed but the aftermarket worked, so I didn't care that the trunk latch didn't work (bungee cords FTW, the turn signal fuses went out all the time that left rapid fire clicking, the tach had a mind of it's own, some of the dash lights were out, paint was fading, more war wounds than you could count, it had been nearly totalled by hail damage twice ...

when the transmission went we just gave it to the dealer.

Other was a 2001 Taurus. Terrible car. Caught fire while I was driving (not bad, but still). A/C compressor needed replacement almost immediately, brakes have had trouble, all sorts of things. Not a fan of the car, didn't like to drive it. Not mine anymore, my poor little sister has to deal with it now that I've got my lincoln.