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

[Black88GTA]

My '94 8 series. All it's needed other than routine maintenance so far has been a fuel pump and valve cover gasket replacement.

 

[Soccerman06]

Ive got a 94 Bonneville thats got roughly 150k miles and aside from replacing spark plugs, belts, tires and batteries (usual crap), the only thing I had to replace was the alternator back in 01.

 

[Xyclone]

Originally posted by: Black88GTA
My '94 8 series. All it's needed other than routine maintenance so far has been a fuel pump and valve cover gasket replacement.

As in the BMW 8 series? Aren't those supposed to be EXTREMELY unreliable, and expensive to fix?

 

[geokilla]

1994 Volvo 850. Sold it to a friend 4 or 5 years ago with over 230K km. They then put another 100k. In total, the 850 went over 330k km before it was replaced for a Civic. The engine ran strong and never encountered any major problems. Service was done at major intervals while we owned it at the first 230k. Example: Serviced at only 80K, 160K, etc. (Just an example, don't remember when the services were done).

The engine was excellent the last time I got to drive it, and that was with over 300k on the odometer. Oh, and it never had the muffler exchanged. Volvo for life!

 

[Black88GTA]

Originally posted by: Xyclone

Originally posted by: Black88GTA
My '94 8 series. All it's needed other than routine maintenance so far has been a fuel pump and valve cover gasket replacement.

As in the BMW 8 series? Aren't those supposed to be EXTREMELY unreliable, and expensive to fix?

Extremely unreliable? Not at all, although that is what a lot of people think. It has its common trouble spots like any other car, but not more than average. The V12 cars are a bit more picky, more complex, and generally have more issues than the V8 models - which is why I opted for the V8 when I got mine. 🙂 Plus, it has the same drivetrain as a 540 or 740 from the same year range, so the parts aren't as hard to come by as the much less common V12.

The problem is, when something does break, it can be expensive to fix it, especially if you take it to a stealership or don't do your homework. For instance, there's a 39 cent O-ring that commonly fails on the brake booster that you could replace yourself in an afternoon with a little work. But if you take it to the dealer, they'd be happy to sell you a whole new booster unit - which is about $1500 for the part alone, not including labor charges!! As long as the maintenance is kept up, it should run well past 200k without major issues.

If, however, you were unlucky enough to get a poorly maintained one - it will be a HUGE money pit.

 

[mruffin75]

1992 HSV Clubsport (you won't know what that is unless you live in Australia)..

Worked like a dream for the time I had it...the old Holden V8 just worked..never really needed anything..

Can't say the same for our 1998 BMW 528i...what a piece of junk that was... was spending at least $100 a month on just repairs...some months it was just $100...others it was $2,000..
I think that's sworn me off BMW's forever..(and BMW service)

 

[steppinthrax]

I'm in general counting more foreign cars then American Cars hmmmmmmm.......

Esp. Japanese.

 

[MetalMat]

Easily the 1993 Honda Accord EX I bought 2.5 years ago. Besides doing some routine maintenenace and getting the front end fix this car is GREAT!. I bought it with around 140k miles and it currently has 172k. For $1,000 it has been a great investment, I am going to be sad when I get rid of it in the Spring.

My old 91 RX7 also gave me no problems for 2 years until one day when the engine stopped.

 

[Dman877]

1996 Saturn SL2 - It was in the family for 130k and the only non-standard repair was an O2 sensor.

 

[LuckyTaxi]

02 Lexus IS300

 

[mruffin75]

Originally posted by: LuckyTaxi
02 Lexus IS300

Is that even *old* enough to be deemed "reliable"??

That's hardly out of it's manufacturer warranty!

 

[TimeKeeper]

Originally posted by: mruffin75

Originally posted by: LuckyTaxi
02 Lexus IS300

Is that even *old* enough to be deemed "reliable"??

That's hardly out of it's manufacturer warranty!

I think if there is nothing wrong w/ his 6 years of ownership, which is already longer than most model year, then he can deem "reliable".

 

[alimoalem]

Originally posted by: TimeKeeper

Originally posted by: mruffin75

Originally posted by: LuckyTaxi
02 Lexus IS300

Is that even *old* enough to be deemed "reliable"??

That's hardly out of it's manufacturer warranty!

I think if there is nothing wrong w/ his 6 years of ownership, which is already longer than most model year, then he can deem "reliable".

what TimeKeeper said. but i think mileage would be more important. i mean he could have a 6 year old car with 30k miles (5k a year) or 150k miles (25k a year).

both cars that we've owned for more than a year (97 mazda protege and 2001 toyota sienna) i can say are reliable (the other is a 97 200sx se-r but we've only had it for like 2 months...it has 158k on it). the protege we got with 56k miles in 99 and now has ~210k miles. it's had no problems. only things replaced (outside of regular wear items) were because of accidents and 1 clutch at ~160k miles. the sienna we got new and has ~160k miles on it. only things replaced were regular wear items and it's had a couple scheduled tune ups. drives like new, engine still goes really strong.

 

[PricklyPete]

'93 Toyota Corolla....ended life "early" in an accident with 190K miles on it...0 problems. Would have been driving that all through college.

My replacement '92 Camry (actually the replacements replacement) was pretty solid although I did have a number of radiators go bad and some electric window problems. I believe the distributor also went out. Otherwise just the normal maintenance you'll have with a car...and it lasted to 290K miles before we sold it (my little sister drove it the last 40K miles).

My wife's Honda Civic will probably be up there. It is 4 years old, 80K miles on it and it still runs like new. I just replaced the spark plugs, flushed the radiator, and finally got new tires for it....otherwise all it has cost me is oil/filter, air filters, and one set of brake pads. Such a cheap car to own.

I'm not sure if my 2005 Tacoma will be up there. It only has 45K miles on it, but the quality just isn't up to the same standards my '93 Corolla and "92 Camry were at. Sure some of the interior materials have improved...but it seems like the overall fit and finish are not the same. The manual transmission has never been very smooth (notchy). I'm expecting the 4.0L V6 to last a long time...but some of the V6's in their passanger cars have had issues as of late...so maybe I'll have more problems than I expect. Lets hope not...I'm hoping to keep this truck 10 + years.