im just wondering what is the most reliable car you have ever owned? its a little experiment to see if what i think my next make of car might be matches your opinion.
cheers
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Subaru Impreza Turbo.
Probably not what you were looking for though.
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was that a summer car or a winter car?
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\"a little man in a big world/\"
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i cant afford two cars just an overall 'best car youve ever had' thread
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Not what anyone wants to hear but Alfa 75 Twin Spark LE 1992 & I want it back. After that it would be one of the Suzukis we had probably a Wagon R.
Least reliable probably the Morris Ital 2.0 HLS I had from new in 1981 it spent more time in dealers than in my ownership. When it went it was incredibly quick, couldn't stop it though. And the "handling" was an acquired taste.
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This may not reflect other Backroomers' experiences, but I can only tell it as it is.
7 big Renaults (1980 - 2001) no major problems.
VW Golf 1.9TDI estate (unlike the Mark IV hatchbacks, made in the Fatherland) - 36,000 miles - only problem was with detached rear window washer.
Audi A4 Avant 2.5 TDI - 31,000 miles to date since new in March '04 = Nothing (touching wood as I write....)
Maybe we've bueen lucky over the years, but SWMBO's current Civic 2.0 (14,000 miles) and elder daughter's Yaris 1.3 (28,000) have been similarly problem-free.
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1986 Volvo 740 estate; in 10 years of ownership, I've fitted two balljoints, four flexi brake hoses, alternator, distributer cap + rotor arm, and four tyres and an exhaust.
None of these caused a breakdown and car has always started on demand despite having a (?) year old battery.
Mileage is now over 230k, I suppose this excellent track record is nothing to do with the complete absence of ECU's and various obscure sensors....
----------------------------------------------
One mans junk is another mans treasure
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My previous Car, a Seat Toledo 1.9 TDI
Faultless throughout my ownership. I'd have had another except:
a. I don't particularly like what they done with the styling of the new one.
b. I like to change make and model with each change of vehicle - variety is the spice and all that.
But I'd recommend Seat to anybody that asked.
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A Nissan Almera and an Alfa Sud 1.5 - strange, isn't it?
My guess is that the lesson here is one to be learned from the aggregate of responses you receive - certainly not from individual (though entirely accurate in this case) individual replies.
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Peugeot 505 GTDT Auto Family Estate on a G reg. Only traded it in as my 6'6" son could no longer fit in either back seat. Drove to the garage and touched the "ton" at 3k revs for one last time - oh, and it had 215K miles on the clock with no servicing other than oil and filter changes in the 9 years I had it. (1 exhaust and ? tyres excluded) It let me down twice - once was the fault of the only garage I let do any work on it (a story in itself) and the second was a pin hole in a top hose that let all the coolant out on a motorway one day. Home courtesy of the RAC and cut the offending inch off the hose - refilled and no more problems.
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Out of all the cars I have driven for more than say 9 months, in the last 23 years, the ones that had no faults at all, other than rust, were: -
Ford Cortina 1980
Vauxhall Astra 1988
VW Gold Driver 1989
Vauxhall Astra 1992
Vauxhall Cavalier 1992
Honda Accord 1993
Subaru Forester 2003
Everything else I drove had a least one fault that was annoying, from a minor as water entry into the cabin (Fiat Uno/VW Golf) to premature cambelt failure (Peugeot 605). With one PWS pump failure (Merc C200), one oil cooler failure (Volvo S80), electrical gremlins (BMW 730) and camchain death rattle (Saab 9000).
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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Alfa 145 Cloverleaf.
Owned for 3 1/2 years, 30-odd thousand miles, one breakdown. Injection temperature sensor failed, cost less than £100 to fix.
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In the distant past - Nissan Sunny (Sorry)
Recently Toyota Yaris (Sorry again)
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My father had 11 Hondas between 1981 and 2003 (a mix of 7 Accords, 3 Civics and 1 Concerto) with a Toyota Camry V6 thrown in and none of them ever went into the dealer for anything other than routine servicing. I'm on my second Accord and apart from a dodgy fog lamp switch on the first they've been completely reliable...which is more than can be said for the two Cavaliers I had before..
Andy
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The Barchetta, bizarrely enough.
Everything else seems to explode on me.
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Good morning all, my first post here.
Most reliable car for me so far was my 89 Fiat Tipo 1.6 DGT.
Needed a car for my daily Motorway commute to work (S---thorpe,the Steel town, to Leeds and back). So bought the tipo at 10 year old with 60k on clock for £550. In my 4 years of ownership apart from disposables (tyres, exhausts, pads etc.) it needed an alternator,a new fuel pipe, wheel bearings and water pump.
Only time it did break down on me was when the gearbox finally went bang at 190k miles on the M62. AA relayed me home, and the scrapman took it that weekend. That car owed me nothing and I was sad to see it go :(
I was so impressed I replaced it with another Tipo, a 1.9 turbodiesel. Very underrated car, Bulletproof engine, still going in my Sister's ownership.
As finances allowed I replaced it with a Brava 105 JTD. A good car, not as roomy as the Tipo though. After 35k miles in my ownership (it's done 75k) it needed a clutch slave cylinder at 55k, which is common apparently. Other than that it's been fine, but will have to see if it takes the crown from that first Tipo.....
Citivanvin
Wouldn't let me write S---thorpe
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Honda - bought 1995 sold at 54,000 - nothing went wrong
Son bought it & sold it at 72,000 - he had a couple of bulbs that went.
I know the 3rd owner she had it for 4 years now and I know it passed its last MoT with flying colours. Her Partners minted Impreza GX failed its 1st MoT the same week. Front disks has been their only expense.
Currently I have 5 yr Honda 80K - total for 2 repairs to date £160. 8 yr old Mazda (owned 7 yrs) has cost £300 for 1 repair £180 assembly of which I only needed a small part - so that hurt.
I had 30 years of new Ford & Vauxhall company cars before buying my 1st Japanese car in 1995.
Next car? - Toyota/Honda/Mazda in all probability.
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Most reliable car was my Vauxhall Omega 2.5 V6 which I kept for nine years. Only replaced tyres, front pads once, battery and exhaust system in that time.
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Her Partners minted Impreza GX failed its 1st MoTthe same week.
That doesn't tell us anything, could have failed on a blown bulb or cracked number plate.
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Her Partners minted Impreza GX failed its 1st MoT >> the same week. That doesn't tell us anything, could have failed on a blown bulb or cracked number plate.
Corroded brake pipes and front disks
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I caught a bit of 'bless this house', 1970s sitcom with Sid James. He was cross because his son wanted to use the garage as a photographic studio. His car wouldn't start when left out in the cold! Just got me thinking- were cars in the 70s really that unreliable that just being left out would render them inoperable? I used to think nothing of leaving my SEAT out every night for all of my time of ownership! Come to think of it, I don't think I ever garaged a car (except my current MGB, just to keep the rust at bay and for cheape insurance. Opinions?
Alex.
--
Dr Alex Mears
MG BGT 1971
If you are in a hole stop digging...unless
you are a miner.
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Like Avant. Best results have been the 3 Renaults (96 Laguna, 98 Scenic, 05 G/Scenic): Total of 160,000 miles problem free.
_______
IanS
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My memories of the late sixties/ early seventies are indeed of cars , usually Fords, failing to start with rapidly failing batteries. The neighbour I am thinking of always had newish company cars. I guess the thicker oil in those days made it even more difficult but the points and distributor system and damp on same were the real problems. I was forever spraying my old cars with the magic WD40. I take it for granted that my car will start no matter what the weather. My late colleagues MGBGT was a bad starter in damp weather until we found there was tracking around the hidden side of the coil.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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Most reliable - '00 Subaru Impreza Turbo. Literally fault-free.
Least reliable - '96 Vauxhall Vectra 2.0 GLS. By a considerable distance the worst car i have ever owned.
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Most reliable car was a Kettcar I had as a kid.
Most reliable motorised car was probably a Series 2A Land Rover. So basic, so little to go wrong.
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I had a Capri 2.0 JPS and a MkIII 2.0 Cortina - both were absolute gits to start if left out in the cold. Damp didn't really seem to be an issue. I think it was the starter motors rather than the batteries, although whether that was because they were rubbish or simply inadequate I couldn't say.
I had a variety of minis which quite often messed around in the damp.
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Citroen Xantia 1.9 TD LX
Never failed, no problems whatsoever - only consumables replaced (including all spheres) but was a bargain to start with (Pre-reg steal!).
Still going according to DVLA which is nice to know.
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In order best to worst:
96 Honda Civic 1.5
86 Honda Ballade 1.5
99 Rover 416si
95 Rover 416i
95 Astra 1.4
87 Maestro 1.3
97 Clio 1.2
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Just got me thinking- were cars in the 70s really that unreliable that just being left out would render them inoperable?
When I was a student I had a Fiesta that was simply a dog. The chances of it starting on a morning from Late November to End of February were roughly the same as calling heads correctly when tossing a coin.
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Hi
Yes they really were like that in the fifties and sixties. I had Fords, Standards, Minis, Austin and you wouldn't believe how terrible (in retrospect) they were.
My first Mini (1958)- the heater was optional and never worked. My Ford Anglia had wipers which ran off the carb pressure so going up a hill in the rain was really dangerous. A Standard - that was something - at 6000 miles I braked hard and the whole body moved forward 4" (rust). An Austin A40 at 4000 miles and the crankshaft fell to pieces at 35mph.
And I never came to terms with the two six volt batteries in my MGB GT. But it was a lovely car.
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In no particular order:-
1) Vauxhall Cavalier Mk1 1977
2) Vauxhall Cavalier Mk3 1989
3) Vauxhall Nova 1984
4) Vauxhall Corsa 2002
Whenever I've strayed to other makes over the years, including Hillman, Austin, Morris, Renault, VW I've always come straight back.
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My father (from new) and then I put a total of 150,000 on a Mk2 Cavalier 2.0 CD - with nothing but routine items and the obligatory rear-arch welding.
Still gave 40 mpg if sensibly driven when I sold it...
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Two Nissan Bluebirds, one after the other.
They keep going, and going and going.
In fact the second one is still in daily use; I keep expecting something serious to go wrong, and I'll scrap it, but no.
Also had a Golf 20 years ago that was a model of reliability.
Unreliable cars included a Simca, a couple of Fiestas and a Megane.
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Easy. Various Mk 3 Cavaliers. 250,000 miles on same clutch and engine in one instance. No exaggeration. Most robust, reliable cars imaginable. Never anything but very occasional minor faults (coil, fuel pump relay). Minimal servicing.
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1994 L reg Cavalier 1.7 Envoy Turbo Diesel
Company car - driven all over UK,Belgium,Holland, Germany, fully loaded up - covered 140,000 in 4 years, and NEVER had one single fault or problem. 45 mpg no matter how hard it was driven or loaded ( rear seats down and 16 cases of Ruddles on board every returning journey back from Europe!)
Just servicing plus tyres,pads,discs,
I put this down to a good robust car design, tough Isuzu diesel unit, and the service interval was every 4500 miles (ie it had 30 !! services) and after the first year all services done by small independent non specialist garage.
2 Vectras followed with similar mileage/usage - almost as reliable but a couple of non starts at home (ECU faults), and a misfire (after driving through a flood!!) blotted their copybooks.
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All my cars have behaved reliably, in accordance with their age and condition and the way they were treated. All have given me alarming or irritating or deeply puzzling moments, and necessitated urgent problem-solving, sometimes of a major mechanical nature (changing a Lada clutch in the street round the corner to give one gruelling example).
Herb Broadway, a black junkyard owner in Trenton, New Jersey, from whom I bought an extremely good 1964 Plymouth for $300 in 1973, said: 'Ain't nothing made by the Man can't let you down sooner or later, but if you look after this car she'll look after you.' Very sound observation.
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Told to me by a friend,so I cannot vouch for its validity,but working on a building site one day,he got talking to a fellow contractor who had a Nissan Primera that he had had from new and had done about 60+ thousand miles.
This guy said he had never taken it for a service and did not even know how to open the bonnet !
I don't know if I believe it,but there you go !
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Easy 2004 Mazda MPV 2.0 TD. Never missed a bat and not a squeak or rattle.
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Well, from my wife's experience and my own, anything Japanese, i.e. made in Japan, was reliable and anything else was not (unless you except her two Vivas away back, which could be relied upon to break down!).
I have a hunch, which I hope is correct, that Hyundai has joined the Japs.
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My current BMW 320d.
After 5 years/11000 miles, the only warranty issue was the MW aerial/rear screen heater, promptly dealt with under warranty.
Oh yeah, and I spent out on half a litre of oil, and one new set of tyres.
And the front brake pads are just now approaching renewal, for the first time.
Oz (as was)
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After 5 years/11000 miles
Sorry, should read 61000 miles (D'oh)
Oz (as was)
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It's interesting to read about those cars that would never start if left out in the cold.
We all remember the use of "Damp Start" I'm sure!
There used to be two cans in most peoples' glove boxes in the winter. One was Damp Start and the other was De icer. We still have the de icer cans don't we?
The cars We've got at the moment aren't doing high mileages so to call them reliable in terms of mileages between breakdowns is probably not fair.
However, the Discovery has in 3 years of ownership let me down with a dud battery and a starter solenoid. Also the pedals have a tendancy to stiffen at the linkages.
The Nissan Almera (N15) has been great for the last 5000 miles it's done over 20 months - no problems.
The Nissan Primastar van (54 reg) had one problem at 600 miles with an ECU connection putting it into limp home mode. Fixed under warranty.
Cars that have given me no probs apart from wear and tear:
Renault 11GTL 3 door - owned for 40,000 miles and 5 years
Peugeot 309 SRi - owned for 3 years and 40,000 miles fine after cylinder head rebuild due to cam belt failure.
Citroen Xantia VSX 2.0 16v
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Most reliable. 1998 Ford Focus 1.6
Only fault in 76000 miles is the exhaust
Least reliable. 1986 VW Polo 1.3
Needed several clutches, wheel bearings, fuel pump etc. Many problems with cutting out / carburetter freezing, automatic choke etc etc.
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Most unrelible car has got to be my brothers rover 416. Broke down six times in as many months, not counting the countless times it failed to start.
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Firstly a Manta 2.0GTE of 1986 vintage and latterly a 1996 Rover 827-the best engined car I've driven
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Dodo - "Never missed a bat and not a squeak ..."
Obviously had the "stealth vampire killer" pack fitted. Only available on top spec models, I take it?
--
andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
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Most reliable: Honda Accord (previous model) 2.0 SE. Did 60,000 miles and never missed a beat. Just routine servicing and 6 new tyres.
Least reliable: Freelander TD4. Enough said on previous occassions.
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Most reliable: After a clutch problem when new I had a company Cavalier 1.7 td that never mised a beat in 60000, it really was an excellent m/way car and good to drive around town though not much fun on the twisties.
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Best would be a 405 diesel estate - 80k in 2 years - no probs, and a MkIII Golf GTi - 75k in 3 years - again nothing to report.
Worst MkII Espace - dealer saw more of it than I did.
MPZ
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Most reliable: After a clutch problem when new I had a company Cavalier 1.7 td that never mised a beat in 60000, it really was an excellent m/way car and good to drive around town though not much fun on the twisties.
Still miss mine, put 80k miles on it in two and a half years and only sold it a couple of months ago. Stil miss it but at 150k miles on the clock and 13 years old it was getting tired in a few areas.
Only grief was the alternator, not cheap to change.
--
I read often, only post occasionally
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Honda Civic - 5 years without a single problem.
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SWMBO's MINI, MoT'd yesterday, apart from regular oil changes a couple of tyres not one ha'penny spent over the menu priced servicing. In fact I thought that the reason that the BMW dealership who had it for 2.5 hrs testing yesterday spelt impending doom, not so - I guess they spent most of the time cleaning it......Oh and its still actually worth something.Cracking car. (80k 4 years old)
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2 litre petrol Focus Ghia, 2 samples.
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L\'escargot.
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I've never had a reliable car. However, having gone through the pain barrier on my last - the Cavalier 1.7td - at around 4yrs of age(ie replaced just about everything that could break)it then went on for 5 more years of pretty hard handling without causing major grief (up to 170K miles very much local driving - stop/start with occasional motorway trips).
My attitude is that you just cannot expect cars which are more than 4 years old to keep going day in, day out without something breaking. I always think it's amazing they don't break more often considering the speed, and temperatures these things get exposed to.
Splodgeface
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My most reliable :- 2001 Mondeo
Least reliable :- 2003 Mondeo
Or an ALFA 155 owned in 1997 that was fantastic in terms of driveability and performance but utterly underlined the brittle nature of the marque. I would love another one, the 156 and 166 are lovely looking cars and the new 159 looks even better. But every time ALFA bring out a new model, the same old line is trotted out with it, something along the lines of, " All our old problems have been resolved and this is the real deal ". But invariably it never is. It makes you wonder how the marque has survived. And to mention it in the same breath as BMW, Mercedes, et al as an alternative to the usual "executive express", har har.
Anyway, for perfection in all areas of motoring satisfaction, I can recommend Mazda. Mrs. E has an MX5 that has been perfect and a family member had a 626 that was a little bit dull but never, ever missed a beat.
Personally if I changed my car today I would opt for either a Mazda 6 ( but it is a little too dull inside ) or the new Lexus IS ( unfortunately beyond my budget but absolutely beautiful inside and out ). :(
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Only car I have had, in 45 years, that never had an unsheduled moment off the road was a Sierra. Even our otherwise reliable Yaris has had two punctures. (Don't worry Toyota, I don't blame you).
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the most reliable car is the one you loved the most.
end of........................:(
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\"a little man in a big world/\"
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I have known people (mainly men) who have loved their cars deeply despite constant faliures.....a shooting friend and his Alfa spring s to mind.
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I've never had a reliable car. However, having gone through the pain barrier on my last - the Cavalier 1.7td - at around 4yrs of age(ie replaced just about everything that could break)it then went on for 5 more years of pretty hard handling without causing major grief (up to 170K miles very much local driving - stop/start with occasional motorway trips). My attitude is that you just cannot expect cars which are more than 4 years old to keep going day in, day out without something breaking. I always think it's amazing they don't break more often considering the speed, and temperatures these things get exposed to.
Not so - my 16 year old Bluebird keeps going day in day out without any problems, and has had very little spent on it for the last 5 years or so.
I've had other old-ish cars which were the same.
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Most reliable & cheapest servicing costs Nissan Primera
Least reliable 3 Y/o Ford Granada what a dog
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Well, scfc_151, how about some feedback?
More than fifty Backroomers took the trouble to respond to your thread and no doubt many more than that read read their replies with interest.
So, do tell us what conclusions you have come to.
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Most reliable car for BB was a 94 2.0 Diesel Montego Countryman estate. Only had it two years, but covered 70,000 miles without incident. The car already had 120,000 when I bought it. It eventually got scrapped after some toe-rags broke in and tried to hotwire it. Grrrr.
Least reliable, 97 VW Passat Tdi sport. Cost a fortune including 3 timing belts jumping/snapping (yes 3! one belt snapped causing £3k worth of engine damage)
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2nd hand 96 P reg VW Golf MkIII bought on 58,000 and sold on 102,000 miles - just replaced the starter motor plus routine servicing. Currently on a (2nd hand) 2000 reg Honda Accord bought on 80,000 miles - had a leak in the power steering just after I bought it (I blame the garage that serviced and sold it - not a Honda dealer, I might add), but otherwise it's been fantastic. Got to be the bargin of the century for a cheap, modern 2nd hand car that's lovely to drive and live with.
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Saw my first MX5 by the roadside today with the bonnet up and hazards flashing. Was an import by the way. Was surprised but it was about 15 years old.
I rarely see Japanese cars on the hard shoulder of the motorway and when I do they are frequently elderly saloons pressed into minicab service by our ethnic brethren, which usually implies poor maintenance (if any).
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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I rarely see Japanese cars on the hard shoulder of the motorway and when I do they are frequently elderly saloons pressed into minicab service by our ethnic brethren, which usually implies poor maintenance (if any).
EspadaIII This strikes a cord with me recently sold my Dads S reg primera with a very low mileage. Just about every caller with the exception of the 1 and only person who actualy turned up & bought it was as you say "Ethnic bretheren" A trader friend put me right and told me they would be Mini cabbers after a low mileage bargain
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1995 Renault 19 1.4 - lovely little car but got a bit tappety. Trouble free for three years apart from the cat converter which fell apart.
I hope no-one has mentioned their current car - surely tempting fate !
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My car ownership history has lead me to conclude:
Hondas are extremely reliable and excellent all round cars. Only weakness is the styling of older cars, auto transmission(FWD means small dimensions, can't take VTEC power hike and ridiculous servicing schedule of drain and fill, not full flush, at 5 Years, 60K) and seizing calipers. Top notch ride and handling and engines second to NONE.
Toyotas are excellent but not as good to drive as Hondas. Bodywork tends to keep better though.
Japanese cars tend to be noiser cruisers though as German cars isolate their suspension through bushing. Current generation on par.
VAG cars feel quality but suffer from many niggles.
PAS feel poor quality and often are!
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The entries in this thread are very interesting but what does 'reliable' mean?
I have owned many cars, and only one of them (a Peugeot) has failed to start or failed to complete a journey. The others have all had faults of various degrees, but have not 'broken down'. Surely as long as the car completes the duties required of it on a regular basis it is 'reliable'. The fact that, say, a window does not open or an interior light does not work does not, IMO, constitute a breakdown.
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H reg Nissan Primera estate. 100000 plus miles with only one clutch but mabey the clutch should have lasted longer.
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Out of nova (c-reg) , 2 escorts (L & R) , 2 honda civics (N & P), leon cupra (x), cavalier (M) and rover(N) it has to be the nova 1.2. 100k in it and other than normal servicing never missed a beat, easy to work on as well so maintenance costs were minimal. I guess it is because its the most basic car out of the bunch.
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VW Golf GTI mk2 8v 1989 vintage, purchased in 1990 with 12000mls went on to do 160000 mls with just regular sevicing although rear hatch was replaced under corrosion warrenty loan car delivered - no hassle whatso ever. Even had 2 wipers which 'parked' normally -not single blade in middle of screen!
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My Honda Accord 1993 2.0 auto has done 113,000 and apart from radiators rotting every 4 years it has only had a failed ABS wheel sensor and an ignition control module(the only thing that stopped the car from running).
It is still rattle free with great seats and fabulous engine but age is catching up on the bodywork.
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Most reliable 1996 Laguna 1.8 estate, 27000 miles and just 2 services and a couple of extra oil changes.
Damp starters, any Cortina or worst of all a 1977 Nissan.How i wish i had bought shares in WD40.
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