Ultra reliable cars

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Discussion

Kentish

15,169 posts

233 months

Saturday 5th September 2015
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shalmaneser said:
Surely a non-turbo 90's peugeot is in with a shout?

I suggest a 205 or 106 1.4D would probably still be working come the apocalypse.



EDIT: oops that's a turbo. Still a good call.
Google Pug 205 rear axle wink

Kentish

15,169 posts

233 months

Saturday 5th September 2015
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My 1990's BMW e39 Touring with 137k on the clock is still going strong.

Just flew through this years MOT with only the one advisory for discs & pads (the rears are original).

In fact everything on the car is still original except the suspension which was air bags & is now sports springs.

MattHall91

1,268 posts

123 months

Saturday 5th September 2015
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S2000

RobinBanks

17,540 posts

178 months

Saturday 5th September 2015
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MattHall91 said:
S2000
I've seen quite a few posts in the last few weeks talking about major engine problems with them.

The one that got me was someone who said that the cost of replacing a steering rack (or something like that) was £13500

MattHall91

1,268 posts

123 months

Saturday 5th September 2015
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RobinBanks said:
MattHall91 said:
S2000
I've seen quite a few posts in the last few weeks talking about major engine problems with them.

The one that got me was someone who said that the cost of replacing a steering rack (or something like that) was £13500
Fair enough, I'll retract that then.

Always thought Mondeos were a safe bet. Uncle has run 3 to over 200k each with not much to report.

alfettagtv2000

220 posts

196 months

Saturday 5th September 2015
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MrMoonyMan said:
I totally biased on this but you're bang on. They were so well built.

If I were to drive round the world I'd take a n/a version and be confident in it.

My grandad bought one in 1980 and it was in the family without any fault for 21 years.
Turbos are not so good, mine ate it's headgasket and the gearbox lunched itself too. But yes I'd take an N/A version...

morgrp

4,128 posts

197 months

Saturday 5th September 2015
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Volvo 850 - when looked after they are tough as old boots

morgrp

4,128 posts

197 months

Saturday 5th September 2015
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MGJohn said:
glasgowrob said:


My reliable old taxi barge


260k now and still on original clutch turbo injectors etc etc

Only let me down for the first time last month thanks to a flat battery other than that rock solid and Bill free apart from wear and tear
High levels of Taxi use often means the engines never really cool down and that helps both longevity and reliability.

Twenty five years ago, waiting for a train arrival at Gloucester Railway Station got talking to Taxi drivers waiting for fares. A line of white Montego. 2.0 litres... all white which I believe was a council rules Taxi requirement. Those Montegos covered high mileages very reliably as did one I owned at the time which approached starship mileage when I drove it to the scrapyard on its final journey. Still running strong even then but getting a bit tatty ~ my sons and their schoolboy friends learned how to handle a reasonably powerful car on my own track... smile



It aint Rocket Science, simple regular checks and keeping the basic maintenance up to scratch.

I have never had an unreliable car.
Montegos were good mechanically - sure, the S-series pissed oil out of every orifice and the Electronically controlled SU carb was a pain in the arse but the o-series and perkins prima were super tough engines which required minimal and very simple maintenance - Rust was the culprit and I bet you'd see a hell of a lot more of them still on the roads if wasn't for the dreaded tin worm killing them all off in the late nineties


RobinBanks

17,540 posts

178 months

Saturday 5th September 2015
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MattHall91 said:
Fair enough, I'll retract that then.

Always thought Mondeos were a safe bet. Uncle has run 3 to over 200k each with not much to report.
I think the S2000 is above average, but nothing special overall for longevity.

It was the £13500 steering rack thing that really turned me off to it!

p1esk

4,914 posts

195 months

Saturday 5th September 2015
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MGJohn said:
How many of these have been made and are still going strong? The Hindustani Ambassador:~



When I were a lad, these were a common sight for me .... on UK roads known then as a Morris Oxford or was it Cowley?
Wasn't the Morris Cowley a lower spec. version of the Morris Oxford?

Tango13

8,398 posts

175 months

Saturday 5th September 2015
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Kentish said:
My 1990's BMW e39 Touring with 137k on the clock is still going strong.

Just flew through this years MOT with only the one advisory for discs & pads (the rears are original).

In fact everything on the car is still original except the suspension which was air bags & is now sports springs.
My '02 M5 is still on it's original rear discs and I think it's 3rd set of pads at 143,000 miles.

The fronts are a different story though... laugh



Zerotonine

1,171 posts

173 months

Saturday 5th September 2015
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battered said:
80s - 90s Vauxhall Cav and Astra. No, seriously. It disappoints me that they have so comprehensively dropped the ball. A banger owning mate had a string of shonky Astras and Cavs that he bought for loose change and then killed, in many cases over the course of years. One he bought from me - I had taken it from 75k to 155k, he did 40k plus before the speedo cable broke and another ~10k after that. It eventually got sold sans MoT. The major mechanicals were bulletproof, but by then it needed a clutch, radiator, petrol tank, wiper mechanism, tyres...

The Astra of the same time was very reliable too. Both these cars were the taxi of choice in the 90s, the 2.0 petrol Cav in particular.

These days a 1.9 Skoda Octavia seems to be nigh on indestructible, if given taxi mileages. The only things that pack up are brake consumables and clutches, both of which are so what issues for taxi drivers. They seem to last less well under more normal use.
Agree with the mk2 Astras and mk3 Cavaliers, but my old mk3 Astra sucked balls... I think the mk3 Cavalier was Vauxhall's swansong. Anything newer has just got progressively more wk.

hornetrider said:
Petrol Mazdas.
My sister's 6 is one of the most unreliable heaps of ste ever to grace the roads, rust, rust and more rust, brake callipers keep seizing up, countless other issues, yet she keeps throwing money at it hoping it will keep plodding along!

Buff Mchugelarge said:
In my personal experience - Micra K11. Apart from the rust.

And bizzarely,
Fiat Siecento's.
Surprisingly robust little things they are. Mine was the epitome of reliability no matter how much abuse it got. I still miss that little car.

And any car that's well Serviced..?
I forgot about the humble K11. This is the most indestructible car ever conceived.

DoctorX said:
On my second Honda CRV and absolutely nothing has ever gone wrong with either.

I've jinxed it now though!
My Dad has one of these, he keeps it pristine, but always curses the MOT guy when it fails on bushes, which it seems to burn through at quite an exceptional rate. It also suffered from dodgy brake callipers, but in general it is quite a robust thing. High tax bracket though so he is thinking of getting rid just because of that.


DukeDickson

4,721 posts

212 months

Thursday 10th September 2015
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klunkT5 said:
DukeDickson said:
Not always - mine certainly wasn't (Civic). However, I guess the boggo ones can be.

Bubble Micra is the cockroach of the car world, or anything with the Volvo (nee Audi) 5cyl engine can pretty hardy if not mucked about with & some bits of preventative maintenance done.
Volvos own I5 engines are pretty good aswell smile
Did they do any of their own, not based on the design they acquired?

My Ford Volvo old school Audi engine has taken a decent amount of battering, but refuses to die. Dumped rather a lot of coolant today & sounded like death, but didn't expire & looks like no more than a bust pipe, without any other apparent issues smile. Apart from a couple of silly bits of cheapness, there's a lot to be said for an old lump of pig iron.

Klippie

3,096 posts

144 months

Thursday 10th September 2015
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I bought a shed Skoda Felicia 1.9D (non turbo) a few years back for a daily runner, the bloody thing was built like a tank and it must have one of the least stressed engines ever fitted to a car it just went on and on...great car.

Micra 1.0L , I paid £1200 for a late model K11 put over 40k miles on it and sold it for a grand some years later...never missed a beat.

skyrover

12,668 posts

203 months

Thursday 10th September 2015
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DukeDickson said:
klunkT5 said:
DukeDickson said:
Not always - mine certainly wasn't (Civic). However, I guess the boggo ones can be.

Bubble Micra is the cockroach of the car world, or anything with the Volvo (nee Audi) 5cyl engine can pretty hardy if not mucked about with & some bits of preventative maintenance done.
Volvos own I5 engines are pretty good aswell smile
Did they do any of their own, not based on the design they acquired?

My Ford Volvo old school Audi engine has taken a decent amount of battering, but refuses to die. Dumped rather a lot of coolant today & sounded like death, but didn't expire & looks like no more than a bust pipe, without any other apparent issues smile. Apart from a couple of silly bits of cheapness, there's a lot to be said for an old lump of pig iron.
Volvo's inline 5 modular engine was almost completely designed and built in-house by Volvo, it has nothing to do with Audi. Design work started in the 80's with this 4 cylinder alloy sandwich engine



Porsche did help with intake/exhaust design initially, but this was the extent of German involvement.

Volvo did use Audi inline 5 diesels for a while before replacing them with their own, hence the confusion.


Edited by skyrover on Thursday 10th September 10:28

morgrp

4,128 posts

197 months

Monday 14th September 2015
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skyrover said:
DukeDickson said:
klunkT5 said:
DukeDickson said:
Not always - mine certainly wasn't (Civic). However, I guess the boggo ones can be.

Bubble Micra is the cockroach of the car world, or anything with the Volvo (nee Audi) 5cyl engine can pretty hardy if not mucked about with & some bits of preventative maintenance done.
Volvos own I5 engines are pretty good aswell smile
Did they do any of their own, not based on the design they acquired?

My Ford Volvo old school Audi engine has taken a decent amount of battering, but refuses to die. Dumped rather a lot of coolant today & sounded like death, but didn't expire & looks like no more than a bust pipe, without any other apparent issues smile. Apart from a couple of silly bits of cheapness, there's a lot to be said for an old lump of pig iron.
Volvo's inline 5 modular engine was almost completely designed and built in-house by Volvo, it has nothing to do with Audi. Design work started in the 80's with this 4 cylinder alloy sandwich engine



Porsche did help with intake/exhaust design initially, but this was the extent of German involvement.

Volvo did use Audi inline 5 diesels for a while before replacing them with their own, hence the confusion.


Edited by skyrover on Thursday 10th September 10:28
Yep they used to use the LT35 Straight six diesel then the 5pot out of the audi 100 and VW transporter.

The Volvo 5pot is all volvo and has the same architecture as their modular 4 cylinder units (found in the S40/V40 and the 6 cylinder units found in the 900 series

JonoG81

384 posts

104 months

Tuesday 15th September 2015
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BGarside said:
Maybe the petrol cars. Had a Mark 1 TDCi for 3 years and it had a few faults including failed door locks, cam sensor (disabled car), tailgate struts, CD player packed up, intercooler pipes leaked, rusty suspension springs at 3 years old etc. Also plenty of horror stories involving fuel pump, injector and DMF failures.

Nice enough car to drive, but the Mazda 323 I had before was much less problematic as was, ironically, the 1994 Rover 214 I had owned prior to that...
I was on about the TDDI lynx/endure-d engine, which is known for it's reliability, not the late TDCI duratorq engine that was shared with PSA, which are known for having several problems (including what you have mentioned).

My wife also had that exact engine in her mk2 focus and it was fine up to around 70k, but after that suffered numerous faults/problems.

PTF

4,252 posts

223 months

Tuesday 15th September 2015
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2001 Toyota Avensis 2.0 petrol. Paid £900 for it. Did 20k in it. Never let me down. Just tyres and an oxygen sensor in 2 yrs. Sold to a mate for £800. He's spend nothing on it besides tyres. Still going strong.

Currently got a 2005 CRV diesel. Bought at 110k miles. Currently on 126k miles and feels like it will go on forever. No rattles or squeaks. Not the best steer in the world, but feels strong.

Citroen C1/107/Aygo are good too. Had two C1s in the last 6 yrs. Never a problem. Discs and pads for the front are £35 for the set. 60 mpg. Great little things. Sadly ours is now for sale because too small for kids.

Unreliable stuff we've had:
VW Lupo 1.4 petrol. Gearbox
SEAT Leon 2.0 diesel. ABS pump failure, CD player was rubbish, turbo hose failed and left us stranded

Sulphur Man

224 posts

132 months

Tuesday 15th September 2015
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There's a good argument that the Mercedes W124 E300 Diesel, with the non-turbo E606 diesel fitted between 1994-1996, is one of the strongest, most reliable cars ever made. In the hands of a respectful owner, there's little reason not to think that it couldnt do 500k miles and 30 years of service. Simplicity is the key, no ECU, turbo, EGR, DMF, DPF and an unstressed 4-speed auto.

I ran a W124 E280 estate from 2007-2014. Amazing car, but I wish I'd paid a bit more for the E300 diesel.

If there's a set of criteria for reliability, it could well be:

Japanese
Built in Japan
Petrol
Automatic

Our family runaround is a Honda FR-V petrol auto, with the 1.8 iVTEC. No issue in 4 years of ownership. Feels like it will go on and on and on. It's well-geared too, with a nice leggy 5th gear doing 2250rpm at 70. 37mpg is easy to achieve.

aks7297

37 posts

124 months

Tuesday 15th September 2015
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mazda 6 mark 1....