Ultra reliable cars
Discussion
I've owned 2 Mercedes, a W124 320E and a 1988 190E. Neither were reliable. The W124 was 14 years old at the time, but in 1 year I had to spend £3500 in repairs - most of the cost was for a new engine wiring loom and a gearbox rebuild. It had done 135k miles (with full MB history)at the time. The 190E was only 5 years old when I bought it, with 55k miles and a full history - so it had no excuse for being so unreliable.
From my own experience Japanese cars are way more reliable than German ones.
From my own experience Japanese cars are way more reliable than German ones.
My present main car is a 1997 Mercedes SL320 had it for 8 years still in show condition and has never let me down.It still has the ORIGINAL exhaust system!! Before that I had a 1990 Mercedes 260E for ten years and nothing went wrong during that time.When I sold it with 160000 on the clock it still drove like a Bentley.
A very close second to these cars is a 1995 Peugeot 306 diesel.Its been in our family since new and has never broken down,all major units are still original!! been thrashed,abused,done 171000 and just refuses to die
A very close second to these cars is a 1995 Peugeot 306 diesel.Its been in our family since new and has never broken down,all major units are still original!! been thrashed,abused,done 171000 and just refuses to die
JonoG81 said:
Similar experience here, both me & the wife had mk 1 tddi company cars, and apart from routing servicing they never saw the inside of a dealer for repair, and we did over 300k between us in 4 years. If I was after a cheap run-around/snotter I would have another in a heat beat, cracking cars.
Pitty the mk2 that she had next wasn't quite so reliable
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. Pitty the mk2 that she had next wasn't quite so reliable
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...
Pete317 said:
High mileage Saabs are prone to their sump oil strainers clogging up and causing oil starvation and consequent bearing failure, if the oil hasn't been changed regularly and fully synthetic oil used.
Other than that particular weakness, they're wonderfully reliable cars.
Fixed post 04 in the 9-5, so not entirely correct. Other than that particular weakness, they're wonderfully reliable cars.
Most Japanese petrol cars, middle of the road stuff like Primera, Corolla, Avensis, Accord that kind of thing, the Carina deserves a special mention as well, how many other 90s heaps do you still see dragging their sorry carcasses about ? there are still an amazing number of them still driving round.
In Mexico they still sell new versions of 90s Nissans you can still buy a local version of the 90s Sunny called the Tsuru, suits the market, utterly dependable, indestructible, easy to fix but death on a sty stick if you have more than a low speed crash.
In Mexico they still sell new versions of 90s Nissans you can still buy a local version of the 90s Sunny called the Tsuru, suits the market, utterly dependable, indestructible, easy to fix but death on a s
ty stick if you have more than a low speed crash.Peugeot 406 hdi, both 90 and 110. I've owned both and covered a lot of miles- probably 45k between the two. One came with 210k miles, the other 225k miles.
Although 1 did need new front springs once.
I was chatting to a guy at the local garage who said the 405 was even more robust!
I don't think the 407 is as good, but then I have no experience of these.
Although 1 did need new front springs once.
I was chatting to a guy at the local garage who said the 405 was even more robust!
I don't think the 407 is as good, but then I have no experience of these.
BGarside said:
HarryFlatters said:
As long as they don't get wet.
They may rust, but does that make them 'unreliable'?Rust killed it. Clogged sill drains, a downhill driveway and a flooded and knackered ECU expedited its demise.
SuperHangOn said:
The 740 was pretty astonishing. They didn't even rust (unlike a Merc!). The 124/201 used a fancy multi link rear suspension setup, I expect the big old volvo was a hardier, more basic design.
IIRC the 740 diesel wasn't that great though (?) whereas not much touches a non turbo OM602/3 for the ability to run and run and run (except an old diesel pug or ludicrous diesel W123). Not even a basic ECU to stop them.
I'm not sure I would have the motivation to run the volvo today. Surely a newer Accord or something would be much less worn and much more frugal these days?
Agreed, I grew up with a family diet of 240/740's. Dad still runs a 240 as his daily. IIRC the 740 diesel wasn't that great though (?) whereas not much touches a non turbo OM602/3 for the ability to run and run and run (except an old diesel pug or ludicrous diesel W123). Not even a basic ECU to stop them.
I'm not sure I would have the motivation to run the volvo today. Surely a newer Accord or something would be much less worn and much more frugal these days?
Edited by SuperHangOn on Friday 28th August 09:32
Was in the blood so I bought a mint 38k mile 740 as a classic toy, doesn't get much use but never had a single fault and drives thru mot every year. Undervalued classics in my opinion.
Make sure its got the latest PCV (No 6 IIRC)
If you're not sure if it already has it check the black tubing around the oil filler area, should have white lettering on
And don't skimp on oil changes - about every 5000 miles.
If you're not sure if it already has it check the black tubing around the oil filler area, should have white lettering on
And don't skimp on oil changes - about every 5000 miles.
wormus said:
I've just bought a 2.0t 95. It's done 76k miles with full SSH. The sump has been checked and its running on fully synthetic oil, what else can be done to keep it healthy? Mine only does 3 miles each way to the train station each day.
whytheory said:
Mk1 Toyota Yaris
This - even to this day you hardly ever see a scruffy one, unless it's really been abused.My boss did almost 250,000 on his with the original clutch before he sold it and bought a Skoda Yeti. Recently checked the DVLA database and it's still out there, taxed and MOT'd.
shakotan said:
This - even to this day you hardly ever see a scruffy one, unless it's really been abused.
My boss did almost 250,000 on his with the original clutch before he sold it and bought a Skoda Yeti. Recently checked the DVLA database and it's still out there, taxed and MOT'd.
Clutch life has to be as much down to driving style as anything else. Current car is getting towards 172k on original clutch (with somewhere between 2 and 3x the torque) & no signs of impending doom. However, won't be testing the 250 mark as it has to go before then.My boss did almost 250,000 on his with the original clutch before he sold it and bought a Skoda Yeti. Recently checked the DVLA database and it's still out there, taxed and MOT'd.
For some reason, makes me then think of interiors. Mine wouldn't look too shabby after a valet, given moans about hard plastics, probably no worse than more extensively/expensively rubberised alternatives.
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