Most reliable cars?

[Guvernator]

swerni said:

One car, that's clearly a representative sample set that disproves the rest of the world.

Don't buy German OP they are st, go east and get something reliable

To be fair the cars mentioned are from an era when German cars where pretty good, it's only in the last decade or so where they seem to have gone rubbish while still retaining the premium price tag.

[Roger Irrelevant]

What's your budget OP? Will you be keeping the car past the end of its warranty period (if indeed it has any left at all?). If so then like others here I'd be looking at Jap petrol cars unless you do big miles. Someone else mentioned an Avensis and although they often get slated on here they do perform the quotidian task of transporting you and your stuff from A to B in comfort and for not much money very well indeed.

Edit: Just seen that Vit4's said pretty much the same thing - he's right. Get the latest/best condition of the 2002-2008 model 1.8 estate that you can afford and you'll be good for years of cheap family motoring.

Edited by Roger Irrelevant on Friday 18th March 17:37

[CX53]

Don't get me wrong here chaps, these old Volvos and Mercs were certainly very well built, but at the age they're at now, bits will probably need replacing fairly regularly. That's not to say they're unreliable, and fine for an enthusiast owner, but for hassle free, reliable family motoring, you can't go far wrong with a petrol Jap car.

My pic would be a Toyota Avensis 2.4 T Spirit. Quite rare, slower than the Accord 2.4 but rides a lot better and has enough power, nice spec with leather and toys.... Won't break.

[Krikkit]

Lexus LS400/430 are pretty bomb-proof.

[bodhi]

Guvernator said:

lostkiwi said:

Guvernator said:

You want something Japanese or Korean. Brilliant warranties and usually very reliable, thousands of mini cab drivers can't be wrong. If you want a premium badge go for a Lexus, all the advantage of above with the added soft touch plastics of the German's. Don't go German, expensive parts\maintenance and I think they are now living off a past reputation for reliability which is no longer deserved.

Japanese parts are way more expensive than German parts.

Not in my experience. Have you tried running a modern car from the big German 3? Their car parts are either made from unobtanium or they are taking the piss due to the "premium" branding (I suspect the latter)

I'm on my 3rd BMW now, can't say I've had to replace too much (a radiator on the 328i, an alternator belt and propshaft guibo on the 330d, and nothing on the 125i), can't say any of the parts were particularly expensive compared to colleagues with Japanese machinery.

There's also stuff like this: http://www.autoevolution.com/news/bmw-130i-named-b...

So the Germans still know how to make a reliable car. As long as it runs on petrol anyway

[EazyDuz]

Mercedes 300D

[smn159]

Stanley Steam Car

Am I doing this right?

[MDMA .]

Subaru. Got 2 at the moment and both are faultless. Regular high quality oil and oem black filters. Cant go wrong. The Legacy has been faultless in over 2 years i have had it.

Both petrol. I avoid anything diesel.

[GreenArrow]

Agree with Japanese but make sure its petrol NOT diesel!! The Japs are not so good at TDIs, as the Mazda 6 and 2.2 Avensis testify!

I have a 2 litre Mazda 6 that just works....also a 1.8 MK2 MX-5....

Both over 100K miles. Always start, don't seem to use water or oil and both feel like they still have all their horsepower....

[rb5er]

My Subaru has only ever needed consumables,the Volvo needed an alternator and a boost pressure sensor as well as consumables. Owned the Subaru 5 years and the Volvo 3. Both great and reliable cars.

[fivepointnine]

Pick any Lexus (besides the IS200, a lot of young people owned them and tried to make them into drift cars) or Petrol Toyota saloon. Just get in them and drive, replace the oil once a year/10k miles and that is about it for maintenance requirements.

I just do not see how people can recommend BMW on the basis of reliability. Yes they drive great and are nice cars, BUT I have owned several and have things fail/need replaced much sooner than you should. Any M54 engined /E46/E39/E60 based car will have the following replaced/failures before 100k...VANOS seals, most front suspension bushes, OFHG, DISA valve, intake tube, VCG, CCV system, and the entire cooling system will need replaced. Diesels have issues with failing turbo's and swirl flaps.

Edited by fivepointnine on Friday 18th March 20:01

[Bungleaio]

Top lurking, 78 months!

[anonymous-user]

An old Volvo 850 would be a good shout, but they are getting rather elderly now (20 years+) so you are going to have issues with perishing rubber hoses, vacuum hoses and the various other age related things that can strike even the best engineered old cars. They are also not totally immune to rust. The upside is they are simple beasts and nothing that goes wrong with them can't be fixed easily and cheaply.

A 960/V90/S90 might be another very good shout if you want something larger and a bit more RWD.

For absolute reliability some sort of late 90s/early 00s Toyota with a large-ish NASP petrol engine and as few toys as possible would probably be the best. Whether you'd want to actually drive it anywhere is a different matter, at least a battered old 850 can be a good hoot if you get a turbo. A previous posters example of his Avensis is exactly what I had in mind. They aren't even bad to drive, and a replacement of any worn looking bushes and all four dampers will make the world of difference to any old car you pick up.

Or are you looking for something a bit less bangernomics? A late model P2 Volvo S60/V70 should be a reliable workhorse in that case, and fairly modern. Seem much more robust than the P3 models.

Edited by dme123 on Friday 18th March 20:10

[andysgriff]

lostkiwi said:

Nothing is as bad as a Toyota Land Cruiser (Petrol):
Centre exhaust box ( in mild steel) £572
Alternator : £255
Starter motor: £400
As for Toyota reliability it was dire.... autobox failed after the radiator developed an internal crack and let coolant into the gearbox, starter failed, viscous fan failed, alternator failed and it ate center exhaust boxes faster than my other half does chocolate. Managed to sell the damned thing before the water pump failed as well. It had 130k miles on it when bought and was pushed out the door at 153k miles. Wished I'd never bought it.
My 1995 A8, 1999 S70 and 2000 C240 were all more reliable and all had cheaper parts and all depreciated less.

What a load of tosh. you bought a dog.

[BrownBottle]

A lot of old cars being recommended, budget and preferred age of car would be helpful from the OP.

IME Jap parts are way more expensive than anything German and the aftermarket support is nowhere near as comprehensive. Most common parts needed for BMW's or Vag's are in abundance, Merc slightly less so with more stuff being dealer only.

I would say it's one of the biggest negatives of owning anything Jap or Korean, the raping you get at their parts departments even for very basic models is a bitter pill to swallow.

[Digby]

A Honda something. If going the Volvo route, check for blocked pcv systems.

[Truckosaurus]

The Lexus IS250 is meant to be as reliable a modern car as there is. Makes sense, a fairly underpowered non-turbo petrol. But if you do big mileage you might spend more on fuel than you save on maintenance compared to a smaller diesel.

[lostkiwi]

andysgriff said:

lostkiwi said:

Nothing is as bad as a Toyota Land Cruiser (Petrol):
Centre exhaust box ( in mild steel) £572
Alternator : £255
Starter motor: £400
As for Toyota reliability it was dire.... autobox failed after the radiator developed an internal crack and let coolant into the gearbox, starter failed, viscous fan failed, alternator failed and it ate center exhaust boxes faster than my other half does chocolate. Managed to sell the damned thing before the water pump failed as well. It had 130k miles on it when bought and was pushed out the door at 153k miles. Wished I'd never bought it.
My 1995 A8, 1999 S70 and 2000 C240 were all more reliable and all had cheaper parts and all depreciated less.

What a load of tosh. you bought a dog.

Just calling it how I saw it.
Plenty of other issues with the Land Cruisers as well - cracked heads were a favourite on the diesels.
Cant fix them only replace them.

I've had loads of jap cars in my past and not one of them was as reliable as the Volvo or the C class.
Closest was the Mazda 323F GT but even that wasn't as good.

[skyrover]

Cockroaches

[EazyDuz]

Import a Lincoln Town Car and drive a trouble free 200,000 miles