Let’s talk reliability of new cars
Discussion
Hello everyone.
For the past 7-8 months I’m munching miles up and down the country in a HGV, therefore I see a lot of broken down cars on the motorway. Funny thing is they all seem to be new or nearly new (69 plate and above). Now there is a whole bunch of reasons why a car could be stranded on the hard shoulder or emergency area ranging from a flat tyre to God knows what.
According to my observation BMW leads the unreliability race, closely followed by VW and Mercedes. In these months I only ever saw two Lexuses broken down, one of them was about 25 years old.
So what’s the deal with all these new cars breaking down? I would’ve thought people are buying new cars for reliability and yet they keep breaking down?
For the past 7-8 months I’m munching miles up and down the country in a HGV, therefore I see a lot of broken down cars on the motorway. Funny thing is they all seem to be new or nearly new (69 plate and above). Now there is a whole bunch of reasons why a car could be stranded on the hard shoulder or emergency area ranging from a flat tyre to God knows what.
According to my observation BMW leads the unreliability race, closely followed by VW and Mercedes. In these months I only ever saw two Lexuses broken down, one of them was about 25 years old.
So what’s the deal with all these new cars breaking down? I would’ve thought people are buying new cars for reliability and yet they keep breaking down?
As MX5 is the answer to everything, Mazda MX-5 is declared the nation's most reliable new car by Which?
TameRacingDriver said:
As MX5 is the answer to everything, Mazda MX-5 is declared the nation's most reliable new car by Which?
The average mileage of an MX5 will probably be about a third of that of an average 320d or Passat TDi, so any problems , all things equal , will take 3x as long to show up.Cliffe60 said:
TameRacingDriver said:
As MX5 is the answer to everything, Mazda MX-5 is declared the nation's most reliable new car by Which?
The average mileage of an MX5 will probably be about a third of that of an average 320d or Passat TDi, so any problems , all things equal , will take 3x as long to show up.tonyg58 said:
Too big and complex = breakdown problems.
This explanation of the Mercedes CAN system may show just how complex the electronics in a car are these days.One system going bad often causes multiple other systems to shut down, even though they have nothing to do with the original fault.
http://www.carlogic.org/bg/data/MB%20CAN(ICC).pdf
Supposedly 40% of the cost of a new car is the electrical system.
TameRacingDriver said:
To be fair I've had 2 ancient MX5s and nothing went wrong with those either, quite a few miles on both. Seriously robust little machines. I'd wager they are definitely more reliable than the average BMW (had several) or VW. Quite simply bog all to go wrong on them, and most Japanese cars tend to be more reliable on average, in my experience.
Yep, even basic stuff like switches go wrong in German cars - they are good to look but not tested to destruction.fido said:
TameRacingDriver said:
To be fair I've had 2 ancient MX5s and nothing went wrong with those either, quite a few miles on both. Seriously robust little machines. I'd wager they are definitely more reliable than the average BMW (had several) or VW. Quite simply bog all to go wrong on them, and most Japanese cars tend to be more reliable on average, in my experience.
Yep, even basic stuff like switches go wrong in German cars - they are good to look but not tested to destruction.The fault cycle for almost any manufactured product is an inverse bell curve.
You will see a peak at the beginning, where anything that was not made correctly will break when used under real world conditions, then a dip in the middle of the lifecycle where everything works and is not yet worn, and then a peak at the end as parts wear out and usage damage accumulates.
You will see a peak at the beginning, where anything that was not made correctly will break when used under real world conditions, then a dip in the middle of the lifecycle where everything works and is not yet worn, and then a peak at the end as parts wear out and usage damage accumulates.
Of all the cars I've ever owned, my most expensive one was the most unreliable. Twice it even broke down on a family holiday and had to be towed home.
Land Rover Discovery 3.
Of all my watches, mainly costing £50 or so, my most expensive one kept breaking down.
A Tag Heuer.
I now drive a Dacia Duster, £10.5k new, and wear an automatic watch from Argos, £20, which has been going strong for 10 years.
So the answer, keep it simple.
Land Rover Discovery 3.
Of all my watches, mainly costing £50 or so, my most expensive one kept breaking down.
A Tag Heuer.
I now drive a Dacia Duster, £10.5k new, and wear an automatic watch from Argos, £20, which has been going strong for 10 years.
So the answer, keep it simple.
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