Let’s talk reliability of new cars
Discussion
croyde said:
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.
Wow, I would be extra mad if my not-so-cheap-Swiss watch broke down multiple times 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.
. And well you don’t buy a Land Rover for reliability they say
Driver101 said:
It's extremely rare to see a modern car breaking down on the motorway. To manage to establish which brands breakdown more is an amazing feat.
The reliability surveys don't help either. The vast majority of issues reported aren't breakdown issues.
I have just filled in the Which?® survey, and when it asks for repairs, it does not seem to distinguish that pad and disc replacements are wear and tear items.The reliability surveys don't help either. The vast majority of issues reported aren't breakdown issues.
croyde said:
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.
£12 Casio analogue watch for me. I only need to know the time - accurately.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.
Interesting thread.
I noticed similar in the recent hot weather, with everyone heading to the beach. A higher than usual count of people waiting on hard shoulders for recovery.
I wondered if it was mechanical or human, eg. ran out of fuel or coolant.
I did notice most cars were fairly new. Did not really pay attention to makes although one was a brand new RR. Would be gutted if that was me.
I noticed similar in the recent hot weather, with everyone heading to the beach. A higher than usual count of people waiting on hard shoulders for recovery.
I wondered if it was mechanical or human, eg. ran out of fuel or coolant.
I did notice most cars were fairly new. Did not really pay attention to makes although one was a brand new RR. Would be gutted if that was me.
ExPat2B said:
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.
Makes sense.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.
I assume this is why high-mileage models which are relatively old, are not as bad propositions as on the surface as the issues will have already been sorted ?
I used to do 18k per year but have hardly driven the past 18 months. As per my Readers Cars thread I did drive from Aberdeenshire to Southampton and back a couple of weekends ago to buy a notoriously unreliable car. Over the weekend I started counting the broken down cars - there were 7 that we saw. 6 of them were German and newish. 3 of the 7 were obviously punctures and all three were on the A34(???) from Southampton to the M40.
It proves nothing of course.
However, having had new and old cars, my personal experience is that older cars develop faults more often, but they are usually simple to diagnose and cheap to fix. New cars are better engineered but intrinsically troublesome despite this due to grotesque complication. Diagnostics can be challenging if OBDII and a generic code reader doesn't yield the answer and the parts prices are laughable and the less said about the amount of a new car to be dismantled to access the broken thing right in the middle of it the better. Especially "desirable" ones (to normal people). Simple low spec Toyotas and Hondas etc are virtually unstoppable nowadays. Rolling infotainment centres with flashy badges and electric/adaptive everything should be crushed when the warranty expires.
It proves nothing of course.
However, having had new and old cars, my personal experience is that older cars develop faults more often, but they are usually simple to diagnose and cheap to fix. New cars are better engineered but intrinsically troublesome despite this due to grotesque complication. Diagnostics can be challenging if OBDII and a generic code reader doesn't yield the answer and the parts prices are laughable and the less said about the amount of a new car to be dismantled to access the broken thing right in the middle of it the better. Especially "desirable" ones (to normal people). Simple low spec Toyotas and Hondas etc are virtually unstoppable nowadays. Rolling infotainment centres with flashy badges and electric/adaptive everything should be crushed when the warranty expires.
I’ve been driving new cars - mainly
German - for over 20 years. Done hundreds of thousands of miles. Plus older sportscars. I’ve had to be recovered three times in that period (well four if you include the GSXR 750 that was hit by a pheasant). Once each for the 360 CS, 355 and a 993. Apart from punctures and the odd recall none of the new cars gave me any problems.
German - for over 20 years. Done hundreds of thousands of miles. Plus older sportscars. I’ve had to be recovered three times in that period (well four if you include the GSXR 750 that was hit by a pheasant). Once each for the 360 CS, 355 and a 993. Apart from punctures and the odd recall none of the new cars gave me any problems.
At the risk of tempting fate, the last car to leave me at the side of the road was a 2005 Renault Grand Scenic in 2008. The clutch slave cylinder exploded at 52,000 miles.
I reckon I've done 300,000 miles since in new or nearly new cars from BMW, Audi, VW and Hyundai, and while there have been faults, none have ever 'failed to proceed'
I reckon I've done 300,000 miles since in new or nearly new cars from BMW, Audi, VW and Hyundai, and while there have been faults, none have ever 'failed to proceed'
Edited by Limpet on Tuesday 8th June 13:13
jamieduff1981 said:
I used to do 18k per year but have hardly driven the past 18 months. As per my Readers Cars thread I did drive from Aberdeenshire to Southampton and back a couple of weekends ago to buy a notoriously unreliable car. Over the weekend I started counting the broken down cars - there were 7 that we saw. 6 of them were German and newish. 3 of the 7 were obviously punctures and all three were on the A34(???) from Southampton to the M40.
It proves nothing of course.
However, having had new and old cars, my personal experience is that older cars develop faults more often, but they are usually simple to diagnose and cheap to fix. New cars are better engineered but intrinsically troublesome despite this due to grotesque complication. Diagnostics can be challenging if OBDII and a generic code reader doesn't yield the answer and the parts prices are laughable and the less said about the amount of a new car to be dismantled to access the broken thing right in the middle of it the better. Especially "desirable" ones (to normal people). Simple low spec Toyotas and Hondas etc are virtually unstoppable nowadays. Rolling infotainment centres with flashy badges and electric/adaptive everything should be crushed when the warranty expires.
Interesting. It proves nothing of course.
However, having had new and old cars, my personal experience is that older cars develop faults more often, but they are usually simple to diagnose and cheap to fix. New cars are better engineered but intrinsically troublesome despite this due to grotesque complication. Diagnostics can be challenging if OBDII and a generic code reader doesn't yield the answer and the parts prices are laughable and the less said about the amount of a new car to be dismantled to access the broken thing right in the middle of it the better. Especially "desirable" ones (to normal people). Simple low spec Toyotas and Hondas etc are virtually unstoppable nowadays. Rolling infotainment centres with flashy badges and electric/adaptive everything should be crushed when the warranty expires.
400 miles today only 4-5 broken down cars. 2 mercs and some vans. The merc were both brand new ish
True about punctures. I have lost count of the number of times I've changed tyres for people who had no idea they had a spare or what to do with it.
A former girlfriend bashed a kerb only a short time into a 300 mile trip. She had already pulled her phone out to call the AA when I suggested that I could sort it.
She looked surprised then thought me as some sort of F1 pit crew as I changed the tyre for her.
Ok it took about 10 minutes not 2.2 secs.
A former girlfriend bashed a kerb only a short time into a 300 mile trip. She had already pulled her phone out to call the AA when I suggested that I could sort it.
She looked surprised then thought me as some sort of F1 pit crew as I changed the tyre for her.
Ok it took about 10 minutes not 2.2 secs.
I see far less cars broken down on the side of the road than I did 15 years ago.
Ours has been faultless since new, over 3 years and 27k miles and hasn't skipped a beat (Mini Clubman Cooper S).
A lady over the road has a 2020 Audi A3 30 TFSI jobbie, its been on the back of a low loader twice in six months for issues.
Luck of the draw
Ours has been faultless since new, over 3 years and 27k miles and hasn't skipped a beat (Mini Clubman Cooper S).
A lady over the road has a 2020 Audi A3 30 TFSI jobbie, its been on the back of a low loader twice in six months for issues.
Luck of the draw
When me and my mates started driving in the 70s/80s, everything broke down.
It had to be factored in to the journey
My mate's Mini Traveller would always take about 5 hours to get from London to Bournemouth. We had to get out to push it up hills and cover the distributor in crisp packets when it rained.
Leaving a seaside resort to head home on a hot day would see lines of cars at the roadside, usually due to overheating.
As a 18 year old, you'd usually be owning a car from the early 70s, if not the 60s. You quickly became an amateur mechanic.
Nowadays most young people seem to be happy to spunk 400 quid a month on a new BMW or Merc, thus not have to know how to twirl a spanner.
It had to be factored in to the journey
My mate's Mini Traveller would always take about 5 hours to get from London to Bournemouth. We had to get out to push it up hills and cover the distributor in crisp packets when it rained.
Leaving a seaside resort to head home on a hot day would see lines of cars at the roadside, usually due to overheating.
As a 18 year old, you'd usually be owning a car from the early 70s, if not the 60s. You quickly became an amateur mechanic.
Nowadays most young people seem to be happy to spunk 400 quid a month on a new BMW or Merc, thus not have to know how to twirl a spanner.
The more I read, the likes of Pistonhead forums, the desirability of getting a new car diminishes. My 2016 Octavia will pass 50k this week, and apart from a fuel pressure sensor @ 36k has had no other faults. Has no emergency brake assist or lane assist, but does tell me when I should be having a break!
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