Are reliable cars a thing of the past!
Discussion
I've spent the past few months looking for a reliable family hack. I've recently spent too much time on the phone to break-down companies arranging recovery and replacement hire cars. My current family car has turned out to be a Friday build and riddled with issues.
I have done a lot of research with articles, forums and friends to determine a suitable reliable replacement. As expected, I heard numerous horror stories about Land Rover and Alfa Romeo etc. However, what has really surprised me is the endless complaints about brands that historically I have perceived as "quality". In short, if I stayed clear of every brand that have treated customers terribly following issues, I would be using a 24hr bus pass!
Is it just me or have cars almost become a deposable item. The technology appears to have outpaced knowledge in dealerships and mechanical engineers are retired. They appear to have been replaced by electrical engineers quoting "computer says no!". I'm bored of trying to explain to technicians that an ODBC reader will probably not help diagnose dashboard rattles etc.
I've honestly considered a trip to Lexus simply to have a car on the drive that feels it will start when asked.
So, is it just me?
I have done a lot of research with articles, forums and friends to determine a suitable reliable replacement. As expected, I heard numerous horror stories about Land Rover and Alfa Romeo etc. However, what has really surprised me is the endless complaints about brands that historically I have perceived as "quality". In short, if I stayed clear of every brand that have treated customers terribly following issues, I would be using a 24hr bus pass!
Is it just me or have cars almost become a deposable item. The technology appears to have outpaced knowledge in dealerships and mechanical engineers are retired. They appear to have been replaced by electrical engineers quoting "computer says no!". I'm bored of trying to explain to technicians that an ODBC reader will probably not help diagnose dashboard rattles etc.
I've honestly considered a trip to Lexus simply to have a car on the drive that feels it will start when asked.
So, is it just me?
I think they probably peaked in the right mix of reliable and easy/inexpensive to repair around 2000 to 2005.
In the 90s and backwards cars needed looked after, or they broke, and you paid the price. Nowadays they are like your tumble dryer, you barely need to do anything special to look after them but when they do go wrong you might as well throw it away and get a new one.
In the 90s and backwards cars needed looked after, or they broke, and you paid the price. Nowadays they are like your tumble dryer, you barely need to do anything special to look after them but when they do go wrong you might as well throw it away and get a new one.
simontrent said:
So, is it just me?
No, there’s an awful lot of cack cars out there from supposedly premium brands. My current daily 330i is proving to be worse than anything else I’ve ever owned. My next purchase will probably be boring, dull, but reliable. Toyota? Lexus? Dacia maybe??
Mineral1 said:
I think they probably peaked in the right mix of reliable and easy/inexpensive to repair around 2000 to 2005.
In the 90s and backwards cars needed looked after, or they broke, and you paid the price. Nowadays they are like your tumble dryer, you barely need to do anything special to look after them but when they do go wrong you might as well throw it away and get a new one.
There’s a lot of truth in that…In the 90s and backwards cars needed looked after, or they broke, and you paid the price. Nowadays they are like your tumble dryer, you barely need to do anything special to look after them but when they do go wrong you might as well throw it away and get a new one.
OP, don’t forget when you research these things you find that people who have things to moan and complain about are always more plentiful and louder than those who are quite happy and have no problems
In my experience, you can take any car or any manufacturer and with a bit of research find out that they are terrible when in truth it’s a percentage of all that can have issues and the majority of modern cars are pretty fault free
I'm pretty sure that new cars are at least as reliable as they've ever been and probably better. The big manufacturers will sell tens if not hundreds of thousands of cars in the UK each year. Some of them will go wrong, such is life. Sometimes the manufacturer/dealer will not cover themselves in glory dealing with it. That's life too, and it has been ever thus. The key difference between now and the good old days is that nowadays a lot of people think the way to deal with any problem with something they've bought, no matter how minor, is to immediately post a one-sided, disproportionate and illiterate rant on the internet for all the world to see. So if you go looking for tales of woe in relation to any manufacturer, you'll find them in spades.
Modern cars are very reliable BUT I'd say they're not as well maintained by there owners, long service intervals 2-3 year, the majority of new cars are lease/pcp/pch deals are some of the reasons & when it does go wrong people are straight onto the internet to complain.
Some modern cars have had inherent design issues but most are out there.
Some modern cars have had inherent design issues but most are out there.
Mineral1 said:
I think they probably peaked in the right mix of reliable and easy/inexpensive to repair around 2000 to 2005.
That's what I've been thinking too, so I've got a 55 plate and a 56 plate!They're new enough to have useful things like A/C, cruise control, ABS, multiple air-bags, etc. but not so new they have over-complicated electronics like adaptive cruise, lane control, self-braking, electric handbrakes and so on.
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