How reliable do you expect your car to be?

[AlienDB7]

Was going to put this up as a poll question but not really sure what options to include.

I'm just feeling a bit down today, knowing about a serious problem that can occur on my car. To sum it up with a quote from jeremy, "...someday, it'll fall apart." No, I'm not lucky enough to own/drive an alfa romeo :cry:

So, what do you guys think about your cars?

[gis]

my car is not bad at all,she had her service/MOT 3 weeks ago and everythin passed with flying colours and she has 60k miles on her now.this my first car and no doubt in time when i buy an actual "performance" car i will get more troubles but for now,she is doin what she was made to do.

whats gone on with your car alien?

[fedezyl]

As reliable as long as the maintenance is good..

[AlienDB7]

There's a known problem with the coolant gasket on the gm v6 and the dex-cool used. So coolant may leak out or into the engine. Been noticing some fluid on the garage floor lately, hopefully it's not the coolant. Checked the level of all the fluids, everything seems to be fine though. Maybe I'm just a bit paranoid :)

There's a class action suit against gm regarding the problem now, hopefully when the problem does occur (according to many, it'll sooner or later), they'll fix it for free even after warranty expired.

[TT]

Oh well, my first car was terrible.. one of those cars that came out from the factory with lot of bad luck built in.. It was just a Pug 106, ok, I did some mods to it, but nothing major and didn't touched the engine.. the closest I went was the exhaust and a K&N airfilter,that's all... but after the first year electric problems began and never went away.. they ranged from the car simply unable to keep the idle throttle, keeping turning off.. or just impossible to turn it on.. it even happened to me, inside the Gotthard tunnel (the longest in Europe, 17 km), while I was driving at 80 km/h (the speed limit inside it), that the car simply shut down... It wasn't good at all LOL! I just pushed the clucth pedal, slot in 4th gear and released the clutch.. lucky it started again...
Another funny problem.. from time to time,let's say once a week, while cruising arond at normal speed, the throttle just starting going crazy and accelerating w/o me touching it! I sear it's true! Luckily it was only a 75-80 hp car.. but when it happened to me the first time while in second gear, while slowing down to a stop light it was quiety hard to control LOL!
Obviously it happened to me to be stopped at a red light and see the revs rise, from 800 to 1500, 3000, 5000 and stay there, at a steady 5000!! W/o touching the pedal!!! And when I dared touching it, the car simply shut down..

I spent lot of money trying to make various dealership fixing the problem but the prob was always there.. I was happy when I managed to get rid of it for a mere 3000-3200 USD..

So, to make a long story short, from my BMW now I expect perfect reliability ;) but I'm used to terrible cars so also a car w/ problems every 3 or 4 days would seem perfect to me ;)

j/k, from a BMW 3-Series, even if it's the E36 model, I expect a very good reliability, that's it :)

[draak666]

Rest assured, TT. I have 185.000 km on my 318i and I haven't had any major cost for years. In it's first couple of weeks BMW replaced the exhaust under warranty and after I learned to drive and got my drivers licence the clutch needed to be fixed :? . Those are the only major costs I can remember. The car is running smooth now for years. However, I expect some problems to occur when I reach 200.000 km. But next year I'm planning on following a mechanics course, so I can repair some things myself. Springs, brakes, minor engine problems and all that... I never plan to sell it. I will equip it to become my 'ring'-car. :twisted:

[jakaracman]

Haven't had any major problems for 7 jears. My car (Twingo) is in use almost exclusively by my wife for town driving (only 50.000 km), so a 2nd gear syncro replacement is not unexpected, and one exhaust in 7 years is also not bad. But next one wil be japanese, preferrably Toyota (or Lexus).

[FoxFour]

My Cobra has endured the years quite well. My '84 SVO Mustang, good car that it was, did have some minor wear and tear problems, window motor sticking, door lock actuators failing; etc. This car has much better components; interior-wise. I guess it's a continual improvement of the breed. And everything else on the car is in great shape 'knock on wood'

[sportVeloce]

I see no one else owns a Lancia, because at worst they are minor problems... Before reading, please note that Lancias are wonderful cars.

My Lancia:
4 Motors (complete from 1.8 to 2ltr) - 6 full engine pulls, 1 gearbox (split-pin broke doing 110), 2 Carbys (fire, and one was a Solex - Yuck!), Diff (gear box sent metal flying including a 3/4 inch piece of steel into the Diff), Coil, ECU (computer-yep too many positive earths-go figure that!), 1 exhaust and headers, 2 Dizzys (cracked 1 with a spanner-oops, 1 was earthing through a crack in its case), CVs & boots, Thrust Bearing (clutch), Sump (damn bumps), disc pads, fuel pump (after fire), hoses and pipes (some rusted), thermo fan, radiator, plugs (not really counted cause they are just general maintenance), Starter motor (yep, tick, tick, tick.. bugger), Solinator thats about all i can think of at the moment. I am sure there is more. I should take some pics of my parts... i have way too many car bits. Im not even going to start on what Ive done to the interior and bodywork...

I carry tools whenever I go out in my Lancia. Its currently off the road :( with a couple of minor issues .. ok major. Might do another engine pull and drop a VX in it.

I have a daily driver (not Lancia), and its quite refreshing to get into a car that starts everytime :D but then its boring as hell. The noise, the experience, the hard suspension, the leather, damn.. ive got to stop talking about my Lancia. My wallets ran and hidden under my couch just hearing the word Lancia. :roll: damn wallet.

[RC45]

Not very. While an excellent performance car, the Z06 is a little fragile - one day I might dig up the list of all the issues I have lived through.

Most of which I easily forget when I blow the doors off just about any car I happen to meet on the way to or from work... ;)

[blah]

I drive a Honda nuff said. 8)

[stracing]

i've only owned japanese cars..nuff said 8) :P

[cho_888]

i dont have a car to call my own as yet, but when i do i wont it to be super sat carry heaps of people, handel good have a V12 and never brake down for around 3 grand... am i asking to much?

I know i fella that had a porsche 911 GT2 and it broke down in the middle of no where. The machanics wouldnt touch it so they had to send it 2hours away to fix a $40 part!

[RC45]

Not very. While an excellent performance car, the Z06 is a little fragile - one day I might dig up the list of all the issues I have lived through.

Most of which I easily forget when I blow the doors off just about any car I happen to meet on the way to or from work... ;)

...and the saga continues - the Z is in the shop for "rear end whine" - and they are going in to conduct surgery today... this afetr the rear-end seals have failed 3 times already.

Did I mention GM's Wal-Mart quality before?

[troskap]

I'm rather glad my car's somewhat reliable. The engine is fairly sturdy, besides the required normal maintenance items, and the occasional intake manifold seal :shock: It's the tranny that I'm worried about, being that it's the weak point of the car, but I haven't thrashed the car too much, so that should last for awhile yet. Fortunately, with time's passing, I'm beginning to do more and more of my own maintenance, which makes things a HECK of a lot cheaper (though it does make for a few nervous moments when you start the car for the first time after you fix something....)

Of course, now that I'm outside of GM's warranty on the car, I just KNOW the car will start busting apart on me *knocks on forehead...er, wood* On the other hand, why replace a part, when you can always upgrade.... :)

[jpatino03]

I guess I got lucky with my first two cars.
I drove the crap out of my poor Mitsubishi Expo and never had a problem ( It got a reputation around my school for being deceptively quick) I had blown all of the head gaskets when we sold it.
My current '92 Integra has 115000 miles and looks and runs like the day it came out of the factory. I'm also a lot more careful with it than I was with the Expo.

Dude, you should see my friend's '98 Grand Am GT. The passenger door used to meake a horrible popping noise when you opened it, but now that stopped and it simply doesn't stay open. Also, the radio display just shows a bunch of garbled gibberish. You also have to double clutch into 3rd or it crunches horribly. Also, the engine has developed a very peculiar stalling problem when you accelerate low RPMs. I won't even get started on the clutch travel or driving position, or the bright red rear drums.

[sickx]

At the risk of sounding like and ol' fart, how bout Reliability? How bout good for over 250,000 km, only have to change the oil and pump in the petrol.
Unfortunately, this in my experience has pretty much narrowed the field to the Japanese imports.

:?

[brijoel]

i expect alot out of my mr-s and mr2 turbo. i expect a WHOLE lot out of the turbo motor considering it's fairly modified and will be getting used everyday. with the usual maintenance im hoping to have my mk2 for a VERY long time :mrgreen:

[levensnevel]

1992
1.7 turbo engine
178,500 miles
GBP 0.14 per mile for runningcosts (all inclusive, except for depreciation) since I bought her back in 2000.
Still runs like clockwork :fadein:

[nchs09]

my protege i doubt will last a long time, i dont know why, maybe cause i bought it used, so not all the trust is there.

my first car was reliable untill we moved to el salvador and it all went to hell (but mostly because of the way i drove it) and since there was no FORD dealeaership, it just went to hell.

[kian]

my dad had a 1988 merc 300E 124 model .......had round 200k miles and still running smoothly , but the petrol comsumption has gone up a bit .....and powers a little down ...maybe a time for an engine build-up ...say a 5 litre AMG :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

[coloradosilver]

Shit, I'm just happy if the damn thing starts. I have so much done to it that every time i turn the key I expect something to go wrong. Luckily it is well put together and i haven't had any problems yet.

[Evo]

I got no problems with my Nissan Patrol so far.. and these cars are build to live long..
The Evo on the other hand is a headack.. It dose not break down. but it gives out the strangest sounds you can ever hear from a car.. Clutch is the main problem with the evo.. ask any evo owner and he will tell you that..

[dropot2]

Although my car is not an expensive car or a considered "good car" (I drive a Citroen AX), it is and it has been very reliable indeed. It has got 14 years old, and it never, never, has left me in the middle of the road. It has brought me wherever I wanted, and recently I have done some travels which are not supposed to do with this kind of car, such as doing 1300 km in one day when I went to Maranello, and there wasn't any problem with my little car...I know my AX has not great power, it has not great handling and for some people may be ugly, but I hope that all my future cars work like my beloved AX :D
________
Silversurfer Vaporizer (http://vaporizers.net/silver-surfer-vaporizer)

[snacky]

i expect alot out of my mr-s and mr2 turbo.:

a friend has one of those mr2 turbos. his is lowered 2" with 17"(?) wheels. stock motor, stripped interior.

once on boost, those things are fast. fast in straightline, fast in the corners, just plain fast ! incredible grip !

oh yeah, imo, 99% of toyotas should last at least 200,000 miles.

[Garretts_turbo]

One expects their car to be reliable, but a lot of regualr maintenance helps!! sadly, it seems that a lot of the domestic rides here in the US have a lot of reliability and electrical issues.
the car i am currently stuck with (a 1990 plymouth acclaim) has been reliable, but not without its share of problems. a few sensors replaced and such. in very good overall condition for being 14/15 years old. hardly any rust or problems. hopefully i wont be around when the thing finally craps out. new car this summer!!! yes!
god i miss rear wheel drive!

[cabraswel5]

First of all Nissan i got the ownege 1993 300zx TT so i don't expect problems. Its almost mint condition inside and almost just as mint outside, aside from that i know my car was maintained well but i got to change the timing belt soon because i bought it used and they do not know about that. the HICAS works just fine, adjustable suspension works, its all goood

[Ottar L]

I change engines more often than many people change oil.
My best engine so far lasted 9000miles/6 months.
3-5000miles is about what my engines last. :twisted:

As you see I expect my cars to be veeery reliable

Even my 3 year old bicycle is a wreck.....

[RenaultFreak]

I hope it to at least give me hints that it is about to fail...so I have time to analize the problem, buy the parts and fix it before it stops running.

[aliendude012]

In the general case, as long as it gets me from one place to another without injuring me severely, its a good car. And mine has done that exceptionally well. :)

[vincentq4]

i've only owned japanese cars..nuff said 8) :P

Then you only drive it to work..at the speed limit?
I know enough to know that it doesnt matter what you drive if it is driven as a "drivers" car then it is not that reliable...and even a civic is not good on gas when you plant the pedal...in the case of the civic you have to plant it longer..because it takes longer to get there. Unless it has money into the engine.....but then it still would compromise reliability and gas mileage.

The only reason I posted is that your statement is bold as well. I do agree that the engineering is typically better in an import, but, that is the nineties track record and domestics are rising to the challenge and producing better cars....did you know that buick had just as good or even better reliability history than anything on the roads?

For the record...I want to get a 1986 Corolla GTS with a TRD developed engine for road-track racing.

[espen]

Drive a 97 Golf TDI. Have killed a MAF with a K&N filter, other than that 100% reliable. Really boring, not egen a puncture. I hav the oil changed at 5k and get every service at the local dealer (though I pay a good friend mechanic for that, not the extortionate prices they normally demand).

[sameerrao]

My 2001 Audi S4 has held up well so far. About the only thing I had done was get the moonroof tracks and a cracked windshield washer reservoir both replaced under warranty. Also got the front windows re-lubricated as it was squeaking a bit.

Other than that the car has been troublefree... touch wood ....

[ChrisAW11]

The Porsche was pretty much trouble free and my sister doesn't have many serious problems with it either. Now the MR2 is a different animal... When I got my spark plugs out last weekend, I've seen they were full of oil, and really full of oil, not just some oily remains, but soaking in it. Now that does point to something really serious...they still fired all cylinders, but I will bring it to a workshop this week..

[mrzonda]

I bought my 85 BMW 325e with 370ish,000 kms and have put on another 20,000 or so, and do you know what my biggest problem has been? the radio turns from am to fm on its own, and the am doesn't pick up the signals very well. the only other issue is a problem with the wiring to the rear power windows. im hopefully going to fix that soon. but ya, my car starts up everyday with no problems. :D

[dexstruh]

Might sound odd, but the only time my Triumph TR8 let me down was once the rotor button failed. I spent a lot of time figuring that out - started with the complex stuff like fuel pumps and inertia switches until it whittled down to a USD 6 part... :roll: