Reliability

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JohnBM01

JohnBM01

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JMarine25
GTPlanet, this thread is open to discuss reliability. Tell us about reliable machines, what makes a vehicle reliabile, maybe even machines that lack reliability.

I'm not a driver, so I have nothing to contribute. However, I do have a story to start with. Back in August 2001 or so, my brother and I decided to go to Guadelupe River State Park west of Houston. That Saturday night, I can recall that it was around 8 or 9 at night, and we made it to a city near the park that I'm sure you are familiar with... San Antonio. From about 8 or 9 PM to about 2 AM, we only made one stop for gas. Then coming back, we made a second stop before making it to the state park. Afterwards, we headed back home to Houston, and my brother's Mazda truck from 1990 was pretty reliable with gas mileage.

So, anything on reliability? Reply now.
 
JohnBM01
I'm not a driver, so I have nothing to contribute. However, I do have a story to start with. Back in August 2001 or so, my brother and I decided to go to Guadelupe River State Park west of Houston. That Saturday night, I can recall that it was around 8 or 9 at night, and we made it to a city near the park that I'm sure you are familiar with... San Antonio. From about 8 or 9 PM to about 2 AM, we only made one stop for gas. Then coming back, we made a second stop before making it to the state park. Afterwards, we headed back home to Houston, and my brother's Mazda truck from 1990 was pretty reliable with gas mileage.
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You certainly know how to tell a story, John. That's one they'll be retelling round the camp fire for years to come!
 
Reliability > any other characteristic of a car.

Anyone who has had an unrelaible car knows how frustrating it is to be constantly thinking to yourself "What will the next problem be". A smooth running car, free of niggles and repairs is a joy to drive. My general rule is this:

The best kind of car is-

1. A paid off car.
2. A reliable car
3. A "fast" car.

In that order.
 
Good gas mileage is a plus, but it has nothing to do with reliability.

The most important and often overlooked key to reliability is proper/preventive maintenance. That is of course if your vehicle wasn't a piece of **** in the first place.
 
Our Buick only lasted 2 years...it died on us on the road. Then we got a Integra that lasted for 10 years.
 
The moral of the story is.... A Buick will break down on you within' 2 years, but an Integra will not?
 
Just put the honda badge on the buick and all fixed.
 
All I know is that my family has owned 2 Lexii, and neither of them ever broke down in any way shape or form. Just had to pay regular maitenance on them. We drove them both to about 100k miles (a 98 ES300 up to 99500 actually :D )
 
A survey for What Car? magazine in the UK revealed that for used cars, Mazdas spent the least amount of time (in days per year) off the road for repairs (scheduled services weren't included) and that the cars which cost the least to fix per repair were... Mazdas.

I drive a used Mazda.
 
Hiya! :D :O :lol:


Reliability is one of those really BIG main thing about a car that can sell lots and make millions! :O I feel that when talking about reliability and comparing from car to car can be quite lacking at times. Some will say that X car is unreliable while the others sat that X car IS reliable. :odd: Some people just somehow get alot of problems with their car while someone else wont have any problems, even driving the same car.
Reliability to me is more like...based on a majority. We all can say that Honda and Toyota are VERY reliable. But when it comes down to the other makers, it gets a bit hard to think about since the reputation in reliability of Toyota and Honda is high. :O:O
 
The moral of John's post is that the B-series truck from the late '80s early '90s ruled.
That, and along with Famine's great post, just proove that older Mazdas are very good.

:D
 
The motor in my Omni has over 225,000 miles on it and still holds 15lbs of boost. It also beats the hell out of decade newer turbocharged Civics! Now that is reliable.

Brian
 
Famine
A survey for What Car? magazine in the UK revealed that for used cars, Mazdas spent the least amount of time (in days per year) off the road for repairs (scheduled services weren't included) and that the cars which cost the least to fix per repair were... Mazdas.

I drive a used Mazda.
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Is that considering the RX-7 and the RX-8 also?
BTW... I thought most cars just need attention to be reliable (Not the gas mileage though)... But then I heard a lot about some U.S. cars breaking down at times (I don't exactly think that right but I hear that often)......
 
At the time the survey was carried out, the RX-8 was not yet for sale in the UK - so it wasn't even a new car, let alone a used one!

The survey did include every used car model available in the UK - both the FC and FD RX-7s were sold from Mazda dealerships on these shores, so the survey included them.


As you say, if you look after your car, most will be reliable to an extent - but certain makes are prone to mechanical niggles due to weak parts or poor construction methods, and others are not.
 
Monster7
The moral of the story is.... A Buick will break down on you within' 2 years, but an Integra will not?
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Yeah, I guess... :dopey: Just how do people make their 1967 Mustangs survive to this day?
 
Animatera, or however to spell your name, I wanted to discuss reliability of American cars. I think one person joked about a certain American car for having the reliability of the McLaren-Mercedes F1 racer before going to a new model this season. I think it was Darin who said that someone in his dad or somebody had a Mustang from the 60s, and it broke down. In my time, my mother had a St. Regis (I guess it was a Dodge or a Plymouth), and that thing had its woes. And I thought my computer was worse.

So if anyone can answer the question, do so now: do American cars lack reliability? Do the drivers drive it hard? Why do you think American car owners have had their rides broken down?
 
I guess this isn't reliablity, but don't buy a Metallic Gray S-10 from 1986-1996. That paint will be 25% peeled off in about a year. Trust me. My dad owns one, in a Maroon/Gray two-tone. I'm surprised it hasn't rusted out yet.
 
my VW 1972 Bug is pretty reliable it has never broken down on us. and we replaced the trans mission because Reverse gear kept slipping and thats it!
 
Famine, while your figures are correct and i can concur with figures that i have often seen in Aus (no source, i just remember Mazda comes on top in reliability), there are some places where such research MAY fail.

If you had a used Mazda Cosmo and a used 993 Turbo, and they both got a similar (odd) noise from the gear-box which would you be more inclined to have corrected? The 993 of course, any small discrepency and it would be off to be repaired instantly, while you may neglect the Cosmo until it got serious, ignoring and minor problems, after all, it's not exactly a 993 Turbo.

Point being, a cheaper car may seem to be more reliable that a more expensive car when analyzing figures, but it may well be that they are just more dispensable. If these statistics take into account total life of the car in question not just service time and repair costs then it is very much valid. Until then i can't help but feel they are a little flawed.

As for reliable cars
Toyota Hilux - Just watch Top Gear where Tiff Needell attempts to destroy a Hilux to no avail, it still works.
Porsche GT3 - As far as GT racers go this thing is supposed to be darn reliable, check the 2004 LeMans results to see what i mean.
 
Pistachio
If you had a used Mazda Cosmo and a used 993 Turbo, and they both got a similar (odd) noise from the gear-box which would you be more inclined to have corrected? The 993 of course, any small discrepency and it would be off to be repaired instantly, while you may neglect the Cosmo until it got serious, ignoring and minor problems, after all, it's not exactly a 993 Turbo.
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That's debatable. I see many Mazda owners come in for the smallest noise or issue.
Though, after the enthusiastic forces to bring people into the shop for the smallest thing, there is the retaining value of the car, which ofcourse the Porsche will have. I would say that the Cosmo is a rarer car(though I don't know if you're talking about the RX-5 Cosmo which is very rare or the '80s Cosmo, which is slightly rare(in Australia, none here)).


As for the reliability of American cars...yikes. I work with Oldsmobiles and when I get in one they just feel crappy and cheapo. There's tons that come in for 1 problem and several more are found. Are they driven hard? I doubt that old people drive hard. Now the ones that are driven by rednecks might be. That's still not an excuse. I drive my car hard all the time and nothing has broken.
Anyway, American cars lack quality. They are made cheaply with sup-par plastics and materials.
 
JohnBM01
I think it was Darin who said that someone in his dad or somebody had a Mustang from the 60s, and it broke down.
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:irked: No cars broke down in our family.
And I also think you can't mistake a Ford Mustang with a 1972 Porsche 911S 2.8...
 
AP1
Your Dad's MX-3?
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No, it's mine.

The previous owner was indeed my dad, but money (quite a chunk of it, considering I was unemployed at the time) changed hands, and I live 235 miles away.
 
MazKid
Anyway, American cars lack quality. They are made cheaply with sup-par plastics and materials.
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Have you been in a 2004 model American car? There's a lot of American cars that are unbelievably better than Japanese counterparts - the Ford Escape is far superior, for instance, than the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V on the outside, inside, engine, whatever. There's a lot of crap American cars out there, but when the Americans try hard, good cars are produced.
 
M5Power
Have you been in a 2004 model American car? There's a lot of American cars that are unbelievably better than Japanese counterparts - the Ford Escape is far superior, for instance, than the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V on the outside, inside, engine, whatever. There's a lot of crap American cars out there, but when the Americans try hard, good cars are produced.
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Heh, I guess the many (Am. cars), brings down the whole (Am. cars).

I really don't have much driving experience (A year of driving)... To know about reliability really... All I've heard went I got my car (Accord 96) was if you want to get a used car... Don't go for a American car.... And the I got one non-Am. car in a good condition in a okay price. (I wasn't really looking for a specific make... But sheesh my car has to be the most common car around where I live....) And besides two oil changes and one minor replacements (total of $160) I never had a problem...
 
I hate people who tell me that American cars are unreliable cause thats just BS. You want to know something that will last? A Ford. Nothing runs like a Ford! The bodies may fall off but that motor will keep on keepin on for hundreds of thousands of miles. My girlfriend has a 1993 Ranger with well over 250k miles on it and it still runs just as good as when it was brand new. It needed a few fix em up parts, but thats common in something that old and they were very simple parts. And that truck has been through a lot.

So if I want something that will run forever I'll stick with the Ford, and thats why Mazda's run good, they are pretty much Japanese Fords. The B Trucks are almost the same as a Ranger.
 
My view on the reliability of American vehicles:

My Jeep:
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My Jeep's odometer:
fadb0a5c.jpg


371,068.1

And that was almost a year ago. :trouble:
 
370,000km is = to 230,000 miles roughly? I'm a little rusty with my math.
My old Grand Cherokee ltd. had around 200,000 miles on it when I traded it in. Good truck, and it was quick for a sport ute.
 
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