Most reliable car you've ever owned?

technut

ACK!
Lot's of posts about what's broken and how to fix it, so how about the ones that never seem to break down?

My vote goes to a 1987 toyota truck I owned, it was bone stock; no ac, no cruise, no power windows, etc. It had heat, power steering and a radio. It had a 4 cylinder 22R and 5 speed stick. I could simply not break this vehicle, I put about 120,000 hard miles on this thing and all I ever did to it was change the oil, fluids and spark plugs. I bought it used with about 90,000 on the clock and it still was running great at 210,000 when I traded it in.
 
1986 Honda Civic CRX HF 238,000 miles when I let it go to buy the Frontier in 2000. When I traded it in, the dealer asked me how many times it had been painted. I said once, right before it left Honshu. He didn't believe me. Three timing belts, a lot of oil changes by me, a few plugs, and it would even run on 4 flat tires. Most reliable car I have ever owned.
 
Wife's 94 Subaru Legacy. Has over 120k miles on it and the engine looks like the day it left the plant except for road dust: no oil leaks anywhere. Simple to work on also. I changed both the front half-shafts in no time at all. The thing is an energizer bunny, it just goes and goes and goes ....
 
I had a 77 Chevy Nova in high school that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't kill it.

The car would not use, leak, or even seep any oil... the engine was clean as a whistle
and never missed a beat.

I owned the car for about four or five years and outside of brakes, tires, & shocks, I
only spent $135 on the car. $100 for a new exhaust system and $35 for a new water
pump.

That car sold me on Chevys to this day! :yes:

Scott
 
I've owned many brands and kinds of vehicles, with various tales of reliability. But the one that refused to fail was a lowly '88 Ford Festiva LX that I bought during a money crunch. I put 165,000+ miles on it and replaced one fuel pump (nine dollars) and one pressure plate @ 85,000 miles. Paid $5400 for it in '88, sold it in '96 for $2800 (it still looked like new inside and out) and the guy is still driving it! Now has 280,000 miles on it. Who'd a thunk it?
 
My 1969 Lincoln. Admittedly, I spent $2500 "going thru it", new tires, & having it painted. But after we got it done, the old gal never let me down. The Mighty Valdez has been very reliable, as long as you keep putting copious amounts of gasoline in it.
 
My 1983 BMW 733i has 246,000 miles on it, runs like a champ. Even looks good still!
 
Actually, in spite of the '79 Impala wagon we put 180,000 miles on and kept for 23 years (!), it was always being repaired. We would leak, belch smoke, limp along, and have 22 second 0-to-60 times (no joke) but never, EVER, were we stranded and unable to at least stagger home. That said, so far, by comparison the '98 Taurus wagon we have had for the past four years has only needed a starter, and alternator, and a brake line replacement, with 78k and has been a joy to own and drive. Most other Tauri have horror stories. Not this one!
Tom
 
My daily long commuter '95 Buick Roadmaster has proven to be extremely reliable. No problems yet at 272,000 miles from that wonderful LT1 engine. Of course, turning only 1300 rpm at 60 in overdrive just loafing down the road doesn't hurt either! :)
 
Probably the 95 Toyota Tercel i bought for my Ex.
 
1978 Toyota Corolla stickshift. Until I got T-boned on Capitol Hill by a U.S. Marshall running a red light, it was a delight.
 
74 Ramcharger with a 318/727 torqflite. 230K and counting when it was totalled by one of my offspring. Or I would probably still have it.
 
Unbelievably, ours was the first car my wife and I bought new: a "1988" (new 1987 model) Chevy Corsica. We bought a 4 cyl with a 5 speed and owned and drove it for 13 years and 188,000 miles. The ONLY significant nonroutine problem it ever had was needing a new head gasket at about 150 k miles. It was still running fine at 188k, but I was increasingly nervous that it wouldn't pass (emissions) inspection in MA, so we donated it to charity to sell.

Of course, about 1/2 of the metallic blue paint had fallen off, but that's just cosmetic...

It was fun to drive, a good starter family car, cheap and economical. It would routinely return 40 mpg on long trips, and 35-plus in everyday driving. I wish my Focus was that economical.

EDIT: BTW, the clutch was still original and still good at 188k of hard miles. We still lived in the city (Baltimore) when we bought it.
 
1966 Chevy II wagon, straight six with a 2 speed power glide. I had this from 1982-1984, used it for delivery of auto parts, 10 hours a day, six days a week. I beat the p*ss out of this wagon daily, and it's probably still running out there somewhere if it hasn't turned to dust yet! This little wagon would go over a buck with a dozen cylinder heads in the back! I had the tickets to prove it! My buddies and I constantly tried to blow the thing up, cause it was so homely and dented. I got it to use while I was looking for a cheap van to use, but it would just not die! I never did get the van....
 
I've had cars, trucks, Jeeps, brand-new, old as the hills, and everything in between. But the best car I've ever owned in terms of being absolutely reliable engine-wise and systems-wise is one I presently own: a 2003 Chevy Impala LS.
 
For the money

$1000.00

1979 Firebird. stock 301 engine.

Brakes,A battery and oil changes. Drove it for 4 years and still wonder why I sold it.
 
My wife's 2000 Civic Si. We had it for three years and traded it on a larger car due to age (hers, not mine!). She wanted something easier to get in and out of. We / she put 42,000 miles on it and didn't put so much as a light bulb into it. Just did the scheduled service. That car had zero problems. Her 2002 Accord is proving to be just about the same. My 2006 Ridgeline had to have the clips for the visors replaced because they rattled sometimes. That's all. By the way, after owning and driving that Civic Si for 3+ years, we traded it for $1600 less than we paid for it new. That's a real number because we had an offer to buy it outright from us Vs the trade-in. Not too bad. That was a great car, and a LOT of fun to drive!
 
My '92 oldsmobile Trofeo.

I got in in 1995, with about 50k on the odo. I kept it for over 8 years!! In between that time, I went EVERYWHERE in that old car!! Florida in '95, Tennesee several times, Pennsylvaina, and so on. by the time I GAVE IT AWAY. in sept. of '03, it had 202k on the clock. The engine did NOT use ANY oil between chenges, and the tranny did NOT slip or have any problems. By that time, it did need struts, and such, and it had developed a crank sensor problem. SO, I reluctntly donated it to my "friend" Rodney. he got it to run, and promptly abused it badly. I was with him, in late '03, when he drove that car at over 110, down a state route in middletown...He still had it a couple of years after and it then had over 220k on the odo.

In the 8 years I owned it, I put an alternator, battery, wheel bearings and brakes on it, along with 2 sets of plugs and wires. I kept synthetic oil in it, and changed at 5k or so. NOTHING more serious than that.

And it was a VERY fun car to drive. It had decent power, (less than 9 sec. o-60,) and handled the curves well. Not to mention--the electronics in the car were the cutting edge then--and still quite advanced now.

I tried to get another one recently, but couldn't find one locally, that was reasonable and in decent shape. So...I "settled "(not really) for the next-best thing a Buick Riviera.
 
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