What is the most reliable car/SUV?

[FinalImpact]

What is the most reliable car/SUV have you owned that was trouble free and had little to NO shop time for unscheduled repairs?

Feel free to include the Unreliable ones too! Dings need not include oil changes, brakes, tires, fluid changes etc.

Example:
1995 Toyota Camry V6, Automatic, loaded. Avg mpg 22
Purchased 2005 w/142,000 miles on the odo for $3,400. Only unscheduled repairs were 2 coil packs and a radiator. Car currently has 255,000 miles on it.


Tags: Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Audi, Lexus, Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Nissan, BMW, Acura, Subaru

 

[Erci]

2003 Mazda Protege5, manual. Avg mpg 29
Purchased 2004 w/350 miles on the odo (new) for 13.5k. One trip to dealer for butterfly recall. 1 front wheel bearing failure. Otherwise just scheduled maintenance. Currently 100200 miles on ODO

 

[FB400]

I've been a fan of Honda since my first new car (Acura Integra) back in 1991. They are good for tons of miles. Just keep up with normal maintenance and the cars have been worry free

 

[Darth Fazer]

Most reliable:1979 Toyota Celica GT Liftback Series "B", 2.2L 20R SOHC carbureted I-4, 90 hp, rear-wheel drive, 5-speed manual transmission, 30+/- MPG, bought at 90k miles, sold at 220k, last saw at 340k. Only repair: new fuel pump at around 130k (still got me home, car never failed to start during 130k miles of ownership).

Least reliable:1986 Mazda 626 LX sedan, 2.0L FE SOHC fuel-injected I-4, 93 hp, front-wheel drive, 4-speed automatic transmission, 30+/- MPG (when it was running), bought at 64K miles, sold at 90K miles. Worse break-down: tranny went out in Memphis traffic on Lamar Avenue in 95 degree weather (POS!).

 

[shamrocker]

Most reliable:

2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse GTS, Manual, loaded. Avg mpg 26.
Purchased new in 2003 for $20,000, sold in 2011 (101,000 mi). Only unscheduled repairs were to adjust an electric window stop and to fix a leaky coolant hose clamp in the first few months.

2007 Honda Civic EX, Auto, loaded. Avg mpg 33.
Purchased new in 2007 for $20,000, still driving (67,000 miles). No unscheduled repairs, yet.

2011 Subaru WRX, Manual, loaded. Avg mpg 20.
Purchased new in 2011, still driving (16,000). Noisy release bearing was replaced at 14,000 miles (maybe, possibly, my fault ) Turn signal harness was replaced at 2,000.

All maintenance completed by me.

Least reliable:

All three Cavaliers (93, 97, 2000) owned through high school and college... head gaskets, water pumps, coil packs... No specific data available, but all were at 100,000 or higher.

 

[FinalImpact]

1995 Toyota Camry V6, Automatic, loaded. Avg mpg 22
Purchased 2005 w/142,000 miles on the odo for $3,400. Only unscheduled repairs were 2 coil packs and a radiator. Car currently has 255,000 miles on it.

Let me add this:
Very Reliable but no options to break.
1989 Nissan Sentra Sedan, I-4, 90hp, 5spd stick. Bought in 1995 w/175,000miles for $175 needed a clutch and drive shafts. Replaced those and doubled the mileage to 350,000. At roughly 300,000 I had to replace the timing chain and guides. Sold it for $650 in 2004. Car was going strong when i left it. Oh, had to replace a window regulator midlife. . .

My style is that I never lug them and rev them freely often. Change the oil every 3,500 miles.

A Good Thread, Thank You Everyone!!!

 

[08fz6]

1998 VW New Beetle 2.0 5 Speed. First car was given to me by my dad with 25,000 miles. Traded in with 145,000 miles for Next car. Only thing ever done was spark plugs, wires, tires, oil, and brakes.

2008 Scion XB 2.4 Auto. Leased New then bought out. Mine from 75 Miles. Traded in with 116,000 miles in 4.5 years for next car. Car has seen the entire US except for Hawaii and Alaska. Only issues were a wire for the traction control. Other than that only changed tires, oil, and brakes (95,000 Miles).

2011 Ford Edge Limited 3.5 AWD, Loaded. Has only been driven 16,500 miles in 8 months. Only issues were a cracked front Ford emblem. Current car and it has been a great car so far and most comfortable out of all 3.

 

[motojoe122]

It's not an suv or a car, but my 2002 F150 supercrew has 149,000. I bought it used in 2004 with 32k on it. So far, one timing belt, 2 sets of tires, and......a mass airflow sensor. Oh, I forgot, one starter and a battery.

 

[red_rock_beetle]

my mother has a 2000 New Beetle she bought new, the only two things have been the CV joints, and the gas flap release motor died, but there is a manual override. oh and it has around 260,000 and has been through 13 states (the big ones here in the south west US, not those little ones up north):BLAA::spank:
and its still on the original clutch

 

[FinalImpact]

Funny ^^ I drive about 300+ miles a week and see most of the ah - G e r m a n made autos like VW, Audio, Porsche, MB and stuff like that being towed or at a minimum have various different lights burned out. . . I blame Bosch but ya - just an observation.

 

[wolfc70]

Most reliable: 1998 Nissan Altima SE 5 speed, bought with 27k on it and no issues until 177K miles when a timing chain guide broke. I bent 12 valves, Ouch!:banghead:

My current car, a 2011 Accord EX 5 speed, has also been trouble free. Bought new and 22k miles later and only 1 dealer visit to fix a piece of loose interior trim.

Least reliable: 1997 Plymouth Breeze, car ate head gaskets like crazy, went through 4 in 100,000 miles. Also transmission died twice. Once was the torque converter and the other was the valve body.

Also had a 2000 Dodge Dakota as a company vehicle. It's transmission also failed, along with many other issues.

 

[fmf]

You just never know, my moms camry has had major problems ever since they hit 100k and they were religious about dealer maintenance. I think they have gone through 3 head gaskets and 2 heads as well as had the tranny either rebuilt or replaced.

Every Nissan that I had developed cracked exhaust manifolds over 125k.

I had a jeep grand cherokee that should have been a money pit but while I wrenched on it often it was always minor things like sensors that I was replacing. close to 200k when I sold it and still on the original tranny (which is nearly amazing if you know about the GC auto trans).

 

[greg]

my 2000 1.8l petrol ford focus has been pretty reliable, only had to replace a failed coolant gasket on it, and get the suspension straightened after i hit a kurb rather hard.

my friend's 2006 diesel focus has been a complete nightmare with problems though.

i don't really do many miles in my car now (<4000/yr), and i only use it for towing my track bike trailer, and when it's snowing, so i might get something like a 4x4 if it ever breaks

edit: I had to replace the idle control valve too, which was causing it to stall occasionally and more frequently when i clutch in with my foot off the gas

 

[Karate.Snoopy]

Honda Accord : running since 2001 with 150 k , regular maintenance, never been to the mechanic for anything else. Excellent on gas.Love it

Lexus 350 : running since 2006, with 100k miles,regular maintenance, only had a small issue with the power steering once. Good on gas as well. Would buy it again in a heartbeat

 

[Jmnielsen]

My moms Honda odyssey. Bought brand new in '05. Now has 210k miles and had nothing but routine maintenance done. Never thrown a code or anything. Also tows a jet ski and motorcycles regularly. It's an incredibly reliable vehicle.

My 06 Nissan xterra has done me great as well. Only 51k miles right now though.

 

[BH322893]

I have a 2001 Toyota Echo with 210k miles on it and it still runs like a top. Purchased it brand new for $10k, wish I bought 2, and it gets pretty close to 40 mpg. I'm a tall guy, 6'3, and I have plenty of room inside these cars. I know we have a few other Echo owners on here too.

 

[JPH]

This is crazy. An Echo that was reliable!
Guess I'll add another oddball.
1997 Ford Escort 5 speed with a 2.0 ZETEK engine.
320k and only regular maintainance. I never even replaced the timing belt or clutch. Second owner took it to 360k before I lost track of it. I drove that thing like I stole it. In fact I drove it so hard that at 60k I changed the rear struts to Monroe 'sensa-tracs' just to improve the handling, not cause they were bad!

Second most reliable was my 2005 Outback. Followed by:
1 Ford F150 good for 60k but traded in. 1 Chevy Equinox Very Good to 90k. 1 Chevy Cavalier bad. 1 Chevy S10 4x4 worse. 1 Mitsubishi also bad.

Currently 2012 Accord.

 

[codeblue]

I inherited a 1993 Acura Integra GSL with 260,000+ miles on it, the usual maintenance (tires, brakes, timing belt, oil, etc). No major work on it so far.
She purrs like she was new. I have no plans of making her race worthy, keeping her stock with maybe a few cosmetic make overs.... HID's like my bike, lol.

 

[SweaterDude]

1994 chevy 1500 w/ 350ci V8 & 4spd
450k miles and a a set of wheel bearings. burned a little oil but who cares.

 

[PhotoAl]

Best car I ever had was a BMW 318iS, fun and reliable. Would still have it if my son hadn't shortened it. "But dad I had enough space in front of my car" - well then why did you hit the car in front of you!

Current car is a VW Rabbit and it is very reliable - it stays in the garage which is warm in the winter and cool in the summer.