Of all the things we want our cars to be, “reliable” is always way up at the top of the list. No matter how narrowly focused a car may otherwise be as an off-roader or street carver or luxurious cruiser or something else, the one thing we’d all like the machine to do is start, run, and return us home (or to the finish line or trailhead) without breaking down or failing to start in the first place.
And when it comes to daily drivers and work vehicles, nothing trumps reliability. No one can afford to be late or miss a job with any regularity. Everyone needs reliable transportation, and a reputation for reliability can only be earned. No amount of marketing can spin a car that lets customers down into one they can count on.
For a lot of buyers, that means Honda and Toyota top their preferred brands list, though they aren’t the only reliability stars. Getting more granular, specific models like Civic, Corolla, Accord, and Camry are singled out for bulletproofness. More knowledgeable car buyers might advise budget-conscious shoppers to look for anything with a Buick 3800 V6 for day-in, day-out infallible transpo.
No matter what advice you’ve gotten or like to give about which cars can be counted on and which to avoid, there are always surprises. A low-mile Corolla that somehow becomes the bane of your motoring existence. The high-mileage luxury European car everyone told you not to buy has, incredibly, never let you down. And so, today we’re asking What Supposedly Super-Reliable Car Was A Lemon For You (And Vice Versa)?Â
Says Matt,
People always complain about old German luxury cars, but my 240k-mile BMW is great. I treat it like a Honda Civic and, other than a flare up here or there, it acts like a Honda Civic. I realize by saying this I’m dooming myself.
I fully expect that Matt’s BMW, now jinxed, will strand him within a fortnight. (Yeah, I say “fortnight” now.)
David, meanwhile, had a terrible experience with what shoulda been a no-worries ride:
I bought a 1995 Honda Accord; it was, to this day, the biggest piece of shit I’ve ever owned. Everything broke at once, and it wasn’t that easy to fix. I loathed it. And the fifth gear synchro didn’t work. Could it have been abused? Sure. But that doesn’t excuse it abusing me.
Matt piped in:
Between a Honda Accord and Saturn Vue, I would not have picked the Vue as the reliable daily. Who would?
Stephen also hated an Accord. Am I taking crazy pills?
One of my most-difficult to own/fix was one that ha sa reputation for not breaking. ’08 Honda Accord Sedan, I bought it off of a local door guy that had just gotten in a RF fender-bender (with accompanying DUI) and hit the local Pick n Pull to piece it back together. Fender, headlight, bumper cover, fender skirt, brackets, etc. Once it was back together and painted, I kept getting an transmission shifting issue that pointed towards the speed sensor. Popped a new one in, same issue. The part I purchased had the same dimensions and connections as the one it replaced, so I figured there must be some other internal issue with that transmission. Sold the car for cheap with the concern. Later, I learned that Honda uses both an input and output speed sensor on that transmission that both use the exact-same pigtail connector and are identical! Of course the sensor that I had swapped out was The Good One (Input) and all the next owner had to do was swap out the Output sensor. A solid learning experience.
Your turn! What Supposedly Super-Reliable Car Was A Lemon For You (And Vice Versa)?
Top graphic: Toyota
Everyone always pretends the Jatco Xtronic CVT is such a bad and unreliable transmission, but they’re all wrong. How good they be unreliable? They’re so good that the fluid never even needs changed or even looked at!
I’ve talked about my ex-rental Chevy Sonic before. Dents on every panel. I was trying to chase down a p0420 code for a while before saying screw it and putting a spacer on the back 02 sensor. Hooray no inspection state. It just goes. I do maintenance, but I am amazed this little hatch lasted through cheap-league rental duty and is pushing 150k. I gave it a healthy dose of Fluid Film before this winter, but it’s not too bad. This spring, I’m going to give it a go of replacing the timing belt, because it seems it’s never been dealt with. I took it on a couple of road trips this last summer with no worry and once that timing belt is done, I probably would do the same again. It’s surprisingly comfortable on the freeway, and a set of blizzaks make it snow impervious. One guy’s winter beater is my improbable daily driver. Best 4k I’ve spent, probably.
I have one of each:
Bad reputation, good car for me: The Chevy Bolt. Much of the poor reputation comes from the battery recall. They’re otherwise pretty solid vehicles. Mine has been absolutely bullet proof. It’s over 100k miles now and I’ve only just recently had the first thing wear out on it. We use it for our small business and beat the ever loving mother out of it and it’s just taken the abuse like nothing
On the other hand, I got a 2001 Jaguar XK8 because they’re *supposed* to be the “reliable” Jaguar. That hasn’t been the case by a long shot. I’ve owned it for a year now and put over $6k into it in repairs.
It’s been in the shop as much as it’s been in my garage.
Much of that was grievously deferred maintenance, but it feels like something breaks every 3 times I drive the damn thing. The battery is dead from winter storage and will not take a charge so there’s another $250 come spring time. I’m also pretty sure it needs a rear wheel bearing. Such is the life of a Jag owner.
Single-owner warm-climate-owned 2004 Lexus GX470 with barely 100k miles and a decent maintenance history. Everyone is always on about Land Cruisers lasting forever, so I thought I was safe. Somehow, it needed $20k in repairs almost immediately. Many other things went wrong, including the paint peeling off the entire vehicle. Then, it needed a new engine before 200k miles, at which point I gave up on reliability and got a 2016 XC90.
my mom’s 2003 grand am passed on from her to my brother , to me for drove 180,000 miles borderline neglected with zero mechanical issues. only got rid of it because it was wrecked i did not trust its safety. still sold it for $2500 after 19 years of service. and used that as a down payment on my current car a prius. If you look anywhere online people act like the pontiac grand am was one of GM’s worst vehicles.
I got to 250k miles out of a used 1988 Ford Tempo. Bought it used for a grand with 110k miles and it didn’t require anything but a brake/rotor change and regular oil/fluid attention. Who woulda thought?