The fact that All 3 Toyota brands, Scion, Toyota and Lexus are in the top 10 is telling. I love my 2002 Tacoma and it still runs like a champ.
That’s why I bought a Camry in 2004 after a Taurus and Lincoln both turned into defect hell after a couple years. It’s boring, but has never needed major non-scheduled service.
Their quality actually went downhill a bit after that because they opened American plants, and American auto workers struggle with the concept of quality, but they seem to have gotten that sorted.
I will never see a red Hilux and not think of Channing Hunter.
I love my subaru outback (swapped from Hondas). I am surprised that Subaru is not even on their list of top 10, but Mitsubishi is somehow?
I’ll keep my Outback.
Absolutely love the photo. Most famous Toyota Truck in the world.
Yup, had a Camry that went to 300k and was still running great - just shuddering at high speeds and was being driven a lot on the highway so it was finally time to get a new one. We did a trade in deal for a new Camry and somehow the dealer never bothered to actually take the car. We gave it to a family that needed a good running car. It’s probably still tickin’.
Yeah, I will never own anything other than Japanese vehicles. I have a 15 year old Suzuki Bandit motorcycle; its a standard inline four cylinder engine and I expect this thing to run forever.
My impression is that Subarus are notorious for leaking oil. Owners that I’ve known have all complained about leaky main seals.
Reliability isn’t the real victory… that reputation for reliability feeding into resale value is the real winner. If your Toyota gets totaled in a wreck you’ll get a bigger insurance check than any other brand… approaching 75%-80% after 3 years.
With today’s unibody construction meaning that seemingly minor damage gets the car sent to the scrapyard that’s a really important consideration.
A yahoo article? Really? And it’s all just some guy’s opinion?
BoingBoing, have you ever heard of Consumer Reports?
He does sell it as being a bit more involved than that.
I have co-developed a long-term reliability study with statistician Nick Lariviere that now has nearly 700,000 sample trade-ins from all over the country.
My own anecdotal experience falls in line with the results, though. The only vehicle I ever bought new was a 1994 Toyota pickup, which I drove for twelve years before giving to my niece, and it’s still kicking around Alaska with nearly 300,000 miles on its original piston rings, and only its second timing chain. Nothing on that truck has ever broken, though I did replace a couple items (like that timing chain, and water and oil pumps) just because I didn’t want to tempt fate too far past 200,000 miles. Goddamn, was it well-built.
The other high-mileage low-maintenance vehicles I’ve owned were Hondas (two late-70s Accords and an '81 Civic), so I’ve always had an appreciation for them, though I have no idea what modern Hondas are like.
I am somewhat surprised to find that Corvettes are the most reliable Chevys. That is… counterintuitive.
Not once have I had a new car. I’ve only bought long production run cars aged at least ten years so long term reliability is very important to me. Mercedes and Volvo are two makers that are go to brands IMO but I’ve been surprised by other models. The 2005 Sonata from Hyundai is an example of a small brand that can produce something for the long haul. Nothing in the article is even on my radar for possible future purchases.
I’ve had two Nissan Maximas that I just couldn’t kill. The first one had 315,000 miles on it when I sold it. The second Maxima had a whopping 425,000 miles on it. Sold it, too. They both were running great, and never had to have the engines worked on beyond basic maintenance.
Granted I’m from the rust belt and am thus biased, but I’ve grown up in and drive mostly GM and Ford products that only seemed to get killed by other things running into/landing on top of them.
Thanks, I missed that part. Still, a little data would be useful - for example, I drive 2-3 times as many as average mileage. Which cars are particularly good for high annual mileage? Does temperature make a difference? And so on…
Sounds fortunate. I’ve known two Maximas (both '92s, I think, one my brother’s and one belonging to a co-worker) that both suffered Spontaneous Massive Transaxle Failure with no warning at all, within nine months of each other. They both drove perfectly until that one fateful traffic light, and then they wouldn’t move anymore under their own steam. I expect Nissan must have fixed that defect, but it kept me away from Nissans thereafter.
my wife’s beat to hell 84 Sentra was the car that wouldn’t die. She bought it new and put over 200k miles on it and it never needed a single major repair (cosmetically it looked terrible but mechanically sound). It sat untouched in our driveway for over 2 years when we were getting ready to move one day. I got in, fired 'er up and drove it to the new house.
I have a 15 year old Infiniti that I bought brand new and so far have put 289,000 miles on it. I commute 90 miles/day and it still runs perfect. No squeaks, rattles, or vibrations. I’ve gone thru 2 clutches, 3 batteries, 1 set of struts and countless sets of tires. I think the only major thing its needed has been a new radiator.
Seriously, I will not even consider any other brand other than Nissan.
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