Just found out that my current car will die any day now due to a known defect. It’s out of warranty and I have no money to replace it right now.
I’ve been cursed with car problems my whole life, no matter how well I take care of them, I keep getting screwed.
All of the cars have been Fords because I always heard they were generally dependable and cheap to repair/upkeep, but so far they have all failed me.
What cars do y’all recommend? What cars do you have that just won’t give up the ghost no matter how old/beat up they get? If your life depended on your car lasting as long as possible, what car would you drive?
I want whatever car I get next to last me 10-20 years. I want to be that person posting a picture of the odometer hitting 300k miles. I also don’t care much about features, reliability is key.
Don’t trust what people say from their individual stories. You need statistics of hundreds of cars, not single anecdotes. There must be sites that evaluate cars reliability, average spending on repairs and so on, model by model. Find those.
This is good advice in general.
But the answer to this question is extremely well known across the internet and every thread that comes up will eventually boil down to the same two responses: Toyota and Honda as 1 and 1a.
There isn’t some secret answer to find, those are just the answers. People will definitely come up with anecdotes supporting various other cars, but as these threads hit a certain mass of replies they invariably boil down to those two choices.
They are not the flashiest cars, nor the most feature rich, nor the most efficient or most powerful. But if you want to buy a car that will just keep on running after years of minimal maintenance, often even after being abused during that time, a Toyota or Honda is what you should buy.
No not perfect, certainly. And cars are definitely complex, and recalls are a normal and expected component of car ownership for most people. Watch for them, get them rectified.
To be clear though, recalls are sort of outside what we are talking about when we are talking about reliable and long lasting cars. A recall is a known issue that the company addresses. It doesn’t mean the car won’t last.
Toyota and Honda, while they have the normal minor issues any car might have, are absolutely head and shoulders over other makers when it comes to their cars simply lasting longer with less maintenance.
Consumer reports is good for identifying which older models or vehicle have stood the test of time. I’m not sure it’s as useful for newer vehicles since it’s very hard to assess longevity of new models before there is data.
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/ is exactly that!
If you really want a long lasting machine, listen to this person. So much nose in this thread. For example: Subarus, in fact, do not have reputation for being long lasting without major repairs. Most people do not keep a vehicle for 10+ years nor for 300k miles. I have a vehicle that is older than that with 30% more miles. As said above, an anecdote.
Somebody keeps track of the cost of ownership over time. Perhaps a company, maybe a government agency.
Good luck!
The average car age in the EU is 12 years old. Even in richer member states the average is often over 10 years (germany: 10.1, Netherlands: 11.4)
So at least in that part of the world, most people absolutely do keep a vehicle for 10+ years.
Source: https://www.acea.auto/figure/average-age-of-eu-vehicle-fleet-by-country/
The average in the US is 12.5 years old.
I think people’s impression of things is skewed because overall cars are much more reliable than they used to be. When I was a kid a car over 10 years old was something you expected to have issues, and certainly wanted to avoid buying. That’s not the case these days, and the huge numbers of functional older cars on the roads make us not realize just how many old vehicles are out there because they’re normalized.
My car is 15 years old, my wife’s is 9. They’re both perfectly fine and they don’t feel old to us.
Spent 10k on a 2014 Subaru Outback with 120k miles, headgasket leak. First and only owner. Whats even worse is brake error light after spending that much. Carmaxed that junk. I will never ever buy a Subaru. Replaced it with a Honda.
https://www.carcomplaints.com/
Take any site with a grain of salt, but I find they’re usually not too bad for a general idea of what you may be in for.
This one is my favorite and was super helpful last time I was looking for a car. You can see trends year over year in the same generation, so like if the first 2 years of a 4 year run had some chronic issue that was fixed for the last 2, that sticks out.
Can’t go wrong with Honda and Toyota. They are basically tanks that keep running even when you abuse them.
A Corolla or Camry’s lifespan is measured in decades, not years. I occasionally just whisper “oil change” to my Corolla while driving and it makes happy engine noises and just keeps going. They might not be flashy and there’s certainly cars out there with more features but if you’re looking for a car that “just works” and you (almost) can’t kill, get a Toyota.
Honda too I guess although I can’t speak to them specifically.
Fully agree with Toyota and Honda with the exception of the 2019 and other same gen versions of the Honda Civic. There is a known defect with the air conditioning system that causes leaks even after repairs and results in a failed AC system. My brother has been plagued with this issue and unofficially Honda acknowledges it but will fight like hell to pretend it doesn’t exist.
Honda is known for crap AC systems unfortunately. No one wants to really acknowledge it but it’s true. I had mine replaced 3x and it still stopped working. Sold it just because you can’t drive an oven and live.
Just remember, Toyota and Honda may be gold tier for reliability but they still issue recalls too. They’re also overpriced by $5K-$10K because of their reputations.
I don’t see recalls as a problem - they find an issue, they fix it for everyone, for free. The three times my Toyota hybrid was recalled it was back to me the next day, not only washed, but with the interior cleaned as well. They were mainly software fixes I think. The car’s now 12 years old and still bowling along just fine.
2014 and newer Mazdas are good but the infotainment may need replacing or repair on 2014-2018s due to the screen delamination usually from being parked outside. Prior to that, you need to be specific about what model. The engines and transmissions have always been bulletproof so long as they are kept wet, except for the Mazdaspeed and CX-7 turbo needing an oil restrictor.
Suzuki are cheap cars that need cheap fixes and will keep running as long as you keep fluids in them. I’d never buy one unless I couldn’t buy a Honda, Toyota, Mazda, or American V8.
I’m currently driving a company owned Toyota corolla Fielder, with a cool quarter million KMs on the clock, 260-something thousand to be exact.
Toyota have a legendary reputation for reliability, for good reason.
I have had mazadas and toyotas run for decades with zero problems but they are also decades old and may not be reflective of the current quality of the cars. See: BMW and Mercedes. they used to be quality in the 20th century, now they are a bit shit.
+1 for Toyota Corolla
I’ve got -06 model with 225000km (140000mi) on the meter. Outside basic maintenance the only problem it has had was that the ABS timing ring snapped. It cost about 80€ at the local shop to clean the spot and weld it whole again.
