Question

"Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert" (joshuagilbert)
12/04/2014 at 01:33 • Filed to: None

What are the top ten most reliable cars of the past 25 years? (Including the Volvo 200 series, the LS400 and others)

Which one should I buy right now for commutes to school?

DISCUSSION (13)

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/04/2014 at 01:39

Not really a commuter, but the 1994-1998 Ram 2500/3500 with the 12v Cummins w/ the NV4500 5 speed can go well into the millions on the original engine. Also, the 1994-2003 F-250/350 with the 7.3 Powerstroke can easily go 500k miles.

Sam > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/04/2014 at 01:46

If you truly want something that will never let you down, pick a 1980's/90's Toyota or Honda. My family had a Camry that went 280k miles before it became unreliable.

Kinja'd!!!

JalopJeep > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/04/2014 at 01:48

In the spirit of full disclosure, I drive a Jeep Cherokee. But aside from the 0331 head cracking issue on some '00-'01's, I have to recommend the XJ. The 4.0 is widely regarded as being a phenomenally reliable mill and so long as you find one in a warm weather climate (aka no rust on the unibody or floorboards), they hold up structurally just as well. I've seen pictures of XJs that nailed deer at 40+ and the only repair necessary was finding a replacement front clip from the junkyard. Sure they made TONS of them, but I think reliability is another reason why you see such an abundance of them still on the road today. AW-4 or AX-15 trans. + 4.0 + NP231 t/c+ Chryco 8.25 rear equals one trustworthy, versatile, easy to wrench on DD. Gas mileage isn't the biggest selling point but I've seen people pull 20+ on the highway. Mine is close to rolling over 180k (2000 m/y).

BrownMiataDieselWagon > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/04/2014 at 02:01

2001.5-2006 Jeep Wrangler 4.0 manual

TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/04/2014 at 02:10

Probably something VTEC. An old Accord maybe.

GhostZ > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/04/2014 at 02:12

Depends on what you mean by reliable. "Reliable" is such a vague word.

Here's the factors to consider:

Frequency of repairs - How often a car has to be fixed in some way. Some cars need constant "little" things, and they're not reliable transportation because they spend so much time in the shop or broken down.

Cost of repairs - A car might run for 100,000 miles without a dime spent in repairs, but if it suddenly needs a huge, massive, expensive repair that's more expensive than cumulative little repairs, is it still reliable?

Signs before a repair - Some cars give plenty of warning before a repair is needed, even if it's frequent and expensive, some cars aren't reliable because you don't know when they'll break down.

Likelihood of repairs - Even two cars with similar repair schedules can be vastly different if there's a high probability that your car is a particularly well build examples. Likewise, some cars have a high frequency of lemons, even though the normal-quality car is much better.

Frequency of maintenance - Repairs aside, if a car needs regular maintenance, and frequently, is it "reliable" anymore, even if it doesn't actually "break down"?

Cost of maintenance - Some cars have not much maintenance, but then they have one or two "big ticket" items that might cost more than a bunch of smaller visits.

Availability of parts - A car can be exceedingly good in all aspects, except that it was made obscurely or long enough ago that parts are rarer and rarer to find, meaning that as "reliable" as it is, repairs are going to be more difficult.

Available Conditions of the vehicle - Some vehicles are reliable because a vast majority of them for sale have been treated well. Some are unreliable because most of them have been beaten to hell.

And all of those factors change as a car gains miles . What is the most reliable car from 0 to 200,000 miles is NOT the most reliable car from 200,000 to 400,000 miles, and so on.

Moreoever, none of these factors are predictive, they're merely probabilistic and the margin of error for measurement is extremely wide. There are very few car repairs out there that are certain to occur or not occur when you buy a used car.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/04/2014 at 02:20

You cannot go wrong with a mid 90's camry. There's a guy at my school who drives a '95 or '96 XLE V6. When he wound up driving us to chipotle one day, I glanced at the odometer, and noticed it was sitting at 266,xxx miles. The car still drove like a top!

Hiroku > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/04/2014 at 03:46

That I can remember, in no particular order...

Volvo 200-series and, to a lesser extent, the 700-series (except the PRVs).

Mercedes-Benz W201 190D (most are taxis in Europe running around with 2.000.000km on the clock)

Old Toyota Land Cruisers

70s-80s Toyota Corolla

Every Honda ever made

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/04/2014 at 06:58

Logansteno's Safari.

Thunderface > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/04/2014 at 07:40

You can't kill a Panther...

Nibbles > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/04/2014 at 08:20

Saab Classic 900. If you want pure reliability, go for an NA. If you want reliability with some juice (but turbos die eventually) get a 2.0T. Mine racked up 350,000 miles before I blew the original head gasket due to my own stupidity. If you don't mind routing vacuum lines from time to time, it's hard to go wrong

Any late '80s - mid '90s Toyota

Manual transmission Chrysler products

Chevy Cavalier - yes, it's actually quite reliable and parts are all over the place if something does go wrong

But you should get a 900

fhrblig > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/04/2014 at 10:21

Kinja'd!!!

Hey, you asked. 360k miles and still chugging along. Sure it gets 15-16 mpg but it's hardly ever in the shop, and that's averaging 55k miles per year.

44444444444 > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/06/2014 at 09:29

I drive Volvo V70s so I'm a bit biased.

Are we talking 'reliable' as in change the oil and nothing else ever... or 'long lived with maintenance'

Also, disregard my entire post if you cannot work on the car yourself...

1999-2000 Volvo V70. For several reasons:

1. People hate them because they have an electronic throttle module (it's an issue every 150k miles... buy one off eBay for $80 and swap it). So they are cheap.

2. Decent fuel economy... 24 for the AWD LPT ones, 28 if you pull the driveshaft (automatic trans).

3. No engine issues aside from a poorly designed PCV system that needs replacement every 100k miles.

4. As long as you change the timing belt on time you are set.

5. Can be had with semi-ok AWD (viscous coupling in the rear diff).

6. The 4 speed autobox is almost bulletproof. Do not buy an 01-03 one!

7. Can get in a 5 speed manual!

8. Wagon!

A few things that may turn you off is all of them need a head gasket at 180k miles... And the LCAs/ Spring seat mounts wear prematurely.

There's a guy with like 450k miles on his. I have one with almost 250k miles, and my 04 V70R has 280k miles.

Higher maintenance cost than a redblock but you get a lot more and they do not really rust.