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GM transmissions I had one fail at 60K, the rebuild has gone 120K and still going.
Are you saying GM transmissions are not good, referencing the fact teh poster's friend bought a Malibu off a transmission shop that just rebuilt the transmission at 200k miles, and he drove it another 150k to 350k miles total?
Back in the day, my dad and I rented a brand-new Buick Lucerne and I was absolutely appalled when I pressed on the knob for the climate control and my finger went completely through.
Reminds me of what happened at 14:40 in this video.
Not to mention, my grandma's 2006 Cadillac DTS (a Cadillac Lucerne for all intents and purposes) has less room than my 2008 Honda Accord. And the quality's not as good on the Caddy either. My car sells for $30,000 new. The Cadillac is $50,000 new. Thankfully GM got its act together somewhat.
Well, as many of us have already stated, any car sold today--if maintained diligently and if repaired promptly when necessary--has the potential to last for 300k miles, or more. However, a lot has to do with your tolerance for increasing repair costs as these cars age--particularly Mercedes vehicles. The annual cost for maintenance and repair on an old Mercedes can easily exceed the book value of the car.
If you ever had the misfortune to own any of the cars that Toyota and Nissan (Datsun) foisted on the American public when they first began marketing their cars in the US, you would not be so convinced about the superiority of foreign makes. However, over the past few decades, improvements in engine design and in lubricants has made an incredible difference in the durability of all makes, both foreign and domestic.
I'm not a big car guy, but I've owned several cars. Most of which were foreign. I had a Nissan Maxima with over 270,000 miles on it and it drove like a champ.
What do you think? I'm glad that my Toyota Camry (200k) is on the list, although towards the bottom. When that one gives up the ghost, I might go for a Honda Accord or a Lexus (if my income increases enough by then!). I'll pick a lightly used car with 10-20k and hope I can drive it at least 280,000 more!
Yahoo..Toyota!! We drive nothing but Toyota as does my son and his wife. Ours are far from having even 100K on them (I don't go far) but we drive a Highlander - 2002 and a Scion - 2004. We are in love with the Scion, it is a little truck once you put the seats down in the back. I have hauled so much stuff in the Scion, lol. I believe our Highlander has maybe 60K on it. The hubs uses it to go back and forth to work which is only about 12 miles away. Both of these are garaged year round so the bodies on both of them are perfect. GO TOYOTA!! When the Scion gets old and tired, gonna get another one.
Consumer Reports says that Subarus need transmission work at around 150-160 miles already, so I don't know why it's on the list. The Toyota Corollas and Camrys and the Honda Accords are the best. The Accord has safety features the Toyotas don't, so I'd go with the Accord. Plus, both those makes have a drain in the transmission (many other cars don't), so you can drain the transmission fluid and replace it yourself, you never have to pay for a transmission flush. I can also vouch for Saabs. A friend of mine has had one for at least 30 years, has done a lot of long-distance driving (enough to win Saab's 1 million mile prize, or whatever it is, except he's not eligible because he bought it used) and it's still going strong. He hasn't had to do any major work on it.
I would NOT recommend Volvos. There's always some small thing going wrong with them. I had one for awhile, and other Volvo owners I'd run into at the dealership said they're always having to bring theirs in for repairs. Until Ford took over Volvo, the windows would fail to operate after a few years. For an expensive car, these are too problem-prone. The Accords are just as safe (they have a steel bar behind the bumper), and get much better mileage, and have good power, great acceleration.
Like some other people have said: Most cars can make 300k if your throw enough money at them. The question is whether it's worth it or not.
The cars that can make it to the 200ks-300k with little fuss, those are the good reliable machines.
And it's not all mechanical quality, either. Living in the NE, where they salt the roads just for fun, if a vehicle doesn't drain well, it might as well have been designed to explode after 4 years. Salt slush gets trapped in various places and rots the cars like a mid-November pumpkins.
You can really tell the manufactures and realize this and those that don't.
Rotted out wheel arches and rocker panels completely gone after only a few years.
Jeeps, Ford Explorers and Dodges in general seem to be the worst.
I agree, Why does Toyota Prius make the list, surely this model hasn't been around nearly long enough for enough of them to rack up 300k miles for it to seriously to be considered a 300k car.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coldjensens
My son has a 2003 Saturn ION with 208,000 miles and counting. Wh would have thought an $11,000 car would last that long? He may make 300,000. Frankly I do not think I would care for a car with that many miles. It may still run (after various repairs over the years), but the seats will be worn out compacted and uncomfortable. The car will be dirty. The electronics safety equipment, computer controls and there components will be way out of date. Little things will be broken or will break or wear. You get itno my sons car and while nothing is visibly broken you can see this is a car with a LOT of use on it. Labels are worn off buttons, fabric shows wear, carpet is worn, the drive train makes some unusual, but not bothersome noises, the windows go up and down slowly, wipers move slowly and delay slightly before moving. Lots of little things. It is just worn. Even if it makes it to 300,000 I am not sure many people would want it.
Funny Sounds a little like MY 2003 Honda Civic. The carpet is worn down to the metal on the drivers side, I had to get replacement mats for it. The steering wheel plastic is worn badly where I grip the steering wheel. The paint is damaged in spots where I cleaned some stubborn dirt spots WITH a BRILL PAD (not one of my smarter moments). The transmission down shifts and up shifts until it gets warmed up. Anything in my trunk get soaked every time it rains. Just to name a few, issues. Even if it makes it to 300,000k who would want it? I would! My car is 9 years old now with 122k miles, I haven't had a car payment in 7 years and haven't had to dump any significant amount of money into it.
Last edited by TechGromit; 08-05-2012 at 06:59 PM..
I hope mine will as well. 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis....138k and counting
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I had one fail at 60K, the rebuild has gone 120K and still going.
