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We have a 2000 Dodge Caravan with 150K miles. Engine is solid, not burning any oil. I have done 20-30K miles ATF+4 change on the transmission and it is still shifting smoothly. At around 100K miles, had some midlife crisis with brakes, fuel pump, radiator, water pump and a bunch of other stuff going bad. I do most of my own work, but had to have some done by the mechanic since it was urgent to get the car back on the road. The roof/hood paint is gone due to the heat, this is despite regular waxing/care. The seats and handling (it is the sport version), are still better than the brand new CUV's we are test driving. I think the car would make it to 200K miles and this is for a car that based on most people's opinion is the poster child for unreliable cars.
Ill agree with on the F250 and 350 trucks
The F250/350 trucks are bullet proof,but that's were they stop.
Although ford has come a long way recently(ford fusion/Escape) they still have bad reputation to try and turn around.
Think ford explore rollovers Firestone and Ford tire controversy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
People drive SUV'S like they are cars thinking that handle like cars & these people are STUPID.
IF you take care of ANY car it's going to last you if you don't then the car is going to break down on you. It's THAT simple.
I have a 00 Mazda with close to 160,000 miles on it & the only thing I have done is kept up on the maintaince put new tires & swapped out the battery on it. Change the oil on time. etc.
Buy a Honda or Toyota. My dad absolutely abused his 1999 Honda Civic, no maintenance, forgetting to change the oil until my brother noticed it was 10,000 miles past due, etc. It still made it past the 200K mark. He couldn't kill it, no matter how hard he tried.
He would probably still be driving it except someone hit him and totaled it.
I had a VW Jetta that started falling apart at 60k miles. I followed the maintenance schedule strictly, but things still broke on it. The air conditioner went out, a couple of the wheel bearings had to be replaced, the glove compartment wouldn't stay shut, the fuse box above the battery fried leaving me stranded on the road, and it developed a coolant leak all between 60k-80k miles. Finally, the transmission died at 120k miles and I got rid of the POS.
I have a friend who owns a Toyota Corolla with over 200k miles and he has only replaced tires, brakes, and the battery.
Maintenance is very important, sure, but some cars are just made poorly.
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That chart does not surprise me. I love how the VW commercials always mention "German engineering." Well, the cars sold in the U.S. are made of subpar materials in Mexico using subpar labor. When you jack up the car and the frame starts bending underneath the jack (I'm not kidding) and the interior paint peels badly after a couple of years, you know it was made very cheaply.
^ These statistical lines don't necessarily tell the whole story either. Some repairs are MUCH cheaper than others.
My son-in-law has an older Saturn that he's had some trouble with. Quite a little trouble, actually. But everything has been weird little cheap stuff, like a cracked ECTS ($12.99), and an IAC Valve that wasn't making good contact ($32.99). You can do a lot of those little repairs for a lot less money than it'd cost to do 1 transmission job.
I drive a paid-for 2004 Explorer with 97K miles. I really like it and wouldn't mind driving it for at least another 50K or more.
I hear people talk about their cars and how they fixed "this, this and this and drove it for a hundred thousand more miles."
I am wondering what are typical 100K-mile repairs, and what can you reasonably expect to do to a Ford Explorer to make it last.
This car has been on several long road trips but we don't plan to do that anymore. Now I mostly drive in a suburban setting in HOT summers and moderate winters.
We recently replaced the rear differential and two hub bearings.
In the past month it is having weird electrical problems that can't be properly diagnosed. While driving, the radio shuts off, the indicators on the gauges drop all at once, and it starts making a high-pitched whine when I accelerate. We replaced the alternator, then it started doing the same thing.
Dealership says it's a bad alternator that is "overcharging" the battery in idle. Local reputable mechanic who installed the (bad) alternator and is diagnosing it today says if he can't figure it out we need to take it to some other place he named that specializes in electrical work, like a neurosurgeon for a car.
In short, we have been having it towed between the dealer and the local mechanic, and I'm getting fed up.
I do not want another car note if I can help it. If this is something that can be diagnosed and repaired, should we keep or just go ahead and trade in?
How do you get a car to the 200K mile mark? You buy ONLY Hondas or Toyotas! End of story.
Or Lincoln Town Cars. Or Ford Crown Victorias. Or Mercury Grand Marquis. Or certain models of '90s Buicks and Oldsmobiles.
Or certain '60s and '70s American cars.
Fortunately, the choice extends beyond cookie-cutter Hondas and Toyotas.
No, sir! The American auto industry's policy of "planned obsolescence" insured that American cars wouldn't get too far past 150 k. miles, if that. American cars were for suckers back then. Still are, as far as I'm concerned.
Friend you are asking the wrong folks if you want specific answers.Best to google up "high millage problems with ford explorer" You will see pages of things people with these cars have faced.
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