Proven 200,000 mile cars What been your experience? (alarm, van, brakes)
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Well you can do all that but still have a problematic car because I don't know of any maintenance that can prevent a CV joint, AC compressor or electrical system from failing. And some cars have these issues more than others and there's not much you can do to prevent that.
Yeah, like Electrician4you mentioned further up the thread, even with doing regular maintenance "religiously" you can still end up with random issues like defects that just happen, even on the most reliable models of cars, you just never know.
I guess one way of looking at it, if you don't do routine maintenance, you might have some major issues (that were preventable) in addition to the random issues that could be just bad luck.
I bought my Honda Civic, new, back in 2004, it currently has 168,500 miles, hoping to hit 200,000 miles in 2 and a half years, maybe near the end of 2020(?), have also driven it across the country twice, most recently in 2015.
One of the first things I notice about the highmileclub is that you have to get to 500k before you even rate "noob" status. Not to mention 200k.
I wanted to comment on two things. First - the above - "any car". Second - CR bashing.
First: even 30 years ago getting a car to last over 100-150k was highly exceptional. Because of the high quality of the Japanese cars, the whole industry has come a LONG way. Today, that "almost any car" is almost true. It IS true that some brands will do it with much less major maintenance.
However, I don't expect that we will ever see a Pinto, or a Soviet era Lada, or a Yugo, with 200k, much less 500k. And post-Beetle VW's will also be rare, I think, to see in a high mile club.
American trucks have done better for a long time - if maintained. Somebody mentioned a turbo Honda - I would suspect anything with a turbo would be less likely to make it to high mileage.
Anyway, my point is you can say "almost any car" today - but in saying that you are pushing the truth, and ignoring what the market was like even 23 years ago, when my Camry rolled off the assembly line. Between rust making maintenance senseless, and general parts fatigue and wear making maintenance prohibitive, most autos then would be hard put to make it to 200. My '78 Accord is a good example - and it was a high quality machine in that day. It died as a result of body rust making it unsafe. Despite regular maintenance at less than mfr-recommended intervals, both the engine and tranny had to be replaced to make it to 200. My Camry, OTOH, is still on the original engine. The Camry had much better rust protection OEM. And apparently better engine tolerances in the mfr process as well.
Second: Bashing CR for this article is senseless and irrational. The data came from a car-user survey. It wasn't cherry-picked by the editorial staff. It wasn't massaged by the editorial staff. It wasn't manipulated or misrepresented - it was just USER data driving the results.
My last car was an Infiniti I took to 180K miles. Pretty reliable, but towards the end was starting to nickle and dime me.
I did routine maintenance on that car like clockwork, and as a result, that powertrain was pristine in terms of how it ran and drove. It was the other little odds and ends that deflated my attitude towards the car.
Bushings, leather trim, switches, exhaust rusting (from living in the salt belt) rear calipers seizing (from living in salt belt) and the damn thing ate wheel bearings.
So while it started up every single time and got me to work, keeping it in a great state of condition was costing me too much money/time. I could have just let things go and drove it into the ground, but I take pride in my vehicles and if a switch fails, i'll order a new one to replace it...even if it's $400 for that one switch.
I'm at the point in my life where I'd rather be golfing on a Sat morning, and not spending my free time fixing an older car. I don't see myself keeping a car to 200K miles any more.
Yeah, like Electrician4you mentioned further up the thread, even with doing regular maintenance "religiously" you can still end up with random issues like defects that just happen, even on the most reliable models of cars, you just never know.
I guess one way of looking at it, if you don't do routine maintenance, you might have some major issues (that were preventable) in addition to the random issues that could be just bad luck.
I bought my Honda Civic, new, back in 2004, it currently has 168,500 miles, hoping to hit 200,000 miles in 2 and a half years, maybe near the end of 2020(?), have also driven it across the country twice, most recently in 2015.
No doubt maintenance is crucial, but it's not the only factor as some would lead you to believe. Buying specific brands increase your chances, that should be very obvious. And those brands are known and they don't include Chrysler or Renault. I'll add Ford Trucks to the list.
No doubt maintenance is crucial, but it's not the only factor as some would lead you to believe. Buying specific brands increase your chances, that should be very obvious. And those brands are known and they don't include Chrysler or Renault. I'll add Ford Trucks to the list.
Agreed, I guess one way of "covering your butt", would be to buy one of those models with a good reputation/reliability and do all the routine maintenance, so you have that 95%+ it is going to last. Of course there might be that 1/1000 Toyota/Honda that even with all that routine maintenance, has some crazy issues, but you're right it always better to start off with a car that is known to last long!
I've asked this question before: Just what does "good maintenance" mean exactly? Changing the fluids as recommended? Look for problems and fix them before they turn into bigger problems? Wash salt out from underneath your car?
Well you can do all that but still have a problematic car because I don't know of any maintenance that can prevent a CV joint, AC compressor or electrical system from failing. And some cars have these issues more than others and there's not much you can do to prevent that.
That's why I tend to disagree that it's all about maintenance.
A big chunk of it is how you drive the car. A car that does 100 miles of highway driving per day is going to fare much better than a city car in the road salt and pothole belt. I certainly had all kinds of front suspension issues on heavy SUVs. 100,000 miles of pot holes tends to break things.
I was kind of surprised to see the F-150 on that list. You'd think a large, heavy vehicle would wear more than a smaller sedan.
2004 Toyota Sienna that we bought new that year, just turned 200,000 miles. ZERO problems inside the engine or transmission.
Air conditioner relay went out with 106,000 miles. An ignition coil died with 162,000 miles on it. Front lower swing arm bushings wore out at 170,000. Starter motor went bye-bye at 190,000.
I'd buy another. Or just keep this one for the next 200,000 miles.
But one major problem: The radio antenna doesn't pick up distant stations as well as some others I've seen. Time to junk the car, I guess.
A big chunk of it is how you drive the car. A car that does 100 miles of highway driving per day is going to fare much better than a city car in the road salt and pothole belt. I certainly had all kinds of front suspension issues on heavy SUVs. 100,000 miles of pot holes tends to break things.
I was kind of surprised to see the F-150 on that list. You'd think a large, heavy vehicle would wear more than a smaller sedan.
Yeah I should have been more clear in my follow up post. I meant add Ford trucks to the list of reliable long lasting vehicles. They are amazing but then again all trucks are built to last, some just do more than others. Toyota of course but also Fords.
And of course how you and where you drive matters big time. We live in a rural area, most of my driving is there or highways. But I can't remember the last time I put the pedal on the floor on any of my vehicles. I try to take it easy on them.
I've asked this question before: Just what does "good maintenance" mean exactly? Changing the fluids as recommended? Look for problems and fix them before they turn into bigger problems? Wash salt out from underneath your car?
Well you can do all that but still have a problematic car because I don't know of any maintenance that can prevent a CV joint, AC compressor or electrical system from failing. And some cars have these issues more than others and there's not much you can do to prevent that.
That's why I tend to disagree that it's all about maintenance.
Following your owners manual for scheduled maintenance Have the car inspected periodically for belts hoses brakes shocks wear. Align the car if a tire wears badly. Those are common wear items. That what maintenance is. And there is preventative maintenance. Checking the common systems on your car. Are the pads getting worn. Get new pads instead of waiting till they eat through the rotor now you gotta pay more to change rotors too rather than new pads and turn8ng rotors.
Maintenance isn’t going to prevent everything from breaking. You’re right. But changing fluids gets rid of suspended contaminants that CAN break a part that wouldn’t normally break. Say not changing your oil. After a while oil will solidify because of the contaminants heat etc and start causing problems with oil flow. Which will destroy a engine. I had to replace a valve cover gasket on my Kia. 120,000 miles. The gasket hardened up over time and oil sweeps past it running on the manifold and burning up. $8 and 1/2 hour later I had no leaks. And when I looked at the valvetrain other than the brown surface haze there was no deposits and nothing looked worn on the cams lifters etc.
When I hear someone say I never had to do anything to my cars they are either lying or I would never buy that car. No car, I don’t care if Jesus himself came down and tightened every bolt is going to be perfect never have a issue. It just doesn’t work that way. Reliabilit6 is simply a measure of how much something works without breaking over a given period. Lexus which is one of the most reliable vehicles ever made are still going in the service shop for breakdown issues.
lots of cars get sent to the 3rd world after they have exhausted their life here, and i am pretty sure they give another 100k miles there lol
i have seen cars falling apart and still working. people just macgyver a way to keep those cars running even when the doors are almost falling off.
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