What cars can last for 300,000 miles? (F150, gaskets, sell, driver)

[ghostrider7811]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

I cannot imagine a Caravan going a million miles. How many trnasmissions? It woudl have to be 18 - 20, maybe more. 300 window motors, 180 brake calipers. 6 wiring harnesses. And what on earth do they do when those strut towers disappear completely? In our experience with them pretty much every single part of the car disintegrates between 150,000 and 170,000 miles. I tried to make a list of the broken stuff on my daughters grand caravan (1997) and stopped after two pages. It had around 170K on it I think.

My 2005 has 148k and I dont think it be falling apart @ 150k to 170k.
I took a cab ( a late model Grand Caravan ) from the Detroit Airport a few months ago, it had 275K on it and was super clean. The driver was driving 90mph on the interstate. I asked, the cabbie said their entire fleet are Chrysler or Dodge mini vans. More back seat room than Crown Vics and hold up as well.
Fleet are the true test of a vehicle's longivity.

My house is on a "rural route" with the USPS. The guy who delivers my mail drives a 1st generation Caravan with over 500K.

I am Pro Caravan, but I know owners that had tons of problems. Also millions were sold, many different engines and transmissions were used.
And as someone stated, the 90s models used crappy evaporators, window regulators, and had speed sensors in the transmissions that had to be replaced often unless the fluid was kept flushed clean every 30k or so.

[ghostrider7811]

Originally Posted by robertpolyglot

Incorrect. The reason why American cars, some, don't hold up is because people don't take care of them or they stumbled into a powertrain combination that wasn't "proven." Don't know how newer American cars will fare, however anything old-world GM will go the distance. I'm talking about engines that a) were fully cast iron (blocks and heads) and b) were used for a long time, because they were that good. Two that come to mind are the 5.7 liter V8 (Oldsmobile version, not others) and the 3.8 liter V6 (since late 80s version).

As for the powertrain, most people ignore transmission service. You need to do that. I did this every 20,000 miles. I got 270,000 + miles out of my last American car, when I was driving about 20,000 miles a year. It was still running strong when I got rid of it. I've known people who were in the over 300,000 mile club on that same platform of cars with the same engine. Let's face it. Most people get rid of a car because the little things, which can be expensive, start going out one after the other. Also, because the cars start looking worn. You can see what the weather does to some American cars (actually, ALL cars) in Quebec and Ontario, Canada.

I have worked @ Import and American Brand dealers for over 30 years. More times than not, the Import Owners takes much better care of their cars. Also the Imports, like Nissan and Toyota had (not sure about the last 5 years) have drain plugs in the axles and automatic transmissions just like an engine drain plug. That is a huge deal!
-Filled for Life, No service interval recommeded, Do not flush fluids...etc.... you will find in many newer vehicles owners manuals.
These fluids should be changed if you plan on keeping the vehicle long term. Some fluid companies even give you life time coverage if you use their fluids.

[ghostrider7811]

Originally Posted by crestliner

No they dont. Ford cant make a motor and tranny that will go that far. Impossible

You are flat wrong. Fleet Managers rely on vehicles that last, that is why cab companies use the Grand Marquis and Crown Vics. Most the Crown Vics already have 100K of hard core police use before the cabbies get them.

[TCAS007]

Originally Posted by ghostrider7811

You are flat wrong. Fleet Managers rely on vehicles that last, that is why cab companies use the Grand Marquis and Crown Vics. Most the Crown Vics already have 100K of hard core police use before the cabbies get them.

And don't forget all of the Lincoln Town cars that are on the roads as stretch limos, hearses or normal sedans.

I love my Lincoln and my previous Crown Vic lasted me 350 000 without major repairs.

But I also had a VOlkswagen Golf TDI with 250 000 miles and no big repairs.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by bentobox34

Here are 10 ideas from ABC Action News:
10 cars that seem to last forever

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!

I researched this question in Consumer Reports before buying an old Toyota Camry, and Camry, Honda Accord & Civic were at the top of the list. Saabs also seem to keep going forever. Older Saturns can be long-lived and reliable, too. I've heard the newer models aren't of the same quality anymore, though. Volkswagens can be good, but only certain years. Check Consumer Reports for the right years.

[onthemove28]

Most modern gasser engines will get you a quarter million miles. Diesels longer. It varies more for trannies but you can usually get about that as well. This is true of nearly all new automobiles short bad luck and lemons.

Thing is, most modern suspensions and other safety-related equipment will not last 200K hard miles in my opinion. Maybe they won't fly apart on you, but it's too close for comfort once you start nearing 200K (generally). Often sooner. As well, safety tech. improvements are significant year after year these days. You're much, much safer in a 2013 Accord than you are a 2003.

As per reliability, as of the 2012 real world engineering : parts: product score, it's almost entirely a matter of branding. Marketing teams know that an emotional response is inevitable for most auto consumers; cars are expensive, and consumers need for self-justification of that purchase is phenomenal. Read any car forum. You will invariably see people who readily admit they "aren't a car person" quoting numbers they don't understand amidst a ferocious, personal argument defending their make/model.

We can now say definitively, for example, that Honda's stereotype of reliability is simply wrong. All the best testing methods we have consistently place Honda as "mediocre" at best in build quality. And yet this stereotype is the reason they are merely teetering instead of bankrupt, which they should be considering the barrage of over-priced mediocrity they have put out for the last 10 years.

People tend to think there is more nuance to vehicles than there is. Parts break. Engineers work for both teams; sometimes at the same time. And it's mostly just a matter of stealing tech. from each other.

Yes, your ball joints might "last" 250K miles without flying off on the highway and throwing you in a ditch. But if you're at that kind of mileage, you're essentially just crossing your fingers that a massive variety of thoroughly worn part hangs on.

IMO

[straight shooter]

Originally Posted by crestliner

No they dont. Ford cant make a motor and tranny that will go that far. Impossible

They can't or they don't want to.

[Riverboat Gambler]

Ones that ran the best quality, most slippery, high tech oil made.
This stuff is so slippery, you can't use it in a new car/engine. You must break the engine in first. I'd put at least 1,000 miles on it before using it. 3,000 would be better to make sure everything is burnished and seated in. The piston rings will not seat with this stuff. You need to do that with cheapo oil. You also make more horsepower and torque with the stuff. It was developed for racing engines and use. In this test...a gain of 8 rear wheel horsepower was made simply by switching. I posted this in another thread and was laughed at that it was only 10 horsepower at the flywheel. That was totally false. If you have 8 HP at the rear wheels...you might have up to 30 at the flywheel. There is a lot of power loss through the drivetrain...(ie) tranny, driveshaft, rearend etc.. This is the best stuff I have found made by far. Even Autozone and Advanced carries it now.



Royal Purple used on an LS1 on "Horse Power TV" - YouTube

[brokencrayola]

There are a few of the cars listed that I would love to have. A number of years ago we had aToyota 4-Runner and sold it with over 200,000 miles on it and regretted later selling it.

[TechGromit]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Was he the dumbest driver ever known to man?

Hey I never said that. I've been miss quoted. I've never driven more than 400 miles in a single day. And never in a Truck.