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So you're saying cars NEVER prematurely break down if maintained properly?
Transmissions have NEVER given up even when maintained and serviced regularly?
I'm not saying that at all. But a premature breakdown, something related to a parts or manufacturing defect rather than abuse or lack of maintenance, can occur at any point in the vehicle's life. To be honest, a premature failure is much more likely to happen at 50,000 miles than 150,000 miles.
That is amazing! You never had to do an engine rebuild or replace the transmission in all that time?
Boy, I really picked the wrong GM product if your car lasted that long without any major repairs. Instead of a Chevy, I should've bought a Saturn.
That '84 Cavalier I listed went 400K. I put just under 300 on it and the guy who bought got another 120. No engine or transmission work, just maintenance. It did go through exhaust systems. Replaced the struts at about 200. Other than that just brakes, tires, etc. It did need a water pump at one point and a wiper motor and a couple random switches.
I've only driven a couple cars past 150K (both purchased new) -- a 2000 F250 diesel and an '88 Saab 9000 Turbo.
The last few years I drove the F250 was a nightmare, as I was driving it about 30K miles per year. Each of those years required between $8K and $10K in repairs. The most major was a clutch, but it seemed that little ($1000-$1500) repairs were routine at a semi-monthly rate. In the final (3rd) year of costly repairs, I gave up and traded it before spending more, as i'd postponed one $4K repair for a month when another unrelated one ($3K) popped up. I decided it just wasn't worth trying to milk any more miles out of it and reluctantly traded it 2.5 years ago. Obviously, this one was NOT the winner.
That leaves the Saab as my winner. It was fairly trouble free. For the first 170K miles or so the biggest problem seemed to be alternators, as I had to replace a handful past 100K miles. One went out on a January trip across SD when it was -30F with a windchill of around -60F. Luckily I was fairly close to Chamberlain and had cell reception, so what could have been a life-threatening event was averted. It still stranded us in Chamberlain for nearly a week, as all roads were closed due to the blizzard and the closest alternator had to come from Canada.
In the end I had to replace much of the AC ($2K or so), and shortly thereafter it developed a leak in the heater core or piping, which would have required the dash coming out to repair it. ($$$$$$) At that point my wife insisted it wasn't worth further repairs. I loved that car, but she was right. It still looked new and drove great, but it wasn't worth spending more money on it. I traded it at around 180K miles and 12 years. It remained local and I saw it a decade later. I peeked inside to see the interior was falling apart. That saddened me. It deserved a better ending.
Look at the way most people drive when we are on our morning or evening commute. Those people who are swerving in and out of lanes, drag racing at the green light, and testing out the braking power at a red light. What do you think that does to automotive components? Specifically the transmission since that's one of the most expensive parts to replace.
Most cars, even the American and GERMAN cars (which are often hated on here due to those Dave Ramsey types) will last a good bit, if treated properly.
Yeah I don't get the notion that American cars are worse than Japanese cars and unreliable, it all depends on the make and model, just like with everything, you have your good ones and bad ones.
Personally, the best car, the most reliable and long lasting vehicle without any major issues has been my 94 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. It currently has 195,000 miles on it, and it still runs very smooth owning it for 8 years. All the electronics still work on it, and the body of the car has held up extremely well. Just general maintenance and a few repairs here and there, but for the most part the car has been bulletproof.
My moms 98 Honda Accord V6 has been generally reliable too at 186,000 miles. The transmission was rebuilt, and the timing belt serviced, but again, no serious issues with the car, and all the electronics still work. Her 94 Accord was the same, very reliable and never any serious problems.
It's very true that preventive maintenance is key for a healthy long lasting car/truck, but unfortunately most people, especially woman, never ever get their cars serviced or do anything to them until something breaks.
Not even oil changes, this is why the automakers add all these service reminders lights on the dash to get people to change their oil, or check their tire pressures since the general public is lazy and doesn't want to do anything to their cars.
Us car guys never have to worry about that kind of stuff thank god, but the vast majority of people I talk to, think of a car as just some "device" that gets them from work to the store, and back home. And not as a mechanical/electrical machine that needs TLC so it can keep doing it's job for it's owner a long long time.
I have a 1993 Nissan Hardbody pickup with over 200,000 miles. Besides batteries, tires, and only one brake job, I have only had to replace the radiator, the starter, the windshield washer motor, and the little rubber bumper mounted on the brake pedal that works the brake light switch. I have never even had to add freon to the very much used air conditioner.
I had a Toyota Tercel that had 180,000 miles on it when I traded it in for a new Corolla in 2005. Besides tires and batteries, it needed a water pump, timing belt replacemnt and a new air conditioner receiver/dryer. It had R-12 freon from the factory and at the time of the work for the receiver/dryer, I converted it to R 134A freon.
I never had a Detroit 3 car that went to 100,000 miles without more problems and repairs totalling more than the car was worth.
Nissan isn't as good as it used to be, so the only two makes I consider now are Toyota and Subaru. I just bought a 2017 Corolla and I expect it to last until I don't drive anymore.
I could counter this statement very easily with my own experiences.
My best vehicles:
1988 GMC Sonoma - over 250k miles when sold. Replaced a window track guide and fixed a leaky valve cover.
1988 Honda Prelude Si - over 300k miles when sold. Replaced the timing belt once.
1991 Ford Ranger - over 300k miles when sold. Replaced the clutch and starter one time.
1998 GMC 1500 - over 270k miles when sold. Replaced a fuel pump twice.
2003 F150 Lariat (5.4L) - over 210k miles when sold. Replaced coil packs once at 130k miles.
2003 F150 FX4 (5.4L) - over 190k miles when sold. Replaced coil packs and alternator.
2005 Expedition (5.4L) - over 140k miles when we traded in for a new 2014 Venza for my wife. Replaced coil packs once, and one injector.
My worst vehicles:
2003 Audi A4 - 103k miles when sold. Between 75k-103k miles I replaced coolant neck, oil dipstick tube (all cheap and brittle plastic), had to get the engine cleaned from sludge buildup (despite proper oil change procedures), timing belt, water pump, fuel pump, repaired the entire vacuum system (more of those cheap plastic parts), all 4 window regulators (twice), and replaced the sunroof switch.
2008 Camry Sport - 138k miles when sold. Engine would consume oil at the rate of 2 quarts per 5k miles. Toyota told us that was common in the 2.4L engine in those cars.
2014 Toyota Venza - Bought brand new. By 10k miles, the panoramic roof literally shattered and fell onto the headliner from chassis flex. Driver seat back welds broke, windshield split in half (chassis flex), and the dome lights fell out of the roof. By 33k miles, we traded it in.
My dad has owned just about everything and most of his vehicles (Big 3) have gone well past the 300k mile mark with very minimal work if any. He has a construction company and his trucks see a lot of abuse. But none ever left him stranded.
His best one was a 1993 F150 that he bought with 2 miles on it. He put close to 330k miles on it before he sold it. In that time he had the fuel transfer switch (dual tanks) go out, and a valve cover gasket leak. Nothing else.
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And not as a mechanical/electrical machine that needs TLC so it can keep doing it's job for it's owner a long long time.
