Just curious what people's thoughts these days are on best make/models for long term reliability. The Japanese automakers dominated this perception for a long time, wondering if it's changed for anyone or any real world experiences.
Vehicle reliability - best make/models?
- Thread starter simply1
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I have been looking at used Toyota Tacoma's and holy crap are they proud of them.
I would get a subscription to consumer reports; they're pretty good at determining reliability.
My son is still tooling around in my wife's 2001 Toyota Echo. He's 6'4", 230 and looks a bit like the grape ape in that thing lol.
Regardless of your choice, you’ll certainly make the right decision. Speaking of which, we’ve been trying to contact you concerning the extended warranty on your upcoming vehicle purchase...
I was going to get a used Taco for my last truck. A new one had a lower payment for anything with less than 75k miles. I ended up getting a new one. It’s 5 years old now with about 58k on the odometer and the trade in value is about $8000 less than I paid for it.
Every auto manufacturer makes very reliable cars anymore. The biggest things are:
- Don't buy anything that is new or significantly refreshed for that model year. First year production will have the lowest reliability (though its still usually quite good).
- All the extra creature comforts are more likely to break as you pour on the miles. Some things wear out based on age more than miles so a low mileage but old car isn't always guaranteed to be better than a similar mileage newer car.
I always remind myself of this whenever somebody complains quality-of-life or incomes have not increased since the 1970s or some other such malarkey. Yeah, cars cost the same amount in "real" terms as they did in previous decades, but what you get now for the same $$$ in terms of performance, efficiency, reliability, and safety...
...is just night and day. Cars nowadays are so much better than even the ones my parents had in the 90s.
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I've been happy with my 2019 Honda Insight. Good mileage (50+ summer, low 40s winter with snow tires) and extremely reliable. Oil changes happen every 10K+ miles. Bigger than a Civic, but not as big as the Accord. Excellent sized trunk for a hybrid.
Yeah, Tacos are notoriously high value. I know that's earned to a degree, but have to wonder...
I have to say I had an Insight shortly after they came out and I really hated it. The AC turned off at stop, it was brutal in the summer commuting home. Otherwise it wasn't a bad car I suppose
We really love our 2018 Toyota Camry, beats the hell out of our 2013 Ford Fusion. After that experience I will never purchase another Ford made car.
currently I would say the Koreans.. they are making damn fine vehicles. Toyota is resting on it's laurels currently, and most of their models are either dated or underperforming in segment.
consumer reports is honestly horrible. they rate a small hiccup/defect in the infotainment system the same as a engine failure in vehicles.. anyone who is even somewhat into the car scene laughs at the yearly rag they put out.
Are you talking about the first gen Insight?I have to say I had an Insight shortly after they came out and I really hated it. The AC turned off at stop, it was brutal in the summer commuting home. Otherwise it wasn't a bad car I suppose
The new ones are a completely different beast.
parents previous 2013 Escape was horrible.. the thing would randomly lose all power and die on the side of the road on them.. even happened at Karl's as they were trading it in on an Equinox.