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Who makes the most reliable new cars?

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Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#901

Post by jeffrallen »

hintymad wrote: post #181

Toyota is amazing for making reliable cars but writing truly shitty code. IIRC, a lawsuit a few years ago about Toyota's faulty brake system revealed that Toyota engineers cramped tens of thousands of lines in a single file and the lines freely update hundreds of global variables. It's also interesting that Japanese companies follow ISO this and CMM that yet they develop slowly and produce shitty software services ev…

NTSB says unintended acceleration was not electronic: https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/us-department-t...

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#902

Post by BluePen7 »

kjkjadksj wrote: post #733
SkyPuncher wrote: post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW, the computers don’t tend to break. The things that do break are essentially the same as they were 20 years ago. The bells and whistles are mostly for creatures comfort. The mechanical components haven’t changed much. The only thing that I couldn’t fix on my own in my 2020 vs my 2006 was re-alignment of lane keep system after replacing the windshield.

Sounds like someone has never had to replace a wiring harness or deal with electrical “gremlins.” Also a lot of parts are just really terribly made these days. I had a 2000 car that was already succombing to modern plastic everything crap philosophy. Basically all the motors controlling the windows or power door locks were shot or close to shot. The internal gearing was all plastic and had gone brittle. The fix? Take…

Depends on how well the wiring is done in the first place.

I am an enthusiast of the entire reliability spectrum of vehicle brands.

There are people on Range Rover forums wondering why their infotainment doesn't work half the time in their brand new SUV, meanwhile when I goggled why my windshield wipers wouldn't turn off in my 97 Tacoma, I found a thread that suggested a wire would wear through in 200-300k miles (which was my mileage).

I owned a BMW 325i that was full of gremlins, then owned the competing Lexus IS350 (with far more features), to double the age and mileage without 1/10th of the issues.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#903

Post by BluePen7 »

BeetleB wrote: post #618
zeusk wrote: post #497

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My 2001 BMW with electronic throttle and fuel injection is doing just fine, the weakest point is plastic in the engine bay gets brittle and starts rotting (especially around coolant system).

Ah, but probably a single repair on that BMW will be more expensive than 5 years of repairs on my Corolla.

As a BMW owner, I actually found the repair pricing quite comparable. Maybe not quite to a Corolla, but it was to a Lexus.

If anything the Lexus was a bit more, due to how common BMW specialist shops are, while there's none for Lexus.

The issue for me was the frequency of the repairs, 5 years of Lexus ownership cost me less than any 3-4 month period of BMW ownership over the 2 years I owned it.

I suppose I can only compare 2-3 repairs, cause the other dozen repairs for the BMW simply didn't break on the Lexus, nor did it spring any of oil leaks my BMW was famed for.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#904

Post by alistairSH »

koliber wrote: post #695
vondur wrote: post #453

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People drive horrible now. Running lights, crazy lane changes, excessive speeding etc. Here in the US is started during the pandemic and hasn’t improved.

I noticed that too, but I am questioning myself. I’m wondering how much other people’s driving has gotten worse, vs me getting older, more defensive and risk averse, and noticing such driving. If I look back to my 20s, I was not an exemplary driver.

Another anecdote, but the number of times I think "wow, that guy ran that yellow really late!!!" increased massively over the last four years.

The number of drivers using the bike lane outside my house to make illegal passes has also increased. As has the amount of tailgating and excessive use of horns on the same road.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#905

Post by BluePen7 »

lightedman wrote: post #469
A_D_E_P_T wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah. I honestly don't know if I'd trade my 2006 Saab 9-3 Aero for a 2023 anything. No trouble, no nonsense, it's fast enough, it doesn't nag at me if I drive around the block without my seatbelt, and minor repairs are rarely more than $100. A few years back, I had a late model Mercedes GLS, and the damn thing was in the shop almost every other month, and each time it was at least $300-400. Mostly it was electronic c…

"minor repairs are rarely more than $100" 2005 9-3 Linear here. I wish minor repairs were that cheap. Wait until you need your water pump replaced ;) Get ready to squick hard at the required labor charges (water pump is integral to the engine IIRC, requiring the engine to be pulled.) Right now I need new spark plugs, injectors, and a turbo replaced, and a grounding strap issue somewhere I haven't been able to isolate…

That's the difference, he's doing his own work. Hell, around here the minimum labour charge is already more than $100.

As someone who owned a Saabaru, many 4 figure shop quotes become a weekend and <$100 in parts. Just depends on if you have the time and space to DIY.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#906

Post by ajmurmann »

tayo42 wrote: post #708
ajmurmann wrote: post #681

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this something that's happening because of something Japanese people are doing or because of the perception of Japanese culture where foreigners like Japanese words and thus don't translate it?

To me names of things are like pronouns, why would you change it? Feels weird to me. Though I guess it's weird we didn't do that a lot of Chinese dishes. Soup dumplings instead of Xiao long bao. Idk how to even properly pronounce that.

The "X" in general is like a "chi" with a lisp.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#907

Post by BluePen7 »

rascul wrote: post #877
m463 wrote: post #590

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only argument I can find against old pickup trucks would be lack of safety equipment. even with expensive gas.

Crappy fuel mileage except for some of the small trucks. Can be a bit dangerous on slick roads with no weight in the back. Easy to hit things and people while turning if you're not used to the size, and even if you are. Parts can be more expensive than one might think.

> Parts can be more expensive than one might think.

Couldn't agree more, due to their added size maintaining/operating a Silverado 1500 was similar to maintaining my Lexus. Reliable enough, but bigger tires, brakes, rotors, more fuel, etc.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#908

Post by episiarch »

throwaway914 wrote: post #777
vondur wrote: post #453

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People drive horrible now. Running lights, crazy lane changes, excessive speeding etc. Here in the US is started during the pandemic and hasn’t improved.

My counterpoint to this is there have always been a ton of bad drivers. The most important skill to have is to be a predictable driver. Bad drivers will always exist. You cannot change them, and the great number of them is not likely to drop to 0 overnight. The best thing you can do is drive in a way that even bad drivers expect. Be a speed-limited, blinker-indicating, cautious log in the river. They will parkour aro…

Use of signals is the single most important consideration in my opinion. Other drivers cannot read your mind. Using signals protects you.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#909

Post by collyw »

rightbyte wrote: post #832
collyw wrote: post #825

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

That can't be causuality? Probably people that don't take vaccines are more reckless overall. 'Of course, skipping a COVID vaccine does not mean that someone will get into a car crash. Instead, the authors theorize that people who resist public health recommendations might also “neglect basic road safety guidelines.”'

More reckless by refusing a rushed product using a novel technology never before approved for human use?

https://openvaers.com/covid-data

The whole thing is junk science.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#910

Post by _yb2s »

Dah00n wrote: post #720
_yb2s wrote: post #404

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just don't like any model of Japanese cars... they don't drive, look, or feel as good as a high end European car. But man do I wish European cars were half as reliable as Japanese cars. Driving European cars is a hobby for me, but spending every weekend to keep them working gets old sometimes. What's especially annoying is that the high end European cars are ostensibly better made... much more expensive materials,…

Looking at how big a problem with rust Mercedes have I'm not sure the "better rust proofing" is based in reality. Definitely doubt it when compared to a Toyota.

Mercedes are not, but many high end European cars dip galvanize the entire chassis, making them virtually rustproof. Volvo started doing this on the 700 series in the 80s and those cars are still driving around in the rust belt fully functional 40 years later! VW, Audi, and Porsche also fully galvanized a lot of cars, but you need to research to figure out what specific years and models.

Mercedes was a global leader in quality until about the early 90s, but the quality really dropped off, and is markedly lower than other German cars nowadays. Drive and inspect an expensive early 2000s Mercedes, and then a cheap VW Jetta from the same time period… there is no doubt about it, the cheap VW is a higher quality car in every way. Every bolt and fastener is high grade steel, plated with a corrosion preventative , and then also coated with threadlocker that also protects from corrosion. VW then cut quality also around 2011 or so.

So it’s not really cut and dry, you have to look at how each specific car was actually made.

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