1st car: 1962 Volkswagen beetle: tendency for front wheels to lift off at 60mph; didn't want to travel outside city limits (shame since I was regularly travelling 400kms to and from University at the time). Lasted 18 months before had to get rid of it due to increasing numbers of superfluous worryign noises. Very loose and random gearshift and no luggage spaces to speak of.
2nd car: 1986 Yugo 45 (a hasty choice) bought in California in 1989 and thrashed hard for 1 and a half months before the carb blew (in Alberta, Canada). Of course Yugo had gone bust in North America at that point but we cannabalised a wreck and drove happily to Las Vegas before the worrying knocking started in the transmission. All night drive to San Diego and sold it back to the dealer for a USD1000 loss to avoid further embarrassment.
3rd: 1979 Honda Civic hatch for NZ$1200 in 1991 (I was deeply poor). Rusted like a Russian tugboat, cracked head, speedo no work, no petrol cap cover. Died in Rotorua, NZ (on honeymoon) and given honourable wrecking.
4: 1988 Mazda 626 GLX hatch: did 150,000 kms and required about GBP200 per year in maintenance to keep it happy. Always losing head and tail lights, mostly through pregnant wife/narrow garage combination. Rattly tappets but that was cosmetic.
5: 1998 Toyota Camry 2.2 auto (the Mazda lasted a good long time). Utterly reliable and a bore to drive. Now augmented with 1996 306 XSI which has non-functional boot light, a shimmy when high speed braking, uneven front tyre wear, but is very entertaining to drive.
So, Camry very reliable, and Civic (albeit very early and lived a hard life) the least likely to get an honourable mention.
A
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To take a different slant I've cast a quick eye over my customer database on the PC.
Least reliable: Any of three Renaults, two Espaces and a Laguna. Failures include alternator, air-con, radiator fans and their relays, immobilisers, heater matrix, suspension bushes, shock absorbers, heater blower fans, drop-links, c/locking, elec window sitches, broken picnic tables (Espaces) etc etc.
Most reliable: A 1996 Xantia I've seen since new. In 6 years it has only needed three tyres and a set of brake pads above normal servicing. Now it has just one easily cureable fault with an indicator relay that needs replacing....that's all.
I haven't picked the Xantia as the best because I'm on a Xantia promotion day, just because it has really been the best. Interestingly the owners had a very specific remit when they bought it. They'd just had an £8K windfall and wanted a new car but knew over its life they would have minimal further income to run/repair it. For that reason I advised them to get this base model Xantia that doesn't even have c/locking, elec windows, ABS, engine ECU or a sunroof. What they did get was that superb ride, room for the family and excellent economy from the 1.9TD... without the potential liability of the bits that can go wrong.
MM
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Most reliable: 94M Honda Accord 2.3i SR - 80k faultless miles, no problems whatsoever, and still driving like new when p-exed. Not abused, and always serviced on time, but hardly pampered either. Superb engine, much better than the V-TEC unit in my current car... Perceived build quality (eg: paintwork) superior to replacement model...
00W Honda Accord 2.0i VTEC - 27k so far, utterly reliable, obviously, but not as flawless as expected; engine pinks intermittently, despite dealer denials, and lacquer topcoat seems on the thin side, and prone to scratching. On the other hand, it drives with a relentless efficiency which suggests it'll outlast global oil supplies, which I'm quite happy for it do in someone else's hands. Will be disposed of for a car featuring something called `torque` in the near future.
87D Ford Fiesta 1.1LX - Ah, the joys of beige paintwork, brown interior, four speeds and the oh-so-distinctive clatter of the stone age engine. Steering felt only tenuously connected to the front wheels, crashy ride, but a good little car. Went round the clock without problems, regularly ferrying me 200 miles to uni and back, and halted in its tracks only by an unfairly positioned hedge. Great Ford reliability - never failed to start or broke down, and the only problems were due to skimped servicing by the previous owner.
Least Reliable: 90H Ford Escort 1.3LX - I deserved far more problems than I actually got with this one, buying as I did with the absolute minimum of research, discernment or simple taste. Horrible old CVH engine got rougher and more rattly by the day, despite regular oil changes, suspension components and wheel bearings needed replacing at relatively low mileage (which did nothing for the dire ride or scrabbly handling). Real poverty spec, but the only 'toy' (central locking) failed. Never actually broke down, which didn't lessen my guilt in selling it to an innocent looking student.
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Just had to stick this one in here (as it were).
As my beloved Xsara (?) has once again gone into yet another period of electrical eccentricity I have finally decided, after nearly 3 years and many garage trips, that I have had enough of its foibles. Someone else can cope with its French petulance. Sorry, MiddleMan, but it's had every chance. It's a shame, because it did have a lot going for it, despite what others on this site have said about Citroens/Xsaras. I still like the quirkiness of the Cits, but mine had one quirk too many.
Now, I have searched the above posts frantically to see if its replacement appears, preferably under the Most category. (It's not a Citroen!) It doesn't. Well, time will tell. Can we repeat this thread in about 6 months....
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>>As my beloved Xsara....electrical eccentricity....after nearly 3 years....had enough of its foibles....French petulance. Sorry, MiddleMan, but it's had every chance....shame....did have a lot going for it....like the quirkiness of the Cits....mine had one quirk too many.
Carole,
Keeping a very careful eye on the logins then ;-)
You never gave up in the face of adversity, ideal Citroen owner material. I can't blame you for an honourable retirement though if the thing absolutely took the mick out of you.
With my contacts I do hear more grumbles about glitches on the tech side of later Xsaras than the sometimes more simple earlier ZXs.
We've just bought a one pensioner owner, 9yr old ZX TD for SWMBO for the price of a telly, with just over 100K recorded no reason why that shouldn't go round the same again. The "electronics free" diesels keep going on and on, yours was a petrol wasn't it.
What about the other Citroen/s on the fleet?
You can keep your new car a secret for a while....but I just hope it wasn't a Renault!
MM
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MiddleMan - I'm actually quite sad about getting shut, belive it or not ...especially as, like you say, I'd been very patient with the damn thing and I think I'll always have a soft spot for Citroens. (Besides, it helped me make lots of new friends at the garage!) But enogh is indeed enough.
The new one is not a Renault...not even French. Tell you one day what it is (but perhaps not if I've made a big mistake and bought another lemon! Couldn't stand the humiliation!)
C
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Least reliable was an Iranian Paykan (Hillman Hunter built under license in Iran)........... The radiator lost all its water 4 times, and on arrival the sump was virtually empty of oil.
You've just brought back happy memories! I was responsible for the development (done in the UK) of the cooling system. The spec was operation in a 50degC ambient temperature ~ continous max speed, continous max torque in 3rd, or continous idling ~ without boiling. A lot of the car was sent CKD to Iran, but there was some locally-made content. And, of course, assembly was carried out in Iran. Sorry to hear you got a bad one.
--
L'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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