Are japanese cars the most reliable

maxfresh

Havin a few problems with my motor at the moment (its french :mad: ) and was talking to a mechanic and he recommended toyota as a reliable car, is this the case that the japanese cars are the most reliable.

gustafo

maxfresh wrote: »

Havin a few problems with my motor at the moment (its french :mad: ) and was talking to a mechanic and he recommended toyota as a reliable car, is this the case that the japanese cars are the most reliable.

yes i would agree you would find it hard to beat a jap car.

ottostreet

ALL cars have to be maintained. Some just need to be maintained more than others. Toyota from the 90s-early 00s would be reliable, provided they have been maintained correctly, and you do the same.

V Eight

generally speaking yes they are more reliable but you can be unlucky with any car including a Jap...

Ardennes1944

What otto said.

Not wanting to sound smart but generally all cars, except ,maybe modern diesels, are reliable once the owner keeps well inside the maufacturers servicing intervals and knows that if they are driving a car that may need more attention than others, and gives it that attention.
Yes a jap car will probably require less servicing etc. than say an alfa, but both could be exactly the same reliabilty wise.

ottostreet

But, despite what we've just said, Renault Lagunas & Meganes are rubbish.

Ardennes1944

ottostreet wrote: »

But, despite what we've just said, Renault Lagunas & Meganes are rubbish.

Well, up to the megane facelift in 06 anyway! And maybe 206s

Seth Brundle

http://www.which.co.uk/news/2011/03/top-10-reliable-car-manufacturers-247619/
http://www.reliabilityindex.com/top-100

ottostreet

Ardennes1944 wrote: »

Well, up to the megane facelift in 06 anyway! And maybe 206s

Yeah, basically Renaults normal range of cars from around 2000. Rubbish. Apart from that, everything else is great.

Ardennes1944

We had a 2004 megane, and in fairness it was reliable for the year we had it but jesus did it confuse the fcuk out of my dad

maxfresh

Well i have a citroen with hydrolic suspension that failed and it seems just over complicated , ive learned my lesson

bazz26

Upto the end of the 1990s Jap cars were the last word in reliability. Unfortunately that is not the case these days especially among Japanese cars sold here that are built outside of Japan which is almost 80% of them at present. Alot of the European brands are now as reliable as Jap cars, the Koreans have also caught up and are overtaking them.

If your main priority in car ownership is reliability then I recommend you look at a Kia or Hyundai which have long warranties these days.

If you are spending less than a grand on something ancient go Jap, if you are spending a decent wad on something modern just buy what tickles your fancy really as the gap has narrowed in reliability terms. There are a few cars that require more maintenance than others but horror stories are not uncommon on most modern cars.

As bazz26 suggested the more comprehensive and lengthy warranties are perhaps the way to go.

maxfresh

maxfresh wrote: »

Well i have a citroen with hydrolic suspension that failed and it seems just over complicated , ive learned my lesson

It's a fairly straightforward system, a friend has a C5 with the guts of 200k miles up on it and he just had a suspension issue where one side of the back of the car went rock solid, dunno the ins and outs of it but presumably one of the spheres wasn't behaving or something, 'twas sorted anyway at small enough cost.

maxfresh

RoverJames wrote: »

It's a fairly straightforward system, a friend has a C5 with the guts of 200k miles up on it and he just had a suspension issue where one side of the back of the car went rock solid, dunno the ins and outs of it but presumably one of the spheres wasn't behaving or something, 'twas sorted anyway at small enough cost.

In mine it leaked so its sittin on the deck and no power steering cause it uses the same fluid, have to get it to garage.

Esel

maxfresh wrote: »

In mine it leaked so its sittin on the deck and no power steering cause it uses the same fluid, have to get it to garage.

Have you investigated getting a mechanic to do the job in situ (i.e. where the car is now)?

Guy:Incognito

maxfresh wrote: »

In mine it leaked so its sittin on the deck and no power steering cause it uses the same fluid, have to get it to garage.

If you decide to get rid, can i have first refusal?

RICARDO1982

In my opinion Japanese cars are better designed. They are less likely to go wrong as they tend not to overcomplicate the engineering. Honda I have found to be to most reliable in all the cars i have had,Toyota and mitsubishi are great too.Also the quality of the metals and plastics used is better and less likely to break

pajo1981

Check out the FN50 or the ADAC - surveys based on actual statistics and not just car mag readers' opinions. It's quite a mix, tbh.

Mycroft H

maxfresh wrote: »

Well i have a citroen with hydrolic suspension that failed and it seems just over complicated , ive learned my lesson

The hydropneumatic system is not in any way complicated, its just that people ignorant of the fact that it needs routine maintenance.


People think its a fit and forget system like springs and shocks which are pretty maintenance free until something goes wrong.

_Conrad_

BX 19 wrote: »

The hydropneumatic system is not in any way complicated, its just that people ignorant of the fact that it needs routine maintenance.


People think its a fit and forget system like springs and shocks which are pretty maintenance free until something goes wrong.

That is very true. A local farmer here has a C5 with something just over huge miles on it that myself and the father sold him in 2004 and in fairness to him he looked after it and it's never had difficulty with the suspension. His last two cars were citroens that he got from us also. a 94 xantia and a 99 one. My father also had a couple of high mileage xantias and a C5 that were all looked after properly and had no unexpected issues. I took over the C5 for a bit myself and also has a 95 turbo diesel xantia. One of the few french cars I like, those and the XM and BX.

Though back to the japanese reliability thing, a 90s corolla, starlet or carina, while massively boring and bland, have to be some of the most hassle free cars ever. The amount of them that i've seen put up with awful abuse and almost no servicing or repairs and still keep going every day is ridiculous. Keep one well looked after and it's even better. But i don't have the same confidence in the majority of the 00s onward stuff, they all started getting too complicated for their own good.

The first two primeras seem to do pretty well but they havn't got the same build quality or toughness as a carina II or carina E.

maxfresh

Thinking when i get the c5 fixed up,get rid and get something like a civic ,corolla or almera the tax would be a good bit cheaper

mondeo

Jap cars from my experience are the most reliable, I had strings of old Hondas and Mitsubishi in the late 90's and 2000's and never had any hassle. If I wanted an old cheap car today it would be jap end of! I was a car sales man in the early to mid 2000's and never had any real Hassle with people coming back to the dealership with jap cars.

si_guru

I still think the Carina E is the best british car ever made.. Really.

DanWall

Did you not hear about the Toyota VVTi engines. They have a design fault for years up to mid 2005. They have a piston problem that causes them to burn oil after about 60,000 mile. Toyota have a warranty on them but the conditions are strict

unkel

RoverJames wrote: »

the gap has narrowed in reliability terms

This is very true, but a lot of people don't know it

The difference between the most reliable and the least reliable car in the market is that the first has average of 0 breakdowns in 5 years and the latter has 1 breakdown in 5 years...

A bit silly to make a decision only on that difference in number of breakdowns tbh

Nissan doctor

IMO its Japanese built cars that are the most reliable. The majority of the Japanese brands we get here now are assembled in Europe using parts sourced in Europe.

MugMugs

Nissan doctor wrote: »

IMO its Japanese built cars that are the most reliable. The majority of the Japanese brands we get here now are assembled in Europe using parts sourced in Europe.

Which I think has become their demise tbh.

Nissan doctor

MugMugs wrote: »

Which I think has become their demise tbh.

100%. And Nissan confounded the problem even further with their 'alliance':rolleyes:

SeanW

MugMugs wrote: »

Which I think has become their demise tbh.

I wouldn't agree with that, my Toyota Avensis (my first car) was built in the U.K. (I think) and it's as good as all the Toyotas that my mother drove. Though some of the parts may have been made in Japan (the flap covering the fuel tank has "diesel" in both English and Japanese.

Guy:Incognito

Nissan doctor wrote: »

100%. And Nissan confounded the problem even further with their 'alliance':rolleyes:

Maybe they should have just gone bankrupt instead?

Reliability is not the be all and end all of cars. If it was we'd all be driving the exact same car. The percieved reliability of a car or brand I'm buying has never interested me. I buy the cars I like and so far, I havnt gone wrong.

Nissan doctor

SeanW wrote: »

I wouldn't agree with that, my Toyota Avensis (my first car) was built in the U.K. (I think) and it's as good as all the Toyotas that my mother drove. Though some of the parts may have been made in Japan (the flap covering the fuel tank has "diesel" in both English and Japanese.

Many of the mid to late 90's and early 00's Toyota and Nissan models were initially only assembled in the UK using parts shipped from Japan.

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Maybe they should have just gone bankrupt instead?

I never said that the alliance didn't keep Nissan Europe from going under, but there is no question that its has seriously compromised their reliable reputation gained from the Japanese built and pre alliance days.

no1beemerfan

I have a 1997 Laguna and a 1998 Micra.
I've had a few problems with the laguna but thats because its high milage (almost 200k miles). The biggest problem was sorting out a non-start issue which turned out to be wiring from the crankshaft sensor to the ECU.
The micra, everything on the car is original except the battery which is the only time it gave trouble (dead battery!) Its low milage and in the last 7 years its only done 45/50k kms.

VolvoMan

Nissan doctor wrote: »

I never said that the alliance didn't keep Nissan Europe from going under, but there is no question that its has seriously compromised their reliable reputation gained from the Japanese built and pre alliance days.

Indeed.

I'm even starting to see Qashqai's with the same wonky indicator faults that you usually find on Renaults.

unkel

Nissan doctor wrote: »

I never said that the alliance didn't keep Nissan Europe from going under

Nissan Europe? Lose the Nissan blinkers dude

Nissan worldwide was posting massive losses and had nothing to offer by the late 90s. All the models had come to the end of their lives and the company was about to die within months, without the capital injection from Renault

A far worse party could have taken over Nissan and you would now be called something like Datsun Nissan Chevrolet Doctor

zilog_jones

maxfresh wrote: »

In mine it leaked so its sittin on the deck and no power steering cause it uses the same fluid, have to get it to garage.

Just curious - did you follow the service schedule for the hydropneumatic suspension? I believe it is every 200,000 km or 5 years...

TBH if I was looking at a new car I'd go for a C5 over any Japanese equivalent. Nissan and Mitsubishi don't even have equivalents any more, for starters...

Nissan doctor

unkel wrote: »

A far worse party could have taken over Nissan and you would now be called something like Datsun Nissan Chevrolet Doctor

Has a nice ring to it:P

Guy:Incognito

VolvoMan wrote: »

I'm even starting to see Qashqai's with the same wonky indicator faults that you usually find on Renaults.

Taking out the cheap halfords bulb and replacing it with a decent branded one (bosch iirc) fixed that issue on the missus Scenic I a few years back. I had stupidly gone straight to changing the bulb holder before checking the simple fix