The most surprisingly reliable car...

TrailerBob

Ok, what car have you had that shouldn't have been reliable, but was. Everyone expects a Corolla to be reliable, nobody is shocked when a 20 year old Nissan is still ticking over, but what has surprised you?

*Based on a conversation with a chap who asked about the mileage on my Toyota, and was amazed when I told him 350,000 miles, but I said it's normal, they were built with half a million in the design breif...

Fabio

Alfa Romeo Giulietta

Everyone told me how I'd have huge trouble with this, that, and the other.

It's been perfect.

I know a lad called Scotty who swears by his Toyota Celica.

Smee_Again

Well my Insignia is reliably ****e, but I don’t think that’s what you mean.

micah537

The amount of old Hyundai and Kia's on the road surprise me a little. Also I have never seen a broken down Dacia.


I have no interest in the above cars brands but they seem impressive.


I also see people on boards recommending Renault :eek::eek::eek: I thought the older models were supposed to be crap.

Pablo Escobar

Fabio wrote: »

Alfa Romeo Giulietta

Everyone told me how I'd have huge trouble with this, that, and the other.

It's been perfect.

I had an Alfa 156 for about 5 years and I heard the same from people. It never gave me an ounce of trouble.

_Kaiser_

My 3.0 TDI 2010 A6 is still running strong with 405,000km on the clock - almost 200k of which are mine. No major issues in 4 years and everything in it works perfectly

mfceiling

micah537 wrote: »

I also see people on boards recommending Renault :eek::eek::eek: I thought the older models were supposed to be crap.

I had 3 Renault's and everyone of them were comfortable, reliable and misers on fuel.

Oops!

I know of a 2013 Renault Trafic with 500,000 kms and has never broke down once! Amazed i was!

wonski

I drove 00 reg Scenic for 4 years without any issues at all. Apart from coils. Only got rid because had bought different car.
Very underrated car. With the amount of stuff I moved with the seats out over the years I would probably have to declare to the Revenue as a home moving business.

Renault were not that bad. The newer model and Laguna made them suffer, though.

corks finest

Smee_Again wrote: »

Well my Insignia is reliably ****e, but I don’t think that’s what you mean.

Are they really bad? My brother has one ( cdti) hasn't much money,I warned him ref DPF etc, but his heart was set on it, first decent looking yoke he has bought

nedkelly123

Toyota carina

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v-Ad-tQgcE

Wishbone Ash

Smee_Again wrote: »

Well my Insignia is reliably ****e, but I don’t think that’s what you mean.

corks finest wrote: »

Are they really bad? My brother has one ( cdti) hasn't much money,I warned him ref DPF etc, but his heart was set on it, first decent looking yoke he has bought

Mrs WA had one - it broke her heart.

BonnieSituation

nedkelly123 wrote: »

Toyota carina

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v-Ad-tQgcE

Thete is nothing surprising about that surely?

ba_barabus

My Alfa 159 was great, I really liked it and it only started to get expensive to run after nearly 250k kms of being driven hard.

Weakest points were the suspension and gearbox.

Idleater

Fabio wrote: »

Alfa Romeo Giulietta

Everyone told me how I'd have huge trouble with this, that, and the other.

It's been perfect.

I had the same comments when buying the Alfa mito.

*Sharp intake of breath* turbo petro blah blah.

10 years later not a bother and only traded it in because of new driving requirements, for what appears to be it's Japanese lost sibling - a Mazda 3.

RandomViewer

Had a Daewoo Lanos once, €350 ,got 2 years and 40 k mikes out of it without a whimper

Truckermal

RandomViewer wrote: »

Had a Daewoo Lanos once, €350 ,got 2 years and 40 k mikes out of it without a whimper

Sorry for your troubles...:o

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS!

Hyundai.

Bullet proof.

punisher5112

Skoda Octavia vRS near 200k miles never sat down.

Irishphotodesk

Got my corolla from my parents in 2010, over 310,000km on the clock now (had 50k when I got it), gets serviced twice a year and it's been grand year in year out.

punisher5112

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS! wrote: »

Hyundai.

Bullet proof.

Yeah right

dzsfah2xoynme9

I had a Fiat Stilo which was absolutely bulletproof. No issues whatsoever.

F5500

A cousin of mine had a 2007 Astra van for years, never gave him a moments grief.

Think it was only a 1.2 diesel so in equal parts slow and reliable, it seems.

TrailerBob

Yeah the Alfa responses are interesting, as the reputation precedes them. No surprises about a Carina lads in fairness.

The 1st Gen scenic was quite good I think, my mother had one back about 2002, and it was a comfortable and reliable car, unlike the 2nd gen that she replaced it with. Keep em coming..

RandomViewer

Truckermal wrote: »

Sorry for your troubles...:o

Needed a cheap car at the time, it was grand, old Opel 8valve OHC. 40plus mpg, no rattles or squeaks of any kind,

RandomViewer

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS! wrote: »

Hyundai.

Bullet proof.

Older stuff, Elantra would run forever, later Czech built stuff is poor

RandomViewer

Irishphotodesk wrote: »

Got my corolla from my parents in 2010, over 310,000km on the clock now (had 50k when I got it), gets serviced twice a year and it's been grand year in year out.

Not surprising

BrianD3

I'm never surprised if a car I own is reliable - if I didn't think it would be reliable, I wouldn't have bought it.:D

The car that I've owned that would surprise other people with its reliability would be my Laguna II. Owned from new and never let me down until I retired it at 300k miles. I did have some problems with plug coils, electric windows, rear suspension bushes and tyre pressure sensors. The biggest problem was when the gearbox started to whine after about 250k miles. This may possibly have been due to the diff getting a hard time (wheels constantly spinning and then gripping suddenly) while driving during the great freeze of 2010. My mechanic fitted a gearbox from a scrapyard which cost 250 quid for the part.

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS!

punisher5112 wrote: »

Yeah right

I've had my four year old Hyundai i20 for two years. I service her regularly and look after her.
She sailed through the NCT recently.

I've never even had a blown bulb.

What issues are you referring to?

Philb76

Had a 96 1.1 fiesta years ago was the slowest car i ever had but it was very reliable which surprised me as Ford's from the mid 90s had a dodgy reputation

alias no.9

My old lad had a 1984 Fiat Uno which had somewhere in the region of 350k miles before he upgraded to a 1990 Uno on which he ran up about 250k miles.

The 1984 Uno had rust issues which were sorted under warranty but mechanically it was pretty robust, vague recollection of him having a garage car for a few days once or twice over about 8 years of ownership, one of those would have been when they were sorting the rust.

The 1990 one had no rust issues and I don't think it ever had any issues beyond wear and tear. It would have been a bit heavier than the earlier one but had only 45bhp vs 55bhp and a 4 speed gearbox instead of a 5 speed, it must have been misery doing that kind of miles even compared to the 1984 one, never mind a modern motor.

mickdw

micah537 wrote: »

The amount of old Hyundai and Kia's on the road surprise me a little. Also I have never seen a broken down Dacia.


I have no interest in the above cars brands but they seem impressive.


I also see people on boards recommending Renault :eek::eek::eek: I thought the older models were supposed to be crap.

You have never seen a broken down dacia - me either but ive seen a few go back to dacia for terminal rust after failing nct at 6 years old.

Midnight_EG

The one car I've owned out of 50+ over the last ten years that didn't break anything, not start, or not let me down once was my... Mazda RX8!

Go figure

BonnieSituation

Midnight_EG wrote: »

The one car I've owned out of 50+ over the last ten years that didn't break anything, not start, or not let me down once was my... Mazda RX8!

Go figure

Ha ha.

corks finest

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Mrs WA had one - it broke her heart.

Thanks, afraid my brother could be in for years of strife so, exhaust has already broken off,stereo problem,but mechanically ok so far, beautiful looking motor, leather, reverse camera etc,good on juice

Littlehorny

Neighbors have a 17 year old Renault Scenic which they have donkeys years and is rough as fook. The husband is a real Scrooge but has promised the wife as soon as it fails the NCT they will upgrade.
She was giving out yards about it 6 months ago because it had sailed through the NCT again!

Hellrazer

00 Hyundai Accent--I could not kill that car no matter how hard I tried.
Never done a timing belt on it in 140k - previous ownere never did it either.
Coil pack used to start arcing after every 20-30k so I used to paint epoxy onto where it was arcing and it lasted another 20k.
Airflow sensor used to throw an EML on every few thousand kilometres. Take it off,clean it with egr cleaner and it lasted another few thousand.

It just did not want to die...and believe me with that 1.2 engine in it I abused the crap out of it cos it wouldn't move!!!
I still see it the odd time around - still going.

zilog_jones

TrailerBob wrote: »

Yeah the Alfa responses are interesting, as the reputation precedes them.

They're fine as long as you look after them. Some people seem to take pride in not even doing basic servicing on their Corolla or whatever - something like an Alfa won't take well to that, and you can't take chances with things like timing belts. I bet a lot of people got burned by 156's and the likes mainly because they paid no attention to the service schedule, same goes for cheap Fiats.

I have a friend who's had an Alfa GT for years, and besides the North Cork roads destroying his alloys and wishbones it's been fine.

Miscreant

I had a Daewoo Lanos for a few years and didn't expect much from it reliability wise TBH. It started every time and took me where I needed to go with no fuss or complaint. Only money I had to spend on it was for servicing and maintenance (tyres). I used to see it still on the road for about 10 years after I sold it so it was not all that bad.

ednwireland

i think reliability is down to maintenance, if you fix things generally it doesnt break down. my cars have beencome unreliable when i didnt have the money or time to get stuff fixed. if you keep on top of servicing and fix minor stuff as it goes wrong it leaves you in a much better place .

just a personal opinion

Ash.J.Williams

Smee_Again wrote: »

Well my Insignia is reliably ****e, but I don’t think that’s what you mean.

i've been driving the stones out of mine for years and it's not given me any trouble, and i'd nearly get a another one!

My friend has a fleet of them and the ones that get a good driving don't give any bother but the lesser driven ones do

Cuddlesworth

mickdw wrote: »

You have never seen a broken down dacia - me either but ive seen a few go back to dacia for terminal rust after failing nct at 6 years old.

Seems like it was the earlier models produced in India that had that problem.

An Ri rua

mickdw wrote: »

You have never seen a broken down dacia - me either but ive seen a few go back to dacia for terminal rust after failing nct at 6 years old.

You're thinking of the Dacia Ruster. This is the Duster we're talking about now.

CrankyHaus

ednwireland wrote: »

i think reliability is down to maintenance, if you fix things generally it doesnt break down. my cars have beencome unreliable when i didnt have the money or time to get stuff fixed. if you keep on top of servicing and fix minor stuff as it goes wrong it leaves you in a much better place .

just a personal opinion

Plenty of cars will keep on breaking regardless of the maintenance you do. They're the ones that get the bad rep.

Hellrazer

zilog_jones wrote: »

They're fine as long as you look after them. Some people seem to take pride in not even doing basic servicing on their Corolla or whatever - something like an Alfa won't take well to that, and you can't take chances with things like timing belts. I bet a lot of people got burned by 156's and the likes mainly because they paid no attention to the service schedule, same goes for cheap Fiats.

I have a friend who's had an Alfa GT for years, and besides the North Cork roads destroying his alloys and wishbones it's been fine.

I had a 156 that was owned by Damien in TI autos. The thing was mint and I got a good few years out of it.

The majority of issues with "reliability" is completely down to maintenance.And thats how some models get a bad rep.
Ive worked in Ford,Mitsubishi,Kia,Hyundai,Opel,Honda,Volvo,Citroen, Fiat and Alfa franchises and they all have their models that people assume to be unreliable.... in reality its down to driver attitude.

Believe it or not the drivers that were best at keeping up their services were Fiat drivers. On the button every time. Honda drivers would be similar. And going by that list above the most reliable in my opinion would be Honda,Hyundai,Kia, Fiat/Alfa , Volvo ,Ford, Citroen , Opel.
Based purely on having worked in teh various franchises.

Fabio

Hellrazer wrote: »

I had a 156 that was owned by Damien in TI autos. The thing was mint and I got a good few years out of it.

The majority of issues with "reliability" is completely down to maintenance.And thats how some models get a bad rep.
Ive worked in Ford,Mitsubishi,Kia,Hyundai,Opel,Honda,Volvo,Citroen, Fiat and Alfa franchises and they all have their models that people assume to be unreliable.... in reality its down to driver attitude.

Believe it or not the drivers that were best at keeping up their services were Fiat drivers. On the button every time. Honda drivers would be similar. And going by that list above the most reliable in my opinion would be Honda,Hyundai,Kia, Fiat/Alfa , Volvo ,Ford, Citroen , Opel.
Based purely on having worked in teh various franchises.

I suppose one of our issues, as a country, is that we're pretty poor at maintenance. Look at the roads themselves, no maintenance, no preventative stuff at all.

teediddlyeye

Can't say I've had any car thats been surprisingly reliable. I tend to drive old sh!tboxes that cost pittance to fix/maintain.

Although something interesting that I'd say would surprise a good few people. Go onto donedeal and specify something ridiculous like a min of 300/400k km. There's loads of Toyotas, fords, Volvo's and a few others but I'd say added all together they still don't add up to the amount of VW group cars with mega miles on them.

galwaytt

Renault Scenic x 3, Megane x 1.

All infinitely more reliable than any of the German cars in our stable.

Tazzimus

Oddly enough, my first car, which was a Mk2 Punto.
Took massive abuse (being the first car) and only thing that went was the head gasket, but that's a standard Fiat consumable.

The DC2 took years of abuse before Mondello killed the engine, with about 220,000 miles on it. Then again that's no surprise, 90's Honda's and Toyotas were generally bomb proof.

recyclebin

Renault Fluence. Very basic but reliable.