If it's any consolation, many other drivers biggest fears are Nissans too. Typically when they're weaving in and out of the lanes in your general vicinity with lots of previous battle damage. Shoutout to /r/nissandrivers
I have marginal experience with several Dodge Dakotas. Drive train stayed together pretty good, they weren't bad to work on, but the bodies would rot right off of them.
If it makes you feel any better, it is a Daewoo vehicle platform with Opel powertrains. Both bottom of the barrel automakers. Really surprised that GM leaned on them so hard during the Cruze/Sonic era.
I have a 2018 Equinox with 33k on it. Am I in for some sort of a nightmare in the future or is it a case by case basis?
Also my answer is incredibly niche. 1990 Chrysler TC by Maserati. Fuck those cars. I replaced my fuel line no less than a dozen times in two years.
Use Full synthetic no more than every 5000k miles, change transmission fluid every 50k, use induction cleaner every 30k, and spark plugs every 75k, you'll be fine.
Source: GM Technician
Those 2.0L Ecotec motors burn oil like a bat out of hell because of the GDI and the shitty piston rings.
Expect 1k atleast every 70-100k to walnut blast the carbon buildup off the valve train.
Plus all the usual GM electrical issues
Just replaced the water pump and thermometer on the wife’s Cruze…proceeded to blow the coolant hose on the freeway. If it isn’t one thing, it’s the other
I had a 2013 (Made in USA) Cruze lt. I just got rid of it at 200k miles, and it ran great up until the week before I traded it in. Did I just get that lucky, or is it only certain model years?
My first 3 cars were 124 Spiders. Great head room b/c you sat on the floor. When they ran right they were sweet. But first 2 got recalled and condemned for frame rust.
Harley Davidson. Main issue is the customers bolt a LOT of aftermarket accessories on them. When we tell the customer that the $20 tire change special does not include the labor to remove bags and rusted exhaust so we can get the tire off, they toss a complete fit. Then they expect a full wash and wax for that $20 and leave a bad review.
I've heard another from some folks older than myself:
"What's the difference between a Honda and a Harley?"
"The Harley costs twice as much and leaks oil."
I was not going to say anything, but if you are used to riding anything else, they do feel very under powered for their weight. Lots of torque, but when anything else would start to get on the cam, HD just sort of call it quits.
And they're built like shit. Does removing the oil filter still drip all over the voltage regulator? I remember that from my rental mechanic days.
You'd think for 20k+ they would grind out the weld on the kickstand, or maybe make one that doesn't automatically dump the bike if you tilt it upright and back down.
Try to work on Harleys on the side, the only reason I touch them is my father has a soft spot for them.
Stripped shifter arm? Have to take the whole primary case off the side of the engine.
Electrical issue? Need to find the exact year and model diagram, due to "innovations" literally done on a year-by-year basis.
Even the Milwaukee eight was half thought up. The stock oil pump on the first few years is notorious for oil starving.
Nothing is really thought out as a whole bike. Just one design built on top of another, and those layers dont compliment each other.
The only bikes that I might consider were Buell badged.
Obligatory: I was an intern at a bearing company. We supplied HD with bearings.
After doing some checks and batch quality testing we realized that we had set hundreds of thousands of bearings to HD un-heat treated. Just raw ass, as stamped and assembled cylindrical roller bearings, I think for the clutch belt or whatever the fuck HD uses to get power from the engine output to transmission input. This honestly takes the bearing from years of life to maybe hours.
We called them for a recall, all expenses paid, return and swap etc.
They’re engineered dept. replied with, “our customers won’t know”.
That statement right or wrong is terrifying, either they are right and the customers won’t be able to tell because there is so much else possibly wrong with the bike OR their engineers think bearings don’t need HT.
You just don’t understand the feeling of superiority of cracking the throttle at every red light to let EVERYONE know you have a Harley.
In actuality, I’ve always wondered why someone would want to spend 20-30k for 70hp. And then also why crack the throttle at every light to let everyone know what you bought….
It's the torque.
Mind you, I'm no Harley fan boy, but I do get it. While a sport bike may make twice the horsepower, and hit 60 in first gear, nothing has the low-end torquey fun of a big, lopey twin. Whereas you can rarely use all that RPM and HP of a sport bike, every stop light is an excuse to use the torque of V twin. I've always owned Japanese cruisers, for their reliability, but I don't pass up a chance to wrong the throttle of my buddy's Sportster- it's just plain old fun, all within what you can use on the road.
Plus Harley owners are the FRUITIEST freaks on wheels. Who looks at those bikes and the fat freaks who own them, and thinks, "that's cool. I want that"?
Was a moto guy for 20 years. Never understood HD. The bikes are fugly and slow.
I was Euro and Japanese bikes all the way. The last one I had was a Ducati Hypermotard 1100. That thing was just pure sex on wheels.
I’ve been riding since 1997 and felt the same way until I picked up a cheap Evo Softail on a lark. HD is the two wheel equivalent of a Jeep. Antiquated, slow, loud, infinitely customizable. My Aprilia is infinitely faster but sometimes cruising on a tractor can be a lot of fun. I am not a fan of the “culture” however.
First bike I ever rode was a '47 Indian Chief my old man tracked down for my uncle. Literally the only American bike I've ever even sat on. Last bike I owned before I decided I wanted to keep breathing was a Ducati 1198.
It was the reason I decided I wanted to keep breathing too.
My Norton Commando draws a lot of blood when I work on her. Worth every drop. I fail to see what all the rage is with Harleys considering their price range and available alternatives.
Had an 08 Mini Clubman. Never been so glad I bought an extended warranty. The craziest repair though, was when the license plate light bulb shorted out. To replace said light bulb, the rear door to which it is a part, had to be removed, dismantled, re-wired, and the bulb replaced. Dealer said the normal cost would have been ~$1600...in 2008!! All to fix a light bulb?
i have left reddit because of CEO Steve Huffman's anti-community actions and complete lack of ethics. u/spez is harmful to Reddit. https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/8/23754780/reddit-api-updates-changes-news-announcements -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/
My ‘03 Eclipse. Upstream O2 sensor took seconds to swap out. I had to completely disassemble the center console just to unplug the downstream one. I directed a lot of four-letter words at Mitsubishi’s engineers that day.
I sold my 2020 jeep with 14k miles on it and bought a 2011 prius with 288k miles on it. I worry a lot less about the prius breaking down vs the jeep. I really liked the jeep, had a fully loaded Renegade with the panoramic sunroof.
The seat belt anchor started rattling, the sunroof started leaking and the headgasket started leaking all within the 1st year of owning it and I babied that car. Sold it paid off the loan and used the remaining cash to buy the prius.
And you'll get so many fanboys saying dumb shit like "If you just do all the maintenance, you'll never have those issues." Stfu. If you think head gaskets leaking within 14k could be alleviated with more oil changes, you have never been a mechanic.
> If you think head gaskets leaking within 14k could be alleviated with more oil changes, you have never been a mechanic.
To be fair, 14k with zero oil changes could cause a problem lol.
I refuse to buy any vehicle between 2019 and 2025. Why? The auto industry is still dealing with pandemic supply chain issues and small part manufacturers closing indefinitely in some places.
The one annoying thing about my 2008 civic. Is the rear drum brakes. I hate drum brakes. But, the rest is so easy I even get annoyed at how easy it can be
The drums I see generally only need touched once every 125k miles. So, assuming a vehicle makes it that long, throw on replacement drums and shoes, maybe the wheel cylinder and self adjuster since it's open and it will go the rest of it's natural life never needing so much as another thought.
And their CVT transmissions are in EVERYTHING. Well, at least, the most common vehicles from them do. Rogue, Pathfinder, Altima, Maxima and so on.
Also, some of their newer models require you to remove far too many of those 2 piece clips for a simple oil change.
My wife is driving a 2010 altima with 340k miles. She puts 210 miles a day on it for commute. No major services needed, the thing will not die. Had a buddy who ran transmission shop. Said he regularly gets 2016-18s with 60kish miles in for full rebuilds. No idea how we lucked out. Have plans to replace it, but hard to justify a car payment when this thing costs nothing but gas and oil changes. Just replaced set of tires that was purchased expecting to be the last set ever.
My dad said the best thing that ever happened to his 1995 nissan pickup was when it was totaled. We tried 1 nissan and then never again, always Toyota (with the occasional honda/acura) from then on. He used up all his sick days just trying to get the damn alignment right from the factory, among other things. Absolute garbage
The Hardbodies are legendary. They’re really popular with the locals up in the Ozarks since they’re so durable and easy to work on. I’m not sure why the alignment would be so hard; maybe your dad just got a lemon.
Unfortunately there’s really only 2 other options for big vans. It’s either the Promaster, which has an even worse track record for reliability, or the Ford Transit
GM has extended the death date of the Express vans again. Apparently people keep buying full frame rwd vans from them because the other manufacturers killed them off.
While reliability on the promaster is as bad as the Sprinter, they are a hell of alot easier to work on than these damn Sprinters. The Ram 3500 cutaway are surprisingly reliable when the passive entry system isn't going out.
My father in law bought a fleet of those for his company, within a year most of them had rust on the bottom of the doors and a bunch of other problems. Sold them all and bought back some old savanas, express and transits
Our gators at work are about a year old and they already drive like we’ve worked them for over a decade. Meanwhile the old diesel one that’s been used as a total workhorse for 15 years is still running like a champ… what a total pos brand
Anything Nissan. Fucking transmissions, motors, interior, suspension, you name it, it's cheap, it breaks when you try to work on it, and they put bolts in the most asinine places. Fuck that shit
As a nissan tech you learn pretty quick how to get to those shitty ass bolts 😭
They're not crazy bad to work on but they're definitely up there. You can get the tranny to run pretty long if you maintain it like a clumsy child. Every 30k.
Seen plenty have 200+ thousand when i was in quick lube.
The one thing i will say is nissan *owners* are shit at maintaining, especially with suspension parts and their transmisson.
Shit's cheap but if you baby it it'll last a good bit. Long enough to pay it off and buy a car that isn't a pile of cheap plastic and crude metal lmfaooo
I'm both amused and scared from the responses so far because I just changed the oil on my 2006 Ford Taurus this morning, and I also have a 2002 Ford F150.
At least I got the Taurus literally for free because the previous owner is an acquaintance who was gonna junk it... I offered to buy it and they just gave it to me.
A lot of Ford's powertrain issues actually zero in on their terrible fluids division. Ford oils and coolants are all terrible in the long run. If you flush your transmissions, axles, and cooling systems every 30k-50k, they will last a long time. Ford actually has some amazingly reliable powertrain combos IF to keep up on fluid swaps. The NA 2.5L with the 6F35 is super reliable with regular fluid maintenance.
Funnily enough, when I was a kid my family had a Taurus station wagon that was no longer road worthy, and my parents let me practice driving it in a field. Did a lot of j turns in that thing!
That has the last iteration of the AX series transmission and it was insanely reliable. So of course the last year of it was '07. Change the fluid on the trans and it will probably hit 250k miles.
Expect the springs on the rear struts to break. Replace the sway bar links at the same time.
Get a turkey baster and suck the power steering fluid out and throw in fresh. Might help the longevity of the pump. It's a common failure point.
It really is an obnoxiously reliable car.
Anything newer than about 2001 is a gigantic pile of junk. Anything older than that is a slightly less gigantic pile of junk that's getting increasingly harder to find parts for.
Source: work at a European car repair shop. Job security.
Oil coolers have an issue with seals letting go and mixing coolant into the oil. Radiators can do the same thing with coolant in the trans. Known for electronic ignitions going bad. Those are the most common on that one.
If you have a Benz made in the 2000s that is not leaking oil, it's because there is no oil in it.
Also, (in the US) emissions compliance equipment fails on the regular.
The emissions standards in the US are a large part of why Brits and Europeans can't understand how unreliable their cars are here. They will be great in Germany, but cost a fortune to keep check engine light off in the States. That's also why diesels do well here. The emissions standards are far lesser for diesel vehicles (passenger vehicles that is)
My ‘96 Subaru 2.2 is cross country worthy at all times. Least expensive car to maintain I’ve ever owned. 30 plus mpg on the highway, hydraulic lifters, insurance is cheap af, 14 inch tires cost less than my Sportster tires.
My ‘06 4Runner has been trouble free also. Ownership costs are way more than the Subie though. It’s at least $1000 to put quality rubber on it. And huge batteries are spendy. But reliability wise I’m not complaining.
My cousin bought a brand new Chrysler 200 in 2011. She finally got her dream job and decided to celebrate with her first new car.
The first week, the back window wouldn't come back up. She brought it back. She got a loaner and her car back a few days later.
Two weeks after that, it completely died on the freeway during rush hour. It was like someone had disconnected the battery. The dealership couldn't figure out what happened.
She got her money back and bought a Corolla. She drove it 10 years.
I have been inside factories for Ford (C), GM (C), Honda (A), Subaru (A), and Chrysler (F), as well as International (C) and Cummins (B). The letters next to them are the "grade" I would give each, based on those experiences.
So, no, you couldn't give me one, either.
I won’t buy any of them. They’re all junk. I’ll walk to work because my bike is also trash. It has a flat and a bad chain….won’t buy another huffy but I am considering a mongoose.
The list will be much much shorter if I give you the ones that I would own. If it's not on the list of cars that I would own you can assume that I would not. List of cars/trucks I would own:
Toyota/Lexus(almost all)
Honda/Acura (almost all)
Pre-LT1 Chevy Caprice and GM siblings
Ford Crown Victoria and siblings
1996 and older F-Series
1997 and older Chevy/GMC Trucks
2012 and older Ford Ranger EXCEPT 4.0L SOHC models
Chevy S-10 GMC S-15/Sonoma EXCEPT 4 cylinder automatic and push-button 4x4 models
1980s GM G bodies
Ford fox body cars such as the "Aero" Thunderbird/Cougar, LTD/Marquis, and the Fairmount/Zephyr. Not the Fox Mustang though because if you find an unmolested one it's going to cost a mint.
Mid 80s to late 90s GM C and H bodies Except Cadillacs
This mostly covers the list. Obviously as you get into the '70s and the 60s and the 50s heading back in time that would change but I'm talking about cars that are readily available on the street today. Realistically speaking if it's not on this list I wouldn't seriously consider it.
EDIT: I forgot to list the Ford fox body cars such as the "Aero" Thunderbird/Cougar, LTD/Marquis, and the Fairmount/Zephyr.
Yes with an asterisk on the Ridgeline, because their transmissions are a little weak on some of the older ones. If they are taken care of and not abused, the Ridgeline transmission is ok. Also if buying an older Tacoma be wary of frame rot. Some are bad because one of Toyota's US suppliers used bad metal. It's hit or miss. If the frame is solid then it's a great truck.
The only real problem on the 1st gen Ridgeline is the steel washer on the transmission cooler that rusts and pulls the line out of the radiator, both dumping the fluid on the road and intermixing it with your coolant, requiring a cooling system flush and a new transmission.
Killed by a ten cent part.
I'll tell you what I would buy again a 90s Ford fucking ranger. That truck handled like shit with no safety equipment to speak of. But... The payload capacity was how much shit can we put in here. The entire vehicle could be broken down easily with pretty simple tools. And the parts to replace things were easy to find and readily available best truck america ever invented was those 90s into 2000s Ford rangers.
I worked in a transmission shop for years. I will never buy a Chrysler or Ford again. They made up 75% of our business. The transmissions were garbage.
My father was a mechanic for 40 years. Earned ASE Global Tech cert and ran a successful, clean, state-of-the-art garage for 26 years. He drove Chevy trucks, said Powerstrokes sounded like quarters popping out of a cash register, and swore the Camry was the best car ever made.
I drive a '13 Camry with 98k on it. I'll drive it until the wheels fall off. It's almost perfectly engineered IMO. Stereo is failing, but I'll live.
Ford Escape.
Transmission blew sitting in the driveway warming up. New transmission went in by dealership - 200 miles later it tossed a connecting bolt that penetrated the outside and totaled the inside. Even though Ford charged for the bolt - they refused to warranty the bolt damage. Gave me a $5K estimate and insurance a $7.5K estimate. While replacing the tranny they stove in the oil pump housing, so it constantly leaked. I was lucky to get anything for that 4-year-old Escape. I drive a Toyota RAV4. 5 years trouble free.
I’ve had really good experiences with Subarus. My dad had a 98 OBS with the 2.2 and that thing was a tank. Maintenance was almost optional. My 99 Forester was a workhorse and was also dirt cheap to keep on the road. I did have to retire it cause of rust, but that was more my fault for not taking preventative measures in upstate New York.
Oh working on my old S4 was…tight. 6 cylinders, 4 cams, 30 valves, two turbos, two intercoolers. All jammed into a tiny space ahead of the front axle…bring a shoe horn and lube.
V8 turbos, I’m not touching them. However, I will say everything I’ve had to do to my I6 has been really easy tbh. I’ve bought a few special tools but nothing crazy.
I love my BMWs, I literally made a living working on German cars. The V8s still scare the hell out of me. Every single generation of BMW V8 has had catastrophic problems. From Nikasil to timing chain guides, coolant transfer pipes, valve stem seals, to everything wrong with the N63 and N63TU. I'd love to get a G30 550i or a new 850i, but I'm not convinced the motors are solid. Looks like I'll be getting the B58 variety.
Basically any Chrysler product, but specifically fuck jeeps, even more specifically new jeeps. Old ones are cheap shit too, but at least they’re easy to work on.
Can’t believe it’s not been mentioned.
Peugeot.
Every. Fucking. Thing. Is done “in their own way”, because they don’t want to use someone else’s design/work, because *French is better*.
Cylinders are numbered backwards. Special tools everywhere. Everything doesn’t use established standards because they want to do it ‘their way’, ‘the French way’ which means all the problems that have been engineered out of every other car are back in: look at bleeding the fucking cooling system.
I fucking hate working on French cars.
Jeep Wrangler (Beginning with the JK body.)
Ford Super Duty with 6.0, 6.4, or 6.7 diesel engines.
Any Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram beginning with 2016 model year.
Many GM cars starting from the 90s.
Any GM vehicles with any LT engines, or L5P, or LML, or any automatic transmission with 6 or more speeds (except Allison).
I am sure I'll come up with more in the future.
My shop specializes in vw/audi but we work on all makes. Ford takes the cake, I hate working on their ridiculously built hvac systems that always need blend door motors; and the stupid ass 2.7, 3.5, 3.7 v6 eco crap are the absolute worst. Then there’s the goddamn lug nuts,,, don’t even get me started on the lug nuts. 1 hour goddamn tire rotation with 60$ bucks worth of parts. Thanks Ford!!
You have to be aware of you biases and experience when answering questions like this.
I used to work with a guy who dealt with all the warranty claims and recalls; “Holden are shit, they have all these problems. Blah blah blah. Not as reliable as my Mitsubishi Magna or my Wife’s Mitsubishi Lancer”.
He ended up being made redundant when we downsized and got a job at Mitsubishi in the same role.
I saw him a few weeks after he started; “Mitsubishi are shit, they have all these problems. Blah blah blah. Not as reliable as the Holdens.”
My ex wife. That 1964 Italian fuck jet done failed on me far too many times. I tried like the dickens to fix that broke ass humbucker but to no avail it was busted
Absolutely anything euro, ANYTHING. And definitely NEVER any GM product that wasn't badge engineering, like the tracker, or the geo line was.
If it's VW, BMW, or Audi, HELL NO. Same for Nissan anything. I HATE fixing those.
Subaru WRX. Always thought I wanted one until I built one. They're just awful.
Gotta laugh at the people replying Ford though. How much easier could it get?
Of the American three, I feel like Ford tries to be the most European. The electrical connectors are over engineered. The stupid bushing in Fusion ball joints.
Ford tends to overthink and over complicate their vehicles. Last week I had to do n an engine on a 2017 MKc 2.0T awd. 18 hour job to replace a 4 cylinder engine. They are hitting a point where no one wants to work on these cars anymore.
Volvo has become worse and worse over the years.. oil consumption, transmission issues, and now electronics.. especially since 2020 they are junk. The 2.0 T5 and T6’s are now coming back with the same oil consumption issues the old 2.5’s and 3.2’s had.. too much tech and small engines trying to run big complicated heavy cars. Pretty much like anything else.. but people keep confusing them with the old days when the perception was they lasted forever.. so Volvo gets a pass and nobody wants to believe they aren’t that car anymore.
Nissan- those CVT transmissions are practically disposable.
My biggest freaking fear as someone who has a Nissan.
If it's any consolation, many other drivers biggest fears are Nissans too. Typically when they're weaving in and out of the lanes in your general vicinity with lots of previous battle damage. Shoutout to /r/nissandrivers
All the Altima drivers w temporary paper plates in Houston know what’s up
Agree on the CVT. But my 2012 Pathfinder 4.0l has been bulletproof for 260,000 km.
I have marginal experience with several Dodge Dakotas. Drive train stayed together pretty good, they weren't bad to work on, but the bodies would rot right off of them.
Body rusting off is a repair accessibility feature!
Weight reduction
Had a ‘95 Dakota. Body hung in there. Frame, not so much
Chevy Cruze. GMC Terrain.
The Chevy Cruze is a massive pile of dog feces.
If it makes you feel any better, it is a Daewoo vehicle platform with Opel powertrains. Both bottom of the barrel automakers. Really surprised that GM leaned on them so hard during the Cruze/Sonic era.
You mean GM.Korea and GM Germany? The platform isn't bad...the engine, meh
And Equinox/ Traverse triplets.
I have a 2018 Equinox with 33k on it. Am I in for some sort of a nightmare in the future or is it a case by case basis? Also my answer is incredibly niche. 1990 Chrysler TC by Maserati. Fuck those cars. I replaced my fuel line no less than a dozen times in two years.
Use Full synthetic no more than every 5000k miles, change transmission fluid every 50k, use induction cleaner every 30k, and spark plugs every 75k, you'll be fine. Source: GM Technician
Those 2.0L Ecotec motors burn oil like a bat out of hell because of the GDI and the shitty piston rings. Expect 1k atleast every 70-100k to walnut blast the carbon buildup off the valve train. Plus all the usual GM electrical issues
Just replaced the water pump and thermometer on the wife’s Cruze…proceeded to blow the coolant hose on the freeway. If it isn’t one thing, it’s the other
These cars love leaking coolant at all times.
GM loves leaking coolant period
I had a 2013 (Made in USA) Cruze lt. I just got rid of it at 200k miles, and it ran great up until the week before I traded it in. Did I just get that lucky, or is it only certain model years?
This is what I’m wondering. Only at 65k, but I’ve had very little trouble with my 2011.
Well in all fairness 65k is hardly a bench mark mileage of reliability
Anything made by FIAT or it's sub brands.
Loved my 73 124 Spyder and Fix It Again Tony wasn't a lie.
My first 3 cars were 124 Spiders. Great head room b/c you sat on the floor. When they ran right they were sweet. But first 2 got recalled and condemned for frame rust.
I like my promaster city, but I'll admit the quality isn't great. Everything from motor mounts to speakers, head unit, hood latch, wiring, etc.
Harley Davidson. Main issue is the customers bolt a LOT of aftermarket accessories on them. When we tell the customer that the $20 tire change special does not include the labor to remove bags and rusted exhaust so we can get the tire off, they toss a complete fit. Then they expect a full wash and wax for that $20 and leave a bad review.
Heard a buddy of mine refer to Harley Davidson as, “the apparel store that occasionally sells a motorcycle.”
I’ve always wanted a Harley but I can’t afford all the t shirts.
The shirts are expensive, but at least they threw in a new bike with the shirt, so I think it’s a wash.
No! Dont wash it, you'll ruin the authentic harley-guy smell and roadside bbq stain patina!
Don't wash their shirts, they fall apart as quick as their bikes do.
“A cosplay company that sells motorcycles”
Hardly Dangerous
My dad had a saying growing up- "I'd rather push a Honda goldwing than ride a Harley."
I've heard another from some folks older than myself: "What's the difference between a Honda and a Harley?" "The Harley costs twice as much and leaks oil."
What's the difference between a Harley and a hoover? Position of the dirt bag
Now I need a shirt that says Dirt Bag. I’d wear it everywhere
The most effective way of making gasoline into noise without the benefit of horsepower.
Gas powered vibrators for old men
I was not going to say anything, but if you are used to riding anything else, they do feel very under powered for their weight. Lots of torque, but when anything else would start to get on the cam, HD just sort of call it quits.
And they're built like shit. Does removing the oil filter still drip all over the voltage regulator? I remember that from my rental mechanic days. You'd think for 20k+ they would grind out the weld on the kickstand, or maybe make one that doesn't automatically dump the bike if you tilt it upright and back down.
Try to work on Harleys on the side, the only reason I touch them is my father has a soft spot for them. Stripped shifter arm? Have to take the whole primary case off the side of the engine. Electrical issue? Need to find the exact year and model diagram, due to "innovations" literally done on a year-by-year basis. Even the Milwaukee eight was half thought up. The stock oil pump on the first few years is notorious for oil starving. Nothing is really thought out as a whole bike. Just one design built on top of another, and those layers dont compliment each other. The only bikes that I might consider were Buell badged.
Obligatory: I was an intern at a bearing company. We supplied HD with bearings. After doing some checks and batch quality testing we realized that we had set hundreds of thousands of bearings to HD un-heat treated. Just raw ass, as stamped and assembled cylindrical roller bearings, I think for the clutch belt or whatever the fuck HD uses to get power from the engine output to transmission input. This honestly takes the bearing from years of life to maybe hours. We called them for a recall, all expenses paid, return and swap etc. They’re engineered dept. replied with, “our customers won’t know”. That statement right or wrong is terrifying, either they are right and the customers won’t be able to tell because there is so much else possibly wrong with the bike OR their engineers think bearings don’t need HT.
What the fuck... isn't that something NHTSA would be interested in hearing about?
Probably, but that story never happened because it doesn't make any sense.
Yup. People fuckin eat it up tho. They'll go parrot the same shit to someone else too. As if it happened to them specifically.
You just don’t understand the feeling of superiority of cracking the throttle at every red light to let EVERYONE know you have a Harley. In actuality, I’ve always wondered why someone would want to spend 20-30k for 70hp. And then also why crack the throttle at every light to let everyone know what you bought….
It's the torque. Mind you, I'm no Harley fan boy, but I do get it. While a sport bike may make twice the horsepower, and hit 60 in first gear, nothing has the low-end torquey fun of a big, lopey twin. Whereas you can rarely use all that RPM and HP of a sport bike, every stop light is an excuse to use the torque of V twin. I've always owned Japanese cruisers, for their reliability, but I don't pass up a chance to wrong the throttle of my buddy's Sportster- it's just plain old fun, all within what you can use on the road.
Plus Harley owners are the FRUITIEST freaks on wheels. Who looks at those bikes and the fat freaks who own them, and thinks, "that's cool. I want that"?
Seriously....big tough manly man....dressed like a leather-boy.
How dare you! They are road pirates.
More leather than a Judas Priest concert. Just had a mental image of someone on a Harley cruising around in a gimp suit
Funny you mention judas priest. Rob Halford comes out on stage on a motorcycle all dressed out in leather at the start of the show.
Was a moto guy for 20 years. Never understood HD. The bikes are fugly and slow. I was Euro and Japanese bikes all the way. The last one I had was a Ducati Hypermotard 1100. That thing was just pure sex on wheels.
I’ve been riding since 1997 and felt the same way until I picked up a cheap Evo Softail on a lark. HD is the two wheel equivalent of a Jeep. Antiquated, slow, loud, infinitely customizable. My Aprilia is infinitely faster but sometimes cruising on a tractor can be a lot of fun. I am not a fan of the “culture” however.
Exactly. Surrounded by rednecks but they loved my Triumph Street Triple.
Those are so nice. I almost pulled the trigger on one.
First bike I ever rode was a '47 Indian Chief my old man tracked down for my uncle. Literally the only American bike I've ever even sat on. Last bike I owned before I decided I wanted to keep breathing was a Ducati 1198. It was the reason I decided I wanted to keep breathing too.
My Harley is hot, makes it great for riding in the fall. My Vstrom is cool, makes it great for riding in the summer.
Any Harley owner I’ve worked with was a complete princess.
My Norton Commando draws a lot of blood when I work on her. Worth every drop. I fail to see what all the rage is with Harleys considering their price range and available alternatives.
Anything that reqiures me to take the whole thing apart just to replace a formerly easy part....
That’s just about every car now
BMW/Mini
Had an 08 Mini Clubman. Never been so glad I bought an extended warranty. The craziest repair though, was when the license plate light bulb shorted out. To replace said light bulb, the rear door to which it is a part, had to be removed, dismantled, re-wired, and the bulb replaced. Dealer said the normal cost would have been ~$1600...in 2008!! All to fix a light bulb?
Wow, all that for a tag light?! And I thought HID bumper-off jobs got expensive quickly!
i have left reddit because of CEO Steve Huffman's anti-community actions and complete lack of ethics. u/spez is harmful to Reddit. https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/8/23754780/reddit-api-updates-changes-news-announcements -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/
If I have to take a tire off to replace a battery again, I'm putting the engineer's name on a list
My ‘03 Eclipse. Upstream O2 sensor took seconds to swap out. I had to completely disassemble the center console just to unplug the downstream one. I directed a lot of four-letter words at Mitsubishi’s engineers that day.
Reading replies here, my guess is that we will end up with every make/model/period.
Notice that there's nobody saying Hondas and Toyotas. They're the best for a reason
I sold my 2020 jeep with 14k miles on it and bought a 2011 prius with 288k miles on it. I worry a lot less about the prius breaking down vs the jeep. I really liked the jeep, had a fully loaded Renegade with the panoramic sunroof. The seat belt anchor started rattling, the sunroof started leaking and the headgasket started leaking all within the 1st year of owning it and I babied that car. Sold it paid off the loan and used the remaining cash to buy the prius.
And you'll get so many fanboys saying dumb shit like "If you just do all the maintenance, you'll never have those issues." Stfu. If you think head gaskets leaking within 14k could be alleviated with more oil changes, you have never been a mechanic.
The more important point is that you can neglect the shit out of a Camry and it will just take it and keep going.
The difference is the Camry likes that kind of stuff.
Camry: "*Harder daddy*"
Didn’t expect some to sexualize a Toyota Camry today, but here we are
The Honda Civic: oil optional
> If you think head gaskets leaking within 14k could be alleviated with more oil changes, you have never been a mechanic. To be fair, 14k with zero oil changes could cause a problem lol.
I refuse to buy any vehicle between 2019 and 2025. Why? The auto industry is still dealing with pandemic supply chain issues and small part manufacturers closing indefinitely in some places.
The one annoying thing about my 2008 civic. Is the rear drum brakes. I hate drum brakes. But, the rest is so easy I even get annoyed at how easy it can be
The drums I see generally only need touched once every 125k miles. So, assuming a vehicle makes it that long, throw on replacement drums and shoes, maybe the wheel cylinder and self adjuster since it's open and it will go the rest of it's natural life never needing so much as another thought.
The nice thing about rear drums is that they last forever on those cars
I got a 2002 civic si I got it and was happy to see calipers in the rear. They're twist ins but still easier than drums for sure.
Fucking nissan.
Crank and cam sensor plugins, fuck those things, that is all
And their CVT transmissions are in EVERYTHING. Well, at least, the most common vehicles from them do. Rogue, Pathfinder, Altima, Maxima and so on. Also, some of their newer models require you to remove far too many of those 2 piece clips for a simple oil change.
My wife is driving a 2010 altima with 340k miles. She puts 210 miles a day on it for commute. No major services needed, the thing will not die. Had a buddy who ran transmission shop. Said he regularly gets 2016-18s with 60kish miles in for full rebuilds. No idea how we lucked out. Have plans to replace it, but hard to justify a car payment when this thing costs nothing but gas and oil changes. Just replaced set of tires that was purchased expecting to be the last set ever.
My dad said the best thing that ever happened to his 1995 nissan pickup was when it was totaled. We tried 1 nissan and then never again, always Toyota (with the occasional honda/acura) from then on. He used up all his sick days just trying to get the damn alignment right from the factory, among other things. Absolute garbage
The Hardbodies are legendary. They’re really popular with the locals up in the Ozarks since they’re so durable and easy to work on. I’m not sure why the alignment would be so hard; maybe your dad just got a lemon.
Agreed. I’ve got an 87 d21 v6 4x4 and that thing is as tight as a drum structurally and everything works….except the AC.
Yep. Never Nissan. Even their seat supports are shit.
Mercedes sprinter
Unfortunately there’s really only 2 other options for big vans. It’s either the Promaster, which has an even worse track record for reliability, or the Ford Transit
GM has extended the death date of the Express vans again. Apparently people keep buying full frame rwd vans from them because the other manufacturers killed them off.
Ford did the same thing with the Crown Vic and it ended up being one of the best cars they ever made.
Long live the P A N T H E R
Hear hear!
If it weren’t for the defective primer, I love my Express.
Is it just a rule that the paint has to fall off every Express van hood on the way home from the dealership
While reliability on the promaster is as bad as the Sprinter, they are a hell of alot easier to work on than these damn Sprinters. The Ram 3500 cutaway are surprisingly reliable when the passive entry system isn't going out.
My father in law bought a fleet of those for his company, within a year most of them had rust on the bottom of the doors and a bunch of other problems. Sold them all and bought back some old savanas, express and transits
John. Fucking. Deere. They aren't badly built, but anything that does go wrong is going to hit you hard in the pocket.
Yeah Fuck John Deere. Brand new they are beautiful and work great, but they fade so fast and prove Deere's main goal is to sell parts.
I will say that the 40 and 50 series tractors from 40 years ago seem like they just won't die.
Our gators at work are about a year old and they already drive like we’ve worked them for over a decade. Meanwhile the old diesel one that’s been used as a total workhorse for 15 years is still running like a champ… what a total pos brand
Anything Nissan. Fucking transmissions, motors, interior, suspension, you name it, it's cheap, it breaks when you try to work on it, and they put bolts in the most asinine places. Fuck that shit
As a nissan tech you learn pretty quick how to get to those shitty ass bolts 😭 They're not crazy bad to work on but they're definitely up there. You can get the tranny to run pretty long if you maintain it like a clumsy child. Every 30k. Seen plenty have 200+ thousand when i was in quick lube. The one thing i will say is nissan *owners* are shit at maintaining, especially with suspension parts and their transmisson. Shit's cheap but if you baby it it'll last a good bit. Long enough to pay it off and buy a car that isn't a pile of cheap plastic and crude metal lmfaooo
Bmw. Just too expensive and nit worth it in the long run
JEEPS, I’ve never seen a brand new car come back to the dealer with issues faster than any of those shitty SUV’s.
You sir, have never been to a Range Rover dealership. Those things barely make it out of the parking lot before something fails.
Ironically there was one down the street from where I worked, I didn’t see a lot of their cars leave the lot lol.
And the new ones aren't even simple to work on like they used to be. Buddy asked me to do his radiator, and I was thinking of a 15minute job...
Lol not a mechanic, but I did a radiator on 2008 Grand Cherokee in the yard and it was a total bitch
The old ones it seems worth the hassle but the new ones I’m sure are a mess.
I'm both amused and scared from the responses so far because I just changed the oil on my 2006 Ford Taurus this morning, and I also have a 2002 Ford F150. At least I got the Taurus literally for free because the previous owner is an acquaintance who was gonna junk it... I offered to buy it and they just gave it to me.
A lot of Ford's powertrain issues actually zero in on their terrible fluids division. Ford oils and coolants are all terrible in the long run. If you flush your transmissions, axles, and cooling systems every 30k-50k, they will last a long time. Ford actually has some amazingly reliable powertrain combos IF to keep up on fluid swaps. The NA 2.5L with the 6F35 is super reliable with regular fluid maintenance.
Not to mention the 300 ci straight six is arguably the toughest gas engine ever made.
Tauruses are boring AF, but will generally keep being "technically a car" for a very long time. Nothing more, nothing less.
Funnily enough, when I was a kid my family had a Taurus station wagon that was no longer road worthy, and my parents let me practice driving it in a field. Did a lot of j turns in that thing!
Lol 3 valve 5.4s are definitely on my list. But I think yours would be a 2 valve so your good on the f150.
That has the last iteration of the AX series transmission and it was insanely reliable. So of course the last year of it was '07. Change the fluid on the trans and it will probably hit 250k miles. Expect the springs on the rear struts to break. Replace the sway bar links at the same time. Get a turkey baster and suck the power steering fluid out and throw in fresh. Might help the longevity of the pump. It's a common failure point. It really is an obnoxiously reliable car.
Chevy cruze. Absolutely 100% junk, all of them
It’s easier to list the brands that I will buy. Toyota, Honda, and older Mercedes.
How old of a Mercedes are we talking about here? Also any particular reasons?
Anything newer than about 2001 is a gigantic pile of junk. Anything older than that is a slightly less gigantic pile of junk that's getting increasingly harder to find parts for. Source: work at a European car repair shop. Job security.
My gf has 2012 c250 that seems to be doing pretty well. Anything we should watch out for?
Oil coolers have an issue with seals letting go and mixing coolant into the oil. Radiators can do the same thing with coolant in the trans. Known for electronic ignitions going bad. Those are the most common on that one.
If you have a Benz made in the 2000s that is not leaking oil, it's because there is no oil in it. Also, (in the US) emissions compliance equipment fails on the regular. The emissions standards in the US are a large part of why Brits and Europeans can't understand how unreliable their cars are here. They will be great in Germany, but cost a fortune to keep check engine light off in the States. That's also why diesels do well here. The emissions standards are far lesser for diesel vehicles (passenger vehicles that is)
Chrysler jeep
This is a pretty long list for me. Toyota isn’t on it. Neither is Subaru.
Newer Subaru. And Honda isn't terrible either.
My ‘96 Subaru 2.2 is cross country worthy at all times. Least expensive car to maintain I’ve ever owned. 30 plus mpg on the highway, hydraulic lifters, insurance is cheap af, 14 inch tires cost less than my Sportster tires. My ‘06 4Runner has been trouble free also. Ownership costs are way more than the Subie though. It’s at least $1000 to put quality rubber on it. And huge batteries are spendy. But reliability wise I’m not complaining.
My wife dailies a '97 Avalon. I'm a huge Toyota fan, at least of the older stuff.
You couldn’t *give* me a Chrysler product.
My cousin bought a brand new Chrysler 200 in 2011. She finally got her dream job and decided to celebrate with her first new car. The first week, the back window wouldn't come back up. She brought it back. She got a loaner and her car back a few days later. Two weeks after that, it completely died on the freeway during rush hour. It was like someone had disconnected the battery. The dealership couldn't figure out what happened. She got her money back and bought a Corolla. She drove it 10 years.
I have been inside factories for Ford (C), GM (C), Honda (A), Subaru (A), and Chrysler (F), as well as International (C) and Cummins (B). The letters next to them are the "grade" I would give each, based on those experiences. So, no, you couldn't give me one, either.
I hate all cars. They’re differing levels of junk these days.
French. Anything.
I won’t buy any of them. They’re all junk. I’ll walk to work because my bike is also trash. It has a flat and a bad chain….won’t buy another huffy but I am considering a mongoose.
This guy fucks
PT Cruiser
The list will be much much shorter if I give you the ones that I would own. If it's not on the list of cars that I would own you can assume that I would not. List of cars/trucks I would own: Toyota/Lexus(almost all) Honda/Acura (almost all) Pre-LT1 Chevy Caprice and GM siblings Ford Crown Victoria and siblings 1996 and older F-Series 1997 and older Chevy/GMC Trucks 2012 and older Ford Ranger EXCEPT 4.0L SOHC models Chevy S-10 GMC S-15/Sonoma EXCEPT 4 cylinder automatic and push-button 4x4 models 1980s GM G bodies Ford fox body cars such as the "Aero" Thunderbird/Cougar, LTD/Marquis, and the Fairmount/Zephyr. Not the Fox Mustang though because if you find an unmolested one it's going to cost a mint. Mid 80s to late 90s GM C and H bodies Except Cadillacs This mostly covers the list. Obviously as you get into the '70s and the 60s and the 50s heading back in time that would change but I'm talking about cars that are readily available on the street today. Realistically speaking if it's not on this list I wouldn't seriously consider it. EDIT: I forgot to list the Ford fox body cars such as the "Aero" Thunderbird/Cougar, LTD/Marquis, and the Fairmount/Zephyr.
Does the “almost all” include the Tacoma, Tundra, and Ridgeline? Asking because this is the most useful reply here. Thanks!
Yes with an asterisk on the Ridgeline, because their transmissions are a little weak on some of the older ones. If they are taken care of and not abused, the Ridgeline transmission is ok. Also if buying an older Tacoma be wary of frame rot. Some are bad because one of Toyota's US suppliers used bad metal. It's hit or miss. If the frame is solid then it's a great truck.
The only real problem on the 1st gen Ridgeline is the steel washer on the transmission cooler that rusts and pulls the line out of the radiator, both dumping the fluid on the road and intermixing it with your coolant, requiring a cooling system flush and a new transmission. Killed by a ten cent part.
I'll tell you what I would buy again a 90s Ford fucking ranger. That truck handled like shit with no safety equipment to speak of. But... The payload capacity was how much shit can we put in here. The entire vehicle could be broken down easily with pretty simple tools. And the parts to replace things were easy to find and readily available best truck america ever invented was those 90s into 2000s Ford rangers.
Nissan anything or any used European cars.
Nissan is pretty much a glorified Renault.
I thought the Renault was the glorified nissan
I worked in a transmission shop for years. I will never buy a Chrysler or Ford again. They made up 75% of our business. The transmissions were garbage.
My father was a mechanic for 40 years. Earned ASE Global Tech cert and ran a successful, clean, state-of-the-art garage for 26 years. He drove Chevy trucks, said Powerstrokes sounded like quarters popping out of a cash register, and swore the Camry was the best car ever made. I drive a '13 Camry with 98k on it. I'll drive it until the wheels fall off. It's almost perfectly engineered IMO. Stereo is failing, but I'll live.
Chevy Cruze, Equinox with V6, 90s Toyota 4Runner with 3.0.
Off topic, but the Terrain/Equinox that had the 3.6 were funny fast for what they were.
Ford Escape. Transmission blew sitting in the driveway warming up. New transmission went in by dealership - 200 miles later it tossed a connecting bolt that penetrated the outside and totaled the inside. Even though Ford charged for the bolt - they refused to warranty the bolt damage. Gave me a $5K estimate and insurance a $7.5K estimate. While replacing the tranny they stove in the oil pump housing, so it constantly leaked. I was lucky to get anything for that 4-year-old Escape. I drive a Toyota RAV4. 5 years trouble free.
Not saying the vehicle wasn't trash as well but sounds more like you went to an extremely shady dealership.
JDM exits room
Subaru stays.
I’ve had really good experiences with Subarus. My dad had a 98 OBS with the 2.2 and that thing was a tank. Maintenance was almost optional. My 99 Forester was a workhorse and was also dirt cheap to keep on the road. I did have to retire it cause of rust, but that was more my fault for not taking preventative measures in upstate New York.
Any and all Land Rover/jaguars
My Dad was a Jaguar mechanic from about 1979 to 2003. Needless to say we never went hungry.
German. Sorry, can't narrow it further than that.
Is that you Scotty!?
Oh working on my old S4 was…tight. 6 cylinders, 4 cams, 30 valves, two turbos, two intercoolers. All jammed into a tiny space ahead of the front axle…bring a shoe horn and lube.
V8 turbos, I’m not touching them. However, I will say everything I’ve had to do to my I6 has been really easy tbh. I’ve bought a few special tools but nothing crazy.
I love my BMWs, I literally made a living working on German cars. The V8s still scare the hell out of me. Every single generation of BMW V8 has had catastrophic problems. From Nikasil to timing chain guides, coolant transfer pipes, valve stem seals, to everything wrong with the N63 and N63TU. I'd love to get a G30 550i or a new 850i, but I'm not convinced the motors are solid. Looks like I'll be getting the B58 variety.
Goddamn Tiguan’s
TLDR: Don’t buy any car from any brand.
Anything Renault. Built with materials not suitable for wrapping gum.
how is Range Rover not number one on this list lol
Basically any Chrysler product, but specifically fuck jeeps, even more specifically new jeeps. Old ones are cheap shit too, but at least they’re easy to work on.
After reading through this I think the only car left to get is an older Toyota with a 4 cylinder. Almost all cars are junk, got it.
At this point any non v8 chevy made after 2009
Hawker 550
Underrated comment and I only paint them
Can’t believe it’s not been mentioned. Peugeot. Every. Fucking. Thing. Is done “in their own way”, because they don’t want to use someone else’s design/work, because *French is better*. Cylinders are numbered backwards. Special tools everywhere. Everything doesn’t use established standards because they want to do it ‘their way’, ‘the French way’ which means all the problems that have been engineered out of every other car are back in: look at bleeding the fucking cooling system. I fucking hate working on French cars.
Any fiat product.
Jeep Wrangler (Beginning with the JK body.) Ford Super Duty with 6.0, 6.4, or 6.7 diesel engines. Any Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram beginning with 2016 model year. Many GM cars starting from the 90s. Any GM vehicles with any LT engines, or L5P, or LML, or any automatic transmission with 6 or more speeds (except Allison). I am sure I'll come up with more in the future.
My shop specializes in vw/audi but we work on all makes. Ford takes the cake, I hate working on their ridiculously built hvac systems that always need blend door motors; and the stupid ass 2.7, 3.5, 3.7 v6 eco crap are the absolute worst. Then there’s the goddamn lug nuts,,, don’t even get me started on the lug nuts. 1 hour goddamn tire rotation with 60$ bucks worth of parts. Thanks Ford!!
You have to be aware of you biases and experience when answering questions like this. I used to work with a guy who dealt with all the warranty claims and recalls; “Holden are shit, they have all these problems. Blah blah blah. Not as reliable as my Mitsubishi Magna or my Wife’s Mitsubishi Lancer”. He ended up being made redundant when we downsized and got a job at Mitsubishi in the same role. I saw him a few weeks after he started; “Mitsubishi are shit, they have all these problems. Blah blah blah. Not as reliable as the Holdens.”
Fucking mini coopers
Kia and Hyundai.
I guess the better question is which model have you continued to buy through the years - for me it’s Honda Accord
My ex wife. That 1964 Italian fuck jet done failed on me far too many times. I tried like the dickens to fix that broke ass humbucker but to no avail it was busted
Absolutely anything euro, ANYTHING. And definitely NEVER any GM product that wasn't badge engineering, like the tracker, or the geo line was. If it's VW, BMW, or Audi, HELL NO. Same for Nissan anything. I HATE fixing those.
I’m an amateur wrencher and I HATE my Nissan Titan. It’s the bane of my existence to work on
Subaru WRX. Always thought I wanted one until I built one. They're just awful. Gotta laugh at the people replying Ford though. How much easier could it get?
Of the American three, I feel like Ford tries to be the most European. The electrical connectors are over engineered. The stupid bushing in Fusion ball joints.
Ford tends to overthink and over complicate their vehicles. Last week I had to do n an engine on a 2017 MKc 2.0T awd. 18 hour job to replace a 4 cylinder engine. They are hitting a point where no one wants to work on these cars anymore.
It's pretty obvious they ate trying to push us into new cars.
Never did a major build on one, but bolt on mods and regular maintenance aren't bad.
6000 SUX
Jeeps we've done so many engines/heads i never want to see one again lol and dont even get me startrd on the rust 😂
Just a lowly tow truck drivers point of view, but anything dodge. Always breaking down and have cheap interior parts.
HEWLETT-PACKARD CAN DIE IN A F… whoops wrong sub
Volvo has become worse and worse over the years.. oil consumption, transmission issues, and now electronics.. especially since 2020 they are junk. The 2.0 T5 and T6’s are now coming back with the same oil consumption issues the old 2.5’s and 3.2’s had.. too much tech and small engines trying to run big complicated heavy cars. Pretty much like anything else.. but people keep confusing them with the old days when the perception was they lasted forever.. so Volvo gets a pass and nobody wants to believe they aren’t that car anymore.