How Can I Avoid $$$ Car Maintenance?

[packrat44]

If basing an automobile purchase on anticipated future repair costs it might be wise to consider a base level of one of the biggest selling models. The more bells and whistles on the vehicle the better the chance of higher future repair bills. A model with hundreds of thousands on the road will mean a lot of mechanics will have experience working on your model. After-market parts manufacturers will be able to mass produce common repair parts such as brake rotors, calipers, struts, etc. for your model for many years to come. The more they can make the less expensive the parts will be. Case in point, compare after-market prices for VW parts compared to Honda parts here in USA.

+1 Consumer Reports might be good for choosing a particular used car and what year has had problems, but it can not predict the future. I try to stay with brands that had a good overall history and away from leading edge technology and high cost options (HID, etc). After 19.5 years of service I replaced DW 1992 Honda Accord with a new Honda Accord. Other than the usual oil changes; tires; mufflers; brake pads, the only expense has been a timing belt; rebuilt distributor for about $90; and a rebuilt axle for $45 (CV joint boot cracked after 19 years of use). The 1992 still runs and looks very good but DW thought she deserved a new car after about 20 years. Okay, she is the spendthrift in the family.

 

[bltkmt]

Wait for the long-term reliability on the Chevy Cruze, it might just get there. Interesting that GM and Ford are now making the cars they SHOULD have made 15 years ago, when Honda and Toyota were pounding them and taking their lunch money, it just goes to show how arrogant their management was, thinking "Buy American" was Latin for: "Our citizens are so stupid they will buy inferior quality forever:..........

We rented a Cruze in Utah awhile back and loved it. We also own a 2007 Chevy HHR which was (discontinued) a sister on the same platform as the Cruze. This thing has been rock solid - 68k miles on it so far. The little GM 2.4 liter engine has been a very reliable powertrain.

 

[veremchuka]

That's ironic, because I'm just now tussling with the Honda dealer about fixing a known defect that affected the alignment on my 2007 Civic. It's been ticking me off and I was seriously thinking of trading it in. But today, they offered to fix it for $165 instead of $620. I still need to get new tires, because the alignment has screwed up the set I have now that have 13,000 miles on them.

Generally, you are right, though. My 1994 Accord served me for 13 years, and the daughter of a friend has continued to drive it since 2007.

My 1991 Civic never had an alignment when I owned it from 100,400 to 304k. My tires wore evenly and the guy that works on my car who has been a Honda mechanic for nearly 30 years said my front end suspension components were very tight and was surprised just how good based upon the miles on it. Hondas are very well built and require very little maintenance, certainly nothing more than any car would require and I think less. Doesn't mean you can ignore them just that they don't nickle and dime you to death. I'm sure Toyotas are just as reliable, you can't go wrong with either car but the exception was a Toyota Yaris - they were cheap junk.

 

[cj]

Veremchuka - after research, we found that my problem was described in a Honda service bulletin as a known issue with 2006-2007 Civics only. And the service dept didn't diagnose the problem until after I wrecked a second set of tires. I guess you just never know. I'm getting it fixed today and new tires tomorrow. Hopefully it will be fixed and I can happily drive it for another 10 years...

 

[Sarah in SC]

I just read this little piece from Kiplinger's that might be interesting:
10 Cars That Won't Die

 

[rescueme]

I just read this little piece from Kiplinger's that might be interesting:
10 Cars That Won't Die

I had one of them, an '89 Olds Cutless Ciera.

Drove it for over 18 years with well over 100K (don't drive that much). Never had anything but normal maintenance performed.

It may be GM (like two of our current cars, along with a Ford) but we've had nothing but good experiences with US branded autos (and we didn't send the profits overseas, back to the monther/father country) ...

 

[FinanceDude]

I had one of them, an '89 Olds Cutless Ciera.

Drove it for over 18 years with well over 100K (don't drive that much). Never had anything but normal maintenance performed.

It may be GM (like two of our current cars, along with a Ford) but we've had nothing but good experiences with US branded autos (and we didn't send the profits overseas, back to the monther/father country) ...

Glad someone had a good domestic car experience.

My last two domestic cars?

1)2004 Chrysler Town and Country Touring: Ended up suing Chrysler under the Magnuson Ross Act because it went through THREE rack and pinions in the 1st 45,000 miles. After they put the 3rd one in, I was told "you're on your own", even though I had an extended warranty through Chrysler

2)1996 Pontiac Grand Prix: The transmission went at 27,000 miles, and was 3 months out of warranty, and Pontiac told me they couldn't do anything. I complained directly to the factory, and they ended up paying 2/3 of the repair.

I am done for the foreseeable future. I'm not even going to discuss my other NEW domestic car nightmares.......

 

[Sarah in SC]

Rescueme, we've had that same car twice and I put about a hundred thousand miles on the first one, with maybe $500 total in repairs during the time we owned it, and got another one from DH's mom Christmas before last when she finally traded up to something else. The Cutlass Ciera is a workhorse of a car, that's for sure.
I've got a later model Buick LeSabre that we've also been real pleased with, as far as running reliably and cheaply.

FD--I would never buy new, LOL!

 

[FinanceDude]

Rescueme, we've had that same car twice and I put about a hundred thousand miles on the first one, with maybe $500 total in repairs during the time we owned it, and got another one from DH's mom Christmas before last when she finally traded up to something else. The Cutlass Ciera is a workhorse of a car, that's for sure.
I've got a later model Buick LeSabre that we've also been real pleased with, as far as running reliably and cheaply.

FD--I would never buy new, LOL!

Typically I don't either, but the Chrysler had $9000 worth of rebates as they were blowing them out, so cheaper than a 2 year old one, and I got the Grand Prix under a GM employee deal when my uncle worked there, so got gobs off that too..........

 

[rescueme]

I've got a later model Buick LeSabre that we've also been real pleased with, as far as running reliably and cheaply.

I had a '92 Olds 88 (LeSabre family) that I purchased new and ran for many years, without a problem. The 3.8 engine was one of the best made in the GM line, IMHO.

I only traded it (for a 2000 Olds Bravada - new) since I was wor*ing a lot out of the country and I wanted DW to have a car that had AWD. Unfortunately the 88 had a lot of miles left and had a great ride, but the need for a different vehicle type was the only time I've ever not run a car into the ground, and traded it early.

 

[FinanceDude]

My buddy has a 2001 Park Avenue Ultra, a 3800 motor with a supercharge. It has the power of a V-8 but he gets almost 30 on the highway, nice ride!!

 

[seraphim]

Best way to keep maintenance costs down is to learn to do the work oneself. Labors about $100 an hour. Preventative repairs minimalist breakdowns.
Choose your car wisely, for inexpensive and readily stocked parts. I love Land Rovers, but check the cost of a tail light assembly, then the wait because it has to be ordered.

Make friends with a mechanic. Mine shows me how to do the work, let's me use his shop discount on parts, and let's me use his tools. If its something he has to do, I get a good rate on his labor as well.

 

[ziggy29]

For us it's been buy a Honda or a Toyota for most of the last 30 years. That said, I would love to buy a great, reliable American small car. They're getting more competitive all the time - hopefully before I die...

American cars are certainly closing the quality gap compared to the garbage Detroit was cranking out about 30 years ago. Old perceptions die hard, though, if at all -- so the hole they dug for themselves decades ago is a tough one to get out of, no matter how good their products may be today.

 

[samclem]

American cars are certainly closing the quality gap compared to the garbage Detroit was cranking out about 30 years ago. Old perceptions die hard, though, if at all -- so the hole they dug for themselves decades ago is a tough one to get out of, no matter how good their products may be today.

Right. The JD Powers surveys and other indicators of initial quality have very little to do with how long a car is going to remain reliable. Much of that depends on the subcomponents used to assemble the car (many of which are made by other companies). Compressors, pumps, sensors, actuators, power steering racks, motors, suspension components, etc. The Japanese companies have established good ways to choose and buy high-quality components--they care about this a lot. When parts fail, they have entire processes used to provide feedback to the manufacturers to allow them to improve quality, and they follow up to assure the components really get improved. In many respects, Detroit has cared less, buying where they could get the best price provided the part met the initial spec. If US companies wanted to have my business in 2012, they needed to start this full-court press to improve quality 20 years ago so I could know they have their act together. They didn't.

 

[seraphim]

I just read this little piece from Kiplinger's that might be interesting:
10 Cars That Won't Die
Originally Posted by Sarah in SC
I just read this little piece from Kiplinger's that might be interesting:
10 Cars That Won't Die
Originally Posted by Sarah in SC
I just read this little piece from Kiplinger's that might be interesting:
10 Cars That Won't Die

They forgot the VW Beetle - they never quit, never die and can always be resurrected.

 

[FinanceDude]

Right. The JD Powers surveys and other indicators of initial quality have very little to do with how long a car is going to remain reliable. Much of that depends on the subcomponents used to assemble the car (many of which are made by other companies). Compressors, pumps, sensors, actuators, power steering racks, motors, suspension components, etc. The Japanese companies have established good ways to choose and buy high-quality components--they care about this a lot. When parts fail, they have entire processes used to provide feedback to the manufacturers to allow them to improve quality, and they follow up to assure the components really get improved. In many respects, Detroit has cared less, buying where they could get the best price provided the part met the initial spec. If US companies wanted to have my business in 2012, they needed to start this full-court press to improve quality 20 years ago so I could know they have their act together. They didn't.

Agree 100%. The Chevy Malibu is a an example of a car that GM should have and COULD have made 15 years ago, but chose not too........

 

[Mulligan]

American cars are certainly closing the quality gap compared to the garbage Detroit was cranking out about 30 years ago. Old perceptions die hard, though, if at all -- so the hole they dug for themselves decades ago is a tough one to get out of, no matter how good their products may be today.

I must confess that I have bought what I wanted more than what is reliable. Sometimes this has bit me in rear. But my current vehicle is an 02 Chevy Trailblazer bought used in '03 and has been a champ. Has 175000 miles on it. Only money spent on it has been tires, 2 batteries, one brake job, new shocks, new set of plugs. I change oil every 4-5 k. I must confess I have never touched the transmission fluid ever. Paid it off over 5 years ago, and said I would trade one year after payoff. As long as it treats me good, I will keep it. I never knew Trailblazers to be the best made product, but this one sure is!

 

[Midpack]

I just bought the Apr 2012 issue of CR. I was surprised that best automakers overall were:

#1 Subaru
#2 Mazda
#3 Toyota
#4 Honda

Not sure I believe it #1 & #2 either, but it's just one data point, and we all have our own unique car buying priorities...

 

[veremchuka]

I love Land Rovers,

Do you own a Land Rover? If so what year and model?

 

[Midpack]

Another ranking of automakers overall...

 

[Tree-dweller]

The day after we bought a Subaru Impreza, the CR auto edition came out and rated it #1 small car. Serendipity. It's our 1st Impreza, but 4th Subaru. My mechanic (who I trust) swears by them. Last one lasted to 170k miles before I destroyed the engine by delaying the replacement of the timing belt, which broke and wreaked havoc.

 

[FinanceDude]

I just bought the Apr 2012 issue of CR. I was surprised that best automakers overall were:

#1 Subaru
#2 Mazda
#3 Toyota
#4 Honda

Not sure I believe it #1 & #2 either, but it's just one data point, and we all have our own unique car buying priorities...

Subaru I can believe, Mazda, I have no idea where they came up with that. The problem with CR is the subjective data they use for their ratings. For instance, the Honda Civic got very low scores, because people didn't like the interior, though it looked cheap. That does little to measure reliability. Does anyone really think Mazda is more reliable than Honda?

 

[FinanceDude]

The day after we bought a Subaru Impreza, the CR auto edition came out and rated it #1 small car. Serendipity. It's our 1st Impreza, but 4th Subaru. My mechanic (who I trust) swears by them. Last one lasted to 170k miles before I destroyed the engine by delaying the replacement of the timing belt, which broke and wreaked havoc.

Subaru makes a very good reliable solid car. They have come a long ways sicne the 80's. My mechanic works on all types of import cars. He is a certified tech in Honda, Toyota, and Subaru. He uses "tiers" when he talks about overall reliability and longevity and low maintenance costs.

His ratings?

1st tier:Toyota and Honda tie (Acura and Lexus too): He describes them as the only cars engineered for a 200,000 life.

2nd tier: Subaru, Hyundai, Nissan He thinks Hyundai is less than 5 years away from being in tier one with Honda and Toyota.

3rd tier: Mazda, Kia, Mitsubishi, VW. He is less keen on these imports, they need more expense to keep running.........

He puts Volvo, Audi, Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, and Saab in their own category, he calls them "more money" cars, says you have to be rich to keep them running..........

 

[Midpack]

Subaru I can believe, Mazda, I have no idea where they came up with that. The problem with CR is the subjective data they use for their ratings. For instance, the Honda Civic got very low scores, because people didn't like the interior, though it looked cheap. That does little to measure reliability. Does anyone really think Mazda is more reliable than Honda?

I don't doubt that Subaru is a nice, reliable car, I know two people who own them (one because she insisted on a car with 4WD). But they are pricier than Honda & Toyota and fuel efficiency/mpg they get is awful for their size/class IMO, the latter is what has always kept me out of Subaru showrooms. I see the new Impreza has better mpg, so maybe they're addressing their fuel economy issues. YMMV

 

[Tree-dweller]

I don't doubt that Subaru is a nice, reliable car, I know two people who own them (one because she insisted on a car with 4WD). But they are pricier than Honda & Toyota and fuel efficiency/mpg they get is awful for their size/class IMO, the latter is what has always kept me out of Subaru showrooms. I see the new Impreza has better mpg, so maybe they're addressing their fuel economy issues. YMMV

We live on a steep hill, and the AWD of Subaru is almost a requirement for us in the winter (well, maybe not this winter.) I just took the Impreza on a 400 mile mostly hilly highway round-trip, and averaged about 35MPG.