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[feeutfo]

How much is a reliable problem free car..?

I suppose this comes down to age and build quality, but what's your opinion on the age and cost of a car you'd expect (not can afford) to be problem free...?


I'm just interested in the maths really, I mean we see alot of posts such as, the cars worthless and needs too much fixing. Ok, so how much are you going to spend on your next car to get the reliability you want?

... And is it actually cheaper to fix the one you already have..? Depends how handy the owner is I guess.

Anyway, how much would say a reliable problem free car costs? Roughly.

[tigers_gonads]

How long is a piece of string ?

[omega3000]

It use to be £500 for any car with a full mot but then there's the reliability issue of something you buy and really take a gamble on its service history and how its been driven I think mine is worth all of the £500 with a full ticket and tax  To replace say for a nissan micra  and you will pay £500 for one,,, but geez what a come down 

[Kevin Wood]

Complete lottery that can only be tempered a little by careful inspection pre-purchase IMHO.

I know people who've bought perfectly reliable cars for sub-£500 and others who've spent tens of thousands on a new car that's been a total dog.

[dbug]

How long is a piece of string ?

Only sensible answer is 3 foot 6 inches

[Del Boy]

No such thing as a reliable car, everyone will have its faults. Loads of new cars brought are not fault free. Most will say go Japanese, but I honestly find that debatable now.

[Andy B]

I bought a none runner Astra G 1700 TD for £400 off eBay (the one on the drive in the 'I've been Google Mapped' thread) & sorted it using bits from a similar car I'd had written off for me. It was 100% reliable & was sold a couple of years later for £700 I ended up with a far better, nicer car than the one written off. 


Edit: apart from when I put £10 of petrol in it when it was virtually empty! 

[pscocoa]

How much is a reliable problem free car..?

I suppose this comes down to age and build quality, but what's your opinion on the age and cost of a car you'd expect (not can afford) to be problem free...?


I'm just interested in the maths really, I mean we see alot of posts such as, the cars worthless and needs too much fixing. Ok, so how much are you going to spend on your next car to get the reliability you want?

... And is it actually cheaper to fix the one you already have..? Depends how handy the owner is I guess.

Anyway, how much would say a reliable problem free car costs? Roughly.

I suppose you go for a KIA with a 7 year warranty. A 93 year old bloke near my dad's just bought a new one - he claims the warranty is on him not the car.

I may be confusing cost of motoring with reliability. My VW has been trouble free apart from a recall (on a part which was not giving a problem) which the dealer cocked up.

[aaronjb]

Complete lottery that can only be tempered a little by careful inspection pre-purchase IMHO.

I know people who've bought perfectly reliable cars for sub-£500 and others who've spent tens of thousands on a new car that's been a total dog.

I'd agree with that - talking second hand cars, anyway.

Otherwise a brand new car with a cast iron manufacturer warranty and someone prepared to push hard to have it honoured; it may not be reliable but at least it won't leave you (massively) out of pocket when things start falling off

[doz]

I've brought cars which have been only 3 years old and low mileage yet given me loads of grief. Audi A4 three litre with loads of electrical gremlins and peugeot 406 whose gearbox took a sh*t at less than 36k miles. I've also had the other end of the spectrum where I've had cheap cars which have just gone on and on. So these days condition is much more important than age or mileage

[omegod]

My omega cost £1700 4 or 5  years ago and has cost very little due to what I have learnt on this site and sensible part sourcing, £20 for a full as new VX exhaust system off the bay, bought another omega for it's 4 brand new tyres and made £300 selling it on with my crap tyres on and a swapped CAT, replacement doors for £20 etc etc

With the LPG savings I am probably in profit

Can't see me beating my old 88 nissan sunny though, it was indestructible 

[TheBoy]

The 2 most reliable cars I have ever owned long term, are my beloved Rover (RIP), and the bullet.

Rover, brand new, before (VERY heavy) discounts, over £13k. 12yrs, 116k, one fuel pump failure, and 1 reluctor ring fault. Everything else was bog standard servicing. In fact, I never, ever took the rear drums off  . Oh, and the HG, but thats a service item on K series .

Bullet, 5yrs old, £3199. 9yrs, 103k added, one crank sensor failure, one HG failure. Plenty of wheels though .


I've never had a 'bad' car though...

[cem_devecioglu]

if you dont play with factory setup amd dont install LPG, most mazda,honda,toyota models (excluding diesels) can be considered problem free.. some examples , accord, mazda3, mazda 6 , honda civic , avensis and some others really need only standard consumables for at least 5-6 years ..  have witnessed that my job mates generally pay large sums on those cars but rarely visit services and thats only to change oil, coolant , brakes,filters etc..   

[TheBoy]

if you dont play with factory setup amd dont install LPG, most mazda,honda,toyota models (excluding diesels) can be considered problem free.. some examples , accord, mazda3, mazda 6 , honda civic , avensis and some others really need only standard consumables for at least 5-6 years ..  have witnessed that my job mates generally pay large sums on those cars but rarely visit services and thats only to change oil, coolant , brakes,filters etc.. 

Nah, they suffer as well. Been there, got towed

[feeutfo]

Ok, so (breaking aside) given the help and advice here why are people sorning Omegas when all they need are service items, and some well known issues fixing?

Is there anyone who might be in that position here and can you explain ...?

What am I missing?