Hopefully, you’ve had a few cars that have never let you down, and today’s Ask would be better put as “Which car never let you down the most.” That’s grammatically incorrect, of course, but you get it.
As a longtime Toyota and Honda buyer, my car experiences have been overwhelmingly positive if unexciting, but if the excitement I’m being spared is the thrill of seeing how cars get loaded onto flatbeds up close and enjoying a few stories of repo shenanigans from the driver, I’m happy to keep things dull.
All my Corollas, Camrys, Civics, and RAV4s have been rock-solid, but the rock-solidest was my 1992 E-90 Corolla. It was two years old when I got it, and in very nice shape despite high miles. It was a very good new-car facsimile as far as I was concerned, and quite luxurious, what with its functional air conditioning and all. Heck, it even put my shoulder belt on for me via the motorized door-track setup mandated for non-airbag cars at the time.
That motorized seatbelt never faltered over the nearly 200,000 miles I piled onto the car, nor did anything else mechanical or electronic – and I assure you, I was not easy on the Corolla in the least. And yet, this wonderful car did not merely serve steadfastly by simply not breaking down and being metaphorically unstoppable. When it came to conquering New England snow, it proved quite literally unstoppable. My half-hour commute once took a full four hours with visibility that barely exceeded the distance from the windshield to the grille, but by golly, I got there. And then I just turned around and went home, because the office was closed. Really wish someone coulda called me, but it was pre-internet and pre-cellphones, so waddaya gonna do.
Anyway, my Corolla DX looked exactly like the Bring A Trailer example shown here. And I gotta say, it’s way more handsome than I realized when I owned it. Maybe no one realized it, as it was just basically-styled basic transpo back then, but in this designed-to-the-hilt era we live in, it looks downright classic.
Your turn:
What Car Never Let You Down?
Top graphic image: Bring a Trailer
1989 Civic Si – 160,000 miles when sold. Never laid a wrench to it. Original brakes, clutch.
As strange as it may seem, my ’64 VW sunroof walkthrough bus (21 window, of course). Utterly reliable and always got me where I was going. However, absolute top speed was 54 MPH! I still miss that bus and I sold it in 1984. And the sunroof was watertight in Seattle!
My 1993 Jeep Cherokee. I put 100k miles on it, then my sister put another 150k miles on it. It was still going strong when an oncoming car towing a boat lost a trailer wheel that ripped out its transmission.
My 05 Mazda3 sedan. Rock solid, even after I modified it and the Rust Belt ate away at it. The only time I was worried about it was when I was driving on the Ohio turnpike during a slushy snowstorm and the cover on my cold air intake failed and the filter ended up getting soaked, causing the MAF to get thrown off and buck power and throw an engine light. I thankfully was getting off at an exit when this started happening and I limped it to my friends house. Next morning, filter was dry and the light was gone. Never had any issues after that.
Hat tip to my Focus ST. Have had it since 10/2013 and it is rock solid. Took it on a 500 mile road trip before Thanksgiving and beat it up around the hills of eastern Kentucky. Never missed a beat and still gave me 30 MPG.
Believe it or not…Triumph TR7.
I have had close to a dozen in 30+ years. I never needed to call a tow truck to get home. Yes, I limped into the driveway without lights once or twice. Yes, bodily fluids were leaking from numerous orifices (on the car), but not enough to stop me.
Despite what people say, TR7s were not terrible cars. The later fuel-injected cars were nothing short of excellent.
only 3 of my cars ever have been completely zero-trouble (started every time, never broke down, never needed more than scheduled maintenance) 2000 Hyundai Elantra ((I put 125k on that thing in 5 years)), 2016 Smart eD, 2023 Chev Bolt EUV
1985 Civic DX Hatchback. 4sp, no AC, crank windows. Total hammer even though the previous owner ran a 25,000 mile interval oil change. No amount of abuse or neglect would stop it. Even a 500 year flood and 3 days underwater didn’t kill it – it started right up after a week in the sun and some basic triage – but the smell was godawful and too much for a 200,000++ mile base model car,
1977 or 9 Volkswagen Rabbit. Our grandfather’s car. Same spec as above but a 4-door. He didn’t drive it much before he passed but it became the ‘extra car’ for broken or between-car people. Hell in the summer – the dark red paint and interior soaked up heat like nothing I’ve ever driven – but an absolute tank in the winter (skinny tires, 80:20 F:R weight distribution). Other than losing its exhaust system after a too-vigorous leap across a railroad crossing I don’t remember the thing ever requiring anything but gas.
1994 Honda Accord EX 4-door.
250k miles and starts EVERY time. Regular oil and fluid changes, filters, and a couple of timing belts and one set of engine mounts. Only thing else needed has been brakes and tires.
(Full disclosure…the head gasket was replaced after it was stolen once…but even then…the head had not warped…and it has 75k on it since.)
Even the CD changer still works perfectly.
Yeah, the paint finish has developed a certain patina and the door pulls are losing their chrome look metallic coating…but it still starts and runs fine.
And before anyone asks….loved that 77 SR5 Liftback. Rusted out completely by 84…fenders, hood, rear quarter panels. Totally reliable…especially using 70’s baseline experience…but the rust…
It drove great up to the day that the state police said it could no longer be driven on public streets.
My 2004 Subaru WRX Wagon never let me down. Now my son drives it.
The 2008 Focus that my spouse got from her parents was absolutely rock-solid from the day she got it until the day we said goodbye to it in 2020. Had it not rusted out on the bottom of the door sils (like every other Focus we see from that generation in salt country), we probably would have kept it for a few years more. The engine had nothing more than basic maintenance, it needed a replacement battery around 2014-2015, and I replaced a stabilizer bar bushing that had worn out. The powertrain was dead-nuts reliable and reasonably efficient, and with some nice tires it was brilliant to drive!
So far, it’s been my 2006 Nissan Altima 2.5 S. I installed a catless header after the powertrain warranty was up, and the usual maintenance items, but otherwise it only had three true component failures:
I sold it to a coworker at 203k miles, it’s up to 240k miles and he’s had to replace the cam position sensor but that’s it. It still runs and drives great. Even the sunroof never leaked.
It’s on the original front brakes, too.
2001 Hyundai Elantra GT. 5-speed manual.
Bought it cheap as a lease-turn in at the Hyundai dealership. Nobody wanted it because it had a stick. I got it for $6,495 with less than 60k miles on the clock in 2004.
That car was the epitome of the ‘gas and oil’ cars. It never needed ANYTHING.
The only things that went wrong were covered under CA emissions warranty or a huge rust-belt control arm recall. It had a new exhaust manifold and pre-cat installed gratis at 65k, and both front and rear subframes and the control arms were completely replaced, no questions asked at 115k.
The free work that Hyundai put into the car over my ownership was more than I paid the dealer for the car. The mani/cat was a $1400 part in 2005, I have no clue what the recall suspension work cost, but they had the car for a week…
I traded the car for a Honda Pilot with my first son on the way in 2009. Rust was already peeking through the rockers and rear fenders by then – but it rode and drove like new.
EDIT: I forgot that car loved to consume rear wheel bearings. I had the swap down to a science by the 4th one – 30 minutes was all it took by that time.
I once had a really good run of cars in a row that were all dead-reliable, and I just moved on from for one reason or another. And come to think of it, they were all Mazda or Mazda-adjacent: 1993 Ford Escort, 2002 Mazda Protege, 2005 Ford Focus, 1989 Ford Probe, 1991 Mazda Miata. Excellent cars all, and none of them ever failed to make it home under their own power.
I could have nominated my 2004 Mazda3 instead of my Camry if not for one reason- rust. Rust would have totaled that car well before it reached the 17 year mark. It was mechanically reliable though and I did get 9 very good years out of it.
1986 Reliant Rialto.
This car and it’s owner will never gonna let you down.
https://youtu.be/dIxQ8X963mQ?list=RDdIxQ8X963mQ
My 1995 GMC Yukon 2 door, had it from 40-235K miles. Sold it to a friend who used it for a year and then sold it again. Even when it would break down, it would get me home. Belt tensioner siezed, but the belt stayed on until I got to NAPA, where it fell out of the bottom. Lost 2nd and 3rd… No problem, 15 miles per hour on the uphills, 80 on the downhills. Literally cried when I sold it, since I had it from when I was 19-30. My wife still makes fun of me by plaintifilly wailing “Yukoooon” everytime we see one. I could probably write a small novel about that vehicle.
1987 Toyota Truck.
I bought it November 4, 1987. I still have it. It has had its share of issues, but only one – the ignition “ignitor,” thanks for using terms that no one else does to complicate things unnecessarily, Toyota – actually stranded me. In 38 years, that’s pretty good.
My L300 Delica van. Diesel manual, RHD with full Hi/Lo transfer case and locking hubs. Was an ex-TV van in the Fuji region of japan so it had so many quirks. Crazy 0 gauge wires through out, hole in the roof for a telescoping broadcast dish, lots of weird equipment and old school CRT in the dash. But the thing ran like a top, was damn near indestructible offroad, took loose sand on the beach plenty of times in the summer, and could haul anything the big box stores sold, including a couple tons of pavers and stone, 4x8s you name it. The turbodiesel wasn’t fast, but it purred like a kitten and never gave even a hint of issues. I miss it, but selling it allowed me to buy a house, so can’t complain.
I’ll nominate an unlikely vehicle – 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (3.7). Bought it used with about 36k, it’s served our family for 15 years (currently at 250k). It hasn’t been without its faults – throttle, rear end hum for the past 120k, awful interior quality, worse MPG, less than steller power, etc. What stands out for me is that even at this high mileage, we never had any engine or transmission problems. It runs and shifts perfectly. It was my wife’s vehicle exclusively for a while, then passed on to both of my boys as their college vehicle. In that service, I have no doubt that it saw unspeakable things. It left for a while when our son got a job 600 miles away, but we got it back after a year and its been our “dirty job” vehicle for the past four years. Sadly, it needs more than a few things to pass PA inspection, and it looks like rust has finally taken its toll on a few of the frame components, so its time with us will end in a few weeks. I tip my hat to her – she did everything we ever asked of her – in every kind of weather, and she always got us (and our kids) back safely.
I bought a 1998 S-10 from my brother as my first car in 2008. It had the 2.2 and couldn’t hit 70mph. Gas mileage was so bad, you could see the needle move.
But it always ran, moved a 1/2 ton of horse feed multiple times (for school) and always looked good no matter where I drove it.
It died with Cash for clunkers but I wish I hadn’t
GM had a terrible habit of equipping the worst, weakest motors in their trucks in the 90s and that habit continues well into today. The 1994 Chevy K1500 Silverado my dad had for a short while was an excellent example of this.
My dad told the salesperson that he was going to commute 60 miles a day with it. He ended up buying a very weird build truck; 4WD regular cab, 5 speed, 4.3 V-6, but all of the Silverado niceties.
That truck was slower that death eating molasses in Antarctica. Top speed? 92 mph downhill with a tailwind. Most hills required a downshift.
Best part? Because you were caning it all the time to get it going/keep it going, fuel economy was WORSE than the 5.0 or the 5.7. In town it got like 10 mpg.
07 Armada. I treated it poorly. 10k mile oil changes. Scheduled Maintenance? What’s that? The only time that thing ever didn’t start is if I left on something that drained the battery. I said I was going to drive it until it died, but at 245k I found a Titan that was calling my name.
Biggest job that I ever had to do on it was front hubs.
1996 Subaru, 2003 Jeep Liberty, 2017 Ram 1500 Diesel, 1971 M35A2, 2017 Sienna! All have never let me down! Though I am very on top of pre-emptive maintenance myself. Motorcycles though… those have stranded me until I found a suitable hill to get a running start.
2006 Scion xB. Like 174k miles when I sold it to start driving more sporty fun cars and the only thing I ever did was replace the water pump at the very end. Even that gave me like a week of warning noises.
Ill second this, had an manual 06′ xB in the maroonish color that I still regret selling when I bought a Camaro.
1986 Corolla LE, silver in and out, push button overdrive 38-45MPG never and i mean NEVER left me stranded anywhere at any time. Been though the Northridge Earthquake and travelling back streets to get family to LAX to get home and never once did i worry about it.
Changed valve cover gasket once, CV joints once, brakes a few times, tires a few times and oil on the regular, other fluids yearly, after that, not a dime.
Had 370,000 when I traded it in and got $2500 in 1998 money and it sold in one day off my mechanics car lot.
2003 (VX30) Camry. The car was in the family for 17 years with me being the 3rd primary driver. The closest it ever came to breaking down was needing a jump after the battery failed. The last time it hadn’t moved under its own power was when it was delivered to the dealership. It had 160,000 miles when I sold it and still ran like a champ, but used car prices plummeted in mid 2020 and I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to get something more modern. The adaptive cruise control in my wife’s car had spoiled me too much.
My 1986 300SDL.
Mechanical diesels really are unstoppable. For the 4 years I owned it, my w126 played unofficial support car for all of us when road tripping in our classics.
I carried a trunk full of supplies, that I regularly used for everyone else.
The car never failed to start or run, and the biggest thing I had break on a journey was a window slide (common, $5 fix). It also got nearly 30mpg.
Surely the British car I’m replacing it will be just as reliable, no?
Almost had the same reply but my transmission went out on both the w126s I had. B2 band both times. First one was an actual band snap and catastrophic failure, the second one was just the dogbone and piston binding but I was ready for a newer car at that point. I hope that one is still chugging away, it was 300k with no blowby. I can’t recall anything else that actually broke on them though, they were kind of a mess (cheapo sub-1k cars) but everything worked.
I must say the same for the 2nd of two 300 SDLs I’ve owned. One day, I might get another, but I want it to be black.