The reliability of you car depends on the maintenance.
Mar 07 '01
The Bottom Line If you look after your car, it will be reliable. Age really doesn't matter.
The maintenance of you car determines how reliable it is. Don’t listen to all the rumors about which car is reliable and which isn’t.
I own a 1974 Austin Mini Clubman 1100 cc. After owning it for about a year, I blew up the engine and I (my Dad actually) put in a 1340 cc. It was fast!
I drove around with this fast mini for nearly a year before the engine broke the crankshaft. Damn! I bought another engine (1275 cc) and put that in. Not as fast as the 1340 cc but it is alright.
So I was on my third engine now. That means that I have taken my engine out twice. Was that enough? No! I had to take it out the third time because I was going through 4 litres of oil per week so I had to replace the rings.
These are only the few major faults with my Mini. I have spent thousands on fixing my car for the near two years that I have owned it.
Why am I giving you all my problems? Well I used to have the belief that old cars last forever and are more reliable than modern Japanese cars. This is true but only if you look after them. The reality is that my mates 1984 Mazda 323 was thrashed but it still worked. It didn’t come to the point where he couldn’t use it any longer.
If I looked after my car and regularly maintained it and I drove it smoothly, it wouldn’t give me any problems. That’s fair enough, but what about Japanese cars? They will last a long time if they are well looked after too. My Dad owns a 1986 Nissan Laurel Medallist. He has owned it for 10 years now and the only thing wrong with it is the faulty fuel gauge. Apart from having to replace a distributor and have the transmission serviced, nothing major has gone wrong with this car. This car is in near perfect condition to this point and has years of life left in it.
I think it would be cheaper to buy an old Jap car that is barely on its feet and run it into the ground and then buy another car the same after a few years than to buy a good car that will last a long time. If you have an old Jap car that didn’t cost much, it won’t matter if it breaks down, if you crash it or if it is stolen because you can just go and buy another cheap heap. No service bills, no major maintenance and no need for insurance except for third party insurance to cover you if you are stupid enough to hit someone else’s car.
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Epinions.com ID:
ikat_knows
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Member: Mason Torrey
Location: Whangarei, New Zealand
Reviews written: 20
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
I am Mason J Torrey. Entrepreneur, writer, publisher, ideas specialist. Born 6th May, 1981.
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