So much for that toyota quality..
I have a 96 ford ranger 4 wheel drive 5 speed 3.0 v6 (pushrod engine). It has been perfectly flawless and has 210K. I even drove that thing quite hard for a number of years.. This year model has minimal electronics. It does have a basic crank trigger ignition which is the most complex electronic on the entire vehicle. I may have just got a good one, it came factory with no air, manual windows. Replaced the clutch once (tossed in an autozone slave cylinder for good measure), did brakes and usual service. 4wd works flawlessly as well. I agree that the more electronically controlled factors on a car the more failure points these days.
The complex electronics if working properly from the factory will fail given some time. They are sweet, then they start failing and no one can ever get them right again. I have an 00 F150. They have a "power train control module" which runs (commands) the motor and transmission. That is probably the most common failure point on those vehicles.. My F150 has 160k and is beginning to have issues with the module. Ford blew 600 dollars of my money to tell me it could be a number of things but the PCM is definetly acting strange.. I took it back and said thanks for nothing..
I had a 1980 chevy citation coupe (non hatchback) manual everything 4 cly no air. Drove it long and hard for 12 years on primarily gravel roads as i lived far out in the country. Put 176k on that car with 0 mechanical issues. That was even after my mom t-boned and totaled a chevelle, we were going about 45. The citation had a busted grille, crumpled the hood, we drove it home where my dad straightened the hood pulled the bumper out (bumper shocks) and mended the grille and replaced the front lights. Finally at 176k, I was just out of highschool and crazy. Jumped it off an embankment, knocked a large hole in the radiator (gravel road rocks flying everywhere). My friend took it on a road trip a couple weeks later and let it run out of water, he apparently held it to the floor until it simply siezed up. It was never the same after that. I tore it down, had melted a hole in the side of the cylinder in the head gasket area..
Modern metals are good quality and tolerances are tight. If you can get a basic automobile with limited frills and mostly mechanically controlled systems, it will probably last a long time. I would definitely recommend looking at a late 90s ford 4wd ranger with manual everything. They are really very durable.
Otherwise just get a no frills car. I would get a car between the years of 98 and 04 with manual everything and limited to no computer controlled systems.
I hate to say it but a 98 civic is one of the better cars made. Manual trans, 1.8 liter. Manual windows. Drive it normal, service it well, that car will last for a long long time. They had only a small hand full of electronically controlled systems.
Like an old tractor.. :)
Simple is better (in terms of frequency and cost of maintenance), has less failure points and is usually less expensive to repair.
My good friend has an 04 F150 v6 with manual everything, has air. This truck has had 0 issues. Has 80K now.. He does good services and uses synthetic oils.
I vote a clean firm /6 a-body with an aluminum a833 OD and 3.23s with air con and manual windows and an american flag tinted on the back window. If I have my way that will be my daily driver in a couple years.
Buy American, Hire American!
For you Toyota haters out there
.. Can you name some really good, reliable American cars made in the last 10 years? I may be in the market
..
Im not looking for a truck or SUV.
I would like suggestions that offer good MPGs and a proven long term reliability record.
Thanks for any help you can give.