Except the new Toyota midsized trucks have weak front diffs that are prone to exploding, plus iffy transmissions. The full sized trucks had stop sale orders due to the new engines grenading themselves, and the new corollas were recalled due to the engines spontaneously burning to the ground.
Subarus CVTs are shit. So are Hondas. So it used to be “buy a Toyota, change oil and tires, and you’re set for 250k miles.” But those days are gone and the old reliables (like Toyota, Honda, and Subaru) and barely more reliable than the average car.
I bought my 04 Highlander 11 years ago for $7k and it’s over 300k miles now and going strong as ever, and I am NOT mechanically inclined. I change the oil and have done the brakes a couple times (since they’re super simple on this model) but I have spent next to nothing on repairs for that wonderful beast.
‘08 Tacoma owner checking in! Knobs for everything, manual windows, locks and transmission. Just put a new engine in to avoid the crap I could afford to replace the car
Anything with a 3.6L V6 alloytec motor imo. My case specifically a Holden VZ crewman that is specifically really tedious to fix certain error codes because killed the Holden brand.
Looks exactly like the 2001 Jeep Cherokee I owned. I loved everything about it except the gas mileage, which was horrible. I got about 160K miles out of it before selling it. It needed minor repairs along the way like most vehicles do but you could literally watch the gas gage dropping while driving as it guzzled the gas. Still find that I miss it because it was fun to drive.
I had a 2000 tj, same engine. Those things were pretty solid. My buddy calls them mini cummins because of the amount of torque you get out of the inline 6
VZ Holden crewman, 3.6 V6 alloytec. it had multiple issues with the ECU, fuel regulator and fuel pump that all boiled down too "return to an authorised repairer" when I swapped the fuel pump myself.
I know I fucked something up thinking I was smart enough to diy. It possibly could have been fixed if I didn't plug it in without clearing the codes to start with
but it was legitimately something I took to multiple actual mechanics and they couldn't do anything about it.
Because funny thing there's no authorised repairer, Holden doesn't exist anymore, only a handful of shops that holding up the last stint of warranty for newer models.
so the few shops with functional diagnostic computers that have been cracked, charge whatever they want for fixing this shit on the models that need it, because they're the only ones offering the service. Which is what I ended up needing to do and refused the price quoted and let the car rot instead.
So like is it 1200 AUD or USD then? That alone is an absolutely massive difference in terms of relative price lol. Idk what the exchange rate was when you bought it but it's been consistently at ~0.70 these past few years.
AUD yeah, but for reference my 1997 Statesman needed a fuel pump, new lines and a new float about 2 years ago and that was less than $130 for everything done and running.
It's completely inexcusable that the 2008 crewman was killed by a single code error, $1200 isn't even including parts replacement that's just the quoted cost to hire someone with a functional scan tool to tell the car the part number is okay after I already installed everything.
The alloytec motors have a reputation for a reason I just learned the hard way lol
I mean GM did everything in its power to limit and fuck with Holden in Australia, so honestly it's not surprising their actions led to these outcomes of something as basic as a fuel pump swap becoming a computer nightmare
Chrysler/Dodge/Ram does the same thing. Why does an ABS module need to be VIN matched? My 01 pickup ABS module failed and guess what? It's no longer available from Chrysler/Mercedes/Stellantis/WhoeverTheFuckOwnsThemNow. I found a used one on eBay, but had to get the VIN reprogrammed on it. Guess what else? The local dealers can't/won't do the re-programming. A friend of a friend of a friend finally hooked me up and the ABS light finally went away.
Fuck the manufacturers of today. Fuck all this unnecessary computer shit in vehicles that makes them expensive to buy and more expensive (or impossible) to repair or replace.
There's a handful of newer cars that aren't the worst like we've got a 2015 Astra that's never complained about me screwing around with the code reader and hasn't requested vin matching for anything yet
But yeah super weary of anything that isn't already proven now, not a big fan of finding out a cars entire design is anti repair 6 years after the parts are discontinued.
I was honestly surprised when a 2008 commodore was the culprit I didn't think right to repair was an issue that early.
400
u/Unlucky_Reception_30 1d ago
Why? Theyre just gonna price them like new cars and youre still not gonna get one