Is there such a thing as an unreliable U.S. new car today?

[2019CRVlx]

I know it's relative, but if you were a low mileage driver (like me) and drove like an old lady (like me) and were a stickler for maintenance (like me) ... shouldn't the majority of today's vehicles last many miles?

I've read the smaller JEEP SUV's were borderline junk, however, we had a Compass as a company vehicle that approached 100k trouble free miles. I'd be leery of a Fiat, but they're a tiny part of the U.S. market now.

Can't really think of any brand new junkers on the market.

 

[Skippy722]

That’s how I feel. Sure, by buying say a Toyota or Honda your odds of needing an unexpected repair beyond routine maintenance may be lower, but it’s a percent of a percentage overall for most vehicles.

Everyone HATED the Dodge Caliber (and it’s Jeep cousins). Sure, it did nothing great and 6’3” 280lb me looked like this picture in it. It also however did nothing terrible (okay… maybe the heat and ac was friggin fantastic). It was simply an appliance that started every time, had ice cold air, and a heater core I swear was intended for a much larger vehicle. Same for my parents Caliber.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Jaguar, Land Rover/Range Rover, Mercedes, BMW

 

[I<3oil]

Nissan

 

[J Dubbs]

How are Dodge/Chrysler products? I've heard they went down the toilet along with Jeep when Fiat purchased them ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

 

[2019CRVlx]

How are Dodge/Chrysler products? I've heard they went down the toilet along with Jeep when Fiat purchased them ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

I had a coworker who had the 3.6L V6 Chrysler 300. Served him well.

 

[ron17571]

Ask the warranty clerk in the service department about what they think of a car you are interested in. I've been told of some models that never seem to need repair and others are a nightmare.

 

[dishdude]

Almost all cars suffer from some common issues, even "reliable" ones. Overall, I think almost all cars since fuel injection became mainstream are overwhelmingly reliable with the exception of some certain issues. I like to think this is where all the wisdom on this site comes into play and we can discuss a certain engine or transmission that is troublesome without painting an entire manufacturer or even more ridiculous an entire continent of vehicles as "crap" or "junk".

 

[daves87rs]

Most are just fine with proper care.

 

[J Dubbs]

Most are just fine with proper care.

Except Fiat

 

[CharBaby]

Statistically there are vehicles that still have too many failures or simply, issues that have plagued the brand for far too long. As mentioned, NISSAN. I know, I own one but mine is fine and I love it. I will be selling the Altima by MONDAY(July 31).

And there are the vehicles that show good reliability in a small window of time(3-5 yrs) however, these vehicles are not the long haul vehicles the way we want them to be, meaning trouble free for 15+ years before starting to need attention.

Such as my buddy's 2004 Sienna with > 200,000 miles on it. I mean, that may not be many miles per year on that Sienna but 200K is still a lot of miles. But only now(the past year or two) is he starting to have to put money into it.

Or those 2002-06 Camry 4 cylinder(pre oil burning years) with almost 300K on the clock. Or that group of old Civics that just keep going & going. And even these vehicles that I mention have had their issues and years or even whole generations to avoid.

But I believe that there are many good domestic vehicles to buy/lease that will serve their customers very well in the time that we want to keep them. And I am not so sure anymore if there are many vehicle that we can keep forever(~20 years) especially in the salt belt. It's just too hard. The cost of repairs and the trouble doing many repairs is often not worth the effort.

I've owned some of the most unreliable vehicle in history and they were OK. You know when it's time to get rid of them.

 

[demarpaint]

 

[joekingcorvette]

The problem lies when many vehicles (it might only be a very small percentage) have something stupid happen such as a spun crankshaft bearing. One was a 2015 Corvette and the other was a 2017 Ford F-150. Both vehicles needed new engines. GM has A8 transmission failures that are very expensive to repair. Most vehicles will make it a long time but with millions produced there is always that very very small percentage that can and will break down with a repair that costs several thousand to repair. Sometimes warranty covers it and sometimes it doesn't.

 

[Trav]

Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Jaguar, Land Rover/Range Rover, Mercedes, BMW

There are some really wonderful machines from that bunch even Fiat has had some desirable cars like the 124 Spider Abarth.

 

[atikovi]

All new cars are junk. If auto makers can save 50 cents on a part inside the engine or transmission that will last through the warranty period but unlikely to last much beyond 100,000 miles, they gladly will.

 

[atikovi]

Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Jaguar, Land Rover/Range Rover, Mercedes, BMW

And I'm sure you have owned at least one of each to base your experience on?

 

[skyactiv]

People are bringing up Fiat, but they do t sell new cars in the USA that I know of.

 

[CarbonToast]

I believe most are better now than ever before. The failures that happen are electrical component infant failures. If you are shopping for a car get something 1 year old with some miles I think you are unlikely to ever expirience a failure.

 

[vwmaniaman]

Yes manufacturers save money in little ways that make extended mileage near impossible. For instance the lowly freeze plug. I am old enough to recall when Ford used steel freeze plugs and Mercury and Lincoln came with brass ones. Simple way to save money on manufacturing that goes un-noticed for years.

 

[dfarr67]

I think drivers automotive knowledge has gone down as autus are widely and cheaply available to just about anyone. You can find fault with every single model out there.