What Car Company Makes The Best Car Or Truck ?

[defektes]

Having owned a T100 it is not as problem free as some of you may beleive. Excellent truck, by all means, but they were prone to cylinder head issues. Like was mentioned it also had the worst cup holder position, and quality ever. Yes! lets put a cup holder that sucks right over the radio! The cylinder head in mine went at 134k miles, cracked. And the tundras? they have timing belts, enough said.

I guess the cup holder is not as bad as the one in my old pontiac Sunbird.

The interiors of all my GMs have lasted a very long time. Biggest issue with GMs (I have owned many) is fuel pumps, after 100k miles expect to replace it. Window motors like to go out aswell.


Interiors in toyotas last forever you say? Our 84 toyota 22r made it to 500k miles. Went through 2 motors, and multiple transmissions. Roll up window handles were replaced by the dozens, had to put 4 sets of seats ( the single slide up one) due to the sun rotting the pleather, dashboard loved to crack as well even with a cloth protector over it. Also a problem in my grandfathers 94 Toyota 22r-e, dashboard had a large crack down the center, and he also had a fabric protector, and has had his roll up handles replaced twice. Other than that his truck is going well with 189k miles.

In the end, every car has its ups and downs.

 

[volvos_rock]

Ive owned GMs, Jeeps, Volvos, Toyota and Nissan. Can only speak from what ive owned, but the volvos by far are the best when taking all aspects (confort, build qaulity, cost to maintain, warranty hassels, etc) into account. To add to the expierience I drive Fords (CVPI, Expiditions and Chevy Tahoes) and Chevys at work, IMO they are junk. After the Volvos the Jeeps were the best in my experience. My 2 coins.

 

[SteveSRT8]

In my experience. That's the key phrase.

Many of us simply haven't owned enough cars yet to realize that EVERY single manufacturer makes a lemon now and again. Every single one.

And no offense to any of our story tellers but the anecdotal evidence presented here is amusing. Not conclusive!

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: volvos_rock
To add to the expierience I drive Fords (CVPI, Expeditions and Chevy Tahoes) and Chevys at work, IMO they are junk. After the Volvos the Jeeps were the best in my experience. My 2 coins.


I have nothing against Volvo or Jeep but I find this comment makes no sense at all..The F.H.P and the M.D.P.D. and most other agencies down here have all those cars and SUV'S you mentioned and have zero issues with them and due to budget cuts keep those cars now till 150K miles or more.

If you are talking about pool cars that everyone uses then any car will have issues..If these cars and SUV'S are take home cars and serviced regularly then they will not give you any issues.

The Impalas are used mostly for supervisiors and that works out just fine.

I know plenty of people who bought used CVPI'S and some Expeditions and they love them..Some have close to 300K miles on them.

That just my 2 coins.

 

[stenerson]

I've been happy with Dodge. Wife's Caravan has been going strong since 2000 with no major repairs. Not mega miles on it but just about all short trips that ain't easy on engines.
I luvs my dodge ram.

 

[volvos_rock]

Originally Posted By: CROWNVIC4LIFE
Originally Posted By: volvos_rock
To add to the expierience I drive Fords (CVPI, Expeditions and Chevy Tahoes) and Chevys at work, IMO they are junk. After the Volvos the Jeeps were the best in my experience. My 2 coins.


I have nothing against Volvo or Jeep but I find this comment makes no sense at all..The F.H.P and the M.D.P.D. and most other agencies down here have all those cars and SUV'S you mentioned and have zero issues with them and due to budget cuts keep those cars now till 150K miles or more.

If you are talking about pool cars that everyone uses then any car will have issues..If these cars and SUV'S are take home cars and serviced regularly then they will not give you any issues.

The Impalas are used mostly for supervisiors and that works out just fine.

I know plenty of people who bought used CVPI'S and some Expeditions and they love them..Some have close to 300K miles on them.

That just my 2 coins.


Ok I will try to qualify my statements. first off just my opinion, formed through expierience, nothing more. All of our cars are pool cars, no take homes here (but well serviced by competent mechanics). The CVPI, is a joke as a purpose built vehicle, while I'm sure it's fine for civilian use. From underpowered to the poor build quality and the plauge of the same reacurring problems thorugh out it's life cycle that Ford does not/refuses to correct. I happen to be assigned an 09 Tahoe PPV 2x. Nice truck, nice power, tons more comfortable than the Fords, at 45k the third motor was put in.... the 4x expidition we have is out of service more than in, name it it's failed prematurly. On the oppisite side my personal 98 K1500 is one of the best trucks Ive ever owned, but its average cost for yearly maintanance is equal to the volvos, and it's not as comfy nor as well built (fit and finish). again just my opinion and definately not meant as a slight to anyone elses preferances

 

[FZ1]

Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
In your opinion what car company makes the best cars and trucks and why do you think that?

1) longest lasting ?
2)Best (real Warranty) ?
3)Least amount of money for maintanence ?
4) Most honest car companies when it comes to warranty service ?
Honda. Best resale.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: k24a4
If you put stock in CR, they pose and then answer the same question, "Who makes the best cars?" in the 2011 Auto Issue. Using test scores and reliability ratings to determine an overall maker score, here is how they rank:

#1 Honda-74
#2 Subaru-73
#3 Toyota-71
#4 Volvo-68
#5 Ford-67
#6 Hyundai-66
#7 Mazda and Nissan-65
#8 VW-63
#9 MB and BMW-57
#10 GM-56
#11 Chrysler-43


As much as BITOGers would hate to admit, the data that CR reports is not all that far off from most sentiments on here. In this thread (which is by no means statistically significant), I see votes for Honda, Toyota, and Ford most often. And while there aren't high numbers of Subaru fans out there to put in the obligatory "subaru FTW!" post, there are also relatively few reports of real lemons coming out of Subaru, and we know they're very good cars.

In other words, the story CR tells isn't all that different from the story that BITOG collectively tells, even though "it's not worth the paper its printed on". Honda and Toyota still make extremely good cars. Ford and Hyundai are right there, and statistically, just as good. Mazda and Nissan are also very reliable overall.

That Chrysler is so far down is little surprise. I will admit that GM does surprise me, though.

 

[SUPERGASHOG]

GM up to about 1972.
Honda and Toyota ever since.

 

[Rix]

I've had fords, chevy, buick, pontiac, chrysler, subaru.
ONLY the toyotas have taken tha abuse.
Granted, I usually buy them cheap, and most have already HAD issues, so I've ended up putting new engines in all the cars I have now (my truck, my cressida, my corolla, my wifes corolla, and my dads truck)
My truck was horribly abused before I got it (burned up cam and rockers) and I drove it for 10k miles before a rod started to go.
My corolla had a blown head gasket (used engine, old engine lost it's oil filter thanks to jiffy lube and blew on the freeway) the wifes car was intentionally blown up by the previous owner, and I bought the cressida in pieces due to a blown head gasket (S.O.P. for a 7mge)
And I bought by dad's truck with a blown engine in pieces (3vz-e with 225k miles)

So my experiences might not count...

The dash on the wife's 85 corolla finally cracked last year.
The rest are still fine.
I just replaced the seats in the cressida (driver's had some cracks)
I've put late model driver's seat in the wife's car, and 06-ish corolla seats in the truck.
The old man's seats is the original 60/40

FWIW

 

[addyguy]

Right now, I'd say Ford or Hyundai.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Rix
I've had fords, chevy, buick, pontiac, chrysler, subaru.
ONLY the toyotas have taken tha abuse.
Granted, I usually buy them cheap, and most have already HAD issues, so I've ended up putting new engines in all the cars I have now (my truck, my cressida, my corolla, my wifes corolla, and my dads truck)
My truck was horribly abused before I got it (burned up cam and rockers) and I drove it for 10k miles before a rod started to go.
My corolla had a blown head gasket (used engine, old engine lost it's oil filter thanks to jiffy lube and blew on the freeway) the wifes car was intentionally blown up by the previous owner, and I bought the cressida in pieces due to a blown head gasket (S.O.P. for a 7mge)
And I bought by dad's truck with a blown engine in pieces (3vz-e with 225k miles)

So my experiences might not count...

The dash on the wife's 85 corolla finally cracked last year.
The rest are still fine.
I just replaced the seats in the cressida (driver's had some cracks)
I've put late model driver's seat in the wife's car, and 06-ish corolla seats in the truck.
The old man's seats is the original 60/40

FWIW


Dude, if you are buying a car and have to put an engine in it, how the heck can that classify as "taking the abuse"? Because it sure as heck didn't survive somebody else's abuse.

 

[Rix]

No, they didn't survive other people's neglect.
The truck was run out of oil, the wife's car was run out of oil on purpose, the cressida was run low on coolant, etc.


I DID quantify my statement, that they don't really count.

I don't buy new cars, I buy old stuff I like, for cheap, usually broken in some manner.

1988 truck
1985 corolla x2
1991 truck
1989 cressida
1968 corona
1969 corona
1969 datsun
1972 AMC javelin
1975 corolla wagon
etc.

They've done spectacular since their replacement engines, etc.
The cressida has packed on 60,000 miles, the truck almost 30,000, the corolla 25,000 or so.

The corolla especially tells the story though. Stock rods and crank taking 10k rpm shifts for years.
The cressida takes redline shifts several times a day.
The truck just gets thrashed pretty much every time it goes out. I HAVE to drive that thing hard, due to 37 inch tires, 4:10 gears, and a 22re. LOL.

The others were all similair in having multiple issues with break downs and whatnot.
Excepting the 74 ford truck. But at 110k miles, it had already had a replacement engine, before I got it.
It never broke down on me like the others, but it was losing power fast with me driving it.
I am NOT nice to machinery of any sort. NOT AT ALL.

The toyotas just take it (my abuse) longer, that's all.

 

[lifeson2112]

To me, the best Truck or car, is the one that one, that when it breaks down, and THEY ALL WILL TOYOTA OR NOT, that you can walk into AutoZone, say I need a..."water pump...alternator....whatever.." and the guy walks to the back , pulls it off the shelf for you, (WITHOUT SPECIAL ORDER)...THEN...THEN...you go home, pop your hood, bust out the socket set, and throw that part on in your driveway without having to strip HALF the front end off of it to get to it. THAT, right there, is 100% priceless. Now, if you are one of the fortunate citizens who make the big bucks to pay someone $700 to install a $65 water pump, then more power to ya big guy. I say to that, YOU need to learn how operate a $20 socket set. Cuz good times always come to an end.

 

[Popinski]

I'm going to be on everyone's side. All car companies are junk. Schwinn went from mainstream to Walmart and they STILL have good reliability and warranty.

 

[artificialist]

Overall, Honda and Toyota win.

That in mind, if you are willing to pay for higher maintenance costs, I see Volvo, SAAB, and Benz cars going further.

 

[hstuehmeyer2000]

The most durable car is the german star!

The best comprimise between durability, cost, and reliability goes to...

 

[tangojetta]

Older MB yes,but not the new ones.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: tangojetta
Older MB yes,but not the new ones.


Mercedes Benz does seem to be turning the corner on quality control. You are mostly right. Up to about...meh

about 2008, MB was having some QC issues. Particularly in the lesser classes.

Some say they were trying to cram too much new technology in all at once without enough development and testing. Some say they were trying to produce too many cars and slipped in quality.


I wonder what the longest lived Checker Marathon is? That's gotta' embarrass a lot of Mercedes diesels.

 

[hstuehmeyer2000]

Originally Posted By: tangojetta
Older MB yes,but not the new ones.

Yes, unfortunately that is the sad truth.