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What Is "reliability"?

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Old Mar 10, 2004 | 01:57 PM
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defprun's Avatar
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What is y'alls meaning of the word...reliability. We all use it to describe how well our cars are running, but really, how can you tell if a vehicle is more reliable than another? Most cars all need maintenance, but is reliability just when a part in one car fails considerably more or less than another car?



I've owned cars that were supposed to be "reliable" but turned out to be out of order more than my "unreliable" RX-7!



Describe to me what reliability means to you and name off some cars that were just NOT reliable or, cars that were EXTREMELY reliable and NEVER let you down...
Old Mar 10, 2004 | 02:00 PM
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IMO



"reliable" is a car that needs only brakes, oil changes, tires and winshield wipers before 100,000 miles.



after 100,000-150,000 throw in a tune up... expect clutch, a few small seals, maybe a muffler to fall off...



150,000 miles and + anything is fair game
Old Mar 10, 2004 | 03:07 PM
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Originally Posted by boxrs4sale' date='Mar 10 2004, 04:00 PM
150,000 miles and + anything is fair game
Maybe thats my problem.... 199K miles.



To me, reliability is not having to worry about what will break next. A reliable car, you can get in time and time again, and not worry about it letting you down. No car will ever be 100% reliable, and its expected that something will break sometime. But I draw the line for reliability where you get into a car and drive it without worrying about what will break. If you get in your car and wonder what will go wrong this time, it is not reliable.
Old Mar 10, 2004 | 03:09 PM
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Reliable is a car I can go out to when ever I want and start it up and drive it around without everything spontaneously failing. I consider my 7 to be more reliable than my '78 truck; I expect small things in the 7 to break often but whenever I drive the truck it takes 15 minutes just to get the damn thing started and out of the driveway. I wouldn't be at all surprised if I took a corner in the truck and all the suspension broke and the drivetrain fell off the frame.
Old Mar 10, 2004 | 03:37 PM
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A reliable car is one you can take on an interstate trip of several hundred or a thousand miles with complete confidence that it will get you where you're going. A reliable car is one you drive every day and it always gets you there and gets you home and doesn't leave you on the side of the road.



My 626 was dead-on reliable for 14 years.
Old Mar 10, 2004 | 03:47 PM
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some one on the forum wotn shut up about how unreliable vw are but persoanly there are more golf mk1ns on uk roads than all the old japanise civics whitch emans they must be doign somethign right my opinion of reliablility is a car that will run after 100 000 miles with regular services you se all these test but do these ppl buy cars and run them upto 100 000 miles and se whtich one cost the less to maintain so in the short you cant realy say your car is unrealiable unles it dotn get you outside your driveway without braking down
Old Mar 10, 2004 | 03:57 PM
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Originally Posted by yonner' date='Mar 10 2004, 05:47 PM
some one on the forum wotn shut up about how unreliable vw are but persoanly there are more golf mk1ns on uk roads than all the old japanise civics whitch emans they must be doign somethign right my opinion of reliablility is a car that will run after 100 000 miles with regular services you se all these test but do these ppl buy cars and run them upto 100 000 miles and se whtich one cost the less to maintain so in the short you cant realy say your car is unrealiable unles it dotn get you outside your driveway without braking down
VW is near the bottom of the list of ALL makes available in the US as far as reliability is concerned. I can scan the Consumer Reports if you dont believe me. Mazda is near the top, below infinity, lexus, toyota, honda, and acura.
Old Mar 10, 2004 | 04:06 PM
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reliable: car that doesnt leave you stranded



durable: car that runs forever, as long as you maintain $$





examples:



reliable, 1985 rx7 gsl-se, it went from 210,000miles to 235,000, with nothing but a set of front brake pads, it never missed a beat in those 5 years, and saw plenty of track time too



durable; 1971 mercedes, it has gone 33 years and 162,000miles, and will go another 33years and 162,000miles as long as its maintained (from 87-04 the repair bill was $15,595), except for the paint the car is in good shape, and mechanically its excellent
Old Mar 10, 2004 | 05:52 PM
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Originally Posted by yonner' date='Mar 10 2004, 01:47 PM
some one on the forum wotn shut up about how unreliable vw are but persoanly there are more golf mk1ns on uk roads than all the old japanise civics whitch emans they must be doign somethign right my opinion of reliablility is a car that will run after 100 000 miles with regular services you se all these test but do these ppl buy cars and run them upto 100 000 miles and se whtich one cost the less to maintain so in the short you cant realy say your car is unrealiable unles it dotn get you outside your driveway without braking down
that would be me.. you shoulda done your research before buying such an unreliable product.. i posted links for you to review.. but you bought the car without taking too much into consideration.. not my fault.. i would feel more confident in a civic than a vw(bug) anyday...



i worked for a parts store for a summer delivering parts to different dealerships.. and the local vw/audi/subaru place was always a hilarious place to go to.. the salesmen would swear that vw's were the most reliable thing in the world... but my friends who worked there in the service/parts dept. said they were always having issues with the vw's/audi's... if you wanted reliability, buy anything but vw or audi..



they had a brand new audi A6 or A8 with only 900 miles on it.. couldn't figure out the problem with it, and had to install a whole new engine in it... sad : (



not tryin to knock your socks off, but you shoulda done your homework instead of just assuming
Old Mar 10, 2004 | 06:01 PM
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http://www.autooninfo.info/RelGrHiStandardsAudi.htm





edit: here's the link with the bug on it.. http://www.autooninfo.info/RelGrHiSt...Volkswagen.htm





just to reassure yonner that i don't hate him, i just don't know why he tends to think they are reliable...



lol



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