Bullet proof cars? List them and your experiences.

[cutright]

Quote, originally posted by Misfit »

original engine and tranny?

Original engine but 6th 020 tranny (glassware) hahaa

[4MoPassat]

Family 1991 Honda Civic DX hatchback 5-speed handed down to me. 1995 Honda Civic EX coupe still running our family sold to some friends back in 2000.

Hondas

[Silenius]

Quote, originally posted by kerridwen »

Can you be more specific? What broke in that "break" issue, the tranny, the frame??? And how can you call a truck reliable if it breaks?

My mistake, Wrong spelling, the truck had ABS Brake issues. The ABS unit died, yet the brakes still worked. The truck needed its distributor cap cleaned every once in a while. A seal in the transmission started to spray fluid out of it while towing near before we got rid of the truck but a little bit of seal sweller and more fluid solved the problem. The truck had major rust issues, it was specific to that model year. Trucks older and newer did not have this rust issue. Only huge money that was spent on it was the replacement of a gas tank. Some one prior a GM dealership or a Firestone store cut a hole in the gas tank and looked around in it then sealed it with fiberglass. The Jimmy had the High Output 4.3l (L35 first year of production) dubed as the Vortec. It had a different fuel injection system on it than current 4300 Vortec engines.

Modified by Silenius at 9:18 PM 2-10-2008

Modified by Silenius at 9:20 PM 2-10-2008


Modified by Silenius at 9:25 PM 2-10-2008

[jddaigle]

Quote, originally posted by GsR »

Coincidentally I had a mkIII 2.0 for over a year and I have to say it was as reliable as could be. But I know this is the exception not the rule.

Don't feel like you have to apologize! My family also had a 1996 Jetta with a manual transmission that got rear-ended twice, made numerous multi-thousand mile road trips (NH to OH and back, NH to MD and back, NH to TX, TX to CO and back, etc.) and was still going strong when my brother sold it in 2005 with over 150,000miles on it. Original clutch, too! My friend has a '97 he bought used in VT and drove to Denver and then San Francisco when he moved. He doesn't go easy on his cars at all and the biggest problem he had was the cruise control went out. There, two bulletproof MkIIIs!

[welderdood]

My mk3 was great. when I first got it we did a head gasket and had 3.5 years of worry free driving. Good in the snow. plenty of pep and fun to drive. 6 months before I sold it I had to do a master cylinder but that was it.

Matter of a fact I am looking for another one.

[jddaigle]

Quote, originally posted by cutright »

ROFLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL you have like the only 020 that doesnt blow up? you dont know vw's if it hit you,right in the head lol

Maybe he doesn't. Or maybe people need to stop trying to shift mass-market economy cars like they have sequential racing transmissions. But since this is the internet, we may never know.

[VW-BMW]

I'll just post the best and worst of what I've had/have.

A+: '86 Volvo 240 Wagon. Rust is going to kill it before anything mechanical. ~180k on it. Wear items only replaced on it.

A+: '92 Nissan 240SX. Sold with 173k. Saw redline multiple times per day. Went through track days, autocrosses, people learning to drive stick with it, lots of long burnouts, offroading, donuts. You name it, I did it with this car and it refused to break.

A-: '89 BMW 525i. (e34+m20). Currently has 203k on it. I'm getting rust around the bottoms of the doors. After 19 years some of the lightbulbs in the dash have needed replaced, and they are not easy to get to. The exhaust rotted out and was replaced, other than that, it's only been wear items. Ran a track day in a pinch with 175k on it.

D: '92 VW Jetta. I paid $200 for this car used. You get what you pay for. I really shouldn't fault the car for my experience.

F: '95 318i. I hate e36s because of this car. I am scared to sell it because I'm worried it would come back on me. I don't want to trade it because there's nothing a dealer has that I want. Pouring the amount of money in it to make it reliable isn't worth it. It just sits in the driveway and people occassionally borrow it. I hate this car.

[feels_road]

Quote, originally posted by cutright »

ROFLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL you have like the only 020 that doesnt blow up? you dont know vw's if it hit you,right in the head lol

Quote, originally posted by jddaigle »

maybe people need to stop trying to shift mass-market economy cars like they have sequential racing transmissions.

X2.

BTW, I have been driving VWs for 35 years, and as I mentioned above, those 150,000+ miles are all mine. I have also owned Subarus and others. And, yes, 1st and reverse are a bit "sticky", so I don't force them. It's much easier to get them in smoothly if you are rolling slightly, and take your time...

Also, I am not rallying or racing, so the only time I actually "drive" in first (as opposed to simply getting started from stop) is in super-slow stop-and-go traffic --- usually, 2nd is fine due to the low-end torque of the engine. But I don't baby the car in the other gears.

Anyway, this thread is about the cars in their entirety, not just about gear boxes. And there isn't really much that goes wrong in MkIIIs, in my experience, and in the experience of friends and family who have had them or still own them. This thread shows that others share this experience, and your car (apart from the gear box) seems to be doing great, too.

[VeeDubMan54]

[feels_road]

Quote, originally posted by cutright »

ROFLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL you have like the only 020 that doesnt blow up? you dont know vw's if it hit you,right in the head lol

Upon further review, I think I shouldn't have bothered with a response...

Click here to view cutright's watched topics:

Modified by feels_road at 12:51 AM 2-11-2008

[seoulstice]

W123

W126

My first-gen W126 300SD[5 cylinder turbodiesel, iron block] has over 325,xxx miles and still runs strong.

[newbiedubber]

Here is a list I compiled before, from a question on clutch longevity, but these cars were all really good to me:

Longevity?
Volvo 245: 275k+ mi original clutch
Volvo Turbo Coupe: replaced clutch at 175k mi, but was modded; 230k when totaled
Mazda 626: 258k miles, original clutch, traded
Mazda B2200 truck, traded at 150k stock clutch
Miata, changed clutch (easy!) to ACT HD at 97k, flogged relentlessly
Passat, now at 148k on original clutch, chipped since 52k, driven hard

The most trouble free have been the Mazdas; The 626 needed an alternater and a starter. Other than that, routine. The B2200 I used as a "contract jobber" truck, even towed trailers regularly, I never had to do anything to it.

The Miata has been totally "bulletproof", to quote this thread. Not much mileage, but I drive it very hard, and it knows it's way around Lime Rock. Nothing other than routine.

I didn't mention that I also had a '67 Chrysler Newport, sold that at 175k, but 3 other cars died trying to total themselves against it. That was trouble free. Worst car I ever had was a Buick, engineered to fall apart at exactly 55k miles.


Modified by newbiedubber at 1:05 PM 2-11-2008

[feels_road]

.

[LhW]

My 92 Saturn. 150K incredible miles. Only one problem, the starter which went well after 100K and an engine mount bolt that was not correctly replaced after a scheduled belt replacement. Years later, I purchased another Saturn based on my experience with that one.

I have been at both ends, my Jetta was from Hell.

[AlpineE30]

E30s Hands down

[abawp]

Aside from my rear hatch locking mechanism failing, my mkIV 1.8t GTI has been pretty bullet proof. Just passed the 90,000 mile mark and the only needed item for replacement is the suspension (which is more my need than the actual components being bad).

[MagicBus]

Quote, originally posted by seoulstice »

W123 W126 My first-gen W126 300SD[5 cylinder turbodiesel, iron block] has over 325,xxx miles and still runs strong.

Nice

I've had a few of each:
1982 240D:
Bought in 1996 with 135K. First car. Was seriously abused by owner 1. Burned 7 quarts of oil or so between changes, on average. Watched it like a hawk, kept the level full, and otherwise it ran trouble-free. Drove it until 2005, sold it (still running) at 213,000 miles (oil consumption had not worsened)

Replaced with 1985 300SD:

Bought in 2005 with 183K miles on it. Just shy of showroom condition. Owner 1 kept it dealership maintained until his death in 2005. Bought it from his family for about half it's street value. Kept it perfectly maintained, drove it 20K miles (no issues) and passed it on to my parents, who baby it.

Replaced that with a cheap beater 1985 W123 300D.
Day of purchase (before photo):

After photo:

Found for sale in a Boston shipyard. Asking price $1500. Top speed 15MPH. At $100 per every MPH, I thought it was a bit steep, offered $500 and settled at $750, which included a 50 mile tow back to my house.

Had 229,000 miles on it. Once it was home, I changed the fuel filters, and within an hour of owning it had the top speed up to about 60MPH. Did a valve adjustment shortly after which restored the car's power entirely. Changed all the filters and most fluids. Drove it all summer and sold it for aboud double what I had in it.

Replaced it with a pair of cheap VW MKIIIs ($300 and $250 respectively). Had fun, but got rid of them QUICKLY.

Most recent aquisition (thinking of keeping this one long term). 1981 W123 240D. Missed my first car, and wanted another one:



Once again, top speed around 20MPH. The odometer on this one broke at 316,000. True mileage unknown, but not estimated to be much more than the odo reading.

Since then, changed the fuel filters and did a valve adjustment. Runs just fine now Still needs cleanup and a lot of minor things. i expect this car has a LOT more miles in it.

[chrisj428]

Quote, originally posted by feels_road »

MkIII manual transmission. Nothing goes wrong, lasts forever, low cost of ownership.

I was going to agree with you 100% My '97 Golf Trek M/T was bulletproof.

[VRirgin]

I had a B13 sentra for two years, a 91 five speed. I paid $350 for it, (less than a full paycheck at minimum wage LOL) it leaked oil the entire two years. put in a quart every two weeks. did brakes, $100 w/ labor and two new tires on front $150 w/ labor. All in all i estimate i spent about $500-600 over two years on routine stuff.
I got it with about 135k miles and drove it until 175k (20k miles a year = young guy, out doing stupid stuff) Averaged around 25mpg absolutely flooring it, usually around 30mpg.

The only problem that was weird was my rusty throttle cable snapping in five o clock traffic. I was stuck on FULL THROTTLE with the engine on - drove about 3 miles home and got it towed. Got up to about 40, clutched and turned engine off, coasting, and abusively roll starting it around corners. Got a new cable and pedal for $30 at a junkyard, paid $15 for labor! Eventually it started suffering serious engine knock, and the clutch was looser than Paris Hilton so i was done. Honestly i drove about a year and a half expecting the clutch to go out every time i drove it xD

[efrie]

Holy revived thread!

I'll add my input:

Any GM or Ford domestic truck... We have had several with over 350,000 miles on the original transmission and engine. Not a car, but you can't beat a small block Chevy or Ford motor.

[DerSpiegel]

My 1997 Legacy L. It had the venerable 2.2L 135hp four, 5-speed, and Raceline wheels.

While not mechanically perfect (needed a few oil seals, a cam service, and a clutch), this is a car that had the throttle matted everywhere it went during the 2.5 years and 90K miles I owned it.

That little engine with its stock exhaust still sounded pretty good. Completely unstoppable in the snow, and wonderfully comfortable over long distances. Loved it.

[88vwFox]

Any GM truck with the Vortec 4300. Our truck (GMC Jimmy) had 350 000 km on it when we got rid of it. Only problem was that we had 4X4 issue and brake issues (ABS died on it) .


Modified by Silenius at 9:08 PM 2-10-2008

This motor is only worth a crap after you put good intake gaskets on it. The stock plastic ones are junk. I sale auto parts and it's the number one thing on lots of older chevy v6's.

My mom and dad have an 90 mazda mx5 dx (super base model) 281k miles last i looked my dad dailies it. I have 218k on my 98 b5 passat wagon 1.8t, on the 3rd auto trans and 2nd turbo but no CEL. My dad has run 3 chevy astro's to 230k+ miles before killing them all with 4.3L.

[euromaxituning]

2nd and 3rd gen camry's... Boring/ugly as s**t but solid as fawk

[LanceeH]

Only bulletproof thing I've ever driven...

[92VR6C]

1999 v6 camry

[elmer fud]

miata. they take a $hit kicking better then any car I have ever seen.