10 Cars Mechanics Hate

autos.yahoo.com ^ | Tom and Ray Magliozz

[ThinkingBuddha]

These are the cars that cause us to mumble under our breath when they drive by. So smug. So reliable. Sure! Drive right past our shop! How's a mechanic supposed to make a monthly boat payment with so many of these things on the road?

Yes, the cars we hate most, as mechanics, are the cars that provide us with the fewest repair dollars. I mean, you see a '99 Jeep Grand Cherokee roll into the shop and you can practically smell the transmission rebuild. But the cars on this list? You'll be lucky to sell their owners a set of brake pads or a muffler.

If you're looking for a car to buy, however, this list might provide you with some good clues. Oh, sure ... don't worry about us!

P.S. This list reflects our own experience, of course. So when we cite the ready availability of parts, we're talking about the typical repair experience in metropolitan areas in the Northeast. We're not sure the same is true in North Grainbucket, Iowa.....

[MamaB]

Everyone who drives my 2007 Honda Accord wants it. They say it is the best driving car they have ever driven. It only has about 8800 miles on it. I have been known to look down and see that I am doing 85 or 90 on the interstates. It just does not seem like it is going that fast. This is my 4th one and I also bought my granddaughter a new Civic when I bought the Accord. Think we will all stick to them from now on.

[Rembrandt]

I live in South Florida and I’ll never buy a U.S. auto again. You see plenty of them down here, they’re the ones with burnt off and peeling paint on the upper surfaces, roof, hood and trunk. We don’t have rust down here but we don’t have much paint either (on the American vehicles).

[jakerobins]

It seems the more electronic doo-dads that are in a car the more things that can go wrong(Murphy’s Law). Give me a car from the 60’s or 70’s...I can usually look under the hood and do something about it...Give me the Mark I Mod I vehicle any day

[gura]

Honda are fun to drive, the only boring thing is that unless you can justify selling a perfectly fine running vehicle you’re gonna be stuck with it for 200k miles minimum.

[immadashell]

Last year I traded in a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited with 65,000 miles on it. It had every piece of original equipment (including the tires) with the exception of the windshield wiper blades. It started every time I turned on the ignition and got me through all of the snow and ice upstate New York could throw at it without fail. Yeah, the fuel mileage sucked but it made up for that in spades with reliability and zero maintenance. And it probably would not crumble up like an accordion if it had ever gotten in an accident like all the Honda's and Toyota's, etc.

[ChuteTheMall]

Those are great cars, because they aren’t built by Obama’s UAW thugs.

[cherry]

the list is of the cars that don't need much service or repair...naturally, a lot of Toyotas...

but we used to have a ford contour that gave us absolutely no problems and was one of the most reliable vehicles we ever owned...I only got rid of it because my father left me his camry...

[Rembrandt]

“..as long as all you care about is reliable basic transportation and stay in the slow lane.”

I have a 2006 Honda Accord V6 Coupe - how fast do you want to go, my car can do it and with great acceleration.

[gura]

I have to agree. I love my Element because there’s no extra junk on it like heated seats, auto climate control, navigation, etc.

And I can clean the whole thing with some paper towels and a bottle of diluted simple green. No, you can’t hose them out.

[Bodleian_Girl]

My husband has a '94 Nissan extend cab pick up with 155,000 miles on it that runs like a charm.

I bought a second hand Datsun B210 in 1980, drove the mess out of it for about 6 years.

Sold it to my BIL when it was over 200,000 miles. He drove it back and forth to Canada (from a Southern State) 4 times that I know of. It might still be running somewhere for all I know.

[caper gal 1]

LOL and couldn’t agree more!

[Frantzie]

Flush the cooling system every 2 or 3 years or 60,000 miles. Plus oil and filter every 4,000 to 6,000 miles.

[B Knotts]

Thes are not cars; this is a list (compiled by a pair of public-radio liberals, BTW) of “driving appliances.”

They overrate several of these particular models’ reliability, and ignore the fact that they all drive the wrong wheels (in the case of the Subarus, they are AWD, but they are FWD-based AWD, which is different from, and inferior to, RWD-based AWD or 4WD).

I don’t blame the manufacturers, though. It is our idiotic government that has foisted these things on us, due to CAFE regulations.

[SVTCobra03]

“I have a 2006 Honda Accord V6 Coupe - how fast do you want to go, my car can do it and with great acceleration.”

I will race you for pink slips in my 2008 Shelby GT500 from a 40 mph roll to 120 mph.

[troy McClure]

Hmm Had a 74 Alfa spider that did over 300k miles And a 76 Pacer Sportwagon that did over 225K miles. You cant kill a 258 AMC Jeep motor.

[omega4179]

The Chevy V6 diesels in the late 80’s detonated. And The 2.8 gas engines cracked around 114k very predictably.

[bannie]

I’ve owned 3 Hondas...owned each for 10 years.

[bgill]

Back in the day, my bf had a Pacer. I put some potted plants in the back with all that window area and they had burned to a crisp an hour later even with a/c on. I don’t know which was more dangerous, a Pacer or a Pinto. And to top it off, it was one ridiculously stupid looking vehicle.

[PeaceBeWithYou]

The top 5 run and hide when they come in

Datsun F-10
Hyndai Excel
Nissan Pulsar
Early Honda CIVIC
Chrysler K-car

[B Knotts]

Every once in a while, you could get an Italian car of that era that was not assembled immediately after a three-hour lunch feast with plenty of wine.

My dad had a Fiat 124 wagon that actually lasted a long time. Unfortunately, he also had a Fiat Spyder that lasted about 25k before it threw a rod.

These days, the Italians are actually building some decent cars. Jeremy Clarkson had good things to say about the Fiat Panda 4x4, even if he was beat by the marathoner through central London.