5 Peugeot's, a Citroen, a Nissan Sentra, a Mitzi Mirage, and a U13 SSS Bluebird. None have been as reliable as my 1973 Hillman Avenger. Each has had issues that seemed odd. The mitzi had a solenoid in the carb give up so it wouldn't idle, the bluebird shat it's ecu and f/pump in the same week, the french cars have had lift pumps fail, speed sensors give up and rusty frost plugs. overall the jap cars were cheaper to fix but NOWHERE near as nice to drive and the Hillman is so simple I can fix it roadside with twigs and a rock. Pick your poison people and do it before everything goes electric and this messageboard changes to charges.
mrfxit,
Sep 20, 5:30pm
More of a puzzle is the fact that hot air rises,. yet farts descend to escape
phalanax,
Sep 20, 7:15pm
Not sure it is as simple as is theorized. we are not mechanical thinkers for a start . we are hounded by 'temptation' in our sub conscious mindset and at the end of the day many of us end up disorientated in our later years (anomie). It probably sits well for maybe the first 20-40 years of someones life. but as our experiences repeatedly multiply I think some do start to evolve psychologically . undoubtedly there are those that remain fixed in their comfort zone. but I dont imagine its as many as the article (s) assumes but they are probably still the majority.
socram,
Sep 20, 7:21pm
LOL. As I found out when going through the Mini factory last year, 90% of the issues on any end of line failure are buried in the electronics and computers that we can't access.
If you cant see it is broken, you can't fix it!
snoopy221,
Sep 20, 7:24pm
Before Computers
Memory was something you lost with age An application was for employment A programme was a TV show A cursor used profanity A keyboard was a piano A web was a spider’s home A virus was the flu A hard drive was a long car trip And if you had a 3 ½ inch floppy, you just hoped nobody found out
hkjoe,
Sep 20, 7:51pm
Don't forget that cars up to the 1950s (and probably later) required regular greasing at multiple points, and decarbing. I have seen combustion chambers and valves with a thick coating of carbon. And 1950s cars were not uncommon even in the early 1970s. As a schoolboy working in a garage in the holidays, I was given the job of removing cylinder heads on old cars like Austins, Vauxhalls, etc and wire brushing them clean. And greasing what was probably 20 points in some cars. None of this is necessary nowadays. (in modern cars)
hkjoe,
Sep 20, 7:52pm
What about a 5 1/4" floppy? (which really was floppy, unlike the 3 1/2" which was hard)
hkjoe,
Sep 20, 8:02pm
I enjoyed my 1973 Hillman Avenger also, in the early 80s, but had two things happen, which are quite funny 35 years later. 1. Turning into a street, turning, turning, turning, nothing happening. The steering box had failed. Worn out? I can't remember. Limped home. Found it was a sealed unit, so replaced with a 2nd hand one from a wrecker. 2. Driving down Lake Rd, Belmont to work one morning, and one of the mounting brackets of the petrol tank chooses to let go, dropping the tank down. It had rusted through. Leaking fuel. Tied up the tank with string, and left it there (no clearway in those days), came back after work,drove home. The imperative to not be late for work was stronger than sorting out the issues with the car. Probably fixed with a bit of sheetmetal and some pop rivets. Can't remember. Still a good car though. My father had a Minx and Super Minx when I was young. The first cars I remember, so have a fondness for Hillmans.
thejazzpianoma,
Sep 16, 2:52am
Some of the best, most concise explanations of belief systems as demonstrated on this site and how they work. Also some of what should be compulsory subject matter at high school in my opinion.
Well I can't be bothered reading the link, but you've said this before, people in NZ are stuck in their ways and many only buy Japanese cars particularly Toyotas. Meanwhile there are all these wonderful Euro cars that people are missing out on, some going for reasonable prices.
Mum drives a Euro, a 1999 Rover 75 and it has been reliable enough, flys through its warrants. I like Jappers because I like the cool stuff from the '90s, you know with the DOHC 16valve turbo intercooler 4WD, unfortunately the Japs don't build much of this stuff now.
So Japanese cars are becoming more boring while there is always exciting stuff coming out of Europe. Regarding reliability I think all cars whether Jap or Euro should be pretty reliable these days.
trogedon,
Sep 16, 6:02am
'their' not "thier"!
saxman99,
Sep 16, 7:22am
TL,DR:
People like what they like; there's nothing you can do about it.
whqqsh,
Sep 16, 8:32am
I read an interesting book years ago along the same lines getting into the psychology of car enthusiasts, it even mentioned an area in South America (from memory) where people were too poor to own cars yet a drive in movie place was popular & derelict cars were parked up & people would pay to sit in wrecks to watch films. even then there were preferences in brands even though few of the customers had ever gotten to drive a car
elect70,
Sep 16, 9:26am
Well i have owned english, jap aussie, german french & korean cars so not fixed on any 1 country of origin , though i wont buy chinese car .
thejazzpianoma,
Sep 16, 9:39am
Their their trogedon, nearly 3am and jet lagged. be happy you could read it at all.
(Go on. I know you are itching to point it out. do it do it!)
thejazzpianoma,
Sep 16, 9:40am
Pretty similar assessment to mine actually! Lots to like about Japanese cars before their economy went down the toilet taking R and D money with it.
socram,
Sep 16, 10:13am
Bought my first car (Minivan) February 1967 - 2 weeks before my 21st birthday and have never, ever been without a Mini of one sort or another since, from vans, 850's, Wolseley Hornets, Riley Elfs, 998cc Coopers, 1320cc Cooper S, then onto BMW Cooper S amnd now added a Mini Cooper.
It all stems from a great PR letter when I was a school kid and it is called brand loyalty - and bias! Also every other car from the same basic roots except the Marcos - which is also the only front engined, RWD car I have ever owned.
As I have never had an issue with reliability, why change?
supernova2,
Sep 16, 11:20am
The question is how do you establish "reliability"?
In 40 or so years of car ownership i have never had anything suffer from a manufacturing failure. Yes some things have worn to such an extent they needed to be replaced/repaired. Is the need for service/maintenance a "reliability" issue?
I don't recall any BMC car (mini, 1300, 1800, maxi, nomad, Triumph 2500, Rover) that I have owned not having to be repaired in some way. However out of the 20 or so that I have had none of them ever had to be towed home yet most of them had a water pump fail or a wheel bearing, or a cv boot, or clutch, or tierod end, or brake seals, or shock, or universal joint, or light switch, or wiper motor or generator? .
Fast forward to the days of Jap and those every day "repairs" still happen but now apparently they are more "reliable". Are they?
If you are masochistic you might own a Euro. Exactly the same sort of "repairs" will be needed but somehow they are not "reliable" Are they not?
vtecintegra,
Sep 16, 1:18pm
The irony here is delicious
socram,
Sep 16, 2:42pm
All items wear - eventually! As we get older, we can afford newer cars and eventually, if you get to the stage of buying brand new, they are flicked on before any issues arise.
I should have said I never had an issue with reliability with cars after about 1970!
Up until then, there was that wonderful period of your life, from your first old car when you constantly 'maintained' it - and in many cases, modified or improved it, whilst learning the basics.
Woodsman's axe syndrome too. Engine reaches the end of its useful life or you go up from 1,000cc to 1300cc; body rots so you grab another and transfer your mechanical bits over.
Then you settle down with a modest daily driver that doesn't get sprinted and hill-climbed at weekends. Once the mortgage is paid, you start again with an older 'toy' - and that may not be 100% reliable!
gunhand,
Sep 16, 2:51pm
I heard of this guy who owned a euro, cost him a bloody fortune in breakages and he sold it for 1/4 the price he paid for it, replaced it with a Toyota, he is now happy as a pig in shit. I heard of a guy who owned a Toyota, cost him a bloody fortune in breakages, he sold it for for 1/4 the price he paid for it. Replaced it with a euro,he is now happy as a pig in shit. In Europe they drive mostly euro cars, funny that. In NZ they drive mostly Jap cars, due to what was built here and imported, funny that. If here in NZ we had mostly euros available we would drive mostly euros, funny that. If in Europe they had mostly Jap cars available they would drive mostly jap cars, funny that. Any one who buys a car on MSGB say so needs their head read, same as buying via what some magazine says also need help. Sure, read it and think about what is said, but go and look and drive it and make up you own mind. And if you buy to impress. well I will leave that one open. Buy what you want and suits the need in ya price range and screw everyone else. I will let you know what I buy after i win 30mil tonight lol.
extrayda,
Sep 16, 2:53pm
I suspect a lot of modern day 'reliability' is due to a completely different servicing requirement. When I had my first car (302 V8 XA Fairmont), it got oil changes / points (remember those?) and basic day to day stuff done at home. Anything else either got picked up at WOF time, or if I noticed something felt wrong with how it was driving (brakes / wheel alignments etc.). There was no "must take it in every 10,000ks for a full service" like we do with modern cars (e.g. my Estima, which isn't really very modern).
My thoughts are that modern cars appear to be more reliable because quite often things are fixed / replaced on a schedule, or monitored much more closely, so replaced before they fail. I 100% know that the more modern cars I have owned have definitely cost me more to "service" than my older cars. Primarily because they are more complex and less forgiving.
None of my cars modern or otherwise have completely stranded me, although I have had to replace points on the side of the road (carried spares ! ) and do a variety of other bodgy temporary fixes to get me home so I can fix things properly.
Part of the modern reliability is presumably due to computer and robotic technology working to tiny tolerances, compared to Fred on a lathe with the supervisor (and accountants. ) going for quantity at the expense of quality.
Having done the tour of the Mini factory in the UK last year, you cannot fail to be impressed with the improvements in the technology.
thejazzpianoma,
Sep 16, 4:18pm
Unlikely DSG issue with that one, it's early MK5 so at worst they only tend to get sticky solenoids which don't tend to leave you stranded. Wouldn't be surprised being a 2004 if the timing belt has not been changed and snapped, but could be anything. 13 year old car and goodness knows how many km. Crank sensor, alternator clutch pulley. your guess is as good as mine.
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