# Are most cars reliable if regular maintenance is done? Are car horror stories unfair? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [June 10, 2022, 3:05am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585 "2022-06-10T03:05:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 4:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585/42 "2022-06-12T16:08:29Z")
> [@cwatkin](#): > > Remember some of the Toyota engines that were known as sludge monsters or oil burners did fine if the owner went above and beyond the manual by changing the oil frequently and with synthetic. The problem was that this wasn’t included in the manual and that is why these engines got a bad rap. Obviously there was a problem but the engines are not bad if you go above and beyond what the manufacturer suggested. We had a few of those Toyotas We DID go above and beyond We used full synthetic, kept the fluid levels topped up and changed the oil often . . from day one, they were maintained religiously It made ZERO difference in the engine oil consumption ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/48514_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 4:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585/43 "2022-06-12T16:27:15Z")
> [@db4690](#): > > We used full synthetic, kept the fluid levels topped up and changed the oil often . . from day one, they were maintained religiously > It made ZERO difference in the engine oil consumption +1 Although the original oil specification for my friend’s 2008 Rav was conventional oil, we switched it over to full synthetic at ~30k miles, and continued to use full synthetic for its 5k mile oil changes thereafter. Despite the switch to full synthetic, it began consuming oil by 90k, and by ~110k its oil consumption became very excessive. ---
**Author:** ![shadowfax](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/shadowfax/32/13026_2.png) [@shadowfax](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shadowfax)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 6:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585/44 "2022-06-12T18:43:22Z")
> [@Mustangman](#): > > How well do you think a free, POS car was maintained? Yeah, although considering Yugos were known to break on the way home from being bought new, the appropriate maintenance schedule was something on the order of “every 10 minutes.” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 7:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585/45 "2022-06-12T19:06:41Z")
Our Toyotas with the 1.8 liter 4-cylinder . . . maybe 7A-FE . . . all had engine oil consumption of about 600miles/qt from day one, in spite of the fact that we went well above and beyond what Toyota recommended Those cars always passed the tailpipe smog inspections . . . but BARELY From the very beginning, the hydrocarbons were always at the upper limit Compression was always perfectly fine . . . around 190psi, maybe even a little higher . . . so I suspect the oil control rings were stuck. Nothing I did improved the situation, so I just checked and topped off engine oil every single weekend ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 7:20pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585/46 "2022-06-12T19:20:58Z")
> [@shadowfax](#): > > appropriate maintenance schedule was something on the order of “every 10 minutes.” Don’t you mean the REPAIR schedule? 🤣 Yugo drivers should always carry baling wire, duct tape, WD40 and a hammer for road-side repairs… 😬 ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 7:23pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585/47 "2022-06-12T19:23:51Z")
> [@bcohen2010](#): > > I value my privacy, and don’t want to be spied on while driving a car that I own. If you own a cellphone, any cellphone… you are always being tracked, all the time, everywhere. The only way to avoid it is to remove the battery… which is impossible on many phones. ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 7:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585/48 "2022-06-12T19:47:59Z")
> [@Mustangman](#): > > hammer for road-side repairs… ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/5/f/5f046de1b5b45a311014aaa606f652627dedc49a.png) 😨 I always liked Joe Don Baker, particularly in “Charlie Varrick” 😏 ---
**Author:** ![Renegade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Renegade](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Renegade)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 7:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585/49 "2022-06-12T19:56:38Z")
> [@Mustangman](#): > > being tracked, all the time, Isn’t it the same thing every time you log into your computer? ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 8:17pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585/50 "2022-06-12T20:17:23Z")
> [@shadowfax](#): > > I had to rent a car a few weeks ago while traveling. One day cost me 200 bucks. There’s no way I’m renting a car if I’m doing a road trip. That’s why I bought my car, so I wouldn’t have to spend $200 per day to drive. It costs quite a bit more renting by the day. Next time suggest ask what the rate is for the full week for comparison. The last time I rented a car, a few months before Covid struck, $350 for an entire week w/unlimited miles. Two years prior I rented a car for an entire month, $800. Another tip, I consistently get better rates from rental sites located in suburban business districts, rather than the airport… Not saying that renting is the best & only way to do road trips. I realize many prefer to drive their own cars. But I find renting is a pretty good option to consider. Re Yugo’s. I’m seeing reports there may be a new all-electric Yugo on the way. If true, the rumor of the Yugo’s demise is greatly exaggerated. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 8:26pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585/51 "2022-06-12T20:26:00Z")
Simple question, complicated answer. Every or nearly every part in a car is engineered for a particular life expectancy. Sometimes the get it right and sometimes they don’t. Other times the cost cutters want to reduce the cost of the part and skimp a little. Some engineers are good and others incompetent. You will never know who actually designed the part and what the specs are and what quality control methods were used. So its more than just maintenance and all you can go on is what the general experience of customers, mechanics, and others that see the weak and strong points of a particular car. My diesel for example was weak from the start with a re-design of a basic gas engine to a diesel. Plus the pump that was used was chosen as less robust that other diesel models. Pump failures were common at $500 each. Plus head gasket failures were common at $1000 plus. And on and on. Other cars have had weak water pumps, electronics, steering racks, and so on. One model had frame rust so bad they were replacing frames under warranty. Nothing to do with maintenance. The longer a product is on the market, the more the issues are resolved. Some cars though are engineered for the lowest cost market and are junk but look pretty. Others are high cost with many flaws that elitist owners put up with. No good answer but maintenance will kill a good car but will not save a bad car. Best you can do is identify the weak points and do pre-emptive replacement. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 8:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585/52 "2022-06-12T20:42:41Z")
Car manufacturer’s profits are based on selling new cars. If the customers buy their cars and keep them 50 years b/c the cars are so reliable, never buying another, stock holders are gonna say “no good, you’re fired” to the corporate execs. I’ve never had the opportunity to sit in on one of their board of directors meeting, but I expect the exec’s philosophy is to keep their good paying jobs by selling cars designed to be reliable a certain number miles, at which point many parts of the car are expected to begin failing, incentivizing the owners to buy new cars again. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 8:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585/53 "2022-06-12T20:49:00Z")
> [@George\_San\_Jose1](#): > > The last time I rented a car, a few months before Covid struck, $350 for an entire week w/unlimited miles. You might be surprised how high it is now. ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 9:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585/54 "2022-06-12T21:06:07Z")
> [@George\_San\_Jose1](#): > > Car manufacturer’s profits are based on selling new cars. They might be profiting more from replacement part sales for repairs and collision parts. > [@George\_San\_Jose1](#): > > If the customers buy their cars and keep them 50 years b/c the cars are so reliable, never buying another Not really a factor, very few people keep a car for life, also people have families and buy more cars. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/48514_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 9:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585/55 "2022-06-12T21:12:31Z")
> [@Nevada\_545](#): > > people have families and buy more cars +1 I have fairly new neighbors a few houses down from my home, and their driveway looks like a car lot, with anywhere from 5 to 7 vehicles parked there at a time. Of course, if they could get their sh\*t together sufficiently to actually use their garages, there would be 2 fewer cars in the driveway. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 9:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585/56 "2022-06-12T21:14:37Z")
> [@Nevada\_545](#): > > They might be profiting more from replacement part sales for repairs and collision parts That ratio (profits from car sales/profits from parts sales) would be an interesting number. ---
**Author:** ![Scrapyard-John](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@Scrapyard-John](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Scrapyard-John)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 9:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585/57 "2022-06-12T21:39:07Z")
> [@VDCdriver](#): > > if they could get their ■■\*t together Sounds like they got it together…and stuck it in the garage 😉 ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 9:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585/58 "2022-06-12T21:56:03Z")
The neighbor’s I’ve had over the years that had way too many cars, even if their property came with a 2-car garage, they used the garage for something other than than their cars. One of them had 6 cars, 5 on the street, 1 in the driveway. That same neighbor was complaining to me one day about other neighbors not removing their garbage cans from the curb immediately after pickup, saying the garbage cans made the neighborhood look “junky”. I said “yes, those garbage cans strewn along the street do detract from the neighborhood appearance, and the city should do something about it, and what’s more all the parked cars on the street make the street look even worse & the city should ban on-street parking!!” … neighbor immediately switches subject … lol … . ---
**Author:** ![Triedaq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Triedaq](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Triedaq)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 10:52pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585/59 "2022-06-12T22:52:16Z")
When I think about imported cars of the late 1950s through the mid 1960s, I am not sure regular maintenance would have done much to help the Renault Dauphine, the Vauxhall, the Fiat, the Hillman-minx, the Morris Minor, and Morris 850 to name a few cars. From the people I knew who owned these makes, the cars were disasters. I also remember some features on U.S. makes that were not all they were cracked up to be. When Chevrolet moved the gear shift from the floor to the steering column in 1939, the column shifter had a vacuum assist through the 1948 model year. There were inexpensive kits available even at Sears Roebuck to bypass the vacuum assist. Chevrolet abandoned the vacuum assist in 1949 and motorists didn’t find shifting gears any more difficult. My 1950 Chevrolet pickup had a choke that was operated by a knob one pulled out on the dashboard. I didn’t have any problem working the choke. In fact, I had so much trouble with the automatic choke on my 1955 Pontiac that I bought a kit at Western Auto and converted it to a manual choke. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 10:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585/60 "2022-06-12T22:58:42Z")
Last summer the rate at the Minneapolis airport was over $1000 for a week. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 11:01pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585/61 "2022-06-12T23:01:50Z")
By design. Our developer required at least a two car garage to meet the covenants. He said even if it isn’t to put the cars in, it will keep the bikes and junk inside. True. Lots of cars in the driveway but not many bikes. [Previous page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585.md?page=2) [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-most-cars-reliable-if-regular-maintenance-is-done-are-car-horror-stories-unfair/184585.md?page=4)