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60ragtop
Bonneville Belt Bitch
Joined: March 13, 2006
Posts: 7800
Location: Big Wonderful WYO 82401
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 Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 6:39 am Post subject: Re: appreciate my bug's reliability more every day |
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I appreciate my bug's reliability each day as it gets the wife to work to bring home the bacon. She'd rather drive that than anything newer 
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Rick
Certified Mechanic by the State of Michigan in 1977
ASA certified in 1987
Certified Hunter Wheel Alignment Master Technician 1986
| tasb wrote: |
I've restored a large number too, but I don't toot my horn quite as loud.
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| sb001 wrote: |
maybe he just snapped cause his car sucked  |
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skills@eurocarsplus
Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007
Posts: 16879
Location: sticksville, ct.
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| Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 7:10 am Post subject: Re: appreciate my bug's reliability more every day |
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| sb001 wrote: |
| skills@eurocarsplus wrote: |
I'm with zund....like my vw's love my audi's and Volvo's |
Zund didn't mention a damn thing about Audis and Volvos in his list of most reliable, there's a reason. |
I was making reference to a/c leather and 90 mph.
my wife's XC is bulletproof. my A4 is the same. here is the difference between me and most of the general public.....I understand European cars, their maintenance and their shortcomings.
other than timing belts oil changes and tune ups, these have been great cars. owning a shop with factory diagnostics is in my favor as well.
nothing scares me about them....nothing. what I feel is bullshit on new cars is the interconnectivity of everything. lose the radio....most can do without...but when it's networked into the climate unit....you are forced to repair it. there is a lot of planned obsolescence built into these things.
moving forward, many of these cars may run/drive just fine....but you will have issues with body control (doors, windows, hvac etc) and that is what will send them to the crusher.
I think most will hold on to a car until a major event happens...engine or transmission failure. The average length of ownership of a new vehicle reached 6.5 years in the first quarter of 2015, more than two years longer than in 2006. The number of cars more than 12 years old continues to grow and is expected to increase 15 percent by 2020.
so, as long as people don't get tired of shoveling money into them, they can go quite a long time. the other killer is the folks who drive and drive, go to skippy lube instead of a real shop...skippy lube isn't going to check brakes/suspension etc to keep people aware of what is going on. then when there is a real problem that a real shop has to look at, we find 2-4K worth of differed repairs.
I tell people if it cost you 1-2K a year in maintenance you're doing good. that's 38.00 a week on the high side of that.
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| gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
| Jake Raby wrote: |
| Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
| Brian wrote: |
| Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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sb001
Samba Member
Joined: May 19, 2011
Posts: 10406
Location: NW Arkansas
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| Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 12:35 pm Post subject: Re: appreciate my bug's reliability more every day |
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| scottyrocks wrote: |
| I was appreciating my bug's reliability until it stopped running. |
Yeah, compating the "reliability" of a bug to the reliability of a modern car is an exercise in futility, the two things are worlds apart.
There are FAR more parts to go wrong on a modern car, but the chances of it still being driveable and getting me from point A to point B are greater than if any part goes out on a bug. That's why I have always said it's a big risk to try to take yout bug across country. It's simply a comparison you can't really make, and the only people doing it are posters here.
_________________
I'm the humblest guy on this board.
1969 autostick sedan, family owned since new
1600 SP engine
Solex 30 PICT 3 carburetor
Bosch 113905205AE autostick distributor |
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skills@eurocarsplus
Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007
Posts: 16879
Location: sticksville, ct.
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| Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 12:53 pm Post subject: Re: appreciate my bug's reliability more every day |
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| sb001 wrote: |
| scottyrocks wrote: |
| I was appreciating my bug's reliability until it stopped running. |
Yeah, compating the "reliability" of a bug to the reliability of a modern car is an exercise in futility, the two things are worlds apart.
There are FAR more parts to go wrong on a modern car, but the chances of it still being driveable and getting me from point A to point B are greater than if any part goes out on a bug. |
true....but let's look back into the 80's. as a kid of the 80's I can remember seeing the sides of the road littered with K cars, Escorts, Chevettes, Mavericks etc....you seldom see a car broken down of the streets these days, and if you do....take a close look at them. they are usually beat to shit and look very used up.
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| gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
| Jake Raby wrote: |
| Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
| Brian wrote: |
| Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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modok
Samba Member
Joined: October 30, 2009
Posts: 26787
Location: Colorado Springs
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| Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 2:12 pm Post subject: Re: appreciate my bug's reliability more every day |
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Click and clack had the idea that eventually the price of maintaining a vehicle would level out. I think they are right.
The problem is you go OFF the map, into a new territory where you may be quite alone, and so it's up to YOU, or you and your mechanic.
And they knew a lot about murphy too.
One of the truths of murphy is that if you are worried about something failing.....it won't, what will fail is the thing you didn't even think of.
In your experience...is that true? I bet it is.
I DON"T think my 1960 bug is comparable to modern cars, because I KNOW all the things that might go wrong......so I don't like to drive it hundreds of miles away. But.....it's in my head. i do the math it's almost cheaper than walking, and I could drive round the equator without a problem if I'd gone in a straight line.. I'm off the map and on the other side. And there is still more to discover. |
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sb001
Samba Member
Joined: May 19, 2011
Posts: 10406
Location: NW Arkansas
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| Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 8:11 pm Post subject: Re: appreciate my bug's reliability more every day |
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| skills@eurocarsplus wrote: |
| sb001 wrote: |
| skills@eurocarsplus wrote: |
I'm with zund....like my vw's love my audi's and Volvo's |
Zund didn't mention a damn thing about Audis and Volvos in his list of most reliable, there's a reason. |
I was making reference to a/c leather and 90 mph.
my wife's XC is bulletproof. my A4 is the same. here is the difference between me and most of the general public.....I understand European cars, their maintenance and their shortcomings.
other than timing belts oil changes and tune ups, these have been great cars. owning a shop with factory diagnostics is in my favor as well.
nothing scares me about them....nothing.. |
Well this discussion was about reliability. If we're talking about 90 mph capability, AC, and leather, hell my 99 Maxima has all of that--so do a gazillion other cars. I'm not sure that's enough to set Audis and Volvos apart... whether or not you are "scared" of them. 
I will say this though-- I was shocked to see Audi come in at #3 in the reliability ratings last year. Consumer Reports once described the brand as "a sinkhole of service problems." They've come a long way.
_________________
I'm the humblest guy on this board.
1969 autostick sedan, family owned since new
1600 SP engine
Solex 30 PICT 3 carburetor
Bosch 113905205AE autostick distributor |
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platatomi
Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2012
Posts: 465
Location: Los Angeles, California
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| Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 12:38 am Post subject: Re: appreciate my bug's reliability more every day |
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My bug stopped running once, but it was about the easiest fix there is: choke wire shorted to carb body.
It also didn't start one night, just cranked and never fired. Having foreseen this possibility, I swapped out the 009 with electronic points for my backup distributor with real points and was on my way in five minutes.
At least with the bug, you can fix many more common issues on the spot.
As for the Maxima, I did try flushing the coolant but it was super clean already. I ended up replacing the radiator on the hunch of an experienced guy on a forum. It has actually completely fixed the overheating but strangely the new radiator is twice as thick as the old one, so I'll never know if the radiator was acutally the problem or if the bigger one is just masking the problem.
And now, my CEL is sometimes not coming on when I turn the key on. So ... another mystery.
_________________
'69 Beetle daily driver, fixing things as I go...
Update -
No longer daily driver but still fixing things... |
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platatomi
Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2012
Posts: 465
Location: Los Angeles, California
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| Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 1:08 am Post subject: Re: appreciate my bug's reliability more every day |
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| sb001 wrote: |
Coil packs failing on the 4th gen Maxima is nothing out of the ordinary nor anything to be upset/ concerned about. I've replaced 3-4 of them on mine with no damage done to anything. It's a shrugoff thing.
Your O2 and knock sensors would have coded an error when the coil packs went, they weren't bad just reset the CEL.
The overheat problem I'm not sure about but my guess is it needs a simple coolant flush.
I consider these small issues on a 20+ year old car. On my 99 Maxima I have had to replace a few coil packs as previously mentioned, along with alternator, front suspension (control arms, tie rods, sway bar linkage, struts), starter (again a nothing job on a Maxima) and recently had to have the AC repaired. The AC by far was the most expensive thing ($800) mainly because it's the only thing I couldn't do myself, but again we're talking a 20 year old car that I don't have a car payment on AND liability only insurance instead of forced comprehensive on something I'm financing. If I compare it to having a $200 car payment per month then that repair has paid for itself as long as the car goes past another 4 months. That's not counting the plethora of cash I'm saving on insurance.
I bring all this up because my Maxima has 395,000+ miles on it and drives like it's got 1/4 of that. By that fact alone and with all the repairs costing fairly little money (aside from the AC which I'll give it given the mileage) it's been one of the most reliable cars I've ever owned. And I don't compare its reliability to my 1969 VW because well apples and oranges. |
That's a huge relief about coils not likely causing more damage.
Well, actually those sensors failed almost a year before the coils so they really were the cause. I still haven't replaced the rear O2 yet and have CEL for that.
Very true and because it's older I can do a lot of the work so I feel like it more than pays for itself. Like the coils and radiator, total damage was only like $340. Probably $700 plus easy at a mechanic if I had to guess.
X2 on easy jobs. Very happy that the starter was so quick in and out, as well as the upper intake doesn't block in the coils. Knock sensor sucks but also did that without taking off the intake.
That mileage is incredible, how long have you owned your Maxima if I may ask?
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'69 Beetle daily driver, fixing things as I go...
Update -
No longer daily driver but still fixing things... |
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ZENVWDRIVER
Samba Member
Joined: November 07, 2008
Posts: 3340
Location: N.E. Oklahoma
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| Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 9:26 am Post subject: Re: appreciate my bug's reliability more every day |
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my '52 once overheated on me and the car died... turned out to be a mouse nest in the shroud... took quite a bit of diagnosing to find that one...
... and on my'55 bug, every time, I left it in the sun, it would not start and when cooler, it fired right up... stumbled on the problem as the wire from the starter switch to the coil was screwed-on the ignition side by only one strand of wire and once attached all of the wire, the problems ceased.
For reliability, i'll take my '05 Civic anytime - is just so darn reliable... our last 1993 Civic SI HATCH was hit by a friggin' police cruiser when it had 395,000 miles on it = was back to the shop thrice - once for a new clutch, once for a new axle and once for a new distributor... those little alternator bearings did a lot of revolutions and was still going strong - to us, not many cars, out there can beat the reliability of a Honda AND old old Mercedes diesels are not even close... old VWs either.
_________________
5/50, pastel green 11G - SOLD
8/50, gray 11A Beetle
6/52, pastel green 11C - SOLD
11/4/52, black Zwitter - SOLD to my little bro.
1954 Porsche, pre A, with VW 36 horse- SOLD
1/54, black 11C Beetle - TRADED
2/55 Iceland green Beetle, on a 1965 pan
3/55 113 Beetle, stratos silver
1955 Messerschmitt KR175 - SOLD, sadly
1960 single cab
1962 SO33, with SO 42 interior
9/63 Pacific blue, Ghia
'87 Toyota MR2
'02 WestFORDia E-150, GAVE TO OUR SON
All super-heroes, wear a MASK |
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Volks Wagen
Samba Member
Joined: February 13, 2013
Posts: 2926
Location: Germany
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| Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 5:24 pm Post subject: Re: appreciate my bug's reliability more every day |
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I get 43.56US Gallons on combined driving out of my VW Touran 2.0tdi with 250,000km. I recently did 560km autobahn averaging 120kmh and came out about the same. Fuck all maintenance - just servicing.
_________________
1973 1303 with AB-motor - sporadic
reconstruction as time permits, 1986 ex-Bundeswehr Doka - on the road again.
I'm definitely, probably, the worlds greatest lover.
Aithníonn ciaróg ciaróg eile. |
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oprn
Samba Member
Joined: November 13, 2016
Posts: 12730
Location: Western Canada
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| Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 6:03 pm Post subject: Re: appreciate my bug's reliability more every day |
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| That has been our experience with the Jetta TDIs. We changed the oil, filters and timing belts. First one we lost to a deer hit a 470K, the second to a roll over at 340K. |
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Zack1978
Samba Member
Joined: June 07, 2006
Posts: 544
Location: NJ
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| Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2018 7:49 pm Post subject: Re: appreciate my bug's reliability more every day |
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| sb001 wrote: |
| platatomi wrote: |
Next I got a 97 Maxima stick shift which I have heard is legendary for reliability, only 100k miles and immaculately maintained. After a year of ownership, in addition to initial repairs it needed when I bought it: four coils have failed, starter failed, oxygen sensors failed, knock sensor failed, and it has an ongoing overheat problem that I haven't been able to diagnose. Even worse, some of the coil failures have not triggered the CEL or indicated any problem so I have driven many miles dumping raw fuel into the exhaust, so my CAT is probably burned up too at this point. The last coil to fail was brand new so it is killing them somehow...
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Coil packs failing on the 4th gen Maxima is nothing out of the ordinary nor anything to be upset/ concerned about. I've replaced 3-4 of them on mine with no damage done to anything. It's a shrugoff thing.
Your O2 and knock sensors would have coded an error when the coil packs went, they weren't bad just reset the CEL.
The overheat problem I'm not sure about but my guess is it needs a simple coolant flush.
I consider these small issues on a 20+ year old car. On my 99 Maxima I have had to replace a few coil packs as previously mentioned, along with alternator, front suspension (control arms, tie rods, sway bar linkage, struts), starter (again a nothing job on a Maxima) and recently had to have the AC repaired. The AC by far was the most expensive thing ($800) mainly because it's the only thing I couldn't do myself, but again we're talking a 20 year old car that I don't have a car payment on AND liability only insurance instead of forced comprehensive on something I'm financing. If I compare it to having a $200 car payment per month then that repair has paid for itself as long as the car goes past another 4 months. That's not counting the plethora of cash I'm saving on insurance.
I bring all this up because my Maxima has 395,000+ miles on it and drives like it's got 1/4 of that. By that fact alone and with all the repairs costing fairly little money (aside from the AC which I'll give it given the mileage) it's been one of the most reliable cars I've ever owned. And I don't compare its reliability to my 1969 VW because well apples and oranges. |
I could agree with you more! My 1996 4th Gen Maxima is without question the best and most reliable car I have ever owned. Sadly for my Maxima the end is near because the rust has taken it's toll and she is melting away before my eyes. There is no hope in ever saving her.
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1972 Coupe |
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sb001
Samba Member
Joined: May 19, 2011
Posts: 10406
Location: NW Arkansas
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| Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2018 10:00 pm Post subject: Re: appreciate my bug's reliability more every day |
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| platatomi wrote: |
That mileage is incredible, how long have you owned your Maxima if I may ask? |
About 2-1/2 years. Bought it around Christmas of 2015. I found it on the shopgoodwill website for $300. It has about 320,000 miles when I bought it (probably why no one else bid on it) but the listing described it as driving great, only front suspension work needed. So I took a chance, and it's been a fine car, all things being equal.
| Zack1978 wrote: |
I could agree with you more! My 1996 4th Gen Maxima is without question the best and most reliable car I have ever owned. Sadly for my Maxima the end is near because the rust has taken it's toll and she is melting away before my eyes. There is no hope in ever saving her. |
The thing is, you can probably find another 4th gen Maxima in great condition for around $1000 if you look hard enough...
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/388963814867173?surface=product_details
Whenever this one does go, I'd like to try to find another with a manual transmission.
_________________
I'm the humblest guy on this board.
1969 autostick sedan, family owned since new
1600 SP engine
Solex 30 PICT 3 carburetor
Bosch 113905205AE autostick distributor |
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Volks Wagen
Samba Member
Joined: February 13, 2013
Posts: 2926
Location: Germany
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| Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 1:46 pm Post subject: Re: appreciate my bug's reliability more every day |
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Hard to make a judgement owning the car only 2.5 yrs... no knowing what issues it may have given and been repaired before you got it... just saying like...
| sb001 wrote: |
| platatomi wrote: |
That mileage is incredible, how long have you owned your Maxima if I may ask? |
About 2-1/2 years. Bought it around Christmas of 2015. I found it on the shopgoodwill website for $300. It has about 320,000 miles when I bought it (probably why no one else bid on it) but the listing described it as driving great, only front suspension work needed. So I took a chance, and it's been a fine car, all things being equal.
| Zack1978 wrote: |
I could agree with you more! My 1996 4th Gen Maxima is without question the best and most reliable car I have ever owned. Sadly for my Maxima the end is near because the rust has taken it's toll and she is melting away before my eyes. There is no hope in ever saving her. |
The thing is, you can probably find another 4th gen Maxima in great condition for around $1000 if you look hard enough...
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/388963814867173?surface=product_details
Whenever this one does go, I'd like to try to find another with a manual transmission. |
_________________
1973 1303 with AB-motor - sporadic
reconstruction as time permits, 1986 ex-Bundeswehr Doka - on the road again.
I'm definitely, probably, the worlds greatest lover.
Aithníonn ciaróg ciaróg eile. |
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ach60 
Samba Member
Joined: May 14, 2001
Posts: 4139
Location: Santa Maria
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| Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2018 5:25 pm Post subject: Re: appreciate my bug's reliability more every day |
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I like reliable cars and all, but they're boring.
Only sold one car because it was unreliable(It was my favorite),
the rest I sold because I got bored with them.
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Good Luck
Al |
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sb001
Samba Member
Joined: May 19, 2011
Posts: 10406
Location: NW Arkansas
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 3:33 pm Post subject: Re: appreciate my bug's reliability more every day |
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| Volks Wagen wrote: |
| Hard to make a judgement owning the car only 2.5 yrs... no knowing what issues it may have given and been repaired before you got it... just saying like... |
Well the week after I bought it I took it to the Nissan dealership for an oil change and a once over, and asked them to check any drivetrain part #s for originality, when I picked it back up they told me it was still all original. Who knows... but I'll take their word for it.
_________________
I'm the humblest guy on this board.
1969 autostick sedan, family owned since new
1600 SP engine
Solex 30 PICT 3 carburetor
Bosch 113905205AE autostick distributor |
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sb001
Samba Member
Joined: May 19, 2011
Posts: 10406
Location: NW Arkansas
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 3:36 pm Post subject: Re: appreciate my bug's reliability more every day |
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| sb001 wrote: |
The thing is, you can probably find another 4th gen Maxima in great condition for around $1000 if you look hard enough... |
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/263523611041521?surface=product_details
_________________
I'm the humblest guy on this board.
1969 autostick sedan, family owned since new
1600 SP engine
Solex 30 PICT 3 carburetor
Bosch 113905205AE autostick distributor |
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oprn
Samba Member
Joined: November 13, 2016
Posts: 12730
Location: Western Canada
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| Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2018 6:30 am Post subject: Re: appreciate my bug's reliability more every day |
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I have been thinking about the reliability thing with your VW and the debate that has resulted. Here is my conclusion on the matter. Think about it and see if I am right.
The only reason your old VW is reliable is because you are capable of doing anything to it that it needs. And you do!
The modern car is reliable because it is designed for drivers that are incapable of doing anything to their cars but fuel and drive them. And they don't! |
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