The 2006 Scion xB I sold in December. Only got it up to ~180k miles but those were the most problem-free miles I've ever driven. Battery, water pump (which gave me like 2 weeks of warning noises) and consumables. Compared to the S10 Blazer it replaced, it was like night and day.
Baby poop green 1973 Toyota Corolla 5 speed.
My SE V6 4x4 Nissan pickup was reliable except for the time it spun a bearing in the transmission, it was also hard on exhaust manifold studs so it ranks below the Trooper. IIRC I had that truck 2 1/2 years and bought it with 101k miles on it so something was bound to happen.
My 1994 Rodeo NEVER gave me any trouble, but I didn't drive it as long as I did the Trooper (only 4 years) so I put it between the Nissan and the Trooper. The Amigo was the same; nothing EVER went wrong with it over the two years I drove it.
My 1982 RX7 never failed to run but it had some weird little stuff go wrong, like the day a hose sprang a vacuum leak and the catalytic converter started glowing red. It also went through a set of U joints and a carb rebuild over a 2 year period. Of course, I bought it used so some stuff was bound to happen.
The 1979 Fiesta was looking real good in the reliability department until some clown in a Park Avenue nailed it from behind. 
Every car I've ever owned has been "reliable". The audi urs4 was bought with known issues and I paid dearly for that.
I've owned over 35 cars since the age of 16 (now 26). So I've never kept a car for a long time. My dad has had two gmc pickups (1996 and 2004) that have both done over 500,000kms each on stock motors/transmissions.
I think a lot of it comes down to abuse and maintenance. Of course, things like electrical gremlins or corrosion is a different story. But I've never had a single car ever abandon me that wasn't caused directly by a previous owner screwing around with something they shouldn't.
SkinnyG wrote:Zomby Woof wrote: 99 Z24.99 Sunfire 2.2L - Nothing but basic maintenance. I absolutely detest this car, but it. just. won't. die.
My son and I had this conversation about a month ago. His most reliable was the my old 2000 Z24 project car. I sold it to him after two years of my abuse, and after four years of his, it was completely trouble free.
I bought my '86 Prelude from its' second owner and 80,000 of it's 268,000 miles are mine. The car has survived 28yrs and a couple of college-commuting teenagers (not mine) without a problem. The PO's receipt history was comprehensive and only shows replacement of wear items and a other few random parts due to his sons' activities.
After all this time the headlights still pop-up on command, the power windows and mirrors work like a charm and the sunroof really wants to work; it will when I take the time to clean and lube the tracks.
93 Chevy K1500. Bought it with about 280K Km and put on 100K Km on it, sold it with 380Km needed nothing out of the ordinary. Tires, brakes, water pump, rad(semi chucked a rad through it and the condenser) and it pulled, hauled and went through anything I threw at it, great truck.
Not my neons. Hondas, and aside from rust, our fords.
No contest. My '78 Ford Fiesta GT:
Paid $65 for it (yes, you read that right), though it looked nothing like it does in the photo. Daily drove it, autocrossed it, rallied it, street raced it...it was too stupid simple to ever really break. Loved it; still wish I had it. No a/c and encroaching rust made me move it on.
Second place goes to my wife's '96 Impreza 2.2RS (no, they didn't make one. Yes, I did.) 220,000 on it when we finally got tired of the worn out seat and the a/c failing.
My '86 Audi GT was surprisingly reliable too, but I did have to fix some stuff over the 12 years I owned it. Didn't do squat to the Subaru other than add the RS look stuff.
My wife's 2000 Buick LeSabre. We bought it new and kept it for 13 years and 185K miles. Scheduled maintenance only except for the power window mechanisms. All 4 had to be replaced (2 under warranty - stupid GM plastic gears).
My first car, a hand me down 1980 Toyota Celica GT hatch. My parents bought it new in 1980. It was my moms car until it was handed down to me in 1999 with just over 80k on the clock. 20R, 5 speed and an AM/FM radio that worked when it wanted too. It survived my teenage antics and my sisters as well. My dad sold it in 2010 for $350 to a buddy of his. Over its time that we had it, the only thing we did was repack the front wheel bearings and change the brakes. It was unkillable. I love Toyotas from that vintage.
My current DD has been a champ. 06 malibu 3.5L. 220k miles with nothing more than oil changes, a couple tune ups, few sets of brake pads, and on its 3rd set of tires.
It's nothing exciting drive, but it's great at being bland. Quiet, auto, roomy, big trunk (5 cubic dead hookers), decent mileage.
My 02 Malibu is going to hit 390k this afternoon on the original engine and trans. Other then Maintainance it's had a few hub bearings, two water pumps, intake gaskets and a fuel pump. I've had good luck with my previous cars as well with my Cavalier getting traded in at 212k and my Escort being totaled at almost 290k.
2000 Dodge Dakota 3.9 Sport. It went 11 years and only needed a battery and tires.
90 crx dx. 355,000 miles before i retired it by choice
also 1995 civic lx, 335,000 miles before i traded it toward my wifes crv
1995 is still on the road afaik
crx is probably going to be put back on the road this summer
foxtrapper wrote: Interesting bunch of responses. What a variety. I'd sorta expected a bunch of Toyota/Honda nominees. Instead, it's all over the place. Interesting. I have no idea what, if any, conclusion could be drawn from this data.
Oddly enough, the least reliable car I've ever tried to use as a daily driver was a '95 Honda Civic. It left me stranded more times than any other car I've owned. And other DDs have included a 20 year old Corvette that was approaching 200,000 miles, a 30 year old Dodge Dart, and a $900 turbocharged LeBaron.
That Civic had a bit of a questionable past, though... I found the brake rotor on one side was an inch larger than the other.
stanger_missle wrote: My first car, a hand me down 1980 Toyota Celica GT hatch. My parents bought it new in 1980. It was my moms car until it was handed down to me in 1999 with just over 80k on the clock. 20R, 5 speed and an AM/FM radio that worked when it wanted too. It survived my teenage antics and my sisters as well. My dad sold it in 2010 for $350 to a buddy of his. Over its time that we had it, the only thing we did was repack the front wheel bearings and change the brakes. It was unkillable. I love Toyotas from that vintage.
Those things were tough as nails. The only flaw I could see was the single row timing chain, if it was replaced with the double row it would keep running till the sun cools to a dark cinder.
My '83 Z28 has been pretty reliable. I've owned it since 2005 and it's broke down on me twice.Once was a loose battery bolt, and the other was a worn out shifter bushing. Granted I drive it only about 5000 miles a year, but it' still dependable than any DD I've owned...ever.
I think we need a least reliable car thread so all the Volkswagen and Subaru owners can post something 
'94 Saturn SC2. Bought it with 94k miles, and it needed an upper motor mount when we got it. Replaced that, put 65,000 miles on it over the next five years, and the only thing that had to be repaired that wasn't crash damage was an alternator (although that alternator was kind of a bitch to replace...needed three elbows). Aside from that, all I did was change/add oil and beat it like it owed me money. It got 30+ mpg no matter how I drove it, was remarkably peppy, and after two major accidents and a hail storm I actually made money to own it for that period of time (not counting gas). I would buy another one in a heartbeat.
81 Plymouth voyager. 318 engine. 496,000 on it when we scrapped it, four timing chains(100k each) and lots of body work. It was a beast.
2002 honda civic. 164,000 when I sold it, alternator was the only mechanical repair.
83 rabbit. 1.6d. It came to me with 96k showing and I rolled another 112k with nothing more that two timing belts. It's demise was me putting off the third timing belt at that point. 42mpg the whole time (diesel was still .99) boy do I miss that!
My 04 Cavalier. It was killed by a kid blowing a stop sign just after it rolled 376k. It started life as a daily rental and I didn't treat it much better. Brakes, oil, tires and an alternator. Original plugs and transmission fluid.
Based on miles I put on myself it would have to be my 90 Plymouth Laser turbo. I bought it with 50k miles, totaled it with over 180k miles and never even had to put a clutch in it.
Another vote goes to my 91 k1500 suburban. It blew a headgasket at 303k, so I retired it and bought a nicer one (the one that got crushed by a tree limb), but man did I put that thing through all kinds of hell.
I drove a 92 Civic dx hatch from 172k to 215k miles. It was my daily driver, autocross vehicle and overall multi purpose vehicles. I helped numerous people move, hauled anything you could imagine and took numerous roadtrips in it. I paid $500 for it and did the head gasket/water pump/timing belt. I averaged 35-40 mpg and even cracked 50 mpg on a road trip. I sold it with 215k miles on it with a rusted body, smoked head gasket and toasted radiator to a kid who lived 5 miles down the road for $500. I had it on Craigslist and got over 30 emails in a day and a half.
Mine would probably be my '94 Passat VR6. I put over 100k miles on it, and the only thing that ever failed was the heater core and the power steering pump. Then a tree fell on it.
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