Trouble Free Car

[Benz17]

Purchased my current E350d 2017 in 2019, with 9k on the clock. Now it has done 29k. Had to change gps antenna in the first year, used car warranty covered that. Apart from this, nothing has gone wrong. Appreciate car is new ish and fairly low mileage.

Serviced on time, and tyres and front pad and disk changed.

Still have the worry at the back of my mind about nox and adblue issues. Should I worry, about this, or deal with this IF the issue arises, is nox and adblue issues inevitable, or is this down to luck.

Agree most on forums come to solve problems, and issue with their cars.

But surely there will be many members in here, and other car owners who have also had trouble free cars.

 

[KennyN]

But surely there will be many members in here, and other car owners who have also had trouble free cars.

Purchased a seven year old Cayenne (money-pit) two and a half years ago , something that was heart over head decision but i rolled the dice and 30 months on it has cost me £26 (ABS sensor) in repairs , considerably more in consumables / servicing but these cost do come with the territory.

Without doubt , surprisingly, it has been the most trouble free car i have ever owned , fingers crossed.

K

 

[Dryce]

Still have the worry at the back of my mind about nox and adblue issues. Should I worry, about this, or deal with this IF the issue arises, is nox and adblue issues inevitable, or is this down to luck.

Our experience has been that cars basically manage 5 or 6 years / approx 60,000 miles without any bills other than servicing and things like brake discs and pads.

Then you start to get some age / and wear type stuff.

As an example - batteries last a long time these days - but start to become a bit tired at 7 or 8 years on. Springs tend to wear and corrode and maybe start to go at around 6 or 7 years and on.

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[Dryce]

Purchased a seven year old Cayenne (money-pit) two and a half years ago , something that was heart over head decision but i rolled the dice and 30 months on it has cost me £26 (ABS sensor) in repairs , considerably more in consumables / servicing but these cost do come with the territory.

Without doubt , surprisingly, it has been the most trouble free car i have ever owned , fingers crossed.

K

That generarion of Touareg/Cayenne tend to be pretty robust.

I have an 8 year old Treg and it's had two front springs a couple of years ago - and I had the ATF replaced. I've just put a new set of tyres on and want to get another 2 or 3 years out of it. (Second best car I've ever had - after the utterly brilliant and much missed W211 E240 that brought me to this forum in 2006).

The only real concerns are that you get one of the rarer expensive nasties - such as the dread engine timing chain rattle and associated oil leak.

My battery will probably need changing soon - and they're not that cheap. And there's also TPMS sensors - I'm hoping mine will last.

 

[KennyN]

My battery will probably need changing soon - and they're not that cheap. And there's also TPMS sensors - I'm hoping mine will last.

Had the original battery replaced soon after purchase as the S/S was not working and it was continually charging at 14.5V , not cheap at £350 but the passenger seat needs to be removed and the new battery needed coding.

A previous owner had the TPMS removed so no worries there.

I replaced the ATF myself as Porsche`s recommended first replacement was at 160k or 15 years , which i felt was a bit too much.

My biggest potential ££ worry is the air suspension and the cost of replacement should a strut or pump need replaced , but as mentioned - the big bills come as part of ownership.

K

 

[Scooby_Doo]

I've been lucky enough over the years to be able to change cars before the warranty expired . My current C250 is 5 years old in March and will probably be on 30,000 miles , and up until this morning had been trouble free. I had to have the Nox sensor changed this morning but was covered by the MB 2 year extended warranty I took out ( £700.00 for the 2 years) and will probably take out another 2 year warranty when it runs out. My man maths is that the older the car gets the greater the chance something will go wrong.

 

[markjay]

I had two Vauxhals over a 10 year period, two Mercs over 14 years, a Kia for 5 years, a Renault for 5 years, a Suzuki for 4 years, and a Toyota for 20 years.

This is how I would rate them, with 1 being the most reliable:

1. Toyota, Kia - nothing went wrong

2. Mercedes, Suzuki - a few things went wrong but nothing catastrophic

3. Vauxhall - a couple of serious issues

4. Renault - lots of electrical problems, some very serious

(Based on personal experience and admittedly small sample size)

 

[Arthur45]

When properly maintained, a car is considered to be "trouble free" if it operates without any issues. Therefore, a car that is free of rust and any other serious issues, runs well, and can be sold in the future. Even while an antique car could have some issues, it also has a lot of possibilities for repair. Rust and other issues may usually be addressed quickly, Home - OLD CLASSIC CARS restoring a car's functionality.

 

[Smiley]

Purchased my current E350d 2017 in 2019, with 9k on the clock. Now it has done 29k. Had to change gps antenna in the first year, used car warranty covered that. Apart from this, nothing has gone wrong. Appreciate car is new ish and fairly low mileage.

Serviced on time, and tyres and front pad and disk changed.

Still have the worry at the back of my mind about nox and adblue issues. Should I worry, about this, or deal with this IF the issue arises, is nox and adblue issues inevitable, or is this down to luck.

Agree most on forums come to solve problems, and issue with their cars.

But surely there will be many members in here, and other car owners who have also had trouble free cars.

It's not really anything special is it? An expensive car manages 30k miles without major expense. The big surprise is that it needed new discs and pads at less than 30k; that sounds like a main dealer scam.
My 124 mercedes got to 330k miles (most by me) without significant out of the ordinary expense; shame about the rust. My 211 did 160k without a huge expense but still quite a few more things than the 124 in half the miles. A VW 1.9TDi did 220k miles with nothing needed other than a clutch / DMF, a brake servo and a door lock actuator. Six Lexus and Toyota cars all ran faultlessly at up to 150k miles - no surprise there. I don't buy French cars so could not possibly comment......

 

[Dickster]

Purchased a seven year old Cayenne (money-pit) two and a half years ago , something that was heart over head decision but i rolled the dice and 30 months on it has cost me £26 (ABS sensor) in repairs , considerably more in consumables / servicing but these cost do come with the territory.

Without doubt , surprisingly, it has been the most trouble free car i have ever owned , fingers crossed.

K

That’s a car I’ve fancied owning ……

 

[Dickster]

My SL55 has been pretty much trouble free (can’t use it at the mo as it has two cracked split rims ), in the past 3 1/2 years.

We’ve also had a 2008 X5 SD for over 5 years, that has been trouble free.

 

[Benz17]

It's not really anything special is it? An expensive car manages 30k miles without major expense. The big surprise is that it needed new discs and pads at less than 30k; that sounds like a main dealer scam.
My 124 mercedes got to 330k miles (most by me) without significant out of the ordinary expense; shame about the rust. My 211 did 160k without a huge expense but still quite a few more things than the 124 in half the miles. A VW 1.9TDi did 220k miles with nothing needed other than a clutch / DMF, a brake servo and a door lock actuator. Six Lexus and Toyota cars all ran faultlessly at up to 150k miles - no surprise there. I don't buy French cars so could not possibly comment......

New disk and pads were changed by my Indy at Wayne gates who is a well respected and forum sponsor, ( not main dealership)after I had covid in January 2021, when the car wasn’t driven for a month or so, once driven again front disks was shaking at low speeds when braking, so Terry said issue was disks, once changed problem gone.

Don’t we read many posts on new expensive cars having issues.

 

[Tonygw]

Owned my C250 S204 for nearly 4 years, Bought it with 80K on it, now on 118k
In that time its had new timing chain & tensioner, water pump, boost pipe, and front suspension arm.
I would consider that pretty good for a nearly 11 year old car. Still going well.

However;

My brother in law owns a 2009 Vauxhall Insignia 1.8 petrol.
He doesn't maintain it very well, has owned it since it was 6 months old.
So far its had a coil pack, rocker cover gasket and the odd service now and again.
Thats it..

Cars are a complete lottery... And every model has some kind of horror story or major issue attached to it.

As Matt form High Peak autos (Youtube) says. Buy the car you want and have a contingency fund if the worst were to happen. Don't stretch your self financially if you cant afford the repairs and running costs.

I think he offers good advice.

 

[Doodle]

To date, the most reliable car I've ever had was my Honda Civic VTI. In 150k of pretty hard use, beyond routine servicing and consumables the only failure was a blown fuse caused by a poorly fitted car kit, a couple of blown bulbs and a replacement clutch that delaminated and failed reversing off the dealer ramp after fitment.

The worst have been Audi, without question. My S6 spent 4 of the 5 months I owned it in the workshop, and the A8 was a continual pain in the harris until it went all buddhist monk and self-immolated.

 

[DITTRICH]

My s205 c200se needed a Nox sensor after 170k miles and 6 years.
There are niggles, but no show stoppers and seeing how little I paid for it, it was a bargain.