14th Feb 2017, 18:17
I think the confusion comes from what people define as maintenance. Because there are people here who said, "I've never done a repair on my car" while they have replaced suspension, alternator, A/C compressor, steering rack, etc. (not your car, just an example).
Replacing suspension parts - shock absorbers, strut bearing mount, control arms, ball joints are these maintenance? At least these should be mentioned on the repairs section on this site. On the other side, you mention the thermostat as a repair item; to me a thermostat is a maintenance item.
14th Feb 2017, 22:15
Good point. Repairs vs faults need to be clearer defined perhaps. Maybe a separate section in the review where someone can list the "maintenance" (tyres, oil changes, and so on) then "Faults" (sudden unexpected failure of parts or random breakdowns).
I'm the original author of this review by the way and I appreciate all comments, positive and negative. That's what this site is all about. I've wrote a few reviews on here over cars I've had in last few years, I also know someone who used to run a taxi service and had similar cars perform reliably for many miles and years, so I don't get why when a review like this is written, people comment about it not being possible. Why is it so hard to believe? Look after your car and it will last.
I get that people have problems with their cars, but trust me, and I've seen a comment section go on and on in many reviews, and I don't want this to be another one where people just don't believe that a car can make it past the infamous 100,000 mile or 10 year mark without serious issues. They can - but only if you look after your car, then the engine and body work should generally hold up well, repairs to ancillary parts and maintenance aside of course.
Personally I'd see it as a lawsuit against whoever sold me a car if it fell to bits at only a couple of years old and low mileage. Thankfully I've never had this problem, even with much older cars.
17th Feb 2017, 05:06
I agree with you on this. While everyone will likely confirm that buying a Toyota means generally trouble-free ownership (often even when the car is neglected), and the average European car is less trouble-free than the average Japanese car, what I think is that there have to be enough cars of a certain make or model that DON'T give problems (or nothing deemed serious or debilitating by the owner) that people still buy them. After all, patriotic Americans simply used their heads and found Hondas to be far more dependable than GM/Ford in the 1970s and 1980s, that they all voted with their wallets. Europeans can't be stupid enough to keep buying these cars when reliable alternatives from Japan, for instance, are available.
14th Feb 2017, 16:30
If you read my review carefully, you can see in no way did I state it was a car without repairs. I had my fair share of running costs. I did not however, have any engine or gearbox trouble.
If someone had the same car as me and had a lot more trouble, then I feel bad for you. Maybe you got unlucky?