Longest lasting cars/trucks

#51
#51
I had an '87 S-15 4x4 with the 4.3, bare bones manual windows/doors and transmission, nary a problem with it. I traded it in 2001 for the 1500, can't remember the miles.
One time I had a 84 Toyo 2 wheel drive vinyl seated 20R, 4 speed maybe. Nissan seat wasn't bolted down when I bought it. Found out on first brake. Used dealer was a old baseball coach of mine and sold it to me for $600 when I took my GF by there to buy a car from him. Speedo cable was frayed. Don't know how many miles were on it. Interior lights didn't work so don't know how fast I was going at night. Mesh Syncs were wore out. Had to hold it in gear on bumpy roads. Ran like a ******* from an ice raid. That thing just kept going.
 
#54
#54
On the list of top 10 vehicles that you cannot kill.....the Ford F-150 was the number one vehicle that
you cannot kill, and I can really attest to this. At work there was a work truck a 2010 F-150 Texas special and
in 2022 it had 750k miles on it with the original transmission and every side was dented and it had pulled
stumps and everything else and I guess the sad part about it is that last year it was "driven" to the crusher :(
 
#55
#55
My 2007 Ford F150 has 270K miles on it. Still runs great! Original engine and transmission.


I have a 08 F150 with 307k miles. Probably 50k of those miles while towing. All original except for the alternator


IMO, and it may not be worth much, there are a few "modern" engines, Ford and GM, you can count on. Ford 5.0 and 3.0 (but the 3.0 will develop pretty good leaks cause of multi piece gasket designs). THe 4.3, 5.3, and 6 liter Vortecs. People seem high on LS versions but I have no experience with them. Got 240K miles on the Ford 3.0 in a Milan right now and have had to do absolutely nothing to the engine itself. THe heater core has been flushed twice to get get heat to work. And a starter, but I don't expect starters to go the life of a car and it did last 236K. I'm convinced straying from Motorcraft 5/20 blend to a full synthetic for a while caused all hte oil leaks. Oh, and I do seem to have a re-curring powersteering fluid leak. Replaced that pressure switch once, and it's losing fluid again. THe only other true issue I've known of with the 3.0 is if you get a model with the cam cap bolts that weren't hardened properly and they have worked loose. Can't really complain about the transmissions I've had with the 4.3 or 3.0. THe one in the Milan/Fusion is a problem if you have it in hte Escape because they didn't upsize it for the SUV. In the sedan it has been good.
On the list of top 10 vehicles that you cannot kill.....the Ford F-150 was the number one vehicle that
you cannot kill, and I can really attest to this. At work there was a work truck a 2010 F-150 Texas special and
in 2022 it had 750k miles on it with the original transmission and every side was dented and it had pulled
stumps and everything else and I guess the sad part about it is that last year it was "driven" to the crusher :(
 
  • Like
Reactions: norrislakevol
#56
#56
I bought a new nissan stanza in 88 and put 225 miles on it and never did anything to it
but change the oil, it was a great car and when I was getting the oil changed one day
a fella wanted to buy it so I sold it to him.
 
#57
#57
The LS family of engines are great! They're more powerful than the vortec engines and still reliable. There's a reason (actually many reasons) they're so popular for engine swaps. The only thing that hurts their reliability is the DOD (where it cuts cylinders for fuel economy).
Can't you buy an aftermarket chip to disable that or is it something you can turnoff? I've never owned one with the active fuel management so I'm not sure if it is selectable or is on all the time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SycloneJoe
#59
#59
Can't you buy an aftermarket chip to disable that or is it something you can turnoff? I've never owned one with the active fuel management so I'm not sure if it is selectable or is on all the time.
Yep. We bought a box that plugs into the OBD2 port that disabled it for the GMC pickup at work. It’s been trouble free for nearly 200k miles.
 
#60
#60
Don’t expect this out of today’s cars including Hondas and Toyotas. Too many computers and tech. Honda went to a CVT transmission years ago. Huge mistake. Even if your power train will last, the cost to keep these other systems running will make these cars cost prohibitive when they get up in age.

I have a new car I lease for my wife, a 2008 I drive and a 2012 Accord my daughter drives. The Accord is the last year with traditional transmission. Dang thing is a great little car.
 
#61
#61
Don’t expect this out of today’s cars including Hondas and Toyotas. Too many computers and tech. Honda went to a CVT transmission years ago. Huge mistake. Even if your power train will last, the cost to keep these other systems running will make these cars cost prohibitive when they get up in age.

I have a new car I lease for my wife, a 2008 I drive and a 2012 Accord my daughter drives. The Accord is the last year with traditional transmission. Dang thing is a great little car.

We got a 2017 Pilot in 2019, or maybe fall of 2020 before the great customer screw. 31K miles. Told finance mgr i ewanted no add ons, only the payment. He said he really needed to show me only 2. One was gap insurance, which he said I onyl needed for 12 months on that car to be even, then come back in and have it took off. THen he offered me Honda's 8/120 extended warranty. He said it was still a Honda in the bones and would likely never be in the shop for mechanical issues, but that it did have tire pressure monitoring, and 18 computers. And he told me the cost of hte warranty, and the cost of some of these system replacements if they go bad. So, I've got full no cost covereage out to 160K miles.
 
#62
#62
I bought a new nissan stanza in 88 and put 225 miles on it and never did anything to it
but change the oil, it was a great car and when I was getting the oil changed one day
a fella wanted to buy it so I sold it to him.
I would hope you didn’t do a whole lot to it. Shouldn’t have even changed the oil. 225 miles…
 
#63
#63
I would hope you didn’t do a whole lot to it. Shouldn’t have even changed the oil. 225 miles…
Well I took good care of it, and so it kept plugging right along, also where I work they used an F-150 and drove it to the crusher with 750k miles, yes every finder was dented but it was running and had the original transmission in it. My friend has a Toyota Camry with 500k on it and she drives it to work every day, so yeah you gotta change that oil.
 
#64
#64
All brands have lemons.
Bought a new 06 F-150 5.0 and put 470k miles on it in 10 years. Only replaced battery, Alt., and AC compressor.
2016 I traded it for a new F-150 5.0…which is my lemon. At 85k the torque converter went. It went a 2nd time at 110k. It’s at 160 now and I feel that sucker rumbling.
At 140k, it developed a low rpm miss. I’ve changed plugs, ignition coils, VVT solenoids, low oil pressure sensor and ECM. Still missing. There has to be a short somewhere as the miss is intermittent but damn if this shade-tree can find it. 😡
 
#65
#65
All brands have lemons.
Bought a new 06 F-150 5.0 and put 470k miles on it in 10 years. Only replaced battery, Alt., and AC compressor.
2016 I traded it for a new F-150 5.0…which is my lemon. At 85k the torque converter went. It went a 2nd time at 110k. It’s at 160 now and I feel that sucker rumbling.
At 140k, it developed a low rpm miss. I’ve changed plugs, ignition coils, VVT solenoids, low oil pressure sensor and ECM. Still missing. There has to be a short somewhere as the miss is intermittent but damn if this shade-tree can find it. 😡
The 06 you had probably had 4.6 or 5.4 both good to great motors though.
 
#67
#67
Great thread, y'all.

I loved my li'l Sonoma I used to have, with the 4.3 and Borg- Warner T-5. It was the smoothest-shifting vehicle I ever drove.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: SycloneJoe
#68
#68
Gave up on American manufacturers altogether. My wife’s 19 Ford Escape has had the engine replaced twice and it currently has 69k miles. My 15 Equinox was about to have the timing chain break at just over 100k miles.

Got a 19 Honda Ridgeline for myself last weekend. Not a truck, is a truck. I don’t care. I’m going with Hondas and Toyotas from here on out. They’re built to last. I don’t care anymore about the fancy interiors that Ford, Chevy, and Chrysler invest in.
 
#69
#69
I had to unload my 2012 Tundra last month. Gear box/rack went out for the 3rd time. Only 115k miles. Traded it in for a newer Titan. I am one of the few people that have had major issues with a Tundra. Guess I’m rolling with Nissan for now.
 
#70
#70
Gave up on American manufacturers altogether. My wife’s 19 Ford Escape has had the engine replaced twice and it currently has 69k miles. My 15 Equinox was about to have the timing chain break at just over 100k miles.

Got a 19 Honda Ridgeline for myself last weekend. Not a truck, is a truck. I don’t care. I’m going with Hondas and Toyotas from here on out. They’re built to last. I don’t care anymore about the fancy interiors that Ford, Chevy, and Chrysler invest in.
I had a 2014 Ridgeline (the new body style sucks IMO), it was a great little truck. Towed my Mustang back from Alaska and a 6x10 fully loaded trailer just fine. Also handed much better because it FWD. 95% of people would be fine with a Ridgeline as their truck (unless you're towing heavyish).
 
#71
#71
I had to unload my 2012 Tundra last month. Gear box/rack went out for the 3rd time. Only 115k miles. Traded it in for a newer Titan. I am one of the few people that have had major issues with a Tundra. Guess I’m rolling with Nissan for now.
That's unfortunate. Toyota trucks are usually bullet proof. My Tundra is a 2014. I read the diff fluid needs to be changed at 75k miles. I will be changing mine in the next week or two.
 
#72
#72
I had a 2014 Ridgeline (the new body style sucks IMO), it was a great little truck. Towed my Mustang back from Alaska and a 6x10 fully loaded trailer just fine. Also handed much better because it FWD. 95% of people would be fine with a Ridgeline as their truck (unless you're towing heavyish).
Most people buy way beyond their practical needs with pickups
 
#74
#74
That's unfortunate. Toyota trucks are usually bullet proof. My Tundra is a 2014. I read the diff fluid needs to be changed at 75k miles. I will be changing mine in the next week or two.
1st time I thought I was unfortunate. 2nd time was covered under warranty because it went out less than a year from the repair. 3rd time I cut my losses and traded. The problem is the only way to fix it is pulling the engine. Labor alone is super expensive.
 
  • Like
Reactions: McDad
#75
#75
1st time I thought I was unfortunate. 2nd time was covered under warranty because it went out less than a year from the repair. 3rd time I cut my losses and traded. The problem is the only way to fix it is pulling the engine. Labor alone is super expensive.
4 wheel drive?
 

VN Store



Back
Top