I will be the first to admit I am a car maniac (my dog is named after the founder of Ferrari) and I am in no way a loyalist to any make or model of vehicle. I believe if a vehicle does it's job well, it is worthy of me wanting to own it.
My most unreliable car to date is a 8 year old Pontiac. It's a terrible little car. It has had more issues than any other car I have ever owned, numerous recalls have come up on the car and have had to be fixed, (one involving the car spontaneously catching on fire) and the car is not much over 100k and the transmission is going out, among the numerous other costly repairs I have faced with this car. As much as I don't like to discriminate against car companies, I will be hard pressed to ever own another GM ever again. Every one I have ever owned has been a total nightmare, and the quality is sub par at best.
Then I have this 14 year old Mustang, which my boyfriend lovingly calls the "love of my life". I have yet to have a problem with this vehicle, and she has nearly 150k on the clock, and all I've had to replace is the oil, tires, and spark plugs. I love that car, and I baby her and do not push her too hard, and I plan on owning it for a long time and passing it down the line someday.
My boyfriend had a 18 year old Honda CRX he bought with 285k on the clock. He owned it 3 years, and sold it with about 325k on the clock. Nothing replaced but maintenance parts (and the suspension was worn out, so those components were replaced, but with a car that high in mileage it is almost unavoidable). We took that car on many, many road trips and we never worried about it breaking down. That car did us well, and I still get sad every time I see a CRX on the road, boy I wish I had that car back.
Now he owns two Toyota's, an old '87 Supra and a '85 MR2. The Supra is pushing 200k and has so many problems (it is also a turbo car, which is where the majority of the problems have come from, and it is obvious the previous owner(s) abused it) and the MR2 has over 250k... and that car is a dream to drive and maintain, much like the CRX was.
I am now looking at cars to replace my Pontiac since I cannot afford to maintain it anymore, and I am looking at Mitsubishi Eclipses. I am hoping that I will have better luck.
There are so many variables that go into the reliability equation such as how the car was maintained and treated (was it abused? babied?) and overall quality of the make/model.
As far as the Element issue? Sounds like a gimmick playing on the heartstrings of dog lovers. I am a dog lover and also a car enthusiast, and like the above poster said, with simple modifications, any car can be dog friendly. All we drive are small cars, and all I will ever want to drive will be small vehicles, and we have never had any problems occupying our dog (well, other than the MR2 since it is a 2 seater, lol.)
My most unreliable car to date is a 8 year old Pontiac. It's a terrible little car. It has had more issues than any other car I have ever owned, numerous recalls have come up on the car and have had to be fixed, (one involving the car spontaneously catching on fire) and the car is not much over 100k and the transmission is going out, among the numerous other costly repairs I have faced with this car. As much as I don't like to discriminate against car companies, I will be hard pressed to ever own another GM ever again. Every one I have ever owned has been a total nightmare, and the quality is sub par at best.
Then I have this 14 year old Mustang, which my boyfriend lovingly calls the "love of my life". I have yet to have a problem with this vehicle, and she has nearly 150k on the clock, and all I've had to replace is the oil, tires, and spark plugs. I love that car, and I baby her and do not push her too hard, and I plan on owning it for a long time and passing it down the line someday.
My boyfriend had a 18 year old Honda CRX he bought with 285k on the clock. He owned it 3 years, and sold it with about 325k on the clock. Nothing replaced but maintenance parts (and the suspension was worn out, so those components were replaced, but with a car that high in mileage it is almost unavoidable). We took that car on many, many road trips and we never worried about it breaking down. That car did us well, and I still get sad every time I see a CRX on the road, boy I wish I had that car back.
Now he owns two Toyota's, an old '87 Supra and a '85 MR2. The Supra is pushing 200k and has so many problems (it is also a turbo car, which is where the majority of the problems have come from, and it is obvious the previous owner(s) abused it) and the MR2 has over 250k... and that car is a dream to drive and maintain, much like the CRX was.
I am now looking at cars to replace my Pontiac since I cannot afford to maintain it anymore, and I am looking at Mitsubishi Eclipses. I am hoping that I will have better luck.
There are so many variables that go into the reliability equation such as how the car was maintained and treated (was it abused? babied?) and overall quality of the make/model.
As far as the Element issue? Sounds like a gimmick playing on the heartstrings of dog lovers. I am a dog lover and also a car enthusiast, and like the above poster said, with simple modifications, any car can be dog friendly. All we drive are small cars, and all I will ever want to drive will be small vehicles, and we have never had any problems occupying our dog (well, other than the MR2 since it is a 2 seater, lol.)
