Mileage on a Toyota

[halfpower]

I've heard that these things are reliable. Does that mean get a decent ride if I get a 1999-2004 Toyota if it has 110K-135K miles on it? Is Toyota really more reliable than other brands?

 

[herm0016]

not really. its mostly hype, also depends on the type of car you are looking for. what are you looking for?

 

[HiTek21]

It really depends on how well the vehicle was maintained, if the owner drove it hard, also if it was used in an area with salt on the roads. Some can go on for years others will fall apart fast.

 

[Budmantom]

Not so much!

 

[thomsbrain]

A Toyota with 110K-135K probably still has a fair amount of life in it. However, I'm of the opinion that the last 10 years of Toyotas and Hondas are not as bullet-proof as the 10 years before that. They were in their comfort zone then, making small 4-cylinder cars that didn't make much power, hooked to stiff bodies with tight tolerances and high-quality interior materials and fit/finish. They were tough and not really capable of doing anything that could damage themselves. In the pursuit of power, flash, gadgetry, and size, the engineers haven't kept up in other areas. The transmissions can't handle the new big engines, the interiors looks great but the materials aren't as nice to touch, and in some cases the ride/handling balance is worse than previous generations. Overall, I'd rather take a modern car over the older ones, but I don't think there are likely to be as many 500,000 mile monsters as the late 80's/early 90's.

 

[halfpower]

My observation is that a Toyota Solara costs more than an Hyndai Elantra. Is this because of overall build quality, or more because of things like heated seats and chrome-plated tail pipes.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: halfpower
My observation is that a Toyota Solara costs more than an Hyndai Elantra. Is this because of overall build quality, or more because of things like heated seats and chrome-plated tail pipes.

It is because you are comparing a Hyundai to a Toyota lol. Hyundai has come a long way (as has Kia) though.

Seriously, you will get people saying it wont last much long and people saying it will-- it all depends. You could get one that breaks the next day. In general though Toyota cars/trucks will run for a long long time if you treat them right (Regular oil changes, Fuel Injector Cleaning Additives, Air Filter, etc...).

I bought my Tacoma with 136K miles on it. It is at 146K right now. So far, I have had to get a New Starter, New Cat, and New O2 sensor.

I would feel more comfortable about buying a High Mileage Toyota or Honda vehicle than a comparable other vehicle (High Mileage GM is asking from problems for instance).

 

[KDKPSJ]

Originally posted by: halfpower
My observation is that a Toyota Solara costs more than an Hyndai Elantra. Is this because of overall build quality, or more because of things like heated seats and chrome-plated tail pipes.

You are comparing apple to orange. Used Solara and New Elantra may be in same price range, still it doesn't make much sense to compare midsize coupe/convertible (with some premium feature) to economy small sedan.

It's like comparing used 5 series to new Eclipse. Better than comparing pickup truck to motorbike, but still not a good comparison.

Anyway, Hyundai has improved a lot, but still it hasn't been confirmed. That's the issue. Hyundai's overall quality made its big jump with their 2006 model year cars --- only 3 years ago. 3 year is nowhere to close to 10 year we are talking here.

And I can guarantee you 10 year Hyundai maybe a big headache to their owner, because I was one also. Well, I sold 99 Sonata back in 2006, so 7 year-old Hyundai I should say. And yet, that 7 year-old/100k miles Hyundai had a numerous issue all of the places -- and most of them wouldn't be covered under their long 10-year warranty. (I am Korean, so I could talk on the phone with upper management who was Korean, and I confirmed on this) Only problem-free part was A/T mission, ironically, which was made by Aisin (Toyota).

 

[halfpower]

I don't see what's wrong with comparing Toyota/Solara with Hyndai/Elantra. Either car would serve as both a daily commuter car and for general transportation.

 

[Shawn]

135k miles is nothing for a Toyota or a Honda.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/s...57605987006625/detail/

Over 240k miles.

 

[zoiks]

Originally posted by: Shawn
135k miles is nothing for a Toyota or a Honda.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/s...57605987006625/detail/

Over 240k miles.

Again hype. For every Toyota and Honda you show me, I'll show you another vehicle brand with more miles and in good running condition.

 

[Shawn]

Originally posted by: zoiks

Originally posted by: Shawn
135k miles is nothing for a Toyota or a Honda.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/s...57605987006625/detail/

Over 240k miles.

Again hype. For every Toyota and Honda you show me, I'll show you another vehicle brand with more miles and in good running condition.

Ok, go ahead.

 

[alimoalem]

our 2001 sienna xle has ~170k miles on it. nothing's been done to it aside from some body work when it was involved in an accident (it got hit on its side) a couple years back. believe it or not, it's been driven hard and it doesn't show any age, yet.

either we got lucky or toyota knew what they were dong.

 

[Dman877]

Originally posted by: halfpower
I don't see what's wrong with comparing Toyota/Solara with Hyndai/Elantra. Either car would serve as both a daily commuter car and for general transportation.

Except the Solara is a vert isn't it? IIRC the Corolla and Elantra compete in the same market segment so you should be comparing those two.

 

[zoiks]

Originally posted by: Shawn

Originally posted by: zoiks

Originally posted by: Shawn
135k miles is nothing for a Toyota or a Honda.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/s...57605987006625/detail/

Over 240k miles.

Again hype. For every Toyota and Honda you show me, I'll show you another vehicle brand with more miles and in good running condition.

Ok, go ahead.

My own 240sx has 244k miles on it.

 

[herm0016]

my grandfathers 93 Chevy station wagon has over 350k on it. my fathers Buick has 250k, step moms envoy has 200k.. only the envoy has ever had any engine problems. and it was something fairly simple. other than that they all just get regular maintenance items, and a few bushings and bearings here and there. we can keep going like this for hours.

 

[HannibalX]

Two words: engine sludge.

 

[Blain]

A friend of mine has a 2.8L S-10 that has over 500k miles on it so far.
The engine has never been disassembled, only regular maintenance done over the years.

The body is looking a bit weather worn. But it's still chugging along.

 

[alkemyst]

how so much traffic in this post and so little real info.

 

[giverson]

When looking at a vehicle with well over 100k miles, I'd be far more interested in parts cost and how hard it is to work on. Sure sucks when a minor part on a super reliable car (or even a regular service) costs more to repair than a headgasket on a Neon.

Check out forums for the specific vehicles you're looking at. You'll find the common problems and the model years that are the worst.

 

[GoatMonkey]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
how so much traffic in this post and so little real info.

Because there isn't any real info that anyone will believe. People will believe what they want to believe.

I've posted the link to the long term reliability surveys before. Nobody believes those. I somewhat agree with them because there is no differentiation between a broken trim piece and an engine failure in defect reporting.

It seems to be the most reasonable indicator that I've seen so far though. Everything else is pretty much anecdotal.

I tend to agree with what Thomsbrain said, newer, more complex, more powerful, larger cars that the Japanese are building now are probably not as reliable in the long term as the simpler cars they were building 10+ years ago. However, they are still good cars.

But the difference between different manufacturers in the reliability and build quality categories is generally pretty small now with a few exceptions.

 

[dandragonrage]

Toyotas all last 300k. GMs and Fords only last 80k. This is the rule.

Seriously, you only hear this about Toyota/Honda because they are the type of people that like to talk about how reliable their cars are whereas us high-mileage GM owners are just "yeah, whatever."

 

[earthman]

Not to mention most Toyota/Honda owners are far less likely to pick up a wrench than GM or Ford owners, in my experience.

 

[Ktulu]

Originally posted by: dandragonrage
Toyotas all last 300k. GMs and Fords only last 80k. This is the rule.

Seriously, you only hear this about Toyota/Honda because they are the type of people that like to talk about how reliable their cars are whereas us high-mileage GM owners are just "yeah, whatever."

:roll:

 

[vshah]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
A Toyota with 110K-135K probably still has a fair amount of life in it. However, I'm of the opinion that the last 10 years of Toyotas and Hondas are not as bullet-proof as the 10 years before that. They were in their comfort zone then, making small 4-cylinder cars that didn't make much power, hooked to stiff bodies with tight tolerances and high-quality interior materials and fit/finish. They were tough and not really capable of doing anything that could damage themselves. In the pursuit of power, flash, gadgetry, and size, the engineers haven't kept up in other areas. The transmissions can't handle the new big engines, the interiors looks great but the materials aren't as nice to touch, and in some cases the ride/handling balance is worse than previous generations. Overall, I'd rather take a modern car over the older ones, but I don't think there are likely to be as many 500,000 mile monsters as the late 80's/early 90's.

http://www.8thcivic.com/forums...till-going-strong.html

not too bad...200k in a year and still going