razz wrote:

> My buddy is a mechanic at a Toyota dealership, they're not as reliable as
> people think they are. They have just as many problems as other
> manufacturers.

No car is going to be 100% problem free, but Toyotas and Hondas typically
experience less non-routine problems than North American brands, especially
if regular maintenance is kept up. But even with regular maintenance, North
American brand cars tend to experience more non-routine problems, especially
when they are at least 5 years old and/or the mileage gets up there. And
this JD Power survey focused on (I think) 3-year old cars.

My '93 Accord has 223,000km (138,000 miles) and has been extremely reliable.
My father and brother both have Corollas ('04 and '05) with about 30,000km
(19,000 miles) each so far, and as expected, both have been reliable so far.
But we have taken good care of our cars and kept up the regular maintenance.


> I don't subscribe to that mentality that most people believe
> jap scrap is more reliable than other cars.

Not all Japanese brands are reliable (especially Mazda, for example). But
Toyota and Honda are typically more reliable than most others.


> My wife's 97 ford contour has
> had not one lick of problem up until this weekend, I changed the water pump
> at 90,000k's. We have had it since 98.

You've been lucky. I know a lot of Contour/Mystique owners who had lots of
problems with them, including a few that had fires from under the hood.


> I just worked on a supra not more
> than two months ago which needed a new cam, worn lobes, warped head, so
> don't tell me that they're more reliable.

Since it's a Supra, perhaps it was not well taken care of. The only common
problem I am aware of (depending on the year) is the head gasket.


> Same goes for our Honda accord,
> replaced the cam at 130,000k's, again worn lobes. I quess they use cheap
> metal.

Since you appear to be in Canada (like me), I assume you are talking
kilometers here? Anyway, that is rare for an Accord. But again, is it
possible that it hasn't been well taken care of?


> I'm currrently trying a Hyundai sonota, and will never buy one of
> those again, nice looking car, but never again. All of these cars were a one
> owner brand new off the lot vehicles. I'm currently looking for a new car,
> and may go back to a European car, particular a German made car.

German cars are actually no more reliable than the others. Volkwagens are
just plain junk, and apparently, Mercedes-Benz' quality has suffered since
the DaimlerChrysler merger.