if you can't afford a card that new with less on the clock than 400k then shop older. Seriously, the last truely reliable cars were made in the late 90's, after that planned obsolescence took priority.

If reliability is your top priority then there's only one option: Mercedes W124. Seriously. Apart from commercial vehicles (buses and trucks), nothing can beat the W124 when it comes to reliability. Also, they're cheap to buy, old enough for spare parts to be easy to come by on the cheap, and the fastest variant of the W124 has 438hp so I believe you can find one with the performance you're comfortable paying for. However, they quit making it in 1996 so they're not exactly fashionable.

Hondas and Toyotas are the only two car companies I've heard of making cars that last.

My dad also swears by Crown Vics. We had two of them while I was home. They did survive relatively well (compared to other American cars), but they did require some work along the way (but I think that's normal). Both of them had computer issues that required disabling the computer or paying special attention (i.e., accelerating out of control ). One time I pulled into a hardware store with a dirt driveway (in the country) and didn't realize the car was accelerating without me until the last second. I stopped just front of a car parked in front of me. Which would have been awesome if I planned it, but it was accidental (and the owner of the car in front of me was walking out of the store at that time and saw the whole thing[, though he couldn't have known it was accidental]). In any case, I doubt a Crown Vic is a viable option outside of North America. I doubt the quality of Luminas, Impalas, and Buicks; let alone the viability... I imagine they're used as cabs for their size and American build. I'm too drunk to remember the make or model of the cars predominantly used by our resident cab company (my software company lives on the same property as a cab company that our owner operated until recently). I'm inclined to say Hyundai, but I've never talked to anyone about the reason. I'm inclined to say price. Personally, I think Hyundai's are shit.

The problem in North America, at least in the northeast, isn't necessarily reliability, but rather the frame/body rotting out from us using salt on the roads in the winter.

Lately, they've been getting a lot better. At this point, I'd take a Kia or Hyundai over a Japanese or American built shitbox any day.

You're forgetting a little detail here: Models such as the Crown Victoria are US domestic models and they are very rare outside the Americas, meaning maintenance costs are sky-high due to sparsity of parts.

What comes to Toyotas, technically they're reliable. Idiot-proof. It's just they have always been made with such flimsy bodywork that while the engine lasts century, the body won't survive a decade without intrusive maintenance.

My car is 25 years old. An Opel Kadett E. Very little power, very little gadgets, very little reliability issues and very little maintenance costs. Last week I ordered a cam chain tensioner for my motorbike (it being a DOHC V2 it has two) and that one alone cost more than the maintenance costs of my Opel for the last year, in total.

Well basically, crash damage and neglected maintenance.

Poorly fitting body panels, sticky doors, suspicious kinks in the underbody. As for the maintenance, the best gauge is to listen how the engine sounds (listen for irregular rattles on idle, grinding and scrubbing noises) and smells (make sure the seller hasn't warmed the car up when you arrive). Sniff the exhaust for a hint of burnt oil when cold and fuel when warm (note that a cold gasoline engine may well produce fuel smell in the exhaust)), and how the suspension, brakes and steering feel (loud noises when driving over bumps, play in the steering, spongy brakes, etc.). Make sure the gears engage smoothly and under no circumstances a car made after the 70's should make any noise that varies in pitch with speed. Unless it's a race car.

Thanks.

Oh well.. I'll see it easily when I buy it

Ooh, btw.. Bought it. It's an Ope Astra 2.0L Turbo Diesel 2002. It drove 343k km.

{"name":"605158","src":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/0\/9\/09de7bce518c62bffe00e1905d0994d3.jpg","w":2592,"h":1944,"tn":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/0\/9\/09de7bce518c62bffe00e1905d0994d3"}

Diesel FTW!

make some Bio Diesel for it.

It's definitely not good to discharge a battery all the way down, but it won't make it useless. If it's a manual transmission, and the battery still has enough power to run the computers and fuel pump, you could probably turn the ignition on, push it as fast as you can by pushing your shoulder against the open driver door frame (while steering) then jumping in, pushing in the clutch, putting it in second gear, and LET UP THE CLUTCH VERY QUICKLY so you don't just slow the car using the clutch for a brake. If the battery has enough juice to light the headlamps enough to read by, it probably has enough power.

[EDIT]

I've seen a car owner blow up his $400 engine computer by taking out the battery while it was running.

Hardly anybody does it, but it's supposed to be much safer to jump a car with cables by charging the dead car with the cables, then shutting off the donor car before attempting to start the dead car. Something to do with voltage spikes from the alternator when the car starts.

@Arthur: It's empty, literally. I thought about pushing it, but something tells me the theft protection won't let the engine start.

@ML: Erm. Somebody gotta have, and they're sure sold.. It's not like I've a friend nearby with it