[rpunwani]

My list of cars owned / provided by company:-

Premier Padmini (owned 1988 - 1996): no major trouble apart from the regular carburetor tuning. Bought the car without AC, got a second hand AC fitted in 1990. Since the car did not have a FICD, the AC would cut off whenever the car idled.

Maruti 800 (company car 1992 - 1996): I got a pre-used company car, the rear leaf spring broke twice in the time I had the car. Fitted an AC in 1994 and removed it before returning the car back to the company.

Maruti Esteem VX (Owned 1996 - 2002): No issues at all, had the carburetor tuned at regular service.

Maruti Zen VX (owned 1997 - 1999): No issues at all.

Fiat Sienna (company car 2001 - 2004): No mechanical problems. However when parked outside in the rains, the floor used to get wet. The service guys did some jugaad and somehow the leakage stopped.

Mitsubishi Lancer VXi (owned 2002 - 2018): I loved this car. In the 16 years that I owned the car, I changed the battery only once. Mechanically, I had to change the AC condenser, fuel pump and brake pads.

Maruti Wagon R (company car/owned 2004 - 2012): No issues at all. This car went through floods and water came upto the seat during the 25/07/2005 downpour. Waited for 30 mins after ensuring that there was no water ingress into the engine. Car started on first crank.

VW Polo Highline 1.2 MPI (owned 2012 - 2020): Typical VW issues with 2 ABS sensors. Also nhad to change one rear door lock. mechanically no issues.

VW Passat Highline DSG (owned 2012 - 2021): Apart from replacing the ABS sensors 9 times and the rear struts, the car was trouble free.

Ford Ecosport Titanium 1.5 AT+ (owned 2018 - present): Have had to replace 2 ABS sensors, one MAF sensor under warranty. This is a go anywhere car. Have taken this car from Mumbai to Himachal in 2019 and done the Narkhanda - Kalpa - Nako - Kaza - Chandrataal - Manali circuit without a whimper. The Ecosport can take a lot of beating, still remains absolutely rattle free.

Honda Jazz VX CVT (owned 2020 - present): primarily for my wife. very good and efficient city car. No issues at all. Found the initial 6m / 5000 km service a bit expensive.

BMW 520d (owned 2021 - present): One hell of a beauty - in all respects. No issues at all

[ObsessedByFIAT]

Thankfully 99% of my cars (and bikes and scooters included) have been trouble free thus far.
Right from my first self pre-owned (but not pre worshiped) Fiat Palio ELX to Ford Figo, Chevrolet Spark, Maruti Alto, Ford Ecosport, Renault Kwid have been trouble free.

The only car to give me any trouble was the Tata Nano, which prompted me to sell off the car immediately after getting it fixed at a authorised service center. The AMT unit on this car had failed and needed a replacement.

[Neversaygbye]

Considering that our family has owned and driven five cars in total starting from a Fiat 1100D purchased by my dad pre-owned in 1988-89 to the current Beat and Vista, it is easy to segregate the most and least troublesome

Most troublesome - the Matiz after it crossed 7 years of ownership. First started with the power steering pulley falling off in 2007 (Couldn't find where it had fallen and then had to run from pillar to post to find a replacement), then multiple issues with relays failing that left me stranded on a few occasions, oil seal failures and AC conking off, among many other issues. In the last few years of ownership, the car needed to go to the workshop for one thing or another at least once a month.

Second most troublesome - the Beat. The AC conked off thrice in the first three years of ownership (repaired FOC by Chevrolet under 3 years maintenance offer), the suspension needed work on more than one occasion within the first three years (still needs work every now and then) and the clutch cable snapped in a car that had done less than 50k kms at that time. The electronic MID has also conked off in parts. Plus there were other niggles and issues, which are continuing till date. As it is the beater car and used sparingly, we are living with the gremlins and are reconciled to at least three major issues every year. The car has also left us stranded twice.

Moderately troublesome - the 1100D. Never left us stranded but did require frequent visits to the workshop for some issue or the other. It was my dad who drove it - however as I learnt to drive in this car, I have included it in the list.

Second least troublesome - the Vista. Would have been the least troublesome except for one episode about 5 years back where the ignition lock was malfunctioning and sometimes the car would not start on turning the key. Took four visits to TASC before they could pinpoint the issue. However, the car would start sooner or later on the umpteenth try so while the issue was something that really bothered me, it wasn't bad enough to leave me stranded. However, that was 5 years ago and there have been no other issues since then. The car has been reliable and great in terms of ownership experience barring this one specific episode.

Least troublesome - the Indica V2. Totally reliable and never needed anything other than regular maintenance over a lakh kms of service. Never let us down on the road.

[BHPjunkie]

No troubles:

- 2011 Honda Accord. We have a 2011 2.4L manual Honda Accord in the family and this is a trusty workhorse. Its one of the cars the family just loves for the space and comfort. The Accord is close to the 2 lac kms mark and all it has ever asked for is regular servicing and change of wear and tear parts. The major expense has been replacing the tires 4 times, suspension twice and clutch 3 times. Apart from that and the regular servicing, the Accord has not seen the garage in its lifetime. We plan to keep it till the 15 year mark.

- Toyota Corolla 1.8J. Another workhorse. Mother was chauffeured for 110k kms in its 7 years we had it. It never broke down even once in those 110k kms.

- BMW 520D. Bought in 2016 and driven 60k kms till date. The 520D has been pretty trouble free till now and has only required regular servicing. Its changed tires once till date and now due for another. Recently we had some trouble with the AC which BMW were unable to resolve despite 3 visits. My trusted FNG resolved the issue and it costed about 22k.

- Hyundai Accent / Verna. We owned both the variations of the Hyundais in petrol. As far as I remember, we never had any issues with both iterations of the Hyundais.

Lukewarm Reliability:

- 2013 Polo GT TDi. Wonderful vehicle amazing power. Had the GT for 5.5 years and drove is 65k kms. Had to deal with failure of ABS sensor multiple times.

- 2018 Ameo TDi DSG. A purchase inspired by the Polo GT. Same engine with an auto gearbox. The Ameo had an injector failure in its 2nd year with 11k on the odo. Already had ABS sensor failure 3 times. The Ameo is entering the 5th year and I am planning to sell it for an EV before it goes out of warranty as the DSG worries me.

Most troublesome:

- 2008 Mercedes C200K. This has been by far the most troublesome vehicle for us. The C200K would be in the workshop every 3-4 months. It had a airbag failure which costed 1.5 lacs to rectify. Got a clogged sunroof drain which lead to massive water accumulation on the passenger side footwell. This was despite the car being mostly covered. Due to the water ingress incident, vehicle developed multiple electronic issues. The car was finally sold in 8 years with 75k kms, one of the vehicles which was driven less due to time spent in the workshop.

[SafariMan]

No troubles:

- Toyota Etios G Petrol 2011. The peppy car has delivered Q class reliability (pun intended). NEPAL, Tawang, Sela Pass, ladakh, spiti, himachal, uttarakhand, hilly kerala and many more within a span of a year and half. Only kms based service done. Pre worshipped 2019. Still with me

- Mitsubishi Cedia Sports 2010. The most loved car. Ran it lots without any trouble. Sold it in 2015 with impending HM closure.

- Toyota Corolla Altis J Diesel 2010. 1+lakh kms and only service costs. Underpowered mileage king. Preworshipped bought in 2021. Still with me

- Maruti Suzuki 800 5 speed 2010. The king of the hills. Seen each and every road of the north east from kibithoo, mechuka, dust bowl majuli to tri border mizoram. Bullet proof reliability. Sold 2021 due to space constraints.


Lukewarm Reliability:

- Hyundai Santro LE 2000. Aircon. Sold 2006

- Maruti Suzuki Wagon R 2007 Duo. Had some heating trouble at highway speeds. Sold 2012

- Honda City Type 3 Gxi 2008 . Some reliability issues with suspension and brakes. Ground clearance. Sold 2014

- Tata Nano top end 2015. Generally trouble free car with an excellent ac. Sold in 2020.

- Chevy Tavera aka Isuzu Panther 2005 top end 2.5l . Huge engine mile cruncher. problems with dyna belt and gearbox. Still parked in spouse hometown and used by extended family.


Most troublesome:

FORD Ikon 2008 Diesel 1.4 TDCI - Perennial Lower arm problem damaging tyres. Finally could not take the central India May heat and wound up 55kms short of Raipur at Mahasamund during one of my Mumbai-kolkata-mumbai runs. GV Ford Raipur gave an estimate of 2.5L. Scrapped.

- Premier 118NE 1990. Fathers car tried my best to maintain. Lots of problems. Scapped 1999

- Tata Safari 2009. The lesser said the better. Scrapped 2019

- Tata Indigo TDI 2005. Bad dream. Sold 2011.

Lots of Lessons learnt. Nice thread for nostalgia

[vtecblast]

Least:
1. Honda Brio :
Throughout the time I have owned this car, there hasn't been a moment where I thought, "This is going to be a headache." The car provided me with a butter-smooth ownership experience, defining what 'trouble-free ownership' truly means. Sadly, I had to sell it off due to a few reasons, but it will forever hold a place in my heart.


2. Mahindra Scorpio 2.2

This car is my 'no-brainer' pick for everything. I have absolute confidence in this car, even for a 5000kms trip; I just have to fill up the diesel and I'm good to go. It has never let me down, with no major issues (except for one time when the differential crown gave up due to my carelessness while off-roading).



Most

1. Jeep Compass:

This car has forced me to visit the service station so many times that I've lost count. The ASC people have little to no clue about how to repair. Jeep's customer support is useless. Nothing about this car has been trouble-free for me; the owners' groups are filled with similar and even more problems. Every drive in this car has been a headache for me until now. I cannot sell it due to personal reasons. I just hope it gets fixed so I can finally start enjoying the money I spent on this car.

[QuentinTino]

Originally Posted by wheelguy

It is quite surprising to hear someone say that the WagonR is unreliable. Could you please share the troubles or issues you have faced with your car?

It was mainly related to the Clutch being worn out early and some minor gearbox issues.

[wheelguy]

Originally Posted by QuentinTino

It was mainly related to the Clutch being worn out early and some minor gearbox issues.

Clearly, yours could be an isolated case, I assume. Did the service center not provide any satisfactory resolution?

[jaysheth]

Most reliable cars:

Santro Xing GLS Silky Beige (2009). Was a lovely car. We sold it only because of our need (or want?) to upgrade to an automatic. Owned for 13+ years and sold it in Sept 2022. On the day of sale it was running like a brand new car (no exaggeration). The new owner would be thankful + delighted. Will always remember this car.

Honda Jazz VX CVT Pearl White (Sept 2022). This too is a lovely car! There were speculations of Honda likely to discontinue the Jazz, and that made us buy it before it would go out of stock (and yes, it was discontinued starting 01-Apr-2023). Cars as reliable as the Jazz are going to be increasingly difficult to find. Absolutely happy with the troublefree ownership experience, the CVT gearbox, extremely well refined engine, butter smooth drive, the space it offers along with expanse of all-round view, and the key features it offers including cruise control (a bliss during highway trips), rear wipers (what a sore miss by many others), front and rear defoggers (exceedingly useful during heavy rains especially during night time). Not to forget Global NCAP 4 star rating. This is a car that will always be missed. My colleagues still ask me if they could still grab one on offer!

[Oppanna]

Least troublesome cars :

2005 Maruti 800 AC - Picked up a pre owned car which had run 29K on odo from True value in 2012 and drove it till 2018 -65K. Had to replace the radiator as on one of the drives the fan stopped working and also the fins had damaged the core to an extent. Replaced with MGP one for the peace of mind. Apart from that no major repairs. Regular service ran the show.

2005 Maruti Esteem VXI - My current drive. Replaced the AC alternator as the bearing had little slack. Currently odo at 1.55 Lakhs and doing just regular maintenance

Little troublesome car:

1989 Premier Padmini - Picked up a 1989 model premier padmini in the year 2019 just for the love of classic cars. Sold it in 2021 June after 3 years of driving around including long drives to Mangalore and back. Car needed attention always and the sub standard parts which are available locally were the main reason for me to part ways with it. Had stranded on the two drives to Mangalore. On one of the drives the wheel bearing went kaput and could not find the replacement bearing. Had to scout around wasting time.

Another time the joint coupler rubber shredded off on the go. Was stranded for good 4 hours till the replacement arrived. Post that always carried spares with me which included rubber hose for radiator, fan belt and coupler rubber. These coupler rubber kept failing every now and then.