[sumeethaldankar]

Sharing this linky i found on the web. Honda says that it's cars last the longest.
3 out 4 cars sold by Honda in the last 25 years are still on the road today.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/driveo...ility/4420289/

[mints21]

Amazing and could be true as well but not in Indian context. Most Japanese cars have best in class technology but our roads and dusty conditions just ruin them.

We have seen many owners who do take good care of their vehicles have used them for good 20+ years.

There were reports in media that the first owner of a Maruti 800 in India still retains the car that was delivered to him by the then Indian prime minister Late Mrs. Indira Gandhi. The car is in working condition even after 30 years though the owner is now too old to even recall the moment when he became the first owner of Maruti brand in India.

[sr_1445]

@mints21 is right. Its our roads & operating conditions(and at times poor maintenance) that drastically shortens a car's life span here. As for Honda, I tend to agree with them.
PS : Don't forget about the holy grail of reliability - Toyota. I also read that some Fords have a reputation for lasting long as well.

[raj_5004]

Not really true on Indian conditions. Refer my Civic thread to know how my 30k driven Civic has a load of critical part failures.

I bought a used Honda on the same impression that it would be reliable. But after speaking to some owners, garage owners and Honda A.S.S. friendly mechanics, the common opinion they share is some critical parts of Hondas are too fragile for Indian conditions.

[GTO]

Honda is definitely among the best when it comes to reliability & durability, although Toyota does maintain an edge over it, especially the body-on-frame diesels (Qualis, Innova, Fortuner).

Within the Indian context, consider the 1st-gen Honda City. We still see so many of them around. In comparison, how many Opel Astras or Ford Escorts do you see? For every 100 1st-gen Honda Citys on the road, I might see 1 Astra or Escort (though the difference in sales wasn't 100X). Fact is, these cars are also incredibly simple to maintain & repair.

@ Raj: Sorry to hear about your experience. But there are several Civic ownership threads with mileage 2x - 3x yours and no real issues to report of. Every manufacturer makes a lemon. What matter is, for every 1000 cars built, how many are troublesome. The ratio for Toyota / Honda / Maruti is much lower than other brands.

[wilful]

I am delighted to read this bit of news.
Yes one sees quite a few 1st gen City on our roads. That said I wonder why it is that descriptions like tank like build q, solid sounding thud of the doors, built to last are only attributed to European cars by us Indians. A tone of condescension creeps in when many folk talk of the 'flimsy' Jap/Korean cars - a kind of 'yes they are reliable and cheap to maintain but...'
Is it the heft of the sheet metal combined with the brand image that shape these perceptions?

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by wilful

I am delighted to read this bit of news. Yes one sees quite a few 1st gen City on our roads. That said I wonder why it is that descriptions like tank like build q, solid sounding thud of the doors, built to last are only attributed to European cars by us Indians. A tone of condescension creeps in when many folk talk of the 'flimsy' Jap/Korean cars - a kind of 'yes they are reliable and cheap to maintain but...' Is it the heft of the sheet metal combined with the brand image that shape these perceptions?

In the Aussie outback, known for some of the harshest conditions for vehicles to live through, earlier, there used to be a perception that only a Landrover could handle it.
Yes, in part this may have been true in the 1950's, 60's and perhaps upto the 70's. Having said that the original Toyota FJ cruiser and the later Landcruisers just landed up and ate up all the market share on account of their sheer reliability and toughness.

I can well believe the old gen Honda City cRs being as tough as nails. One of my colleagues/ friends has one which is more than 10 years old and it is still going strong. I know he takes it to the most unlikely harsh terrain and frankly, he doesnt really treat it all that well. However, it lasts and lasts and lasts.
Even the humble Tata Indica, going by the indications of the way the poor things are treated by the cabbies, seem to last and last and last!

Another friend uses a twelve year old Hyundai Sonata Gold. That car needs to be seen to be believed in terms of the way it looks and feels as of now!
Perhaps after all, it is incorrect to associate all the attributes you have mentioned above, solely with European cars to the exclusion of the other manufacturers across the world.

[vasoo]

Reliability of vehicles depend on lots of factors including your luck. I have a 2000 Santro which has never been to a garage except for regular servicing, battery and tyre changes. Of course the body is full of dents collected from the city driving. Timely servicing is very important, especially beyond 3 years.

My 2010 civic is still absolutely trouble free. I have a friend in US who still keeps his first car, a 1996 Accord, which has crossed 180k miles and without any trouble so far in spite of being driven most of its life in extreme weather conditions in Minneapolis and Arizona. He does its regular service at his FNG.

[Maky]

I think all Japanese cars are built to last. I wasn't aware there was a noticeable difference between Suzuki, Honda or Toyota but good to know about the SUVs GTO.

My Maruti Suzuki Esteem lasted 17 years almost, I say almost but it didn't die after that No. I just sold it ^ _ ^. So I assume it's either gone to salvage if the dealer was to be believed or still running out there. The Engine on the Esteem never had to be opened during its entire life if I remember correctly. As for my Maruti 800, It was sold after 15 years.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by GTO

@ Raj: Sorry to hear about your experience. But there are several Civic ownership threads with mileage 2x - 3x yours and no real issues to report of. Every manufacturer makes a lemon. What matter is, for every 1000 cars built, how many are troublesome. The ratio for Toyota / Honda / Maruti is much lower than other brands.

Hi Rush,

I would have gladly accepted my car as a lemon if the issues faced were one off cases. But it is not.

• Engine mounts failure - I have never heard of such a critical component failing in any car, yet it does in most of the Civics and some Citys. The SA at Honda (who is in good terms with me now) says it a clear case of poor designing. If that is the case, why is Honda not issuing a recall? All it does is, replace the part under warranty if the car is not more than 5 years old. One friend had to pay for the part because he had a 2007 Civic.
• Steering rack - Honda refused me warranty, that is okay. Consulted a FNG who is an ex-Honda A.S.S. employee. He says "steering rack is an issue in 8/10 Civics". He is now an 'expert' in repairing steering rack issues for Honda cars. Another BHPian who owns a garage simply says that 'Honda parts are fragile'! If that is the case, why does Honda not honour warranty?
• Other issues like front bearing, rear suspension, etc. - Though not very common, but if you go through the thread about Civic maintenance, you will read about premature failure of these parts. Something I dont expect in a HONDA.

Maybe you are right. Maybe I feel bad because such things happened to me. But the fact today is - I am happier with a Mahindra more than a Honda. I expected it to be the other way round. XUV has issues, M&M acknowledges it and replaces it with no questions asked. Honda has issues, company says go to hell.

Tomorrow, I will consider buying a Tata over a Honda, atleast the parts would be cheaper to buy if the company decides to ignore my warranty!

P.S.: I am very very happy with my CeeVee (my Civic). It is a great car and is a pleasure to drive and I do not regret buying it. But I am not happy with Honda as a manufacturer.

Do I love CeeVee? Yes.
Will I buy another Honda? Unlikely.

[Max]

My Honda City GXI (i-dsi) still runs just fine after 9 years 5 months and 90k kms. It is still running on original clutch. It has gone through 2 suspension overhauls (2nd overhaul few days back at 88k kms) and regular maintenance which also includes door locks + power windows parts. I always use fully synthetic oil and car is serviced on regular intervals. No problems at all till today, except few skewing sounds which I can get rid of with some attention.

[vasanthn21]

My almost 9 year old Zen has 80K on the ODO and is showing no signs of ageing (touchwood). I plan to use it at least until it touches 1L on the odo, will keep or sell will be decided at that point in time.

I see a lot of Maruti 800s that just keep running without any complaints!

[msdivy]

Longest so far is 1966 Volvo P1800, owned by Irv Gordon and it has clocked 3 million miles !

Others in the list: Million-Mile Club: The World's Longest-Lived Cars

Related thread:

• http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...-odometer.html
• http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...maine-usa.html
• http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...mile-mark.html
• http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/intern...es-accord.html

[Maverick1977]

The question of how long a car lasts should be taken with a pinch of salt. If the Govt. permitted we would still have 30 year old Premier Padmini's running as taxis in Mumbai. Honestly there are such simple mechanics in that car that even if something was to go wrong any road side mechanic would be able to repair the same.
The important question is what is the condition of the car after 25 years and what costs has the owner incurred in keeping that car on the road for those 25 years. Also was it worth keeping on road for that long?
Honda might have a fantastic engine but in that respect even my Indica Vista has a fantastic engine. I have not faced any issues with the engine or gear box but then there have been numerous failures like power window switches, AC parts and clutch (once). However Tata's never gave me grief in replacing those parts.

[9thsphinx]

I can vouch for this bit of news. Hondas are indeed very reliable. This stays true to Honda engines manufactured around the world - it's the tech that goes behind it that makes it last longer than the others. The Japs have this mastered and how!

However, I am not too sure about the body & chassis. For that I'd put my money on the Europeans - they're as sold and tank-like as they can get.

With that said, our Old Honda City came out with flying colors even after serving us a good 10+ years of daily roundabouts, weekend outings and long distance touring. Zero to none major niggles. I've been an avid fan of Honda since then and will probably always be a loyalist when it comes to this particular brand!