It's Official: 2002's Are Easy to Repair

[2002#3]

It's official!  Our our 2002's are relatively easy to repair!  Hmmm, who knew...

 

 

[adawil2002]

Meanwhile...when well maintained 1988 Cadillac Sedan DeVille with the Aluminum V8 blows a head gasket at 77K miles & the Service Department says "Wow, 77 thousand miles is the highest we've seen. Head gaskets on those usually fail before 40K, we don't bother replacing head gaskets so your engine is toasted"

 

1992 Chevy Suburban 1500 did a little better making 85K before the body & the frame were no longer connected. I actually miss that Suburban, it was the '02 of trucks. Rear wheel drive, big greenhouse, defined corners, nimble for its size & could fit a full 8 x 4 foot sheet of plywood or drywall in the back.

 

My wife's first car was a 1989 Chevy Cavalier 4-door automatic "Sign & Drive Event with guaranteed financing with a College Diploma!" The Catalytic Converter failed at 89K miles in February 1998. The repair was worth 3 times the car's value.

 

I leased a bare bones 1999 Chevy Cavalier 2 door, 5-speed, AM/FM radio, no AC for $96/month for 36 months.

December 21st 2001 I bought a 1997 M3 Lux with the burl wood trim, Harmon Kardon 6-CD changer, heater sport seats louvered lower grill, 5-speed with 32K miles.

I returned basic Chevy Cavalier with under 6K miles.
GMAC called me asking if I was interested in leasing another Chevy. I said "No, I just bought a BMW M3" I heard the *click* they never called back.

Still have the 1997 M3 today.   

[Mike Self]

204k on my 73 before a blown head gasket suggested a rebuild...at teardown the cylinder bores showed less than .003 wear, and the crank showed no measurable wear.  Now has 276k still on the original alternator and starter...

 

227k on my '69; water passage eroded into a combustion chamber at 157k. Had the head welded up, ground the valves and installed E30 valve stem seals.  Otherwise, the engine's innards are all original.  Pan's never been off, original starter, alternator, tranny and diff...

 

We bought a new 85 Buick Century;  took the dealer over a year to diagnose a thump as a defective drive belt; never did find an intermittent electrical problem; clear coat started to peel at 18 months.   Sold it at 63k; tranny died at 64k.  Our one and only foray into GM ownership...

 

mike

[VWScott]

I feel the same way about Honda.I've never had less than 200k with serious issues( manual transmissions and pre direct injection models of course).

[Vicleonardo1]

2008 Mazda CX9. 265 K. One minor transmission repair. Just sold it to a friend. He replaced one engine module himself. (battery was draining)  Still going strong. Have to thank my wife as she had OCD with regular maintenance for that SUV. Interior..Not so much. 

2007 Audi RS4 175K without a problem. Traded it in  as I was fearing a new clutch was coming,  and there were great end of the year deals at the dealership. 

2015 Toyota Tacoma. Sold to my son. Cant remember miles. Served as a magnet for body work. But well it's a Toyota and wife was main driver, so its oil changes/service record was spot on. 

 

Now driving two 2023 Audi's. An A6 and a Q7. Much more anxiety with these as I feel I am driving a trembling house of electronic cards. I see so much that can go wrong as there are a plethora of electronics. I fear if a mouse pisses on something in the engine bay the car will blow up. Open the hood looks like the top of a short Shop Vac stuck in the engine bay. Tried to check the oil level (as I have discovered some of them burn oil like nobody's business (another stress point by the way) and I couldn't find the freaking dipstick!! Didn't feel like peeling off the vast array of plastic covers to find it. I was afraid some Audi tech will void my warranty if it looks like I did something. Have to depend on the onboard electronics to check the oil and hope it is accurate.

 

I am no mechanic by any means, but at least when I look under the hood of my 2002 there is a good chance I could recognize what is going on. And I don't need a laptop. 

 

PS. Online the latest buzz according to mechanics and repair shops is that Ford and Stellantis (Jeep, Dodge, RAM, Chrysler) ...it seems RAM is the worst... are absolute POS. 

 

.