Reliable cars – why does Japan always get it right?

When Japan first went into serious production for export, they realised that their customer base would be many thousands of miles away. Should the cars, and motorcycles, break down they would be in the hands of their local dealerships for warranty repairs. It is only sensible that they take every precaution, even if it meant more and better materials, production processes, and quality inspection, it saved money in the long run, with the added bonus of enhancing their reputations.

I bought a three year old Honda Accord 1.8 SE automatic, first registered in 1999, in December 2002.
In 9 years the Accord has let me down twice. Faulty ignition (apparently a common fault in Hondas)and two years ago I had to call out the AA. My wife came back into the house to tell me the car would not start.
The reason it did not start was the battery was flat according to the AA technician, it turned out the battery was the original when the car was built in 1999 and had to be renewed in 2009
The Accord has a few scratches and dents, courtesy of supermarket drivers, but there is not a pick of rust on the bodywork, I would add, I do not know the condition of the car underneath, but it has passed every MOT since I bought it. I have seen some four and five year old German top brands with rust appearing round the wheel arches. Like all of your readers all I want is a car that starts first time regardless of weather conditions and gets me froim A to B. This 12 year old Honda does that for me. Just a final note on the age of this Honda, I see in some dealerships in the small print, that they are not accepting any cars more then 7 years old as trade ins.

I have a 5 year old Mazda 3 with 60,000 miles on the clock. Bought it new, it has never let me down and is still on original exhaust and brakes. Have only had to put tyres on it. Brilliant car, only let down by the alloy wheels, which are bubbling and need refurbishing.

Until two years ago – I had a Nissan Bluebird from new – did 98,000 miles in 20 years – broke down once on the road with carburettor failure – but two alternators failed, brakes needed to be renewed plus tyres. But it started first time every time. Bodywork deteriorated and it became uneconomic to repair to MOT standard – so sadly went to the breakers.

I would have bought another Nissan but had offer of Hyundai I couldn’t refuse – though I think I should have.(reliable but needs repairs often). Most expensive car to run I’ve had. Including the British ones.

Built in Japan in my experience is very different from Japanese cars built in UK.
I bought a new Honda Civic in 2007 based on Honda’s reputation for reliability and first of all I must stress that the concept of the Civic is excellent for innovation, clever use of space and range of accessories was hard to match. However, Swindon is certainly not Japan when it comes to quality build or materials used. My black upholstery seats and armrest were fading after 9 months average use, the whole dash would suddenly go blank and come back in a few minutes (Dealership not interested) and the road noise was very intrusive. Squeaks and rattles from the dashboard and many other irritations. Traded it in after 9 months at a heavy loss, but glad to see the back of it.
In future, Japanese built for me and I see that the latest reliability ‘Which’ survey shows the Civic problems persist.

Add to my earlier comments.
I read in a motoring magazine, Honda have produced 15 and half million engine units in Japan and not had one recall.
But the recent reports in the Which magazine, highlight reliablity problems with the latest Accord, Civic and Crv models.
And they are up against some great deals, other car manfuacturers are offering, Kia 7 year warranty, Vauxhall warrantry valid for original owner and second owner.
And one final thought on the whole Honda range, they are too expensive to buy new.
Up here in Aberdeen, not everyone is employed by the major oil companies.

I owned a Toyota Carina from 1995 until 2008 driving 240000 miles during which it only failed to start once (flat battery) this was the original and had lasted 150000 miles.It never broke down until finally the passenger door stayed locked shut and I decided to part company. I replaced it with a Mk1 Avensis but this was nowhere near as good ( interior rattles and gearbox problems) and I replaced it after a year with a Mk3 Avensis which is superb.
Regarding the comments by “Fat Sam” I agree that Japanese cars are not always the most stylish although they are improving. It depends what you want from a car- is it to make yourself feel better, impress the neighbours or get from A to B without breaking down?