-
Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?
Go here:
Edit Account Details and Profile
Which Ride?
- Thread starter ChuckMK23
- Start date
The Jeep ranking is a little surprising. I have heard a lot of anecdotal reports of poor quality for Jeeps, but the owners, as a group, seem to be so very loyal to their brand.
I think a lot of that sentiment has evaporated since Stellantis took over the brand.
BMW and Mercedes numbers both surprise me. I like old BMWs but the new ones are not amazing. Even my e92 was a ticking time bomb that required "routine maintenance" of new rod bearings. On the other hand, I find Mercs to be far better engineered, even nowadays. Whatever. Both are totally blown away by JDM market build quality and reliability (and parts affordability). At least in 2025-2026. Just IMO.
I had an E36 back in the day and they were notorious for a list of things: plastic coolant systems (goodbye expansion tank, goodbye radiator headers), strut towers collapsing, rear trailing arm bushings collapsing, and a few other things I forget now.
I love BMWs - the E24 is the most beautiful car they've ever made for the masses* - but from rod bearings to all the other issues they've had, I wouldn't want to own one out of warranty.
* The 3.0 CSL doesn't count for this purpose
I had great experience with Volvo and Mercedes. Volvo V70 wagon that I took to 250k miles and a Mercedes GLK that went to 270K before I sold it. Not perfect by any means but both were rugged and dependable. A few major maintenance actions on both but not crazy. Both cards ended up being great value.
My 2023 Tesla Model 3 has cemented my affection for the brand and tech. I’m at 50,000 miles after almost 3 years. Not bad for a car I paid $34K for.
My 2023 Tesla Model 3 has cemented my affection for the brand and tech. I’m at 50,000 miles after almost 3 years. Not bad for a car I paid $34K for.
Yep. Just bought a fresh re-engineered aftermarket water pump for the s52 powered car, with a metal rather than OEM plastic impeller. It already had clutch/mech fan delete when i bought it, so I guess that was one bomb that was already disarmed long ago. Bimmers are great, but they have been plasticky and rattle-prone since even the good old days. The performance focus is there, but a lot of the ancillary components are afterthoughts. Nothing in a 1980’s or 1990’s Merc was an “afterthought”.
I have a 2021 Outback and the wife has a 2023 Crosstrek, we've both been pretty happy with the cars. She puts about 5-7000 miles on hers annually while I've been putting about 30,000 on mine just passing 155,000 total,. She hasn't had any issues yet while I've had a few they've been relatively minor, but would have cost me $2-4000 if they weren't covered by warranty (I got an extended one knowing I would be driving it a lot). Right now I've got two outstanding issues, both minor with one I can try and 'fix' myself (windshield washer low, I can disconnect the sensor) and the other will take some investigating (TPMS warning). One small annoyance that is a known issue is their 'leather' seats crack on the side cushions, that part of the 'leather' seat is actually pleather.
All that said, they've both been great cars and can easily fit a family of 4 with two teenagers. The Outback has at least twice the cargo capacity though, if not more, and is the one we use for family trips. I got a roof box and the integrated roof bars are a nice touch. One hit against the Crosstrek is the engines are just a little underpowered for me, I got the more powerful engine in the Outback and it is nice when needed.
The Forester seems to be a nice compromise in size between the two, I had a loaner while my car was on order and it was nice enough to drive with great visibility. Not a fan of the looks though, and I am certainly not a fan of the look of the new 2026 Outback.
I had what may be the same issue on one of my Outbacks. The dealer did something to the car that didn't fix it. I don't remember exactly what they did, but it was the 'car' side of the system. It turned out to be a bad sensor in one of the wheels.
That's where the investigating part comes in, I was still getting good data when the TPMS light started acting up and they were all good but now I don't get any data. The way the indicator is indicating means one of two things, TPMS sensor in one or more tires has gone bad or something with the car's TPMS receiver/system/whatever.
It is a mild annoyance, one I like knowing if my tires are good or not (really helped on the first long family road trip in it actually) and two, I really don't like warning/caution lights just staring at me.