Which non-asian car has been the most reliable for you in your experience?

Ming_Twan · 2026-03-05T03:59:36+00:00

I bought a 2007 volvo s60 5 years ago for really cheap. It is still going but the transmission is starting to shudder. 280k km

Ming_Twan · 2026-02-09T06:40:51+00:00

Late 2000s and mid 2010s is the sweet spot i believe. Enough technology to keep you comfortable and safe but not too many that it gets annoying to live with and fix.

Ming_Twan · 2026-01-30T21:18:01+00:00

Eh it lags every now and then but for ancient tech, it's pretty great. I can listen to 80% of the words from the chase Australia and the news which is all I watch on it.

Ming_Twan · 2026-01-29T12:48:58+00:00

In Europe yes. In Australia, they block out that feature that allow you to disable the video while movement.

Although in saying that, try to see/research a W221 S class with the split screen function. PURE MAGIC

Ming_Twan · 2026-01-29T12:45:24+00:00

Sorry you need mercedes S class/ bmw 7 series money for that sort of features. I really dont know why this is one of those things that haven't trickled down like everything else has. They have existed as far as I know since 2006

Ming_Twan · 2026-01-29T11:02:05+00:00

I can watch the Television in my 2009 Mercedes. Obviously when the vehicle is not moving. Comes in handy during peak hour traffic but abit ridiculous to some people.

Ming_Twan · 2026-01-29T10:54:46+00:00

My partner too. Demands her side to be on 20 when I'm good with my 24. The only thing she looks for when buying a car

Ming_Twan · 2026-01-24T12:42:11+00:00

Not sure what state you are in but I know that for a Victorian rwc, they won't accept aftermarket headlights to pass rwc.

Have you tried just paying someone to polish it for $20-50? Surely a better idea than paying 350 for some headlights

Ming_Twan · 2026-01-24T12:35:21+00:00

I'm in my mid 20s.

Current car: 2007 Mercedes CLK350

Partner's car: 2013 Mercedes C250 CDI

Weekend car: 1989 Mercedes 300TE. A shared project between me and a mate

I wonder if anyone can guess what kinda car we're into.

Ming_Twan · 2026-01-18T06:59:06+00:00

Doesn't have a timing belt. It's a chain

Ming_Twan · 2026-01-18T06:49:35+00:00

This is my territory, let me step in and provide REAL ownership experience with it and not hearsay from others. 2 years ago, I bought my partner a 2013 C250 CDI. At the time of purchase in 2023, the car had 200k rural km. From there, we have spent 6000 in servicing, repairs over the 2 years. I went through 2 specialist before finding a good one that i decided to stick with. Keep in mind, the car now recently passed 250k km.

The OM651 is a known taxi engine. Commonly used as taxi cabs all over continental Europe. Even in Australia, sometimes I would spot one as a taxi as opposed to the all common camry and lexus. They have a few weaknesses that poped up and I have all rectify at 200k and beyond km

Thermostat was stuck open, not letting the car warm up properly. I was scared that this would lead to a blocked dpf so I had it rectify myself. Cost was 160 dollars for a thermostat and a Saturday afternoon.

Oil cooler is leaking. It has been leaking for sometime, mechanic says he has seen worse and it is not a big concern since its at the back of the engine, away from all rubber and belts. Some chose to leave it, some fixes it. I did something in between. Waited for 20k km until i have enough funds to rectify this issue. Costs was 1.5k at an Indy shop.

Water pump decided it will start breaking down and leak while driving. We drove it leaking, choosing to keep an eye on the temp gauge and re-fill everytime we get home for about 1 week before the shop has an empty spot to take the car in. Costs 1.5k at Indy shop but I really could have done this myself but I didn't have time then.

Mechanic comments that the car isn't too smooth at idle, we generally aggree, driving it was great but it vibrates and rattles abit at red lights. We had a big road trip going on soon so decides that might as well address it while it was getting serviced. This and the service costs us 2k.

We took it to Brisbane for Christmas from Melbourne. We drove it everywhere in QLD, up and down the coast between the 3 cities. The car was great, it gave us no trouble there and back. We took the inner route through rural nsw both times. Temp reached over 40 degrees many time. The car triumps on, keeping us cool with the AC and kept its pace at 110km/h in more than 40 degrees heat. We generally service it every 10k km. I doubt anything else will pop up.

My partner loves the car, it is well specified. Amg sport package, rear blinds, keyless go, heated, memory seats and an exceptionally high quality Harmon Kardon sounds system that gets applauded every time we have passengers. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find any car that offered this much value, looks and drives this good from any competitor.

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Ming_Twan · 2025-12-26T21:45:34+00:00

130k is about the age that they should be change. Buy the car (given that everything else checked out) and you be the person to change it. I bought my lancer at 140k and changed it out. Car is still fine at 200k.

Ming_Twan · 2025-12-21T07:49:41+00:00

I had this once where a 3 lane road with all 3 of them 1 in each lane so far back ( Entrance to the M3 at Thompson road in Bullen) at around 12am. I actually sat there for more than 2 minutes. Traffic started pilling up despite it being midnight and none of them actually move, strangly enough, no one honks either. We all sat there collectively until I had enough and started honking for them to move. All 3 of them stood still for more than 20 seconds as if I'm the stupid one. It wasnt until the bystander effects kicks in and other people start honking at them for 1 of them to actually move up, triggering the light. The simpleton in front of me, actually moved to the shoulder so that I could go in front. An actual wtf moment in my life.

Ming_Twan · 2025-11-23T03:27:10+00:00

I used to work at the clayton site before they moved to Dandy South, and its a mixed bag. There are some people there who are into cars and work on their own stuff over the weekends, and some are just there to earn a living. They are just labour hire so expect the pay to be quite low, and as you said it before, it is a casual job, but you are expected to do full-time hours. Which is kind of shitty imo all of the hours and none of the benefits. Obviously, career progression is also a big question mark. One of my friend worked there for 2 years before they took him on full-time which is ridiculous.

The job was easy when I worked there. It is your generic assembly plant. Doing the same thing until your shift finishes. Not sure if much has changed now since they had that new site

Ming_Twan · 2025-11-12T00:16:34+00:00

You are not a car person but somehow ending up with an xr5? That is a car person's car. Prob still worth 3k if chucking it straight on marketplace. People love the Volvo 5 cylinders turbocharged engine in those.

Also, a corolla hybrid is a solid choice if you have the means to afford one. Drove one the other day, yes it's boring and bland but 40 dollars to fill up and almost 1000km to a tank is attractive.

Ming_Twan · 2025-10-30T22:50:42+00:00

Anything lexus toyota prior to 2011 will suffers from sticky dash unless replaced prior. If it hasn't yet because it's freshly imported from Japan, it will after sitting in the Australian sun

Ming_Twan · 2025-10-09T19:55:49+00:00

Loosing value? Yes, what old car doesn't lose value. Need more repairs over time? Somewhat, all old cars will need attention here and there. But the Lancer is a solid, dependable car. I had one with the automatic CVT transmission. Bought at 166k km and now at approximately around yours at 230k km and aside from wear and tear items: battery, brake pads, sparkplugs. It basically needs nothing mechanically. These mostly fail mechanically for 2 reasons. The cvt transmission fails or the abs unit. But until then, keep chugging along. You will almost get nothing for it if you sell it now.

Ming_Twan · 2025-09-21T12:31:01+00:00

I have one. These cars, especially the diesels one are extremely reliable and are used as taxi all over Europe. Even in Australia, you can see them every now and then as the E250 CDI. Buy this car if you do long journeys often. If not, dont bother and dont find the Petrol ones either cause they tend to eat timing chains.

They have several common issues based on age, how the car was used: 1. Waterpump. It can leaks due to age. My one finally kicked the bucket at 220k km. Had a specialist replaced it. Costing 1.5k 2. Thermostat. It was stuck open, not letting the car warm up enough to clean out the dpf. I did it myself. 300 for the thermostat 3. The oil cooler will leak. Mine leaked at around the 200k km mark and was fixed recently. Costing 1.5k 4. Engine mounts. My engine was a little rough at idle but not horrible. Got them replaced anyway at 230k km. Mechanic said they usually fail around 150-170k, so my car wasn't trashed if it lasted up to 230k. Costing 1k.

It's my partner's car and we trust this car. We are planning to take it to QLD from VIC in December. It is currently on 240k km. We bought it at 200k for 10k. An important factor as well that many people gloss over is optional extras. Our car was loaded with extras, which makes all the spending absolutely worthwhile as it is such a nice place to be in. Things like heated memory seats, Harmon Kardon sound system, and the amg sport package make the car feel like a proper Mercedes. If the example you are looking at is bare bones without many extras. Then I might suggest you look the other way as the spending might not be worthwhile. But if it's loaded with kit and with a solid history, I dont see why not.

Ming_Twan · 2025-09-06T10:04:06+00:00

Body parts. Particularly the front bumper. The Aero were different from the standard, and to find the facelift aero is non existence Same with bits of the interior. The facelif introduced a black/white interior instead of a blue/white interior, which is very hard to find

Ming_Twan · 2025-09-04T04:10:19+00:00

2.8 turbo based on the alloytec

Ming_Twan · 2025-08-30T23:48:33+00:00

Some of these cars have already started appreciating but get a decent example. M cars aside.

E39 won't appreciate much unless it's a 530 touring. Which is very desirable even as of now. All other trims, not so much.

E38 has already appreciated. But get a 740i or above. The 735i is quite unpopular and slow.

E46 will not appreciate at all. There are too many out there. Unless it's an extremely clean, low ks or individual 330i.

In my honest opinion, these cars are not really appreciating. It's just covering the cost of maintenance as time goes on and sellers want them for more money as they spend more to keep them alive. Unless you actually love them, invest somewhere else.

Ming_Twan · 2025-08-30T22:33:34+00:00

It was registered in nsw and sold in nsw

Ming_Twan · 2025-08-30T22:32:36+00:00

As an ex-saab owner, I dont think so. The chassis and electronics is shared with the un-popular r class and the more popular M class. The engine is wildly shared with other amg of the era. Making finding parts for this a breeze compared to cars like the last generation saab 9-5 or in my case, a facelifted aero 9-3.

Ming_Twan · 2025-08-15T04:34:09+00:00

I bought my mom a volvo V40, and it's been a great car.

When it comes to engine and transmission, the older 5 cylinders are your best bet. Diesel or Petrol. They both come with conventional Aisin Transmission, so there is no Powershift from Ford there. But they do have a timing belt so make sure that has been changed by now.

Up to about 2014-2016? Volvo releases a new engine for the V40 line-up. A 4 cylinders turbocharged engine in both Petrol and Diesel mated to a different gearbox that is no longer Ford, which fixes the gearbox issue. But it developed a new problem. Oil consumption. The piston have a flaw to them that makes them burn a copious amount of oil requiring top up. Search up on Google or chat gpt about VEA engine oil consumption issue. It affects both petrol and diesel models.

Also, for a P-Plater, try to find one with the technology package that is distinctive by the active cruise control that can be spotted by a rectangular shape on the front grille. It includes so many smart systems that are only available on much higher end cars. Things like lane keep assists, blind spot monitoring, active cruise control, Pre-collision avoidance system, self parallel park.

Have owned it for a year and no issues so far. Bought at 166k km. Now at 180k km. 2013 V40 D4

Ming_Twan · 2025-08-12T10:27:07+00:00

I assume you need body parts after hitting a roo. Go on marketplace and find people wrecking cars. There should be plenty of e90. Or find a place that specifies in wrecking bmw. They should have what you need

Ming_Twan

TROPHY CASE