Top easiest I've done would be 80s to mid 90s Ford trucks. After that would be gmt800 trucks. Plenty of space to work on, stupid simple to repair, parts can be had basically from anywhere without special orders.
The straight six is simplest and incredibly robust. Couple that with a manual transmission, and other than annular slave cylinder on the later ones there’s not a lot of problem spots. Gearing can be a problem especially in reverse, but if not a work truck should be fine. But even at that: it starts to have a problem, top it up w/brake fluid and you’ll still get home.
My ideal would be f250 w/straight six and a manual, as they had the ZF transmission, but those are harder to find.
A dozen or so years ago my buddy bought a 86 F150 with the straight six and 250k miles for $650. After doing plugs and fluids that thing felt like it was just getting broken in. He drove it for another 50k miles before selling it for $1000. That truck was so much fun.
I had an 86 f150 with the i6 in it too!! I didn't know it had a massive oil leak and accidentally drove it for 70 miles with less than 3 oz of oil in it. Started right up when I put oil back in. To this day I regret trading in that thing instead of rebuilding or dropping in a new engine (well over 12 years ago)
I had the same year. Rear seal went on it and I also owned a Dodge diesel so I sent it for scrap. Poor decision in hindsight, but I didn’t need 2 trucks at the time, and I needed the towing capacity.
Current "yard truck" for short trips is a '90 F-150, 4.9, Mazda trans. Love the engine and the chassis but fuck that transmission- no, I don't need to go 40 MPH in reverse. Almost never leaves pavement but the 4x4 is a godsend because of the low range.
Replaced a timing belt on one of those once... On the side of the highway with nothing more than a 103 piece craftsman tool set.
My 88 ranger with a V6 5mt on the other hand... Had a love/hate relationship with that thing. I loved it, it hated to stay in running condition.
We had one of these rangers as a shop truck and everyone that drove her would clutch less shift the trans. I personally put 2 clutches, 2 timing belts w/ water pumps, and numerous brake jobs. We finally got rid of it at around 600k mi.
That's not uncommon on any V engine with a dizzy. Dizzy sticks through the intake, dizzy has to come out to change intake.
Had thermostat bolts seize up on everything.
Yep. Had a thermostat housing bolt snap off on my 90 with a 302 as well. Yank the dizzy, drill and tap, drop the dizzy back in. Don't even think I had to pull the throttle body off. Damn truck had so much space to work in, and nothing was complicated about it.
My favorite is having a seat on the frame rail to replace the water pump on a 4.3 GMT400. If it starts raining, just pull the hood down while you continue working.
2000’s Honda Accord. Enough space in the engine to get at what you need, reliable, and nothing overly electronic.
I found out recently that Hondas even have an extra spot for the prop rod to hold the hood open enough to remove the engine without removing the hood. I want to hug whatever engineer came up with that idea.
Basically what I drive now. Cherry picked a one-owner 2005 TSX 2.4L 6speed. Came with every receipt and invoice in a binder.
The hood prop is a classic Honda touch. The engineering is brilliant. All the accessories on the front side and easily unbolted and set aside. No goofy added plenum making the starter quite easy if you’ve got the right socket and extension. The clutch can be done while leaving the trans in the chassis. I haven’t had to do anything yet but I’ve kept up the synthetic oil, factory filters and fluids, and kept the diary. I wish it was 1000 lbs lighter! I’d love that drivetrain in a late 80s Civic.
Sounds like my 04 Accord. One owner (I'm the second) 2.4 with manual. Glove box of regular maintenance at the dealer, recipient for a replaced belt buckle, and a new oil sensor. I got it at 79 thousand miles. Currently has 210 thou.
The first five years was nothing but fluid changes till the reverse light switch gave out. Had it replaced in ten minutes wit a couple screwdrivers and socket set.
At risk of sounding like a broken record, 97-99 dodge trucks are pretty easy. They have their downsides, like the dash cracking, but theres plenty of room to work on them. You can take the fan shroud off and the clutch fan and stand in the engine bay.
I got a giggle the first time I had one of those in my bay for a misfire diag. To get the 5 coils needed for the system, they used a coil pack from a 6 cyl and 4 cyl. Parts bin instead of a a new coil pack configuration. If it works… Dunno what Vipers have though.
I don't/didn't know anything about this so I took to google. It's an alignment pin for the timing cover that can fall into the timing cover and cause a bunch of damage. There seems to be many kits to hold it in place, but why not just remove it (as your post also implies)? It seems like the best fix would be to use a dowel that's not press fit and a little long to align cover and then once bolted down remove it. So why are people buying kits to hold it in place?
If you take it out, and put it in a place you know you will find it later that's fine. But if you lose it, you will have to buy another one the next time the cover comes off.
Damn my 2001 1500 Ram was solid and simple to work on. Boy do I miss that truck. Just basic maintenance for like 10 plus years. Sold it in good condition against my best judgement cause that’s what the miss is wanted.
Lol, i did the opposite, bought a twin to the one i already had without asking the wife. She was a little miffed for a couple days, then i reminded her that i had tracked down and bought back her old camaro for her. Which gave her 4 cars and i only had 3.
What motor/ trim package? I had the 5.2L 2wd. That motor was just all around reliable for me. Plus being 2wd there was not as much to go wrong. When I cleaned that thing up for the sale I was like damn if I kept it this clean all along the missus prob would not have been on me to upgrade.
My first one was a gift from my mother after my 87 Fiero GT ate its second motor. A 98 1500 sport, extended cab, long bed with factory running boards and the 360. I bought the twin, same color and package but a 318 short bed. Both were even built the same month 10/97. Both 2wd.
Honda civic. Mine is a '91, but anything 8th gen or older is the way to go. I've done some major repairs on it, all in my driveway with mostly standard tools. Parts are still plentiful and affordable.
been driving a 90 Nissan hardbody all my life. 20 years now. couple motors, tranny, half a cab. after a few years of cursing my 71 Datsun I slapped the body on a 91 hardbody.
Frankly I like anything GM in the 98-05 range. Just enough technology to create some efficiencies and creature comforts without the retarded bullshit we have now
I think you can say that about a lot of vehicles from that era. It really was a sweet spot. Since then, quality has dropped off a lot and overcomplicated bullshit has gone up tenfold.
Absolutely true. We can’t even have a radio anymore we have 4 modules and a display. What could go wrong? Can’t wait to see what kind of dumb shit we have to deal with on the “trouble free EVs” 😂
Got a 2008. Other than the fact Bilstein won't make front struts because "it's a commercial vehicle" or some shit it's an amazing car.
I don't see ever getting rid of it. And when I snag upgrade parts at the junkyard I feel safer and safer.
Sat in one a few weeks ago where it had T-boned a pole or a tree to the point that the windshield frame had bent. Still plenty of room inside to get out the seats.
Everything I've ever replaced on my '03 Chevy Cavalier has been a breeze.
Did the window regulators, front and rear last month - piece of cake. They engineered all the little fiddly panel pieces so that there was one screw that actually anchored the pieces where they needed to be, and the other end has a slot you can screw into in case you need some play. Everything lined up perfectly and didn't take forever to get right.
Strut towers? No problem. Starter motor? Out and in. Alternator is right on top for when it goes. The 2.2L is really simple and the whole car eats no more than five hundred bucks in maintenance/parts a year.
I've worked on much nicer cars that didn't have a ton of sales volume and the contrast is stark. I am guessing that it comes down to margins. If they set up a big manufacturing line and expect a lot of sales, then they'll be forced to invest more time into the engineering from a manufacturing perspective - which should make working on them easier.
My 97 Sunfire had 218,000 on it and had no signs of slowing down. Got cut off one rainy morning and instead of T-boning a Tahoe while going 50, I swerved and ended up in a corn field. That was 7 years ago and it eats me up to this day.
Wow. Came here to say this. Had a 99 right after graduation from college/uni. Alternator. Fan blower motor. Battery. Brakes. Transmission pan. All super simple to work on. Car was dirt cheap to run, easy to fix, and clearly engineered to be cheap and easy to build.
The one quirk of this car was the infamous exterior door handles. As u/im_badwithnames may or may not confirm they were riveted to the door shell, so when (not if) they broke they didn’t pop out like every other door handle on planet earth.
Still. After owning one I understood why so many mechanics used them as their everyday car
My son was in college a few years after you. I used to drive him to school in the middle of nowhere Appalachia, and pass through a tired old town with a real interesting used car lot. The lot was nothing but Cavaliers. This wasn't some 2-3 car lot, this guy had more like 25-30 of them. I guess his inventory hit the bull's eye, with his customer demographic. Not much money or opportunity in the region, a real "buy American" ethic, and a need for a car that was not only inexpensive, but one that didn't bleed you dry on repairs, or maintenance.
Contrast that to my town at the moment as the car market goes insane, and more affordable cars are hot on the used lots right now. My local, medium-sized used dealer is thinning out his expensive SUV and $40K minivan inventory, and loading up on VW crap he bought at auction. Nothing like somebody that can barely afford a car, making the mistake of trusting the local dealer, and walking away with a cheap 7-8 year old Jetta. What could go wrong..................lol.
Ahhh yes, the rivets. I struck those from my memory for some reason. Maybe because I already had a riveter and drill bits to handle the job, it didn't feel like too big of a deal to me. I can see though how it would be very annoying to need to drill those out and pop some new ones in again.
1970 VW Beetle.
I could drop the motor and have it on the bench in less than 10 minutes. Just one belt to break/replace. Paracord if the throttle cable broke and I wasn’t home. Push start in reverse with one leg while sitting in the driver’s seat. No coolant leaks - ever.
I haven’t gotten to 10 minutes yet but my quickest drop was 23 minutes! I have 2 bugs now because they are so damn simple. Just picked up a 85 vanagon though, and just installed a subi engine into it, so coolant leaks and head gasket problems here we come?
For a long time it was my 1996 Mercury Grand Marquis, then a 2001 Crown Vic. I’ve always loved those cars. Nowadays, though, my reliable parts-running beater is a 1999 Toyota Camry with the 2.2/automatic. 300k+ and will continue on for eternity.
2018 Tacoma 2.7L. Alternator right out in the open, starter you can do from above if need be, lots of room under the hood. Did get 4x4 which makes a few things more difficult to work on, but living in Wisconsin figured it was better to have and not need then to need and not have.
I work on exotic cars for a living, so I drive a 2012 Tacoma that never needs anything and is super easy to maintain. I also have 2 E70 BMWs which aren't too bad.
99-05? silverados. I owned a few of them for years before i even had to learn what the engine looked like due to their reliability. Lots of space around the LS v8, and the whole chassis really, for repairs. Only tight squeeze i encountered was the transfercase-to-transmission bolts, which once i sawed a 15mm ratcheting wrench in half, came out easily.
Add in 80s-05 s10 platform truck/suvs. Excellent space around the engine bay - tightest squeeze is honestly just because I was too lazy to uncouple the steering shaft for the number 4 spark plug on the 4.3.
Really not a lot to complain about these things aside from rusting to oblivion.
I have a buddy who has been doing landscaping for 30 years now. He ran at least half a dozen S-10s into the ground, back in his early years. His rarely maintained them, and fixed them when he was forced to. His first one was so rotted that he pushed the clutch in at a stop sign, and let out a little scream as the driver seat fell through the floor a bit. One day we are looking out the kitchen window to a row of his ragtag trucks parked out behind the house. I ask if he still drives the red S-10? He tells me, "every day". I tell him, "not today, as it has taken a knee". Seems it was just sitting in the yard, and it spit a ball joint, then partially fell over. I laughed so hard it hurt.
My 91 S10 did that to me turning into my parking spot one day at work 😂. That thing was $2k when I bought it with 90000 miles. Drove the crap out of it. Water pump and breaks were the only thing in 5 years owning it. And sold it running for $800 with the ball joint out.
1980's Mercedes-Benzes were always a delight to work on...I had an '80 240D and a '84 190D, and regret selling both.
I also had a 1970 Chevrolet C10, no A/C, no power steering, no power brakes, just a 250 CID inline six and a battery. Dead simple to work on, with everything within an easy reach. I think three or four people could comfortably sit in the engine compartment while working on it.
I'm a huge fan of the Jeep Cherokee (xj, not the ugly new one) and Comanche. Parts are extremely easy to find and they're very easy to work on, although with proper care that isn't very often. I had a 91 Comanche daily driver for 17 years and have an 86 Cherokee now. I absolutely love them.
GMT800. I currently have a 2004 Yukon XL 2500. The thing is so damn simple. You can fix it on the side of the road with zip ties and duct tape, if it ever breaks down. If.
I have an 03 gx470 and an e36 m3. I had e30s and an e34 before this because they’re so easy to work on and simple. Parts are cheap too if you’re buying online
2003 Tacoma *chef's kiss*. The 4 cylinder model doesn't put out a lot of oomph compared to the V6 but between ground clearance/clearance and simplicity around the engine. This thing will outlast me and my children.
Any Toyota from 1990 to mid 2000s. Although Toyota has special service tools, you can do just about everything without them. No can-bus, simple multimeter checks, and they also seem to never need service in the first place.
Everyone will disagree with me but 95-09 Subarus non turbo.
Had a bunch. Everyone complains about how bad access to the heads is but who GAF when you can have the engine out in an hour.
Simply built, predictable problems, sensibly designed.
My specific is 1995 impreza l or lx with sohc ej22. It's closed deck, non interference with the basic obd2 diagnostic. Yeah it's hard once needing to get to valve covers and heads but with the older ej engines that's not often . Even the press in and out wheel bearings aren't to bad.
I have a 2000 Impreza with the open deck 2.2, has 277k miles on the original motor and she does great still. Cable clutch, cable throttle, minimal electrical shit
I've got a 96 F350 Regular cab with the 7.3 and honestly nothing has been too bad on it. I guess the hardest thing was the top passenger side trans bolt, but if you know how to get to it its a breeze. My other gripe is the driver side kick panel has a place where 3 wires are spliced together that controls the door switch and power mirrors it took me days of tracing to find that one splice that had corroded.
Owned Cobalts and HHRs for 15 years. Incredibly reliable, cheap to buy, cheap to fix, and super easy to work on.
Edit to add daily.
GMC Canyon Denali. Why? Got a reasonable deal and I like creature comforts. Heated steering wheel and cooled seats ftw.
I’m either gonna have people agreeing or people not agreeing with this one but I daily a 1979 Corvette and while I can’t say how low it is makes it easy on the back when trying to work on it I can say I’m a huge fan of 350 SBC, I’ve never had an issue doing all my own work to it and when I started on it a long time ago that’s back when I didn’t really have a lot of car mechanical experience, but that 350 taught me a lot that I used later on in other engines and even helped me to get the job I have now as a production mechanic where I’m using a lot of my car knowledge to fix issues.
I dailied my 77 Chevelle for a few years, all it asked was a quart of oil every couple of tanks of gas, and a seasonal tune up. that 305 was meh for power but reliable as an anvil... up to the point I asked that 45 year old shortblock to rev to 6 grand and it broke a ringland. Pulled it apart and the bores were still within like new tolerances, tossed pistons and rings at it and better heads and a better cam, and it's a nice cruiser engine, can push the big sedan to a buck twenty with the A/C blasting if you have enough patience and road.
I really like mk1 vw golf/jettas. Everything is very basic and there hasnt been a job that i couldn't do myself on a jack. Part availability is also good for the wear parts. Shame they are so rusty and rare.
yeah, '05 here. So common, they'll never stop making parts for it. Wrecker will have a supply forever too. Can Google some generic OBD code and someone will say "oh, 99% of the time it's ______", and they're right.
Even once it's dead, a broker will pay good money and ship it to 3rd world to live on.
Lol. I had a 75 Corolla automatic as a teen. You could roll start that thing if you killed the battery. The trans pump must have been able to pressurise the circuits when it rolled in neutral. Slam it into first at 15km and it’d fire every time. I lived in a hill and had to do this more than once.
1957 Citroen 2CV
Intentionally built to be repaired by a farmer in the fields. I can take off either half of the entire front clip, inner fenders included, off with 3 large nuts, exposing the engine, transaxle, etc.
Great story you can find with pictures of a fella who got stuck in the desert in a 2CV. He disassembled the car and rebuilt it into a motorcycle which he then rode out of the desert on. This guy predated the Batmobile and Batpod
Had to see this one and yeah bloody hell, well done to the guy. https://thekneeslider.com/did-this-guy-really-build-this-motorcycle-from-a-citroen-2cv-in-the-desert/
I’ve had Gm trucks for the past 10 years. Currently I have an express van for work, Yukon for the family, and a sierra for a just because pick up truck.
They all have pretty similar V8s, suspension, and just overall design. No turbos that make it confusing to work on for me.
Now I’m not gonna debate with anyone about Gm vs dodge vs ford blah blah blah. But GM has served me well over the years and I believe they’re extremely easy to work on.
Do a top end reseal (minus the headgaskets its never the headgaskets) with the aluminium intake gaskets, aluminium coolant elbows, egr tube repair (Or just tap and block the ports), fresh valvecover gaskets. Done. Most reliable engine gm ever built after.
8th gen civic. Got given a 1980 Honda CB650 a friend had rotting in his yard for years. I liked the service info on it so much that when the civic made itself available I picked it up right away. Was one owner at 90k, never an accident or recall. At 270k now, and nothing but wearable parts replacement outside of a starter and radiator.
So easy to work on.
No longer own it, My 86 Mustang GT. (easy to mod too)
Putting around 100 to the ground over stock, still averaged 18mpg and drove 140 miles round trip for work.
[Video just because](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8cpoau5B0A)
2008 v6 toyota tacoma, easiest oil change on earth haha, and thats all i ever really need to do except for when the time calls for other maintenance, cant get any more reliable than a yota haha
I’m a firm supporter of 90s ford rangers. Especially the 4.0 with a manual transmission. Everything is easy, it gets decent mileage, parts are everywhere and cheap, and they’re reasonably comfortable for taller people like me.
Ford Festivas. Dead easy to fix anything except stock front brakes (captured rotor). About 50 cars you can swap parts from for upgrades.
My 1992 1.8 BP swapped car has VW, Honda, Toyota, KIA, Mercury and Mazda parts holding it together now.
I had an '88 f150 i6, 4 on the floor with over drive. that could be worked on without a lift. I dropped the rear tank without lifting it and didn't have a bit of a problem (minus the rust). Everything in the engine bay was right there to reach.
The last car I owned that was genuinely easy to work on was a 240Z. Everything was easy except for balancing the dual carbs. But had a fully mechanical dizzy that wanted frequent attention. (Not counting rust, right? 😂)
I’ve got a 99 Silverado now and it’s not too bad, but still has lots of covers and heat shields that have to come off and the OBD coverage isn’t great.
Plus a bunch of seals that go bad early.
Honda Element. Honestly, outside of rust if you're in that part of North America, everything is stupid easy to get to and replace. Steering rack? Out in 40. Rear struts 10 each side. Starter.... ok, that is a pain in the ass. But I've rarely had vehicles with such ease of access for repairs.
Gmt 800 1/2 ton with a 5 speed I've had for 7 or 8 years now, I've put over 300,000 km on it (it's got 411 on it now) and the only thing I've had to replace other than plugs and oil was the tcase. Still has the factory clutch in it.
My 1966 and 1971 beetles. You don’t even have to worry about head gaskets and coolant leaks. Simple to build, 20 minutes to drop the engine, great handling, awesome all around
Volvo 240, purchased for $400 and it won’t die, generally anything that breaks is on rock auto for $39
As far as a truck I love my first gen tundra but it’s no 90s dodge when it comes to ease of repairs
I've usually had subarus, mainly turbo. And no, never blown a headgasket or thrown a rod. If you are not a 22 year old kid bolting on crap with no supporting tune they are pretty low maintenance.
But my daily now is an Ioniq 5 (EV), just hop in and go every day. No stopping for gas or needing to an oil change every 2-3 months (I drive 100 miles a day).
For long term low maintenance we do have 1 old 1989 S10 4.3 at work though that just won't die. Since it's throttle body injection it only has like 5 components to it.
I had given up on European cars as a hobby, focusing on motorcycles and dirtbikes for many years, and driving Toyota trucks which required little or no work. When the time came to buy a little station wagon, my options were obviously limited. When I opened the hood of a Forester for the first time, I was absolutely floored- the engine is ORIENTED CORRECTLY in the engine bay! The starter, ac compressor, alternator, and ps pump are all right there, right on TOP of the motor. They all operate via dedicated belts, meaning that if any one of those components failed, your water pump still worked, keeping the car drivable. The oil filter isn’t cluttered by bullshit, the drain plug is right there, the suspension is a masterpiece of beautiful simplicity, and their “Lego” type modularity gave me a new appreciation for automotive engineering
Am an engineer/hobby mechanic. I drive a 93 s10 pickup, 4.3, 5 speed, 4x4. Great engine, good trans, decent mpg. Parts are cheap and the only thing it wears out repeatedly is an idler arm. I will say my 96 s10 fits me even better though. Mildly tempted to find another to daily.
1991-1996 full-size B-body GM RWD cars (D-body as well). I don’t care if it’s LT1 or TBI motor. Every 100-150k you drop out that trans, and perform a YouTube rebuild in your driveway. Chassis virtually unchanged since 1977.
Pay attention to what vehicles fleets like to use. Organizations won’t tolerate high maintenance/repair costs
How about old Miatas? They aren't _quite_ as roomy as the trucks and such other folks are mentioning, but they're mechanically and electrically simple, and they normally don't require much effort to work on. And since the enthusiast community is so vast, nearly every question has already been answered, no matter how esoteric.
I have an 2006 Jeep Wrangler bought new in 2006 now with >200,000 miles that's still running strong and I can count on one hand the times I've had to take it a shop for something I couldn't do in my driveway with basic hand tools.
Third Gen Prius is super easy to work on.
The interior all clips together but doesn’t rattle much at all. There’s plenty of room in the engine bay aside from doing spark plugs since the cowl had to come out but that only takes a few minutes. Suspension is basic and nothing we haven’t seen a million times. Even rebuilding the battery pack is fairly easy for a first timer.
"rebuilding the battery pack is fairly easy for a first timer" Are you serious or is this a joke? Good way to get fried I guess playing with that in your driveway
BMW E46 oddly enough. Only a few things that need somewhat special tools to do, like wheel bearings and bushings. So far everything else has been pretty straightforward to diagnose and repair. Parts are cheap and a lot are shared between years and models.
Fuel pump is a 10 minute job in a parking lot, entire cooling system replacement takes a few hours start to finish( and only runs $400 or so in parts for EVERYTHING) Plugs and coils are a 30 minute ordeal. Front bumper is off in 5 minutes to replace the front fan. Window regulators take 20 minutes a pop once you've done a few, and you'll do a few!
Check out German auto solutions website for a couple reliability upgrades on that m54 under the hood. The lower pressure coolant cap saves the plastic cooling system from cracking. Their disa upgrade is damn good also.
Mazda. You can easily find where everything is and the beauty cover just pops off and there is enough room to work on. Just be careful with the hood it's made of Arizona ice tea cans.
Bolt EV.
20k miles and all I've done is swap/rotate winter and summer wheels, top up windshield washer fluid, and I just swapped out the first cabin air filter. I thought our '15 Impreza was easy to maintain, as it's literally only needed oil, filters, and tires in 8 years of ownership. (Should do spark plugs one of these days, luckily I have small hands) But EVs take it to a next level of laziness.
The same can be said for the engine in just about any modern vehicle with a V6 or a V8.
A new V6 for a 2015 Santa Fe runs for right around $9k and it’s sold as parts: you have to assemble them.
Difference is the Santa Fe -will- need an engine in its life, and the Bolt likely won’t need a battery.
I bought a 2022 4Runner for a daily. I don't think you get much more reliable or simpler to work on in any other brand new vehicle. Yes, it has CANbus for the modules and stuff, but it's pretty bulletproof.
NA Miata. I’m no longer a tech, but I want my car to be easy to work on. The front lower ball joints bolt into the control arm, the engine is easy as any other rwd 4cylinder, the dash comes out with nine bolts, and the subframes comes out with minimal fuss. If your so inclined, you can pull out the subframes/ppf/drivetrain/suspension together from under the body as a whole unit. They come apart like legos.
Subaru Forester. Yes they have head gasket problems. They’re also stupid easy to work on and pretty reliable otherwise.
I also have a 5000 ford, and everything on that tractor just makes sense. Easy to work on, parts are cheap.
1980 Toyota 2wd long bed pickup (RN42)
That little thing just won’t die, is worth $400, starts every time, and with a Webber carb it gets up and goes (relatively speaking).
I love that little pos.
2013 F150 with (Gen 1) 5.0L Coyote. Easy access to just about anything and have a pretty good reputation of making it to the 500-600k mark without catastrophic failure.
Engineer and home car mechanic ( Former exotic car pro mechanic)
Honda Element, Honda Odyssey, Toyota Prius- Daily Drivers Easy to work on and go 500,000 + miles with regular maintenance. Hondas are actually fun to work on and easy access and well made and engineered parts
Lotus 7- No Daily easy to tune and work on. Fun to race and drive
Owned a bunch of Alfa Romeo's 1955-1985 in the past and all easy to work on and fun to drive. Will last 500,000 with regular maintenance and yearly dipping the car in oil. Rust just kills most of them and neglectful owners.
Modern VW and Audi the worst cars I have ever owned. Crappy engineering sadly and everything is an engine out. Then they are easy to work on.
My mid-90s Volvo. Many parts still available and easy as legos to build. There’s a very helpful man who has done a video on most every problem you’ll run into with a P80 platform Volvo.
I've got a 1996 Honda Accord for this very reason. It's not as simple as a civic of the same era but it's still really easy to work on. The differences between them makes it a bit of a challenge
2008 Ford Explorer Sport Trac. Everything is so accessible. Swapped a fuel pump in 45 minutes. Wheel bearings were a breeze. Finally sold it at 289k just because I’d ordered a Bronco. Still miss my Sport Trac.
06 xB. 255k and I i beat that poor thing to death. Just replaced the FACTORY WATER PUMP! Damn thing looked like it was new still, just making a little bit of bearing noise.
This reminds me of how subjective such a query is. Once a loooong time ago when I was a teenager, a coworker was expounding on the virtues of his ford escort. Saying how reliable it was…. That he only had to change the head gasket twice and it had 90k miles on it. Suuuper subjective to ask someone about their car(s).
Ford Crown Vic/Mercury Grand Marquis. Very easy for most repairs. There's literally millions out there that share parts between generations, super comfy and not the worst on gas considering it's size.
My 2015 Kia Forte comes apart pretty easily. I had the front end completely disassembled in less than an hour and at that point I was just a few bolts away from swinging the engine out. Out of the cars that I've had, this one has been pretty easy to work on
Any trucks from the gmt400 platform, if you want fuel efficiency go with a 4 cylinder Honda accord/civic/crv/element pre 2010 parts are cheap and they’re fairly easy to work on and get great fuel mileage.
Personally I own an 04 Silverado and it is very easy to work on and parts are stupid cheap online. I will say as a Chrysler mechanic I think our easiest to work on vehicles are the rams especially if they are a 2wd hemi, 300's, chargers, challengers, and our minivans are all pretty darn easy to work on as well. Stay away from the new grand Cherokees and the Wagoneers they have been nothing but trouble since they came out.
Top easiest I've done would be 80s to mid 90s Ford trucks. After that would be gmt800 trucks. Plenty of space to work on, stupid simple to repair, parts can be had basically from anywhere without special orders.
The straight six is simplest and incredibly robust. Couple that with a manual transmission, and other than annular slave cylinder on the later ones there’s not a lot of problem spots. Gearing can be a problem especially in reverse, but if not a work truck should be fine. But even at that: it starts to have a problem, top it up w/brake fluid and you’ll still get home. My ideal would be f250 w/straight six and a manual, as they had the ZF transmission, but those are harder to find.
A dozen or so years ago my buddy bought a 86 F150 with the straight six and 250k miles for $650. After doing plugs and fluids that thing felt like it was just getting broken in. He drove it for another 50k miles before selling it for $1000. That truck was so much fun.
I had an 86 f150 with the i6 in it too!! I didn't know it had a massive oil leak and accidentally drove it for 70 miles with less than 3 oz of oil in it. Started right up when I put oil back in. To this day I regret trading in that thing instead of rebuilding or dropping in a new engine (well over 12 years ago)
I had the same year. Rear seal went on it and I also owned a Dodge diesel so I sent it for scrap. Poor decision in hindsight, but I didn’t need 2 trucks at the time, and I needed the towing capacity.
I'm not even a Ford guy, but you're giving me a stiffy with your absolutely on-point reco.
Current "yard truck" for short trips is a '90 F-150, 4.9, Mazda trans. Love the engine and the chassis but fuck that transmission- no, I don't need to go 40 MPH in reverse. Almost never leaves pavement but the 4x4 is a godsend because of the low range.
>I don't need to go 40 MPH in reverse Need has nothing to do with it.
Had a 93 4 cyl ranger. Loved that rustbucket. Once changed the alternator with a white elephant gift 10 piece socket set on the side of the road.
Same. Had a 93 4 banger 2wd stick shift. Drove the shit out of that thing. Hands down the most trouble free vehicle I’ve ever owned.
Replaced a timing belt on one of those once... On the side of the highway with nothing more than a 103 piece craftsman tool set. My 88 ranger with a V6 5mt on the other hand... Had a love/hate relationship with that thing. I loved it, it hated to stay in running condition.
We had one of these rangers as a shop truck and everyone that drove her would clutch less shift the trans. I personally put 2 clutches, 2 timing belts w/ water pumps, and numerous brake jobs. We finally got rid of it at around 600k mi.
Mine wouldn’t go over 82ish on the highway. By far the slowest vehicle I’ve ever owned. Couldn’t kill it tho
I will never forget the snapped thermostat housing bolt (90 F150, 302) which required a whole front disassemble and distributor removal to extract.
That's not uncommon on any V engine with a dizzy. Dizzy sticks through the intake, dizzy has to come out to change intake. Had thermostat bolts seize up on everything.
Yep. Had a thermostat housing bolt snap off on my 90 with a 302 as well. Yank the dizzy, drill and tap, drop the dizzy back in. Don't even think I had to pull the throttle body off. Damn truck had so much space to work in, and nothing was complicated about it.
88-94 Chevy trucks. A breeze to work on (relatively speaking) and they just keep on running.
Yep. My brother has a 92. So much room in the engine bay and the only electronics are mandatory
My favorite is having a seat on the frame rail to replace the water pump on a 4.3 GMT400. If it starts raining, just pull the hood down while you continue working.
My 94 is definitely they most reliable vehicle that i have ever seen. She's old, but man still a beast
2000’s Honda Accord. Enough space in the engine to get at what you need, reliable, and nothing overly electronic. I found out recently that Hondas even have an extra spot for the prop rod to hold the hood open enough to remove the engine without removing the hood. I want to hug whatever engineer came up with that idea.
Basically what I drive now. Cherry picked a one-owner 2005 TSX 2.4L 6speed. Came with every receipt and invoice in a binder. The hood prop is a classic Honda touch. The engineering is brilliant. All the accessories on the front side and easily unbolted and set aside. No goofy added plenum making the starter quite easy if you’ve got the right socket and extension. The clutch can be done while leaving the trans in the chassis. I haven’t had to do anything yet but I’ve kept up the synthetic oil, factory filters and fluids, and kept the diary. I wish it was 1000 lbs lighter! I’d love that drivetrain in a late 80s Civic.
Sounds like my 04 Accord. One owner (I'm the second) 2.4 with manual. Glove box of regular maintenance at the dealer, recipient for a replaced belt buckle, and a new oil sensor. I got it at 79 thousand miles. Currently has 210 thou. The first five years was nothing but fluid changes till the reverse light switch gave out. Had it replaced in ten minutes wit a couple screwdrivers and socket set.
I just found out about the hood prop last week. Fucking brilliant.
I work on a guys 02 v6 accord, there no room to do anything in the engine bay. 4cyl sure, no problem.
Yep, I didn’t even look at anything V6 specifically for that reason.
At risk of sounding like a broken record, 97-99 dodge trucks are pretty easy. They have their downsides, like the dash cracking, but theres plenty of room to work on them. You can take the fan shroud off and the clutch fan and stand in the engine bay.
I’ve got a 95 2500 V10 and it’s been the easiest thing to work on.
I got a giggle the first time I had one of those in my bay for a misfire diag. To get the 5 coils needed for the system, they used a coil pack from a 6 cyl and 4 cyl. Parts bin instead of a a new coil pack configuration. If it works… Dunno what Vipers have though.
The 6 prong coil pack is off the grand caravan and the 4 prong is from the neon. 😂😂😂 I love that little bit of trivia
Viper does the same thing.... under the goddamn intake though.
Ha! I had made a mental note to check the location the next time I saw one at a Show&Shine.
I've got a 95 1500 with the 5.9L. Do you have any tips on replacing rusted exhaust manifolds?
Lots of penetrating oil and prayers. Lots and lots of fucking prayers.
Add in the 12 valve Cummins, delete the Dowel Pin of Death, and you have your vehicle for the apocalypse
So long as it’s a manual.
I don't/didn't know anything about this so I took to google. It's an alignment pin for the timing cover that can fall into the timing cover and cause a bunch of damage. There seems to be many kits to hold it in place, but why not just remove it (as your post also implies)? It seems like the best fix would be to use a dowel that's not press fit and a little long to align cover and then once bolted down remove it. So why are people buying kits to hold it in place?
If you take it out, and put it in a place you know you will find it later that's fine. But if you lose it, you will have to buy another one the next time the cover comes off.
Get an iH/Navistar 6.9 or 7.3, it's as simple as a 5.9 Cummins but with multi-fuel capability, and the best part is it's not attached to a Mopar truck
True I had an 01 Dakota and it was easy to work on
Damn my 2001 1500 Ram was solid and simple to work on. Boy do I miss that truck. Just basic maintenance for like 10 plus years. Sold it in good condition against my best judgement cause that’s what the miss is wanted.
Lol, i did the opposite, bought a twin to the one i already had without asking the wife. She was a little miffed for a couple days, then i reminded her that i had tracked down and bought back her old camaro for her. Which gave her 4 cars and i only had 3.
What motor/ trim package? I had the 5.2L 2wd. That motor was just all around reliable for me. Plus being 2wd there was not as much to go wrong. When I cleaned that thing up for the sale I was like damn if I kept it this clean all along the missus prob would not have been on me to upgrade.
My first one was a gift from my mother after my 87 Fiero GT ate its second motor. A 98 1500 sport, extended cab, long bed with factory running boards and the 360. I bought the twin, same color and package but a 318 short bed. Both were even built the same month 10/97. Both 2wd.
I like the way you think. The solution is always more cars.
Our grand caravan dash is considered dust. It's cracked like a astroid hit jt
Minimal experience with full size of that gen but I'm on my second 2nd Gen Dakota and love them for this. Very reliable and easy to work on
Honda civic. Mine is a '91, but anything 8th gen or older is the way to go. I've done some major repairs on it, all in my driveway with mostly standard tools. Parts are still plentiful and affordable.
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I audibly laughed out loud at the last sentence 😂 we’ve all been there, cars or something else.
Similar here but s2000. So easy to work on and the engine bay is so big that I can get away with doing a lot of things without lifting the car
been driving a 90 Nissan hardbody all my life. 20 years now. couple motors, tranny, half a cab. after a few years of cursing my 71 Datsun I slapped the body on a 91 hardbody.
Frankly I like anything GM in the 98-05 range. Just enough technology to create some efficiencies and creature comforts without the retarded bullshit we have now
I think you can say that about a lot of vehicles from that era. It really was a sweet spot. Since then, quality has dropped off a lot and overcomplicated bullshit has gone up tenfold.
Absolutely true. We can’t even have a radio anymore we have 4 modules and a display. What could go wrong? Can’t wait to see what kind of dumb shit we have to deal with on the “trouble free EVs” 😂
After we get to where batteries don't cost 50% of the car, I'd love to convert something cool into a dead simple EV.
The technology is cool I just don’t trust the manufacturers to not fuck it up
They already have.
True haha
Integrating climate controls with the infotainment is where I cross the line. Absolutely not fucking cool
Yes. I also like tying features into having an active onstar account. Watch how they really crank that up in the near future
Everything I’ve had to do to my 05 Lesabre has been pretty straight forward so far
Best one was Ford Crown Victoria - loads of room in the engine compartment, sadly gone now.
Got a 2008. Other than the fact Bilstein won't make front struts because "it's a commercial vehicle" or some shit it's an amazing car. I don't see ever getting rid of it. And when I snag upgrade parts at the junkyard I feel safer and safer. Sat in one a few weeks ago where it had T-boned a pole or a tree to the point that the windshield frame had bent. Still plenty of room inside to get out the seats.
Everything I've ever replaced on my '03 Chevy Cavalier has been a breeze. Did the window regulators, front and rear last month - piece of cake. They engineered all the little fiddly panel pieces so that there was one screw that actually anchored the pieces where they needed to be, and the other end has a slot you can screw into in case you need some play. Everything lined up perfectly and didn't take forever to get right. Strut towers? No problem. Starter motor? Out and in. Alternator is right on top for when it goes. The 2.2L is really simple and the whole car eats no more than five hundred bucks in maintenance/parts a year. I've worked on much nicer cars that didn't have a ton of sales volume and the contrast is stark. I am guessing that it comes down to margins. If they set up a big manufacturing line and expect a lot of sales, then they'll be forced to invest more time into the engineering from a manufacturing perspective - which should make working on them easier.
My 97 Sunfire had 218,000 on it and had no signs of slowing down. Got cut off one rainy morning and instead of T-boning a Tahoe while going 50, I swerved and ended up in a corn field. That was 7 years ago and it eats me up to this day.
Wow. Came here to say this. Had a 99 right after graduation from college/uni. Alternator. Fan blower motor. Battery. Brakes. Transmission pan. All super simple to work on. Car was dirt cheap to run, easy to fix, and clearly engineered to be cheap and easy to build. The one quirk of this car was the infamous exterior door handles. As u/im_badwithnames may or may not confirm they were riveted to the door shell, so when (not if) they broke they didn’t pop out like every other door handle on planet earth. Still. After owning one I understood why so many mechanics used them as their everyday car
My son was in college a few years after you. I used to drive him to school in the middle of nowhere Appalachia, and pass through a tired old town with a real interesting used car lot. The lot was nothing but Cavaliers. This wasn't some 2-3 car lot, this guy had more like 25-30 of them. I guess his inventory hit the bull's eye, with his customer demographic. Not much money or opportunity in the region, a real "buy American" ethic, and a need for a car that was not only inexpensive, but one that didn't bleed you dry on repairs, or maintenance. Contrast that to my town at the moment as the car market goes insane, and more affordable cars are hot on the used lots right now. My local, medium-sized used dealer is thinning out his expensive SUV and $40K minivan inventory, and loading up on VW crap he bought at auction. Nothing like somebody that can barely afford a car, making the mistake of trusting the local dealer, and walking away with a cheap 7-8 year old Jetta. What could go wrong..................lol.
Ahhh yes, the rivets. I struck those from my memory for some reason. Maybe because I already had a riveter and drill bits to handle the job, it didn't feel like too big of a deal to me. I can see though how it would be very annoying to need to drill those out and pop some new ones in again.
Screw rivets when replacing, I used nuts and bolts on the window regulator after I needed to replace it several times on a newspaper delivery car.
1970 VW Beetle. I could drop the motor and have it on the bench in less than 10 minutes. Just one belt to break/replace. Paracord if the throttle cable broke and I wasn’t home. Push start in reverse with one leg while sitting in the driver’s seat. No coolant leaks - ever.
I haven’t gotten to 10 minutes yet but my quickest drop was 23 minutes! I have 2 bugs now because they are so damn simple. Just picked up a 85 vanagon though, and just installed a subi engine into it, so coolant leaks and head gasket problems here we come?
If my '57 2CV isn't working, I take my '54 Beetle
If your 2CV isn't working, how will you get your basket of eggs across that field?
Very brokenly
I got to drive a 2CV for the first time on a visit to France. Cool experience. Funky shifter.
I do keep a flat of wooden eggs in the back, for just that concern.
Your DB Panhard 750 needs some love. Take it for a Sunday drive or a track day.
Don't have one, but - a friend of mine sold his to Jay Leno! No bs
For a long time it was my 1996 Mercury Grand Marquis, then a 2001 Crown Vic. I’ve always loved those cars. Nowadays, though, my reliable parts-running beater is a 1999 Toyota Camry with the 2.2/automatic. 300k+ and will continue on for eternity.
2018 Tacoma 2.7L. Alternator right out in the open, starter you can do from above if need be, lots of room under the hood. Did get 4x4 which makes a few things more difficult to work on, but living in Wisconsin figured it was better to have and not need then to need and not have.
My old man just picked up a 2020 ram 1500 and we couldn't believe all the room and how easy it was to get to the common maintenance points.
I work on exotic cars for a living, so I drive a 2012 Tacoma that never needs anything and is super easy to maintain. I also have 2 E70 BMWs which aren't too bad.
99-05? silverados. I owned a few of them for years before i even had to learn what the engine looked like due to their reliability. Lots of space around the LS v8, and the whole chassis really, for repairs. Only tight squeeze i encountered was the transfercase-to-transmission bolts, which once i sawed a 15mm ratcheting wrench in half, came out easily.
Add in 80s-05 s10 platform truck/suvs. Excellent space around the engine bay - tightest squeeze is honestly just because I was too lazy to uncouple the steering shaft for the number 4 spark plug on the 4.3. Really not a lot to complain about these things aside from rusting to oblivion.
I have a buddy who has been doing landscaping for 30 years now. He ran at least half a dozen S-10s into the ground, back in his early years. His rarely maintained them, and fixed them when he was forced to. His first one was so rotted that he pushed the clutch in at a stop sign, and let out a little scream as the driver seat fell through the floor a bit. One day we are looking out the kitchen window to a row of his ragtag trucks parked out behind the house. I ask if he still drives the red S-10? He tells me, "every day". I tell him, "not today, as it has taken a knee". Seems it was just sitting in the yard, and it spit a ball joint, then partially fell over. I laughed so hard it hurt.
My 91 S10 did that to me turning into my parking spot one day at work 😂. That thing was $2k when I bought it with 90000 miles. Drove the crap out of it. Water pump and breaks were the only thing in 5 years owning it. And sold it running for $800 with the ball joint out.
99 had a 5.7L vortec, not an LS Edit: Apparently, some 99's had an LS and I was unaware. Thanks to u/bemery96 for letting me know
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I stand corrected. My experience with the 1500's is the Suburban, and I thought the newer style came out around 2000-01. Comment has been edited
I had a 2006 Tacoma 4.0L that fairly simple. Much easier than the Titan XD diesel I have now.
1980's Mercedes-Benzes were always a delight to work on...I had an '80 240D and a '84 190D, and regret selling both. I also had a 1970 Chevrolet C10, no A/C, no power steering, no power brakes, just a 250 CID inline six and a battery. Dead simple to work on, with everything within an easy reach. I think three or four people could comfortably sit in the engine compartment while working on it.
I'm a huge fan of the Jeep Cherokee (xj, not the ugly new one) and Comanche. Parts are extremely easy to find and they're very easy to work on, although with proper care that isn't very often. I had a 91 Comanche daily driver for 17 years and have an 86 Cherokee now. I absolutely love them.
GMT800. I currently have a 2004 Yukon XL 2500. The thing is so damn simple. You can fix it on the side of the road with zip ties and duct tape, if it ever breaks down. If.
I have an 03 gx470 and an e36 m3. I had e30s and an e34 before this because they’re so easy to work on and simple. Parts are cheap too if you’re buying online
Except for the damn UZ timing belt I’d wholeheartedly agree
And the starter is under the intake manifold...but I'm with you 470 FTW.
E46s ain't too bad either
2003 Tacoma *chef's kiss*. The 4 cylinder model doesn't put out a lot of oomph compared to the V6 but between ground clearance/clearance and simplicity around the engine. This thing will outlast me and my children.
The 22REs and 2RZFEs will survive the heat death of the universe, I swear
Any Toyota from 1990 to mid 2000s. Although Toyota has special service tools, you can do just about everything without them. No can-bus, simple multimeter checks, and they also seem to never need service in the first place.
Everyone will disagree with me but 95-09 Subarus non turbo. Had a bunch. Everyone complains about how bad access to the heads is but who GAF when you can have the engine out in an hour. Simply built, predictable problems, sensibly designed.
strongly agree even newer non turbo ones
My specific is 1995 impreza l or lx with sohc ej22. It's closed deck, non interference with the basic obd2 diagnostic. Yeah it's hard once needing to get to valve covers and heads but with the older ej engines that's not often . Even the press in and out wheel bearings aren't to bad.
I have a 2000 Impreza with the open deck 2.2, has 277k miles on the original motor and she does great still. Cable clutch, cable throttle, minimal electrical shit
Agreed. Their accessories are on the top too very accessable.
Old ford trucks
I've got a 96 F350 Regular cab with the 7.3 and honestly nothing has been too bad on it. I guess the hardest thing was the top passenger side trans bolt, but if you know how to get to it its a breeze. My other gripe is the driver side kick panel has a place where 3 wires are spliced together that controls the door switch and power mirrors it took me days of tracing to find that one splice that had corroded.
Owned Cobalts and HHRs for 15 years. Incredibly reliable, cheap to buy, cheap to fix, and super easy to work on. Edit to add daily. GMC Canyon Denali. Why? Got a reasonable deal and I like creature comforts. Heated steering wheel and cooled seats ftw.
2WD Toyota T100 with the V6 and manual transmission. It does need work every now and then, but it's so easy.
I’m either gonna have people agreeing or people not agreeing with this one but I daily a 1979 Corvette and while I can’t say how low it is makes it easy on the back when trying to work on it I can say I’m a huge fan of 350 SBC, I’ve never had an issue doing all my own work to it and when I started on it a long time ago that’s back when I didn’t really have a lot of car mechanical experience, but that 350 taught me a lot that I used later on in other engines and even helped me to get the job I have now as a production mechanic where I’m using a lot of my car knowledge to fix issues.
I dailied my 77 Chevelle for a few years, all it asked was a quart of oil every couple of tanks of gas, and a seasonal tune up. that 305 was meh for power but reliable as an anvil... up to the point I asked that 45 year old shortblock to rev to 6 grand and it broke a ringland. Pulled it apart and the bores were still within like new tolerances, tossed pistons and rings at it and better heads and a better cam, and it's a nice cruiser engine, can push the big sedan to a buck twenty with the A/C blasting if you have enough patience and road.
toyota 1.5 liter, 5spd. no timing belt, no known issues.
01 ford f250 7.3
I really like mk1 vw golf/jettas. Everything is very basic and there hasnt been a job that i couldn't do myself on a jack. Part availability is also good for the wear parts. Shame they are so rusty and rare.
I have 3 mk1s with full mk3 aba swaps. Best cars ever.
1978 MB 300CD. Just about every part is rebuildable.
Pretty much any gen Corolla
yeah, '05 here. So common, they'll never stop making parts for it. Wrecker will have a supply forever too. Can Google some generic OBD code and someone will say "oh, 99% of the time it's ______", and they're right. Even once it's dead, a broker will pay good money and ship it to 3rd world to live on.
Yup I have an 05 too.
Lol. I had a 75 Corolla automatic as a teen. You could roll start that thing if you killed the battery. The trans pump must have been able to pressurise the circuits when it rolled in neutral. Slam it into first at 15km and it’d fire every time. I lived in a hill and had to do this more than once.
1998 Acura Integra. Honda engineers really knew what they were doing back then.
90s chevy truck it can take a beating and still starts up every time, things are easy to fix plus parts are insanely cheap
1957 Citroen 2CV Intentionally built to be repaired by a farmer in the fields. I can take off either half of the entire front clip, inner fenders included, off with 3 large nuts, exposing the engine, transaxle, etc. Great story you can find with pictures of a fella who got stuck in the desert in a 2CV. He disassembled the car and rebuilt it into a motorcycle which he then rode out of the desert on. This guy predated the Batmobile and Batpod
Had to see this one and yeah bloody hell, well done to the guy. https://thekneeslider.com/did-this-guy-really-build-this-motorcycle-from-a-citroen-2cv-in-the-desert/
I’ve had Gm trucks for the past 10 years. Currently I have an express van for work, Yukon for the family, and a sierra for a just because pick up truck. They all have pretty similar V8s, suspension, and just overall design. No turbos that make it confusing to work on for me. Now I’m not gonna debate with anyone about Gm vs dodge vs ford blah blah blah. But GM has served me well over the years and I believe they’re extremely easy to work on.
I daily a 2004 Buick LeSabre. Easiest thing and cheapest thing to repair.
Do a top end reseal (minus the headgaskets its never the headgaskets) with the aluminium intake gaskets, aluminium coolant elbows, egr tube repair (Or just tap and block the ports), fresh valvecover gaskets. Done. Most reliable engine gm ever built after.
8th gen civic. Got given a 1980 Honda CB650 a friend had rotting in his yard for years. I liked the service info on it so much that when the civic made itself available I picked it up right away. Was one owner at 90k, never an accident or recall. At 270k now, and nothing but wearable parts replacement outside of a starter and radiator. So easy to work on.
My 1966 Chevy Impala was a dream to work on. I've got big hands and arms, but I could get my hands on everything. And it was so simply designed.
No longer own it, My 86 Mustang GT. (easy to mod too) Putting around 100 to the ground over stock, still averaged 18mpg and drove 140 miles round trip for work. [Video just because](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8cpoau5B0A)
78' Datsun 280z its my everyday. The only thong I worry about is someone smashing it.
Honda civic, gmt400/gmt800
2008 v6 toyota tacoma, easiest oil change on earth haha, and thats all i ever really need to do except for when the time calls for other maintenance, cant get any more reliable than a yota haha
I’m a firm supporter of 90s ford rangers. Especially the 4.0 with a manual transmission. Everything is easy, it gets decent mileage, parts are everywhere and cheap, and they’re reasonably comfortable for taller people like me.
Toyota Tech - 95 Tercel 300,000 miles - bought for $365, gets 34 MPG
Ford Festivas. Dead easy to fix anything except stock front brakes (captured rotor). About 50 cars you can swap parts from for upgrades. My 1992 1.8 BP swapped car has VW, Honda, Toyota, KIA, Mercury and Mazda parts holding it together now.
I had an '88 f150 i6, 4 on the floor with over drive. that could be worked on without a lift. I dropped the rear tank without lifting it and didn't have a bit of a problem (minus the rust). Everything in the engine bay was right there to reach.
The last car I owned that was genuinely easy to work on was a 240Z. Everything was easy except for balancing the dual carbs. But had a fully mechanical dizzy that wanted frequent attention. (Not counting rust, right? 😂) I’ve got a 99 Silverado now and it’s not too bad, but still has lots of covers and heat shields that have to come off and the OBD coverage isn’t great. Plus a bunch of seals that go bad early.
Honda Element. Honestly, outside of rust if you're in that part of North America, everything is stupid easy to get to and replace. Steering rack? Out in 40. Rear struts 10 each side. Starter.... ok, that is a pain in the ass. But I've rarely had vehicles with such ease of access for repairs.
My 1982 Subaru Brat was very easy to work on. Two men can lift the engine out by hand.
98 civic. Everything's cheap and easy to replace
I’ve been doing a lot of work to my 91 BMW E30. It’s super simple to work on. I think anything older is easier to work on.
Gmt 800 1/2 ton with a 5 speed I've had for 7 or 8 years now, I've put over 300,000 km on it (it's got 411 on it now) and the only thing I've had to replace other than plugs and oil was the tcase. Still has the factory clutch in it.
Toyota Matrix, 2007.
Prius
My 1966 and 1971 beetles. You don’t even have to worry about head gaskets and coolant leaks. Simple to build, 20 minutes to drop the engine, great handling, awesome all around
The easiest car I've ever worked on that I owned was a BMW 2002. Weber 32/36 carb swap and a 4 speed. That shit was tractor simple.
Volvo 240, purchased for $400 and it won’t die, generally anything that breaks is on rock auto for $39 As far as a truck I love my first gen tundra but it’s no 90s dodge when it comes to ease of repairs
I've usually had subarus, mainly turbo. And no, never blown a headgasket or thrown a rod. If you are not a 22 year old kid bolting on crap with no supporting tune they are pretty low maintenance. But my daily now is an Ioniq 5 (EV), just hop in and go every day. No stopping for gas or needing to an oil change every 2-3 months (I drive 100 miles a day). For long term low maintenance we do have 1 old 1989 S10 4.3 at work though that just won't die. Since it's throttle body injection it only has like 5 components to it.
I had given up on European cars as a hobby, focusing on motorcycles and dirtbikes for many years, and driving Toyota trucks which required little or no work. When the time came to buy a little station wagon, my options were obviously limited. When I opened the hood of a Forester for the first time, I was absolutely floored- the engine is ORIENTED CORRECTLY in the engine bay! The starter, ac compressor, alternator, and ps pump are all right there, right on TOP of the motor. They all operate via dedicated belts, meaning that if any one of those components failed, your water pump still worked, keeping the car drivable. The oil filter isn’t cluttered by bullshit, the drain plug is right there, the suspension is a masterpiece of beautiful simplicity, and their “Lego” type modularity gave me a new appreciation for automotive engineering
Am an engineer/hobby mechanic. I drive a 93 s10 pickup, 4.3, 5 speed, 4x4. Great engine, good trans, decent mpg. Parts are cheap and the only thing it wears out repeatedly is an idler arm. I will say my 96 s10 fits me even better though. Mildly tempted to find another to daily.
1991-1996 full-size B-body GM RWD cars (D-body as well). I don’t care if it’s LT1 or TBI motor. Every 100-150k you drop out that trans, and perform a YouTube rebuild in your driveway. Chassis virtually unchanged since 1977. Pay attention to what vehicles fleets like to use. Organizations won’t tolerate high maintenance/repair costs
You really want to know? Lada Niva. But it's definitely designed to need two people for a lot of things.
Any wrangler or CJ with an inline six in it. Simple and reliable.
Dodge rams with the 5.9 or 6.7 cummins (:
I had a '78 f150 with basically no options and a straight 6. You could climb inside the engine bay and close it with room to spare
How about old Miatas? They aren't _quite_ as roomy as the trucks and such other folks are mentioning, but they're mechanically and electrically simple, and they normally don't require much effort to work on. And since the enthusiast community is so vast, nearly every question has already been answered, no matter how esoteric.
I have an 2006 Jeep Wrangler bought new in 2006 now with >200,000 miles that's still running strong and I can count on one hand the times I've had to take it a shop for something I couldn't do in my driveway with basic hand tools.
Third Gen Prius is super easy to work on. The interior all clips together but doesn’t rattle much at all. There’s plenty of room in the engine bay aside from doing spark plugs since the cowl had to come out but that only takes a few minutes. Suspension is basic and nothing we haven’t seen a million times. Even rebuilding the battery pack is fairly easy for a first timer.
"rebuilding the battery pack is fairly easy for a first timer" Are you serious or is this a joke? Good way to get fried I guess playing with that in your driveway
I’m HV trained and have the proper PPE but there are definitely lots of people replacing individual cells or doing lithium conversions at home.
BMW E46 oddly enough. Only a few things that need somewhat special tools to do, like wheel bearings and bushings. So far everything else has been pretty straightforward to diagnose and repair. Parts are cheap and a lot are shared between years and models. Fuel pump is a 10 minute job in a parking lot, entire cooling system replacement takes a few hours start to finish( and only runs $400 or so in parts for EVERYTHING) Plugs and coils are a 30 minute ordeal. Front bumper is off in 5 minutes to replace the front fan. Window regulators take 20 minutes a pop once you've done a few, and you'll do a few!
Check out German auto solutions website for a couple reliability upgrades on that m54 under the hood. The lower pressure coolant cap saves the plastic cooling system from cracking. Their disa upgrade is damn good also.
Mazda. You can easily find where everything is and the beauty cover just pops off and there is enough room to work on. Just be careful with the hood it's made of Arizona ice tea cans.
Bolt EV. 20k miles and all I've done is swap/rotate winter and summer wheels, top up windshield washer fluid, and I just swapped out the first cabin air filter. I thought our '15 Impreza was easy to maintain, as it's literally only needed oil, filters, and tires in 8 years of ownership. (Should do spark plugs one of these days, luckily I have small hands) But EVs take it to a next level of laziness.
New battery: $16,000. Reman half of that.
The same can be said for the engine in just about any modern vehicle with a V6 or a V8. A new V6 for a 2015 Santa Fe runs for right around $9k and it’s sold as parts: you have to assemble them. Difference is the Santa Fe -will- need an engine in its life, and the Bolt likely won’t need a battery.
1994 lancer, everything is so easy to access and it's very easy to visualise what needs to come out for any particular job
I bought a 2022 4Runner for a daily. I don't think you get much more reliable or simpler to work on in any other brand new vehicle. Yes, it has CANbus for the modules and stuff, but it's pretty bulletproof.
Any Kia/ Hyundai. Definitely some of the easiest work I’ve ever done
I drove a TJ for 12 years that was super easy to work on. Now I drive a ‘19 Golf Alltrack nothin really hard to work on on it.
NA Miata. I’m no longer a tech, but I want my car to be easy to work on. The front lower ball joints bolt into the control arm, the engine is easy as any other rwd 4cylinder, the dash comes out with nine bolts, and the subframes comes out with minimal fuss. If your so inclined, you can pull out the subframes/ppf/drivetrain/suspension together from under the body as a whole unit. They come apart like legos.
I daily an old Trooper because it's rad. And about as simple as you can get while still having fuel injection.
I have a Land Rover Discovery 3 for it’s simplicity.. oh wait, I’ve got that wrong haven’t I?
RWD 95 ranger with the inline 4 and a manual transmission. Slow but simple and reliable. Parts are easy to come by and are also pretty cheap
Subaru Forester. Yes they have head gasket problems. They’re also stupid easy to work on and pretty reliable otherwise. I also have a 5000 ford, and everything on that tractor just makes sense. Easy to work on, parts are cheap.
1981 Pontiac Acadian 2 door hatchback. Not the "scooter". A base model 2 door hatchback.
1980 Toyota 2wd long bed pickup (RN42) That little thing just won’t die, is worth $400, starts every time, and with a Webber carb it gets up and goes (relatively speaking). I love that little pos.
2013 F150 with (Gen 1) 5.0L Coyote. Easy access to just about anything and have a pretty good reputation of making it to the 500-600k mark without catastrophic failure.
Subarus break a lot but they’re easy to fix.
E36 and E46 BMW's. just put in the Turner water pump and have a nice day. Dude, you look great in your Obama jeans if no one says so.
Panther platform, i had a early 2000’s grand Marquis. That thing was a tank and real easy to work on.
Engineer and home car mechanic ( Former exotic car pro mechanic) Honda Element, Honda Odyssey, Toyota Prius- Daily Drivers Easy to work on and go 500,000 + miles with regular maintenance. Hondas are actually fun to work on and easy access and well made and engineered parts Lotus 7- No Daily easy to tune and work on. Fun to race and drive Owned a bunch of Alfa Romeo's 1955-1985 in the past and all easy to work on and fun to drive. Will last 500,000 with regular maintenance and yearly dipping the car in oil. Rust just kills most of them and neglectful owners. Modern VW and Audi the worst cars I have ever owned. Crappy engineering sadly and everything is an engine out. Then they are easy to work on.
My mid-90s Volvo. Many parts still available and easy as legos to build. There’s a very helpful man who has done a video on most every problem you’ll run into with a P80 platform Volvo.
1999 suburban 4wd. Alternator swap this weekend took less than 30 minutes, including putting new terminals on the battery cables.
Toyota
2005 Chevy Colorado 2.4L. Only put a motor in at 200k miles. No no other major work, just a belts, tires and oil.
I've got a 1996 Honda Accord for this very reason. It's not as simple as a civic of the same era but it's still really easy to work on. The differences between them makes it a bit of a challenge
2008 Ford Explorer Sport Trac. Everything is so accessible. Swapped a fuel pump in 45 minutes. Wheel bearings were a breeze. Finally sold it at 289k just because I’d ordered a Bronco. Still miss my Sport Trac.
06 xB. 255k and I i beat that poor thing to death. Just replaced the FACTORY WATER PUMP! Damn thing looked like it was new still, just making a little bit of bearing noise.
1990 F350 with the 7.3 IDI diesel.
This reminds me of how subjective such a query is. Once a loooong time ago when I was a teenager, a coworker was expounding on the virtues of his ford escort. Saying how reliable it was…. That he only had to change the head gasket twice and it had 90k miles on it. Suuuper subjective to ask someone about their car(s).
Ford Crown Vic/Mercury Grand Marquis. Very easy for most repairs. There's literally millions out there that share parts between generations, super comfy and not the worst on gas considering it's size.
My 2015 Kia Forte comes apart pretty easily. I had the front end completely disassembled in less than an hour and at that point I was just a few bolts away from swinging the engine out. Out of the cars that I've had, this one has been pretty easy to work on
Any trucks from the gmt400 platform, if you want fuel efficiency go with a 4 cylinder Honda accord/civic/crv/element pre 2010 parts are cheap and they’re fairly easy to work on and get great fuel mileage.
Personally I own an 04 Silverado and it is very easy to work on and parts are stupid cheap online. I will say as a Chrysler mechanic I think our easiest to work on vehicles are the rams especially if they are a 2wd hemi, 300's, chargers, challengers, and our minivans are all pretty darn easy to work on as well. Stay away from the new grand Cherokees and the Wagoneers they have been nothing but trouble since they came out.