Car ownership experiences

[bigborelover]

I am starting this thread to know about what its like owning a car across the world. Especially about experiences in the bush .

 

[rookhawk]

I'm not an African but I've fixed many vehicles in situ while on safari. It was these experiences where I gained much appreciation for the superiority of Toyotas.

Back in the States I've spent the past several years eradicating a stable of horrible American cars that included many Jeeps, an awful Ford Expedition, and a few others. We still own a Ram Ecodiesel which required about $5000 of investment in weight loss solutions to make it reliable.

We have two Toyota FJ Cruisers, the easiest to work on, simplest Toyotas allowed to be sold in America in the modern era. The FJs share a lot of parts and technology with the Hilux and Land Cruisers of African fame.

A simple anecdote is emblematic of the entire discussion:

Three months ago I had two headlight bulbs go bad in the same week. One on a 2016 Dodge Ram, the other on a 2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser. The Ram required 4 hours of work to get the housing removed and to swap the bulb, including the use of 4 extensions and tons of swearing. I cracked the housing in the process and had to epoxy it back together. The FJ cruiser bulb was replaced while I was simultaneously pumping gas and required no tools. Total time of the project was under 2 mins without any instructions or looking at the owners manual.

 

[Betterinthebush]

Best advert for any brand of vehicle. Ever.

 

[mdwest]

Three months ago I had two headlight bulbs go bad in the same week. One on a 2016 Dodge Ram, the other on a 2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser. The Ram required 4 hours of work to get the housing removed and to swap the bulb, including the use of 4 extensions and tons of swearing. I cracked the housing in the process and had to epoxy it back together. The FJ cruiser bulb was replaced while I was simultaneously pumping gas and required no tools. Total time of the project was under 2 mins without any instructions or looking at the owners manual.

I had a similar experience with a 2011 Chevy Silverado and a 2013 Volvo XC60 a couple of years ago... both had headlights go out.. so I went through the process of replacing them...

the Chevy replacement bulb cost me about $11.. and took me about 15 minutes in total to replace..

the Volvo replacement bulb cost $135 (there was actually a $259 option as well!) and took me a full 2 hours to replace..

While the Volvo was a wonderful car (we owned it for 12 years and between my wife and my daughter they put 180K miles on it without it ever going into the shop for anything.. all I ever did was replace tires, battery, headlamps, wiper blades, etc..).. doing ANY sort of maintenance on it was outrageously expensive and time consuming.. even replacing the freaking battery was an ordeal..

 

[bigborelover]

We had a little ford figo that constantly broke down. So that was replaced by a 2018 Honda wrv , and believe me even after 7 years and 50k kms it still feels like new.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Probably being conservative but 90% of car owners wouldn't know a spark plug from a fuse and therein lies the rub. "My pick one was a piece of junk because the engine blew up". "How often did you change the oil"? "Is that something I had to do"? Even people that should know better, don't. Semi tractors are maintained and put on millions of miles. It's not the vehicle, it's the owner. Last I checked, fourteen million plus autos in the U.S. are scrapped every year. I wonder how many would still be running if they were properly maintained.

Somewhat OT, I drove a pickup in Africa where I turned the steering wheel 90 degrees and it still went straight. Made for some interesting driving on curves.

 

[Tex .416]

I'm not an African but I've fixed many vehicles in situ while on safari. It was these experiences where I gained much appreciation for the superiority of Toyotas.

Keep in mind, those vehicles do not have to meet US government mandates thought up by someone who majored in gender studies. That means no mandates on fuel efficiency, emissions, or safety. That translates to engineering for price point and customer appeal, nothing else. They currently are having problems with their US pickup engines. That is on the US government, not the company engineers trying to meet ever harder to attain standards. Compare currently made vehicles for the US market to other comparable vehicles made for the US market.

How many Toyota 3/4 and 1 ton trucks do you see in the United States? That would be none. I’ve talked with Toyota execs and asked why they do not sell the little diesel trucks in the US. The short answer is they cannot meet the vehicle legal standards. Why no work trucks? They cannot compete with Ford and GM in that market segment.

I am bouncing around ranches most weeks for work. My current Ford F250 diesel is by far the best vehicle I have ever owned.

As for cars, I only own one car, which has an old 1965 Ford V8 big block in it. It runs pretty good.

 

[steve white]

Keep in mind, those vehicles do not have to meet US government mandates thought up by someone who majored in gender studies. That means no mandates on fuel efficiency, emissions, or safety. That translates to engineering for price point and customer appeal, nothing else. They currently are having problems with their US pickup engines. That is on the US government, not the company engineers trying to meet ever harder to attain standards. Compare currently made vehicles for the US market to other comparable vehicles made for the US market.

How many Toyota 3/4 and 1 ton trucks do you see in the United States? That would be none. I’ve talked with Toyota execs and asked why they do not sell the little diesel trucks in the US. The short answer is they cannot meet the vehicle legal standards. Why no work trucks? They cannot compete with Ford and GM in that market segment.

I am bouncing around ranches most weeks for work. My current Ford F250 diesel is by far the best vehicle I have ever owned.

View attachment 709623

As for cars, I only own one car, which has an old 1965 Ford V8 big block in it. It runs pretty good.

View attachment 709624

My uncle Tim has a 3/4 ton Toyota dully. It is a Mighty Mouse. He has hauled firewood on it for decades. I don't exactly know how old it is, but OLD.

 

[rookhawk]

Keep in mind, those vehicles do not have to meet US government mandates thought up by someone who majored in gender studies. That means no mandates on fuel efficiency, emissions, or safety. That translates to engineering for price point and customer appeal, nothing else. They currently are having problems with their US pickup engines. That is on the US government, not the company engineers trying to meet ever harder to attain standards. Compare currently made vehicles for the US market to other comparable vehicles made for the US market.

How many Toyota 3/4 and 1 ton trucks do you see in the United States? That would be none. I’ve talked with Toyota execs and asked why they do not sell the little diesel trucks in the US. The short answer is they cannot meet the vehicle legal standards. Why no work trucks? They cannot compete with Ford and GM in that market segment.

I am bouncing around ranches most weeks for work. My current Ford F250 diesel is by far the best vehicle I have ever owned.

View attachment 709623

As for cars, I only own one car, which has an old 1965 Ford V8 big block in it. It runs pretty good.

View attachment 709624

You're 100% correct regarding the US emissions standards ruining the fun. That said, 1-2-3 year old Toyotas that feature the 6 cylinder are worth the same price as a brand new 2025 with the hybrid turbo 4cyl. Yes, the 6 cylinder has terrible MPGs, but it also is famous for going 500k miles while being treated horribly and maintained never.

In the 1980s Toyota had a 6 cylinder they tried a kill test on in Australia. They drained all the fluids from the engine and drove it to see how many minutes and miles it would last before seizing. They abandoned the experiment at over 400 miles because it would not fail. That is the engine in the early Hilux.

 

[bigborelover]

Probably being conservative but 90% of car owners wouldn't know a spark plug from a fuse and therein lies the rub. "My pick one was a piece of junk because the engine blew up". "How often did you change the oil"? "Is that something I had to do"? Even people that should know better, don't. Semi tractors are maintained and put on millions of miles. It's not the vehicle, it's the owner. Last I checked, fourteen million plus autos in the U.S. are scrapped every year. I wonder how many would still be running if they were properly maintained.

Somewhat OT, I drove a pickup in Africa where I turned the steering wheel 90 degrees and it still went straight. Made for some interesting driving on curves.

Our figo blew a gasket within the 1000 kms. And had a plethora of electrical issues.

 

[Denvir Tire]

Cars and trucks for the American market are designed to meet CAFE fuel mileage goals, and that's the only design/engineering philosophy. Domestic manufacturers are certainly capable of building the equivalent of the diesel Hilux, it's only be prevented by the CARB.

Look for the "Top Gear" classic bit about the "Hilux That Wouldn't Die". I know it's a television skit, but it sums up everything you've believed about Toyota durability.

 

[steve white]

Cars and trucks for the American market are designed to meet CAFE fuel mileage goals, and that's the only design/engineering philosophy. Domestic manufacturers are certainly capable of building the equivalent of the diesel Hilux, it's only be prevented by the CARB.

Look for the "Top Gear" classic bit about the "Hilux That Wouldn't Die". I know it's a television skit, but it sums up everything you've believed about Toyota durability.

Agree, BUT...there are two others influences which have driven manufacturing standards. One is length of bank loans. In 1950's Germany the car loans could stretch to 10 years. Mercedes built to that standard and made a good reputation. But could they afford to build cars fell apart 5 yrs into payments if the buyers would then dump them? The other might impact refrigerators more than cars, but that would be the durable goods import standards. When older fridges lived eternally, standards were high for would be exporters, then they dropped to ten years, then to three years as an acceptable longevity goal.

 

[Tex .416]

Agree, BUT...there are two others influences which have driven manufacturing standards. One is length of bank loans. In 1950's Germany the car loans could stretch to 10 years. Mercedes built to that standard and made a good reputation. But could they afford to build cars fell apart 5 yrs into payments if the buyers would then dump them? The other might impact refrigerators more than cars, but that would be the durable goods import standards. When older fridges lived eternally, standards were high for would be exporters, then they dropped to ten years, then to three years as an acceptable longevity goal.

Very interesting point.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

I’ve had Ford F250 Diesels and F-150’s since 1999 for work trucks and personal trucks and I usually get a new one at 125k to 150k miles for both work and personal. Probably had 10 to 12 trucks in that period. Maybe more… Never had any significant issues. I replaced my front wheel bearings on my current F-250 because I could hear a slight hum and my mechanic confirmed it. Otherwise, one diesel fuel filter cracked and had a slight leak. It was due for replacement…

I Guess I’ve been lucky. I don’t baby them, but I don’t abuse them either. Use includes towing boats and trailers, going cross pipeline right aways in the mountains and desert - true offroad use.

Before I could afford full size trucks (I was an apprentice) and before Toyota’s got expensive, I had 2 of those - 1 was 4x4. Both had 22RE engines and had no issues with either.

 

[R eight]

I’ve owed series 2, 2A, 3 and Discovery Landrovers. When they are running, a big emphasis on when, they are great off road. The Disco was the only comfortable one.

But they all leaked oil, were barstards to work on and parts were often hard to get.

Now, I’ve owned Landcruisers x 5. A ‘74 petrol….thirsty but reliable. All the rest diesel. A mid wheel base 4 cylinder. Reliable but slow. 2 x 6 cylinder…..bullet proof, bloody fantastic in all aspects. And the current one is a V8 , model 76. Love it, perfect.

 

[Uncharted_NT]

Toyota or nothing. Period

 

[Safari Dave]

Until recently, Toyota.

After Toyota quit using V8 engines in trucks and SUV'S, who knows???



In the US -

All Toyota "Land Cruisers" are all hybrids now.
Toyota Tacoma's and Tundra are "Twin Turbo" V6's or 4 cylinders.
Pretty pathetic, IMO.

Lexus GX and LX's are "twin-turbo" V6's or Hybrids - AKA "hand grenades"

All gasoline, no diesels.



Nothing direct linkage manual any more. IMO - "crap."

IMO, the best "hunting rig" would be a Ford F-150, Chevrolet (or GMC) 1500, or Ram 1500 with 4x4, 6 passenger seating and a V8 engine.

IMO, everything offered now is overpriced and unproven.


All diesel's are subject to absolute disaster since 2010.

Honestly, I'd rather have a low-mileage 20 year old vehicle, than anything made now.

 

[Sabre]

I have heard recently to avoid the Toyota Tundra. They are currently having serious engine problems.

A major issue right now is the price of trucks. The same truck from 2019 to 2025 was $43,000 and is now $75,000+

The same SUV from 2019 to 2025 was $43,000 and is now $53,000 and can be had a bit cheaper now that some incentives are slowly coming back.

I know some people will say, prices always increase, etc. But the inflation in truck prices is absurd in comparison to the rest of the vehicle market. They used to offer massive incentives on already reasonably priced trucks, and even with that, automotive manufacturers still reported that trucks like the F150 were their most profitable vehicles. So if they were making the most profit on trucks when they were reasonably priced and with massive incentives, imagine how bad they are F***ing you right now. Because that's the reality.