Quote Originally Posted by NYChevoo View Post
I'll grant the fact that all cars break down at some point but I believe that you lessen the chance by proper maintenance. My mother drove a 1969 VW Beetle, and my father a 1971 Dodge B100 Tradesman Van with a slant 6-225 up until his death in 1978. My mother then purchased a 1978 Chevy Impala, then a 1980 Chevy Citation, then a 1982 Pontiac Phoenix, then a 1988 Chevy Celebrity, then a 1992 Saturn SL1, then her last car before her death was a 2001 Chevy Malibu. There were hardly ever any instances when her cars were broken down, granted early on she switched cars frequently then later on the there were more years between vehicles. I always thought the cars were pretty damn good, even for the 80's crap that was being produced. Some was good, some not. Do you beat the living daylights out of your cars, or take care of them? I dont know, all I know is that I feel if you take care of them then you lessen the chance of incident.
Sounds like your mother was a stout GM lover. I'll agree that proper maintenance does lessen the chance of a break down, but it can't be helped sometimes.

My father once had a 1994 Ford Ranger XLT. Extended cab, 5 speed manual, 4x4, 3.0L Vulcan V6. That truck had more problems than the Chevy Blazer he had before it. The truck was good for almost.... well... he started having problems with it right away.. He owned the truck from 1994 to 2009, when he FINALLY got fed up and traded it in on a 2006 Nissan Maxima (He initially wanted a Pontiac G6 but the finance company forced him into the Datsun). Before you say anything, he took religious care of that truck. And the 2 problems the truck had that I recall him bitching about the most were the brake lines (which had different size couplings on each end, making just finding a replacement a hassle) and when it shot a rod through the oil pan (which he spent 2 grand having the engine rebuilt).
Some cars just fall apart from the get go.