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Based on the discussion from shout I came to realize I have horrible luck with cars. Of the 18 cars/trucks/suvs I have owned over the years I have only had 4-5 that were trouble free that I can remember, two of which I have right now. The Volt and the Kia Soul (which I technically don't own as it is a lease and in my wife's name only).

Here is a break down of what I can remember off the top of my head of the 18 cars and some of their issues.

1996 Chevy Silverado
Accessory pulley failure 2x
Fuel pump relay failure
Rear brake line rupture
Exhaust fell off
rear axle shaft broke sending wheel/tire rolling down the road and ruining the brakes

1990 Toyota Camry - silver one
engine would cut out on hard braking

1993 3000GT VR4
blown turbos
tranny was having issues when sold it

Dodge Avenger - can't remember year
warped rotors
something with the front suspension needed replaced - cant remember what

Honda Prelude - can't remember year, early 90s
bolt holding alternator decided it didn't want to do that anymore while going done the freeway
the gasket that keeps oil in the engine also decided it didn't want to do it's job anymore. Catastrophic failure. All engine oil poured out and covered the entire bottom of car.

1998 Jeep XJ - green one
Exhaust rusted off
Fuel pump died
cat clogged
one cylinder kept fouling plugs
accident destroyed wheel and wheel hub assembly
went through ujoints like candy.
Water pump failure

1987 Chevy Nova
decent reliable actually, just needed to carry a can of starter fluid at all times because the car would not start when cold out - carb.

1990 Toyota Camry - blue one
Transmission grenaded 500 miles after purchase.

1998 Jeep XJ - red one we still have
Steering pump failure
radiator leak caused overheating
all that other crap currently wrong with it

2002 Chevy Silverado
Trouble Free

2009 Ford Focus
Electrical gremlins. Nothing that left me stranded, but ended up at the dealer a lot because things stopped working like windows and radio and stuff.

2001 Dodge Ram
ABS quit working then totaled the truck in the accident.

2004 Jeep WJ
fuel pump died
engine overheated causing warped heads
mechanic didn't put it together again right - so heads fucked up again
lifter issues which fucked up the cam
there is more but just thinking about this one really ticks me off - had to deal with Chrysler Corporate and things escalated pretty high up the chain. Swore off Chrysler after this. Didn't last long. Bought the LJ, which made me swear off Chrysler again...

2012 VW GTI
A/C stopped working

2012 Mustang GT
Trouble Free

2006 Jeep LJ
OPDA and many electrical connector issues. Lot of misfire issues.
My own stupidity of off-roading broke a lot of stuff.
Transmission issues - temp sensor kept failing and there was a leak starting when I sold it.

2013 Chevy Volt
Trouble Free

2017 Kia Soul
Trouble Free

I'm not gonna go over the entire list because ain't nobody got time fo dat.

But what I currently have that's registered and driving...

01 exploder v8. 200k. Paid 550
Repairs needed at time of purchase due to either owner neglect or incompetent mechanic...

Upper ball joints (low quality parts installed. Lasted about 8k)
Lower ball joint (OEM with 200k)
Radiator (low quality part and shop refused to accept responsibility so it never got fixed)
Timing cover leak due to lack of coolant maintenance
AC compressor seized (also previously "repaired" by my last place of employment)


Failures since I've owned it...
Burnt cyl 7 plug wire. My own fault due to headers. Now has heat shield.

89 s10 about 240k on it. Paid 200

Bought with a bad aftermarket alternator.
Radiator started leaking 3 years into ownership.
Speed sensor leak (bad o-ring)


08 G37 80k
Bought with warped rotors. Machined them a few weeks ago.

No other problems yet.

75 Chevy Monza
Bad engine when given to me. Acquired a 0 mile block with a busted starter ear and a fresh rebuilt head to get it on the road. Stupid 18 year old shit and I ripped it in half.

85 Bronco II
Saved up money after the Monza and purchased the Bronco. My dad rolled it.

87 Dodge Shadow
Total shit show of a car. Had lots of issues when I got it, fixed all them. Transmission failed at some point, replaced it. I beat the shit out of it and fixed issues as they came along. Bought it for $50, sold it for $400

86 Mustang
Low mileage car. Only issue I ever really had was it "stranded" me once when the choke stuck on the carb. Thankfully a passer-by saw what was going on and got me going. Made a dumb move and rear ended a tri axle. Actually fixed it at some point and sold it for what I paid for it.

85 Bronco II (v 2.0)
Somewhere in the middle of all that we recreated the Bronco. Front pump went out on the trans. Replaced it and flex plate broke after that. Fixed that and one night going from one quarry to another it backfired and shot a huge fireball out the tailpipes and died.

93 Mitsubishi Eclipse
Bought it with high mileage. Transmission gave up. Rebuilt under warranty. Sold it to my brother, who beat the shit out of it, and he sold it with near 200k miles and that guy drove it awhile after that.

94 Dodge Stealth
Most know the story of it. Hit several deer. Engine failed at 150k. First trans gave up at 155k. Second failed 3 months later. Third failed 10 months later. Fourth failed a year or so later and the fifth failed about a year and a half later IIRC.

93 Eagle Talon TSI
Car leaned out and I fried compression rings. Transmission wasn't all that great when I got the car, and I ended up with a bent 3/4 shift fork. The 1,2,5 shift was great. Replaced both engine and trans. Car started acting up after that and never seemed to run right. Long story short I got screwed on a ECU rebuild and sold the car as is. Guy that bought it called me and said he threw a ECU in it and it ran like a dream.

07 Pontiac Grand Prix
In the six year I owned it I replaced the rack, tie rods, struts, and control arms. I hit a deer and replaced the hood and headlight. The transmission failed for no reason at 194k miles.

11 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS
So far no issues with it. I've now had it 16 months and put 20k miles on it.

Hmmm...

'77 Toyota Corolla - Had like 180,000 miles on it and only ever put a starter in it.

'83 Mazda 626 - Ate crank pulleys for some reason.

'82 Chevy Camaro Z28 - Broken fan belt once

'84(?) Mitsubishi Starion ESI-R - Dropped a valve in a cylinder and destroyed the motor. Traded it in on my first Eclipse.

'90 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-DOHC - Pretty much flawless, except replaced lifters for lifter tick.

'91 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T - Flawless

'91 Kawasaki ZX-11C - stripped out second gear

'94 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 - Never had a problem with it.

'88 Mighty Max - beat the shit out of it, but it never had a mechanical problem.

'93 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX - Modded it up quite a bit. Broke a couple transmissions.

'95 Mitsubishi 3000GT Spyder VR4 - Broken ringlands on 18 psi and pump gas. Went through a few transfer cases. Broke an RPS Twin Carbon clutch.
Hasn't broken anything "undeserved".

'02 Chevrolet Avalanche - flawless for over 110,000 miles

'97 Kawasaki ZX-11D - no problems

'04 Toyota Prius - not a single problem in 150,000 miles

'10 Toyota Prius - not a single problem is 100,000 miles

'08 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT Convertible - no problems

'10 Chevrolet Avalanche - minor electrical problem with the dimmer switch, otherwise no problems.

'15 Corvette Stingray - Bad #1 cylinder spark plug after storage, covered under warranty.

'17 Chevrolet Volt - Leaky rear crank seal replaced under warranty. A few recalls for various powertrain components. No out-of-pocket costs other than routine maintenance (oil changes).

'18 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible - Only has 300 miles on it so far.


I'd say overall, pretty good luck with cars - all things considered. I'm also not easy on my vehicles...