They all suck. Every manufacture has a turd in some way. I know 4 people in the last 6 months whose Honda's have lost motors. I've heard "Its common for the VTEC solenoid to get clogged with metal" wait? whut? after the oil filter the motor is making metal and clogging the VTEC solenoid?
I know several people with Toyota problems. Piston rings non existent (perfect oil change record),low compression, low power, doesn't leak oil because it burns it as fast as you pour it in. Transmission issues, etc.
Same for every make of car, they have models better than others. Some have extra suckage though. Do your research on the quirks of the particular car before you buy.
I have 380K miles on my 98 TDi. I perform all the regular maintenance myself. I can screw my car up cheaper than paying someone to do it. Also, I just might have a better chance of doing it right. I haven't had to get any more special tools to do the jobs than any other car. I've had to get special tools for Honda. The clutch in the TDi lasted to 270K miles. Somewhere around 320K miles the alternator did die. $250 to $300+ for a rebuilt alternator. The bearings were good, it was just the regulator brushes wore out. I purchased the regulator (listed at various places for $40-$70) rebuilt the alternator myself with tools you can buy at Lowes or Home depot. No special rocket science tools needed there. After diesel switched to ultra low sulfur, I did get fuel pump leaks. local rebuild was $250 or for 4x that I could get a perfect rebuild with performance tweaks that would give me same MPG with a little more performance. My choice to spend the extra. Fuel savings over gas prices and MPG have payed for the cost of the car years ago.
I picked a manual window crank car so I wouldn't have to deal with window regulators. Which I had to replace in a friends Honda Civic- its a common known issue with Honda. Ask about window door lock regulators on Acura, they had a huge problem in the 90's. I fixed a friends early Mk4 VW door lock actuator by taking it apart and soldering the electrical contacts back together. Cost nothing but time on the weekend since I had the tools and soldering iron. Supposedly later models and the new actuators don't have the problem.
So, to sum up my rant here, every car has its problems. Do your research on that particular year model and buy accordingly.
