IN MY OPINION, the 240D is by far more reliable than any Honda or japanese car for that matter. I think that people tend to defend japanese cars and stand behind their reliability simply because they see so many on the road. I have never seen an Accord or a Civic from the early 80's, plenty from the late 80's to early 90's. I have seen many 240's from early 80's and even late 70's. The "older" Honda Accord/Civic body style is almost identical from the late 80's to the early 90's. The Accord has been the best selling car by far in America for an awful long time. The problem I have with defending these cars is that there are so many out there still running, with a shopping list of problems that people neglect, that we don't pay attention to how many die and end up in a junkyard. I would bet that there are more Accords stacked up there too. The majority of people who buy Honda Accords and Toyota Corollas are people who don't who don't have a passion for cars. They drive it to a quick lube every 8,000 miles and pay someone to change there oil because they don't know how and nor do they care to. It gets them from point A to point B and that is what they care about.
The other major problem I have with these cars is that they appeal to a very young crowd who worship "The Fast and The Furious" and take any cheap Japanese car they can afford, steal and exhaust pipe from a school bus, and throw it on the back of their HONDA! I can't stand kids who slap Altezza's, Japanese stickers they can't even read, and ridiculous body kits from Wal-Mart on there vehicle if it can be called that. Just another reason why I hate Rice Burners.
And lastly, I was not giving Mazda credit for producing an engine that was reliable in any means. I simply give them credit for being different. They know just as well as anyone else that the Wankel is probably the most unreliable engine. I have two friends who have both owned an RX-7. One was an older model 91', and the other was a 97'. A routine trip to the dealer was always part of their annual (monthly) agenda due to the tip seals going bad. After having the engine torn apart 4 times over the course of 2 months, the 91' was donated to another friend's driveway, where it still lies today, RIP. And to address the Subaru issue, I simply don't like them period. Cheap, unsafe, and I find them rather ugly. I would buy a Mazda 6 over a WRX any day. The only positive aspect of owning a Subaru is that they are relatively rugged and they also have some of the most advanced technology incorperated into their design, i.e. transmission and suspension.

That concludes my rebuttle.

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Pete

1986 Euro Black Metallic 190E 2.3 16V