[BoorishBears]

I do homework on "unreliable" cars, take good care of them (regular oil changes, preventative maintenance, etc.) and they survive me thrashing them constantly without issue.

The real secret finding what specific platforms/engines/transmission packages have earned a track record for being reliable.

Most Toyotas sold are their reliable models so they get a good track record, but Toyota has put out some poor engines even in cars otherwise known as being reliable, like the Camry

BMW has had some extreme stinkers like their early hot V V8, but there's also BMWs that package the B58 and ZF8, which make such a reliable combo that they're in a currently sold Toyota.

I recommend anyone buying a car and worried about reliability search their specific engine and transmission to find issues, and avoid first generations with no track record because a very common story is a refresh fixing a design flaw in an first revision