My personal experience is from a ‘performance’ car – it had been in the UK for a while (previous owner had all the documents). Everything apart from a rubber seal in a last service was ultra-reliable. Turns out the seal had been pinched when reinstalling (from a service way before I got it)…it had allowed some fluid to leak and started to corrode a swing-arm or drop-arm – I forget the name). Anyway, I had to replace that but it was due to it not being done properly previously – mileage and use was so low there was no come back as was well out the garages warranty period.
So apart from an issue that was caused by a UK garage, it was absolutely superb – it needed a fluid change every 3000 miles, and was done religiously. It also needed very regular fill ups with Super Unleaded so I ended up spending a serious amount on it just to keep it running as a daily vehicle – in hindsight, I shouldn’t have gone near it!).
Previous experiences of other cars (apart from the smell of smoke), all been very good indeed. Indicators and wipers appear to be on the wrong side on most, but after a day or so, it actually feels more natural but likely depends on where you rest your hands/arms (in a vanity moment, I discovered if I was driving with the window open and arm resting on the window sill, I could activate the indicators without moving my arms much – the left hand tended to be at the bottom of the steering wheel (unsure why!), but it meant I could be lazy and indicate to turn without moving my arms from where they were.
Sorry, rambling on now…all positive experiences for me.