Kids and their damn cars

[grotty]

I've mainly owned VW Golfs and Passats, with a couple of Mercedes and one old BMW and the only one that was a pain was a 2001 Golf GTI Turbo, had lots of niggling issues with it that made me flog it as soon as it was sorted...not very sensible financially but it peed me off looking at it on the drive.

 

[grotty]

He's miles out, the fastest of the old Citroen/Peugeot diesels were the likes of the ZX Volcane 1.9TD, which managed 0-60 in just over 10 seconds. The Peugeot 306 DTurbo struggled to do it in under 12.

The 306 GTi-6 however could crack 60 in under 9 seconds, but that had a petrol engine....

Yep, thought so - they were miles better than the old non turbo diesels that you couldn't wheelspin on sheet ice but not up to modern TD standards. The 306 GTI-6 was still slower than my jade 1987 Golf GTI 16v back in the day!

 

[Flash In The Pan]

jade 1987 Golf GTI 16v

Mine was only an 8v, but it remains one of my favourite cars.

 

[grotty]

Mine was only an 8v, but it remains one of my favourite cars.

Me too. I had four of them consecutively; two 16v and two 8v. Loved them. The 8v were easier and more instant but the 16v used to rev like anything and was a lot more fun to drive, in my opinion. I'd buy another today, if my wife would let me

 

[Flash In The Pan]

Me too. I had four of them consecutively; two 16v and two 8v. Loved them. The 8v were easier and more instant but the 16v used to rev like anything and was a lot more fun to drive, in my opinion. I'd buy another today, if my wife would let me

Mine was replaced by a Cavalier SRi, no, I don't know why either :bang:

 

[fracster]

Mine was replaced by a Cavalier SRi, no, I don't know why either :bang:

You are not alone in not knowing why Graham...............

 

[Flash In The Pan]

You are not alone in not knowing why Graham...............

I think it may have been a price-led purchase

 

[grotty]

I think it may have been a price-led purchase

How much did they pay you?

 

[Galaxy66]

10 year old Honda Civic 97.000 miles and the only thing to go wrong up to now is the aircon compressor and that was replaced under Warranty. The engine still sounds as sweet and as quiet as the day it was bought.

It has been dealer serviced since new, whether that has anything to do with it who knows, but it is the wife's car and needs to be reliably maintained.

The son has my old 12 year old Civic, over 101,000 miles, new petrol tank, and an aircon compressor is all that has ever needed, again was and still is dealer serviced!.

Both cars obviously have had the usual things that wear out on any car discs and pads etc

Still on the original s/steel exhaust on the 10 year old car, the 12year old car had it's exhaust replaced with a s/s one at 2 years old.

 

[LongLensPhotography]

I've never bought a French car, I've driven too many to make that mistake I once had a Peugeot 3008 on hire for a few weeks, it had no traction on slippery roads and the driver door trim rotted away. It had 200 miles on the clock when I got it. It was supposed to be a like for like replacement for my Mercedes...

It had crap tyres on. Proper grippy pattern is all you need.

When it comes to MB vs Peugeot, are you sure you didn't confuse the brands? I know which one is more renowned for rust, mechanic issues, and poor stability

I don't want economy, I want performance. I'd rather they deleted all the side impact / airbag / crushable stuff that weighs hundreds of kilos and contributes to global warming by requring more fuel to be burned to move it all around the place, likewise sound deadening, onehundred electrical gizmos that all add weight and got back to the good old days of 700kg saloon cars, rather than the current 1.5t+ behemoths.

I like small, highly stressed engines for competition (I have a 40 year old naturally aspirated 998cc engine that makes 125bhp @ 9000rpm in one of my cars and it's not out of a motorbike), but am happy to have something bigger in an everyday car, still want it to rev though. The Boxster is 3.2l but only revs to 7250, which isn't enough - you might guess my feelings about turbo diesel engines :thumbsdown:.

I hope you are in the minority. I hardly ever go past 2500rpm and most certainly don't see any need to; try that in petrol going up to the steep Bristol hills! Performance is fine, but only if economy (and hence the environmental impact) are reasonable. Think about the penguins

By the sounds of it he wants less of the safety stuff so he can drive faster though!

Looking ahead, this is probably in the best interests of the environment

 

[trencheel303]

You shouldn't accelerate much past the peak torque figure anyway as you've passed the most efficient point and are just wasting fuel. Same as labouring, which is something that really annoys me. The amount of people who think their car will explode if they're not in fifth gear by 25 miles per hour is eye opening!

 

[trencheel303]

He's miles out, the fastest of the old Citroen/Peugeot diesels were the likes of the ZX Volcane 1.9TD, which managed 0-60 in just over 10 seconds. The Peugeot 306 DTurbo struggled to do it in under 12.

The 306 GTi-6 however could crack 60 in under 9 seconds, but that had a petrol engine....

Apologies it does appear I was out by a second or so.

 

[LongLensPhotography]

The amount of people who think their car will explode if they're not in fifth gear by 25 miles per hour is eye opening!

Include on board computers in the list aswell. The new silly Leon, thinks that it is good to change down (4 to 5) at 1500 rpm They want to sell you another car very soon. I dread to think what happens with autoboxes - it is probably the most unreliable and costly bit in many cars.

 

[Flash In The Pan]

Apologies it does appear I was out by a second or so.

You were out by nearly 5 seconds, which I'm sure you will agree, is a pretty significant amount when it comes to the 0-60 time of a car, in fact, a 1500 Lada Samara is only half a second slower to 60 than one of the earlier 306 DTurbos and with the best will in the world that was never considered a "hot hatch"

 

[realspeed]

Since Land Rover have had new management (TATA) the quality of LR cars is completely different. I had a Range Rover 1996 diesel and had no end of electrical problems with it and vowed never to buy the mark again.

However I did return to LR by buying a 2010 Freelander 2 which was only a year old, and what a difference. Is like someone has given the company a huge kick up the backside and the quality is spot on. So before knocking a company check out what they produce now.

Buy an old car and generally there is a reason why the previous owner got rid of it. Best advice is to get hold of the logbook see who the previous owner is and try and contact them and ask why they sold it.

Realspeed

 

[fracster]

Mrs Frac has a Honda CRV, 110,000 miles and runs sweet as, everything works in true Honda style. In fact, if it was a true 4x4 I would buy one rather than run a Hilux tractor with 182,000 miles on it. Neither uses oil nor water, Japanese all the way for me.

 

[nilagin]

Include on board computers in the list aswell. The new silly Leon, thinks that it is good to change down (4 to 5) at 1500 rpm

Isn't that up?

 

[nilagin]

I hope you are in the minority. I hardly ever go past 2500rpm and most certainly don't see any need to;

He's probably not in the minority. Whilst mine cruises at 70 at less than 2500 in 6th, 2500 is still within the torque band with the turbo on song for me in my TDCi definitely the fun zone and there to be enjoyed.

 

[donut]

For the last 8 years I've had a Boxster S as my sensible and practical everyday car (I have other cars for fun / weekends etc.), until now I've only had to replace stuff that wears out - tyres, brakes, bushes, track control arms, clutch at 98k and so on. Last week it needed a new MAF sensor, the first non-wearing part that failed, 12 years after it was built.

plenty of room in the back for the kids and shopping then , oh and the dog

 

[neil_g]

Because she no longer trusts the car basically, and where fo you stop ?
Do understand what you are saying but I've been in the same position and as she does do some long journeys she needs to feel she may be driving the car back
Yes I do realise buying another is the same risk but ......................................

whats not to trust once its repaired?

you could buy a "new" car tomorrow and have exactly the same issue, the only thing is you wouldnt know. at least youd know the current car is fault free.

fact is cars are mechanical so theyll all break sooner or later.

my history goes something like:

998cc mini - had fueling issues, then crashed it
1.4 saxo - had alarm issues, then crashed it (see a theme, typical young male)
1.2 maestro - no issues, then crashed it (not my fault this time, damn shogun)
1.6 8v saxo - radiator leading to head gasket, numerous suspension issues
1380cc mini - no issues, then stripped it down to rebuild, then sold
1.4 205 - had major fueling issues
1.9td fiat tempera - clutch failed, clutch master cyclinder
1.9td 306 - would randomly stall, always smoked badly when cold, then dropped a valve through a piston
1.9td 406 - egr fail, rear brakes siezed, brake servo, clutch failed
1.9td mk4 ibiza - suspension issues, split turbo pipe, lots of CV boots, immobiliser issues, interior fan failing.. so far

 

[AJQS]

He's probably not in the minority. Whilst mine cruises at 70 at less than 2500 in 6th, 2500 is still within the torque band with the turbo on song for me in my TDCi definitely the fun zone and there to be enjoyed.

Definitely not a minority, I've never owned a car that can do 60 at 2500rpm or less. Nova with F10CR gearbox you'd be looking at 3500 to cruise at 70! Couple with big cams and tuned exhaust that makes for an interesting motorway auditory experience!

 

[neil_g]

Definitely not a minority, I've never owned a car that can do 60 at 2500rpm or less. Nova with F10CR gearbox you'd be looking at 3500 to cruise at 70! Couple with big cams and tuned exhaust that makes for an interesting motorway auditory experience!

try a mini with straight cut short ratio box and drops, large carb, large bore exhaust/manifold and no sound deadening

 

[AJQS]

try a mini with straight cut short ratio box and drops, large carb, large bore exhaust/manifold and no sound deadening

Fuuuunnnn!!!!

 

[odd jim]

You have to ask why anyone sells their current car. I'd bet it is because they think something expensive is going to go wrong!

If you want something cheap and reliable get Japanese. Also see what taxi drivers buy. They do billions of miles and don't want anything that is expensive or unreliable as it costs them heavily.

Also, Japanese cars are NOT cheap!

Last year, I bought myself an inexpensive little eco runabout and looked at the usual small Japanese cars (as well as the rest) and you're looking at silly money for not a lot of car!

 

[odd jim]

Cars are an absolute pain in the ****. They drain more money than most things.

It's one of those things, buy second hand and it's a lottery on whether you have a good one or a pup.

From my experience, steer clear from anything French. Others may have better experience, but i have had 3 and all of them had problems. Most reliable was a volvo v40.

We bought a bmw mini, 6 month later it needed a new steering pump. you just can't odds it.

The best car I have ever owned, and possibly ever driven was my original Renault Clio Williams. A stonkingly good car. 0-60 in 7 secs and an indicated 140 mph (at Thruxton circuit I'll add) plus driven sensibly would return 35-40 mpg from a highly stressed 2 litre engine. The ONLY time it ever broke down was when it sheared a clutch cable after 10 years, and the heater matrix (which isnt a breakdown per se as it ran fine without a heater!). It was my daily driver from day 1. Really regret selling that baby.

A highly stressed, fast French hatch that broke down once in 16 years. Sorry, you cant say French cars are any more unreliable than any other. Of course they're not perfect, but none of them are. The BMWs we drive (rather hard admittedly) at work are breaking all the time. As do the new VWs and Toyotas. Which company had the most worldwide recalls over the last few years? That would be Toyota!

My new commuter car is also French. It has a frugal 1.2 turbo which is surprisingly frisky, still returns 60 mpg, has bluetooth for phone and music, sat nav etc etc, and as its eco friendly the tax is only £30 a year, only needs a service every 20,000 miles or 2 years and cost me £6,500 brand spanking new, and I love driving it more than my "weekend fun" car!

 

[AJQS]

The best car I have ever owned, and possibly ever driven was my original Renault Clio Williams. A stonkingly good car. 0-60 in 7 secs and an indicated 140 mph (at Thruxton circuit I'll add) plus driven sensibly would return 35-40 mpg from a highly stressed 2 litre engine. The ONLY time it ever broke down was when it sheared a clutch cable after 10 years, and the heater matrix (which isnt a breakdown per se as it ran fine without a heater!). It was my daily driver from day 1. Really regret selling that baby.

A highly stressed, fast French hatch that broke down once in 16 years. Sorry, you cant say French cars are any more unreliable than any other. Of course they're not perfect, but none of them are. The BMWs we drive (rather hard admittedly) at work are breaking all the time. As do the new VWs and Toyotas. Which company had the most worldwide recalls over the last few years? That would be Toyota!

My new commuter car is also French. It has a frugal 1.2 turbo which is surprisingly frisky, still returns 60 mpg, has bluetooth for phone and music, sat nav etc etc, and as its eco friendly the tax is only £30 a year, only needs a service every 20,000 miles or 2 years and cost me £6,500 brand spanking new, and I love driving it more than my "weekend fun" car!

French cars are always fun to drive, and are often a lot more boldly styled than any other manufacturer (which of course is a very polar thing!), but on the whole they are most definitely not reliable.

Toyota went down the tubes circa 2000, at an alarming rate. Dad had a 2000 celica, I had a 1991 version. Mine wa sin better condition than his depite having double the mileage and none of the care that his received. Everything baout that car felt poor, whereas mine was very solidly built.

Honda on the other hand has a knack of making things from bean tins, incorporating fundamental desgin flaws and making it all work fantasically well for a very long period, though as I hinted at previously I'd be inclined to steer clar of a new one, If the car department is anything like the marine department then there are some right howlers being let throuh QC!

(I should elaborate: I used to PDI all our Honda outboards, several hundred in just about every variety have passed through my hands straight from the box. These have all previously been run at the factory but on around 90% of all BF10-20 models would require modification before they wpould even run. I even came across a BF15 that took me a whole day to get running, and I was only the 2nd person to ever start the thing. BF5s were notorious for not being setup properly from the factory and qould require adjustment to the idle speed and timing before they would even start. BF2.3s were generlaly OK, but have on occasion been delivered without gearbox oil, and had a design flaw where the recoil starter would wrench out of your hand and smakc your free thumb - not pleasant!

Of course once they left our hands, they'd never be seen again except for regular servicing, and the ynever missed a beat afterwards)

 

[specialman]

Never had a really bad car - i.e. one that had catastrophic repairs - but I wouldn't want to own some of them again.

First car was a J-reg Metro 1.1 and it was great but totally underpowered for karting loads of fishing gear around.

Had a Nissan Primera SRi for three years, which was the nuts. Had a new clutch at 120K but that aside, it ran like a dream. I put 130K on top of the 60K it had when I bought it. Great fun to drive, cheap to insure and started every time.

Peugoet 406 1.8 - comfy as hell but dead boring and just seem to have front suspension issues that killed any enjoyment of driving. Got rid after six months.

W-reg Vauxhall Vectra SRi Estate - brilliant. Had a head gasket issue but it fixed easily. Just ran and ran, only got rid because it wasn't that economical. Massive boot and a nice place to be I thought.

Mondeo TDCi Zetec-S - pap reliability and flaky build. Nice car to drive but the turbo went and the whole electrics had to be replaced. Looked good but the cream interior did not withstand the abuse I gave it. Shifted that to a dealer as the turbo was going.

Seat Leon Cupra R 225..... truly amazing car to run. Loads of room, fur doors, nice spec, comfy, fast, handled great, never broke down. Bought with 25K at 18 months old, I kept it for over 3 years and put 125K on it. Never missed a beat and even at 150K it was like a seeing machine. Sold because of 30-34mpg.

Volvo S60 D5 I have now seems great and the economy is excellent. It's not a 5-series but it's ultra-comfy. Will probably keep this for a year or two, especially if it keep returning 60mpg on motorway runs.

 

[Galaxy66]

Mrs Frac has a Honda CRV, 110,000 miles and runs sweet as, everything works in true Honda style. In fact, if it was a true 4x4 I would buy one rather than run a Hilux tractor with 182,000 miles on it. Neither uses oil nor water, Japanese all the way for me.

 

[grotty]

Seat Leon Cupra R 225..... truly amazing car to run. Loads of room, fur doors, nice spec, comfy, fast, handled great, never broke down...

Was that an optional extra? Sounds impractical to me

In all seriousness, my wife had one of those when we met, and loved it.

 

[specialman]

Was that an optional extra? Sounds impractical to me

 

[onomatopoeia]

try a mini with straight cut short ratio box and drops, large carb, large bore exhaust/manifold and no sound deadening

Nah, try an Imp, because the Imp will rev and can have twin 40s as it has four inlet ports.

(I know, I know, Arden engineering made an 8 port head - seems you can still get them new as well)

 

[Flash In The Pan]

Definitely not a minority, I've never owned a car that can do 60 at 2500rpm or less. Nova with F10CR gearbox you'd be looking at 3500 to cruise at 70! Couple with big cams and tuned exhaust that makes for an interesting motorway auditory experience!

It's a long, long time since I've owned one but iirc the 3500 SD1 Rover would be at around 2500rpm at 70mph.......

 

[neil_g]

Nah, try an Imp, because the Imp will rev and can have twin 40s as it has four inlet ports.

(I know, I know, Arden engineering made an 8 port head - seems you can still get them new as well)

id prefer the 7 port, cheaper and more readily available

 

[juno106]

He's miles out, the fastest of the old Citroen/Peugeot diesels were the likes of the ZX Volcane 1.9TD, which managed 0-60 in just over 10 seconds. The Peugeot 306 DTurbo struggled to do it in under 12.

The 306 GTi-6 however could crack 60 in under 9 seconds, but that had a petrol engine....

Hi, I'm new to this forum and was just browsing but this caught my eye because of the difference in 0-60 between the 306 and ZX TD's. I've driven PSA derivatives since I past my test and my Dad has been driving them for many years before. I'll admit that I'm a bit if a nerd when it comes to this. The 306 and ZX have identical engine, gearbox and chassis give or take a few kilos on the body shell their basically the same car so its impossible for them to have that huge a difference in 0-60. Also the old Citroen BX had a 1.7 TD (closer to 1.8 actually) and it managed a 0-60 in 10.7 I think. I had one and it was pretty brisk considering how heavy they were with all the extra bits for the hydrophnumatic suspension etc. Cornering was interesting though XUDT's can be tuned from 92BHP to well over 110 BHP with simple tweaks, a testament to the strength and design of the engine considering the original naturally aspirated version came out at the start of the 80's

Incidently the petrol BX 16V, up until they changed the engine was a beast of a car. Generated 150 BHP and had a 0-60 of around 7 seconds. Best car Citroen ever produced in my eyes, apart from maybe the CX or 2CV and derivatives.

 

[Flash In The Pan]

Incidently the petrol BX 16V, up until they changed the engine was a beast of a car. Generated 150 BHP and had a 0-60 of around 7 seconds. Best car Citroen ever produced in my eyes, apart from maybe the CX or 2CV and derivatives.

Have to agree with you there, the BX GTI 16v was

 

[onomatopoeia]

Have to agree with you there, the BX GTI 16v was

I had one, 160bhp from the 1900cc engine plus another 10 or so from the remap, the hatch and boot were fibreglass as were some of the panels so it weighed less than a typical 5 door hatchback and yes, it flew along. Might have hit the rev limiter in 5th once (7000rpm, geared to 20mph per 1000rpm - it was very short geared)

I used to put Yoko A008 tyres (not the A008R) on the front to try to get some traction, they lasted about 8k miles . Had a lot of problems with it though, LHM on the floor etc. and even when the LHM was where it was supposed to be, the suspension went solid at the front and it would take off on the slightest bump.

 

[cosmicma]

my 10 year old honda accord has been pretty reliable over the last 6 years i have owned it with no real issues and just the usual running gear being replaced
mind you saying that i was pretty disappointed that the front suspension struts gave up at 50,000 miles, i can only put that down to the condition of the uk roads and the amount of speed humps i come across every day
apart from that i have no complaints the engine is the old 1.8L vtech that still uses a rotor arm and dizzy cap but it's reliable as they come

i have a toyota granvia 3ltr TD from the mid 90's thats not bad too apart from the fuel consumption ( around 25mpg ) it pulls like a train and is one of the most comfortable vehicles i have driven unlike the toyota lucida a had before it which suffered with a cracked head ( very common on this vehicle ) which basically writes them off

with the granvia being an import you don't see that many but there basically a hiace chassis so parts are not a problem

oh that does 70 at below 2,500 rpm ( 60 at 2,000 rpm )