Kids and their damn cars

[Gremlin]

Last November my daughter wrote her car off after just getting it through the MOT, not her fault, head on when a van entered a single track road that was her right of way and she was almost through it, although the other driver is dispouting blame !!
She went out and bought another car and has had nothing but trouble, frist the central locking packed up and she had to get in through the rear door till it was sorted, got that done and it died, alternator packed up leaving her stranded with a flat battery.
Today it's the gearbox seems to have packed up, the car has been making a whining noise for a few days so yet again it's coming home on a wrecker
yet again, the breakdown company haven't made much out of her for the last few years.
So it looks like mum's taxi or car sharing is back on the cards for next week while it's fixed.
Told her once she has it running again she needs to get rid of it before something else happens :thumbsdown:
Somehow she never seems to have much luck, despite getting them checked out before buying

 

[simon44]

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.

 

[gumbo-67]

i am married to a monkey spanner and he buggered off and has left me with 3 cars to look after.. i am 44 and well.. in the last 6 weeks i learnt allot.. kids and cars great when they are mums taxi.. that is all i can say..

 

[trencheel303]

OP what kind of car was it that gave all the probs?

 

[ian-83]

OP what kind of car was it that gave all the probs?

+1

Not that make really matters these days all the bits come from the same big names who make stuff for all the brands like Bosch,Delphi,Siemens and these seems to be the bits that go wrong and cost loads to replace.

 

[Cobra]

Thats a bit of a b****r Ingrid
Sorry to hear that she is having all that hassle.

 

[gogless]

I bought 55 plate freelander when it was only 12 months old paid 15 grand for it and up to press as cost me another 4 grand on repairs been on a low loader 4 times at present in garage again

 

[TriggerHappy]

I bought 55 plate freelander when it was only 12 months old paid 15 grand for it and up to press as cost me another 4 grand on repairs been on a low loader 4 times at present in garage again

That's the famous landrover reliability

 

[gogless]

Not kidding buy a landrover go anywhere providing you can get it out of the repair shop

 

[srichards]

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.

 

[Flash In The Pan]

If you want something cheap and reliable get Japanese.

I'll tell my neighbour you said that, he could do with a laugh after the £800 bill he's just had for the dodgy electrics in his 4 year old Honda Civic....

 

[Gremlin]

OP what kind of car was it that gave all the probs?

It's a VW Polo and she wonders why I don't like them, having said that I loved my golf, never gave me any problems and I drove miles in it, sold it cheap cos it was rusting out

Ok the good news is it has arrived back here and seems it might not be the gearbox, breakdown bloke reckons it's the drive shaft so fingers crossed.

Landrovers, yep they are never happy unless they are in the garage, mate of mine has rangers and a large overdraft

 

[Flash In The Pan]

It's a VW Polo

How old?

 

[mxfun]

I bought 55 plate freelander when it was only 12 months old paid 15 grand for it and up to press as cost me another 4 grand on repairs been on a low loader 4 times at present in garage again

With respect, probaby the worst car I've ever driven, build quality was unbelievably bad and it drove like my fathers old farm landrover.

Cars nowadays are a complete joke!!! IMO of course

 

[jonbeeza]

Best car I ever had was the Citroen AX, I bought it new in 1997 and it only cost me £5500. It came with two years fully comp insurance, and one years breakdown cover. My mate laughed at me when I bought it and said it was a cheapo rubbish car. He went out and bought a ford Galaxy for £18000, and said his car was better than mine.

We both kept our cars for ten years, and over that time mine proved to be the better car. My mate even said he wishes he had of saved his money and got an AX also.


I looked after my cheapo little car and it looked after me, it never let me down. It went through the MOT every time, and only ever needed a backbox for the exhaust, and tyres brakes and wipers. I never spent any more money on the car.

My mates Galaxy needed two gearbox rebuilds for his auto gearbox. He needed an engine rebuild, and he also had the turbo replaced. His brake servo needed replacing, and two strutts replaced. The wheel arches and boot lid got badly rusted.

At the end of ten years, I got offered £500 part exchange, while my mate was only offered £800 for his.

I think it's silly paying big money for cars, if you only spend a little, you can only loose a little :shrug:

 

[onomatopoeia]

I think it's silly paying big money for cars, it you only spend a little, you can only loose a little :shrug:

Not really, you can spend a little buying a car and a fortune on repairs as well.

Mind you if you've gone 10 years and been doing average mileage (10-12k/year) and you've not had to replace any things like steering arms, trackrod ends or suspension bushes in that time you have been very fortunate, or only drive it on billiard tables .

I won't tell you about the Citroen BX I owned that regularly peed LHM all over the place out of the return pipes, which led to loss of the suspension, then the steering, then the brakes. Fabulous system that was. Not.

Or the Hillman Imp that cost me 295 with a year's MOT, but I spent double that in the first month of ownership on parts (did all the labour myself).


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.

 

[jonbeeza]

Not really, you can spend a little buying a car and a fortune on repairs as well.
Or the Hillman Imp that cost me 295 with a year's MOT, but I spent double that in the first month of ownership on parts (did all the labour myself).

What I meant was a cheap new car, look after it and it will last. I have had my Citroen C1 for five years now and it only cost me £6500, and it is in superb condition and I am aiming for another five years of ownership. When I have had it for ten years I will simply get another cheap new car.

My brother had a Hillman Imp, and it would never run. I knew two other people who had Hillman imps that failed to run also. There was a police force in the early 1970s, not sure if it was either the Cheshire or Yorkshire force who had the imp as a patrol car. Whenever they failed to turn up to a call out, they blamed it on the car failing to start

 

[Davec223]

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.

Apart from a honda civic, biggest bag of poo I have had the displeasure of driving, from that experience I will never buy a Honda, I add it was a company car, so fortunately didn't have to pay to run it, in actual fact I couldn't have afforded to keep it on the road.

 

[AJQS]

Apart from a honda civic, biggest bag of poo I have had the displeasure of driving, from that experience I will never buy a Honda, I add it was a company car, so fortunately didn't have to pay to run it, in actual fact I couldn't have afforded to keep it on the road.

You must have the only bad one ever made

Seriously though I know first hand about Honda quality control and it may well shock a few pepole. However I still drive a 1996 Civic daily, over 150k and still in tip top shape and no signs of failing yet. My 1998 one was an ex company car and was pretty abused, that did start failing .... at 180k

 

[Gremlin]

oh well had it checked out and it is the gearbox
hardly surprising I suppose VW are known for it.

repair and get shot of it seems to be the idea now

 

[Davec223]

You must have the only bad one ever made

Seriously though I know first hand about Honda quality control and it may well shock a few pepole. However I still drive a 1996 Civic daily, over 150k and still in tip top shape and no signs of failing yet. My 1998 one was an ex company car and was pretty abused, that did start failing .... at 180k

Nope 3 of us at work had them and all had similar problems, they are a pile of poo.imho.

 

[Davec223]

oh well had it checked out and it is the gearbox
hardly surprising I suppose VW are known for it.

repair and get shot of it seems to be the idea now

Not good, cars are such a pain in the arse, and yet a necessity.

 

[LongLensPhotography]

oh well had it checked out and it is the gearbox
hardly surprising I suppose VW are known for it.

repair and get shot of it seems to be the idea now

Oh dear, is it even worth repairing it, as I have a pretty good idea how much they are?

Auto? Never ever touch those evil things.

I don't think VW are particularly bad for GBs, that's more like MB or Honda, or VX first.

Maybe look at Toyota's or Skoda next time But it all depends how it was driven by the previous owner, and how it was serviced or even assembled. As you can see there are even some 'good' french cars out there

My test for 'new' cars is a fast sprint up a 25% incline, plenty of B roads, 10 miles on motorway, and then a senior mechanic inspection (not quick AA, or kwikfit jobie).

 

[pablo_paul]

unfortunately you guys want economy, safety, and lots of bling toys all this means is more things to go wrong And unfortunately for you with the pressure on the environment requiring smaller higher stressed engines with turbos and super chargers and eventually some form of hybridisation on every car means it,s all going to get more expensive and break a lot more.

Better all take the train in the comfort you are all saving the world. Worst car I've owned is my current gen 2 focus closely followed by my AX Gt which was the biggest pile of French poo. I had a couple of saxo's after that which were pretty good. Most reliable was my civic type r closely followed by my Lotus. Go figure.

 

[wack61]

oh well had it checked out and it is the gearbox
hardly surprising I suppose VW are known for it.

repair and get shot of it seems to be the idea now

So you fix it then replace it with another car, how do you know the one you're buying isn't being sold for the same reason, it doesn't make sense to me to fix it then give somebody else the benefit of all the money you've spent on it.

 

[Gremlin]

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 ......................................

 

[Flash In The Pan]

Not really, you can spend a little buying a car and a fortune on repairs as well.

The trick with running old cars is to buy one with a full MOT and run it until that runs out and/or something breaks, then bin it, rinse and repeat.

Spending money patching up old bangers is pure folly.

 

[Mattwood]

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.

exact reversal in the second hand gamble here. Citroen Picasso was the most reliable car i've ever had. after 200K miles the engine started to lack pull on hills which is the only reason we got rid. Had a Volvo 440 as a first car years ago and steering rack went after 6 months. Also had a T5 estate which was a money put. Seemed a new part was needed weekly. Thankfully folks upgraded and I managed to get their reliable mazda 323.

 

[Garry Edwards]

The worst new car I ever had was probably the Volvo 440, it was the turbo model and the handling at speed was downright lethal. I was living in Germany at the time, theoretically it could keep up with most other cars in the Autobahn overtaking lane but in practice it couldn't handle over 100.

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...

 

[trencheel303]

French cars are not nearly as bad as a lot of people like to make out.

It's thanks to Citroen's legendary XUD engine that people have came to accept that it's perfectly OK to run a diesel engine in a car. The Citroen ZX and certain Peugeots fitted with the 1.9 turbo'd XUD were also the first diesel "hot hatches" and could get to 60 in a ridiculously quick 8/9 seconds, which even by today's standards is quick.

The suspension system that Citroen used (not as much anymore) without springs meant that road noise was drastically reduced and ride quality for cars of their class was a step above. The Xantia Activa could also be thrown around corners because the hydraulic rams in the suspension would harden, stopping the car from rolling about as it cornered. The system also self-levelled, meaning if you piled loads of crap into the back of the car the suspension would raise it again after a few seconds, instead of dragging it's arse off the ground like other, standard spring-suspension types.

The DS also brought in headlights that "followed" the path of the road and lit up corners better, and that thing is older than a lot of people on this forum! Although the concept had been seen before on older cars by means of a central lamp linked to the steering, the DS system was more refined and the first in its class, and the likes of Vauxhall are only just bringing out such systems now in their newer, classier cars.

I don't know about modern ones, but older Citroens are also ridiculously easy to work on. The Dyane/2CV engines don't even have gaskets and are essentially a "sealed unit" - they also rev ridiculously high and can be maxed out for ages without clattering to death, and will run for more miles than most 4-bangers these days.

It takes 5 minutes to swap the spark plugs in the Citroen ZX 1.4 (same engine as Peugeot 306 too) - to swap the six spark plugs in my mates Vauxhall Omega (almost the same age) is a half-day job, with parts of the engine having to come off and the last two spark plugs being tucked away under body towards the bulkhead.

There are still a lot of older Citroens, Peugeots and Renaults on the road, and apart from older Mitsubishi Shoguns/Pajeros and the odd Corsa it is unusual to see as many older cars still running.

Any car will break down if it is not maintained.

 

[onomatopoeia]

unfortunately you guys want economy, safety, and lots of bling toys all this means is more things to go wrong And unfortunately for you with the pressure on the environment requiring smaller higher stressed engines with turbos and super chargers and eventually some form of hybridisation on every car means it,s all going to get more expensive and break a lot more.

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:.

Better all take the train in the comfort you are all saving the world.

Or for the journey I made last weekend, to visit my parents just outside London, which is 110 miles / 1h45m by car from where I live near Bristol, by public transport it's walk, then take the bus, train, tube, tube, train, walk. Now why would I take the car, faced with such a relaxing ( ) journey by train?

 

[trencheel303]

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:.

what's so bad about an engine that makes the power lower in the rev range? Is it the sound you miss - I can't see any other fundamental reason as you're not making any less power, just at a different engine speed.

I do agree with you though regarding getting rid of all the ***** that makes modern cars so heavy. Just don't drive so fast and we wouldnt need it all.

 

[Byker28i]

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.

Taxi drivers in Germany - Mercedes - lots of them. Taxi drivers in the UK, proper black cabs, now they do hundereds of thousands of miles.

Or where you talking minicab drivers who buy the cheapest thing suitable?

As for buying Japanese, we had a new engine in our Nissan Primera after 5 months of ownership. I strongly suspect they forgot to put oil in it after the first service then took it for a test drive, but a £7k bill on a three year old car we'd just bought for £7k wasn't fun, especially when they started arguing the all encompassing Nissan Warrenty.
Luckily we didn't have to pay.

The most reliable vehicle is own is the TVR. (also have Nissan Primera, Masda MX-5 , Kawasaki ZZR1200)

So if you want a reliable vehicle - buy a TVR. And on that bombshell...

 

[TriggerHappy]

I do agree with you though regarding getting rid of all the ***** that makes modern cars so heavy. Just don't drive so fast and we wouldnt need it all.

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

 

[nilagin]

Best car I ever had was the Citroen AX, I bought it new in 1997 and it only cost me £5500.

I had the displeasure of having an AX as a courtesy car in 1997 whilst my own car was in for a crash repair. A week too long in my opinion, it was more basic than a base model 1978 mk1 Fiesta 950cc I had years before, the AX was gutless, the Fiesta had been more powerful even with worn valves and low compression.

 

[trencheel303]

You were probs unlucky enough to have had a mark I AX lol. They weren't citroens best invention but the diesel one was incredibly good on fuel.

 

[grotty]

The Citroen ZX and certain Peugeots fitted with the 1.9 turbo'd XUD were also the first diesel "hot hatches" and could get to 60 in a ridiculously quick 8/9 seconds, which even by today's standards is quick.

You're right about the diesel 'revolution', but I'd be very, very surprised if your 0-60mph figures were correct.

 

[jomantha]

I had a £13k Megan - it was shocking - it cost me thousands every year in maintenance - the electrics were all shot to bits.

But the best - one day - while still under warranty - I got in - shut the driver door - and the rear window exploded outwards.

It literally fragmented - as if it had been shot.

Did they fix it - did they hell.

It was a 13k heap of ***** that was a nightmare from day 1.

 

[jomantha]

Ps now I have a million children I drive a fiat multipla - ancient - but reliable as.

I paid £2.5k for her and she hasn't let me down in the 3 years I have had her.

 

[Flash In The Pan]

You're right about the diesel 'revolution', but I'd be very, very surprised if your 0-60mph figures were correct.

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....