Potential owner.. Do you have to be mechanically minded?

Potential owner.. Do you have to be mechanically minded?

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renmure

Original Poster:

4,213 posts

223 months

Sunday 13th April 2014
quotequote all
I have fancied an Ultima for a while but never really taken things much further than browsing from a distance, although I did go the 400 miles down to the Stoneleigh show a couple few years ago to see a decent selection of cars at once.

Looking through the classifieds, I tend to know what I like in superficial cosmetic terms re looks, colour, interior etc but would probably need a bit of guidance in terms of engine / spec.

But... the thing that tends to stop me in my tracks is that I am in no way mechanically minded and don't really have much interest, skill or motivation to change and would be kidding myself if I imagined myself "enjoying" a weekend in the garage tinkering with oily bits.

So, assuming I was buying something decent, well speced, well built, well cared for and not running some extreme power: Are the cars generally reliable? Do most owners who tinker around fixing stuff all the time do so because they want to or because they have to? Are the cars generally suited to being used in the manner of a conventionally reliable "weekend fun car" that you can use for a few days then cover up and forget about for a few weeks, service/MOT once a year etc or do you really need to be on top of fixing/fettling *stuff* all the time?

  • I don't really know what I mean by "stuff" but have mental images of this type of car being more suited to someone who has their own boiler suit and knows what they are doing with spanners smile

Storer

5,024 posts

214 months

Sunday 13th April 2014
quotequote all
The cars can be generally reliable but if you live 400miles from Stoneleigh (350ish from the Factory) you will need someone to look after the car.
An Ultima would cause a bit of head scratching at many garages as there is no computer hook up to tell them what to replace (most don't know how to 'fix' something these days).

IMO you do need some mechanical knowledge and be prepared to regularly check the car over even if you pay someone else to fix it. They are cheap to service though.

Reading your post suggests that a main stream manufacturers product may be more suitable for your situation.


Paul


F.C.

3,896 posts

207 months

Monday 14th April 2014
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Your profile would suggest that you'd probably know a man that can fix things for you.
The Ultima is not for everyone and a reasonable mechanical knowledge is an advantage to ownership but don't let that put you off!

hedgefinder

3,418 posts

169 months

Monday 14th April 2014
quotequote all
may sound silly, but as far as I am concerned ..
a car is a car,no reason for it to be any less reliable than any other if built correctly in the first instance and then serviced regularly etc.
and servicing isnt any more difficult than the average family hatchback.... in fact easier in some cases!

Nabbott

294 posts

135 months

Monday 14th April 2014
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Based on my 4 day tenure with a 'new car' i'd say 'Yes' to having to be of a mechanical persuasion.... I got out of a 360 Spider so I could be more 'hands-on' but guess if you went for an LS engine powered car you'd spend less time fettling.

renmure

Original Poster:

4,213 posts

223 months

Monday 14th April 2014
quotequote all
Nabbott said:
I got out of a 360 Spider so I could be more 'hands-on' but guess if you went for an LS engine powered car you'd spend less time fettling.
I got out of an F355 and into my F360 Spider because the 360 felt less like it needed "looking after" which probably gives an indication of my comfort zone. smile

A better example is, a Caterham. I recently owned a lovely K-Series R300. It was probably a premium car, well built by the 1st owner who obviously was more into the build side than the driving side. It had great spec, low owners, low miles and was an unmolested and pampered car. In my 3 years of ownership it was 100% reliable and didn't actually need anymore input from me other than driving it and generally looking after it although I guess I could have changed, upgraded or tuned bits and generally got oily.

Suppose I was hoping that lots of Ultima cars might be like that R300. smile

hedgefinder

3,418 posts

169 months

Monday 14th April 2014
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renmure said:


Suppose I was hoping that lots of Ultima cars might be like that R300. smile
geneally they are!
you will be lucky to find a high milage Ultima, the majority end up doing a couple of hundred miles a year at best

dal2litrefrogeye

357 posts

176 months

Wednesday 16th April 2014
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Hi ive owned mine 5 years now and its been very reliable . I do all my own work on car infact on all my cars . And one thing I would say if you need someone to do work for you on the ultima . It is a very easy car to work on (1 hour to remove gearbox at a leisurely pace ) so there for the labour rate should be acceptable . Its an easier car to work on than my wifes E Type and my St 170 focus just to put things in perspective