unreliable?

[m3jappa]

I have read quite a few times in the noble section that nobles can be unreliable. Which way are they unreliable in? Engine trouble,build quality or just generally.

I have to ask as my next car is one of only a few and i keep being drawn to nobles but i just can't seem to find in which areas trouble arises.

[F.C.]

m3jappa said:

I have read quite a few times in the noble section that nobles can be unreliable. Which way are they unreliable in? Engine trouble,build quality or just generally.

I have to ask as my next car is one of only a few and i keep being drawn to nobles but i just can't seem to find in which areas trouble arises.

There were a few quirky problems with some cars, heaters not working, air con a bit iffy.
The car also heats up inside if you drive with the window/s open, this can be sorted by feeding fresh air into the central chassis tunnel via one of the front air ducts.
some people have found coolant pipes degrading after a couple of years.
Chocolate exhaust bracket was another common problem.
M400 had an aleged fuel pump wiring issue (not correct guage of wire) causing lean running at prolonged high revs.
There were other niggles here and there but nothing to worry about really.
If you're buying one now any problems should have been well addressed by now!
F.C.

[joust]

It's a small volume hand built car so it's hardly going to be 'BMW' reliable in that sense. However, as long as you appreciate it's a £60,000 hand built car then you can't go far wrong.

Pretty much most of the niggles and faults have been well and truely sorted. Engines are strong but early transmissions can be known to go. If they do then a new box and LSD is the best choice - expensive at around £3k but worth considering if you are looking (i.e. look for one that has a LSD already).

Apart from that there isn't much really to talk about. Front suspension ball joints go (~£100 all in to sort out), and sometimes there can be problems with the alarm unit (quite a few have had to be replaced - ~£350-400 all in) but apart from that you don't hear too often of anything serious going wrong. Most things are just "service" items nowdays (e.g. aircon has a habit of losing it's charge, but that's easy to recharge each/every-other year)

Mind you on that "BMW" levels of reliability, my £65k X5 just had to have it's entire wiring loom replaced, whereas the M400 has only had an aircon leak and the alarm unit stopped working properly after 3 years!

J

[m3jappa]

Well imo those problems are nothing which would bother me on a car of that caliber. Sounds like the worst is the gearbox and diff issue which isn't the end of the world especially if i could get one which has been done.

Air con and heater issues don't really bother me, i just sold my trackday m3 and i ripped the air con out and r.e heaters i can always wear gloves and a hat

my main worry was things like the engine,turbos ecu etc (the dear bits) being a problem.

Am i right in thinking its the 3r which has the lsd from the factory?

[alex s]

m3jappa said:

Well imo those problems are nothing which would bother me on a car of that caliber. Sounds like the worst is the gearbox and diff issue which isn't the end of the world especially if i could get one which has been done.

Air con and heater issues don't really bother me, i just sold my trackday m3 and i ripped the air con out and r.e heaters i can always wear gloves and a hat

my main worry was things like the engine,turbos ecu etc (the dear bits) being a problem.

Am i right in thinking its the 3r which has the lsd from the factory?

Most 3R's had the lsd from new, but not all.
Even engines are not unreasonable, a fully built engine with forged internals,oil squirters, are available from the USA for around £2500. If you are fairly handy with the spanners, the Noble is an easy car to work on.

Alex

[D_G]

My GTO-3 (with open diff) has been great over 18 months, always starts 1st time even if left for 3 weeks. I've given it a full top to bottom service to sort out a few things when I bought it (handbrake shoes / PAS pipe) and the only other problem was the interior fan needed a overhaul.

Certainly small beer compared with the enjoyment of owning and driving such a great machine

Dave

[NobleGuy]

My only big issue has been the diff in 2 years of ownership, but the standard diffs are likely to go at some point. The Quaife ATB LSD has a 'lifetime warranty' so they are pretty confident of it lasting quite a long time.

Other than that I've had no really awful problems.