Glad to see the back of it
Discussion
In 1985 Dad retired from his job a mining engineer with a substantial pay off and generous pension. He decided, on the recommendation of a mate, to trade in his 4 year old Datsun Bluebird (loved that car) for a brand new Austin Montego. His love for this car lasted approximately a week, from memory it was a 1.6L, he part ex'd it for a new Fiesta after 3 months taking a substantial hit. He never bought anything other than Fords for the rest of his life.
A colleague of mine bought (or rather, PCP'd) a 40 kWh Leaf during Covid. She was very happy with it initially, until lockdowns eased and she made a trip to the Lake District (from near Cambridge). Apparently the return trip in particular was a nightmare trying to find suitable charging.
Anyway the reason I add it here is that she recently paid out several grand to terminate the four year PCP midway, in order to ditch it in favour of an MG4 Long Range, so her experience very much fits the thread. She's happy with the MG and to be fair with the larger battery, slightly better efficiency, faster charging and more a widely supported charging standard I don't foresee a repeat case of buyer's remorse.
(For balance, another colleague has a 62 kWh Leaf and is happy with it).
Not a car, but two vans.
VW T4. I fell for the VW reliability myth, and bought a T4. It looked nice, seemed to go alright, and had 65,000 on the clock. The previous owner had three bearded collies, and the seats were a right state. A quick ten minutes later and I had a full interior out of a Jaguar XJ6. A bit of fabrication and wiring later, and I had some nice electric leather seats.
Three months after buying it, it got a bit smoky. It was nearly due a service anyway, so took it down my mate’s garage. He dutifully informed me that the five pot lump cracked heads for fun.
I had it serviced anyway, then round to the diesel specialist to have the pump and injectors checked. Slight improvement. Four months later I pulled up on my drive, with the engine not sounding happy. Open the bonnet, and the expansion tank is full of oil. Not emulsified oil, but thick black engine oil, straight out of the sump. The head had cracked, and the oil had been pumped out of the sump, straight into the water jacket. I spent months trying to find another head or engine, they all had the same problem.
Anyway, this lead to a lack of van, the T4 expired on a Saturday evening, and I need a van quick, ready for Monday morning. It just so happened that the local-ish used race car salesman and noted raconteur that is Dermot Healy had a “race car transporter” for sale, and cheap. This turned out to be an ex Telecom Freight Rover twin wheel box van, with a towball, but no power steering. Dreadful economy, combined with dreadful performance. Other than the fact that it ran, it had no redeeming features whatsoever. Ran that for six months before doing what I should have done before the T4, and bought a Berlingo.
VW T4. I fell for the VW reliability myth, and bought a T4. It looked nice, seemed to go alright, and had 65,000 on the clock. The previous owner had three bearded collies, and the seats were a right state. A quick ten minutes later and I had a full interior out of a Jaguar XJ6. A bit of fabrication and wiring later, and I had some nice electric leather seats.
Three months after buying it, it got a bit smoky. It was nearly due a service anyway, so took it down my mate’s garage. He dutifully informed me that the five pot lump cracked heads for fun.
I had it serviced anyway, then round to the diesel specialist to have the pump and injectors checked. Slight improvement. Four months later I pulled up on my drive, with the engine not sounding happy. Open the bonnet, and the expansion tank is full of oil. Not emulsified oil, but thick black engine oil, straight out of the sump. The head had cracked, and the oil had been pumped out of the sump, straight into the water jacket. I spent months trying to find another head or engine, they all had the same problem.
Anyway, this lead to a lack of van, the T4 expired on a Saturday evening, and I need a van quick, ready for Monday morning. It just so happened that the local-ish used race car salesman and noted raconteur that is Dermot Healy had a “race car transporter” for sale, and cheap. This turned out to be an ex Telecom Freight Rover twin wheel box van, with a towball, but no power steering. Dreadful economy, combined with dreadful performance. Other than the fact that it ran, it had no redeeming features whatsoever. Ran that for six months before doing what I should have done before the T4, and bought a Berlingo.
Shnozz said:
I had a pretty modified 111S Elise and an X-type as a daily. The Elise was running nitrons, AO48s and generally was not very usable for anything midweek and I found myself driving a £7k (then) x-type for the majority of the time as a result.
Sold them both and consolidated with a Boxster S.
Great car but I was bored in 2 months with its ability to do everything so well.
I can see why they are so popular; for all the reasons why it bored me to tears so soon.
I can certainly see where you're coming from with the Boxster... I couldn't wait to get rid of the second, mainly because it was a pile of utter sSold them both and consolidated with a Boxster S.
Great car but I was bored in 2 months with its ability to do everything so well.
I can see why they are so popular; for all the reasons why it bored me to tears so soon.
te. The first one I had though was spot on, and yet I wasn't completely blown away when I first got it if I'm being totally honest, though you're right, it did everything really well, but it was a very serious car and ultimately wasn't terribly exciting as a result.Sometimes I think flaws are what give a car character, and the Boxster really didn't have any, at least in terms of driving experience, but never truly went out of its way to excite either. It did start to grow on me after a while but I'd never say it was truly the most memorable car I've had. I'll say one thing for it though, it was strong enough to protect me from being beheaded when something slammed into the windscreen at a combined 100 mph speed.
2006 Porsche Cayman S.
Stereo kept cutting out,
Boot squeaked all the time (drove me nuts).
Constantly replacing filaments
Heater packed up requiring replacement motor
Started burning oil at 1 litre to a tank of fuel (bore scored, £10k rebuild estimate)
All within 6 months of buying it.. Bore scoring was the final straw and traded it in instead of rebuilding it and swore blind I would never touch another Porsche again.
Wife’s latest purchase 2 months ago has just required £6k worth of work. Glad I just get to drive it, she pays to maintain it..
Oh and she bought a mini coupe 2 seat thing. Lasted 6 weeks before it went back. What a horrid little pile of st that was. Suspension, what suspension. I swear a Porpoising F1 car looked more enticing to be in..
Stereo kept cutting out,
Boot squeaked all the time (drove me nuts).
Constantly replacing filaments
Heater packed up requiring replacement motor
Started burning oil at 1 litre to a tank of fuel (bore scored, £10k rebuild estimate)
All within 6 months of buying it.. Bore scoring was the final straw and traded it in instead of rebuilding it and swore blind I would never touch another Porsche again.
Wife’s latest purchase 2 months ago has just required £6k worth of work. Glad I just get to drive it, she pays to maintain it..
Oh and she bought a mini coupe 2 seat thing. Lasted 6 weeks before it went back. What a horrid little pile of s
t that was. Suspension, what suspension. I swear a Porpoising F1 car looked more enticing to be in..Edited by MB140 on Monday 23 October 20:53
wormus said:
Mostly Germans being lambasted here and not one Land Rover. Just goes to show PH prejudice and optimism bias is alive and well when the fact is Audi, BMW and Mercedes make the crap cars.
My Discovery was excellent except for the leaky roof windows, the warping dash and the slightly distorted tailgate.Apparently it lunched its turbo after my ownership too.
Regrets though? After the fun I had with it on and off road, not a chance
Chris
Gordon Hill said:
that stressed you out so much that you were overjoyed when the day came to part company?
Years ago I had a Proton (the first one, just called "Proton" but retrospectively known as the "Saga").I shared it with my first long-term partner. As you may know, it was a Mitsubishi Lancer in disguise.
When we split up, she took the car. I can guarantee I'd been stressed out so much that I was overjoyed .
The car was great though, I wanted it back!
Two cars stand out;
My first. A 1969 model Morris Mini estate bought in 1981 for £135. All my money. It had received a replacement engine shortly before, and had the scars under bonnet to prove it. £141 insurance.
For the next 8 months it cost me another £150+ in repairs, whilst regularly overheating and failing to proceed with another flat battery. I bare the mental scares to this day. It failed the next MoT and a colleague took it off my hands. Had I had use of a garage or driveway then it could have been a useful learning experience, but it was not to be. I went off to live with my brother who had a reliable car and gave me a lift every day.
Next up a Volvo V70 Phase 2 (53 plate) D5. Bought unseen and only 300+ miles away. On the way home it momentarily lost power, a trick it would reprise over the next year at random intervals despite the best efforts of various specialist garages. Then it ate the aux. belt on day one of our family holiday down near Poitier. Managed to part ex it for a Mazda CX-7 shortly after, losing a third in value in 12 months. Comfy cruiser, well specced, great stereo, nice single front cup holder. But once you lose faith, there’s only one way out.
My first. A 1969 model Morris Mini estate bought in 1981 for £135. All my money. It had received a replacement engine shortly before, and had the scars under bonnet to prove it. £141 insurance.
For the next 8 months it cost me another £150+ in repairs, whilst regularly overheating and failing to proceed with another flat battery. I bare the mental scares to this day. It failed the next MoT and a colleague took it off my hands. Had I had use of a garage or driveway then it could have been a useful learning experience, but it was not to be. I went off to live with my brother who had a reliable car and gave me a lift every day.
Next up a Volvo V70 Phase 2 (53 plate) D5. Bought unseen and only 300+ miles away. On the way home it momentarily lost power, a trick it would reprise over the next year at random intervals despite the best efforts of various specialist garages. Then it ate the aux. belt on day one of our family holiday down near Poitier. Managed to part ex it for a Mazda CX-7 shortly after, losing a third in value in 12 months. Comfy cruiser, well specced, great stereo, nice single front cup holder. But once you lose faith, there’s only one way out.
My horror story is a 1984 XR2 which was less than three years old when I bought it, I lost count of how many sets of brake discs the car had due to poor quality Ford parts, constant squeaks from the front suspension, broken engine mounts which caused the exhaust to snap, engine going out of tune which required frequent carburettor adjustment, then to top it all off corrosion on the bonnet which resulted in a large hole through the front.
Utter pile of crap car and the last Ford I will ever buy.
Utter pile of crap car and the last Ford I will ever buy.
Bentley Conti GT. Cost around £5k a year to run. Always wanted one, used my inheritance to purchase it, Did 2,000 miles in 4 years, had £8k in repair bills and dumped £8k In depreciation. The car had only done 44k miles. And it felt like driving an old fashioned leviathan.
You have been warned.
You have been warned.
Klippie said:
My horror story is a 1984 XR2 which was less than three years old when I bought it, I lost count of how many sets of brake discs the car had due to poor quality Ford parts, constant squeaks from the front suspension, broken engine mounts which caused the exhaust to snap, engine going out of tune which required frequent carburettor adjustment, then to top it all off corrosion on the bonnet which resulted in a large hole through the front.
Utter pile of crap car and the last Ford I will ever buy.
Eh? You must have abused the crap out of it or not maintained it. We had loads of Fiestas MK1s all the way to MK6 (my daughter still has one now). Brilliant little cars that ask for nothing. Mk1 & 2 only had about 3 moving parts so I don’t know how yours was so unreliable. As for engine mounts, I had a set go and they were £5 to buy from a Ford dealer and took half an hour to replace. Utter pile of crap car and the last Ford I will ever buy.
wormus said:
Mostly Germans being lambasted here and not one Land Rover. Just goes to show PH prejudice and optimism bias is alive and well when the fact is Audi, BMW and Mercedes make the crap cars.
Not really. I think you tend to see a lot more of a 'sunk cost' fallacy with Discoveries, because it's not like you can just swap them for a cheap hatchback that will do the same.Every specialist I've used or spoken to hated working on the D3/4 because of how finicky and complicated they are. At the age of life right now, they are at rock bottom of the depreciation curve, and usually being sold because of a bill.
When you add that to the diesel engines having a fundamental flaw that causes the crank to snap, and the need to lift the entire body off to do various jobs, it's a hard car to love if you get a lemon.
Said as the owner of a D3.
CrippsCorner said:
jjones said:
R5GTT, bought from ebay. Wasn't the best example, the clutch was slipping on the way home. Replaced that (pig of a job). The homemade lowering spings (turns out they cut them down with a grinder).didn't do much for the ride quality. Was crap on fuel and the performance wasn't all that. Kept it for 6 months and off loaded it on ebay.
Sounds similar to my R5 GTT. Childhood dream car, but it didn't live up to expectations. Would have kept it if I had a garage. but didn't want it rotting away on the drive. Sold on after about a year. Shame I sold it for a grand and it'd probably be 10x that now...te.B235r said:
Sure have a Clio 182 hated the thing with a passion sold it the day the v5 came through the door
Badly built, didn't handle
DittoBadly built, didn't handle
Bought a Clio 182 brand new, didnt take a test drive, believed the hype.
Noisy, cramped, awful driving position, steering wheel from a bus, engine sounded like a 100k van.
Lasted 3 months.
PK0001 said:
B235r said:
Sure have a Clio 182 hated the thing with a passion sold it the day the v5 came through the door
Badly built, didn't handle
DittoBadly built, didn't handle
Bought a Clio 182 brand new, didnt take a test drive, believed the hype.
Noisy, cramped, awful driving position, steering wheel from a bus, engine sounded like a 100k van.
Lasted 3 months.
I don't know how people do it.
wormus said:
Mostly Germans being lambasted here and not one Land Rover. Just goes to show PH prejudice and optimism bias is alive and well when the fact is Audi, BMW and Mercedes make the crap cars.
That is interesting. My experience of BMW & Mini is the exact opposite although I took care to pick the versions of Minis that didn't have issues (their development plan seemed to be a sine wave). Probably 100k miles, 8 years & zero problems across the last 4 cars.Our F-Pace was utterly reliable too (V6D) over 4 years and 50k.
Maybe its just a sales volume & expectation thing.
The other obvious anomaly on here is Italian stuff - only 1 so far IIRC. My absolute dog was an Alfa MiTo Cloverleaf. Bought at a year old, it spent 35% of the next year off the road for numerous warranty issues including a replacement gearbox at 9k. Was glad when it was written off and I got more for it than the P/EX offer I'd just had. The 156 a few years before that was a great car so not just AR bashing.
Speed 3 said:
That is interesting. My experience of BMW & Mini is the exact opposite although I took care to pick the versions of Minis that didn't have issues (their development plan seemed to be a sine wave).
The mini is a funny one, the R53 (MK1) was supposedly unreliable but I didn't have many issues, and the Chrysler engine was pretty bullet proof even if the car itself wasn't always the easiest to work on.I've just bought an F56 JCW (MK3) and I did a lot of research on potential cars before I decided to go for it, they don't have many issues.
However, I wouldn't have touched an R56 (MK2) with a bargepole. Chocolate engines and the rest of it wasn't much better. Tbh I'm surprised to see the R53 have more mentions in this thread than the R56.
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