Glad to see the back of it

[anonymous-user]

NomduJour said:

wormus said:

Few weeks ago I had the dash out to replace the HVAC blend motors

I keep finding excuses not to do it…

It’s really not that bad, just takes a bit of commitment and you can get to everything easily with the dash out:

https://paulp38a.com/range-rover-p38/dash-removal/

[NomduJour]

Yeah, I just don’t want to do it. Website is very useful - did you get the glovebox to align properly when it went back together?

[AmyRichardson]

Maybe not unsurprisingly most of the cars I've been glad to be rid of in the there-&-then are those that I get a bit misty/rose-tinted about - until I engage brain and remember the leaks, waits for the RAC, and the bills.

Who knew the most emotionally appealing cars could be, from a utilitarian perspective, terrible things to own

[anonymous-user]

NomduJour said:

Yeah, I just don’t want to do it. Website is very useful - did you get the glovebox to align properly when it went back together?

Yes piece of cake once you know how. It was pissed and only closed on one side when I got it but perfect now. There are 2 captive screws which you can use to adjust the catches in the plastic bar they locate into. Start with them all the way out so it closes easily with a big gap, then wind them in equally until the gap is about an 1/8 inch.

There are also 2 grub screws on the bottom hinges but I just set those in the middle adjustment. I don’t think they make much difference. Just front to back alignment.

Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 24th October 20:53

[TameRacingDriver]

J4CKO said:

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

Ditto

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.

Nearly bought one, was 100 percent sure it’s what I wanted and tried a year old one, couldn’t see what the fuss was about, suspect it may have grown on me, but think might be better coming up from day a Saxo VTR than down from 2.0 turbo or bigger car.

I definitely thought they were overhyped as well. They did handle quite well for what they were, but they weren't the revelation they were made out to be by some. A lot of the complaints raised here were points I've made on here a few times and that did seem to cause a few disagreements! But when I got a DC2 straight after a 182, it was clear the Honda was simply better in every single way (as well as being 7 years older).

[donkmeister]

AmyRichardson said:

Another MB of early 2000s vintage, a CLS in my case.

It wasn't consistent in its faults and they were never "big stuff" (M113 & 5g are mechanically sound, and the Airmatic held out well) but it was always stuff that impinge on usability (eg window regulators) or electronic failures to proceed, and always £500+ to set right. And £400 for a plug change - went only to buy them myself, found they were £350 (×16 of), so let MB do it for me...

A 10-year younger diesel 3-Series seemed a characterless thing afterwards but at the time that was *100%* what I was after.

It's annoying but I never begrudge spending a bit on a special-ish car. It's part of the territory when buying cars outside of warranty, and an ubersaloon has more to break! When cars are in that awkward "bit old, but not yet a classic" stage of life it can be hard to justify a big expense, and seeing a string of 1 year owners in the history of a car just makes me want to run!

I had an E500 (M113 but a 7G), and when the SBC pump went I started to need to make those choices. I think it was £1500ish. I'd have rather not needed to spend the money, but at the time I rationalised it by considering what it would cost to get something else comparable... Against a new and comparable car, the value of the E500 would have covered the lease deposit and £1500 would have been 1.5 months lease payments. Against something used I'd have needed to spend several times the £1500 plus the E500 as a trade-in with no guarantee I wasn't buying other problems.

Of course, it was hard to persuade non-car people who were on £150/mo leases that mine was a sensible choice, they didn't really understand why my "old banger" was worth spending that sort of money on.

As an aside, plug change IIRC I bought genuine NGKs for a little more than £10each, so combined with the special cranked spanner for the boots it was £200 and maybe an hour. Airmatic needed a new pump as the drier failed/life-exd so that was IIRC £800. Parking sensors were throwing a fault when I bought the car, was a £100 repair Inc paint. Apart from that, faultless. Just maintenance (not really any more expensive than a Mondeo) and a bit of light restoration over 7 years.

Wish I still had it... Didn't have a need for two V8 saloons.

[fflump]

After running 3 Alfas and 2 Maseratis without any trouble my current Cayenne PHEV is a constant ball ache of electrical and gearbox gremlins. Thankfully under manufacturer warranty but clearly a car too clever for its own food. Will be getting rid before the warranty expires

[XR]

Isn't anyone here old enough to have owned a Dolomite Sprint? Its over 40 years ago and I still find it hard to talk about!

I count myself lucky since then with very little in the way of automotive stress or major expenditure up until a new 2017 R60 Countryman Cooper S All4 which thought it was a 2 stroke and had woefully inadequate rear suspension, BMW claimed the oil consumption was within tolerance and offered to replace the missing oil when the oil warning lamp illuminated which was every 3 months when it would need 3 litres! A shame really as it was otherwise totally reliable for 3 years and 30k miles and the missus loved it.

I have recently been given first refusal on a Touareg V10 TDI project, I'm really tempted but whilst its been interesting reading through this thread I'm not too keen on future participation

[105.4]

LeeM135i said:

Had a Mk2 Renault Clio for a short while in 2001 (ish), bought it for commuting as it was surprisingly comfortable to sit in and small so super easy to find a parking space for it. It was 18 months old when I bought it from a Renault dealer which it went back to multiple times with various electrical gremlins. It then started pumping out blue smoke on start up and they bought it back, in the 3 months I had it I am sure I spent more time in a courtesy car.

I put 46’000 miles on a Mk2 Clio, (a 1.2 RN), and it never missed a beat.

Personally, I’ve always found Renaults to be reliable. Easily the most reliable of the French offerings. So much so that I currently own four of them, (plus two Citroens).

[Mr Tidy]

XR said:

Isn't anyone here old enough to have owned a Dolomite Sprint? Its over 40 years ago and I still find it hard to talk about!

I count myself lucky since then with very little in the way of automotive stress or major expenditure up until a new 2017 R60 Countryman Cooper S All4 which thought it was a 2 stroke and had woefully inadequate rear suspension, BMW claimed the oil consumption was within tolerance and offered to replace the missing oil when the oil warning lamp illuminated which was every 3 months when it would need 3 litres! A shame really as it was otherwise totally reliable for 3 years and 30k miles and the missus loved it.

I have recently been given first refusal on a Touareg V10 TDI project, I'm really tempted but whilst its been interesting reading through this thread I'm not too keen on future participation

I'm old enough, but avoided the misery of blown head-gaskets, etc.

I bought a 1973 P6B Rover 3500S in 1979, but it was a bit of a rust-bucket compared to the Fiat it replaced!

My current BMW 330i makes the Rover V8 seem pedestrian, much like any VW Tiguan, Touareg, etc. van with windows.

Enjoy the lardy V10 while you are here.

[AW111]

Evinrude e-tec outboard motor.

Built when Evinrude had the MBA disease and cut too many corners in design and manufacture.
Plastic oil tank split when out on the water - fortunately there was enough oil below the crack to get me home.
Intermittent "low oil" alarm that causes it to drop into limp mode - not fun when you're offshore.
Non uv-stable plastic casings and cowling that are now brittle as glass and crack for pleasure - it's now covered in aluminium patches I've glued over the cracks.
Dealer-only diagnostic software required to tune the thing - but there are fk-all dealers near me, because most got shot of the Evinrude franchise because of warranty issues.

Latest issue is a failing hydraulic ram - no parts or diagrams available, but they're happy sell me a new unit for a mere $2k USD plus shipping.

It's the last piece of st US machinery I'll be buying - at least the Japanese know how to build stuff that's reliable.

[andyalan10]

Mr Tidy said:

XR said:

Isn't anyone here old enough to have owned a Dolomite Sprint? Its over 40 years ago and I still find it hard to talk about!

I count myself lucky since then with very little in the way of automotive stress or major expenditure up until a new 2017 R60 Countryman Cooper S All4 which thought it was a 2 stroke and had woefully inadequate rear suspension, BMW claimed the oil consumption was within tolerance and offered to replace the missing oil when the oil warning lamp illuminated which was every 3 months when it would need 3 litres! A shame really as it was otherwise totally reliable for 3 years and 30k miles and the missus loved it.

I have recently been given first refusal on a Touareg V10 TDI project, I'm really tempted but whilst its been interesting reading through this thread I'm not too keen on future participation

I'm old enough, but avoided the misery of blown head-gaskets, etc.

I bought a 1973 P6B Rover 3500S in 1979, but it was a bit of a rust-bucket compared to the Fiat it replaced!

My current BMW 330i makes the Rover V8 seem pedestrian, much like any VW Tiguan, Touareg, etc. van with windows.

Enjoy the lardy V10 while you are here.

Mine was bought very cheaply following a head gasket repair by the previous owner. It blew again on the way home. Probably just incorrectly filled, because after removing the head, checking for distortion and re-assembling it was OK. I did 30,000 miles, taking it to 90,000, and it only went when I received a company car allowance dependent on having a newer car. So the opposite of "Glad to see the back of it". The MG Maestro Efi that replaced it, slightly different story. Although when I wrote it off I was able to own a Manta GT/E, which was my second choice car at the time. OK so I'm quite old...

[Sticks.]

I quite liked my efi Maestro, wish I'd kept it longer. Glad to see the back of its replacement, XR31 cab. A backward step in every way, nothing nice about it.

M235i. wanted another (5th) BMW and believed the hype. Good engine, looked good, appalling handling/grip and ride, cheap interior, infuriating iDrive.

[Deranged Rover]

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.

If you look back, you'll see I did lambast my old Range Rover due to the engine and gearbox problems.

Amusingly, however, said engine was made by BMW and the gearbox by ZF - both German!

[Jules Winfield]

Two stick out for me:

1. Had an R50 Mini Cooper, and really liked it. Replaced it with a Golf, and thought no more about Minis. Saw the replacement (2006-2012?) Mini on display an airport a few years later, really liked it (I could only see the outside), and went for a test drive a few weeks later once I was home. I ended up ordering one. It was hateful. The Golf was a DSG, which was brilliant, but the Mini was a manual and in the two years I'd driven the Golf, I really got used to the automatic gearbox. The Mini was also underpowered and the ergonomics of the heating controls were a nightmare. What finally made me want to get rid was the reliability. First, I had an intermittent warning light for the brakes. Over the course of six weeks, the car went back to the dealer five times to try and fix it. Each time they'd tell me they'd fixed it, only for it to return. On one occasion, I got two minutes down the road and it came back on. Next, I had a load of electrical things fail, including the fuel gauge and the speedometer. I phoned the BMW recovery service, as I didn't think it was safe to drive, and they refused to come out and help me. So I had to drive over to the dealer in convoy with someone else, hoping that nothing else would go wrong. Finally, I went outside one day, only to find that the driver's window had opened itself overnight during a frost, and the inside was drenched.

2. Volvo XC40. I had been driving a C205 coupe, but it was uncomfortable on longer drives, so I wanted something with more room. I test drove an XC40 and really liked it, so I ordered one. The Mercedes may have been uncomfortable, but it was quiet and refined. In contrast, my drive home in the Volvo felt like I was driving with all the windows open over a road that hadn't been resurfaced in 50 years. Really noisy. I soon found it was really unrefined as well. The gearbox and engine seemed to have difficulties talking to each other. Gear changes in the lower gears (automatic box) were really rough - it was like I was driving a manual again and I had no clutch control. The ergonomics were atrocious - you had to touch the screen for 99% of functions, including the temperature and media controls. I ended up selling it back to the supplying dealer after a grand total of seven weeks' ownership, losing around £10K in the process.

[Mr Tidy]

Deranged Rover said:

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.

If you look back, you'll see I did lambast my old Range Rover due to the engine and gearbox problems.

Amusingly, however, said engine was made by BMW and the gearbox by ZF - both German!

My BMW Z4 was made in the US, albeit with a German engine and ZF gearbox and it has been great!

Maybe LRs had other issues, like catching fire in car parks.

[AW111]

Mr Tidy said:

My BMW Z4 was made in the US, albeit with a German engine and ZF gearbox and it has been great!

Maybe LRs had other issues, like catching fire in car parks.

If it self-immolates, you don't need to get rid of it.

[Marc p]

I’ve had many cars, but luckily, only ever had one that I was joyous to see the back of. That car was my 2015 E220d, although it never broke down (bar a couple of tire blowouts), it was a truly horrible car, the two worst issues I remember were the incredibly terrible autobox (which was almost dangerous) and the bizarre ability to be both overly firm and ‘crashy’ yet also have ‘barge like’ suspension in the corners.

[Rob 131 Sport]

Marc p said:

I’ve had many cars, but luckily, only ever had one that I was joyous to see the back of. That car was my 2015 E220d, although it never broke down (bar a couple of tire blowouts), it was a truly horrible car, the two worst issues I remember were the incredibly terrible autobox (which was almost dangerous) and the bizarre ability to be both overly firm and ‘crashy’ yet also have ‘barge like’ suspension in the corners.

I liked my 2013 E250 AMG line although would concede the auto box and ultimately handling were not the best. However that interior (mine had the dark wood) and its ability to waft through hundreds of miles on jaunts to southern Europe more than made up for it.

You must of had some great cars if an E Class hits such a list. Try owning a Rover 827 Vitesse and you would know what utter automotive misery is.

[Gordon Hill]

For me the main reasons to get rid of a car, in descending order are horrendous reliability, some cars that I've owned weren't just unreliable, they were possessed, stupid niggles and faults that although they don't stop it from proceeding refuse to be fixed, dreadful ride quality, deafening noise when going anything above 3000 rpm, general unrefinement to the point where you get toothache above 30mph all of which make for a pretty unpleasant ownership experience.