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Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !! (Read 277868 times)

andy_e

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#1150 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
February 28, 2023, 09:19:39 am
Van is off the road yet again. Probably another fuel injector needing replaced. However, I'm now thinking whether it's time to move on and get a new vehicle, this Caddy is by far the most unreliable and costly vehicle I've ever owned. I'm tempted by a SWB Transporter, or similar size. Anyone got any beta on models to go for/avoid? Ta!

SA Chris

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#1151 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
February 28, 2023, 09:45:49 am
Ours is a SWB 58 plate 1.9l Diesel T5 and it's been almost completely hassle free in that time (one glitch with immobiliser). It's only had 80k miles in that time though.

andy_e

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#1152 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
February 28, 2023, 09:47:17 am
Yeah I'd love something with that old 1.9 engine that lasted forever. The replacement 1.6 I'm convinced is made of crepe paper stuck together with masking tape.

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#1153 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
February 28, 2023, 09:50:33 am
That's a bit unfair. It's probably load bearing cardboard...

tommytwotone

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#1154 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
February 28, 2023, 09:53:02 am
Don't know if it's the same engine, but the early 2000s-era VW 1.9 TDi was legendary for reliability. The Passats of that generation are good for spaceship mileage, not uncommon to see them still on eBay with 200k+!

andy_e

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#1155 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
February 28, 2023, 09:59:12 am
Yep, if anyone is selling an estate-shaped shed with a 1.9tdi, hit me up  :lol:

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#1156 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
February 28, 2023, 10:13:36 am
I had an early 2000's 1.9tdi passat, it was fucking great. Never broke in over 150k miles I did in it, had done almost 300k by the time it died (suspension)

Paul B

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#1157 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
February 28, 2023, 02:28:11 pm
One of the operatives on a construction site I'm working on has an '04 Passat estate complete with taxi-driver beaded seats and a makeshift single platform bed in the rear. I haven't asked mileage but I'll see if I can find out tomorrow. I'm assuming it won't be small.

I know the 2.0TDi was never quite as good but TTT and I were discussing an Audi A4 Avant recently that was the 170bhp S-line and it looked immaculate. I can't remember the mileage but I think it was just over 110k miles and it was around £2,400. It's now gone of course.

I've also just been sat in Tebay services, eating a pie, staring at the same era RS4 which made me jump straight back onto Autotrader. If someone can keep the RS4 on the road then surely an 2.0TDI engine will be fine and will have had an easier life by far.

SA Chris

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#1158 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
February 28, 2023, 03:24:36 pm
Never broke in over 150k miles I did in it, had done almost 300k by the time it died (suspension)

I suspect that rust will claim ours first, downside of living so close to the sea, and it always being parked on shady side of house.

andy_e

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#1159 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
March 03, 2023, 09:10:26 am
Van is off the road yet again. Probably another fuel injector needing replaced.

Apparently it was an injector clamp bolt that had stretched over the life of the vehicle. A £3 part. Jolly good...

Steve R

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#1160 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
March 03, 2023, 11:03:56 am
I had an early 2000's 1.9tdi passat, it was fucking great. Never broke in over 150k miles I did in it, had done almost 300k by the time it died (suspension)

Agreed, best car I've ever had. '99 1.9tdi golf I had before it was similarly good.  This vintage of VAG diesels must represent some sort of tri-parameter optimum for production cars in terms of economy, performance and reliability.    Cars have just been getting worse since as far as I can tell.  Not entirely sure why but a lot to do with reducing emissions presumably.  And increasingly sophisticated and fragile (and pointless) electronics.

Bradders

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#1161 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
March 03, 2023, 11:44:47 am
fragile (and pointless) electronics.

It's madness isn't it. Electric bootlids and electric seats are two particular bug bears of mine in terms of utterly pointless technology.

SA Chris

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#1162 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
March 03, 2023, 12:02:35 pm
Really annoyed by unnecessarily electrifying and motorising things that can go wrong. We got van from new, and avoided anything like electric windows as added cost that might break down; I have 2 functioning hands.
Meanwhile, very few cars have things like heated windscreens which are a real benefit.

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#1163 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
March 03, 2023, 12:12:28 pm
I’ve been caught out by an electric boot release before. Old Nissan Primera, flat battery, no big problem I’ll crack out the jump leads. Oh, except they are in the boot underneath the spare tire, and the boot won’t open because it’s an electronic release.

Cue about 30 mins on intense physical exercise and swearing as I crawl into the boot via the back seats, and in a scene from a bad episode of the crystal maze, have to lift up the panel on the bottom of the boot whilst lying on top it, remove a spare tyre and retrieve the jump leads.

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#1164 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
March 03, 2023, 12:16:21 pm
You can blame Ford for most vehicles not having heated windscreens.

Although I can confirm that heated windscreens break eventually. Mine progressively lost its ability to heat most sections of the front and rear windscreens this winter.

I'm not sure whether the screen itself needs replacing or whether it's something that I can fix myself with 5 minutes and a soldering iron.

Or 5 minutes to do the actual job, plus 2 hours of swearing while you dismantle most of the car to get access to the 5 minute job.

SA Chris

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#1165 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
March 03, 2023, 12:40:51 pm
Well, not really, a patent on anything that is seen as improving safety is only limited and expired years ago. It's available on other cars but I believe only if ordered at time of buying the car new, not as a standard like the "climate pack" on some Ford models.

We have our second Focus with it, on the first one it was still working fine when the engine started giving out and we sold it (so must have been at least 8 years old), the second one is now 9 years old and a 2 " strip down the middle of the window has stopped defrosting. If it died, we might at that time get a large stone chip in the windscreen and get it replaced :)   

tommytwotone

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#1166 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
March 03, 2023, 02:37:51 pm
I’ve been caught out by an electric boot release before. Old Nissan Primera, flat battery, no big problem I’ll crack out the jump leads. Oh, except they are in the boot underneath the spare tire, and the boot won’t open because it’s an electronic release.

Cue about 30 mins on intense physical exercise and swearing as I crawl into the boot via the back seats, and in a scene from a bad episode of the crystal maze, have to lift up the panel on the bottom of the boot whilst lying on top it, remove a spare tyre and retrieve the jump leads.

I had exactly the same with my old Saab during lockdown when the battery drained through lack of use, but I had the added motivation of the alarm blaring at full blast to add to the fun of executing similar manoeuvres to get into boot for the jump leads!

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#1167 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
March 03, 2023, 03:29:06 pm
My old VW Passat estate had an electronic handbrake. Which failed, of course. An invention of an utter wanker. Perhaps literally, to save his hand.

tommytwotone

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#1168 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
March 03, 2023, 05:49:46 pm
We have just invested in a new-ish Leon and the electric handbrake thing annoys me so much. The manual handbrake is/was not a problem that needed to be solved!

Paul B

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#1169 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
March 03, 2023, 06:51:35 pm
Autohold can be pretty nice though?

tommytwotone

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#1170 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
March 03, 2023, 07:00:44 pm
That's the one element of it that's a vague positive, but a) it's not like I can't do a hill start and b) I've found it just causes me problems when I switch back to the Shed Mini and forget it doesn't have it!

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#1171 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
March 03, 2023, 07:23:10 pm
Autohold can be pretty nice though?

My Expert van has 'autohold' without having a crap push-button electronic handbrake designed to malfunction when water gets into the caliper. It's a (seemingly... give it another 5 years) great design - manual handbrake with all the benefits of an autohold. Making hillstarts piss for those muppets that need it while still allowing handbrake turns in empty carparks.

Paul B

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#1172 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
March 03, 2023, 07:32:35 pm
As had my Fiats from a long time ago too (Punto HGT x 2). They didn't break on those, unlike most other things.

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#1173 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
April 21, 2023, 02:08:02 pm
I'll be in the market for something over the summer as the van needs a lot of welding doing which is too much to justify. Going to go back to a car, and need something which can fit bouldering pads in and also a labrador. In practice I won't have a problem with pads in the boot and labrador on the back seat.

So, first question: what cars does a Moon Saturn fit in/ not fit in? I have one Saturn and an Ocun Dominator, which I doubt would be an issue. I'm thinking the usual estates (skoda octavia, ford focus etc) but also smaller things if they happen to have a cavernous boot. I could also flog the Saturn and get another normal sized pad, but I do like having a big one.

Any advice or thoughts appreciated.

Paul B

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#1174 Re: Cars, Cars, Fucking CARS !!
April 21, 2023, 02:27:28 pm
I don't think you'll beat the practicality of the boot in an Octavia. Depends how old you want to go but the Civics had a cavernous boot.

 

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