Car woes!

[shouldbeinbed]

Second @fossyant's Nissan recommendation. Bombproof reliable and decent on fuel. My one gripe is my Qashqai is hard on tyres.

I've had lots of Golfs over the years and they've always been solid trustworthy cars too.

 

[avsd]

Only buy a diesel if you are doing big miles (200+) every week otherwise choose a petrol. Brandane's Toyota Corolla E12 version is a good bet.

 

[kurt909]

Another vote for golf here.

Came from a corsa c to mk5 golf TDI

Unbelievably reliable

 

[Brandane]

Re Nissans, don't get an X-Trail, based on my brothers experience. He bought it new, and when it was just out of warranty (3 years) the fuel pump AND turbo (diesel) needed replaced at a cost of over £1600. He was told it is a common fault.

 

[Brandane]

Nope, no issues with water leaks inside. Car is as it should be. Surely it would just a sill?

Water was coming through from the interior door panels. Cure involved removing the door panel, behind which is another panel holding the electric window motor (that is why it got complicated on later models, especially back doors). The second panel had to come off and then be re-sealed with non hardening sealant.
I found this out thanks to a Haynes manual and VW dealers total failure to fix the cause of the leak despite repeated visits, which was inconvenient and frustrating. It is a time consuming job which they couldn't be bothered doing properly. Living on the west coast of Scotland, you don't want water leaks!

 

[biggs682]

another vote for one of the Jap brands ideally a Toyota , try and get one with official service history

 

[akb]

Im a Ford Focus man me. I had a 1.8 Petrol estate on a 51 plate and it served me really well. Great car for its age, very practical for its size (we took 2 x dogs, 10month old camping it it) Sucked up the 110K miles with only minor issues.

New job means extra miles, 400 miles / week. Im now on a 1.6 TDCi Sport Hatch now and I love it; not just for the economy (averaging 60mph / 30 tax p/a) but for the comfort and power. Did look at a number of Golfs but got more bang for buck with a Ford.

 

[Crankarm]

How come this thread is in General Cycling? What has it got to do with cycling anyway?

 

[Bryony]

My OH has a skoda octavia estate it's 53 plate and done over 270k miles and still going strong! Never had a prob with it!

 

[AndyWilliams]

In all honestly I dont thing an Japanese car like Avensis, Corolla, Primera, Almera etc you can go wrong with. I like the look of them just never like the feel when driving them.
I once hired a 2004 Avensis 1.8 and it was a wonderful car for the 500 miles I needed to do.

 

[AndyWilliams]

How come this thread is in General Cycling? What has it got to do with cycling anyway?

You can put your bike in/on a car

 

[paul04]

So sometimes I have to ditch the bike and use my car for the commute. But the Vauxhall Corsa I have now is unbelievably crap.

I've had it for 4 years, has 50k on the clock, 56 plate. has been very very well serviced, but things keep going wrong with it. Just in the last year it's needed a Lambda sensor, Crankshaft position sensor, crankshaft oil seal, wiper motor, wiper linkage, drive belt and tensioner, mass air flow sensor, drop links and track rod ends. Luckily I am able to fix it myself, but it's getting ridiculous. Loads of design faults in the engine bay, that I have noticed over time .

Anyone ever had and can recommend a reliable car?

The Astra I had for 5 years before that was not much better.

I've had 3 corsa's and never had any trouble with them,
My son had a corsa c, and had to replace a couple of sensor's, and a couple of relays, and the drop links (drop links are a weakness with them)

 

[CopperCyclist]

German or Japanese.

With Volvo as an exception to the rule

 

[Hill Wimp]

Honda Jazz

Mine is a 1.4 on an 04 plate with 55,000 miles on the clock. Only thing i have had to replace was the battery and the AA man that came out to collect me said i was the first Honda Jazz he had ever been called out to and he had been working for the AA for 20 years.

It's just come 2nd and 3rd ( hybrid and normal ) in the Which magazine top small cars after being number 1 for the last goodness knows how many years.

I can get two bikes in the back and a lot of luggage too, ask @hopless500 as we travelled down to the New Forest earlier this year to meet up with another CC pal.

I'm retiring in 4 years and will certainly get another one when this one needs to be replaced.

 

[AndyWilliams]

German or Japanese.

With Volvo as an exception to the rule

If you can afford the fuel bill on a 850 or V70 they are great cars, the T5-R is amazing. 2.0/2.5 ate thirsty but reliable.
Not need on the older smaller models although the S40 1.8 or diesel for a daily hack is OK. The new shapes are great.