Car woes!

[CopperBrompton]

German or Japanese.

This. I've had two cars for a decent length of time that have proven utterly reliable, one was a Mazda (MX-5), the other a Merc (SLK). Neither would win any prizes for fuel economy, but both great fun. Go for a Merc if you plan to drive long distances - they are the most comfortable cars for crossing countries (and I've done that in a lot of cars over the years).

 

[gbb]

I've had 3 corsa's and ive 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)

Guy at work has an A4, probably a 55 plate..the problems he had with It beggared belief. It settled now TBF.
I have a 2010 Astra SRI, love it, its done 70k, AFAIK, its never had any problems (according to the paperworkt hat came with it). I did have a Vectra with sensor problems as mentioned above, shame because I liked that car.
I had a 57 plate Focus...could never stop water building up in the spark plug wells...it nearly cost me a fortune when it siezed a plug.
Another guy at work has a 4 Motion Golf, good car, but when it goes wrong (turbo for instance) hes winced at the cost.
My FIL has had two Citroens from new, a C3 and a C4...swears by them, yet I'm not sure about their reputation.
Pauls post confirms what we all really know, there are gooduns and badduns with every (well most) makes.

 

[AndyWilliams]

This. I've had two cars for a decent length of time that have proven utterly reliable, one was a Mazda (MX-5), the other a Merc (SLK). Neither would win any prizes for fuel economy, but both great fun. Go for a Merc if you plan to drive long distances - they are the most comfortable cars for crossing countries (and I've done that in a lot of cars over the years).

I like these C230 Estate, bike in the back, plenty of room.

 

[KneesUp]

This. I've had two cars for a decent length of time that have proven utterly reliable, one was a Mazda (MX-5), the other a Merc (SLK). Neither would win any prizes for fuel economy, but both great fun. Go for a Merc if you plan to drive long distances - they are the most comfortable cars for crossing countries (and I've done that in a lot of cars over the years).

For all my complaints about Fiat, I did 103,000 miles in an Alfa Romeo and nothing broke and it only failed to proceed once, and that was my fault. The new cambelt was a bit of a wallet emptier though.

 

[AndyWilliams]

Guy at work has an A4, probably a 55 plate..the problems he had with It beggared belief. It settled now TBF.
I have a 2010 Astra SRI, love it, its done 70k, AFAIK, its never had any problems (according to the paperworkt hat came with it). I did have a Vectra with sensor problems as mentioned above, shame because I liked that car.
I had a 57 plate Focus...could never stop water building up in the spark plug wells...it nearly cost me a fortune when it siezed a plug.
Another guy at work has a 4 Motion Golf, good car, but when it goes wrong (turbo for instance) hes winced at the cost.
My FIL has had two Citroens from new, a C3 and a C4...swears by them, yet I'm not sure about their reputation.
Pauls post confirms what we all really know, there are gooduns and badduns with every (well most) makes.

Best VAG's are before 2004 like the Passats/A4/Golfs/Polo I reckon, 1.8 20v and the TDi's. After 2004/5 they suffer with stupid unnecessary faults.

Shame to hear about the Focus, thought they were ok.

Yep - good and bad in all. Guess we stand by what's been good to us.

 

[CopperBrompton]

I did 103,000 miles in an Alfa Romeo and nothing broke

But if you had the reliable one, there's no sense in the OP buying any of the others.

 

[MarkF]

Im a Ford Focus man me..

I asked my local mechanic to recommend a cheap reliable car, he said a petrol focus, I bought one. He reckons they are way better engineered and built than Golfs.

 

[KneesUp]

I have to say I've never had an absolute lemon - modern cars are pretty sound aren't they? The Fiat rusted to bits and had an interior made of polystyrene but apart from the occasional trip into limp home mode which reset if you stopped the engine and restarted it, it was reliable. I've had a few Fords, a Vauxhall, an Alfa Romeo, a Saab, a Seat and a Citroen. None of them have ever left me stranded or given me an unexpectedly large bill (the cambelt on the Alfa was £1,000 with a service, but I had a few other bits done too) I've owned cars for 14 years and use them quite a lot, although less now than I used to. Am I just lucky?

 

[speccy1]

Best VAG's are before 2004 like the Passats/A4/Golfs/Polo I reckon, 1.8 20v and the TDi's. After 2004/5 they suffer with stupid unnecessary faults.

Shame to hear about the Focus, thought they were ok.

Yep - good and bad in all. Guess we stand by what's been good to us.

I`ve got a 2003 Golf R32, it`s way too thirsty to use every day but is extremely reliable. I also only use it during the summer months (it is a toy, we must have them haha!), and even when its been locked away in the garage over the winter it starts without fault, every year.

As a workhorse car I have got a 2001 Astra 2.0 diesel. My bikes fit perfectly in the back without taking the wheels off. That`s where the good things to say about it run out. It`s UNRELIABLE, UN-ECONOMICAL, SOUNDS LIKE A TRACTOR, AND HASN`T HAD A TROUBLE FREE WEEK IN THE 12 MONTHS THAT I`VE OWNED IT.

That`s my verdict......................

 

[AndyWilliams]

KIA are good. Really.

 

[screenman]

I asked my local mechanic to recommend a cheap reliable car, he said a petrol focus, I bought one. He reckons they are way better engineered and built than Golfs.

He has never seen or worked on a Golf then. There are mechanics and there are mechanics.

43 years of motor trade behind me, so I speak with some professional experience. Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, Seat, Citreon, Skoda, Mazda, and the list goes on. Not many bad cars out there nowadays, but you can still get stuck with a lemon.

 

[Piemaster]

Car choice for me has been partly a 'heart' decision rather than buying the mobile equivalent of a fridge.My Alfa has been at a local independent for over a week now (I've been on holiday), as with the OP it's started getting expensive over the last couple of years and I've probably spent as much on it as it's worth. I've started looking for a replacement (Mrs. Pm wants an automatic anyway)
BUT
I've driven a variety of hire cars over the last couple of years and still not come across anything as nice to drive as the Alfa. They are mostly ok. Even an upgrade to a BMW M525 was 'meh' after a couple of hours on a motorway. Vauxhalls are quite nice to drive, unless they have a stupid electronic handbrake. Fords are pleasant. Kias surprisingly good. Golfs didn't impress, seemed a bit cheap inside in comparison, even though they aren't. Citroens give me backache. Oh, and the last one a Hyundai i30 was one of the nicest yet.
All much of a muchness really.
@screenman 43 years, you must have seen a massive difference over that time with reliability

 

[KneesUp]

Car choice for me has been partly a 'heart' decision rather than buying the mobile equivalent of a fridge.My Alfa has been at a local independent for over a week now (I've been on holiday), as with the OP it's started getting expensive over the last couple of years and I've probably spent as much on it as it's worth. I've started looking for a replacement (Mrs. Pm wants an automatic anyway)
BUT
I've driven a variety of hire cars over the last couple of years and still not come across anything as nice to drive as the Alfa. They are mostly ok. Even an upgrade to a BMW M525 was 'meh' after a couple of hours on a motorway. Vauxhalls are quite nice to drive, unless they have a stupid electronic handbrake. Fords are pleasant. Kias surprisingly good. Golfs didn't impress, seemed a bit cheap inside in comparison, even though they aren't. Citroens give me backache. Oh, and the last one a Hyundai i30 was one of the nicest yet.
All much of a muchness really.
@screenman 43 years, you must have seen a massive difference over that time with reliability

What Alfa is it and what are the symptoms, out of interest?

 

[Piemaster]

What Alfa is it and what are the symptoms, out of interest?

156. Had intermittent engine warning light on for a couple of weeks,but never stayed on long enough to get it to the garage and plug it in (till the last time anyway). Was diagnosed as a coil pack as there was an occasional misfire too and changed but happened again a week later. Now believed to be a sticky injector. Independent is sending them off for cleaning but it is taking awhile,
He actually wants it done asap taking up one of his 2 lifts as inlet manifold has to be removed to get at injectors, but engine has to be shifted a bit to get the manifold out so he now can't free up his lift until the injectors come back from cleaning. New ones are £ He'd only just got shot of a TVR wedge that had been on the same lift for a couple of weeks too.
Very unfortunate its been a bugger to diagnose.

 

[gbb]

156. Had intermittent engine warning light on for a couple of weeks,but never stayed on long enough to get it to the garage and plug it in (till the last time anyway). Was diagnosed as a coil pack as there was an occasional misfire too and changed but happened again a week later. Now believed to be a sticky injector. Independent is sending them off for cleaning but it is taking awhile,
He actually wants it done asap taking up one of his 2 lifts as inlet manifold has to be removed to get at injectors, but engine has to be shifted a bit to get the manifold out so he now can't free up his lift until the injectors come back from cleaning. New ones are £ He'd only just got shot of a TVR wedge that had been on the same lift for a couple of weeks too.
Very unfortunate its been a bugger to diagnose.

One of the only (maybe THE only) car I fell in love woth at first sight was a 156 high spec summat or other..drop dead gorgeous Iinside, like a space ship, chrome bezels and red and black trim...stunning..
Then common sense took hold....