Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[peppiB]

Accosted by a couple of guys when I parked the landcrab outside the pub at lunchtime today, both wishing their cars were as reliable. One guy has had a brand new car for 2 weeks (can't remember the make) and it has already been back to the dealers 4 times for repairs.

The other drives a £35000 when new BMW. Recently he took it to the dealer and they charged him an eye watering £400, yes, £400, just to plug in the diagnostics.

I will definitely stick with my oldies, although recently the crab has taken a dislike to being at the pub. She will start anywhere at any time EXCEPT outside that pub on a Sunday. Originally I just had to lift the bonnet, look and she would start, but for the past 2 weeks I have actually had to take the plugs out, wipe them (although today they were bone dry - and the right colour) replace and she fires first touch. Temperamental female!

[goneps]

I'd suggest the above says more about the dubious joys of owning a German car. In my opinion their reputation for reliability is grossly overrated. They seem to require replacement of parts such as power window mechanisms at mileages that would be completely unacceptable for a Japanese vehicle, and the cost of parts and maintaining them is exorbitant.

My 'modern' is a fifteen-year-old Corolla. All it ever needs is the oil and filter changed and brakes checked every three years (thanks to modest mileage). The oil comes out as clean as on the day it went in, and the level never drops. Fluids are checked from time to time, but never need replenishing, and I've never had the plugs out. It's peppy, quiet, comfortable, climate-controlled and utterly reliable—and that, these days, is all I need from a daily driver.

Richard

[emmerson]

Aside from all of the above, I couldn't afford the £1100 my mate pays to insure his modern, plus £500+ for road tax, and £500 servicing every year.
That's £40 a week before he drives it!
I'm glad I'm poor.

[MikeEdwards]

My previous daily was an Audi coupe quattro - I took it from 76k to 272k without a serious problem. The only time it let me down was something obscure, but it was only a mile from home. Other than that, the main reason I kept it was because it wouldn't die. Finally the clutch went (for the second time, first was at 130k) in the middle of winter, I went to trade it in for a newer car but, although I went ahead with the newer car, I kept the coupe for my next project.

That said, it was a car from the eighties and didn't have complex stuff like an ECU. I hear that modern Audis need to be plugged into the diagnostic computer just to wind the back brake calipers back in to fit new pads. However, you can get a basic software package to go on an old laptop for free, or £70-odd for the full version, so it's not all doom.

[Keith D]

My wife and I have just returned home from a six week tour of Holland, Germany, Czech Republic and Austria with a German couple, friends of ours. We travelled in his 2001 Audi A4 station wagon with 220,000 kms on the clock. We travelled 4500km at autobahn speeds and the car ran like a sewing machine! Six cylinder, 2.5 litre turbo diesel that seemed to run forever on a tank full of fuel and did so very quietly. It has actually changed my view of diesels completely. I've returned home and bought a diesel 4 x 4, something I swore I'd never do!

Keith

[Dipster]

Well I have just, yesterday, returned from a trip to Madrid. I travelled, as a passenger, in a friend`s brand new E class Merc. It was one of the most uncomfortable trips I have made since I used to travel in BMW 5s and X5s.

The Merc is so plasticky inside with what I found to be hard, uncomfortable seating that is, it appears, made for midgets. I am but 5`9" and 65 kilos but I felt cramped. Not to mention the suspension that kept crashing over bumps on the road that I could not see.

I will stick to my `98 Defender. It rides like a limo in comparison. No doubt many, perhaps most, will disagree but that is my experience.

[baconsdozen]

I'll stick to my Fairway taxi probably 500,000 miles (the clock packed in at 420,000). The other day I had to do two hundred odd miles,when I arrived the gearbox started to lose 1st and 2nd gears.I had no choice but to chance the journey back,keeping to about 50 and avoiding too many stops.
The following morning much to my surprise it all seemed OK again.Do you think I could claim on the warranty?.
My merc 307D clocked up about the same mileage before the rot got too much.Almost perpetual motion.
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Thirty years selling imperial hand tools for old machinery(Now happily retired).

[Ashley]

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/classic-car-owner-dreaming-of-soulless-reliable-modern-car-20160727111455

[peter scott]

I don't agree that old cars are unreliable but they can certainly be uncomfortable. The rear seats in my SS are quite comfortable but with fixed back rests of the fronts are far too upright for my liking. Consequently 200 miles is about my limit for daily driving. In my modern that would be 600 miles.

Peter
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https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[Rick]

[badhuis]

Comfortable seats in a modern car?
My father (89) wanted a more comfortable car a few years ago, he bought a Renault Vel Satis (big French car --> supreme comfort was the thinking).
Last week we went for a drive in my Jaguar 420 and he commented how much more comfortable that is compared to his Renault.
I have to agree, modern cars are not comfortable at all. Much too harsh. Even the Triumph 2000 Mk1 I drove years ago was much more comfortable compared to any modern car.
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a car stops being fun when it becomes an investment

[ukdave2002]

[MikeEdwards]

Yes, I think it was 81/X where vehicles started getting age-appropriate plates. But there are still some anomalies around - there was an N-prefix Audi coupe around for a while - Type 85 Audi coupe, the one with a boot instead of a tailgate, where the newer model came out in 89/G or possibly F plates.

[alanb]

The most comfortable car I ever owned was my Citroen Xantia with its comfortable seats that adjusted back & forth up & down tilt & recline with lumber support & with ample space, with its 2.1tubo Diesel engine and self levelling suspension it was like you were wafted along on a cushion of air, Or perhaps that should be hydrogen gas, I once did Glasgow and back in a day, which I don't think I fancy in my Merc, but then the fact I'm 20 odd years older may have something to do with it. But then with all its lack of modern technology and labour saving devices my little Morris 8 still puts the biggest smile on my face.
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old tourer


Morris 8 two seater

[Keith D]

My vintage Chrysler and Morris Cowley are both rather uncomfortable with their fixed front bench seat. I drive both with a hard cushion in the small of my back and even then I don't relish driving too far in either.
My two Austins are both vey comfortable, something my wife agrees with. (Obviously Herbert was more concerned with comfort than he was with brakes!) The 1932 Seven seats (long wheelbase box sedan), suit my back exactly! When I use the A40 for carrying older people from the local retirement home, they are all surprised at how comfortable and smooth the car is.
My moderns, an '04 Magna and an '07 Rexton 4 x 4 are both very comfortable thank you!

Keith