Brand Loyalty

[richardmorris]

I've always thought we were a Citroen family - parent's history since I was born is Renault 4, Datsun 120y ( grandad died and left them the car), dyane '77, dyane '79, visa x reg, gsa a reg, bx c reg, bx e reg, bx g reg, box k reg, zx m reg, Laguna r reg, xantia v reg, c4 coupe 55 reg, c3 60 reg - and now a DS4 65 reg

. I've always had a Citroen 2cv to drive and am trying to buy a traction. My sister on the other hand seems to have gone all Renault- Megane scenic and now a captur.

 

I do remember that he was deciding on whether to get the first bx - a silver blue 19rd or the fiat regatta ( don't know which, did they do diesel?) in 1985. He asked us which we'd like - I said the fiat, he said he's ordered the bx!

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Outside at the moment are 3 Mercs, 2 BMWs, 1 Land Rover, 1Seat, 1 Fiat and 1 Peugeot. So obviously I consider myself a Ford man !

Thinking about it the last Ford I owned was a Galaxy in 2005, as that's really a Volkswagen it would have to go back to 1998 and a 4 headed monster Granada, or does the current Freelander count as a Ford? It's a Ford platform and a Mondeo engine, which is actually a PSA engine of course- how can anybody be loyal to anything when all cars a so feckin inbred these days?

[fraser.innes.3]

For some fucked up reason I keep buying Renaults

Me to. 13 at last count. Other makes = 4.

 

Fuck me, that means that in 32 years of driving I've only had 17 cars. D-minus, must try harder.

 

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[crapcarcollector]

Alfa Romeo.

 

Because

 

 

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[Tamworthbay]

Alfa Romeo.

Because

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? Because? Because it's broke down and there is a big queue?

 

 

 

Only joking, I love alfas and will get one when I have the space and money for a nice one.

[crapcarcollector]

? Because? Because it's broke down and there is a big queue?

 

 

 

Only joking, I love alfas and will get one when I have the space and money for a nice one.

To be fair, it was bought broken!

 

 

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[plasticvandan]

Mmm,out of c 50 cars,36 were Reliants. So ratio wise I'm pretty up there.6 were Austin,3 Morris,2 Fiat,2 Trabant,1 Citroen,1 VAG,1 Bond.pleasantly Ford free.

[Jerzy Woking]

No brand loyalty as such, but returned to owning a Saab after a 15 year sabbatical from my last one. And find i like the 9-5's a lot.

 

No loyalty to bikes either - not just brands but styles too - had mopeds, Supermoto's,  sports bikes, enduro's, naked bikes in singles, twins, triples, fours and a six. Love them all - two wheels and an engine suits me

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

I'm not necessarily brand-loyal, but I do like a certain type of car with a fairly narrow set of attributes. I like smooth riding, luxurious 'feel good' cars, which really rules out a vast swathe of models and marques. I am rarely attracted to German cars; they're austere, excessively functional and leave me emotionally cold in the main. I don't like Scandinavian/Ikea style furniture or the modern 'Contemporary' look for the same reason and though I can admire modernist architecture when it is well done, I would never choose to live in one.

 

Consequently I adore the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow and the same instinct draws me to Jaguars and American cars. I find Citroens interesting - fascinating even, but I have never particularly wanted to own one. But I would love a 604: I'm not sure that makes any sense, but I am not talking sense I am talking about feel.

 

A car has to make me feel something for me to want it. My Jag achieves that - as strangely do a number of BL era cars. I must be tuned in to them somehow, but they were cars which were often designed with considerable flair even if they were not always executed very well - just look at the detailing on the Rover P6. I could stare at a Princess for a long time and enjoy it. But I would never do that with a Cavalier or a Cortina. Bizarrely though I love the Mk 2 Granada and find everything about it pleasing. I can't reconcile that!

[dollywobbler]

I like Citroens, but only up to a point. Any that are too close to Peugeot DNA I just don't much get. A bit of Pug is ok, even for the better in some ways, but boring suspension is a serious turn off. It's why I've never owned a ZX. Modern Citroens don't interest me at all, and PSA have seriously destroyed any loyalty with this DS bollocks.

 

I do think variety is good. I'm grateful to those who really get into one particular car, because it can form great clubs and groups. Myself? I like to try all of the things.

[AMC Rebel]

Alfa Romeo.

 

Because

 

Is that Chatsworth?

[catsinthewelder]

I tend to buy European brands that aren't German so apart from 2 VW's I was bullied into (the T2 was good and the mk3 Golf GTI shit).  I've had 2x Fiat, 3x Peugeot, 3x Renault, 2x Citroen 2x BMC/BL 1x Land Rover, 2x Vauxhall and 1x Nissan.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

No loyalty here. Had a fair mix of brands over the years and can usually find something different  I like about a brand. I don't quite subscribe to the "all moderns are the same" school of thought, most of them you can still feel some brand DNA. Maybe with the exception of anything VAG.

 

I think I have the warmest feelings for French cars which really surprised me. I've yet to own anything German which also surprises me as BMW featured heavily on my radar as a teenager. Would like an e39 5 series or e38 7 series. To my shame I'm one of the two people in the world who likes the e60 5 series (the other being Chris Bangle)

 

If I had to buy a brand new car tomorrow I'd be found looking at a Citroën cactus or a Dacia Duster

[HMC]

I have a habit of buying several of the same make one after the other, having my own Little one make car display on my drive, getting bored and then repeating the process ( untill I'm bored once more) last year it was Fords ( Ka-granada-escort-transit-granada) at the beginning of the year Alfas ( 166-GTV-155) In an attempt to hold back boredom I've not got 2 of the same make at present, nor 2 of the same body style. If this sounds a bit mental then your on the money.

[For Fiats Sake]

I was brought up with Massey Fergusons and Rovers.  My first car was my dads SD1, then a works Maestro van, a C90 (Heartbeat stylee with all the fairings) then a Fiat Panda.  A Maestro Clubman, Fiat Uno, Golf mk2, Fiat cinquecento, Pug 205, Corsa b works car, Toyota Yaris mk1, Hyundai i20, Fiat 500, Fiat Panda, Fiat Panda, Fiat Panda, Fiat Panda, Fiat Panda, Fiat Panda, Fiat Panda, Maestro LX, Fiat Regatta, Lancia Y10, Fiat Uno, Fiat Panda, Fiat Panda, Fiat Panda, Fiat Panda, Fiat Panda, Fiat Panda, Fiat Panda, etc etc.

 

I seem to have diverted to solely buying  Fiat Pandi now, eschewing the most modern mark for the earlier version.  

 

I'd love an Alfa 145 though, just let me shift a couple of pandas first!

[Junkman]

This - I am unlikely to ever own a BMW.  There's no particularly good reason for it - especially considering all the dire crap I've had.

 

I did own the odd BMW. But now they are among the brands I'm loyally avoiding, considering all I've had were dire crap.

[eddyramrod]

When he could afford to be, my dad was very much a loyal Ford customer.  My childhood was filled with Blue Ovals, even after the salad days ended and he would buy whatever old crap he could afford.  Of course this was the 70s, so that old crap was mostly Ford and BMC anyway.  His first foreign car was a Lada, and he fell in love with the (by then) old-fashioned seating position and sturdiness.  I bought whatever I could lay my grubby mitts on, and still do really, but at least now I have preferences:

For me it works the other way around. I'm very loyally steering clear of certain brands.

 

Me too, Junkman.  I've owned one BMW and that was more than enough.  I've never owned a Merc, but I've driven enough of them to know I never will own one; likewise VW.  I seem to remember saying on this very forum, on a previous occasion, that I will categorically never own a VAG product.  I'm standing by that.

 

only cars i would say no to owning though would be german. VAG cos after 1991 all their cars are garbage, MB as everything they have made since they stopped building the W201 are cheap blingy dross fit for "rappers" and the Kardashians and BMW cos i just fuckin' hate them. i always have, and i always will.

And it seems I'm not alone.

 

On the one occasion we bought a new car, in 2006, we went for a Suzuki based on a number of factors, not least being, we'd already had one.  Before and since, my buying history is littered with small groups of related cars: among them Ladas, Fiats, Cadillacs, Volvos, Triumphs, Rovers and even Fords.  Some I'm inclined to repeat; some not.  I certainly don't share Daddy's devotion to Ford though.

New cars?  Take them away.  Not interested.

[crapcarcollector]

Is that Chatsworth?

It is indeed. We went to national Alfa day there this year just after I'd finished rebuilding the engine.

 

 

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[gordonbennet]

Its taken a long time but i've finally decided (unmissable other make bargain excepted) that it will only be Toyota or Subaru for the forseeable.

 

Dunno why this has taken so long, back in my kerbside cowboy days the few Toyotas and Datsuns i looked after seldom needed anything but regular servicing, meanwhile i was on first name terms at the Ford parts desk.

 

What impressed me then was how real Jap stuff would always dismantle and was usually designed to be maintained, the same still applies to the Scooby's i've had dealings with and to Landcruisers, at least pre 05 which is about my cut off point for car manufacture anyhow.

 

Shame that Avensis 09 on they saddled with an effin electric parking brake (shove it up yer arse) cos thats about the only modern estate i'd consider, similarly why didn't Kia/Hyundai hammer a bloody estate boot onto the arse of Magentis/Sonata, one of which would have been on the drive now.

[burraston2006]

No loyalty here either. In the last 30 odd cars I bought I've had 5x Fords, 3x Vws a couple of Saabs and a couple of citroens. My main car buying philosophy is check fleagay, is it cheap, does it sound O.K and is it near by? If the answer is yes I'll probably buy it!

[Lukas]

I´ve talked to my brother in law yesterday about this. He is a BMW-collector (M535i E28, M5 E28, 635CSI E24, 320i Convertible E30, 320d E46, Mini Cooper S R56 aso.)

and knows that I have had mostly japanese cars in my life.

 

So we both are quite loyal. I am a japanese car guy and he is a BMW-man through and through. And we asked ourself why that is?

 

We came to the conclusion that at some point, when you know a lot about your brand or your model of choice, you are quite sure-footed when buying, servicing,

repairing it. You know what to look for when you buy another car of your loyal brand, you will not get ripped off so fast. You know the market, you how where to get parts from, 

you know other people with the same interest for the same cars who become friends with the years and so on. 

 

My brother in law told me he would like a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution or an Audi S5. But he knows nothing about japanese cars, nothing about the faults of Audis, so he

stays with his BMWs and new Binis. 

 

I´m the same. I know my mechanics, I know my parts-sources, I know the market, I know the cars, I know the common faults and the tiny little tricks on older japanese cars

and especially on Mitsubishi Pajeros and older Subarus. 

 

When buying a completely different kind of car from another brand, you have to start from the very beginning. You make the same mistakes again, you have to learn all

the facts around the car, the market, the people involved from the beginning again. 

 

And it seems that´s not what we wanted so far. So he sticks with older BMWs and I will keep buying old Pajeros. 

[Cavcraft]

One thing I will say is that if you only ever have one marque of car, you're missing out.

[dieselnutjob]

I always loved Peugeots.

I had many 305s, diesel estates were my favourites.

I had a 504 diesel.

For a few years was unfaithful and had a B4 Passat TDI which was a great car but a bit boring.  I think in retrospect I really wanted a 406 HDI estate but at the time the they were too much ££s.

When we needed/wanted an MPV the 806 was brilliant an utterly reliable workhorse family van.

I am also on my second 604.

 

For my everyday car I have now deserted them.  I had a 607 diesel auto for many years but isn't quite the car I wanted.  The V6 diesel that LHD markets got would have been nearer though it wouldn't have solved the problem of short and hard front springs.

 

I want a large car with a powerful diesel engine and an autobox.  I also want soft suspension.  Peugeot do not make such a thing anymore really as the 508 is smaller than the 607, and it's also really ugly.

 

So far the XJ diesel is delivering almost everything that I want.  Probably a C6 V6 HDI would have done just as well.

[Lukas]

One thing I will say is that if you only ever have one marque of car, you're missing out.

 

That´s why I had other cars too. The infamous Volvo S80, the famous Buick Park Avenue or the Mercedes-Benz C220 Diesel I am not very proud of.

 

But as soon as it get´s difficult (expensive repairs, problems that occur), I sell them quite fast because there is one thought in my mind by them: 

 

"For this amount of money that repair is costing me, I could get a Pajero repaired too." Or when I am looking at a car to buy, I think "For that amount of money, 

I could buy a Pajero/Legacy/Camry too." 

 

And as the list of common faults on most european/american cars are longer than on older japanese ones, it´s an easy choice for me. 

[sierraman]

One thing I will say is that if you only ever have one marque of car, you're missing out.

I've often fancied a Rover 75 but the problem I have is that the Mondeo I have does everything I want so effectively I'm begrudged to change. It's not everyone's cup of tea but it's annoyingly competent in nearly all respects.

[Joey spud]

Currently on the drive are a Honda CRX,Mitsubishi L200,Subaru MV pick up,Toyota Supra and my faithfull Focus diesel with the 8v ford engine so no frenchness or DPF woes.

 

I have always liked the Jap stuff they are well designed,easy to work on and reliable vehicles,if your working day is spent pissing about on other peoples cars you don't want to come home and fanny about on your own.

 

That said i am now looking for an A30 / A35 next because the driveway is full at the moment and the access down the side of my house to the sheds at the end of the garden is only 148cms wide so i am limited as to what to get next.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

A teaching assistant at an old workplace of mine drove a Metro for years. Her chap drove a Rover. Although she was only mid - late forties at the time, her and her chap were old before their time, and seemed the type to have a 'best' room in the house, which was only used when the queen came to visit, or something. They were staunch 'buy British even though it's too late to make a difference' types.

 

I don't know what happened to her in the meantime, but she's rebelled. She now smokes around in a Y plate Pugrot 106, and it's red, not beige. I reckon she's probably has body piercings as well. I'm unsure what her husband now drives, but my guess is something to express his personality, like a Hyundai Coupe. They must feel very liberated.

[New POD]

Lets Start with My Dad.

Since 1958

Morris 8

1959 Mini (Declared to be the worst piece of crap ever)

Cortina mk1

Cortina mk2 estate

Cortina mk3

Avenger

Cortina mk4 Estate

Cortina mk4 Series 80 estate

Sierra Estate

Sierra Estate

Seirra Saphire

Mondeo

Mondeo Estate

Focus Estate

Focus Estate

Focus Estate

 

All except the Morris 8 were NEW.

 

Father In Law

 

Some sort of 3 wheeler powered by a 2 stroke motorbike engine

Morris 1000

Morris 1300

Fiat 128

Viva

Fiat Strada

Cavalier mk2

Cavalier mk2 (sold to me)

Cavalier mk3 (Given to my wife)

Astra mk4 (bought New) (Given to my son) 

 

Me and my wife

since 1985

 

Knackered Spitfire

Z500

RD350LC

Mini 1000

Suzuki SC100

Mini 850

1098 Clubman

Escort mk3

Metro Turbo

Fiesta mk2

Cavalier Mk2 (From Father in Law)

Fiat 126

Metro 1275 Sport

AX 1.4D

Escort Mk3 series 2 (or mk4 if you prefer to be wrong)

Cavalier mk3 (From Father in Law)

Astra mk3

Astra mk3

Cavalier mk2

Cavalier mk2

CalibrE (Cavalier mk2)

Astra mk3

Mini mayfair

Volvo S40

Mx5 (Still GOT)

BINI (Still GOT)

Honda Accord

Astra mk4

Omega MV6 (JUST got)

 

It appears that there are more than a few Vauxhall's in my list and I blame my father in law.

And too many A series - I blame my Dad - it's rebellion as I know he hates the A series we a vengeance - Issiggonnis is evil in his eyes.

[Laseraligningfoofooflanges]

I would consider myself a beemer man in someways, But im talking pre about 2010 here and Naturally aspirated of course, Ever since the white PCP'ed X6's and 116d's started to appear and that shite 2 series MPV Thing entered production I've not wanted to be associated with the brand period.

 

But if its V8,I6,V10,V12 Or even one of the nice I4's they used to make and RWD im all for it.

 

Same with Merc i'd love another w124,w126,r129 or an imperious w140, Hate the new stuff (s class coupe excluded)

 

Audi's well... I love the pre 2000 stuff and the A8 , But the A1 and the clientele it attracts repulse me as do white drug dealer spec A3 S-lines.

 

Saying that most of all I just have this strange thing for 1990-2005 longbridge/cowley products i dont get it but ive always liked rovers. I dont know if its a weird nostalgia thing as my dad had a metro city X as a kid and while my brother and sister insisted on getting dropped off round the corner i loved that little car.

I used to vehemently defend the metro in arguments with some ginger knob who's dad ran a sierra in primary school level tit for tat discussions.

 

While i do love my e39 id be happy with the rover 800 for a while just feels right.

I need Another MG ZR in my life at some stage or a KV6 ZS.

 

Im not loyal to any brand, As others have said its a case of what i would NEVER buy.

 

Aldi A1

BINI

EVOKK

Aldi a3

BMW 1,2,X1,X3,X5,X6

Most >2005 on ugly blobs

Anything with a feckin ''Touchscreen'' Gah.

[Parky]

Two Renaults, Two Fiats, two Toyotas, and one apiece for Vauxhall, Honda, Ford, Kia and Seat.

 

Most of my loyalty tends to go with the service items. Mahle, Mann and NGK always find their way onto my motors as do Pirelli, Dunlop, Falken or Bridgestone tyres.