Why don't I listen to myself?

[junkyarddog]

38 minutes ago, rickvw72 said:

 At least when that touran is dead, you’ll get some coin for the parts, or from someone who wants the parts. Astra’s, Mondeos etc all go in the baler complete, or near complete. That’ll go in stripped bare. Not the bodywork though mind.

That statement kinda goes against the the ethos that they are well built and reliable........😉

[rickvw72]

2 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

That's the E46 isn't it? Seen some very scary videos of those, all of them do it. Mate bought one years ago that was just starting to go and got it all repaired properly at some expense

Yeah, ive heard of others doing it too, powerful stuff like 330d etc, although not seen with own eyes.

Had a 2015 Qashqai 1.2 in today. No oil, timing chain rattling its nuts off. Quick Google suggest common, terminal engine failure. About 6 grand repair, managed an awesome 33,000 miles. The very definition of so shit, it’s not even acceptable. 
 

The qashqai is one of the uk top sellers btw. Could and should I recommend one over a Golf?Suppose you can go to Ford and get a EcoBoom engined summat, maybe Vauxhall to get a Fiat rebadged. At least with a Vauxhall it’ll be in the dealers broken so often, the warranty will be out before it shits itself terminally.

From where I stand it’s not hard to see why people love VW and Audi etc. It’s only weirdos like us who care how ropey an old car is at this age. That touran looks like it’s been proper neglected to get so bad, and could be viewed as “this is how long it takes to kill one with abuse” opposed to “VW is shit”.

[rickvw72]

3 minutes ago, junkyarddog said:

That statement kinda goes against the the ethos that they are well built and reliable........😉

To the vast majority of people, which is nearly every uk driver, that VW is ancient. Most people beleive cars are scrap at ten years old, 100,000 miles.
My point with the parts thing is there’s a strong demand to repair these cars in their old age. This may or may not be justified, but as a random example, Fords, almost no one, including members here In the past, changes engines in teenage Fords.
Perhaps it’s a delusion amongst vw owners, but it’s delusion shared by most of Europe. If the scabby old dogs diesel, it’s engine and box will go on probably somewhere in Eastern Europe I’d guess. 
 Anyway, I’m gonna stop my defence there. Buy and drive what you want. I do. 

[Jamie]

29 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

That's the E46 isn't it? Seen some very scary videos of those, all of them do it. Mate bought one years ago that was just starting to go and got it all repaired properly at some expense

Erm no they don't... 

[Matty]

I bloody hope not. But I'm not going to roll under the fucker now cos its raining and dark. I believe its not unheard of, but mainly a problem for high powered variants such as the M3. I doubt my 200 odd bhp will be bothering it much. But again, who knows? Its done 18 years. 

Which raises another good point. Im no BMW apologist. Or VW apologist. Ive owned whatever ive fancied whenever. And I had to say that apart from a stop gap C3 which I hated (not the cars fault) they've all been great. Even the laguna 2. Really.

I just really, really dont get the irrational hatred for ze germans. They make some good stuff and some shit. More shit than good these days but thats modern  cars in my opinion. I bought a BMW because I wanted multi cylinder manual gearbox rear drive. At my budget there wasn't much choice. But I like it. I wouldn't say it feels like a massively premium product over , say the fiat coupe I had but its good. I bought a golf because it was cheap. Its been absolutly peerless.  Buy what you want lads 👍

[rickvw72]

3 minutes ago, Jamie said:

Erm no they don't... 

I wouldn’t want to bet money on it. The worst bits you only see with the subframe out, M3s seem to crack worse, more visibly, but there past 300bhp I beleive. 
A mate, who I deffo trust, reckons he saw a 328i do it, spotted when he dropped his diff out. 

[Jamie]

Just now, rickvw72 said:

I wouldn’t want to bet money on it. The worst bits you only see with the subframe out, M3s seem to crack worse, more visibly, but there past 300bhp I beleive. 
A mate, who I deffo trust, reckons he saw a 328i do it, spotted when he dropped his diff out. 

I've had over 50 e46s now, now I'm not saying that makes, what I say gospel, but I've also welded up plates on my old 330cd a horrible job. The torque less 6 cyl petrol and 4 pots do not suffer at all though. 

 

Earlier cars were not reinforced (328i was dropped at LCI/face-lift) 

[rickvw72]

Like a say, my only personal experience is 2002 M3. Hard to see though, with the subframe in.Drove a 318 a few weeks ago, hard to see that doing it because of power, if that’s the reason. 

[Matty]

Only the words "torqueless 6 cylinder doesn't suffer at all" could both fill me with relief and make me ashamed of my car at the same time 🤣

[Jamie]

3 minutes ago, Matty said:

Only the words "torqueless 6 cylinder doesn't suffer at all" could both fill me with relief and make me ashamed of my car at the same time 🤣

Was referring more to the 320i 😂 the 330i just has enough to pull you out of bed 🤣😉

[Matty]

Cheers pal. Dead to me from now on 😆

[artdjones]

The reason old VWs are worth fixing is high residual value. At the age when a Golf is worth £3000 a Focus is worth £1500. Putting 2000 into a car worth 3000 seems like a sensible decision. Putting 1200 into a car worth 1500 not so much.

I think the reason people have  bad feelings against the German marques is that they can never shut up about what great engineers they are, and how well engineered their cars are, when their main talent seems to be in making cars that look well engineered but aren't particularly.

[Jamie]

15 minutes ago, Matty said:

Cheers pal. Dead to me from now on 😆

It's OK I drive a little 4 pot diesel I'm only jealous 😂

[bunglebus]

 

Frankly terrifying

[garbaldy]

4 hours ago, garbaldy said:

Come on then how old is it ?

So I'll guess it's over 10 years old then and I'm going to see if I can snap a picture of a 2013 ford focus which runs about kelso which is as bad if not worse than that red rusty vw,  I've also seen a mondeo that all the sealer has come of the sills and it's well rusty now,  Mates  2016 transit that I borrow has been painted twice due to rusty arches and sills, it's even had the door hinge recall as the drivers door fell off, Yup quality product that.

I don't recon all Ford's are shit because I've seen a few rusty ones though as I do like a focus they do drive very well and are pretty well screwed together.

[Jamie]

Its not like the vast majority have had to cut out terminal rot from their shit boxes on here is it 😂

[garbaldy]

Ive done my fair share of welding rotters up from all makes and i recon this 2011 one series is going to be requiring welding with the next 2 years as it's very rusty underneath the back end espesially along all the seems.

[Jamie]

As per previous comments. ALL cars have issues, not worth condemning every brand 

[garbaldy]

Exactly 100% correct it's just a certain amount of all makes are unreliable which we used to call the lemons or Friday afternoon cars.

[Cavcraft]

4 hours ago, garbaldy said:

Come on then how old is it ?

Sorry, I missed your reply earlier,  it's a 2006. You're right about Transits of course, they rust if you just look at them the wrong way.

[garbaldy]

1 minute ago, Cavcraft said:

Sorry, I missed your reply earlier,  it's a 2006. You're right about Transits of course, they rust if you just look at them the wrong way.

Yup 15 odd years old and probably never looked after.   I always thought the new shape trannys where pretty well made unfortunately they apear to be exactly the same as the older ones which is a shame as they are nice motors.

[Barry Cade]

 

7 minutes ago, garbaldy said:

Exactly 100% correct it's just a certain amount of all makes are unreliable which we used to call the lemons or Friday afternoon cars.

People still say that, but robots don't know what day it is.. I've been to a few factories  and its a bit freaky as some parts of the plant are in darkness. 100% automated and no human input at all. In Wolfsburg,  you used to be able to follow a golf from start to finish on a bus, and I was shocked how few people were involved in the process. 

[garbaldy]

Never been to a car factory but now I'm intrigued and fancy a tour.

[Barry Cade]

1 minute ago, garbaldy said:

Never been to a car factory but now I'm intrigued and fancy a tour.

Its amazing, and helped me as a tech, as you see what lumps (sub assemblies) are put in as 1 piece. Explained to me why cars are such a pain in the ass to work on nowadays, as they are made of assemblies rather than individual pieces.. thats why when I do a clutch or even an alternator nowadays sometimes,  I drop the whole engine/gearbox/rack/subframe, as that's how they are designed. Its all bolted in in 3 mins, rather than 4 hours to do it bit by bit. Its so obvious cars are built and designed for ease of assembly rather than ease of repair..

[rickvw72]

I’ll second dropping the works for big jobs. On with two minis at present, both knackered gearboxes. Remove whole front “pack”, remove engine annd gearbox complete. Crap for DIY on your drive, but easier in a workshop than fighting some modern “engineering “.

[Jamie]

I'm looking at a mini for the wife tomorrow wish me luck 😂

[rickvw72]

Early ones have shit gearboxes, late ones shit engines. You could get a diesel, if your a masochist and own a turbo company. 
Love a good mini, especially if it’s on fire.

[Jamie]

It's a R56 diesel with the psa engine so hopefully it's not terrible 😂

[Magic]

On 12/7/2020 at 7:18 PM, Barry Cade said:

I know all you VAG fanbois will shoot me down. I'm used to it.. I get the opposite with Rovers as I really rate them and have had many a pub arguement defending them, but I was a die hard VW man at one point.. wouldn't drive anything else. Jetta's, Sciroccos, Mk2 Passats with the 5.. Loved them. Then they went Mk4 Golf and I could not, and still can't believe all the shoddy parts, bad design and just pure stupidity that these cars incorporate. I must have lost 10 years dealing with just the doors on these things... window regulators, motors, door locks,keys  and handles. All A grade SHIT.

The Mk2 Golf/Jetta was probably a high point of actual quality rather than perceived quality. For a 9 year old car with 100K on a 1.3 engine mine gave very little trouble. One FTP when a coolant hose split, swiftly fixed by the man from the RAC with his hacksaw.

The Mk4 wasn't that reliable when they were new. I bought an early 1.6 Bora ('99) at just under a year old as ex-demo. It was in number of times under warranty for stuff on that list. Central locking failed on both front doors, one of the rear door handles stopped working. CD player was replaced twice. One of the heated mirrors stopped working, which the diags picked up before I noticed. Also MAF and a coolant temp sensor - that was a fun one. ECU got a rogue signal and did the equivalent of pulling the choke full out - and it was doing 80mph on the M60 with my foot off the pedal. During rush hour. Unfortunately for you lot I had the presence of mind to knock it into neutral and pull over, so it didn't feature on Police, Camera, Action. 😉

Then with under a week of warranty left something failed in the gearbox, and created a 3 inch hole in the casing while seeking it's freedom. Replacement 'box started slipping about 2 days after I got it back ... duff seal so it was leaking oil onto the clutch. 'Box replaced again and a new clutch.

Then it was fine for a year of thrashing up to Scotland and back before a coolant temp sensor went again, and the wipers seized up in a torrential rain storm on the M74. Followed a couple months later by cutting out when you came off the accelerator at anything over about 40mph. After lighting up the diags computer like a Christmas tree and a some shouting from me after a "will you authorise £1200 of work?" call, the "master tech" took a look instead of an oil change apprentice. Crank position sensor replaced and all was well again.

By then I'd seen my arse with it's appetite for sensors and chopped it in against a shiny new Skoda Fabia vRS. Which was a paragon of reliability. High level brake light failed under warranty. Car never gave another jot of trouble in the 14 years I kept it...

[Cavcraft]

1 hour ago, garbaldy said:

Yup 15 odd years old and probably never looked after.   I always thought the new shape trannys where pretty well made unfortunately they apear to be exactly the same as the older ones which is a shame as they are nice motors.

The latest ones look ace to be fair, in fact as each 'generation' has come along they've appeared to be nice.  Suspect buying any van (new or second hand) is just down to what your favourite brand is, once size has been worked out. If you read the review for probably all of them, people would tell you not to buy one.

 

Ref. this VW, I'm only comparing it to other similar cars of that era and have genuinely owned some appalling examples of various ones. I've not had anything else that rusted this badly though and (imho) maybe VAG stuff is there to be shot at because of this perceived 'quality brand' image. I suspect a lot of that is down to some of the owners, as well as VW themselves to be honest.  Whatever they may or may not be seen as, they are simply no better than any of their 'rivals'.