hifinutt
hifinutt
I had a new golf some years back and it went to the garage 14 times in the first year
Diabolically unreliable , even had to have a new engine control unit , my 4 Vauxhalls since have been totally reliable
Family car?
- Thread starter Robert M
- Start date
I had a new golf some years back and it went to the garage 14 times in the first year
Diabolically unreliable , even had to have a new engine control unit , my 4 Vauxhalls since have been totally reliable
I'm going to go completely against the trend and recommend the Qashqai. We've had the 2.0l petrol fwd 2008 model for a little over three years as the 'family car'.
Downsides first - looks, unless you want the 4wd school run look; tax for mine @2l petrol, handling - not the worst but not a focus in this class.
I believe it's only the diesel engines of that age that were Renault. The petrols were Nissan. Agree with whoever said the 2008 1.6 is underpowered. Not really a fake 4wd as it's up to you whether you buy the 4 or front drive.
Plus - a very good sized balance of internal and boot space. We have kids of similar ages and unlike many cars it will fit pretty much whichever car seats you want - including extended rear facing. Great kit for the money. A good size - external dimensions are pretty much a golf.
At the time I fancied the civic with its surprisingly large boot space and clever folding seats, or focus for driving. OH decided civic was a drug dealers car and the focus 'was a ford'... Happy with the QQ in the end though
Downsides first - looks, unless you want the 4wd school run look; tax for mine @2l petrol, handling - not the worst but not a focus in this class.
I believe it's only the diesel engines of that age that were Renault. The petrols were Nissan. Agree with whoever said the 2008 1.6 is underpowered. Not really a fake 4wd as it's up to you whether you buy the 4 or front drive.
Plus - a very good sized balance of internal and boot space. We have kids of similar ages and unlike many cars it will fit pretty much whichever car seats you want - including extended rear facing. Great kit for the money. A good size - external dimensions are pretty much a golf.
At the time I fancied the civic with its surprisingly large boot space and clever folding seats, or focus for driving. OH decided civic was a drug dealers car and the focus 'was a ford'... Happy with the QQ in the end though
Martyn Miles
pfm Member
Most ( if not all...) Audis are thrashed by their owners.
Many here feel that Audi owners are The Worst drivers.
Don't be offended,
I have been subject to their high-speed tailgating techniques to try and intimidate me into going faster.
linnfomaniac83
I bet you can’t wheelie a unicycle!
That is very, very unlucky and I'm genuinely sorry to hear about your experience.
Mine has been somewhat better, I have a Golf with 112k on the clock and its still literally like a new car, never had any major faults only routine maintainable.
My brother has a passat, 190k on the clock, needs a wash and a couple of dents fixing but other than that it's perfect, still on its first turbo, never had any major problems, biggest one has been the driver side window regulator, cost £40 and an hour of his time to fix.
My sister has an A4 with 140k on the clock, same story, they have been great.
I did buy a 4 year old A4 with 130k on the clock, I got it at a very good price because of the high mileage but then it needed a DMF and a turbo in the same year which annoyed me a little but I managed to get both done for less than £700 (helps having mechanics in the family) and after that it was perfect, I traded it for a BMW 330d which I loved.
Yes, they are thrashed but so what? It's 2015, modern cars should take it. Back in the 80s VW Golf GTis were hammered mercilessly, as were 205s. Very few went bang other than when they hit bits of road furniture. Ditto 3 series of the 90s, and the sales reps' favourite the Cavalier. I tried my best to kill a Cav, bloody thing just looked at me for 150k miles, periodically handing in a bit of an exhaust or a wheel bearing. None of these cars were short of power.
There are a lot of new bits of technology that are giving trouble. DMFs are bad news. Turbos on diesels. These 2 are linked, DMFs don't like heavy application of torque. Diesel DPFs are the kiss of death. A chap I know with an 8 mile run to work has to give his car a 20 mile blast down the dual carriageway every week to clear it, so much for reducing emissions. The snag is that this technology is difficult to avoid while it's settling in and you end up copping for early adopter problems.
There are a lot of new bits of technology that are giving trouble. DMFs are bad news. Turbos on diesels. These 2 are linked, DMFs don't like heavy application of torque. Diesel DPFs are the kiss of death. A chap I know with an 8 mile run to work has to give his car a 20 mile blast down the dual carriageway every week to clear it, so much for reducing emissions. The snag is that this technology is difficult to avoid while it's settling in and you end up copping for early adopter problems.
linnfomaniac83
I bet you can’t wheelie a unicycle!
You have hit the nail on the head there Steve!
Nic Robinson
Moderator
Absolutely. My 06 2.0 TDI PD Octy is (just) pre-DPF thank fook. I'm sure I'll need to get the dreaded DMF addressed, however. In fact the guy at the garage last week said the flywheel was a bit "whiny". I presume that was code for "start saving up"!
That said, the Octavia is the best car I've owned and in Laurin & Klement guise has all the performance, leather & luxury we'll ever need.
Cheers,
Nic.
linnfomaniac83
I bet you can’t wheelie a unicycle!
You can get a solid flywheel conversion for them and they still drive great, it'll never fail again once done.
Yank
Bulbous Also Tapered
Your timing was bad. VAG reliability seems to have improved markedly, the cutoff year is 2006.
Hottuna
pfm Member
There are many a reasons why car makers have added Dual mass Flywheels (DMF) and were first introduced by BMW in 1985 to their six cylinder diesels.
Main job of the DMF is to damp out vibrations to the gearbox at low resonance speeds.
What may kill a DMF?
1) poor starting,misfires, uneven running anything that causes uneven running will cause extra vibration which the DMF will absorb. This will cause undue additional wear.
2)Overloading a vehicle of towing too much will push the DMF beyond its designed limits causing exta wear.
3)Poor driving habits; driving in the wrong gear, allowing the engine to labour which is common in town driving and the most common reason for DMF failure.
So when the car has an early DMF failure best look in the mirror first.
Solid flywheel conversions are much cheaper to buy as a replacement for DMF. Valeo make some good replacements very close in weight to the original flywheel weight and do work very well.
Why people still bother with manual transmission with clutches and DMF replacement at £800 is beyond me. A modern auto box allows you to shift manually if you desire or full auto without any worry of a big DMF bill.
James
Lord of the Erg\o/s
I guess there is a fine line between "driven hard" and "abused". For me, the former is about having a degree of mechanical sympathy and driving the car within its design envelope, whereas the latter is actively seeking ways to break the car.
Some still enjoy an involved driving experience.
James
Lord of the Erg\o/s
I'm given to understand diesel engines are particularly hard on DMFs due to their peakier pulses of power. If the diesel is a four cylinder, then those pulses are further spaced, which does the DMF no favours. I think petrol engines, particularly 6 cylinders variants, can be quite kind to DMFs. Well, I hope so anyway.
Sue Pertwee-Tyr
Accuphase all the way down
I'm trying, currently unsuccessfully, not to take offence at this clearly offensive remark obviously directed at me.
The implication is that I brought the problems on myself, by bad driving. Aside from the fact that A2 owners are not your typical Audi owners, because the A2 is not your typical Audi, the car has not been thrashed, and indeed has been sympathetically driven, witnessed by the fact that, on strip down, just about the only bit of the bottom end of the engine not requiring replacement was the (original) DMF.
There again, most (if not all...) blokes called Martyn tend to say stupid things without thinking. Many people think they should try harder.
Don't be offended.
Tony Lockhart
Avoiding Stress, at Every Opportunity
Hopefully people are learning that an eight mile commute isn't great use of a diesel.
And tiny diesel engines make horrible driving machines.
Yank
Bulbous Also Tapered
I have a two mile commute, I'm not sure it's a great use of a gasoline engine. In the winter, my heater comes on about the time I get to work.
It'd be easy enough on a bicycle, except for the traffic and weather. And it's almost all down hill going there, uphill coming home.
Nic Robinson
Moderator
Two miles? That's a 30 minute walk. Taking the car for such a short commute would never occur to me.
Hottuna
pfm Member
That's a cycle journey its not worth even starting a car for that. I used to walk to school further than that every day and take the bus if the weather was bad.
If you can't cope with the ride up hill one of the new e-bikes with battery assist. A bike would help you save a bundle of money and get fit also.
If the weathers really bad with lashing rain take the car as an emergency.
If you can't cope with the ride up hill one of the new e-bikes with battery assist. A bike would help you save a bundle of money and get fit also.
If the weathers really bad with lashing rain take the car as an emergency.
Hottuna
pfm Member
Some still enjoy an involved driving experience.[/QUOTE]
People used to say similar things to that in the 90's about traction control now just take it for granted.
If involved driving experience means pushing a pedal and moving a lever thats your choice please enjoy. Just reminds me of driving a 1928 Bentley.
People used to say similar things to that in the 90's about traction control now just take it for granted.
If involved driving experience means pushing a pedal and moving a lever thats your choice please enjoy. Just reminds me of driving a 1928 Bentley.
Yank
Bulbous Also Tapered
The traffic conditions are not conducive to commuting by bicycle, and there's no alternative route. I'm also not keen on having to wake up a half hour earlier.