Thinking of changing my car

[Former Member]

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[Devcon1]

Great thread.

I've been using a 2005 Skoda Octavia 2.0 Tdi Elegance estate since 2008 and it still does what I want and still very well specified.

For me, in a few months time, it will be replaced with the latest Octavia estate with the 1.5 petrol ACT (Advanced Cylinder Technology) engine that will shut down cylinders based on power demand.

Volkswagen tech in a great value trickle down brand.

[Former Member]

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[Former Member]

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[Slickriff]

Yet another note for the Mazda 6 tourer. Loads of space, goes like stink, and does more to the gallon than my wife's city car (oh yeah, and actually looks good). Diesel get an undeserved bad press in some cases. Mazda go better than the strictest regs (hence joke cheap road tax) without having to add the blue stuff, just by good design and having the lowest compression ratio diesel on the planet to increase burn time. Never had a Mazda before, but would have another in a heartbeat.

[Bob Cotsford]

I was very impressed with Mazda's CX5 when I was looking around a few weeks ago. Very well spec'd and a fair bit of room in the back. If you think VW dealers are up themselves you need to talk to a Honda dealer, they put me right of the CRV just by their attitude. It's probably a very good car but I'd never be able to take one in for service owing to the extreme temptation to slap the sales staff.

I ended up with a Kuga, I'd happily have had another Mondeo but for the low kerb height, but that wouldn't be an issue if you're able bodied. Kuga - Focus floor space but a much taller load space + better features including AWD and towbar options. Just the job for towing a 3-gang mower to cut the strip and parking area. Or a caravan, trailer WHY.

[onetenor]

My car which Istupidly I was persuaded to scrap. was a Daewoo Nexia GLS Twin cam air con economical comfy back and front.. Paid £450 as a write off. All that was wrong was the top of the steering column was snapped off in an attempted theft. £20 for a new column and it flew through MOTs for years. I was in the process of some work when I was struck down. Best car I ever had. Load space was great too.

Best car I ever had cost me £450 as write off as the top of the steering column had been snapped off £20 for a replacement and it flew through MOTs for yrs. It was a Daewoo Nexia GLS Twin cam Astra equivalent. Loads of Load space too not much wrong with it but was persuaded to let it go. Worst decision I ever made.

[Former Member]

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[cymaz]

This has been a great thread. Despite being a long term Zafira driver I really like the look of the VW Touran and the C4 Picasso grand tourer.

[Nigel R]

Cymaz Citro?n seem to cheap out on the electrical side of things. Lots of widgets for little money. Friend of wife's have one as family run about and not that impressed.

Touran is better build quality.

Parents have a current petrol zafira. Similar style of car masses of room. Initial impressions good. Very quiet inside. They've not had it for enough miles to say much on reliability.

[The Wright Stuff]

Posted by Bob Cotsford on 02/08/2018 22:54:08:

If you think VW dealers are up themselves you need to talk to a Honda dealer, they put me right of the CRV just by their attitude.

Seems to be a generalisation, though. Pretty sure all the makes must have good and bad dealer showrooms and staff.

I'm not overly bothered by the Honda external styling either way, but the way the 'magic seats' fold flat in the back really is fantastic if you want to make full use of the space. The amount of stuff I can get in the back of my Jazz when the seats are folded down is astonishing...

[Cuban8]

Over the years I've had five brand new company vehicles, all of which were repaired/maintained by various main dealers as a condition of the leasing company. I would rate all of their service as indifferent at best and quite incompetent on a few occasions. Thankfully, none of it was charged to me, naturally, but I wince at what the public put up with, because they're trapped into thinking "main dealer means best". In my experience over an extended time, it doesn't.

Then there was the case of my wife's old Citroen Saxo that some years ago she took to a Citroen main dealer for MOT. I won't go into details, but their methodology (putting it politely) for repairing the rear brakes wound up with a bill of £1000, still required further work that I refused to pay for as they had caused damage to a component because of an inappropriate method of its removal. I told them I'd take legal action, but in the end, they replaced the item without further charge. Never, never again.

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

You must always take a car to a main dealer because only they know the vehicles properly and are in possession of the correct details of the car and its components and know what is best for the car's health...

Which explains why we received a letter from a main dealer for my wife's car imploring us to have the cam belt changed on a more regular basis than that advised by the manufacturer and advising that we should book it in with them without delay. Well, perhaps they had experience of failures and were giving us the benefit of their expert experience?

The only thing was, I remembered from the sales brochure that the engine in the car was fitted with a cam chain so after a quick confirmation I gave the service manager a call. There were a few moments of silence and then a sheepish apology with the admission that they'd sent a hundred or so letters to owners of similarly engined cars. At least he thanked me for pointing out the error.

The car has more than another 100 000 miles on it and unsurprisingly the cam belt hasn't failed yet! I do wonder what might have happened if I'd booked it in and left it for their expert attention...

I still do my own servicing as soon as my cars are out of warranty so I know what has been done and what parts/oils have been used. Did you know that you can supply your own parts and fluids when you take a car to a dealer for a service as long as they are to the manufacturers standards without compromising your warranty and costing a fraction of the extortionate prices for such things as oil charged by the per litre bottle price.

Edited By Martin Harris on 03/08/2018 13:41:20

[Former Member]

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[Frank Skilbeck]

Not all main dealers are bad and independents good, we had our Mitsubishi Colt serviced by a local dealer for a few years and it developed an oil leak, so we thought it best to get the main dealer to check it out, we booked it in for a main service and to check the oil leak. They found that the vent that circulates the sump gases back to the inlet had not been cleaned and was blocked, cleaning that and the oil leak went away, no extra charge over the service. The independent had missed this. But did have a Ford dealer not refit a sump plug correctly which fell out on the motorway the next day....................................

[Robert Cracknell]

Three salutary tales about main dealers....(some car makes and names excluded)

The first was when I took my new company car for a service and earlier in the day I had collected £120 membership fee from a friend for a fishing syndicate. The money was in a plain brown envelope, sealed and buried below the junk in the glove box. I put it there myself and locked the glove box. I took the vehicle for a service and when I got home the money was gone. Too late to go back so I returned in the morning and confronted the manager about the theft. To my amazement he backed his staff saying they would never do anything like that. I assured him that the only people to have access to a locked glove box were the mechanics. He stood his ground, demanding proof and I was £120 lighter.

The second, a late friend of mine, owned a Mitsubishi Shogun. He took it to the main dealer for servicing (a condition of the extended warranty). The following evening the vehicle was driven off the drive and into the night. Months later the police raided a farm where a gang of vehicle thieves were operating and found evidence that the vehicle (amongst others) had been there. Gang members told the police that they got mechanics in main dealerships to copy keys and supply names and addresses so the vehicles could be stolen without damage.

The third was when I took my car for a main dealer service and the invoice showed 'Supply and fit new rear wiper blade - £22.50. First I asked to inspect the old blade but this couldn't be found. I then asked the service manager why it could not be found. He did not know. I provided the answer in that the car was a saloon and DID NOT HAVE ONE....The look on his face was priceless...!! The invoice was corrected.

The moral of this story is whatever car you decide to buy make sure you know who is looking after it...!!

Edited By Robert Cracknell on 03/08/2018 16:56:16

[cymaz]

My Zafira goes to the main dealer...it’s a short walk. I’ve had several quotes for work by independent garages and really our dealer gives a courtesy car, and is the same price. I will stick with a boring boxy MPV. I’m not really interested in top gear antics around a track. Just get me there in comfort, without breaking down and loads of planes in the back

[Former Member]

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[Colin Carpenter]

Am I the only one who still services their own vehicle ? Been doing it since 1971 and never had a problem. I keep them till they're knackered and start again .As long as it's got air con I don't care about bells and whistles ! Mind you I no longer do 27000 a year , thankfully ! Colin

[cymaz]

Posted by Percy Verance on 03/08/2018 17:13:36:

I almost bought a Zafira a few years back cymaz. It was about 14 months old at the time with just 10k on the clock. Sat nav and all the other tricks. I was put off by the fact it had the older 1.6 petrol engine, with a road tax bill of £180 a year! Jeez, I've not paid more than 30 quid road tax for years.....

I was recently tempted by dealer ad for a demonstator Focus, with just 800 miles on the clock. The same 1.0litre Ecoboost engine as my own, but a hatch rather than the estate. I was sure I'd be able to live with it and went for a look. Oh dear. It had big oversize wheels (which I hated) and blackened glass. It looked like a drug dealer's car.....Not for me I'm afraid.....

Edited By Percy Verance on 03/08/2018 17:18:09

Had a Ford Sierra Sapphire ( remember them) auto. When I bought it from Vospers main ford dealership in St Austell, It had a full RS body kit on it ..great family car.

[Jason-I]

Posted by Colin Carpenter on 03/08/2018 17:13:50:

Am I the only one who still services their own vehicle ?

 

 

 

Nope, your not alone. My 14 year old honda accord tourer pictured earlier has never seen the inside of a garage/main dealer in the 12 years I've owned it - and It never will.

Any 'loss' of resale value due to not having a main dealer service history is irrelevant as I will run this car for quite some time yet (probably at least another 5 years), at which point the resale value of the vehicle ceases to be effected by the presence of any service history.

Plus I can sleep well knowing it has been properly maintained! In all fairness though, it has been a thoroughly reliable car - just the expected wear parts - including many, many brake pads and discs (result of a big heavy car, usually full of heavy stuff, with a 2.4 petrol engine and a heavy right foot)....

My previous car was a BMW 5 series estate. That did me for 16 years without ever having to visit a garage either.

 

Edited By Jason Inskip on 03/08/2018 17:55:04

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

Posted by Colin Carpenter on 03/08/2018 17:13:50:

Am I the only one who still services their own vehicle ? Been doing it since 1971 and never had a problem. I keep them till they're knackered and start again

Check my last paragraph!

It may be a generational thing? Unlike the modern new driver, who seems to start their motoring life with a tidy secondhand car - or even a new one - I'd guess many of us had a succession of bangers and learnt a lot just keeping them running. My first encounter with dealer servicing was in 1972 when I bought my first new motorbike and took it in for its first service (remember them?) after a couple of hundred miles. It came out running like a sick pig until I reset the ignition timing correctly. It never darkened a dealer's door again and a friend is still running it to this day!

[Cuban8]

Chatting about all this to a club mate a few Sundays ago, as he'd just been charged £750 for a replacement water pump in his 2013 Mondeo (27000 miles) by a main dealer. My own Mondeo - (140000 miles) had a new cam belt and tensioner, new auxilliary belt and tensioner and waterpump all fitted at 125000 by my favourite local independent garage eighteen months ago for £350!

On the DIY servicing and repairs, yes, I used to do just about everything in my younger days - clutches, gearboxes, engine rebuilds and so on. It was fun, relatively easy and cheap. Made a few quid here and there as well from family and friends' repairs, but I wouldn't bother now though.

 

Edited By Cuban8 on 03/08/2018 18:13:47

[trebor]

Posted by Colin Carpenter on 03/08/2018 17:13:50:

Am I the only one who still services their own vehicle ?

I service my old landrover last year, I replaced the camshaft and followers along with the rocker shaft and rockers finnished off with a top de coke due to having to re set my tappets every other week. It will see me out now, all it's got to do is chug me up the field and round about locally.

[Peter Christy]

I service this one myself - have done since I got it 10 years ago:

If I took it to a garage, they'd just ask where to plug the computer in!!!

But my "new" car (only 23 years old!) is a bit hi-tech for me, and goes to a specialist!

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Pete