What does your car say about you ?

[Jonty2547]

They are good and i see plenty of high milers still running, although some burn oil for fun and the VVTi units are common to fail. Sadly the cost to replace writes off the car for some

[Frasernash]

They are good and i see plenty of high milers still running, although some burn oil for fun and the VVTi units are common to fail. Sadly the cost to replace writes off the car for some

I don't think anyone can agree on what makes a great car is it the emotion of an Alpha or reliability of Japanese, superior engineering of German or cheap parts on a say a Ford. I think finding a good garage that wont totally rip you off helps and a getting lucky with just a good car.

[Lindsayt]

I own a beautiful 2000 Toyota Celica (without the rear spoiler), and an older but equally beautiful Honda VFR 750. Both are comfortable, reliable, start on the button and give me hours of driving enjoyment without a great outlay. I've tried the likes of MGB GT V8's, TVR's, Triumph Tridents, Norton Interstates and the occasional Italian Iron, all of which I've enjoyed. But the reliability, engineering and sheer grace of these designs means I will keep these vehicles until I can no longer drive/stand/dribble/pee... whichever comes first.

What does this say about me? Means I'm not bothered about fashion, I want things to work, do what they're supposed to do, bring me immense pleasure, look good, won't cost me an arm and a leg, easily maintained, good backup/service/parts, Oh.... and I love having them around... Over to you Mr. Dunn.

I love the old Toyota Celica but have never been lucky with older cars so Drive a Ford Fiesta Zetec Deisel 2014 does 67 mpg and no car tax although our stupid Govertment are changing the car tax laws bought the car new and in some ways wish i hadnt as i prefer slightly bigger cars and maybe I might take the plunge and find a good older japaanese car as i find cars a waste of money well i do now I am older loved cars in my youth.

Did you ever own a Frazer Nash, Frasenash?

[Jonty2547]

I think finding a good garage that wont totally rip you off helps

Very much so, and there are some awful ones out there.
Back in the 90’s i was a manager for a well known fast-fit company and it was common place for the staff to spray shock absorbers with WD40 (so it looked as if they were leaking, screw nails into the shoulders of tyres (so they were unrepairable), fit worn out brake pads to the customers car and then show the customer etc etc.
Seldom to say i didn’t stay there very long. It still makes me cringe to this day.
I now work as a Toyota tech at a main dealer and lets say the standards are quite a bit higher and i can honestly say i’ve never seen any work sold that didn’t need doing.

[Frasernash]

I own a beautiful 2000 Toyota Celica (without the rear spoiler), and an older but equally beautiful Honda VFR 750. Both are comfortable, reliable, start on the button and give me hours of driving enjoyment without a great outlay. I've tried the likes of MGB GT V8's, TVR's, Triumph Tridents, Norton Interstates and the occasional Italian Iron, all of which I've enjoyed. But the reliability, engineering and sheer grace of these designs means I will keep these vehicles until I can no longer drive/stand/dribble/pee... whichever comes first.

What does this say about me? Means I'm not bothered about fashion, I want things to work, do what they're supposed to do, bring me immense pleasure, look good, won't cost me an arm and a leg, easily maintained, good backup/service/parts, Oh.... and I love having them around... Over to you Mr. Dunn.

I love the old Toyota Celica but have never been lucky with older cars so Drive a Ford Fiesta Zetec Deisel 2014 does 67 mpg and no car tax although our stupid Govertment are changing the car tax laws bought the car new and in some ways wish i hadnt as i prefer slightly bigger cars and maybe I might take the plunge and find a good older japaanese car as i find cars a waste of money well i do now I am older loved cars in my youth.

Did you ever own a Frazer Nash, Frasenash?

I wish back in the 90s there were affordable now there worth far more than my House some people have got money that's for sure never really took to the Classic car scene bought a MGBGT about 15 years ago and kept for a year the back end didn't know what the front end was doing and had a really unrefined engine had loads of Golf GTI s in the 80s lovely cars and also loads of other VWs and BMWs more Dad loves German cars, but got let down by a Poor VW dealer so wont go back and Now have a Hyandai IX35 and Ford Fiesta.

[Frasernash]

I think finding a good garage that wont totally rip you off helps

Very much so, and there are some awful ones out there.
Back in the 90’s i was a manager for a well known fast-fit company and it was common place for the staff to spray shock absorbers with WD40 (so it looked as if they were leaking, screw nails into the shoulders of tyres (so they were unrepairable), fit worn out brake pads to the customers car and then show the customer etc etc.
Seldom to say i didn’t stay there very long. It still makes me cringe to this day.
I now work as a Toyota tech at a main dealer and lets say the standards are quite a bit higher and i can honestly say i’ve never seen any work sold that didn’t need doing.

wouldn't surprise me I had A 51 plate Golf that kept having a intermittent fault with the Car stalling as you pulled away and was OK when restarted but potentially dangerous, the dealer Could not resolve the problem and tried to make out it was out of warranty they were rubbish and Fair play the Importer sorted the problem out but wont go back to VW Group,and I see good reports on Toyota they always seem to come top in reliability surveys although you may take them with a pinch of salt so I hanker for a Japanese car maybe next time although they have become very expensive do you rate Toyota or as being a Techy look at all cars as a potential problem.

[Jonty2547]

I’ve worked for most of the manufacturers and Toyota is certainly close to the top of the list. Albeit behind Honda for reliability in my experience.
That said, their warranty policy is very very good and by that i don’t mean the length of it but what they will pay for should something go wrong.
IMO, things have gone a little downhill since they jumped into bed with the French, certainly a lack of quality as they looked to shift more units at a cheaper price.
If i had to buy a cheap (say £1-2K) car, i’d go for a Corolla or a Civic. Uninspiring, yes, but they’d do what you wanted them to do faultlessly. And for say £10K+ it’d be a Prius.
Some people seem terrified of buying one in case they go wrong, but they don’t. In two stints with Toyota i’ve seen one Hybrid battery replaced and they paid for that even though the car was long out of warranty.
As for the worst reliability is has to be Mercedes (although that was back in the early 2000’s). Horrid things and the cost of repairs was astronomical.
I’ve seen so many people buy a £5K Merc that cost £60K+ new just to have it sat at the dealership because they can’t afford the repairs. Yes, Merc are at the cutting edge of technology, but buy one out of warranty and it’s a tightrope to financial ruin.
Personally i'd be happy tp go back to cleaning the dizzy cap with a wire brush and setting the points by eye.
Things were much simpler back then

[_D_S_J_R_]

So, is your dealership near where I live (Ipswich say?)

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

I saw such a bargain today on-line I couldn't resist it, £1500 and I even knocked it down to £1400. It has a petrol 3.7l V6 so it will eat fuel. 2003 less than 100k miles and as perfect as a car that age can be. Sun roof, heated leather seats, 4 speed automatic, air conditioning, key locking, all electric everything on the seats and windows, inc rear, 4 wheel drive (switcheable), low speed controls for off roading, cruise control. I recon when I sell the Doblo the deal will have cost me about £6 or £700. Its called a Special Edition so it has every dooflit that can be fitted apart from no satnav. Blue my fav colour.

Any guesses.

[Jonty2547]

Jeep Cherokee?