Dirt cheap student car

[TW]Fox;12240734 said:
Is there ANYONE here who has run a £500 French hatch for 2-3 years and not had to repair a single thing?
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The 306 I had (cost £500) within a year:

- Had the clutch replaced
- Had the airbag sensor go doo-lally
- Had the horn fail
- Developed noisy synchros
- Eventually had the gearbox go and pee oil out all over the clutch plate (a month after I got rid of it) :D

Wouldn't bother with another French car tbh.
 
[TW]Fox;12250687 said:
Oh great, I forgot being 'in the trade' makes someone a complete expert on all areas of it..



You've got absolutely no idea, have you? Got any 250k 106's at your place or is just a horrible unreliable Mondeo thats made it to a quarter of a million miles and still hasnt been scrapped?
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So how many have you serviced, MOT'd and repaired in the last 15 years? :rolleyes:
 
jimblowscash said:
ive got a guy at work running a 106 on SVO it costs him pence to run.... it doesnt break down.. because its simple ok so its french but its got to be a 100000 times better than a mondeo of similar value
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That wasn't my argument. You were talking about credibility and class, I was talking about getting real with £500.

nokinidea said:
So how many have you serviced, MOT'd and repaired in the last 15 years? :rolleyes:
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I know motor traders or techs know everything about cars but I still prefer to hear it from owners, people who actually live with their cars, not pass them off for profit and never actually own them or those who only ever see the bad. It's a skewed perspective and isn't consumer reality.

Edit:

Just reminded me. A friend of mine works at the local Nissan dealership as a tech and he reckons they're best avoided. Always need work apparently. Doesn't sound right does it?
 
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Ed said:
I know motor traders or techs know everything about cars but I still prefer to hear it from owners, people who actually live with their cars, not pass them off for profit and never actually own them or those who only ever see the bad. It's a skewed perspective and isn't consumer reality.
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I don't sell them for profit, my perspective is from getting grubby fixing them.
A perfect perspective to see how reliable they really are.
As an owner that maybe doesn't know much about cars, to them if it doesn't rattle, squeak, drop oil on the garage floor and start in the morning they are usually happy, they are oblivious to the fact it's a turd in disguise underneath the the shiny paint.
 
nokinidea said:
I don't sell them for profit, my perspective is from getting grubby fixing them.
A perfect perspective to see how reliable they really are.
As an owner that maybe doesn't know much about cars, to them if it doesn't rattle, squeak, drop oil on the garage floor and start in the morning they are usually happy, they are oblivious to the fact it's a turd in disguise underneath the the shiny paint.
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Yes but you only see cars that need fixing. What about the others that don't? Your perspective isn't a true reflection of the reliability of a population of a brand of car.
 
Ed said:
Yes but you only see cars that need fixing. What about the others that don't? Your perspective isn't a true reflection of the reliability of a population of a brand of car.
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Don't the good ones get serviced regularly then?
 
nokinidea said:
I don't sell them for profit, my perspective is from getting grubby fixing them.
A perfect perspective to see how reliable they really are.
As an owner that maybe doesn't know much about cars, to them if it doesn't rattle, squeak, drop oil on the garage floor and start in the morning they are usually happy, they are oblivious to the fact it's a turd in disguise underneath the the shiny paint.
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Can we just clarify again - you think Mondeos are unreliable yet French hatchbacks are very reliable? Thats your opinion yes? Would be good to get some clarification.

I must say I'm suprised people take their Mondeos for MOT's at Powerstation.
 
Sorry, I've been in the trade as well and the ONLY french hatch I'd recommend for £500 is the Xsara, based on the fact you're getting much newer and less miles for your money and the fact they've mainly been a 'family' car and probably maintained regardless of cost. The Mondeo fits into this category as well as the rep one - again, repaired/serviced on time (in many cases). Something like a 106 will have had some dizzy tart or 17 y.o chav ragging the hell out of the nclutch, cramming 4 other mates in it and being chav'd around Maccys car park. The 'low milers' have been run by Grandpa or Grandma and have never, ever warmed up. 40k in 10+ years of utter torture, rarely exceeding 30 and never pushing 70. Gear wear, engine wear etc....

For god's sake, aviod 106's and CLios, I am yet to drive a cheap one that didn't make me feel nervous!
 
nokinidea said:
I don't sell them for profit, my perspective is from getting grubby fixing them.
A perfect perspective to see how reliable they really are.
As an owner that maybe doesn't know much about cars, to them if it doesn't rattle, squeak, drop oil on the garage floor and start in the morning they are usually happy, they are oblivious to the fact it's a turd in disguise underneath the the shiny paint.
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You don't sell for profit?

Surely if it runs and looks ok it can't be that much of a turd.

Ed said:
Yes but you only see cars that need fixing. What about the others that don't? Your perspective isn't a true reflection of the reliability of a population of a brand of car.
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i agree, there are also going to be many more mondeos on the road than 106's, a lot more.
 
I love my car. Had it 2.5 years now. Its been more reliable than any other car ive ever owned, and a dam site more reliable than any other car any of my friends have owned too.

Sure its now a bit cosmetically challenged, street cred is zero, but it still carries me and my caravan to le mans every year, always sailing past a few cars broken down on the hard shoulder, that are at least 12 years newer than mine.

Wouldnt buy a newer car now.
 
aproctor said:
I thought older civics could be picked up for a song and were pretty bullet proof. Although i imagine insurance wont be that cheap.
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its not a serious comment on the reliability of Civics

its because he spent 12 grand on a Civic Type R after doing nothing but slate them for months, bemoaning poor build quality etc..

strange how he kept the switch from that, to what he mentions in his sig very quiet ...
 
At the end of the day (cliché alert) - I think spending £500 on a car is fair enough if you only expect it to last you a year at the most without serious problems :) That was what i wanted out of my 1st car and it just about managed it. They are very cheap for a reason ;)

I doubt many people would be selling anything trouble free and fit for purpose at that price unless they are family/friends.
 
I've put 12k miles on a 11 year old 106 over this year...needed some new wiper blades to get through the mot. Not complaining too much about that...
 
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