A car manufacturer you will never buy?

Rroff said:
It is one thing I can't get my head around - how Vauxhall have managed to build cars that are mundane personified - there is something so incredibly dull about the cars just riding in one feels tedious. I don't find the same with any other brand even the quite boring ones.
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They've tried to cater for the average Joe I think and instead alienated him as average Joe can now afford all kind of lease deals on lower spec higher end marques that do most things better than average for not much more money?
You're then left with their more interesting cars like the vx220, monaro etc, which would probably be more popular with a different badge.
 
Vauxhall. Used to swear by them. Had loads in the 90's (Astra, Astramax, Cavalier, Carlton, Belmont) but i don't know anybody who's owned one in last 5 years that hasn't had issues.

My Stop-Gap Hyundai i20 i bought nearly 5 years ago gets thrashed daily, has now done 168,000miles on original clutch and is bulletproof reliable. Still can't find a car to replace it with.
 
Toyota. 5 years of warranty hell, a corporate company that allows the dealers to do whatever they want and seemingly no power to help when they completely screw up. The latest one was 4 months of calls and emails, 5 dealer visits, 7 hours of workshop time, 30 hours of phonecalls, 14 members of staff of which 7 were supposedly management, all because a piece of felt had broken from a plastic clip and was scratching the window.

Over 8k worth of warranty work on a 25k car. Surprisingly they've stopped trying to sell me an extended warranty.
 
Japanese - wholly irrational I’m sure but there’s something about Japanese cars in general that just don’t float my boat.

Mercedes - Loved they back in the day - the 190e, W126 S-Class etc etc, today - with a few exceptions - I find them bland.

Peugeot - Top Gears take on Peugeot drivers seemed spot on to me.

Citroen and French cars in General, Meh.

Porsche - Again, wholly irrational but they just don’t do it for me.

Ferrari / Lamborghini - Despite the above I’d rather a high end Porsche!

Vauxhall - Just lol.

Korean - Kia etc - Yuk.

Rolls Royce - I’d love a Merlin engined Spitfire but the cars are far too OTT, even if I could afford one.

I could go on....
 
Mike1983 said:
I’d previously had the same thoughts about Vauxhall but the new Insignia (almost) lured me in as a company car....... it now looks like the petrol engine in the GSI has been pulled from the market for some unexplained reason that not even customer services could clarify so they’re just left with a diesel(!) for their “hot” version. That was a close one.
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They probably failed to WLTP test it in time.

I’ve owned a few Vauxhalls in my time, ranging from the very good (Cavalier GSI red top, Vectra VXR) to the very bad (Insignia VXR - great car to drive, but multiple 4x4 failures). Latest Insignia is a good car, from what I can tell. But there are no more “cooking” models available.

It’s very unlikely that I will have to make difficult choices between R8 / Lambo / SVR / Ferrari / McLaren any time soon.

I would have written off “Hyundai / Kia” a while back: does anyone remember the Hyundai Pony?
But then take a look at a Genesis G70 (not sold over here), and I ended up buying a Stinger.

Brands I would avoid: Suzuki, Jeep, Subaru seem to have gone off the rails, Alfa, Citroen, Fiat.

It’s not all bad for Peugeot: maybe they can help out Vauxhall / Opel?

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Steeps said:
Toyota. 5 years of warranty hell, a corporate company that allows the dealers to do whatever they want and seemingly no power to help when they completely screw up. The latest one was 4 months of calls and emails, 5 dealer visits, 7 hours of workshop time, 30 hours of phonecalls, 14 members of staff of which 7 were supposedly management, all because a piece of felt had broken from a plastic clip and was scratching the window.

Over 8k worth of warranty work on a 25k car. Surprisingly they've stopped trying to sell me an extended warranty.
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I had the same thing happen to the side window in mine and they replaced the whole thing 2 months after the warranty had expired. They didn't even resist lol

I think you just gotta find a good dealer.
 
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I'd never buy BMW. Just have an irrational dislike of them... Also going off Audi.

At the moment I wouldn't entertain anything from JLR either. Even though my last 2.2 XF Sportbrake R Sport, even with ultra low profiles, etc. was the most comfortable ride I've ever driven, the residuals and PCP small print left me out of pocket...
 
Anything french nope! Had a Renault Clio in 2008 and it was just an electrical nightmare. Not sure I will ever own a BMW, don't have much interest in the brand and I don't like the stigma they have. Dont really like Jap interiors either.

VAG man myself with owning multiple Seat's.
 
Nasher said:
I had the same thing happen to the side window in mine and they replaced the whole thing 2 months after the warranty had expired. They didn't even resist lol

I think you just gotta find a good dealer.
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The problem was one mechanic at the same network that you had yours done at (I refused to go back to your dealer after the 4 month gearbox issue when the car was brand new followed by the headunit issue), as soon as they mis-diagnosed the issue (claiming grit wear and tear) it set in a routine that the Toyota trained technician is right and the customer is making it up. No other dealer is then allowed to look at the car for a second opinion because it is not possible for a Toyota trained technician to be wrong when working on a Subaru. Turned out the technician hadn't even looked at the part that was broken and had deleted all the evidence (photos/videos) of his inspection which is when Toyota finally got involved. I even asked them to look at your case to compare it to which they refused to do, as all warranty claims are unique to the vehicle and it couldn't possibly be the same issue.
 
I thought I'd never buy a Kia until I drove a C'eed.

Would I go out of my way to buy one? No.

Would I turn one down if I just needed an A to B car? Probably not tbh.
 
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