Bad Buys/Money pits...

As for cars that have been bad buys, my first car was, £400 for a 1989 Renault 5 Campus with no service history, and didn't run very well (bought 4 years ago, crashed 6 months later).

Other than that, I've had ok buys, my 306 was maybe a little steep for what it was, but it kept on going and I didn't have to spend much on it, even when I replaced the engine, that wasn't a huge cost. The 205 I had was given to me, so wasn't a buy, and I also didn't spend much on that at all, so again, was fine. :)
 
406 2.2HDI SRI

so far

Air conditioning bottom pipe and condenser £250
FAP Filter £250
Both Front Driveshafts £300
Rewiring under the seat due to water £40
Starter Motor £240


as well as servicing been an expensive car to own so far, however bought with 84k or so on the clock now got 99k in under a year, so done quite a lot of miles.

Not too fussed about the things ive had to replace these things happen, the air conditioning was because we were driving to france and with a 18month old kid in car for 1k miles we thought it best to have it fixed :p

The starter motor was making a bit of a whine so had it replaced for the same reason
 
Hxc said:
The mini.

Failed the MOT today on a few things, including a bloody subframe.

Gonna cost a fair whack to put it all right. Probably in the region of £500.

Should've got something sensible for a first car....:p
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£500 is a 'fair whack'??

Pfff that's not even an Inspection 2 for me :p
 
[TW]Fox;12645095 said:
Where do you get your car serviced, Super Ripoff Garage Ltd?
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Wow that's original Fox :p

No I'm presuming an inspection is around that price at a main dealer. I know it's pretty close
 
Booked the 530d in for an Inspection II next month, quoted £310 + oil. It's nowhere near £500 for a conventional 6 pot 3 Series or 5 Series. Scothall Hampshire will do it on a 3 Series for £285 INCLUDING fluids!
 
My Focus has been OK really. Had to replace the front tyres and front discs and pads and thats it.

Took it for its MOT today and it passed without any advisories \o/.

Only problem is it will rev up and down occasionally, which i believe is due to a dodgy idle control valve. This should be an easy fix though.

Oh and the cam belt should be replaced around now (silver top). Think its booked in sometime this week for that.
 
markyb said:
Just interested in peoples bad car buys or cars that have needed a little attention once brought.
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CLIO RXE AUTO from a plymouth garage ,it rained the day after purchase ,the carpet got very wet ,then the remote central locking failed ,then the alternator light kept coming on ,then the airbag light all in the first week :mad:

Next week it failed to start due to bad earth .

A few weeks later the auto gearbox went wrong was advised to get it fixed then sue the dealer as I had a warranty ,went to court and lost :confused:

Cost me about 3 k in repairs in the first year.

Had to join RAC as used all my 6 AA call outs in just a few months

Lesson learnt don't buy a car from a garage ,especially in plymouth (crooks ) and a warranty is not worth ****
 
15K per year is nothing for a HDi mate, my average mileage in the 3 years i've owned mine is 34K a year of private mileage. I ought to move closer to work, heh.

My 306 was a dog before I bought it. Heh. Guy had to take it back to the garage for all sorts, receipts for horrendous amounts including a new cat at an wallet-watering 300 quid. I bought the car at 70K, and 100K later on the only trouble she's given me is a penchant for popping bulbs with regularity, and one day the relay in the boot got wet and blew the rear wiper up. I can live with that! When I test drove it the exhaust was knackered, and there was an ABS light on - for some reason it had a non-ABS driveshaft. Both were replaced under warranty anyway.

I had a mate with a petrol 306, and the thing was just a total shed. Cream on the cake for him was driving down the M61 one day and it **** a driveshaft out stranding him. Something needed repacing on that bloody thing every week, he got so fed up of it he sold it.
 
15k pa is nothing for just about any modern engine, if had to spend 34k a year in a 306 i would probably die in my sleep having nightmares of poor build quality and cheap black plastic
 
My S3 has been nothing but a pain in the arse since purchase. These are the main things it's needed so far (all prices inc labour):

- Cam chain adjuster replacement: £600 (covered under warranty)
- New cambelt, water pump and tensioners: £500 (covered under warranty..done at the same time as the adjuster as a sweetener)
- New clutch, flywheel, slave and master cylinders: £1100
- New high pressure power steering hose: £250
- New transfer box seals: £150
- New thermostat: £50
- New rear wiper motor linkage: £25
- Labour to diagnose why the car is only running 207BHP (fault still not found) :£200
- May need a new exhaust: £500

There's also a list of other little problems that need sorting like the drivers seat electric motor won't raise the height of the seat, the lumbar support just makes a clicking sound, the gear change is getting very stiff and despite a new clutch the bite point is right at the top and jerky. There's also annoying creaks and rattles which have appeared all over the place.

No matter how much I love the car I don't think I'll buy another Audi again. The build quality certainly hasn't lived up to my expectations. Although I've got a feeling this car may just be a lemon, I don't think I'll be going VAG again.
 
With respect, your S3 is an 8 year old performance car. What exactly did you expect? This is something I'm quick to point in every 'I have 50p, I want a BMW/Audi' thread..
 
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