Ford. --
Those with TDCi engines excluded, presumeably?
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I'd say Subaru too. On my second, and no complaints with cars or the dealers. Averaging 24-25mpg on a 3 litre Spec B and I use the performance regularly. Long runs can see close to 30mpg, not bad for the type of car. Why do people moan so much about a few mpg? If you're worried about that don't buy one.
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Several people have mentioned Subaru now, and it was the name that came to my mind when I started this thread too.
However the dealers aren't exactly thick on the ground, but the fuel consumption would be the bigger issue for me - I really only use my Merc C270CDi for long motorway runs and its high 40's (can touch 50) MPG is something that I wouldn't give up for a car with a 'close to 30MPG' figure.
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when I bought my wife's car...... a demonstrator.........the dealership wouldn't let us buy it until it had 3 months and 3,000 miles on it.........(it was 6 weeks old with 1400 miles on).....because the manufacturer stipulated that as part of the demonstrator status
they did however let us 'borrow it' for 10 days to tour Scotland during that waiting period, so we knocked the miles up over 3,000 not someone else........after that it sat in their compound until the 3 months was up
i hadn't paid a thing and could have walked away having had a free quality car for 10 days....the trust impressed me and will ensure i go back
another dealer nearer to home had the car if for a minor warranty repair (estate door window catch)........when it came back they stated they'd noticed a piece of sound damping near the bulkhead in the engine bay was missing so they'd replaced it...........i think it was missing from the start as the car was noticeably quieter afterwards
the dealers are Jaguar.........one in the sticks the other in a city
i believe that to be good service
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Suzuki - my Carry van has done 12,000 miles trouble free and while my supplying dealer was awful at aftersales service, my 2nd nearest dealer is superb. My sister bought her GV1600 from the 2nd dealer and they have been as good with sales as service. She is delighted with her new car.
Hyundai - My parents Coupe V6 is now nudging 20,000 miles and coming up for its 2nd service. It has also been completely trouble free.
Interestingly, neither vehicle is especially high tech - maybe a lesson in that.
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Suzuki - my Carry van has done 12,000 miles trouble free Hyundai - My parents Coupe V6 is now nudging 20,000 miles and coming up for its 2nd service. It has also been completely trouble free. Interestingly, neither vehicle is especially high tech - maybe a lesson in that.
This should not come as a surprise to anyone.
Across the board, cars have become cheaper. This at a time when cars are loaded with more and more expensive electronics due to governments' demands for cleaner cars coupled with buyers' demands for more and more toys. Something has to give somewhere. Car manufacturers are cutting more and more corners to get prices down and stay competitive.
Now, consider the likes of Hyundai and Suzuki. They have a long tradition of building basic cars down to a price. They have the fundamentals of how to build a cheap car reliably down pat, in a way that VW, Toyota, Ford etc do not. Therefore, when it comes to cost-cutting, these companies have the edge.
I am of the absolute belief that when it comes to new vehicles, the Koreans especially are in the ascendence for this very reason. You play to your strengths -- VWs was build quality, but this was achieved through over-engineering. Take this out for reasons of cost and you have problems. Korean manufacturers' expertise is in building a cheap car that doesn't break -- because they sell to third-world countries in huge numbers, they instinctively cut corners in areas like interiors, refinement etc, and don't overload with expensive gimmicks as the like of Renault do. The fundamentals are not required to change, and therefore they're not having to compromise real quality in the way some others are.
So, take a fairly old/low-tech design, build cheaply, then ramp up build quality because you can within budgetary constraints. I'd say, somewhat ironically, that if reliability/cheap and easy repairs is what you want, these newer Korean cars take some beating right now, especially with VW/Toyota/Nissan not being what they once were, and Honda sticking steadfast to the expensive route.
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Several people have mentioned Subaru now, and it was the name that came to my mind when I started this thread too. However the dealers aren't exactly thick on the ground, but the fuel consumption would be the bigger issue for me - I really only use my Merc C270CDi for long motorway runs and its high 40's (can touch 50) MPG is something that I wouldn't give up for a car with a 'close to 30MPG' figure.
Ah, you should have said you were a diesel driver. Never mind!
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Ah, you should have said you were a diesel driver. Never mind!
I didn't intend the question to be model / engine specific, so Subaru is a valid answer - however people started talking about fuel consumption which rules a Subaru out for me (unless they start fitting diesels).
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which rules a Subaru out for me (unless they start fitting diesels).
Sorry to answer my own post, but I've just seen the folowing article which says that Subaru will show a diesel boxer engine at the upcoming Geneva show, although it's still a while away from production.
www.carmagazine.co.uk/first_official_picture.php?s...1
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>> Ford. >> -- Those with TDCi engines excluded, presumeably?
Don't ask me. I wouldn't have a diesel as long as I've got a hole in my rectum.
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L\'escargot.
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Don't ask me. I wouldn't have a diesel ...
Sorry, Mr Snail, I seem to have you in my sights. Maybe I'm just pernickerty this morning. If you've a hole in your rectum you must be very ill. There's a bit at the after end of your rectum called your anus that connects your bowels to the outside world, and is the hole in your, er, bottom.
Back to topic, I am always a tad surprised that VW dealers get so much stick. In my experience - 5 VWs over the years, the last till 2003 - they've been no worse than other 'ordinary brand' dealers. In fact a couple were pretty good, I thought.
I've had very satisfactory experience with BMW and MINI. Lousy experience with Ford, Peugeot and Rover (the last a real disaster, as was the car).
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Sorry, Mr Snail, I seem to have you in my sights.
I bow to your clearly superior knowledge of the human anatomy! ;-)
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L\'escargot.
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